(Originally posted to Let's Play Sacntuary)
#101, originally posted Jul 28 2016, 01:38 PM
Route E—Session 21, part 5: Moon and Clover
Yumi realizes she misses Hinata, and wonders what she means to him. Hinata goes to the school, and then notices something unexpected in the sky; he hears a voice, and...
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
welcome back home
Oh, so Yumi is officially dead as well, huh?
It seems Yumi does care a great deal for Hinata. So, why did she run away before he woke up, and why only minimal contact since? I don't quite get it. ...Oh, she had something to do. Well, okay. But will we ever find out what that was?
Haha. Hinata seems surprised there can be four total lunar eclipses in succession. Though I don't know whether it's because he assumed it can't happen that way, or just that he hadn't even thought about what would be happening with the moon past that third eclipse and is now taken by surprise, not realizing it's the right time for an eclipse. If you'll recall, way back in the very first session, the eclipse (the first one in this story) was one of the first things I checked up on, to see if it was talking about something in the real world or was just made up (because how many people would check, right?). I made note that it was the first of a tetrad. At the time, though, I had no idea that fact would actually become important in the story. Well, I guess I should have expected it, huh?
Could someone explain the meaning of "elongation" in that eclipse list? I looked up the term, but the meaning I found is: the angle between a body and the sun, as viewed from the earth. That can't be it, though. By that definition, the elongation of the moon during a lunar eclipse must be 180° or close to it. Maybe it just means the length of the eclipse, in minutes? No, that's not it either; the numbers aren't even close to matching. Well, anyone?
Hmm. Yumi is thinking of the white clover, and Hinata the red clover. Also, Yumi was remembering what the one LEM said before she died, about the meaning of the (white) clover. She said, "Do you know... what the clover means in the language of flowers?" Now... Hinata seems to be remember those same words... What?! He shouldn't remember that, right? Did she say something like that to Hinata or HE? I don't really remember. Or is she actually saying it to Hinata right at this moment? That could be it.
"This isn't an auditory hallucination! That 'someone' knows something only Mutsuki should know." Uh, yeah. She and you, right? Because if you didn't know it, it wouldn't mean anything to you. But if you do know it, how does it prove you're not hallucinating? ...Whatever.
" Ending Story:Prime Route: Past
Chapter unlocked."
That's a bit difficult to parse, both because of the strange spacing and use of punctuation, and because of the way it's split into two lines. Is it saying the prime routes are "Past Chapters"? Meaning... they cover things that happened in the past? Or is the first line the name of the chapter? Well, maybe we'll get to find out when we do those.
Aaand, now there's no moon on that monitor on the main menu screen. Looking back over previous videos, I see it changed more than I realized. First it was a regular full moon. Once I finished a route, it changed to the start of an eclipse. When I started getting 1.0 endings, it changed to a larger shadow. After getting 1.0 on route D, it because an almost-eclipse. And finally, after getting 1.0 on all of the first four routes, it became a total eclipse. Now, after finishing route E, the moon is gone. I feel as though there was another step in that progression I managed to skip over. Maybe, going through route E before getting its clear condition would have made that step show up.
Oh, and, iqzulk, you said there may be a point where it seems like a really good idea to do a review on everything that's happened up to this point. Is this about the point you meant? Or have I already passed it? Or perhaps it's still in the future. I don't know. But, to be honest, I haven't felt anything like that, at least not yet. I don't know... Part of me says, "Sure, I should grant iqzulk's request. In any case, I should do something more organized. That might even be helpful to my and everyone else's understanding, and to communicate my viewpoint." Another part says, "This wasn't part of my original plans, and it's not something simple. I'm not really sure where to begin, and it would take a while to put together. I'd rather just go on to the prime routes; I don't want to wait too long, and I don't want to make my viewers wait too long, especially seeing as I've been releasing the last couple of sessions pretty slowly." Maybe part of it is that I'm not very used to doing reviews.
Hmm. What if I were to try to do this in parallel with the main LP project? Would that work? I'm actually asking that last question of myself. I don't know. I have to think about this a bit more.
Oh, so Yumi is officially dead as well, huh?
It seems Yumi does care a great deal for Hinata. So, why did she run away before he woke up, and why only minimal contact since? I don't quite get it. ...Oh, she had something to do. Well, okay. But will we ever find out what that was?
Haha. Hinata seems surprised there can be four total lunar eclipses in succession. Though I don't know whether it's because he assumed it can't happen that way, or just that he hadn't even thought about what would be happening with the moon past that third eclipse and is now taken by surprise, not realizing it's the right time for an eclipse. If you'll recall, way back in the very first session, the eclipse (the first one in this story) was one of the first things I checked up on, to see if it was talking about something in the real world or was just made up (because how many people would check, right?). I made note that it was the first of a tetrad. At the time, though, I had no idea that fact would actually become important in the story. Well, I guess I should have expected it, huh?
Could someone explain the meaning of "elongation" in that eclipse list? I looked up the term, but the meaning I found is: the angle between a body and the sun, as viewed from the earth. That can't be it, though. By that definition, the elongation of the moon during a lunar eclipse must be 180° or close to it. Maybe it just means the length of the eclipse, in minutes? No, that's not it either; the numbers aren't even close to matching. Well, anyone?
Hmm. Yumi is thinking of the white clover, and Hinata the red clover. Also, Yumi was remembering what the one LEM said before she died, about the meaning of the (white) clover. She said, "Do you know... what the clover means in the language of flowers?" Now... Hinata seems to be remember those same words... What?! He shouldn't remember that, right? Did she say something like that to Hinata or HE? I don't really remember. Or is she actually saying it to Hinata right at this moment? That could be it.
"This isn't an auditory hallucination! That 'someone' knows something only Mutsuki should know." Uh, yeah. She and you, right? Because if you didn't know it, it wouldn't mean anything to you. But if you do know it, how does it prove you're not hallucinating? ...Whatever.
" Ending Story:Prime Route: Past
Chapter unlocked."
That's a bit difficult to parse, both because of the strange spacing and use of punctuation, and because of the way it's split into two lines. Is it saying the prime routes are "Past Chapters"? Meaning... they cover things that happened in the past? Or is the first line the name of the chapter? Well, maybe we'll get to find out when we do those.
Aaand, now there's no moon on that monitor on the main menu screen. Looking back over previous videos, I see it changed more than I realized. First it was a regular full moon. Once I finished a route, it changed to the start of an eclipse. When I started getting 1.0 endings, it changed to a larger shadow. After getting 1.0 on route D, it because an almost-eclipse. And finally, after getting 1.0 on all of the first four routes, it became a total eclipse. Now, after finishing route E, the moon is gone. I feel as though there was another step in that progression I managed to skip over. Maybe, going through route E before getting its clear condition would have made that step show up.
Oh, and, iqzulk, you said there may be a point where it seems like a really good idea to do a review on everything that's happened up to this point. Is this about the point you meant? Or have I already passed it? Or perhaps it's still in the future. I don't know. But, to be honest, I haven't felt anything like that, at least not yet. I don't know... Part of me says, "Sure, I should grant iqzulk's request. In any case, I should do something more organized. That might even be helpful to my and everyone else's understanding, and to communicate my viewpoint." Another part says, "This wasn't part of my original plans, and it's not something simple. I'm not really sure where to begin, and it would take a while to put together. I'd rather just go on to the prime routes; I don't want to wait too long, and I don't want to make my viewers wait too long, especially seeing as I've been releasing the last couple of sessions pretty slowly." Maybe part of it is that I'm not very used to doing reviews.
Hmm. What if I were to try to do this in parallel with the main LP project? Would that work? I'm actually asking that last question of myself. I don't know. I have to think about this a bit more.
Route E—Session 21 (full)
#102, originally posted Aug 1 2016, 04:58 PM
Route E—Session 22, part 1: Frau
I go looking for the missing bad endings, but come up with extra scenes instead, and they're quite significant. Una LEM has a task for Andras, relating to the sun and moon; he can't figure it out, but she discovers something useful in him. Later, she meets a young girl at her fortune-telling site; the girl wants a fortune told, but not her own. Later still, the girl is worried about her brother and goes to LEM's Fortune Telling again, where she meets Null LEM, to whom she gives her handle (made up on the spot, apparently).
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
Reverie, Enlightenment, Moonlight (REM) (2)
Wait, LEM wanted Andras to photograph an eclipse? That's strange. We know that Yumi did that with the first eclipse. But here, it's Andras doing that. Then, was he the source of the second eclipse video that Yumi receives shortly before the end of this route? That still doesn't explain where the third (the one from the future) comes from. But maybe we'll get a clue about that eventually. Also, was LEM the one who put Yumi up to capturing the first eclipse, or was it someone else?
Haha. "Amphibication". Still thinking about turning the guy into a frog.
one oracle
So, what is up with that site? Just how is LEM connected to it? She sometimes goes there to read fortunes. Is that because she owns the site, or has an agreement with the owner(s)? Not really the most important questions, but I have to wonder about that.
"The sun and moon overlap". The eclipses, obviously. "...an endless spiral". Sounds like the staircase again. The rest, I can't understand.
So, inverted Temperance represents Andras, and the inverted Fool represents HE? ...Okay. I wish I could say something intelligent. But this stuff is hard for me to understand in the first place. So, I'll leave it at that.
JUNGFRAU
("Jungfrau" means "virgin" in German. From jung "young" + Frau "woman".)
The Null LEM does another of her trademark malapropisms, mispronouncing "kioku sōshitsu" ("amnesia", lit. "memory loss") as "kyūku sōshitsu" (something "loss"). Not sure what "kyūku" might mean. Maybe nothing?
A leopard? Well, when Googling for pictures of Flauros, I did find that. But if I specified "Ars Goetia", which is that dictionary of demons miss Ando is talking about, what came up far more often looked like a rat. Here's a page talking about him, on which the rat picture appears prominently. Funny that it still talks about a leopard form and doesn't mention a rat.
And LEM shortens "Flauros" to "Flau-chan", or as rendered here, "Frau-chan". They sound the same to a Japanese ear, and in this way, it indirectly references the word "Jungfrau".
Heh, LEM is no match for a crying girl. :D
Wait, LEM wanted Andras to photograph an eclipse? That's strange. We know that Yumi did that with the first eclipse. But here, it's Andras doing that. Then, was he the source of the second eclipse video that Yumi receives shortly before the end of this route? That still doesn't explain where the third (the one from the future) comes from. But maybe we'll get a clue about that eventually. Also, was LEM the one who put Yumi up to capturing the first eclipse, or was it someone else?
Haha. "Amphibication". Still thinking about turning the guy into a frog.
one oracle
So, what is up with that site? Just how is LEM connected to it? She sometimes goes there to read fortunes. Is that because she owns the site, or has an agreement with the owner(s)? Not really the most important questions, but I have to wonder about that.
"The sun and moon overlap". The eclipses, obviously. "...an endless spiral". Sounds like the staircase again. The rest, I can't understand.
So, inverted Temperance represents Andras, and the inverted Fool represents HE? ...Okay. I wish I could say something intelligent. But this stuff is hard for me to understand in the first place. So, I'll leave it at that.
JUNGFRAU
("Jungfrau" means "virgin" in German. From jung "young" + Frau "woman".)
The Null LEM does another of her trademark malapropisms, mispronouncing "kioku sōshitsu" ("amnesia", lit. "memory loss") as "kyūku sōshitsu" (something "loss"). Not sure what "kyūku" might mean. Maybe nothing?
A leopard? Well, when Googling for pictures of Flauros, I did find that. But if I specified "Ars Goetia", which is that dictionary of demons miss Ando is talking about, what came up far more often looked like a rat. Here's a page talking about him, on which the rat picture appears prominently. Funny that it still talks about a leopard form and doesn't mention a rat.
And LEM shortens "Flauros" to "Flau-chan", or as rendered here, "Frau-chan". They sound the same to a Japanese ear, and in this way, it indirectly references the word "Jungfrau".
Heh, LEM is no match for a crying girl. :D
#103, originally posted Aug 4 2016, 12:53 PM
Route E—Session 22, part 2: Prediction
LEM shows Flauros an Exabyte Crystal, saying it will make a prediction; when she looks in, she sees something awful. LEM apologizes, and then begins to talk about a theory that supposedly explains how the vision could have occurred, and then says Flauros can change the future by helping HE and his comrades. Later, LEM gives her a riddle, and then a something to deliver.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
JUNGFRAU
So, advanced waves show up again. Should have expected that, since they seem, at least on the surface, to open up the possibility of communicating backward in time. There's some information about retarded and advanced waves on Wikipedia, in the Wheeler-Feynman absorber theory. Again, I can't say I really understand it, but the gist of it seems to be that advanced waves are a more elegant way of explaining the damping effect that causes charged particles to lose energy in the form of EM radiation when they accelerate. There's also reference to a Transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics. If that holds, then the retarded waves of an emitter and the advanced waves of an absorber form a sort of "handshake" in which energy is transferred between particles. I think that would mean it is impossible to suppress one in favor of the other, which contradicts the idea proposed in this scene. Of course, I don't know how true those theories are.
LEM refers to an "Onii-chan". Is she talking about Hinata? That makes sense if she's identifying herself with Mutsuki. Or maybe it's HE. But she already refers to him as "HE-kun" (rendered in translation as "Heeby"), so it's probably not that.
LEM says, "o-tsuki-sama" (referring to the moon in a very polite way), translated as "Mr. Moon".
faerie godmother
"Virgin births". Funny she should mention that one, considering... But then, "cats in microwaves"? A quick check shows that some people have actually been that cruel. I did find a reference to an urban legend, though, often involving the unfortunate pet exploding.
Heh, when Frau whispers, unsurprisingly, it sounds like nonsense.
So, advanced waves show up again. Should have expected that, since they seem, at least on the surface, to open up the possibility of communicating backward in time. There's some information about retarded and advanced waves on Wikipedia, in the Wheeler-Feynman absorber theory. Again, I can't say I really understand it, but the gist of it seems to be that advanced waves are a more elegant way of explaining the damping effect that causes charged particles to lose energy in the form of EM radiation when they accelerate. There's also reference to a Transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics. If that holds, then the retarded waves of an emitter and the advanced waves of an absorber form a sort of "handshake" in which energy is transferred between particles. I think that would mean it is impossible to suppress one in favor of the other, which contradicts the idea proposed in this scene. Of course, I don't know how true those theories are.
LEM refers to an "Onii-chan". Is she talking about Hinata? That makes sense if she's identifying herself with Mutsuki. Or maybe it's HE. But she already refers to him as "HE-kun" (rendered in translation as "Heeby"), so it's probably not that.
LEM says, "o-tsuki-sama" (referring to the moon in a very polite way), translated as "Mr. Moon".
faerie godmother
"Virgin births". Funny she should mention that one, considering... But then, "cats in microwaves"? A quick check shows that some people have actually been that cruel. I did find a reference to an urban legend, though, often involving the unfortunate pet exploding.
Heh, when Frau whispers, unsurprisingly, it sounds like nonsense.
#104, originally posted Aug 7 2016, 02:02 PM
Route E—Session 22, part 3: The Core
Yumi frets over her body. Later, she reviews background information about Code's secret underground base, which originally belonged to an organization you might not have expected.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
The Hundredth Monkey (2)
So, eXarch basically used Anunnaki to gather data while covering up Marduk's existence. That makes sense. But then, afterwards, it seems that Code was formed by the veterans of Anunnaki, who appropriated the underground Core. This does not make sense, because presumably they would no longer have had eXarch's authorization to use it for any purpose, much less as a base of operations against eXarch. Unless, of course, those operations would actually serve a secret purpose for eXarch. Is that thanks to Nabu, by any chance?
So, eXarch basically used Anunnaki to gather data while covering up Marduk's existence. That makes sense. But then, afterwards, it seems that Code was formed by the veterans of Anunnaki, who appropriated the underground Core. This does not make sense, because presumably they would no longer have had eXarch's authorization to use it for any purpose, much less as a base of operations against eXarch. Unless, of course, those operations would actually serve a secret purpose for eXarch. Is that thanks to Nabu, by any chance?
#105, originally posted Aug 8 2016, 12:27 PM
Route E—Session 22, part 4: Little Sister
Yumi gets a visit from Flauros, who proceeds to give her older brother an earful. Then she reveals her reason for being there.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
brotherhood
It's interesting that LEM thought Flauros looked about 10, while Yumi thinks she's 13–14. Is this due to a difference in perception, or does her Shadow just look that much younger?
Yumi hears Flauros refer to Andras as "onii-chan", and immediately jumps to the conclusion that they are siblings, and not just that, but definitely blood-related. I don't see how she can be so sure when (1) it's so common for children to refer to older people, even if they are strangers, with such terms, and (2) even if they are siblings, it can be difficult to tell whether they are related by blood or by adoption. Especially if they do not resemble one another very much, as seems to be the case here, it is reasonable to consider adoption as a possibility.
Regarding the mention of chocolate: In Japan, on Valentine's Day, in addition to the romantic chocolate we're familiar with, there's also a tradition in which women also give inexpensive chocolate to male acquaintances, with no romantic intentions. This is called "giri choco", where "giri" means "courtesy" or "obligation", in contrast to "honmei choco", or chocolate "from the heart". The cynical part of me remembers that it's basically something started by some company to make more money, which caught on as a tradition. In any case, men who receive gifts of either kind are expected to give return gifts on March 14, known as White Day.
Hmm. A proprietary disc format? I suppose that's possible. I'm reminded, for instance, of PlayStation 1 (PSX) discs, which were CDs formatted in some unusual ways as copy protection. Of course, there have been many examples of special media and formats in the history of copy protection. But in any case, I don't think a special format is a particularly good security measure, especially if any normal drive is capable of reading it. In this case, Yumi's computer is able to read this "DW disc" with nothing other than special software required. This is an example of security through obscurity: assuming that some design will not be reverse engineered. It's possible, though, that DlroW's special software also implements more sound security measures, such as strong encryption, in which case the special format is not necessarily a bad thing. The real issue is reliance on obscurity as the only or main security measure. However, obscurity can be used in combination with other, more sound measures, as part of defense in depth.
There's something a little odd here, though. The disc Flauros hands to Yumi apparently has a logo on it. If you recall, though, it was given to her by LEM, i.e. a being in cyberspace. So how does that work? Did her computer burn a copy of the data? If so, why would the disc itself have a logo visible on it? It's presumably a regular medium, after all. Do Terabyte Discs and their drives include a standardized system for burning/printing labels, along the lines of systems like LightScribe, DiscT@2, LabelFlash, and/or LabelTag?
Andras really is an idiot to not figure out LEM's riddle. It's not because Flauros is particularly smart that she figured it out; I'm pretty sure most people her age could have got it, unless the educational system had dumbed them down.
It's interesting that LEM thought Flauros looked about 10, while Yumi thinks she's 13–14. Is this due to a difference in perception, or does her Shadow just look that much younger?
Yumi hears Flauros refer to Andras as "onii-chan", and immediately jumps to the conclusion that they are siblings, and not just that, but definitely blood-related. I don't see how she can be so sure when (1) it's so common for children to refer to older people, even if they are strangers, with such terms, and (2) even if they are siblings, it can be difficult to tell whether they are related by blood or by adoption. Especially if they do not resemble one another very much, as seems to be the case here, it is reasonable to consider adoption as a possibility.
Regarding the mention of chocolate: In Japan, on Valentine's Day, in addition to the romantic chocolate we're familiar with, there's also a tradition in which women also give inexpensive chocolate to male acquaintances, with no romantic intentions. This is called "giri choco", where "giri" means "courtesy" or "obligation", in contrast to "honmei choco", or chocolate "from the heart". The cynical part of me remembers that it's basically something started by some company to make more money, which caught on as a tradition. In any case, men who receive gifts of either kind are expected to give return gifts on March 14, known as White Day.
Hmm. A proprietary disc format? I suppose that's possible. I'm reminded, for instance, of PlayStation 1 (PSX) discs, which were CDs formatted in some unusual ways as copy protection. Of course, there have been many examples of special media and formats in the history of copy protection. But in any case, I don't think a special format is a particularly good security measure, especially if any normal drive is capable of reading it. In this case, Yumi's computer is able to read this "DW disc" with nothing other than special software required. This is an example of security through obscurity: assuming that some design will not be reverse engineered. It's possible, though, that DlroW's special software also implements more sound security measures, such as strong encryption, in which case the special format is not necessarily a bad thing. The real issue is reliance on obscurity as the only or main security measure. However, obscurity can be used in combination with other, more sound measures, as part of defense in depth.
There's something a little odd here, though. The disc Flauros hands to Yumi apparently has a logo on it. If you recall, though, it was given to her by LEM, i.e. a being in cyberspace. So how does that work? Did her computer burn a copy of the data? If so, why would the disc itself have a logo visible on it? It's presumably a regular medium, after all. Do Terabyte Discs and their drives include a standardized system for burning/printing labels, along the lines of systems like LightScribe, DiscT@2, LabelFlash, and/or LabelTag?
Andras really is an idiot to not figure out LEM's riddle. It's not because Flauros is particularly smart that she figured it out; I'm pretty sure most people her age could have got it, unless the educational system had dumbed them down.
#106, originally posted Aug 12 2016, 11:37 PM
Route E—Session 22, part 5: Insecurity
Yumi thinks about a possible means of communicating backward in time. Soon, she gets a call from Andras, warning about Code's plans. Later, I explore other possible choices. Ishtar expresses her body insecurity to her partner, he tries awkwardly to reassure her, and we get to see the start of the entering-the-dream sequence from HE's perspective.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
The Trinity (2)
Okay, I can accept that, at least in a symbolic way (though clearly it's not intended to be merely symbolic), the past and future eclipse videos are like retarded and advanced waves. But then, what about the middle one? What would that correspond to?
(Incidentally...this has nothing to do with I/O, but... may I just say that particle physicists come up with the strangest names for things sometimes? Just think about it: for instance there are these particles called "quarks", which come in the six "flavors" of "up", "down", "top", "bottom", "strange", and "charm". The strong interaction that holds them and gluons together also has "color charge" which are not colors at all in the sense most of us know. The time it takes for waves in the electromagnetic field to propagate from source to destination, according to Maxwell's Equations, is called the "retarded time" (from which they got "retarded" and "advanced" waves in this story). A particle interaction which propagates information is referred to as an "observation", regardless of the presence of intelligent beings or any detectors they might use. And so on.)
So wait, Andras speaks about the moon being "devoured in crimson", and he knows about the connection to IC abilities. And yet, he still couldn't figure out LEM's little riddle??! What the hell?! I don't get it.
Ahhhhh... Using the Core as a way into the government building? Does he mean physically or in network terms? And what were the details of this invasion? I mean, it's not like ordinary people aren't allowed into that building. It's the seat of the metropolitan government, and citizens have business. (In fact, there are non-government facilities there as well, including for tourism.) So, I guess it's some sort of cyberattack.
Multilayer World Hypothesis (2)
So, coming back here, I chose the other choice: "Is there no other way?" This caused Yumi's rosary to glow. But then... nothing comes of it. As she herself says, what was that? I have the feeling that may have been the ideal choice toward the good ending, but that's all I have for now.
When Ishtar is getting all flustered by HE's comments, the changes in her expression are surprisingly subtle. Mostly the mouth changes, but also the eyes and eyebrows move, ever so slightly.
"...according to the data I've accumulated..." What a heartfelt compliment, HE. /s
Okay, I can accept that, at least in a symbolic way (though clearly it's not intended to be merely symbolic), the past and future eclipse videos are like retarded and advanced waves. But then, what about the middle one? What would that correspond to?
(Incidentally...this has nothing to do with I/O, but... may I just say that particle physicists come up with the strangest names for things sometimes? Just think about it: for instance there are these particles called "quarks", which come in the six "flavors" of "up", "down", "top", "bottom", "strange", and "charm". The strong interaction that holds them and gluons together also has "color charge" which are not colors at all in the sense most of us know. The time it takes for waves in the electromagnetic field to propagate from source to destination, according to Maxwell's Equations, is called the "retarded time" (from which they got "retarded" and "advanced" waves in this story). A particle interaction which propagates information is referred to as an "observation", regardless of the presence of intelligent beings or any detectors they might use. And so on.)
So wait, Andras speaks about the moon being "devoured in crimson", and he knows about the connection to IC abilities. And yet, he still couldn't figure out LEM's little riddle??! What the hell?! I don't get it.
Ahhhhh... Using the Core as a way into the government building? Does he mean physically or in network terms? And what were the details of this invasion? I mean, it's not like ordinary people aren't allowed into that building. It's the seat of the metropolitan government, and citizens have business. (In fact, there are non-government facilities there as well, including for tourism.) So, I guess it's some sort of cyberattack.
Multilayer World Hypothesis (2)
So, coming back here, I chose the other choice: "Is there no other way?" This caused Yumi's rosary to glow. But then... nothing comes of it. As she herself says, what was that? I have the feeling that may have been the ideal choice toward the good ending, but that's all I have for now.
When Ishtar is getting all flustered by HE's comments, the changes in her expression are surprisingly subtle. Mostly the mouth changes, but also the eyes and eyebrows move, ever so slightly.
"...according to the data I've accumulated..." What a heartfelt compliment, HE. /s
Route E—Session 22 (full)
#107, originally posted Aug 29 2016, 07:36 AM
Well, I'm back after taking a couple of weeks off. Finished what I needed to do by the end of the month, and I'm ready to continue this series.
So, what did I do? I ended up recording an extremely long session this time. Why? Well, when I got into the first of the new routes, I found it was surprisingly short. Of course, I didn't want to just stop there; that would have made it a pretty short session. So, I started the second of the new routes. But it wasn't nearly as short. It went on, and on, and on. It's probably actually not a particularly long route compared to A and B, but it did fool me. I kept expecting it to end soon. I wanted to get to that ending, rather than risking stopping right before it. Eventually, I found the timer had moved passed the 3-hour mark. Still no end in sight. So I pressed on. Finally, I just couldn't stand to keep recording. So I stopped with a total recording time of 4 hours, 16 minutes! :O And that's not counting the better part of an hour I spent fruitlessly trying different combinations of choices within route E, when it turns out other routes are the key. Oh well. :D I think I learned something from that, as you will see in the notes.
Route E—Session 23, part 1: Caught
I find bad ending #3 in this route, in two different ways. Lacking all of the necessary support, we are unable to continue because a certain someone has noticed us. After that, I decide to put this route aside and move on.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
In this part, I managed to find Route:E Bad End 3. First, I did so by failing route D. Or rather, un-completing it. This resulted in Marduk catching me and putting a stop to the invasion. The "eye", which I've determined is something like the protagonists from a higher world, speculate that the missing condition is "not here- it's either in their pasts or their futures." Well, I know route D is in the future, so that makes sense. How exactly it connects to this I'm not sure. Maybe Yumi's ω consciousness finds out the passcodes and jumps into this point to enter them, or something? Presumably HE is needed to ensure she makes it. Without that consciousness, it seems that Marduk somehow finds this event and takes over Yumi's Shadow. That's still not a complete explanation, I realize.
Failing route C has very similar results. The difference is, after HE has his last dream conversation with Mutsuki (the one where she was saying, "It's okay if you don't remember, just don't forget", or something close to that), we then see what looks to be Route:C Bad End 2, but from HE's perspective. And then he logs out, and we get the same Route:E Bad End 3. That Bad End 2, if you recall, is the one where HE has seemingly defeated Enlil in the duel, Yayoi comes in and takes away the gun, and then Enlil gets up and sneak attacks, with Yayoi giving her life to shield HE; if Yumi doesn't act, she ends up killing HE anyway. Well, it sort of makes sense that she won't act if you haven't gotten to that point in route C. Hence, my hypothesis about why the first four routes are important for finishing route E.
Now, how to get that other bad ending for route E? Could it be by failing route A or B? After all, we get one by failing the future-to-past routes; so if we fail one of the past-to-future routes, we might get a different result. It's worth a try. But that will have to wait, as I already went a long way into routes C' and D'. In fact, the chart is telling me I'm close to finishing D' already. I'm guessing another half-hour to hour of reading will lead to the route D' ending. But I just couldn't stand to go on any longer than I did.
Endless Dream Tower
Mention is made of "homo sapiens sapiens". That is not an error. Modern paleoanthropologists classify modern humans as a subspecies of homo sapiens, with some fossils thought to be of ancestors (or in some cases closely related branches like neanderthals) being classified as other subspecies.
Failing route C has very similar results. The difference is, after HE has his last dream conversation with Mutsuki (the one where she was saying, "It's okay if you don't remember, just don't forget", or something close to that), we then see what looks to be Route:C Bad End 2, but from HE's perspective. And then he logs out, and we get the same Route:E Bad End 3. That Bad End 2, if you recall, is the one where HE has seemingly defeated Enlil in the duel, Yayoi comes in and takes away the gun, and then Enlil gets up and sneak attacks, with Yayoi giving her life to shield HE; if Yumi doesn't act, she ends up killing HE anyway. Well, it sort of makes sense that she won't act if you haven't gotten to that point in route C. Hence, my hypothesis about why the first four routes are important for finishing route E.
Now, how to get that other bad ending for route E? Could it be by failing route A or B? After all, we get one by failing the future-to-past routes; so if we fail one of the past-to-future routes, we might get a different result. It's worth a try. But that will have to wait, as I already went a long way into routes C' and D'. In fact, the chart is telling me I'm close to finishing D' already. I'm guessing another half-hour to hour of reading will lead to the route D' ending. But I just couldn't stand to go on any longer than I did.
Endless Dream Tower
Mention is made of "homo sapiens sapiens". That is not an error. Modern paleoanthropologists classify modern humans as a subspecies of homo sapiens, with some fossils thought to be of ancestors (or in some cases closely related branches like neanderthals) being classified as other subspecies.
#108, originally posted Aug 31 2016, 11:33 AM
Route C′—Session 23, part 2: Yumi's Crush
Yumi recalls the beginning of her feelings for Hinata and how she found out about what was happening with HE.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
-Eternal Friend-
I see Yumi's recollection of events is slightly different from how we saw it in route A. Just little details. I'm sure it's not really significant, that's just how memory tends to work.
I see Yumi's recollection of events is slightly different from how we saw it in route A. Just little details. I'm sure it's not really significant, that's just how memory tends to work.
#109, originally posted Sep 3 2016, 10:52 AM
Route C′—Session 23, part 3: Yumi's Worth
Yumi recalls the trouble she had keeping up with her sister, thinking she was worthless. Afraid that everyone would throw her away, she called up Ishtar, who reassured her.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
-One-Eyed Queen-
Yumi's mistake is an easy one to make with any filesystem with access controls. If this is a Unix type system, it most likely means Yumi didn't have write permission for that file. Maybe she forgot to assert root authority or something.
I wonder if Soyosoyo got these playing card designs from a public domain source, or if they're custom drawn. They look a bit simplified from the designs I've seen elsewhere.
Wow, that's really clever with the twins' names. I don't think I have anything interesting to add to the explanation that you can't very easily figure out just by looking at the one text box with all the kanji in it for about 10 seconds. This also reveals the significance of their handles, L and R. Just one thing I have to wonder: why did they choose such handles if they didn't know? But maybe Sami did realize it and came up with the handles on her own.
-Chance Meeting-
Well, this is unexpected. When Ishtar appears, Yumi's narration says, "It was at that time that Yumi had already begun to trust Leader." So, they already knew her? In route B, this same scene makes it seem as though this is their first meeting. Certainly, the other members of Criminal act as though that's the case. In fact, even Sami here gives no hint of already knowing her. Maybe that line was just an error? But if not, I'd like to know how they met, and whether it was just Yumi who knew her.
Or maybe I'm just reading too much into this, and she decided to trust Ishtar just from the few words she said, and the fact she didn't immediately turn them in to Cyberforce? If this is what she means, I can't tell whether she's extremely naïve or an extremely good judge of character.
Yumi's mistake is an easy one to make with any filesystem with access controls. If this is a Unix type system, it most likely means Yumi didn't have write permission for that file. Maybe she forgot to assert root authority or something.
I wonder if Soyosoyo got these playing card designs from a public domain source, or if they're custom drawn. They look a bit simplified from the designs I've seen elsewhere.
Wow, that's really clever with the twins' names. I don't think I have anything interesting to add to the explanation that you can't very easily figure out just by looking at the one text box with all the kanji in it for about 10 seconds. This also reveals the significance of their handles, L and R. Just one thing I have to wonder: why did they choose such handles if they didn't know? But maybe Sami did realize it and came up with the handles on her own.
-Chance Meeting-
Well, this is unexpected. When Ishtar appears, Yumi's narration says, "It was at that time that Yumi had already begun to trust Leader." So, they already knew her? In route B, this same scene makes it seem as though this is their first meeting. Certainly, the other members of Criminal act as though that's the case. In fact, even Sami here gives no hint of already knowing her. Maybe that line was just an error? But if not, I'd like to know how they met, and whether it was just Yumi who knew her.
Or maybe I'm just reading too much into this, and she decided to trust Ishtar just from the few words she said, and the fact she didn't immediately turn them in to Cyberforce? If this is what she means, I can't tell whether she's extremely naïve or an extremely good judge of character.
#110, originally posted Sep 7 2016, 12:19 PM
Route C′—Session 23, part 4: Thing's Unseen
Yumi remembers the time some male classmates started cruelly mocking her for her clumsiness; Sami, who always called her slow, got quite angry with them, saying she was the only one who had the right to do that. Earlier, they overhear talk about HE's deeds; Yumi believes, but Sami vehemently denies it, unlike her usual intellectual self. Even earlier, the family got a call, in which they hear of the father's death; Sami is a total wreck, but Yumi is quite detached, until one day.
Notes:
Spoiler: click to toggle
-Voice of Heaven-
Wow, what complete jerks. The sad thing about this is, when someone is told they're dumb or otherwise mentally deficient, they will start to believe it, and this can have a real effect on how well they function. Of course, at her age, she is more impressionable than an adult, so it's especially bad. (But even adults are susceptible.)
-The Emperor-
I'd like to point out that, after that talk about Sami's and Yumi's views about seen and unseen things and which they think are important, the sisters' reactions to their father's death seem the exact opposite, emotionally: Yumi is the one who has trouble accepting it. But maybe there's something deeper going on.
And later on, Yumi hears her father's voice. What is this? Did she just imagine it, or...?
Wow, what complete jerks. The sad thing about this is, when someone is told they're dumb or otherwise mentally deficient, they will start to believe it, and this can have a real effect on how well they function. Of course, at her age, she is more impressionable than an adult, so it's especially bad. (But even adults are susceptible.)
-The Emperor-
I'd like to point out that, after that talk about Sami's and Yumi's views about seen and unseen things and which they think are important, the sisters' reactions to their father's death seem the exact opposite, emotionally: Yumi is the one who has trouble accepting it. But maybe there's something deeper going on.
And later on, Yumi hears her father's voice. What is this? Did she just imagine it, or...?
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