And I saw the stars falling down...

First and foremost, just wanna say...... I was unsure if the themes of this game/story would be depicted in such a way that would be, satisfying? Like, from a cathartic, relatable, and/or thoughtful way. And I think the depiction of the themes in this story is excellently executed.

BUT NOW, SPOILERS BELOW!!!

I really enjoyed the entire game just being... absolutely jarring with its pacing, especially the beginning. ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU, Y'KNOW... replay the beginning later. Makes that whole vibe just sort of mesh together in a much more coherent way!! And, while this game doesn't exactly bring too, too much attention to the mystery of the situation, I did really, really enjoy writing down little notes along the way, in that second playthrough, about what was a lie. And the fricking snarky scene with Mayra telling the audience that their criticisms are their own criticisms and she has no responsibility to fricking care about what other people think about her and what mistakes she might've made in her life IS JUST.... SUCH A GOOD SCENE!!! FRICK WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK ABOUT YOU!!! THE BEST WE CAN DO MAY SOMETIMES LOOK LIKE NOTHING AT ALL, BUT IT'S THE BEST WE CAN DO!!!

Ultimately, I *definitely* couldn't figure out all 16 lies, but I'm glad my little speculations about Alba overall ended up being kinda right, mostly in terms of the whole "she wasn't a stranger to them, actually" part, although I certainly leaned more towards her being a liar through and through and lying about all of her unfortunate circumstances to make her situation seem much more like it was out of control, so nobody could that what happened to her was her fault. But, she sure wasn't like that, was she. Which then, of course, made the part immediately after the second read through just, SO GOOD??? JUST, RIPPING APART MAYRA APART..... ESPECIALLY WHEN THE ONES TO BLAME DIDN'T REALLY INCLUDE HER.... It was just, a cycle of abuse, perpetuated by apathy and misogyny, where the only people who could really stop it were people that were broken by abuse themselves. Many people were technically responsible, but everybody ended up blaming each other instead of owning up to their own shortcomings and abuse, alongside admitting that they just, couldn't do anything.

MAYBE THAT RAMBLY MESS IS INACCURATE, BUT THAT'S WHAT I GOT OUT OF IT, ANYWAY... I did really feel, a lot from this depiction of the aftermath of abuse and abandonment, though. Certainly I may be pretty wrong about this, but I couldn't help but attribute Alba with... BPD, just trying her best to frantically not get abandoned and be accepted by *anybody*, even if everybody around her was going to just, treat her like garbage. She just, didn't have a choice either way, anyway. That's perhaps a bit much, though, but... well, the results of abuse are pretty wide and varied, aren't they. Overall, I just think the depiction of absolutely normalized familial abuse here is, really powerful, to myself.

I think the most powerful moment, though, was... the ending!! The final act. I really don't like reading stories without some sort of hopeful outcome/relief, and... as I kept reading and reading, I was really unsure where the story was going to end. Like, abuse is abuse, and, realistically, there are many more instances of people going through it without getting help and finding relief than there are instances of people recovering from it, at least from my own perspective. I think I would've still liked everything without that last scene, but, the ending really had... a lot of power to it. Obviously, abuse is something that can stick with us through our entire lives, and it can affect everything about us, especially as we mature and become adults. Sometimes, it results in us being like Mayra, incapable of necessarily taking care of ourselves and overall feeling, hopeless to change anything or feel any real sort of happiness, but. Supporting each other and letting each other knowing that, really, the abuse we experienced isn't right and isn't our own fault for going through it is... worth a frickton. Like, not blaming yourself to being abused is, really something. It's an extremely difficult thing to accept and move along with, so I'm very glad that was the last note of the story; something really empowering and reassuring.

ONCE AGAIN, MAYBE THIS RAMBLY MESS IS MISSING THE POINT OF THE STORY, BUT... this is all mine own interpretation!! And, my view of the game/story is a very positive one, whether I fully understood the intended message or not!! Thank you for making this game!! You did an excellent job!!! And hopefully my interpretations here aren't... too evil or something, pfff.