When I first started playing Lessons in Love, I found it enrapturing to theorycraft about the three gods and Sensei's background and so on. There was just the right mix of mystery and intrigue, combined with suitably rich-feeling text, that made it feel incredibly rewarding. I am proud to say that in my day I have made no less than three insight-driven predictions that successfully foretold a future plot development or character reveal years before anyone else did, which is quite an accomplishment with so many great minds competing in the arena of this game. I imagine in these moments I felt a euphoria as great as Moonflare would feel if an update revealed Himawari's name to be Ami.
However, over time, this line of thinking has completely lost its luster to me. I find myself skimming theory posts on f95 with only minimal interest, and when my associates excitedly begin discussing the plot implications of such-and-such god making such-and-such statement in the latest update, the greatest response I can muster is a shrug and a nod.
In short, in the great words of Ahab from the previous great American novel Moby Dick:
The 'little lower layer' of visible objects has just ceased to compel or interest me whatsoever. This has, I think, only little to do with myself, and more with a purposeful transition in the presentation of the game; while Chapter 1 was a dark, brooding mystery with a plethora of shocking happy events, as of late happy events are sparing in number - often lucid in nature - while we have characters openly speaking about the abstract structure of the narrative. How in this environment am I supposed to give a single flying shit about narrative consistency and plot reveals?
Thus I find my fickle interest much more drawn to the meta-layer. I feel convinced down to my bones that there is One Singular Truth that busts this game wide open: one key insight, key concept, key foundation from which everything else was founded. There is one single box from which all the madness spews forth, and if I can find it, then everything will click into place. If I can strike through the pasteboard masks of these animal girls there will be some beating heart pumping sickly blood throughout the entire game. THAT is what catches my interest and what I find myself thinking about - for now.
And what more hilarious SINGLE TRUTH could there be then a megalomaniac so haughty that he designs a harem of himself? One who when conceiving brides plucks history and idiosyncrasies from himself? One who cackles as he woos the hearts of millions with his own mirror images? Every time someone has said 'go fuck yourself' - that he has!!!!!!
Maybe. That's what I find funny and what I find value in exploring right now, anyway.
(p.s. MASK OFF: quoting moby dick is a joke. It's a reference to the past. I hope to increase the quality of my post with running gags and callbacks which build up to a mythos we can all enjoy exploring ourselves.)
