Ren'Py Lessons in Love [v0.55.0] [Selebus]

[DeSkel15]

What I'm wondering is.

At first everything seemed like a game, if Sensei breaks, die or even if he's not doing what he's meant to, everything goes back to the first reset, the summer one, with him waking up in class with Ami, having been reset like the rest of the characters except Maya.

Maya then was the only one who was aware of the world and in her own words she was the unluckiest person in the world, (something she repeated several times later) so everything seemed like a kind of punishment for her who had to live for so many years in that infinite loop.
From the beginning the game has always revolved around Sensei, but it seemed to me that it revolved around Maya too.

So now, if Maya has been reset, isn't that in some way a liberation for her? It is true that the personality forged over hundreds of years will no longer be there, but it is still her, and given the choice, it would have been worse if she had to face another reset being alone again, after having advanced so much.

And also, what would happen now if Sensei breaks for some reason?
Ayane could be the one to replace Maya, but it wouldn't make much sense because she doesn't have the keys to Akira's past, it would be impossible for her to keep him safe.
It could be Akira just trying to get Maya back, but he doesn't seem like the person with the most will in the world to carry out such a mission through hundreds of years of resets.
Could be Maya again, but it also took her too many years to learn everything necessary about this world to be able to moderately guide Sensei, having reset her before would seem rather reckless then, unless her memories are not lost forever.

I definitely think it's been implied that the world revolved around Maya and Sensei. Maya even noted that it was their world:

Spoiler

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During the first Reset. Whether or not that's actually true, remains to be seen though.

As for who might be the new "Maya", well, the only real option seems to be Sekai.. Not only has it been implied that she helped Sensei survive the 5th Reset:

Spoiler

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Sekai also seems to be trying to guide Sensei:

Spoiler

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Implying she knows how things work.

Of course, Ayane with help from The Shapeshifter may prove useful, but I dont think she's cut out for the scary parts of the world. Not even sure if she's aware of Sensei's "Happy Events" outside of Resets.

Then there's Nodoka. Nodoka seems to love Sensei:

Spoiler

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She's also one of the only characters that seems to know things, and be capable of handling this world's insanity. She's also seemed to have been preparing herself for the role of serving Sensei, if her recent Nun uniform is any indication.

Assuming there is some connection between Sekai and Nodoka, we might be looking at who Sensei will be relying on in Maya's absence. There's also Ami, but who really knows what's going on there. The Ami we know might be as gone as Maya.

Also, although Yasu seems to know things, after how she acted last update, it's rather clear she'll never be on Sensei's side. He's simply a means to an end for her god in her eyes.

 

[DeSkel15]

Random, but I think this may have been the first time Yasu managed to piss me off the entire game:

Spoiler

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I mean, I'm not surprised, but something about her saying this while Sensei is asking for help...

Yasu showed absolutely no compassion, and Sensei has never given her a reason to be so cold as far as I can tell. He even seemed to have been placing his trust in her by this point:

Spoiler

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For all the good it did.

No wonder she seems to serve the Callous god.

 

[Bingoogus]

Random, but I think this may have been the first time Yasu managed to piss me off the entire game:

Spoiler

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I mean, I'm not surprised, but something about her saying this while Sensei is asking for help...

Yasu showed absolutely no compassion, and Sensei has never given her a reason to be so cold as far as I can tell. He even seemed to have been placing his trust in her by this point:

Spoiler

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For all the good it did.

No wonder she seems to serve the Callous god.

Don't forget that Yasu tends to be little more than a parrot for Hope, she just repeats what she's told to say and seemingly has no thoughts whilst repeating the words as she usually snaps out of it and acts confused, so i'd be inclined... actually, very inclined to assume that flippant dismissal was Hope, not Yasu speaking.

 

[DeSkel15]

Don't forget that Yasu tends to be little more than a parrot for Hope, she just repeats what she's told to say and seemingly has no thoughts whilst repeating the words as she usually snaps out of it and acts confused, so i'd be inclined... actually, very inclined to assume that flippant dismissal was Hope, not Yasu speaking.

Yasu wasn't confused this time though. She didn't even seem to act surprised.

This seems to simply be Yasu speaking.

 

[DeSkel15]

Usually it's rather clear when Yasu isn't in control:

Spoiler

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This time however, she seemed to even refer to Sensei by a nickname:

Spoiler

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Even noting she's made happy memories:

Spoiler

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As much as I don't like it, this really did seem to simply be Yasu speaking.

 

[DeSkel15]

This does make me wonder though.. considering how casually Yasu tossed Sensei away, even if he survives the reset, is Sensei the "chosen" one still? Or has he lost that privilege?

Yasu seemed to make it clear that he had nothing left to offer her. His light had burnt out:

Spoiler

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Although the "light could come back" apparently.

Still, what exactly is Sensei without the "light"?...

 

[Warmage40]

I haven't played the update yet, but from the pictures you've posted, Selebus has a liking for Honkai Star Rails.

Molly as Silver Wolf
Yasu as Clara and there was a mention of March 7th

 

[Bingoogus]

This does make me wonder though.. considering how casually Yasu tossed Sensei away, even if he survives the reset, is Sensei the "chosen" one still? Or has he lost that privilege?

Yasu seemed to make it clear that he had nothing left to offer her. His light had burnt out:

Spoiler

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Although the "light could come back" apparently.

Still, what exactly is Sensei without the "light"?...

I dunno man, you could be right, you could be wrong, i'm very public about how crap i am at this stuff, my stance is just that Yasu is a total head case and a lot of people were acting out of sorts at that party, Yasu hears whispers/voices and is extremely weak willed, she's Leto II without the ego-memory council, at the mercy of either her hallucinations or the influence of otherworldly beings, i just don't think we can ever be sure wtf is Yasu herself and what is the mental illness and what is the god bullshit so i just never really take anything she says seriously, certainly not enough to be pissed at her, girl 100% belongs in a psychiatric hospital so i don't ever judge anything she says or does, for me she's just a pity sponge who's occasionally funny, usually unintentionally.

 

[fdsasdf_p]

Hopefully this is somewhat helpful to anyone stuck their hot pots

The first 7 ingredients are the one needed; you have to keep a mental record yourself of what you've added.
1-Call FoodCo and wait for delivery
2-freezer
3-lower left cabin
4-lower right cabin
5-fridge
6-vent
7-on the floor among rest of the red herring fish (LOL literally)

After adding all 7 the finishing the pot option will appear. Still use puzzle guide provided here as the paths to get all of them are convoluted.

 

[Angra Shadow]

I finally finished the update yesterday.

Honestly, I've been dreading this update for a while. Not because I was scared of what horrible things will happen in the story, but because I was worried that Sel wouldn't deliver after all this build up and it would just be another bark and no bite, which would have killed all my remaining investment in this story.

For most of the update, my worries were being more and more confirmed, even the Happy Event wasn't anything to write home about, and the reset was about what you would expect from one. But then in the literal last minute he actually managed to save it with that recontextualization and payoff, it has to be my favorite scene in LiL because of the way it was done. It restored my faith in the story, and even fixed some of my issues with Ch2's ending as it's much more powerful for Maya to have agency and make the choice herself, even if I still think the fake-out as a whole was unnecessary.

All in all, Sel cooked.

 

[Ern The Skáld]

A couple of thoughts on the newest release.

As usual, all is Spoilered for the ease of reading.

Key points for me:

Spoiler: The party

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Spoiler: The Sana situation

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Spoiler: Ayane

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Spoiler: Paper City

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Spoiler: Maya dialogue pre-reset

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Spoiler: Maya.

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Spoiler: Minor points about everything else:

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I'm not making any predictions for what comes next. I just don't want to. I will just disctract myself with work and some Diablo IV until the wait is over. I think I won't even look at the previews as they roll out. That was extremely emotionally taxing, I had to go get a drink like half a scene in and finished a bottle of whiskey by the end of it.

 

[crustlord12]

A couple of thoughts on the newest release.

I think you summed up how I felt better than I could have. I agree with all your takes (though Maya didn't hit me nearly as hard as it seems to have hit everyone else, I'm just really excited to see where this new development takes Akira. Time for some real big character pain and growth.)

 

[barglenarglezous]

I've tried to be cautious, tried not to jump the gun, be patient and wait for further developments but i just can't shake it, i can't see any path away from this one and back to the old one... i am deflated after this last update and i am pretty much convinced this is a repeat of SO fucking things up by changing characters too much to the point where all previous attachments felt hollow.

The big difference for me is that SO did this out of the blue, no foreshadowing, and there was no real purpose behind it, and a lot of plot threads just vanished afterwards.

We had a full chapter and a half of foreshadowing about this happening to Maya. It's pretty clear it's a centerpiece of the plot, it's not something that's happening simply for the sake of having it happen.

 

[fdsasdf_p]

I've definitely been thinking similar about New Maya. She is going to have one hell of a time because:

Spoiler

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This is something I was pondering as well: what does a hard reset look like for someone that's not the protagonist? For Sensei it's understandable, like playing the game with a fresh save where you start with absolutely nothing. But what does it mean if a similar thing has to happen on a non-MC character?

1. Complete wipe in memory like how Sensei started but the rest remains absolutely the same?
- This direction would be strange as the roles of the lost lamb and the beacon reverse, and undoubtfully creating confusion among her friends.

2. Complete wipe in memory and all progresses go back to Ch1 level?
- This is more likely than (1), as this shoves Sensei into the exact same shoes Maya was in for a gazillion years

3. Replace the current Maya with a pre-reset Maya (maybe with a personality close to what we've seen in Baby Finches), and everything else remains absolutely the same?
- This is also likely. I can see this world using its unexplainable, unreasonable, and extremely convenient magic to move Maya into the same pool most love-drunk girls are in, while manipulating everyone else's memory to solve any cognitive conflict on perceiving Maya's original personalities. Basically, Maya will be downgraded so much that she becomes just another potential notch on the belt.
- This is probably the most likely as I AM NOT WILLING TO LOSE ANY OF MY PROGRESS WITH ANYONE FUCK U SELLY!

4. Replace the current Maya with a pre-reset Maya and all progresses go back to Ch1 level?
- This would be very close to "if none of these fuckery happened and Maya just progressed with Sensei normally" (at least from Maya's perspective)

5. A complete deletion of this character? Like how Sensei thought Ayane was gonna be during the 3rd reset.
- Again, FUCK U SELLY if you dare to go this route.

I don't have answers!

 

[k1n5l4y3r]

There is a hint that maybe other girls, not only Maya, who will be partially reset or otherwise lore changed since there will be new designs and even a couple substantial design changes. That may or may not bring changes to the universe, I don't know what kind of changes, but I can speculate a few:
-Noriko and Maya never met.
-Ami, Ayane and Maya are not best friends.
-Maya is one of the maids in the café.
-Maybe something changes in other girls lore.
-Sekai becomes more prominent in Kaori, changing her hair color or eye color.

 

[barglenarglezous]

I don't have answers!

The most likely is that she'll wake up as if its the start of it all, in her Baby Finches personality, with no memory of anything that has tranpsired since the time loop began -- essentially an inverse of how the game started. the rest of the game will be Sensei helping her remember who she is, possibly through several resets, inverting their respective roles form the beginning of the game.

And I suspect the true ending at the end of it all will be this Sensei becoming lost once again, a season or two after Maya finds herself again.

They are, after all, Vega and Altair, ships passing in the night, only allowed to be together for the briefest of intervals before being separated by the sea of stars once again.

 

[barglenarglezous]

There is a hint that maybe other girls, not only Maya, who will be partially reset or otherwise lore changed since there will be new designs and even a couple substantial design changes. That may or may not bring changes to the universe, I don't know what kind of changes, but I can speculate a few:

To be clear -- lots of characters got redesigns going into chapter 3. Rin's was the most dramatic. It wasn't a plot change -- it was siimply "she changed her style."

Teenage girls do that. A lot.

"Substantial design changes" could mean something as simple as "All that time Futaba's spent in the gym has finally paid off and she's now got a slimmer character model" or "Ami finally starts puberty"

 

[AgumenticR]

My personal bet all the way back in the end of Chapter 2 was "Maya vanishes from the world and everyone's memories, but then suddenly a completely normal school girl Maya Makinami transfers into Sensei's class". That would have some interesting consequences to relationships, though.

 

[DeSkel15]

This is something I was pondering as well: what does a hard reset look like for someone that's not the protagonist? For Sensei it's understandable, like playing the game with a fresh save where you start with absolutely nothing. But what does it mean if a similar thing has to happen on a non-MC character?

1. Complete wipe in memory like how Sensei started but the rest remains absolutely the same?
- This direction would be strange as the roles of the lost lamb and the beacon reverse, and undoubtfully creating confusion among her friends.

2. Complete wipe in memory and all progresses go back to Ch1 level?
- This is more likely than (1), as this shoves Sensei into the exact same shoes Maya was in for a gazillion years

3. Replace the current Maya with a pre-reset Maya (maybe with a personality close to what we've seen in Baby Finches), and everything else remains absolutely the same?
- This is also likely. I can see this world using its unexplainable, unreasonable, and extremely convenient magic to move Maya into the same pool most love-drunk girls are in, while manipulating everyone else's memory to solve any cognitive conflict on perceiving Maya's original personalities. Basically, Maya will be downgraded so much that she becomes just another potential notch on the belt.
- This is probably the most likely as I AM NOT WILLING TO LOSE ANY OF MY PROGRESS WITH ANYONE FUCK U SELLY!

4. Replace the current Maya with a pre-reset Maya and all progresses go back to Ch1 level?
- This would be very close to "if none of these fuckery happened and Maya just progressed with Sensei normally" (at least from Maya's perspective)

5. A complete deletion of this character? Like how Sensei thought Ayane was gonna be during the 3rd reset.
- Again, FUCK U SELLY if you dare to go this route.

I don't have answers!

Personally, I'm thinking 3 is the most likely outcome, and the most entertaining.

I think 1 is more Sensei specific. It's likely not really the Resets fault Sensei starts off amnesiac. Based off how everyone that knows him, reacts to him, and the background info we've gotten, Sensei's memories and mind was a mess years before the Resets even happened. Same with the blackouts, hallucinations, and stuff. Ami, Sensei, Sana, Sara, etc, all seemed to have mental issues due to losing loved ones, before the Resets. Most of these girls seemed to have issues long before the Resets. Tsuneyo on the other hand, I'm not so sure.

2, 4, and 5, all seem like it'd be a waste of potential and a good way to make people lose interest, so I'm hoping Sel realizes that.

 

[wamzzz]

I don't think it'll happen because it doesn't quite make sense lore-wise and it would likely wear out its welcome. A very peppy and happy-go-lucky Maya would be either terrifying or hilarious to me. Definitely terrifying for Sensei and Ayane though.

I have a feeling she'll most likely be the Baby Finches Maya with the world doing its standard memory fuckery to make the other girls accept it.