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00:00:00Giddy up doggie!
00:00:30Sidenote, Tragedy wrote a story where her long-lost girlfriend becomes violently possessive of her and keeps her as a pet, and then unknowingly showed it to said girlfriend, so I just wanted to-
00:00:54Oh yeah, side note, Tragedy wrote a-
00:01:00Oh yeah, side note, Tragedy wrote a-
00:01:03A story where her long-lost girlfriend-
00:01:10Tragedy wrote a story where her long-lost girlfriend becomes violently possessive of her and keeps her as a pet and then unknowingly showed it to said girlfriend.
00:01:36I just wanted to share that one with the room.
00:01:40That's certainly something to come back to.
00:02:10There's a wonderful theme in Bad End Theatre, especially as the endings progress and become more and more contrived,
00:02:15that one can't dine on...
00:02:17There's a wonderful theme in Bad End Theatre, especially as the endings progress.
00:02:22I just wanted to share that one with the room.
00:02:24I just wanted to share that one with the room.
00:02:31There's a wonderful theme in Bad End Theatre, especially as the endings progress and become more and more contrived,
00:02:36that one can't dine on sadness alone.
00:02:41There's a wonderful theme in Bad End Theatre, especially as the endings progress and become more and more contrived,
00:02:48that one can't dine on sadness alone.
00:02:55Sadness and darkness and misery are nothing without joy to contrast it.
00:02:58Tragedy loves her tragic endings, but the entire point of Tragedy is that there is a hypothetical good ending
00:03:05that the characters involved that the characters involved could have reached, but didn't.
00:03:18Tragedy, what's with this one ending? I was very sexually frustrated that day. Next question.
00:03:48Tragedy, sex tapes are labeled any percent. Tragedy, sex tapes are labeled game over collections.
00:03:55Lexner, how dare you be funnier than me in my own stream?
00:03:59Even in gameplay, the novelty of bad endings is cute at first.
00:04:06But once you're trying to find the last endings to complete the game, you grow numb to it.
00:04:10You grow bored of it.
00:04:11This is something I've been ruminating on as I work on videos about other games, especially as we're in the present era of gruesomeness being in vogue.
00:04:21It speaks to why a lot of these stories leave me emotionally numb.
00:04:24I'm a survivor of extreme trauma, and one point of perspective it gives you is that what makes misery sting more
00:04:30is knowing it never had to be this way.
00:04:47Things could have gone differently. Things should have gone differently.
00:04:51The way tragedy characterizes the town folk especially speaks to a sincere and profound resentment.
00:05:00The people of her
00:05:02People of her hometown didn't need to do this to her and her
00:05:05Chosen not to do this to her and her lover.
00:05:09They chose to.
00:05:11And they could have easily chosen not to.
00:05:13They chose to.
00:05:15And tragedy dreams of living in the world where they didn't.
00:05:20What's the point in writing tragedy to invoke sadness when you're already as sad as you can possibly get?
00:05:25Bad End Theatre truly is beautiful.
00:05:28Bad End Theatre truly is beautiful.
00:05:32Bad End Theatre truly is beautiful.
00:05:35Bad End Theatre–
00:05:37Bad End Dread
00:05:41For all your tragedies
00:05:47All right, happy ending
00:05:50Until all our suffering
00:05:53I've missed you, my darling
00:05:56I've missed you, my darling
00:06:01Astros Garden is a game of-
00:06:03Oh, here we get everyone!
00:06:04Oh, here we go.
00:06:11First things first, I actually...
00:06:16Open it.
00:06:34Okay?
00:06:36Hello.
00:09:04I wonder what my sex tapes would be labeled if I had sex.
00:09:25Probably something silly and stupid like prank on parody ensues.
00:09:29Oh, they'd be labeled AI deepfake.
00:09:34Oh, they'd be labeled AI deepfake.
00:09:41I wonder what my sex could be labeled.
00:09:42Oh, they'd be labeled.
00:09:43Oh, that's the end.
00:09:45Oh.
00:09:46That was too much, I apologize.
00:10:16Aster's Garden is a game about Astragallus, an herbalist who runs a shop selling plant, an herbalist who runs a shop, an herbalist, an herbalist, an herbalist, an herbalist.
00:10:43Now to capture the deeply disturbing uncanny perfectly, Theros is still the funniest though.
00:11:25Astragallus, an herbalist who runs a shop selling plant-based medicines.
00:11:35The game cycles between a chill-out loop of tapping customers to make money and spending that money on seeds to grow into new plants.
00:11:41This cycle is used to advance the plot as each new story beat requires a certain number of each plant made.
00:11:48The story itself is actually extremely heavy as Astra deals with the recurring arcs of multiple characters.
00:11:53First, there's her brother stopping by to give her more money and throwing up increasing red flags each time.
00:11:59Then there's Astra's mother who calls up asking for her children to come visit her even though they've all been avoiding each other for years.
00:12:04Then you have Periwinkle who is here as an overworked and underpaid model looking for sleep aids.
00:12:22And lastly, you have Vinegar, a 16-year-old girl who is currently dying of a gender disorder that directly calls comparisons to ALS and Alzheimer's.
00:12:29Oh yeah, oh yeah, did I mention this game gets heavy? Because it gets fucking heavy.
00:12:33Oh yeah.
00:12:52Fucking heavy.
00:13:05Oh yeah, did I mention this game gets heavy? Because it gets fucking heavy.
00:13:10Did I mention this game gets heavy? Because it gets fucking heavy.
00:13:22All of the individual stories tie into each other.
00:13:47Cass' story carries a lot of red flags of suicide in his first few appearances, such as giving away his entire life savings to his sister.
00:13:58And then later in his story, it turns out he's not planning suicide. He's already committed it.
00:14:02Cass had come down with undeath.
00:14:05A chronic disease that slowly rots your body over time.
00:14:18It's a painful and miserable disease that strips almost any and all will to live from the people who have it.
00:14:38There's a category of disease in the real world that not only have a 100% mortality rate, but they kill their victims extremely slowly, and all their loved ones can do is watch them wither away.
00:14:49Any and all treatment is entirely focused on delaying the inevitable.
00:14:53Munchmire disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's, Tay-Sachs disease, childhood dementia, childhood dementia, yes, childhood dementia, it's a thing.
00:15:08I could go on and make you...
00:15:10See you at the next stream. See you, Kenley!
00:15:23See you, Kenley!
00:15:53See you, Kenley!
00:16:23See you, Kenley!
00:16:25See you, Kenley!
00:16:25See you, Kenley!
00:16:40See you, Kenley!
00:16:42All right.
00:17:12Oh, Munchmeyer's disease is fucking horrifying.
00:17:42All right.
00:18:12All right.
00:18:42All right.
00:19:12All right.
00:19:14All right.
00:19:16All right.
00:19:18All right.
00:19:20All right.
00:19:24All right.
00:19:30All right.
00:19:32All right.
00:19:34All right.
00:19:36All right.
00:19:38Alzheimer's
00:19:44You have a favorite Keyblade.
00:19:53Uh, Oathkeeper.
00:19:55Hay-Sack's disease.
00:20:08Hay-Sack's disease.
00:20:38Hay-Sack's disease.
00:21:08Hay-Sack's disease.
00:21:38Hay-Sack's disease.
00:22:08Hay-Sack's disease.
00:22:38Paysach's Disease, Childhood Dementia, yes, Childhood Dementia, yes, Childhood Dementia is a thing.
00:22:56I could go on and make...
00:23:01Hi everyone, I'm Samir, and this year we have something special for you.
00:23:13The Android Show, I.O. Edition.
00:23:16We hope you'll all tune in on May 13th to see what's new on Android.
00:23:19Whoa, May 13th, that's coming to the past.
00:23:31For a lot of the people who suffer from these diseases,
00:24:00it's a miserable way to live.
00:24:02That is what affected Cass, as after a while, he simply stopped taking his medicine and allowed his disease to kill him.
00:24:08His sister, and indeed the rest of his family, were severely impacted by not just his death,
00:24:12but what they perceive was him giving up.
00:24:15How could...
00:24:15Giving up.
00:24:19Giving up.
00:24:20How could he do this to us, sever...
00:24:22How could he do this to us, several characters say.
00:24:30Yeah, when I was in high school, I had to do a paper on ALS.
00:24:36It's truly an awful disease.
00:24:37When I was in the hospital, we watched a documentary about a kid with Tay-Sachs disease,
00:24:43and it showed him at different points in his life.
00:24:48So he starts out at like, you know, it's like he's two years old, he's just a normal kid,
00:24:52and then at six years old, he can't move, he can't speak,
00:24:55he has to be carried everywhere, he is not even aware of where he is,
00:25:00because he has this genetic disorder that causes fat to build up in the brain,
00:25:07and it just crushes it.
00:25:18Horrible.
00:25:18Absolutely horrible.
00:25:20Several characters say,
00:25:21Astra only really confronts this when she meets Vinegar,
00:25:23a teenager who is also suffering from the same illness.
00:25:26She makes her medicine in order to...
00:25:28She makes her medicine in order to stave off the disease, but the...
00:25:30Disease, that's awful.
00:25:33Yep.
00:25:33It is awful.
00:25:34And like, hell, I just found out about childhood dementia,
00:25:38just like, while I was writing this.
00:25:43And...
00:25:43That is the most horrible fucking thing that could ever happen.
00:25:48Like,
00:25:53And eat better.
00:25:58At one point,
00:25:59she brings up the fact that because of the medicine,
00:26:01she can't even have a soda without feeling sick.
00:26:04Astra tells...
00:26:04Astra tells her that it's unhealthy for her anyway,
00:26:07but Vinegar responds that it's her favorite drink.
00:26:09It's understated because Vinegar's 16.
00:26:12It's understated because Vinegar's 16 at this point,
00:26:15but the entire point of living is to enjoy life's little pleasures.
00:26:19So...
00:26:19College, it made me have an existential crisis.
00:26:28I know there's depression,
00:26:29but seeing people suffer from...
00:26:30Literally seeing people...
00:26:32I know there's depression,
00:26:33but seeing people...
00:26:34Having no...
00:26:35Oh, yeah.
00:26:36That's...
00:26:37That's something a lot of people don't get about depression.
00:26:40Depression is like...
00:26:41Big...
00:26:41Oftentimes, depression is when you...
00:26:44Can't get out of bed.
00:26:46Don't have the energy or will or drive to do anything.
00:27:02Yeah, if you guys want to, uh...
00:27:04Like, this section of this video gets really heavy,
00:27:06so if you dip on the stream for this point,
00:27:09I don't...
00:27:10Then I don't blame you.
00:27:11Little pleasures.
00:27:16There's entire films and games about living life to the fullest
00:27:19and enjoying everything you possibly can.
00:27:22But in Vinegar's case,
00:27:24she can't.
00:27:25Not only does her illness leave her weak and its inevitability leave her feeling hopeless,
00:27:39the medicine intended to help her
00:27:41is sapping away the last few things she gets to enjoy.
00:27:47What's she supposed to do?
00:27:48Sit in a small room and never move for as long as possible?
00:27:51Astrid doesn't really get this because as far as she's concerned,
00:27:55living as long as possible should be the goal.
00:27:57Avoiding death at all costs is what Vinegar should be doing.
00:28:00And it's easy for Astrid to have that attitude.
00:28:02She's not living with a chronic illness.
00:28:09Charlie, meet the stream for a while.
00:28:10That's okay, dementia.
00:28:12Yep, understandable.
00:28:14And she's thinking entirely on the basis of what Vinegar's family would want.
00:28:17There's an issue in healthcare where extremely elderly and frail people
00:28:20are on their last legs.
00:28:23Most doctors would think it best to give them morphine to kill the pain
00:28:26and let them go peacefully.
00:28:27But they get inundated with demands from the family to save Nana, as it were.
00:28:31And so, and so these, and so these poor people end up being
00:28:35subjected to extremely painful and invasive procedures
00:28:41to wring every last minute possible out of their frail
00:28:45to wring every last minute possible
00:28:47to wring
00:28:48every last minute possible
00:28:51out of their failing body.
00:28:52Their loved ones cause them unimaginable pain
00:28:58because they're more concerned with getting more time
00:29:06and keeping them alive for longer.
00:29:09I understand that people have to accept death on their own schedule,
00:29:12but it's a very selfish way to love someone.
00:29:14Astra is overcompensating for what she believes
00:29:17is her brother giving up by pushing Vinegar
00:29:21to fight as hard and as long as possible
00:29:23and to ignore the fact that doing so leads to nothing but misery.
00:29:37It's hard to see the point in the living as long as I can
00:29:40when I know every second of it's going to happen.
00:29:45I'm going to have to redo that.
00:29:51As long as I can.
00:30:19when I know every second of it's hard to see the point in living as long as I can
00:30:27when I know every second of it's going to be excruciating.
00:30:33Vinegar, you can't think like that.
00:30:39Could you stop telling me what to do?
00:30:42You always talk like you know so much, but you never had to live with what I do.
00:30:46No one knows what this is like. You can't even imagine.
00:30:49You feel sorry for me, but you feel sorry for me, but it's not actually your problem.
00:30:57I need the actual. Oh, I already have it loaded. What the fuck am I doing?
00:31:19I need the actual.
00:31:21I need the actual.
00:31:25.
00:31:25.
00:33:05As long as I can when I know every second of it.
00:33:07Vinegar, you can't think like that.
00:33:14Vinegar, you can't think like that.
00:33:35Could you stop telling me what to do?
00:33:37You always talk like you know so much, but you know-
00:33:44This is the hardest part of any of these- I don't know why I keep putting myself through this.
00:33:52But you never had to live with what I do.
00:33:54No one knows what this is like.
00:33:58No one knows what this is like.
00:34:00You can't even imagine. You feel sorry for me, but it's not actually-
00:34:04You feel sorry for me, but it's not actually your problem.
00:34:22You feel sorry for me, but it's not actually your problem.
00:34:32You feel-
00:34:42But it's not actually your problem.
00:34:44It's only been a couple of months-
00:34:48It's only been a couple of months from my-
00:34:50It's only been a couple of months from my-
00:34:52It's only been a couple of months from my skin's already falling off-
00:34:54In some places.
00:34:56That's what I have to look forward to.
00:34:58My skin's already falling off the bone in some places.
00:35:00That's what I have to look forward to when I get up every morning.
00:35:16If I can-
00:35:18If I can even get up at all.
00:35:20If I can even get up at all.
00:35:24Don't give up.
00:35:25Yeah, more like good luck with your suffering.
00:35:51Thanks, I really needed to hear that.
00:35:53You're trying to help me, I know.
00:35:55But expecting so much out of me only makes me feel worse.
00:36:07Oh god, vinegar makes me cry in this every time.
00:36:19I apologize for my-
00:36:21I apologize for my terrible vinegar voice.
00:36:23I apologize for my terrible vinegar voice.
00:36:25I apologize for my terrible vinegar voice.
00:36:27I apologize for my terrible vinegar voice.
00:36:29This is an especially difficult thing for people to accept, because no matter which way you try to explain it,
00:36:31it's one of those things that just always feels incorrect.
00:36:35It feels like giving up.
00:36:37It feels like giving up.
00:36:39It feels like giving up.
00:36:41It feels like endorsing suicide.
00:36:43Even if it's, in reality, none of those things.
00:36:45I don't know if it's, in reality, none of those things.
00:36:49It feels like giving up.
00:36:51It feels like giving up.
00:36:53It feels like giving up.
00:36:55way you try to explain it, it's one of those things that just always feels incorrect.
00:37:02It feels like giving up. It feels like defeatism. It feels like endorsing suicide. Even if it's,
00:37:09in reality, none of those things.
00:37:15You can't escape that nascent feeling. I feel like I find a lot of people have a hard time
00:37:20differentiating. I find a lot of people have a hard time differentiating between what's good
00:37:32and what feels like doing good. Thankfully, talking to Vinegar is a different experience to Cass.
00:37:42Cass kept everyone's spirits up, joking and laughing and hiding how much he was suffering
00:37:46until he couldn't anymore. Vinegar is hopeless and nihilistic and miserable, and she makes no
00:37:51effort to hide how much pain and suffering she's in. And Astra has to realize that this is how
00:37:55Cass really felt the entire time. Astra got into medicine in the hopes of being able to help her
00:38:00brother. And then her brother died, and she pivoted to trying to help people. And then her brother died,
00:38:06and she pivoted to trying to help other people.
00:38:10Other people.
00:38:10Unfortunately, she can't help vinegar, because there isn't a pill or powder in the world that
00:38:18can replace the will to live. But she can't help one person. But she can't help one person.
00:38:29Perry Winkle appears. He can't help one person. Perry Winkle appears throughout parts of the story
00:38:33disconnected from the grief. He comes in looking for sleep aids. He comes in looking for sleep aids
00:38:38because he's having trouble getting good rest.
00:38:41It becomes clear that what's really hurting him is stress.
00:38:48He doesn't have a stable place to live, and he works a modeling job that is only just starting
00:38:51to pay him decent money. Unlike Vinegar, Astra notices immediately that medicine is what Perry
00:38:55Winkle needs. Then, on a sheer stroke of dumb luck, the shop is reeking of lich's bane, and
00:39:00Perry Winkle casts an aroma spell to get rid of it. Being able to make sense with magic is rare,
00:39:04and those who do it are often making aromas that are too overpowering. But Perry Winkle makes
00:39:08aromas that are extremely pleasant, and so Astra offers to buy perfumes for-
00:39:11for- and so Astra offers to buy perfumes from him to resell.
00:39:18Pleasant. And so Astra offers to buy perfumes from him to resell.
00:39:21Peri Winkle makes aromas that are too overpowering. The Perry Winkle makes aromas that are too overpowering.
00:39:37Peri Winkle makes aromas that are too overpowering. But Peri Winkle makes aromas that are too overpowering.
00:39:42Peri Winkle makes aromas that are too overpowering. But Peri Winkle makes aromas that are too overpowering.
00:39:46Peri Winkle makes aromas that are too overpowering. But Peri Winkle makes aromas that are too overpowering.
00:39:48Peri Winkle makes aromas that are too overpowering. But Peri Winkle makes aromas that are too overpowering.
00:39:50Peri Winkle makes aromas that are too overpowering. But Peri Winkle makes aromas that are too overpowering.
00:39:52Peri Winkle makes aromas that are too overpowering. Then on a sheer stroke of dumb luck, the shop is reeking of lich's bane, and Peri Winkle casts an aroma spell to get rid of it.
00:39:54Periwinkle casts an aroma spell to get rid of it.
00:39:56Being able to make sense with magic is rare,
00:39:58and those who do it are often making aromas that are...
00:40:00...
00:40:01...
00:40:01...
00:40:03...
00:40:04...
00:40:05...
00:40:05...
00:40:06...
00:40:06...
00:40:07...
00:40:08...
00:40:12...
00:40:13...
00:40:14...
00:40:15...
00:40:16...
00:40:17...
00:40:18...
00:40:19...
00:40:20...
00:40:22...
00:40:23...
00:40:26...
00:40:27...
00:40:31...
00:40:33...
00:40:36...
00:40:36...
00:40:37...
00:40:39Her logic being that perfumes and other kinds of homeopathic medicine are for healing the soul rather than the body.
00:40:45Oh, this is why the dr-
00:40:47Oh, this is why drugstores sell makeup.
00:41:09Oh, this is why drugstores sell makeup.
00:41:39Oh, this is why drugstores sell makeup.
00:41:49Oh, this is why drugstores sell makeup.
00:41:59Oh, this is why drugstores sell makeup.
00:42:07Oh, this is why drugstores sell makeup.
00:42:17Oh, this is why drugstores sell makeup.
00:42:27Oh, this is why drugstores sell makeup.
00:42:37Oh, this is why drugstores sell makeup.
00:42:47After having many calls with her mother and avoiding visiting her, Astra and her mother finally sort out their grief over Cass, and Astra ends the story by going home for the holidays.
00:43:17Astra's garden does not pull its punches on chronic illness and quality of life, and it even manages to approach the emotionally raw subject of how a chronically ill person's loved ones can often create more stress than the illness itself.
00:43:27It's like when a suicidal person is told that suicide is selfish because of what it does to their loved ones.
00:43:37You're telling someone who already hates themselves and their life and their life that they're selfish.
00:43:53Which is like trying to douse a fire with gasoline.
00:44:11Vinegar makes the point better than anyone can.
00:44:14Astra's not the one who has to live with it.
00:44:16She is.
00:44:18At first glance, Periwinkle feels like he stands out, as he's completely disconnected from everything else.
00:44:23Cass, the calls with Astra's mother, and Vinegar all cover the same story.
00:44:26But Periwinkle is what dots the I's and crosses the T's of that story by discussing healing the soul and the importance of quality of life.
00:44:33He shows up in a state of abject misery.
00:44:36He shows up in a state of abject misery.
00:44:41He and Astro who benefits the calls with Astra's mother and Vinegar all cover the same story.
00:44:59But Periwinkle is what dots the I's and crosses the T's of that story.
00:45:07But Periwinkle is what dots the I's and crosses the T's of that story by discussing healing the soul and the importance of quality of life.
00:45:34He shows up in a state of abject misery, and he and Astra both end the story smiling.
00:45:39He also adds a level of- he also adds a certain degree of levity that keeps the game from-
00:45:43He also adds a certain degree of levity that keeps the game from getting too crushingly bleak and sad, which helps that sadness really sink in and be more effective.
00:45:51Astra's Garden is wonderful.
00:45:54It's w- it-
00:45:55It's one that makes me seriously re-
00:45:58It's one that makes me seriously reconsider what I'd call Nami's best game, because it's just that good.
00:46:04It's also probably one of the heaviest games I've ever played, because it deals with some very uncomfortable material that many people quite justifiably don't want to deal with or think about.
00:46:13It's a story that is going to make you weep like a baby, and at the end, though Astra's happy and moving into a better stage of her life, you, the player, are going to be left with something very harsh to think about.
00:46:22Heartache, heartache, my loving you meant only heartache.
00:46:44Heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache, heartache
00:47:14I'm
00:47:44I'm Kevin Hart. I'm Kevin Hart. I'm Kevin Hart. I love acting, but my true calling is playing a new puzzle game, Royal Kingdom. That's why I started the Kevin Hart school of acting like Kevin Hart. Stay on that side. Stay on that side. So more people can actually take my roles and I can play more Royal Kingdom. There's no ads. And no ads. And you don't need Wi-Fi. And you don't need Wi-Fi. No, that's what I'm telling you. They made a lot of progress to get me my Royal Kingdom time. And I think they're ready. My name is Kevin Hart. I'm finally living my dream.
00:48:14Magic is really good at doing big sweeping things, which makes it very susceptible to being overpowering. The magic residue in Butterscotch is candy and typical Aero magic. Also makes sense why Vinegar is able to split her body and soul together, but isn't able to adjust the smell.
00:48:27tether between the two and Vinegar's body being burdened with all her senses, good and bad, while her soul can't feel it.
00:48:34Well, you see, that's admittedly a big part of the problem.
00:48:48Vinegar can certainly extract, like, Vinegar leaving part of her soul in her body was deliberate.
00:48:53Because, uh, without another body to put her soul into, if she extracts her soul, she just dies.
00:49:03And her soul goes on to the afterlife, which is what she's trying to avoid.
00:49:23And her soul is powerful.
00:49:25She doesn't have any way to put her soul into it, because she can't speak to her.
00:49:28She's trying to avoid the soul of her soul.
00:49:29And she's trying to avoid it.
00:49:30And I think, too, is what she's trying to avoid this.
00:49:35She's trying to avoid it.
00:49:36She's trying to avoid it.
00:49:44And we'll see you.
00:49:45She's trying to avoid it.
00:49:46She's trying to avoid it.
00:49:46She's trying to avoid things and then go look at it.
00:51:11Coast is clear.
00:51:11Yeah, coast is clear.
00:51:12The dimension one's up.
00:51:19Come on.
00:51:31Come on.
00:52:01Thank you for helping me get through.
00:52:15You're welcome.
00:52:16You're welcome.
00:52:46I have over what's happening.
00:53:15Oh, I have to, uh, I, I open every one of these with the, I open every one of these with
00:53:26a, uh, thing about, wait, I open every one of these with the intro, so I need to get
00:53:32a long enough recording of the long enough recording of the intro.
00:53:37Please don't crash.
00:53:38Please don't crash.
00:53:39Please don't crash.
00:53:39Please don't crash.
00:53:40Please don't crash.
00:53:44I'm hoping if I just let it sit for a minute, then it'll just, it'll figure out what it's,
00:53:49what it's trying to process and, okay, I'm going to give this a minute and I'll be right back.
00:54:13And I'm going to just go AFK and I'll be right back.
01:05:48Fucking bitch.
01:05:57Though it's beneficial to Astra, she tangibly improves the life of at least one of the people who walk into her shop,
01:06:03and in doing so, finds a way to improve the lives of others.
01:06:06By the end of the story, after having many calls with her mother and avoiding visiting her,
01:06:10Astra and her mother finally sort out their grief over Cass, and Astra ends the story by going home for the holidays.
01:06:15Astra's garden does not pull its punches on chronic illness and quality of life,
01:06:20and it even manages to approach the emotionally raw subject of how a chronically ill person's loved ones can often create more stress than the illness itself.
01:06:27It's like when a suicidal person is told that suicide is selfish because of what it does to their loved ones.
01:06:32You're telling someone who already hates themselves and their life that they're selfish,
01:06:37which is like trying to douse a fire with gasoline.
01:06:39Vinegar makes the point better than anyone can. Astra's not the one who has to live with it. She is.
01:06:43At first glance, Periwinkle feels like he stands out, as he's completely disconnected from everything else.
01:06:48Cass, the calls with Astra's mother, and Vinegar all cover the same story,
01:06:51but Periwinkle is what dots the I's and crosses the T's of that story by discussing healing the soul and the importance of quality of life.
01:06:58He shows up in a state of abject misery.
01:07:02He shows up in a state of abject misery.
01:07:04Both end the story smiling.
01:07:06He also adds a level of...
01:07:07He also adds a certain degree of levity that keeps...
01:07:09...of levity that keeps the game from getting too crushingly bleak and sad,
01:07:14which helps that sadness really sink in and be more effective.
01:07:17Astra's garden is wonderful.
01:07:18It's one that makes me seriously reconsider what I'd call Nami's best game, because it's just that good.
01:07:30It's also probably one of the heaviest games I've ever played,
01:07:32because it deals with some very uncomfortable material that many people quite justifiably don't want to deal with or think about.
01:07:38It's a story that is going to make you weep like a baby,
01:07:41and at the end, though Astra's happy and moving into a better stage of her life,
01:07:44you, the player, are going to be left with something very harsh to think about.
01:07:48...
01:07:50heartache, heartache, my loving you met only heartache,
01:08:14Your kiss was such a sacred thing to me
01:08:20I can't believe it's just a burning memory