Media Journal

I saw some other sites with media logs, and decided I'd like to make one too! I'll be making notes on my thoughts of the things I watch/play/read/etc. each day, and then posting those here as logs.

Expect some amount of incoherence and rambling below. I also likely won't be marking spoilers, so be warned!

Entries are arranged newest-oldest.

I watched the final 2 episodes of Oxventure: Deadlands today! My sibling’s birthday is coming up, so I'm drawing fanart of it for their card.

Anyways, the finale was great! The final battles were especially tense.

Nate's challenge was heart wrenching, and Edie’s was truly horrifying… Also loved the continuing horses gag, it was really nice to have the whole team back in one episode again.

Season 2 is apparently coming up soon, my sibling’s excited for it and I'll probably be following along too.

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I've read half the first volume of Witch Hat Atelier! The story and world so far is intriguing and the art is gorgeous, but I guess I don't feel in that much of a reading mood.

I've been trying to pick up a new graphic novel from the library every week or two, partly just to give myself a reason to leave the house with some regularity.

I kind of wish I could be more invested in the books I read. Maybe it's because I'm reading them pretty casually, but I don't think I've really gotten attached to anything I've read lately. Even if I spend my whole time reading in awe of the craft, artstyle storytelling… It feels like they don't really stick with me afterwards, and I'm kind of sad about that.

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I've continued to slowly work my way through the main story of Infinity Nikki, and to neglect the current event quest while I do so!!

I got through Chapter 5 today, concluding the Piecey storyline! I’ve enjoyed learning about the Pieceys and their socioeconomic inequality filled lore, although I get a bit bored of all the conversations sometimes.

I'll finally be going to the Wishing Woods soon, which is good cause I've heard there's some game features I can unlock there that I've been wanting for a while (makeup store, weekly domain for outfit evolution materials, merchant to trade duplicates to).

However, I would really like to explore Stonewoods & The Abandoned District more fully before I go after it, and defeat the Sovereign Of Sexy. Also, I should probably get caught up on the event quest first!

It's going to be weird to hit complete endgame content soon enough. Maybe then I'll finally remember to get back to watching Evangelion…

But there's still plenty to explore in Infinity Nikki right now, and I'm having a great time doing just that :D

March 10

I've been listening to a bunch of Oxventure: Deadlands while working on a sculpting project, I've been enjoying it! I'm on episode 8, where my little sibling’s favorite character is introduced. There's been a lot of fun moments in this one, a fair is a great setting for things like that. Also Delacey’s gotten another mentor figure, which is always great! And the guest player is really fun.

March 7

I wasn't sure if I'd count this cause I haven't been recording YouTube videos so far, but I've been listening to the start of Oxventure: Deadlands (A TTRPG actual play series) for my little sibling and I've been really enjoying it so far!

I just finished episode 3 and the drama’s been great, especially with how episode 2 ended- I wasn't expecting to be so engaged!

I really like Luke’s acting as Delacey, he really does feel like a kid. I like how he's often shown to look to the others to learn things, and his funny mix of overconfidence / bluster and actual ridiculous amounts of skill.

I’ll watch episode 4 soon, I'm having a good time so far and it's nice to have more things to talk to my sibling about :D

2025, March 5

This is the 20th log, that's a nice milestone!

Today I read The Daughters of Ys by M.T Anderson & Jo Rioux. The art is really lovely! There's an excellent feel of motion throughout, especially with the water, hair, and Dahut’s dresses. The stylization really works well for this kind of dark fairytale, and once again there’s a lot here I'd like to study for my own work.

I wish I could go more in detail but I can't think of a lot of words right now. I just really love visual art so very much.

2025, March 4

Oops it's been a bit. I haven't been in the mood to do anything other than play Infinity Nikki this past week so I didn't feel like I had a whole lot to report, but since I don't want this journal to feel neglected I'll go ahead and talk about that anyways.

A lot of what I've done has just been tying up loose ends in the earlier zones before I moved forward in the story to Stoneville. I've been completing quests, getting all the sketches I can from chests, getting materials to craft outfits, and taking photos for the sightseeing book. It's been nice, very chill!

I have been ignoring the current main event, because I haven't been in much of a narrative mood and wanted to focus on moving forward in the main story. It looks neat though, I'll try and get around to playing it before the event ends!

I have been playing the bullquett event, since it's smaller and seems less narrative intensive. I hear that this is sort of a preview for a future dying system? I'm not sure how the mechanics are going to translate but I'm looking forward to being able to customize pieces better! I wonder how that's going to work with Evolutions, though?

Oh yeah, today I finally went to Stoneville!! I love the lavender fields, and the added fantastical feel the stone trees bring to the landscape.

I'm also very happy to have some more purple clothes, I made Nikki an all purple outfit for the occasion and it's so cute I'm in love. And there's also a full purple set I can get by completing style challenges, I'm really looking forward to that!

I also got the gliding outfit today, and I’m excited to continue exploring the Abandoned District tomorrow. I'll probably report back, if I have more thoughts.

When I first started playing Infinity Nikki I was a bit uncertain about playing a game that'd make me log in every day, since I know from past games that the FOMO can be annoying and it can make it harder to get into other games. That's still something I'm a bit concerned by, so I'm going to try and keep my eye on myself and make sure I'm actually playing this game for fun

All that said, it could be nice to have a chill game like this to play consistently. Variety is very important to me, but I think playing too many games or consuming too many different types of media too quickly can get overwhelming for me, and it makes me feel inconsistent in a way I don't like.

It's hard, cause I wish I could see all the art there is in the world. But that's impossible, I only have my one life and my one perspective. In the end, my life is made up of a series of choices of what I'll do and that can't be everything.

And it's nice to know I'll always have more to see, right?

So what I'm saying is… quality over quantity, I guess. Variety is still great, and I want to see a lot of art made by a lot of artists. But it's okay to linger in one thing, and take things at my own pace.

Anyways non sequitur: Evangelion! I should probably get back to that show? I did want to keep watching it but I just haven't cared to lately. I'll probably get back to it!! I'm very interested in all the themes about loneliness, relationships, mental illness, and trauma. Those are themes that feel quite relevant to my own life, and I've been feeling that wuite a bit lately, so I'd like to see where it goes. Maybe I could even learn something.

2025, Feb 26

I finished reading a map to the sun! It's really, really good. I continue to be blown away by the incredible colors, the way they change from one palette to the next across the pages, changing with the tone and mood; as well as the way it balances the stories of these messy girls and their messy lives. And I like that it ended on a hopeful note. In the end, they have each other.

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Tonight I watched episodes 12 and 13 of Evangelion. I felt like I was having a lot more trouble paying attention than usual… I really liked episode 13 giving Ritsuko some time to shine! Even if I didn’t fully understand what was going on I did get to collect pictures of her surrounded by machinery, so that’s a win.

2025, Feb 25

Technically it’s after midnight as I write this, making it Febuary 26 instead. However, I’m going to ignore that.

Tonight I stayed up late to finish the final episode of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney! And gosh it was intense. I guess they really had to hit rock bottom to earn a title like “Rising From The Ashes”, for a moment things were looking dire for absolutely everyone; yet it wrapped up remarkably cleanly in the end.

That was a good story! It felt more standalone compared to the other 4 that kind of wove together more, but it also felt like it continued the themes and character arcs pretty well. Also Phoenix Wright and Edgeworth saving the day with the power of their “partnership”... No wonder everyone ships them.

I’m going to take a break for a while before I play the next game in the trilogy, maybe a month or two. Hopefully I’ll remember to come back to it eventually, I’ll record it here when I do.

2025, Feb 23

Today I got halfway through a graphic novel I got at the library: a map to the sun, by Sloane Leong. It's extremely beautiful, all the pages are done in some incredible limited color palettes and I found myself frequently taking pictures of pages to study later, since I love working with limited color palettes and want to incorporate them into my work more in the future.

I really like the storytelling too. I like the realism of the setting, I like the focus on so many different characters within it and their different kinds of struggles. It's cool! I might say more on that when I actually finish it, but so far I'm really enjoying it and I would love to have a copy for myself.

2025, Feb 22

I got through the second trial in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney! I’m not sure why, but I found the investigation phase really frustrating to work through. Maybe just because I’m not used to using forensics?

I did like the video evidence for the court case though, that was fun. The plot has thickened… I’m assuming the police chief guy is the one with the unknown ID?

Evangelion thoughts for the day:

• Overall didn’t like episode 10 much. have I mentioned the the fanservice moments are getting on my nerves?
• I liked episode 11! It’s neat to see what happens when a city so focused on technology runs out of power, and all 3 of the pilots are finally working as a team!
• I really loved Shinji & Asuka falling out of the vent in a crumpled heap after getting in a stupid fight, and then Rei landing perfectly behind them. Wonderful representation of their personalities thus far
• I noticed this episode that Rei & Asuka have each other’s colors as their eyes… I’ve been trying to restrain my yuri impulses until they actually interact more but like. hmmm 🤔

Oh, and slightly off topic: I drew some Asuka fanart today & posted it to tumblr! I’ll probably also add it to my art gallery here once that’s up and running.

2025, Feb 21

Tonight I watched episodes 7-9 of Evangelion, here’s some thoughts!

• Have I mentioned I love Misato? I love Misato. I love how she’s awesome but also a mess, she’s great
• Also I continue to look at her & Ritsuko with yuri goggles
• Asuka’s here!! I love Asuka, I love how silly & crabby she is, I think she should keep annoying guys forever, I love the faces she makes, I love how she & Shinji bicker
• Episode 9 was all around a joy to watch!! the bickerring, the matching silly outfits, the dance battle???
• I hate ponytail guy, he should get squashed by a giant robot foot in a horrible accident
• the fanservice moments are getting to be kinda grating
• I’ve started taking some screenshots as I watch, so far most of them are silly Asuka faces & Misato/Ritsuko being in the same frame as each other
• I like how Shinji’s been becoming more lively lately, being around others more seems to be good for him! glad things are getting a bit less traumatic in the robot fights, too
• you know if NERV doesn’t want to be embarassed maybe they shouldn’t have recruited teenagers to pilot these mechas
• I can’t wait for Rei to interact with Shinji & Asuka more, I think they’ll make quite the trio

I’m really enjoying this show, I’m starting to get a bunch of fanart ideas so I might draw some stuff tomorrow :D

(probably silly Asuka faces. because those are the best)

2025, Feb 20

I’ve played more Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, but didn’t make a lot of progress. I’m getting stuck in this investigation phase, I feel like I’ve looked everywhere and whenever I try to show people things they go into their dialogue loops… I’m getting tired of all that…

I think we’ve got to get a chance to talk to Edgeworth about this eventually, but he never shows up in his office. Then there’s that broken pot to investigate, the ID list to fill out, and the security footage to investigate…

I’ve gotten bored of being stuck, so I’ll get back to it tomorrow. Now could be a good time to watch more Evangelion!

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I watched episodes 5 & 6 of Neon Genesis Evangelion, and got to learn more about Rei! This is a great anime and I love all the characters. I have more thoughts but don’t really know how to write them, so I’ll leave it at just this for tonight. I can’t wait to watch more of this show tomorrow! According to the episode previews, seems I’ll get to meet Asuka soon.

It’s kind of funny playing Ace Attorney & watching Evangelion at the same time; they’re both classic series I’ve heard a lot about & know are extremely popular but haven’t actually seen either for myself until now. It’s neat to learn more about pieces of culture like this, and to see how different things are from the image of them I’d formed in my head.

2025, Feb 19

I spent most of today playing Infinity Nikki, working through the Carnival of Fireworks event quest. It was pretty fun! I love the theater kid dorks. Characters playing pretend is one of my favorite things to see in media, actually. Not sure why exactly!

I got caught up on all the events a lot faster than I was expecting. I'm still wondering why there's 3 separate ones running at once, though.

After I got to the end of that quest, I switched to playing Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney for the rest of the evening. Finally returned to it! I'm playing through the bonus chapter at the end, there's bits of 3D graphics now!

I've finished the first trial (both parts), and I'm finding this case kind of confusing. The first witness testimony felt pretty convoluted and I'm having trouble keeping track of what the truth was by the end. It's interesting, though. The same guy being murdered twice, in two different locations… Does he have a twin or something?

I think I'll try to finish the case tomorrow! And soon I'll get back to watching Evangelion.

I'm enjoying keeping a media journal, it's a nice way to keep track of the things I'm working on getting through, and I think it's been encouraging me to try more new stuff!

2025, February 16

I spent a good portion of today carving my way through the event & story quests in Infinity Nikki. I discovered snapshots, they’re awesome! Like little bottled messages to connect to other players. I may heavily overuse them in the future, it’s fun to send out messages about whatever I’m up to & have a way to share my best photos!

I’ve also just watched episode 4 of Evangelion. The show in general is a lot slower paced than I’d originally expected, and this time it was just entirely Shinji deciding weather to run away or not. I like that.

This episode reminds me of being in college and feeling too afraid of having a meltdown to go to class, so I’d just sit in armchairs in the lobby and try and distract myself (usually with youtube, or games on my laptop) until it was time to go home. Sometimes I’d get snacks from the cafeteria too…

Just that kind of avoidance, and the lingering too long in liminal spaces. I admit, I do see a good bit of myself in Shinji. Especially from around that time.

2025, February 15

I’ve decided not to make these every single day, cause I don’t always have anything interesting to talk about. I'll try to update somewhat frequently though, as long as I remember and have something to talk about!

I’ve continued playing Infinity Nikki, and wow there’s a lot of event stuff going on. It’s hard to figure out what to focus on, between the main quest & the side quests & the limited time stuff. I’ve mostly just been wandering around and exploring cause that’s what’s most fun for me, but I did progress just a little bit in the story today. I got a purple hair item today, which is great cause I love purple 💜

In more interesting news, I’m starting to watch Neon Genesis Evangelion for the first time! I know relatively little about it, though I’ve watched a couple video essays so I probably have some spoilers. Anyways, here’s a list of my thoughts so far:

• Shinji is going through it
• Why would they make this kid go to high school, is the trauma from the robot fights not enough 😔
• I like Misato a lot
• Is it too early for me to lowkey ship Misato & Ritsuko? I may have yuri brainrot
• Penguin???
• I want to learn more about Rei
• I know a redhead named Asuka is going to show up, when’s that gonna happen?
• Seriously Shinji has it rough. like ow from episode one right off the bat he is not doing very well, and I know it's going to get worse
• the buildings retracting underground is cool! It’s nice to see the collateral damage of these fights being treated seriously

I’m planning on continuing to the end, and then I’ll probably watch the movies after a break to absorb it all first.

Oh, and I am definetly going to get back to Ace Attorney eventually. Although it might be a bit cause I’m currently distracted by Infinity Nikki, I shall return so I can see Phoenix make more silly faces.

2025, February 13

Oops, I’ve been missing some days. Sorry about that! I’ve never been good at writing journal entries every single day, so my media logs may end up being kind of inconsistent.

Over the past few days I’ve been staying up far too late playing Infinity Nikki, which hasn’t left me with a lot of time to write about it afterwards… I’ll try to get better at trying to sleep at a reasonable time, and leaving myself enough time to write down my thoughts.

I’ve also been making attempts to read the rest of the graphic novels I borrowed last time I went to the library, but I keep getting distracted… I’ll try and remember to talk about them if I actually sit down and finish them!

2025, February 11

Today I was working on this website for quite a while (and browsing some others) so I didn't have as much time to play games.

I did play more Infinity Nikki though, and made some outfits I really like! I may have to set things up to show images in these logs cause I'd love to show a few of them… Or I could just post them to tumblr I guess.

2025, February 9

I just played The end of an obsession, sequel to It gets so lonely here, the first game I ever played on itch.io! I really loved that game, so I was excited to play this one and it did not dissapoint.

The art and music are lovely, they create a wonderfully haunting dreamlike atmosphere. I felt the time-loop style structure worked quite well, and I liked reading further into the prose & picking up new details as I read it for the second time (though for subsequent loops I made larger use of the handy skip ahead feature).

I found the themes of roles, narratives, and submission really interesting. The dynamic of the Witch & Princess, and the cruelty of the Witch at the end… I love toxic yuri, and this VN has a lot I could dig my teeth into in that regard!

…

I also played Love Angel Syndrome. I really liked the art and visual effects, I ended up taking screenshots of most of the CGs. Although while i overall liked the story, I felt like maybe the prose or pacing could have been stronger? I’m not sure how to explain that, though.

...

And to finish the weekend of gaming, I spent the evening playing Infinity Nikki for the first time. I haven't played any other games in the series, but dressup elements are always my favorite parts of any game so I figured I'd enjoy a game built around it. And it's free, so I decided try it out.

In addition to being a dress up game, Infinity Nikki is also an open world & gacha game. I have my concerns about that last part, especially since I was a frequent Genshin Impact player for two years and keeping up with constant limited events and gacha banners was really exhausting after a while…

If I do keep playing Infinity Nikki, I'll try to be more casual about it and not worry about logging in every day unless I actually want to.

2025, February 8

Today I played through the 4th chapter of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney! I was expecting it to be the final one, but apparantly there’s another? I think it was added to the game later, so I’m interested in how different it’ll seem from the rest of the game. I’m not going to play it right now though, Edgeworth’s trial was dense and I want to take time to absorb it before moving on.

Chapter 4 was really good! Fleshed out the characters, wove a great mystery, tied up threads from the earlier chapter, and had incredible drama! It’s a perfect way to finish things off.

Edgeworth went through so much, wow. He watched his dad die, thought he was the one who killed him, his mentor had him framed for a different murder and then turns out to be the actual murderer of his dad?? that’s rough.

I’ll play the bonus chapter sometime next week, and then I’ll take a break before I play the next two games in the trilogy bundle. Probably some smaller games, cause my brain craves variety right now.

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2025, February 7

I've been making my way through Welcome to Nightvale recently. I have fond memories of listening to it with my family during late night car drives when I was younger, but we were never caught up. I also attempted to relisten to it more recently, but only got close to the end of year 3.

I’m now on episode 55, so I have a bit more to get through before I get past where I last stopped. I'd love to get fully caught up, but that is going to be quite the task. I'll record my progress in this log, so we'll see how it goes.

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I’ve just watched the final two episodes of Scavenger’s Reign!

I like the ending, I love it when characters who’ve gone through horrible things live and get the chance to make a new life. And the image of a settlement inside an overgrown wreck of a spaceship is just really cool. I’m also glad that Kamen survived, he was a terrible person and went through hell but now has the chance to recover and grow in a safer place. He holds a small creature in his hand, and lets it go.

Even Hollow survived. I'm glad that Hollow survived.

Imagine being one of the crew coming out of the cryo pods. What must Mia have thought, coming out and seeing a changed, injured Azi? And then all the carnage around them… When an emergency like that happens maybe you won’t expect to all survive, but the gore is just… I’m kind of surprised more of them didn’t get eaten in the end, though, considering how long they were all sitting there undefended.

Oh, and Levi has little plant-gollum babies now?? grown from the death-lilies? thats great, happy for her :D

From what was shown at the very end, looks like there’s setup for another season. Maybe a bit of a larger scope with the introduction of those masked characters? It’d be cool to see how the survivor camp develops further over time. Hopefully they don’t have too many problems with mind control parasites or other corruptive predato

I might draw some fanart for this show. Probably Azi & Levi, cause they’re my favorites. I’d love to draw some scenery, too!

I kind of wish we could’ve seen more about Azi & Levi reuniting. I really liked the little bond they were developing, and I’d be interested in seeing how Levi’s transformation affects that.

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2025, February 6

Played a bit more Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney today, just enough to finish the third trial. This one felt more complex, I was surprised by how neatly the pieces fit together by the end.

Edgeworth is an interesting character. I wonder what happened between him and Wright?

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I just watched episodes 9 & 10 of Scavenger's Reign, and wow I've gotten emotionally invested in these characters.

Like the conflict of Sam having this parasite inside him and not wanting to hurt Ursula… That's devastating. And he ripped it out of his chest in the end?? Aghhhh….

And on a different note: Azi lesbianism confirmed?!?! Hell yeah!! I was somewhat lowkey shipping her & Levi, and I've been rubbing my hands together at the tension between her and Kris...

Aghhh she's been carrying Mia's book with her this whole time… It's not likely Mia survived, with the creatures that have been eating the crew, but gahh… it'd be awesome if she did.

And Levi’s back!!! I was so excited to watch all those lifeforms put her back together, I can't wait to see what happens when she meets up with Azi again. Maybe she can untie her from the shore of the riverbank?

On a less character related note, it is funny to me when the creatures around them become perfect tools to solve their problems. Like the perfectly boat-shaped shed skin of that giant bug, the gas mask & flying critters Ursula & Sam used in the first episode… I wonder how long it takes them to figure out what creatures can be used in what ways? Seems risky, considering how deadly a lot of them are.

So there's 2 episodes left, and everyone is converging on the Demeter. Tomorrow I'll find out what goes down!

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2025, February 5

Today I really wanted to play a new video game, so I started Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney for the first time! I got through the second day of the third trial, and decided to be done cause it's late at night.

I'm having a great time so far! The characters are all charming and I'm very endeared to Wright & Maya (and also Edgeworth. he’s silly).

The mysteries are very well done, making connections & piecing things together feels great!

I'm curious about how this most recent case is going to go. The other cases made it very clear from the start that the defendant wasn’t guilty, but in this case it feels more ambiguous.

There's a lot of questions left at this point. Why would Hammers drug Powers and steal the samurai suit? Why would he pretend to have Powers’ limp? He probably didn't plan to get murdered, so what was he trying to frame Powers for? Who changed him into the new suit after he died, and why? How did they go about moving the body from one studio to another, especially if the monkey head was blocking the way? Could they have gone through the woods?

I guess we'll probably learn a lot more if we can get into Studio 2.

I feel bad for the kid caught up in all this. This show clearly means a lot to him, and an actor being murdered by another member of the crew is already bad enough without also witnessing it happen. I hope he'll be okay after it's over.

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2025, February 4

Today I read the graphic novel mage and the endless unknown. It actually has a kind of similar vibe to Scavenger’s Reign in a way! Body horror, corruption, and a dangerous yet beautiful world.

There's a lot of emphasis on illustration to tell the story, very little words throughout. I like how cute and simple the characters look, especially next to the grotesque detail of the more horrific parts of the book.

...

I’ve also watched another 5 episodes of Scavenger’s Reign! A lot happened in them, wow. I'm sad Levi died, I really liked her and was curious to learn more about the fungus in her circuitry. Just as Azi was bonding with her, too!!

More characters have been introduced now, too. I don't think I was expecting that, but I guess it makes sense from a writing perspective.

I find Kris pretty cool so far, and her relationship with Barry and Terrence (RIP) is interesting. Like some kinda dysfunctional found family. I feel like she and Azi are definitely going to come into conflict at some point soon, which should be neat to see.

I wonder what the hell’s going on with the guy the psychic frog… ate? fused with? Is this part of the regular psychic frog reproductive cycle?

And then on a similar note, Sam also seems to be influenced by an alien lifeform into continuing its life cycle. That feels like a bit of a theme at this point. I think Sam’s gotten hurt by the most different life forms at this point, guy cannot catch a break.

...

2025, February 3

Today I watched the first 3 episodes of Scavenger’s Reign! It’s weird and interesting, I like it.

The art in this show is incredible, I love the way this alien world & the lifeforms within it are illustrated. Everything feels strange, dangerous, mysterious, and beautiful.

I like the characters, each of the 3 groups is compelling to watch in their own way. I’m especially looking forward to learning more about what’s going on with the fungus in the robot, and watching the situation with the redhead & the frog alien keeping him as a pet develop further.

Also, what the heck was up with that flower in the branch wall Ursula found?? There was another, different frog alien and it. Put on some kind of performance? Probably the strangest thing that’s happened so far, I wonder if it’ll ever get explained more...

I think it’ll probably be left a mystery.