1000xResist

This is straight into Kentucky Route Zero and Firewatcher territory.

Great story, about sisters, about Iris, surviving this plague, the Occupants (??), the Chinese immigrating into America backstory...

The visual story telling, the moment you think you have agency where you're going, and the game hijacks you naturally.

Sometimes the dialogues do *not* allow you to try all options, which is great.

The theme of a single place but shown in different ways, the whole "home base", first just normal, then celebratory, then at night...

The visuals become more and more amazing

How it makes you "discover" dialogue to "answer the riddle". In essense, it's learning the right responses. In reality, it's learning about loss and grief and emotions.

Ann Tashi Slater - "Summer in Tokyo: Rain Women, Cicadas, and Visits from the Dead"

https://magazine.catapult.co/column/stories/column-tokyo-journal-summer-in-tokyo-rain-women-cicadas-visits-from-the-dead

Before I came to Japan, I thought rain was just rain. I’ve since learned there’s shito-shito ame, a light, quiet rain—not to be confused with shobo-shobo, also a light, quiet rain, but in a slightly negative sense. Zaa-zaa is a torrential downpour, potsu-potsu is scattered drops when it’s starting to rain, and bota-bota is heavy drops as rain begins to fall.

If it starts raining while the sun is shining, that’s kitsune no yomeiri—a “fox’s wedding”—because the fox, a trickster, is associated with curious events. Ame onna, “rain woman,” is a woman who seems to bring rain wherever she goes. Aiai-gasa, “love-love umbrella,” means two people sharing an umbrella, a couple in love.

Silence of the Lambs

Still very much holds up.

Fly me to the moon

nice enough little caper about a girl staging the fake moon landing on film in case the real one goes wrong.

Kaliane Bradley - "The Ministry of Time"

Fun little scifi story about modern day Britain getting a hold on a time machine, and stealing a few people from different centuries in the past to the present.

    "Everyone is so cruel to me," said Graham, deadpan, "even though I'm very handsome and brave and I have never done anything wrong. Sixty-five, where are the rest of your clothes?"
    "Banished. I am never more bravely clad than when I go sky-clad."
    I started to laugh, a real, happy, unglamorous laugh. As true laughter does, it summoned smiles from the others. Margaret leant towards me, grinning, and I saw Graham catch Arthur's eye and roll his. It was a moment among moments, but everyone was held in it, captured in a small and easy joy. I return again and again to this memory. It's proof, you see. Not everything I did was wrong.