A Great Fall

When I offhandedly told my friend that playing Persona 3 was all the more relatable in 2025 than in 2007, it was not a challenge for the world to make it even truer. Yet, the monkey's paw did curl and curled hard. Said friend described the atmosphere of this past year (and especially this past couple months) as being "despair-inducing", a designation I find hard to dispel. In the manner akin of old times Hanna-Barbera's cartoon dominoes come tumbling down but way less amusing, everyone seems to be losing their marbles at the same time. The dismantling of a support system in a network is destructively cascading, and the aftermath immensely suffocating for everyone involved. It is apparently difficult to keep up an optimistic outlook and a cheerful facade when everyone around is besieged with mental overwhelm. It is also difficult to maintain your sanity when you feel like you're torn to shreds by a pack of wolves from all directions. Many of my friends reported that they lost almost…