thenewfuture

[thenewfuture]

So, we all done here?

Yeah, let's get out of here...

............

Um, hey...are you okay...?

......More or less....

L-Listen, you don't have to talk about what you saw in there if you don't want to... I-I won't pry about it...

.......

....

Do you....want to hold my hand?

Huh...?

Again, I won't force you to do anything you don't want to, but we do need to leave and get going.

And I know you probably have....issues with unwanted physical contact, so....I'm just checking for your boundaries...

......

Thanks, Miss Four Eyes. *She takes her hand as well as Jataro's*

Yeah, yeah, yeah Miss "Pink Twin Tails". Now come on already!

*The group takes their leave...*

[thenewfuture]

More Real Talk

Hey everyone. Mod Bubbles here.

I'm not gonna beat around the bush here: you all know what's going on, you've all heard about it, you don't need me to tell you about it. You've heard about it and you're gonna hear about it a lot these next four years.

I don't want to talk about that. Instead, I wanna address something else that, on a personal level, I believe is a lot more serious but a lot easier to grapple with.

You wanna know what I believe is the biggest problem we're dealing with these days? You can point to a lot of things, but at the core, they all have the same root to them.

Hopelessness.

Yeah, a DR blog talking about hope, how crazy is that?

But in all seriousness, it's at the core of every argument, every political discussion, every post I see made about not just the near future, but the long term as well. It's always the same points about neo-fascism, climate change, wars, cyberpunk dystopias, and global extinction. Very few people today seem to have any faith that the world can be better.

And I can't say I blame them. I was there too once, when I was a teenager. I lived in constant fear of the future, worried about what it means for me, and I'd get trapped in doomscrolling cycles. I'd lay awake at night and cry my eyes out. Yet I'm still here, on the cusp of turning 30, and I'm at a better point in my life than I've ever been.

Fear and desperation are ultimately useful, but they can be self-destructive. They can prevent you from seeing the truth and make you ironically vulnerable to the ones you should be most afraid of.

Why do people join cults or militias or vote for bad politicians? Are they all just stupid or evil? Sure, some may be, but most are just desperate, afraid and don't understand how the world really works. They need a helping hand with deprogramming what they were told.

Here's the facts:

We've already beaten climate change's worst predictions and the changes we've made can be reversed.

Plastic pollution in the oceans is being cleaned up.

Conservation success stories just keep coming.

More people are living better lives nowadays, with lower rates of child morality, starvation, crime, preventable diseases, even bullying rates have declined.

The Green Energy Revolution is here and nothing is going to stop it.

New advancements in materials science are on the way and will revolutionize everything from construction to manufacturing to space exploration.

I say all this because the ultimate source of hope is knowledge. Yes, you can open yourself up to a lot of dark avenues when you start learning about the world, but you'll also learn how much good there is out there being done.

This isn't a distraction, it's how I help people understand that the world can always be better and that just one person being in power will not change that.

Now, I know what you may say to that. I've seen posts about how the internet is going to be censored, that propaganda spread everywhere, that there'll be concentration camps, the constitution will be ripped up, etc.

And to that, I have to be honest: I've already heard it all before.

The things you're worried about today? I was worried about them in 2009 during the Great Recession. People worried about them in 2005 when Bush was re-elected, and the concerns there also included terrorism. Do we even still talk about Al-Qaeda? Not really!

And misinformation in this age has always been a problem, especially on the big sites. These are old problems brought to the forefront, and it's always been important to learn the skills to spot them.

More importantly, all this assumes the administration would actually be able to implement any of their promises. Every administration does that and few of the truly big ones about change have happened, especially because said promises ran counter to reality within the system.

I'm not trying to downplay any concerns about the situation, I promise. It's okay to be sad, scared, and concerned about peoples' safety. It's okay to cry if you need to. What you should not do is give up just because of all this.

I'm going to sound very harsh for a moment, but I need to say it: by being doomerist and defeatist, you're part of the problem. You not only stop helping, you run the risk of discouraging other people from trying because you believe it's pointless. When you succumb to pessimistic nihilism, you create a self-fulfilling prophecy that only rewards those who benefit from your inaction or your death.

Don't do that to people. Don't do that to yourself.

The world gets better when you first believe it can be better. How do you do that?

Well, I can't speak for everyone, but here's some suggestions that I'm sticking to:

Live daily life. Get up, eat, stay hydrated, take your medication, bathe, dress comfortably, listen to music, watch a movie, clean your home, play a game, hang out with friends, just do things that make you happy. As you should always do.

Stop looking at doomer posts. It literally does not help with anything and they are not credible sources of information just because they're cynical.

Do not let go of your ambitions. Always have a dream or a goal in mind, no matter what it is, and always aim for it. It's never stupid, it's never too late, it's something you aspire to and that's really awesome.

Stop looking for enemies. There are more important things to devote your time to than arguing over inane bullshit on the internet. That's been true since the start.

Be kind to people. Let go of whatever anger and resentment you may have for people, try to make new friends, and recognize when you can help someone else in need. Sometimes it's as simple as letting them know you care.

Be kind to yourself. You are not a failure, you're not a burden, you're not a lost cause, you can always improve as long as you're alive.

Remove toxicity from your life. Cut out bad influences and replace them with better things. If you have to leave a toxic environment, you can work on doing so.

Always learn new things. It's really fun to end the day with a new piece of knowledge you didn't have the day before.

Let yourself feel. Are you angry? Sad? Scared? Worried? Let yourself feel it, and then you can move on. Don't bury an emotion or let it stagnate.

Learn to recognize bad faith posts/misinformation. This is a critical skill to possess and one you need to always pass on to others. Not everyone who posts it is evil, sometimes all they need is a simple correction on a matter and the situation will be resolved.

Clown on Evil. Whenever people want you to fear them or take them seriously, you mock them, make memes about them, treat them as a joke and defuse whatever power they try to have.

Be true to yourself. Above all, don't let the next 4 years turn you into something you're not.

I say all this as someone who's been around longer than a lot of people who follow me: your future is not empty. I wished I'd done years ago everything I'm doing now, but I've decided I'd rather do them than spend the rest of my life lamenting and wondering what might've been.

You can spend years convincing yourself there is no future, and then the future arrives and you have no idea what to do anymore.

Change- actual change- starts from below and works its way up. And no matter how much life beats you down, no matter what's on TV or what the future may hold, you can always choose to do something about it.

You can always choose to be kind to yourself and to others. You can always choose to believe. And that's where you can start.

[thenewfuture]

In regard to the email itself, there seems to be somewhat of a red flag with how it casually mentions the Elite Task Force being sent over to Jabberwock Island. IIRC, the only people who are authorised to use them are Munakata himself and Tengan and with how they’re usually kept under lock and key outside of extreme circumstances, it seems like whoever sent it must be someone who has close ties to Munakata himself.

Yeah that does limit the potential people it can be quite a bit. And that's what's scaring me...

I'm back...

Hey. How's Kotoko feeling?

Fine, I think... Are we still looking for stuff?

Just about. Aside from the stuff on the laptop, everything here is pretty self-explanatory. A factory that makes robots.

What about this big TV?

What big TV-

That one. *Jataro points to a certain big screen by one of the belts*

Oh! How did we miss that?

The hell is this? It looks like Monokuma. What, is Monaca getting into the show business now?

Hmmm... *Kurumi begins inspecting it...*

Hey, check this out! There's a small compartment right under the mouth.

Zoinks! It opened! Can you reach into its belly?

Not how that works and...there's really nothing inside here, I can barely fit my hand in here. It looks like this is meant to store something.

Ugh, another intricate design by wack-job inventors for their products.

[Monitors updated in the Truth Bullets Section]

I found these papers too. Are they important? *Jataro holds three big rolls of paper in his arms*

Let me see.... *Touko takes them...*

Just as I figured, these are blueprints of some kind...

Blueprints of what?

It looks like one's for the screen we just saw. One is for...some sort of knife? And another for some wrist band type of device.

I think this is what we were told that Makoto and the others had to wear. For their forbidden actions, I think it was called. I can't make heads or tails of all the details written here though...

[Blueprints added to the Truth Bullets Section]

That...should do it for around here...

////////////////////////////////

INVESTIGATION:

COMPLETE!

[thenewfuture]

There we go. Grounding exercise completed. These exercises are used to, as the name implies, "grounds" the person doing them in reality when panicking for whatever reason. Feel free to use them at any point in the future.

Thank you....

Do you feel better now?

....A little...

Do you...wanna go back to the others?

No thanks, I'll just....stay here for a bit...

Okay. Just call if you need me, okay?

Mhmm...

[thenewfuture]

Okay, last one. What is one thing you can taste?

.....My tears and snot....

[thenewfuture]

That's it. That's it. Now what are two things you can smell?

Umm....oil and....cloth I guess...?

[thenewfuture]

Alright, you're doing great. Now what are three things you can hear?

I...I...hear....the factory belts....Jataro...and the laughter of the helmet wearing kids...

[thenewfuture]

Good, good. What are 4 things you can touch?

I...I can touch....m-my arms....J-Jataro....my hair..a-and and...the floor....

[thenewfuture]

Kotoko. Listen to me. Focus on my voice. Now tell me, what are 5 things you can see?

I....Uurrrkkk...Haaaahhh....F-Floor....Sh-Shoesssss....J-J-Jataro....C-Conyevor...B-Belts...and....and...and...and....w-wall.....

[thenewfuture]

Well that's... concerning

I...I almost....Uuuwwwaahh....Hhhnnghh...I just.....I......Hhhuuu...

H-Hey you, J-Jataro, is it....? Go sit her down somewhere. She needs to calm down...

Okay. Kotoko, can we go?

I...I....Uhhrkk....Urrrkkk....Nnnngghh....

*Jataro slolwy and carefully takes Kotoko's hand and sits her down on the floor somewhere safe...*

Jeez... I kinda feel bad now for her...

She'll be fine. Let's just finish up here.

[thenewfuture]

Since we knew Mother had already been replaced before the KG, someone in the FF had to have taken her from the inside before the KG.

Yeah that seems to be the case, doesn't it? W-We really did have a bloody traitor in our mist, and we just didn't see it...!

Hmph, no point in kicking ourselves about it now. Anything else you find on there?

Let me see here.....

Ah! Hey, there's a video file here.

It's called..."Despair Video.mov"

Huh?! Wait, that doesn't sound very good-

I bet it's a super embarrassing recording of Monaca. Let's play it.

Kotoko, wait!

*But it was too late, Kotoko clicked on the video and...*

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!!!!!

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!!!!!

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!!!!!

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!!!!!

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........

???:..........ey....Hey.....HEY!

*SMACK!* *Slam!*

H-Huh, wha...wha?

Th-There you are! What happened to you?!

You were spacing out all crazy like....! You didn't move or anything!

I closed the laptop to stop playing, but....what was that? What did you see...?

I......I saw.......H-Horrible things....

I....I was.....Th-That was.....I felt....a-awful and....and bad....and....uuunnngghhh......

Kotoko...?

Haaaannngghh....I....I.....Haannnngghh......Urrnnnkk....!

'Jesus...! What was up with that video file Monaca had?'

[Despair Video added to the Truths Bullets Section]

[thenewfuture]

who..sent her this email?

Well gee, if we knew that, we wouldn't be looking around for clues, now would we?

[thenewfuture]

Yo toko I know you guys are investigating and all but think you guys should trash the factory afterwards?

I mean, how? What are we going to do, blow it up? That'll probably trash this castle and our way up to stop Monaca, or even worse, harm Komaru and the others in the process. We'll deal with it later.

Hey, I think I found something.

You did? What?

*Kurumi was at a desk where a laptop laid on the table*

This laptop here, it must be Monaca's. Maybe there's some important info for us here.

*Type-type-type-type*

W-Well...anything?

Did you find her porn stash?

I'm just going to ignore that statement entirely.

But I did find some messages sent to her from some anonymous person. Here's what it said:

--------------------------------------

From: 7J%%$##!LX

To: Monaca Towa

Subject: Important news 4 U!

Heya! Just a heads up, it looks like Kyosuke sent over the Ultimate Elite Task Force over to Jabberwock Island. If you ever wanted to take them out, now would be a pretty good time to do it! And also, it looks like Makoto brought some of the Remnants of Despair to HQ, so you'll need to make more Forbidden Actions for them as well. I'll send you over the deets about them so you can create good ones for those kids. K, thnx!~

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That's all I got. I couldn't access the attachment or any other messages from this.

But from the way it reads...it seems like Monaca had a hand in making this killing game from someone inside Future Foundation.

It a-appears so...

[Anonymous Email added to the Truth Bullets Section]

[thenewfuture]

Yeah Kotoko, I'm sorry and I know you don't like us for whatever reason but you all better remember that once those kids get those helmets remove; do you REALLY think any of them want to be your friend after what you did to them? Remember that you place those helmets on them, 'brainrinse' as Masaru calls it or brainwashing in broad terms; you took away their free will, took their families away claiming to 'save them' and even force them to do things for the sake of children's paradise against their will.

I'll just say this, Kotoko; if you really think any of them will be your friend then I'm sorry to say this but your sorely mistaken, they won't view as your friend but instead would view you as you view all adults; demons, that's what you'll be to them since you along with the rest of the Warriors of Hope did that to them so if we remove those helmets - you better expect them to not forgive you or want anything to do with you.

Trust me when I say, we've seen other simulations involving those kids wearing the helmets and trust me when I say this, it doesn't end well for any of them and you'll only have yourselves to blame for that.

........................

'Looks like she is aware of that, and maybe regrets what she and the others have done...'

'I may have not agreed with these kid's methods of going about and antagonizing all the adults...but I understand why they did it...'

'So lets' not bring it up anymore or as much. It's not going to help them...'

[thenewfuture]

Are we gonna add amaterasu corporation? They could be a great enemy for future foundation outside ultimate despair

Yeah. Amaterasu Corp is around, but we it will be quite a while before we get to them.

-Mod

[thenewfuture]

The factory's not the only thing she had a copy of apparently, the fact that there's a Monokuma Kid here means she has another controller. Assuming the kid isn't a robot or doing this of their own free will.

Teeheehee!~ *The little girl is playing with other Monokuma kids in the factory*

No, they look the same as all the other helmet wearing brats we've seen about. So of course, Monaca has another remote controlling them all.

........

~~~~

...How could you do this?

Eh? What?

All these children, every single kid in Towa City, brainwashed and mind controlled to do your bidding like this.

They had families, friends, whole lives! And you took that away from them! Do they even know what's going on or what exactly it is they're doing?

Hey! Don't get it twisted! We asked a lot of kids to join our cause, and some did!

All we wanted a children's paradise where we could be free from our demonic parents and other rotten adults! Other children felt the same way, that's a fact.

I'm remembering a similar thought I had when we heading up to face Monaca back then. This is a big city, and possibly has hundreds of kids here...

A few kids willing to go with you, I understand. But all of them, is just out of the question...

B-But...But they were our friends-

They weren't your friends, you entitled little snob! You all brainwashed them and made them do whatever you wanted! Take those helmets off and I bet every last one of them would be screaming at the mere sight of you after finding out what happened!

.........

..........

*Sigh* Look, okay. We'll be here all day if we constantly retread all of the same points from when you first took over this city...

So let's just...put this on the back burner for now and...try to find important clues around this place. Got it?

Mhmm...

[thenewfuture]

Can you fly too?

Oh no, no. My powers are much too grounded to do anything extraordinary like that.

But I could with the Light Element though…

Freeze: The other elements granted all kinds of various powers and abilities. The Fire element let me shoot out flames from my hands and even breathe it out as well. The Water element gave me gills and a merman tail so I could breathe and swim underwater. The Light element let me fly with wing constructs and shoot lasers out of my eyes. And the Shadow element let me contour my body and shape to grow big claws, and I could travel and hide in shadows and dark places like Mimiks.

I don’t have much experience with the Nature, Earth and Air elements before I lost them all, so don’t ask.