The main problem, and in this context it is one, is that, as stated before, in the game the scene comes out of nowhere, has absolutely no influence on the stats and… well,
Below you find the code in question. Nothing has been altered, just the unrelated choices have been removed.
MAJOR SPOILERS AND TRIGGER WARNING
*choice
#But I'm still so angry about what happened during The Hero Project finale, how it was all so totally out of my control yet again. I just feel powerless. And helpless.
(and further below, dear heavens this code is messy Dx )
#I feel like I must be the most hated Powered in America, after what was revealed about me. I just feel lost, like I don't know what to do next.
*goto lostinthewoods
*label lostinthewoods
It's moments like this that you can't help but feel knocked off of your axis. Despite your careful balancing act, it still doesn't take all that much lately for the darkness to seize you out of nowhere. These are the times that, despite all of your reflection and centering, despite all of your perspective and peace of mind, you feel that solid mass of doubt lodge itself in your mind…that black pit, that low grumble of a voice that tells you it's over. You've lost. You're not important, you're a failure.
It's moments like this when you feel that the odds are stacked against you. No matter what you do, it all amounts to the same thing: defeat. Loss. Turmoil. Moments like this are when it feels like the universe has arranged itself against you, that nothing is fair or just. That some sick, omnipotent power gets its jollies purely from watching you squirm and scrape.
It's moments like this, when you feel the most helpless, the most like there's no point, that you force yourself to remember:
*goto lostbutfound
*label lostbutfound
*choice
#This too shall pass. I can't control what happens to me, only how I react.
Nothing, good or bad, ever lasts forever. As long as you've been given the privilege of another day, you won't give in to despair. Especially not when, no matter how you feel, something is bound to change—it always does.
*goto mantrarep
#Too many people are counting on me for me to give up now.
If you cannot find it within yourself to carry on right now, at least do it for your loved ones.
*goto mantrarep
#Even if I feel like slugger now, someday soon I won't.
And on that day, you'll feel silly for ever giving in to bleakness.
*goto mantrarep
#I know my strength and I know my worth.
And if you just remember that, if you rely on that for long enough, you simply can't lose. You're a warrior—and the moment you get the chance to prove that again, you will.
*goto mantrarep
#I know exactly where I belong and what I need to do.
Moments of weakness and doubt are normal—healthy, even. They force us to make sure of what we want. And if you're sure of anything, it's that you know what you want.
*goto mantrarep
#Even if the whole world hates me, they can't make me hate myself.
And if that's true, then it's impossible to lose. You're a warrior—and the moment you get the chance to prove that again, you will.
*goto mantrarep
*label mantrarep
You force yourself to repeat this mantra, over and over, until it is internalized enough to swallow the dark cloud inside you. You're not sure if this is ultimately helping or hurting, but you know what they say:
Fake it till you make it.
*goto theplannext
Judge for yourself, people.
Now, before someone brings up that this line is also in Fallen Hero, here’s the thing:
FH handles the topic with tact. It’s not, as it feels here, there to tick off a box on a ‘representation checklist’. In FH it is part of the characters, part of the story.
And it’s not over and forgotten once the scene ends.
