#abandoned posts

Witwicky sits on the edge of vast, mysterious forest territory. We see rivers, canyons, deep woods, even underground systems. It's clearly a huge area. So why… is Dot Malto the only forest ranger?

Where’s her team? Her colleagues? Her station backup?

This isn’t just lazy worldbuilding — it feels deliberate. There are a few possibilities. And none of them are comforting.

🔸 Possibility 1: They were laid off by G.H.O.S.T.

The moment G.H.O.S.T. moved into Witwicky, local authority figures vanished from screen. Not just rangers — no fire services, no other police, no biologists, no park staff. G.H.O.S.T. may have forcibly taken over, pushing Dot into a symbolic role while they absorbed her jurisdiction. A puppet protector for PR.

🔸 Possibility 2: They all quit. Or deserted.

What if the forest was already changing? Chaos Terrans. Mutant wildlife. Mandroid's drones creeping through trees. People could’ve left in fear — or were ordered to relocate. Dot stayed because she’s ex-military and has nowhere else to go. Or because she’s connected to G.H.O.S.T. through her past and her family.

🔸 Possibility 3: They disappeared.

Mandroid was declared dead by G.H.O.S.T., yet he was very much alive. That means G.H.O.S.T. has a history of falsifying deaths and covering up disappearances. Who’s to say they didn’t do it before?

What if other rangers entered the forest and never returned?

What if the Terran birthing ground is more than just an anomaly? What if something in that forest is feeding, mutating, absorbing?

🔸 Possibility 4: Dot’s job isn’t real anymore.

She walks in uniform. She says she’s a ranger. But no calls come in. No coordination. No staff. She doesn't seem to actually protect the forest — she lives beside it while everything inside grows stranger. Maybe she's not the last ranger — maybe she's the only one who survived.

Or maybe she’s the watcher now. Meant to report what she sees, and never speak of what came before.

G.H.O.S.T. erases history. The show erases people.

And no one in EarthSpark asks: Where did all the others go?

But whenever Neku insists on stepping into le Grand (why? They never have anything good), it's like a cold war in there.

H.T. Matsuoka is not subtle. Neither is Josh, really, but at least he's creative about it (and it's mostly for kicks to get a reaction out of Neku, anyway--actually, that's a lie).

How much Neku sweats is really none of your business, thank you!--Joshua thinks.

They're both fans of J&M, and when Matsuoka suggests that he and Neku should shop there sometime, Josh says "sure, if we have some time. Oh, Neku, I heard that (so-and-so band) has a new CD out since yesterday." ("Seriously?! Why didn't you tell me earlier!") and they're out of there pretty quickly. Josh waves at HT with a coy smile as they leave.

Except the one Neku pays the most attention to is CAT. If on the rare day that his cafe is open, he makes the extra effort to stop by, even if the prices are ridiculously high.

Josh knows he can't win against Mr. H in that respect.

So he brings up topics between him and Hanekoma, where Neku has a hard time contributing to the conversation. It disgusts himself how petty he's being (reverting back to the him in his youth--Neku does do that to him). Neku's not an idiot, though; Josh knows that. He's slightly worried that the ginger would get upset, but Neku surprises him again (Neku does that to him--a lot). The topics often lead to questions about Joshua's past, and Neku's actually genuinely interested in knowing more about him, and wanting to understand him more. (Josh is so used to alienating people and pretending not to care or regret what he says. But he's learnt that pushing Neku away doesn't work nearly as well as it used to. The boy has figured out that it's part of the mask he wears. And a warmth spreads in him, and the loneliness fades bit by bit).

He never even tries to compete with Shiki. He doesn't fight battles he cannot win (not many of those), so instead he pretends not to be interested in fighting them in the first place. (It's a bit cowardly.) She's good for him, honestly. Their relationship is a bit different (like he can talk) because they're kind of more-than-friends and less-than-lovers. Neku deserves a happy, normal life in the RG. He could just erase the boy's memories of him, but that could also have a negative effect on him as well, as the second week memories were important to his growth (Joshua is thankful for this excuse. it's the same one he gives to the officials from the Higher Planes.)