I've waited a long time before downloading ep 8 because i wanted to cut it close to the release of ep 9, while trying to catch up on other AVN. Man did the wait paid off. As much as this ep doesn't end on such an explicit cliffhanger as the others, I felt like this one was strangely more cliffhang-y, as we were given absolutely no information on how the story will continue to unfold now that the cat's out of the bag. No hint at the next step, no sneak peak, no tension; just the lingering question: Now what?
Ep 8 has been a fantastic glimpse into young adult's lives in the 90's that, no matter if you got to experience it firsthand or no, you could really relate to. It was a very well designed setup to bring almost every major characters of 1999 in the same place, and not unlike one we could've expected to see with all of 2019's characters. We could easily see how both the 1999 and 2019 corresponding characters matched in personality and appearance, making it believable for the MC to get lost in this situation and end up getting intimate with everybody, rather than it just being another reason to extend his harem. This was hinted more than a few times like calling Khloe Krystal, or comparing Luna to Skylar, and Misty to Dani (that scene was so funny, I'm glad I "save scummed" my way into trying all events during the party), and with other less obvious hints on Vanessa, Tori, and Mark, that I hope Ep 9 will confirm.
This AVN keeps getting better, and will forever hold a place amongst the best written ones for sure with plenty heartfelt moments (I may have been more emotional than I expected during that talk in the woods with Jenny), packed with humour and crazy situations (please do select "metal song" at the party), and an intrigue that although very sci-fi, has a way of being "believable" nonetheless to keep us engaged.
I don't want to be the kind of person that says perfection can't be achieved, Ripples is truly, in my books, a 10/10 AVN.