I'm a long-time anarchist, I can remember the days in Emerald where I would fear waking up in the morning to find that Democracy had been initiated and thus somehow 'tainted' the run.

I have held a strong belief in Anarchy since the beginning. Democracy always seemed like a cheap short-cut before, and became even more offensive to me in some of the later runs when it was extensively used for optimization purposes.

Starting this run, I had hoped that we would be able to complete it in Anarchy. I felt it would be proof once and for all that Democracy is not necessary, that with enough patience and some coordination Anarchy could triumph over any obstacle. After beating Rocket HQ in Anarchy, I felt that it was absolutely probable that we would complete this run in complete Anarchy...

But then the last week and a half happened. And I was there, through the long grind for more than any grind I have ever been apart of in TPP's history. Hours spent trying to get the party to high enough levels to not be crushed within an hour on Victory Road. Hours battling the ledge just to be crushed within a few hours regardless of how long we had grinded for. Traveling back to the Power Plant to Thunderize Muk just to be stuck at a tree for a whole night. Every step forward we took seemed to be met with two steps back...

And in the meantime something strange happened. I suddenly began to really like this little Dome we have on our team. He started tanking Explosions and Self Destructs. He became the fastest leveler, and soon surpassed Muk and has inched his way towards catching up with the rest of the team.

And suddenly I found completing Seafoam's puzzles just to fight Articuno to be enjoyable, even in Democracy...because it was something new.

And soon I found myself excited to see the Demo timer on VR count down closer and closer to zero. On top of that, I found myself actively helping to maximize our time on VR so that we could get the clock down.

I still believe that TPP is best played in Anarchy. The majority of TPP should be played in Anarchy, coordinating through chaos is an experience unique to this stream. But I am sold now on Democracy being a necessity in certain areas.

I know Demo supporters will say "no shit Sherlock" at this point. But compromise is important, and just know that this Helixist is tipping their hat to Lord Dome and the ways of Democracy.