Things are rough but had a good weekend with family and friends and the Witch Hat Atelier anime is out so that's something

Slay the Spire 2 has vindicated all my fears about how the first one would've destroyed my productivity if I tried it.

Been a while since I've binged a game this much. Starting to make sense of it but I feel like I've barely scratched the surface .

TBH I look at people who still support the TERF wizard franchise the same way I look at people who try to make excuses for listening to or wearing Burzum merch. Rowling has inarguably caused more harm than Varg, for that matter.

Picture of Marjane Satrapi alongside a quote from her. The quote reads: The world is not divided into countries. The world is not divided between East and West. You are American, I am Iranian, we don't know each other, but we talk together and we understand each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my government is much bigger than the difference between me and you. And our governments are very much the same... - Marjane Satrapi, Iranian-French graphic novelist

Thinking about this quote from Persepolis creator Marjane Satrapi again.

My fingers need a break tho so it might be a little bit

Finally got all achievements in Silksong last night and I still want to go back to it at some point to improve my Steel Soul performance.

Some games get worse at 100% but this was not one of those. The more I understand the fights and systems the deeper into the rabbit hole I go.

If this is the direction RGG is going I don't think I can follow them and that breaks my heart. Yakuza has meant a lot to me and this was a series that helped shape my late 20s and early 30s. But so it goes.

I have gripes with Infinite Wealth's writing but honestly? I could live with it being an ending to the series.

Extremely bummed about Kiwami 3. As a Y3 apologist, I was hoping they wouldn't fumble this one. Hooooo boy does this one sound like a clusterfuck.

“I’m mad I can’t understand Bad Bunny’s lyrics because they’re not in English”

my brother millions of metalheads around the world have been happily listening to incomprehensible Finnish shrieks and Japanese death grunts since we were teens, you’re just boring and racist

This is who we should've been defending Pop Punk from all along.

WHAT'S up me hearties it be thy boy Ahab, with the biggest ounce of gold giveaway ever hath ye seen on the channel. Swerve not thy fixed purpose to attend this one, guys! But first I must tell ye the tale of SQUARESPACE, who be thy sponsor today

can't draw? doesn't matter, try it anyway
can't code? doesn't matter, try it anyway
can't spell? doesn't matter, try it anyway

There is no excuse for compromises or giving a single cent to these fascist dickheads. They murdered 2 people while being recorded and who knows how many more off camera. Bodycams ain't gonna do a thing.

Grasp at the root and tear it up.

Idk I think it's actually a good thing to criticize people in institutions of power who could be doing more to fight the conditions that made the murders of the ordinary people risking everything to protect their communities possible. You can even do it at the same time as opposing the murderers.

Big Feindflug energy tbh

“everyone hates you, you fuckin American” idk what you’re talking about, I am a proud citizen of the greatest country in the world: PHILADELPHIA

Like at this point, it's a 4 hour time loss which could be recouped pretty quickly. Only part of Act 1 that makes me sweat a little anymore is the Mist.

But going from Clawline and Double Jump back to basics is so hard for my muscle memory and I do not want to go back to lacking them.

I've gotten a Steel Soul run in Silksong to the point where I have all the movement upgrades and I am lowkey terrified to reset at this point.

From this moment on I'm gonna be practicing each segment/boss with a fail risk before attempting it cause I don't wanna lose this run.

Nighttime image of Femme V sitting on the railing of a walking bridge in downtown Night City

Same as left image but with the lyrics to Ashamed by Health overlaid

Don't really post art to main but that might change as I've been putting out some decent stuff recently.

Did a piece of Cyberpunk 2077 fanart including a version with Health lyrics on top. Happy with how the lighting and shading looks on this one.

i think american life would improve significantly and quickly if society was more encouraging of people to have Hobbies. the most perfect and serene state of mind that exists is when one is Doing one's Little Things

This year I:
Grieved deeply for the absence of a pet who passed last year
Finally got a diagnosis and meds to help with my anxiety
Put out my first complete game
Bet on myself and found a new job
Got back into both video game dev and drawing

A mixed bag with some serious downs. But a lot of ups.

La Dispute is almost unquestionably my AOTY. Conflict DLC from Health almost snuck in at the last minute but there are songs on that La Dispute album that helped shape my year towards the end. Ceschi is similarly in my actual top 3 cause Pt. 1 of his album helped get me through some shit.

Rough top 10 albums of 2025 for me (mostly based on vibes/staying power, order doesn't matter):

La Dispute
Health
Ceschi
Deafheaven
Clipse
clipping.
Orthodox
Little Simz
The Acacia Strain
The World is a Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid to Die.

Solid year tbh

AD-ROCK: Yo Ebenezer you gotta show re-
BEASTIES: MORSE
AD-ROCK: Redemption is not a mere matter of
Beasties: COURSE
MIKE D: We’ll show you Bob Cratchit’s not a lazy
BEASTIES: MOOCHER
MCA: We’re Christmas Past
MIKE D: Christmas Present
BEASTIES: AND CHRISTMAS FUTURE

Our upcoming game The Hearth and Harbour is fully 2D, but with some neat tricks we’ve made it look 3D. Ethan, our environment artist, did this with a special type of texture called a Normal Map. (Thread! 1/7)

Honestly, having the alternate route to Act 2 being less hidden would've improved some peoples' experience with the game. Last Judge is brutal early on, and the alternate gatekeeper boss is so much more manageable even if the area leading to them is annoying.

It's really reinforcing my take that the main reason Act 1 feels so hard is because the player gets so many crucial tools in Act 2. Act 1 has some things (mainly silk skills) but so many key movement and combat tricks don't come into play until the second act. The game changes entirely at that point

First playthrough was just straight fundamentals, no funny business.

Second playthrough I'm constantly using Clawline to engage/disengage and trying to get the full potential of the Sawtooth Circlet in play with pogo/double jump resets and it's a different game entirely. Feels even more incredible.

Silksong is holding up so well on the second playthrough and with the recent announcement, I'm glad I decided to pick it up again to start working towards a Steel Soul run.

Can't wait to see what nonsense (positive) Team Cherry is gonna throw at us after the challenge of the base game.

It's clear to me that the people really pushing this slop are not creatives and fundamentally do not understand the creative process.

The process is the important part not the end result. Discovery and development are what really matter. Creation is play not efficiency or a commodity.