A semi-nomadic online traveller from Verdigris, archiving, connecting and creating as much as he can.
Also a budding architect, visual artist, and demoscene musician at heart.
You can also see me down Masto-raft at @jupritona, and Fanlore (JWPH) and Newgrounds (that1verdeian).
With how us humans, regardless of social standing, continue to develop our entire civilization, especially with our immediate surroundings, for the past several centuries, the rate at which we are doing so has been slowly speeding up with newfound technologies and measures, a side effect that of which has been slowly replacing the sweet, calming ambience of nature itself with the brutalist, artificial statis of urban life, without much regard to the creatures we are supposed to take care of and equally preserve for generations to come.
Truly, if we do not ever strive and make pushes towards a sort of a humane-ecological balance, alongside tackling greed as a major factor in this critical climate crisis, we might as well see the Earth’s natural resources go “Stand Still, Stay Silent”.
I’ve been entirely mostly off from OMORI these days, and still on vivid/statis, wherein I still seem to stagnate at my current ability to clear Classes 2 and/or 3 on Course Mode, as well as raising my personal skills and score on Middle charts past Level 6-9+, just for that last requirement on the final Final Landing song’s equivalent chart.
Considering its merits as a meaty scifi story (involving realities, personas, and other relevant technological aspects) nestled within a 4-key rhythm game, I think vivid/statis would fare decently as a standalone novel, along with some tweaks to adapt and interpret the ARG-esque bits whenever possible.
I’d say my personal faves are that of OMORI, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Sky: Children of the Light, and the two OXENFREE titles.
Those last seven days? Mostly vivid/statis (PC) and Shattered Pixel Dungeon (mobile).
In particular, for the former, I’ve been slowly improving myself in recognizing medium-to-hard charts and beating them, mostly of the Middle difficulty, although I found the Cyclical Rebellion one quite hard to maneuver, requiring extra reflex time to get through the tricky sections. Story-wise, I held off from experiencing the second-to-last episode of Chapter 3 until I can build up the stamina and patience needed for its corresponding boss song chart (of which I’m either gunning for Opening or Middle, owing to my rather newbie-status in serious, well-polished 4k rhythm games in general), but from what much I had gleaned out of, from the game’s official Discord hub, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes, particularly on the main characters’ dimensional dilemma and the concept of “cycles”. Gameplay-wise, I still am grappling over the fact I get more early notes, and less late ones, than a stable balance, but I attribute it mostly to my proficiency and a rather minor irregular rhythm/beat following.
As for my own backlog, though, I still have the unplayed demo for Until Then, as well as OMORI, and Disc Room, the last of which I haven’t touched upon since my last playthrough some three years back.
Nowadays, it’s through “bait-and-switch” rip vids made by Youtube channels like SiIvaGunner and TimmyTurnersGrandDad.
I also keep a casual eye towards new releases on itch.io.
I also felt the normalcy kicking back in at this moment; days or weeks ago, it felt like jumbled static and spammed noise perusing through this digital seaside village, with storms periodically downing the entire rafterstructure.
Whatever you are doing and faring right now, Mr. @ernest, stay humble and keep on doing for the best of all, even if it means having to ask for additional help from us when circumstances are dire. :D
vivid/statis
Venice 2089
Clodhoppers
When the Past was Around
Down the chats of the official Fanlore discord server lately (of which I have been in for the past few months), they’ve been discussing this kind of transgression alongside the HP fanfic debacle (specifically, the Manacled one, of which upon its reworked professional release by its fanfic author gained enough controversy within and outside the fandom that it warranted for a wiki article on its own).
Also, one editor has suggested using “illegal fic binding” in place of the term "illegal “fanbinding” as the latter connotes the non-profit work with a for-profit tone in a negative way. Another has noted that het (in other words, F/M) fanfics sell much more than other pairing-centered ones, and attract more outsiders willing to buy that much for an illegal fic-binded copy, in disrespect to those original authors; throw the franchise copyright shenanigans in, and there we have the entire panfandom world at a crossroads battlefield against those recklessly profiteering for the sake of it.
Also, as a side note, there’s also this recently-created wiki article section about said fannish controversy:
https://fanlore.org/wiki/Fannish_Bookbinding#Criticism_and_Controversies
Philippines (current overall)
If you’re the type who wants to unwind from the hyper-realistic art style of most mainstream games nowadays, while also exploring modern Filipino life and culture through the eyes of a young adult student, the Until Then demo might be up your alley. Aside from the pixelated art style coming from the devs themselves, who are also wholly Filipino themselves, there’s quite a substantial attention to detail when it comes to the greater Metro Manila and the suburban locations around, including our local circuses. Oh, and there’s also quite a bit of mysteriousness and some philospophy to it, as vaguely evidenced by its Playstation 5 trailer.
As @Drusas also noted below, just discovering and enjoying new things, while also finding stories of humane positivity, everything nature and greenery, and listening to trackertunes that are well-crafted and have a strong storyline involved.
@HeartyBeast Jokes on you, I already figured out what story’s on its surface (except for spoiler-territory stuff), as well as having indirectly encountered this banger of a rhythm game myself, through two rip vids on both SiIvaGunner and TimmyTurnersGrandDad several weeks ago, of all things.
For a complete surprise, just the few intro part notes of bo en’s “My Time”.
It would be mostly this song by Filipino band Over October, even though this could also apply to those missing their own parents or siblings for so long:
Into the Light
Headcase by Derivakat
And including Lualhati Bautista, Fred Rogers, and a few more kindred souls, of which we lost some too soon into their long lives…
Moreso in that blood-crimson, with-large-ominous-hand-constructs purgatory known as RED SPACE, with OMORI’s true form constantly berating their souls for their unspeakable transgressions towards their fellow humans.
And, about time for some listening to this one banger Free Money! rip on Youtube as a sort of ironic celebration.
I would also like to add that she’s also in the game Sayonara Wild Hearts as the Narrator herself, as a sort of last-minute addition by the developers at Simogo.