30 Days of TØP in a Couple Days (Revisited)

        Back in August of 2018 I did a thing I came across online. Each day there was a different question related to Twenty One Pilots. I just did all the questions at once and posted my answers over the course of two days. These posts can be found here:

https://whateveriwant7.blogspot.com/2018/08/30-days-of-tp-in-couple-days-pt-1.html

https://whateveriwant7.blogspot.com/2018/08/30-days-of-tp-in-couple-days-pt-2.html

        I've decided it'd be fun to redo these questions 7 years and 4 albums later and reflect on my past answers.

        I've decided to just chuck them all in one blog post instead of separating them like last time.

1. Favorite song

        Current Answer: Trees

        Past Answer: Migraine

        Commentary: Good take from me. Migraine has been my 2nd favorite song behind Trees for as long as I can remember now. We'll see where Migraine ends up on my tier list this time around, but Trees remains king.

2. First song I heard

                    

        Current Answer: Same as before

        Past Answer: I wasn't sure, but A Car, A Torch, A Death is probably my earliest memory because the ringing noise stuck with me

        Commentary: Yeah, as noted in the previous post, Hannah is, ofc, what got me into Twenty One Pilots. So my first time hearing a lot of Self-Titled, Vessel, and Blurryface was hearing Hannah listen to them, so my first song could have been anything (well, not Blurryface. Hannah was listening to them before Blurryface came out).

3. Last song I listened to

        Current Answer: One Way (with Days Lie Dormant currently playing as I type this) [Note: This answer is from about a month and a half ago when I first wrote this]

        Past Answer: Taken by Sleep

        Commentary: Deep pull from past me. I really should listen to No Phun intended more.

4. Are you a fan?

        Current Answer: Same as before, haha.

        Past Answer: Yes? I am confused by the intent of this question. Anyone who actually does this is probably a fan.

        Commentary: Curious if there was some deeper meaning to this in some form that I may never know.

5. Favorite song off Blurryface

        Current Answer: The Judge, and it's not close nowadays

        Past Answer: Not Today

        Commentary: Not Today has definitely been top 3 from the album for me for a long time, so this doesn't surprise me. Curious if it'll stay that way this upcoming tier list. Even if it ends up as 2nd fav from Blurryface, The Judge is just a tier above it and everything else from the album imo.

6. Favorite song off Vessel

        Current Answer: Trees

        Past Answer: Migraine

        Commentary: Same commentary as question 1. I love Vessel so much.

7. Favorite song off Regional at Best

        Current Answer: Kitchen Sink

        Past Answer: Kitchen Sink

        Commentary: My feelings on many songs on Regional at Best have changed quite a bit throughout the years (aka, I've been liking the songs less and less), but I've always had a love for Kitchen Sink.

8. Favorite song off Self-Titled

        Current Answer: Taxi Cab, and it's not close nowadays

        Past Answer: Friend, Please

        Commentary: Friend, Please is a powerful song that I love. I had a friend in high school this song would (and still does) make me think of. I'm curious how much this song was elevated by that fact. The song is meaningful to me now, but it was even more so back then.

9. Favorite song off No Phun Intended

        Current Answer: Drown

        Past Answer: Blasphemy

        Commentary: Man, only have 5 albums to listen to instead of now 9 made it a lot easier to get around to listening to No Phun intended. Trying to answer this question was a big reason why I finally made a NPI Tier List recently. During that process, I decided Drown is my favorite with Blasphemy in 2nd place.

        

(Going to chuck these in here even though I don't have past answers to them in case I redo this 5 years down the line or something)

9a Fav song from Trench

        Morph

9b Fav song from Scaled and Icy

        Formidable

9c Fav song from Clancy

        Vignette

9d Fav song from Breach

        I think I've finally settled on Downstairs being my favorite from the album, but I haven't officially ranked them, so we'll see if this opinion is true once my updated tier list comes out.

10. Underrated song?

        Current Answer: I was cooking with my past answer. Same as before.

        Past Answer: The Pantaloon? I'm not quite sure

        Commentary: So 7 years ago I hadn't ever really looked at the general fanbase's opinions. It wasn't actually until just a couple months ago that I started looking at other people's tierlists. And sooo many people really don't like The Pantaloon; people just really don't like Tyler's vocals I guess. But I've always loved The Pantaloon and still do so to this day. So The Pantaloon is my pick.

11. Overrated song

        Current Answer: Drag Path

        Past Answer: House of Gold

        Past Commentary: I love the song and I've been liking it more recently and it may climb up the ranks (when I get to redoing those), but I still think people like it too much. Ex. Ben and Thomas have it in their top 5/10

        Commentary: House of Gold totally makes sense for my pick; after doing a music video on it, it dropped in my rankings. It's come up somewhat since then, but is still lower than what it used to be at. Vs (as referenced) Ben and Thomas who loved the song a lot.

        Okay okay: Drag Path. The opinions I've been seeing are people putting this into their top 5's, including SKR (my favorite TØP youtuber) putting it at his top 1. My current theory: I've just got a small sample size that all happened to agree. Because golly, this song ain't even top 5 in the album. It's good, don't get me wrong. But top 5 all time? I say nay to that.

12. Song that has the most meaning to me?

        Current Answer: Trees

        Past Answer: Holding On To You

        Past Commentary: This question is brutal. I feel like Holding On To You? Simply because of that one rap that's my favorite rap of all time and it means so much to me [I then quoted the rap, but I won't do so here. The one that starts, "Remember the moment You know exactly where you're going"]

        Commentary: Holding On To You is a fantastic pick, and I think it's probably still in my top 5 nowadays. Trees takes the spot this time. Tally is up there as well.

13. Do you know when Tyler's Birthday is?

        Current Answer: Yes, December 1st, same as my Sister

        Past Answer: Yes, December 1st.

        14. Do you know when Josh's birthday is?

        Current Answer: No, sorry Josh. Although I blame my sister sharing a birthday with Tyler for why I remember his.

        Past Answer: I'm pretty sure it's in June. The 27th? 17th?

I looked it up and it's on June 18th, so I was close. I got the month right, at least.

        Commentary: Wow, I'm surprised I got so close to that last time.

15. Favorite TØP cover?

        Current Answer: Lowkey Mad World

        Past Answer: Cancer

        Commentary: I realize Can't Help Falling In Love is just straight up their best cover, but alas, my current pick is Mad World. I used to love the Cancer cover a lot more than I do now, so that pick checks out.

16. Song I wished was played on the radio

        Current Answer: I swear I thought this before reading my past answer, hahaha: "Golly if Migraine came on the radio, I would POP OFF."

        Past Answer: I don't know all the songs that are played on the radio since I don't listen to the radio a whole bunch, but I guess Migraine simply because it's my favorite.

        Commentary: Most of the time I see my past answer as I read the question since they're right next to each other, but since this answer was a block of text I had that thought before seeing the answer, haha.

17. Least Favorite Song

        Current Answer: Two

        Past Answer: House of Gold

        Commentary: The fact that I ever put House of Gold at the very bottom is kind of insane. I know it took a serious dip, but I didn't know it was that bad. Bounce Man really should be at the bottom of my list, but Two can actively make me feel anxious during parts of the song (even though other parts are simply beautiful and peaceful -- it's a very weird song), so it takes it for me.

        (Side note: This is not including RAB songs that have Vessel versions; I always use the Vessel versions for all rankings and such)

18. Have you seen them live?

        Current Answer: I have not. Honestly not sure why I haven't prioritized it more considering how big of a role they've played in my life.

        Past Answer: No :( But it's not like I've tried too hard to do so. I know a couple people who have. And I have in one of my dreams.

        Commentary: I sadly no longer recall this dream.

19. Which rap verse is my favorite?

        Current Answer: The Holding On To You rap probably still.

        Past Answer: The Holding On To You rap I mentioned.

        Commentary: Just a few months ago (notably before Breach came out) my family asked me what my favorite lyric was from Twenty One Pilots. I thought of this blog post from 7 years ago and answered "I'm not sure about lyric, but my favorite rap is the Holding On To You rap." 

        It's still probably true to this day, but I'd have to look around some more if I wanted to confirm for sure. The rap meant more to me and was more relevant to me/my mental state in the past, so there's a chance something else is more personal to me now.

20. Favorite chorus?

        Current Answer: Okay, I gave a cop-out answer last time, so I'll at least try to come up with something. After a couple minutes of glancing around songs, I'm going to go with the potentially recency bias pick of Center Mass. Golly, I don't know why but it's so good.

        Past Answer: I have no idea

21. Favorite album?

        Current Answer: Gotta give it to my king Vessel for now. I visited this question in a blog post you can find here about a year and a half ago, and it's still fairly accurate to how I feel.

        Past Answer: Regional at Best

        Commentary: Like I referenced somewhere above, my opinions on songs in RAB have gone down throughout the years. Found an old blog post of mine that talked about why RAB was my favorite. Full post here (important part is the last big paragraph). I had a lowkey based take, but, uhhhh, gotta disagree now. 

22. Least favorite album?

        Current Answer: Honestly probably Regional at Best -- don't tell my past self that.

        Past Answer: Blurryface

        Commentary: Curious how much Blurryface dipped in my personal ratings simply because it was popular. But at the same time, kind of a based take to have RAB and Self-Titled above Blurryface (and Vessel > Blurryface as well, but that take is more common. RAB/Self-Titled vs Blurryface is much more mixed in opinions, I think).

23. Most emotional album?

        Current Answer: Is No Phun Intended a legal answer? If not, then, yeah, probably Self-Titled

        Past Answer: Self-Titled

        Commentary: Seriously, almost every song on No Phun Intended makes me immediately feel all the things.

24. Own any of the albums?

        Current Answer: Trench, Scaled and Icy, Clancy, and Breach

        Past Answer: All that are accessible. So, Vessel and Blurryface

        Commentary: I just realized -- I never owned a copy of Vessel and Blurryface, hahaha. Not sure why I said I owned them in that blog post. Hannah owns Blurryface and I would love to own them both, but I don't, haha.

25. Song I want them to cover?

        Current Answer: Some old random cool song that I know; I have no idea. No real interest in them doing covers (but of course would love them anyway if any did happen). Would loooooove them covering their own songs -- specifically RAB if that's possible (aka would loooooove RAB remake pls pls pls).

        Past Answer: Something by Bastille simply because they're my second favorite artist

        Commentary: Half Alive is now my second favorite artist probably; Bastille is a great pick though. Matthew Mole is up there as well contending for #2 I think.

26. Song you listen to the most?

        Current Answer: Uhhh, maybe Next Semester? From newest album (not counting singles that I listened to on repeat before the album came out) probably Center Mass?

        Past Answer: Probably The Pantaloon

27. Own any merch?

        Current Answer: I guess I technically own a yellow bandana I got with the Trench album.

        Past Answer: Nope, because I rarely wear any clothing with words/pictures on them. That's an entirely different discussion

        Commentary: I've gotten to a point where I can but don't frequently wear clothing with words/pictures on them. Twenty One Pilots is sufficiently important to me that I would wear merch if I had it. I'm still picky though, so only some of their merch.

28. Favorite Lyrics?

        Current Answer: This piece from Rawfear has been wiggling in my brain (in a good way): "Learning all that really matters is a slow and painful lesson / It is not pass or fail, but a poisonous progression / Try to micro-dose to immunity, but you'll never, ever get it", but like with the favorite rap, I'd really have to search to confirm it for sure. But right at this moment, it's that.

        Past Answer: That Holding On To You rap

29. Truce or Goner

        Current Answer: Truce

        Past Answer: Goner

        Commentary: The new song Intentions made me fall more in love with Truce. I think historically Truce and Goner have been pretty close on my rankings -- on The Line Update version, Goner is barely beating Truce out by 4 spots. In my upcoming tier list Truce will definitely be on top.

29a (Alternate Similar Question) Favorite Closer?

        Paladin Strait

30. Ode to Sleep or Heavydirtysoul?

        Current Answer: Ode to Sleep

        Past Answer: Ode to Sleep

        Commentary: Ode to Sleep is peak.

30a (Alternate Similar Question) Favorite Opener?

        Gaaahhhh, City Walls or Ode to Sleep, I don't knoooooow. You'll have to wait for the tier list, I refuse to decide right now.

My Favorite Books by Brandon Sanderson (a Tier List)

        It's here! Can't believe I didn't do this sooner. I made a tier list of my favorite books in general back in Oct 2022 (which you can find here), but I refrained from adding most of Brandon Sanderson's works since it had been so many years since I had read many of them. On top of that, Brandon has also released, like, 10 books since I wrote that post, so there's a lot to add.

        Important Note: This is my favorites and is reflective of my experience with them, not what I think is the best nor what the books I would suggest the highest. Obviously my experience with them is going to be strongly correlated with how good I think they are, but this is not always the case.
        Prime example: I don't actually think that Allomancer Jak is a better book/short story than Rhythm of War even though it's two spots higher. I just simply had a good time when I read it last and thought it was cute and so I put it in the "Like" tier. Versus Rhythm of War I feel generally meh about, so I put it in the "It's Fine" tier.

        Okay, so I don't want this post to accidentally turn into 'Give my thoughts on every book I've ever read by Brandon Sanderson', but I did want to make write about a few things.

        Three Small Notes To Start

        Legion represents all three Novellas combined.
        I think the main reason I didn't like Legion: Death and Faxes was because the narrator's voice wasn't my favorite.
        The Eleventh Metal surprised me this reread; I really enjoyed it and thought it worked great as a prequel.

        Lux

        Lux almost assuredly is good enough to make it much higher on this list than the spot it landed on (the bottom of "It's Fine"). I started listening to the book expecting it to be to be a novella length, like, 3-6 hours long. I was trying to blitz listen to the book, not paying the greatest attention to exposition/character backstory/things in general since I thought it would be done soon. Just a simple little listen. Well, after getting quite a few hours deep into the story I realized that it was actually 15 hours long in total. I was not mentally prepared for that. I still wanted to finish it and I just kept listening to it even during times I couldn't fully focus on it.
        These incorrect expectations for what the book was going into it really ended up ruining what could have been a much better experience, I think.

        A thought on rereads and why The Hero of Ages remains my favorite book

        Question: What's the most important read-through of a book, the first or any other past that? I really think the first. Many books you're not even going to reread in the first place. On top of that, surprises/twists/revelations can only be experienced fully on the first read-through.
        (An aside here because I think it's interesting: Music I think is the inverse: You can listen to a song so many times and thus the 100th listen experience is much more important than the first imo.)

        I think this factor is relevant in making this tier list. In certain cases, I give some amount of weight to my first read-through of a book. The prime example of this is The Hero of Ages. For many many years now I have said that it's my favorite book and that continues to this day. But for the past couple readthroughs of the Mistborn trilogy, I've actually been preferring Book 1. Same with various Stormlight books, my most recent rereads of Stormlight 1-3 were all a better experience compared to my most recent reread of The Hero of Ages.
        But, and this is a big but, my first readthrough of The Hero of Ages is by far and away my favorite individual readthrough of any book ever. I. Love. That. Book. And it remains my favorite book of all time.

        None of my other first read-through opinions shine nearly as brightly as Hero of Ages, but it is relevant in much smaller ways in a couple parts of my tier list.

        Dreamer

        I read Dreamer for the first time just recently. It's been worming in my brain, and I like it more and more the more I think about it. I went in knowing nothing about it, which I think was important for the experience, so try to go in blind if you can. It's only 20-pages or so long and worth the quick read in my opinion. I have a copy I could lend if anybody is curious.

        Skyward Flight

        Okay, I don't know why I loved the Skyward Flight stories as much as I did, but I really enjoyed them. Should they be put above the likes of Isles of Emberdark, The Well of Ascension, and Tress? Probably not, but, like for some reason I was just having a blast the whole time when I read them, and you'll notice they're my 2nd favorite thing from the Skyward series. I'm not really planning on ever rereading the series because I didn't like the 2nd or 3rd book, though.
        The three are unsorted amongst themselves -- they all blur in my head.

        Emperor's Soul

        Reread this for the first time in a long while and it was simply a delight. Deservedly earned spot #5. Highly recommend, especially if you want something shorter (it's only 100ish pages).

TØP Rap Statistics (Breach and The Line update)

Old Statistics can be found here: https://whateveriwant7.blogspot.com/2024/06/tp-rap-statistics.html

        So the stats here are how many songs by Twenty One Pilots have rap in them and how many don't. I just find it interesting and fun and cool.

        First: Update to previous decisions on previous songs. 

        After consideration, Bandito has been moved to the non-rap category. 

        And Not Today (already time-stamped for the section in question) is still the biggest question mark, but I decided to leave it in the Rap section for now.

        In the previous statistics, there were more songs with rap than without. But 10 out of the 14 songs in Breach do not contain rap, and The Line doesn't contain rap either. This means non-rap has taken the majority.

Here's the stats:

October 2025 Journal Entry

Hades II

        Well, if last month was the month of Silksong, then this month... wasn't really the month of Hades II. I was fully expecting it to be, but it didn't turn out so. I mean, I still spent some time with it (partly in September, to be fair -- it came out September 25th), got to an ending and had fun. But, like, a third of the time compared to Silksong and a quarter of the time compared to Stardew Valley.

        I'm not sure why I didn't like it as much as Hades I. I can recognize the game is great, but idk.

Books

        Got a lot of reading done! Read Isles of Emberdark, reread tons of some of Brandon Sanderson's smaller works, read some of his smaller works for the first time, got around to rereading Hank Green's An Absolutely Remarkable Thing so I could read its sequel A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor.

        Good stuff.

Scheduled out Blogposts and Such

        I referenced last month that I wrote tons of blogposts that I hadn't published yet and that I'd be posting them once per week. Since then I have polished several of them up, made a specific schedule for them, and had a couple more ideas to add into the mix. Most of them are already written, but a few of them are still being worked on (ex. obviously this post alongside the November and December journal entries can't be written until they can. My Twenty One Pilots Tier List is also still a WIP alongside spoilers).

Exercised/Used Exercise Unlocked

        Exercise Unlocked (more specifically, the Loot Boxes you could buy with Sweat Coin that Ryan, Angeles, and I made) got me motivated to exercise a lot more this month than I normally do. It's been great, feeling good. A lot of push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, and squats in the first half of the month, then I kind of transitioned back into playing Pickleball every chance I get.

        Although use of Exercise Unlocked has declined throughout the month (which I'm perfectly fine with; I had no expectations for how long lived it would be), it was great fun to play around with it. 

        It was fun to do just a few more jumping jacks so I could have just enough Sweat Coin to buy another Loot Box. Fun to talk about the meta of Ryan's game he made. Fun to try to collect every family member's trading card and decorate my page. To look at the creative things others did on their pages, look at adorable Melody Inspirational Stickers. Just good fun all around. And maybe it'll spike back up in use at some point, who knows.

Interviews!!!

        Huge progress in terms of my job hunt. Feel very blessed and fortunate. Did many interviews this month for two different jobs, and I think I did really well! Feeling great about the chances I have to get one or both offers. Either opportunity would be wonderful; they're both jobs I really want, so I'm excited for whatever happens. I finished my last round with one of the companies and still have one left with the other.

        Maybe next month I'll return and report that I got neither. I would be very quite sad. But I'm rather hopeful that will not be the case.

Misc.

        Scrabble playing continued 🔥. Dressed up as Kristofferson alongside Hannah as Ashe from Fantastic Mr. Fox for Halloween (Lucas and Hannah did it first -- I just stole Lucas's costume) 🦊. The NBA season has started up again, which I seem to get more and more invested into every year 🏀. Oh, yeah, I had my 25th birthday, lowkey forgot about that for a second 🎂. Thought about writing many times but never did so 🖉.

Breakdown of "Creation Thawing"

        In this blogpost I talk about the poem "Creation Thawing" that I wrote. You can find that poem here, but it will also be copied and pasted throughout as I talk about specific sections:

Link

A Brief Forward

        So after writing that poem and this breakdown, I started watching some poetry content on youtube. Fascinating stuff which kind of made me feel like my poem is bad. Which it is on the grand scheme of things, of course. But that's not what matters I think? So regardless of the fact that I can get so much better at writing poetry, I'm proud of the poem that I did write. And obviously if I'm ever to get better at poetry the most important step to doing so is writing more poetry, so there's that.

        Anyway, onto the needlessly obtuse breakdown:

        

Quick Overview

       This poem is about some struggles I have in my creative/creation process. I originally started writing it because I started to freeze up (a topic/theme discussed in the poem). I broke through and in an attempt to describe what I was feeling and the thoughts I was having about what I was going through, I started writing short lines for a poem. After iterations, those lines became this poem.

        In its middle stages of creation, the poem was actually structured as a set of three poems that were meant to be read in conjunction. The first three 'paragraphs' were titled "Creation at a Standby" and then later "Creation Frozen". The next three 'paragraphs' were titled "Creation at a Crawl" and later "Creation Thawing". Then the last three 'paragraphs' I simply labeled as "Creation", but I never felt that title was the one I wanted it to have.

        It was actually this struggle with the third title that led me to simply remove the separation altogether and conjoin them into one poem. I think the three separate but connected poem idea is cool. It came about because the structure of what I was writing flowed within the sets of three paragraphs, and specific ideas were tackled by each section. 

        Although now one poem, their structures and specific ideas are still split across the 3 sections which I'll be calling the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Sections.

My Personal Meaning to the Poem

1st Section

It's easier to do nothing than something

So nothing often happens

It's easier to stop than finish

So stop often happens

It's easier to consume than create

So consume often happens

Such easy dopamine

The things I truly want lay on the wayside

So many choices 

The things I do make me feel like I am missing another

Ice creeps through my veins

So I sit in paralysis

        As referenced before, this section was originally titled "Creation at a Standby" and later "Creation Frozen" because this section simply states my struggle with no offer of hope, solution, or alternative.

        The first paragraph is talking about how creating something can be difficult for me. It's easier for me to never start or to stop than it is for me to create anything at all. It's easier for me to simply watch youtube videos ("consume").

        Paragraph two expands on this. "Such easy dopamine" is a reference to that "It's easier to consume than create". It's so easy for me to simply open up youtube, find a random video to watch, spend x amount of time doing that, rinse and repeat. But often I walk away from watching that video feeling like I didn't really want to watch it. That the primary reason why I watched it was simply because it was a convenient, easy way to distract my brain, and I would choose to do something else if I could go back and change that decision. 

        Nuance nuance here: Obviously youtube can be a wonderful place full of goodness in a variety of ways -- and it often is that for me. But other times it leads to, well, me wasting time. And, slightly different note, obviously living in a constant state of "I have to be doing the optimal thing at all times and if I don't do that than I'm constantly regretting my use of time" is not healthy, and I hope I'm not invertedly promoting that mindset here. It's a balance between recognizing that I want to do something differently while not beating myself up over it etc. etc. Fighting off unhealthy mindsets/fears is part of what Section 2 focuses on. 

        In this poem "things I truly want" is referencing creating things, working on creative projects or other things such as blog posts, various youtube video ideas, an app/video game idea, Auzzy Quite Liked Her Name, alongside other things I want to do including mission journal transcriptions, other writing projects, and reading.

        

        "So many choices" is referencing how sometimes when I go to do something, my mind is bombarded with all the other things I also want to be doing. It makes me feel, well, it makes me feel like what paragraph 3 says. In this case, "So many choices" is not only referring to the "things I truly want", but is also referencing tons of random small things that my brain says I need to get to. 

        "When's the last time you talked to x friend or y family member?", "You still need to read some scriptures today, are you sure you should be doing this instead?", "You've been meaning to post a life update on facebook for years now, you really should get on that.", and then the ever present "You don't have a job, why are you doing anything else besides attempting to find a job."

        I hate this bombardment of thoughts, and although those sentences aren't exactly what goes on in my brain (but is more just an attempt of trying to get the idea across), these thoughts weigh me down at times. Sometimes it's better and sometimes worse, of course. The worst offender by far is the ever present thought at the end, which I'm trying to get a healthier mindset around.

        

        All these thoughts can send me into a state of paralysis. A petrified state where it feels so difficult to act because it feels like I won't be able to get to even a fraction of what I want to, so why even try. And even if I do pick one, it wasn't the correct one, that I should be working on something else instead. 

        This is what paragraph 3 talks about. There's a physical sensation of something crawling through my veins in my arms, freezing them in place. This is where the idea of the 'ice' throughout the poem comes from. This is also where the poem gets its name.

2nd Section

So afraid of failing while creating

So afraid of creating something worth nothing

But perhaps the attempt itself has intrinsic value

So afraid of choosing one over another

So afraid of wasting that potential

But perhaps they can all be done, one by one

I'm afraid of wasting

I'm afraid of freezing

But perhaps I need only to try

        The last line in each paragraph is fighting off the fears. In this section, my fight back against this ice/paralysis begins. This is why this section was originally titled "Creation at a Crawl" and later "Creation Thawing". 

        Paragraph 4 (aka, paragraph 1 in this section) talks about how I'm scared that I'll struggle and fail while creating -- struggling and failing is hard. It'd be so easy if I could just make something fantastic immediately, but that's not how it works. It then talks about how I'm scared that even if I do manage to create something, that it won't be worthwhile. 

        These fears are fought back by the thought that perhaps the attempt itself is worth something. That even if I fail or even if I create something that ends up being thrown away the next day, that that effort was not wasted.

        Paragraph 5 talks more about the idea of how when I choose one thing "I truly want", I feel I won't be able to get to (and therefore waste the potential of) another thing "I truly want". These fears are combatted by the thought that perhaps they can all be done if I just take them one at a time. 

        The thing is (although I don't like to remind myself of this fact), I don't even know if that's true. The "But perhaps" is in there for a reason. Can I really do all the things?

        But the thought helps me focus. It helps me calm down and just pick one thing to do rather than be overwhelmed by how many things I want to do.

        Paragraph 6 encompasses all these ideas. I'm afraid of wasting. Wasting my time. Wasting these great ideas I feel I have. Letting my friendships waste away. I'm afraid of freezing. I'm afraid of having all these things paralyze me into a state where I do nothing at all (which, I'll note here, is different than a state of relaxing or taking a break).

        These fears are combatted by the thought that perhaps I need only to try.

        Using the word 'I' in this paragraph made it feel more personal and real for me. It's the last paragraph in the section; this slight change up makes that work better, I feel. It focuses in on the fact that this poem isn't just about anyone's fears, but they're mine. And these "But perhaps" thoughts lead me to having a healthier mindset around them.

3rd Section

When the ice starts to form

And my brain starts to short circuit

I'll heed those voices not

And channel this desire strong

I'll focus on a thing I want

And create it

        This last section finishes the poem with a declaration of what I want and will try to do when these struggles come.

        The "brain starts to short circuit" references another sensation that commonly comes alongside the ice (although do not always appear together). My brain just starts to shut down is the simplest way of putting it. I could go much more in-depth about this, and perhaps I will another time depending.

        "I'll heed those voices not" is referencing 1 Nephi 8:33. "But we heeded them not" is a powerful phrase to me. "Those voices" is referencing all the fears and things I discussed throughout the rest of the poem.

        "And channel this desire strong" is referencing this deep desire I have in my heart to create and work on these things. It pushes me to make, to create.

        In the last paragraph, my use of the word 'a' here is intentional. 'The' would perhaps imply that there's only one right choice of thing to work on, and there's only one thing I want at any given time, which isn't true. 'a' pulls back to the idea of doing things 'one by one'.

No Phun Intended Tier List

        So this is my first time ever sitting down and fully making a tier list for No Phun Intended. I've always known generally which songs are my favorite, but the lower end I've really had no idea how things would shake out.

        For those who don't know, No Phun Intended is an album made by a 17 year-old Tyler Joseph. The fact that he wrote this in high school is incredible. Every lyric is compact with meaning and every song is performed with so much emotion. This album makes me feel more things than any other music, each song is just so raw and powerful.

        The production quality is obviously low, and, as shown in my rankings, it's not like I love every song. But that doesn't mean I don't love every song, if that makes sense. That sentiment is true more for this album than any other, I think. 

        Especially with an album as emotional as this, people will connect to different songs. Anybody could tell me any song from this album is their favorite and a thought like, "Really?" wouldn't even cross my mind, which, ofc, isn't true for most music ex. how does anyone like Bounce Man, I don't get it (sorry, have to keep playing into my certified Bounce Man hater persona to annoy Ben)

        The S, A+, and A songs are all songs I genuinely enjoy and I should really add them to my playlist. Obviously this is more true the higher on the tier list you get (with an asterisk on TB Saga, we'll talk more about that in a sec). Although, granted, due to the fact that they're very emotional and they sound ¿old?/not like the rest of the songs on the playlist, it probably wouldn't be uncommon for me to skip them. 

        Okay, so the asterisk on Taco Bell Saga: Taco Bell Saga is the greatest song of all time... but like not really, haha. But, like, it's the greatest song of all time. 

        The fact that a song such as Taco Bell Saga (an incredibly goofy silly fun song about Taco Bell) exists on the same album as Save (a song where Tyler Joseph is literally screaming and pleading with all his heart to God and Christ to save him) is incredible. 

        On top of that, it's just the fact that the man who made Taco Bell Saga is also the one who has made so many other powerful deep songs (Neon Gravestones feels like a prime example) and has, through his music, saved a lot of people's lives. It's just awesome and makes me happy. 

        Taco Bell Saga's existence makes me so happy. Enough to put it in S tier when perhaps it really shouldn't be. I almost gave it the #1 spot, haha, but Drown and Blasphemy are too goated.

        Like, seriously, this fact is so hilarious and great to me. Feel free to check out this amazing thing yourself: Taco Bell Saga Link, Save Link.

        

        This was a really tough tier list to make because emotion just plays such a large part in my love for these songs. Save, for example, I like less in several ways to Hear Me Now and Tonight, but it just hits me so hard. Obviously in other tier lists emotion plays a part, but not this strong of a part. On top of that, I don't actively listen to these songs, so I had to a lot of refreshing and such. But I think in the end, the tier list ended up in a good spot.

Tier List made in TierMaker (which I clipped out the logo of to make the image not have tons of empty space)

My Thoughts on Lorcana Vs Smash (for me) (competitively speaking)

        So I love Super Smash Bros Ultimate. I generally regard it as my favorite video game of all time. I've spent hundreds of hours watching pro-level Smash, and I've spent thousands of hours playing it. I've had a blast with it, met tons of awesome people through it, and grown because of it.

        And yet. I think I might like competing in Lorcana more?

        Here are some of my thoughts on the topic.

        Fundamentally on paper it makes sense to me. 

        When I think about my skills and strengths as a human being, my thoughts definitely turn toward 'strategic thinking' before they ever turn toward something such as 'good reaction time'. Although overall I'm an accomplished Smash player (for a local scene), I feel that, theoretically, I would be a stronger Lorcana player. And so far, the results seem to back that thought, although the sample size is much much smaller compared to my Smash career (the results being in order at Set Champs 5th, 3rd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 2nd, and then a 2nd at a $2k). 

        My individual skills better aligning with the skills the game asks for is connected to my next thought:

        I have faith in myself.

        Even though I'm good, even great, at Smash and definitely feel I still have room to grow, there just feels like such a gap when I watch top Smash players. I watch them, and I feel like I could never get to that level. That they're just better. And always will be. Of course part of that is because they play more than me and practice smarter than me. But I still feel like they just have a talent for the game that I'll just never be able to have.

        But I don't feel that when I watch top-level Lorcana. Perhaps it's because it's a turn-based game, so it's easier to see a decision being made and feel like you could've done the same (vs the constant barrage of interactions that are taking place in a game of Smash). Perhaps it's because due to the nature of the game, seeing the skill gap between players is much more difficult (which I do think is the case). So perhaps I'm just being naive, but in my heart I feel like I could become a top-level Lorcana player. And I don't feel that way about Smash. 

        I think this faith in myself to reach those highest levels is a big reason why I feel more drawn to Lorcana right now.

         

        I think I might simply be getting tired of Smash.*

        To be fair, I do think part of that is being at the upper-echelon of my local scene for so long. If I were to relocate to a fresh scene where the competition is tougher, perhaps my energy for the game would come back. Regardless, I think Lorcana is a much newer and exciting endeavor for me currently. I haven't gotten to test my limits at big events yet like I have in Smash. I haven't gotten to compete in larger locals. There's a lot of things I haven't done in Lorcana that I have done in Smash.

        Luck, an interesting give and take:

        One big thing I like about Smash is that luck is seemingly a non-factor. If I'm better, I am very likely going to win. Obviously some days I'm playing better or worse, same with my opponent. Match-ups exist etc. But in regards to luck? You have complete control. There is no random card from the top of the deck to come save you or ruin you. 

        That is not the case in Lorcana. Of course, better players will win more frequently by a significant margin in Lorcana; it is a very skilled-based game. But there's definitely, definitely, luck in a game of Lorcana that you simply cannot find in a game of Smash Bros (unless one's playing Hero, I suppose).

        That luck is alluring in some ways, for sure. The simple fact that there's not perfect information is an intriguing puzzle to me. The new options and possibilities the top card of the deck presents to me every turn is a ton of fun. But I certainly find it frustrating when my opponent top decks their only out or I draw a brick hand. 

        Now, of course, the reverse can happen. I have been the benefactor of several top decks that have won me games. But, I gotta say, the bad feeling when my opponent top decks the win compared to the good feeling of doing the same, for me at least, is heavier on the bad feeling side**. Some games I even feel a little bad about being lucky; I remember one game in particular I felt like my opponent should win and I just so happened to draw the board wipes at the right times to win; wasn't my favorite victory in the world -- vaguely reminiscent of when your opponent SD's in Smash for you to win.

        But overall, the luck, hidden information, and asymmetry are really critical to the game for me. It's a massive source of the interesting decision making the game offers.

        Regardless, all that being said:

        The strange thing is, I'm currently at a crossroads in my life where I don't know when or even if I'll compete in either ever again. I'm located in a town that's just over an hour away from a competitive scene for either game. For me personally, the drive is simply too long to pursue either of these things regularly. I'm currently attempting to get a job at which point I could be anywhere. But for now, I'm done. And the future is uncertain.

        Sure, sure, Ben assures me that I'll move to a spot for my job and simply start competing in Smash again. And there's no reason that can't be true for Lorcana as well. And as I write this, I really want to go and compete wherever I end up, but that desire waxes and wanes, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

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*Going through this post again about a month later before publishing it, and, man, I miss the Smash scene up at college. I know in large part this is due to the community and simply being able to compete in something, however, so I think a good chunk of my point here still stands.

**As I say that though, a memory counteracting that comes to mind: It was one of the, if not the, most intense match I've ever played. The stakes were high, the games were close, the winner uncertain. And a Merlin Goat was finally drawn. The elation I felt was amongst the highest I've ever felt in a tournament. However, to be fair, I could have drawn that Goat a whole lot earlier to win me the set. So it didn't feel like pure luck, it felt like I was due, if that makes sense. But idk. Interesting to think about regardless.

Creation Thawing (A Poem About My Creative Process)

Creation Thawing (9/20/25)

It's easier to do nothing than something

So nothing often happens

It's easier to stop than finish

So stop often happens

It's easier to consume than create

So consume often happens

Such easy dopamine

The things I truly want lay on the wayside

So many choices 

The things I do make me feel like I am missing another

Ice creeps through my veins

So I sit in paralysis

So afraid of failing while creating

So afraid of creating something worth nothing

But perhaps the attempt itself has intrinsic value

So afraid of choosing one over another

So afraid of wasting that potential

But perhaps they can all be done, one by one

I'm afraid of wasting

I'm afraid of freezing

But perhaps I need only to try

When the ice starts to form

And my brain starts to short circuit

I'll heed those voices not

And channel this desire strong

I'll focus on a thing I want

And create it

September 2025 Journal Entry

Holy cow it's already October. 

Silksong

        Well, if last month was the month of Minecraft, then this month was the month of Silksong. I actually love this game tons. It was sooo much fun. Seriously so good despite my critiques of it. You can, ofc, read pretty much all my thoughts on it in My In-Depth Review of Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Scrabble

        Scrabble deserves it's own bullet point on this list. For some reason my family got really into Scrabble for a couple weeks. Playing it every night when Hannah got home from work. When Hannah got back over the weekend, I'd just be itching to play Scrabble. It's been great. We've still been playing it just not every day kind of frequent.

Wrote Tons of Other Blogposts That I Haven't Published Yet

        For some reason my blog-writing juices were flowing this month, so I wrote several different things. I'm not sure exactly why I haven't published them. I actually did a similar thing in August -- I have three blogposts from August that are almost done that I for some reason didn't finish/post. For now I think I'll chuck one up every week for a bit, idk exactly, we'll see what happens. But be on the outlook for those, I guess.

Family and Grandpa's Funeral

        My Grandpa passed away August 28th and his funeral was on September 13th. I had the chance to be a pallbearer. He is missed, but I know it was his time. I'm just happy he's with Grandma again and doesn't have to deal with a deteriorating body/mind any longer.

        Many cousins I haven't seen in many many years came into Fallon for his funeral. It was so wonderful to see so much family and catch up with various cousins. I feel very confident in the theory that that week, more descendants of my grandpa were in Fallon than at any other time.

        So much family meant lots of activities and games, ofc! Got to go back to our roots with a game of capture the flag and then some Murder in the Dark I mean Gardeners in the Dark (Sun! Sun! Sun! Sun!) Got to play some Mario Baseball --  it's seriously so good (and salt inducing). Played some Sarge's Army. Played various board games including Caverna, Bunny Kingdom, Crossfire, Spades and some other ones I'm sure. 

        I love my family, even those I barely know, and it was very good to have so many people here for Grandpa.

Breach by Twenty One Pilots Came Out

        Just remembered this also happened this month; wow, it's been quite the month. I love love this album and have been listening to it a ton. 

        As referenced last month, I'm really going to try to let this album sink in fully before updating my tier list. I will say this related note right now because I want to: This album is the hardest album for me to rank the individual songs against each other. There are 14 songs, and my 2-10 from the album is pretty much still all in the air. That #1 spot isn't super safe, but I think I have chosen a favorite. I also have my lowest 2, probably 4, figured out. But, like, seriously. It's so so tough.

Dropped off Ben in Rexburg, Swung by Boise

        Ben's now at BYU-Idaho without me 😭 But I had the chance to drive him up. Got to see a couple roommates and several people from the Smash scene; it was really nice.

        Took a 2-hour detour so I could see Andrew and Jamie and their new baby girl Addison. Got to hold 4 day-old Addison for about 2 hours and chat with Andrew and Jamie. Such a blessing. Love them all so much.

Job Stuff

        Took pretty much 2 weeks off from job stuff due to family being in town, Grandpa's funeral, getting to visit Rexburg/Boise, Silksong, and getting down on myself when attempting to do stuff. However, two potential leads came up. I have an interview with Joseph's company coming up in 6 days. And there's potentially going to be an opening at Thomas's company; we'll see.

Exercise Unlocked

        Spent a lot of time this past week building a work-out social media app of sorts for my family. Built entirely in google sheets, the base idea is you do exercise to get Sweat Coin and achievements (which also get you Sweat Coin). You can spend that Sweat Coin at shops to customize your page and make it look real cool. It's been a lot of fun to build, and hopefully it'll lead to more exercise! It certainly will for me.

        Just got the 1.0 version out today, but there are many other things cooking up that I plan on adding. I'm excited to continue to work on it and make it better:)

President Nelson

        President Nelson just passed away. I know he was a prophet of God. I bear witness of that. 

My In-Depth Review of Hollow Knight: Silksong

Note: This review contains minor spoilers for Hollow Knight: Silksong including: references to all abilities gained, the names of a few specific tools (alongside some references to power level and abilities), the name of one area (alongside a minor piece of info about the area), the name of one crest, and a basic outline of my strategy for beating various bosses.

Part 1 The Cons: 

What Didn't Sit Quite Right With Me

Part 1a: My Issues With Red Tools

Red Tools: Unrewarding in boss fights

Here's the thing: The Red Tools are super cool. Hornet with a gun? Who doesn't love that? But, like, they lowkey took away some satisfaction out of several boss fights. 

Many times I fought bosses with a simple strategy: Fight with no tools until its final phase. Then spammed poison ladybugs + poison tacks (or other tool depending) and just cheese it. 

I just sat there hoping my tools were doing enough damager for me while I run away. It wasn't uncommon for me, after beating a boss this way, to walk away unsatisfied because in reality I have no idea how to beat their last phase. If I was chucked in their again without my red tools it would not go so well. It felt like I was unfairly winning fights, winning things I didn't deserve.

Red Tools: Unexpected Damage = Unexpected Finishes to Fights

Related to why using Red Tools in boss fights can be unrewarding:

A couple times this spam of red tools in the final phase led to instances where the boss dies completely unexpectedly, which is just kind of unsatisfying. Since my ladybugs are just doing all the work, or my tacks are just chilling there doing damage while I'm not looking, sometimes the boss just dies.

This brings up another thing is the fact that I have no idea how much damage things are doing. I mean, it doesn't take that to recognize that ladybugs are broken, but with various different tools they can sometimes blur and just feel like 'do damage button'.

It makes me feel like I didn't win the fight but instead my red tools did. Related note down below.

Red Tools: Circumventing Learning

There were a few bosses that I was struggling with and I would ask myself, "What should I do differently." And I answered, "I should just try using more tools." And so I spammed more poison ladybugs, and I would win. Even though I effectively played the same, because I clicked the no-thinking-damage-button more I won. Idk, something about that just doesn't feel rewarding. I didn't learn anything to win the fight. I didn't figure out more holes in the attack patterns or anything. I just used more tools.

Learning the boss fights is a big reason why they can be so fun. And Red Tools can just circumvent that.

Some Differences Between Red Tools and Broken Spells in HK:

My mind kind of pushes back and says "well it's just like broken spells in the first game. They're a easy mode button". Here's a couple things that make me feel like they're quite different, imo. 

1. I was still the one pressing the button. I was still the one to identify the enemy's position, determine that the spell would hit, press the button, and see the spell hit. When I chuck out a poison ladybug, I'm just running away. Not thinking about hitting the boss at all. This passive damage vs active damage feels so different to me.

2. It wasn't uncommon for people to play Hollow Knight without using spells all that often. Knowing how broken they can be with certain charms/upgrades is something not everyone comes to know.

Red Tools on the other hand are kind of impossible to avoid. I know some people avoid using them because of their cost (more on that down below), but I still think you'll find a whole heck of a lot more spam-tool-users than spam-spell-users, especially in a first playthrough of both games. This causes these issues to be more prevalent compared to any related issues that could be brought up in Hollow Knight.

Red Tools: Poor cost

Here's the other difference between spells and red tools: Spells cost soul, which is what you heal with. There's an inherent interesting cost to using one. Sacrifice potential health now for damage. 

Tools cost shards. Shards cost you nothing in the moment; the cost of using one isn't adding any dynamics to the fight itself. You sacrifice nothing now for damage -- and that 'nothing now' in a boss fight is all that matters. The cost is, ofc, time; you have to go farm some enemies and such if you use too much. But that doesn't affect you while you're just trying to finish off a boss you only have to beat once. 

Then when you do have to pay the price, it's unfun. At least I for one don't super enjoy grinding enemies. Time being the cost is not my favorite thing in the world.

Realization: I think the Ladybug is the brunt of my issues

The more I'm typing I'm realizing that perhaps my main issue is just with the ladybug. I love it and it got me through the whole game, but I hate it for all the applicable reasons I talked about above. 

Many tools you actually have to aim and use your brain, which make them a lot more interesting to use. That alone mostly fixes my first three problems I listed with Red Tools. (None fix the the poor cost, though.) And many tools do still feel like 'chuck random stuff out to do damage without thinking about it', but they're all definitely more thinky than Ladybugs.

Curious how much my perception of Red Tools is warped by the fact that Ladybug is broken. Curious what my thoughts would be in an alternate universe where Ladybug doesn't exist.

Part 1b: My Issues With Other Stuff

Other Tools, Crests, Silk Skills: An Overall Lack of Sense of Progression

There are so many wonderful neat tools of all three colors. On paper, I love how the Tool system can have all sorts of unique and interesting builds. And it's fun to talk to friends and family to see what their personal favorite builds are.  

My issue is, after I got a couple that I liked, every new one was kind of meaningless to me. 

Charm notches in HK fixed that issue because you kept getting neat charms to try and on top of that you got additional notches to actually try out the new charms. These charm notches meant you were literally becoming stronger (on top of new abilities and masks, which are shared in both games).

I commonly found that I just didn't care about getting new tools. Ofc a couple new ones I loved and swapped to, but most of the time they just sat in my toolbox. Several times I didn't even try them out at all because my spots for that color were already maxed out.

For red tools, I think this also has to do with not knowing how much damage things are doing, so I had little incentive to try out this new do-damage-button when I already liked my current do-damage-button. 

For blue tools, the spots were so competitive that many new blue tools I knew immediately would simply not be good enough.

For yellow tools, I always ran compass + dice, which left room for not much else.

I think the crests are so cool for the same reasons I said about tools. But I felt like it had the same issue but even bigger. The reaper crest was my first crest I got. I used it for the rest of the game with almost no exceptions. Getting a new crest was super cool because it was fun to see this other moveset, but I just pretty much went straight back to the reaper again and again. 

Same thing with the Silk Skills. However, in this case I did find more instances where depending on the circumstance I wanted to change up my silk skill. But still the fact remains: The first Silk Skill I got was the one I used for most of the rest of the game. So every new one didn't feel like I got anything at all.

This meant that whenever I got a new tool, Crest, or Silk Skill, it made me feel like I was supposed to be progressing in some way, but I instead held stagnant.

Specific note with the Crests and Silk Skills: The way you received them -- binding with cool animations and stuff -- is the same way you got the things that actually progressed you a lot in the game -- new abilities. This made the let down of the crest/skill not being impactful at all even more felt.

Economy

As many other people have referenced, everything did feel a tad expensive. I played pre-patch, so perhaps the slight reduction they rolled out is good enough to fix this issue. The problem here is that the fix for the issue is the same as the cost of red tools -- time. Overall I'm not too bothered as all it takes is running around a couple good farming areas for 20-30 minutes and you're good to go for a hot minute. But grinding out money is not what I want to be doing.

And, to be fair, out of the two options of 1. Having too much money or 2. too little. Option 2 is my preferred option. It bugs me far more to play a game and have the currency feel like nothing because you always have so much of it. I enjoy having to really pick and choose what I want to have most in shops.

Run-backs

I don't think small run-backs are a bad thing, but boy oh boy were some runbacks the worst ever. Bilewater, I'm ofc looking at you. 

I don't think they're inherently bad because I think a small punishment for losing is fine, but here's the thing: I want to my focus to be on this super fun boss fight and learning their patterns. Not on learning the optimal walking path that I have to transverse over and over again to get back to the super fun boss fight.

It made losing to various bosses so much more frustrating because it's simply a hassle and a half to get to fight them again. It often made losing a fight simply a frustrating experience rather than a learning (and fun) experience.

Lack of Benches

In a similar vein, in some areas it just felt like there were too few benches. It just felt brutal to be deep in an area hoping and praying for a bench only to die and have to traverse the whole thing again. Just a couple more benches in the worst offenders is all I ask; I think there should be room for that sense of terror of walking around every corner hoping not to die while searching for a bench to rest at.

Of course having a couple more benches would also help with the run-back issue.

Random Nothing Spots

It wasn't uncommon to find a hidden passage or get to a difficult-to-traverse spot only to be rewarded with a rosary string of some form. This just left me leaving those spots unsatisfied. I just wanted more for my efforts, I guess, Idk.

Side note: If they were to increase the amount given in these areas, it would help with this problem and the economy problem. On paper getting money should feel rewarding because money is so tight. But in reality it was just so little money that it didn't.

Environmental Damage (Already Nerfed)

They nerfed it already, woot woot! But golly, I hated being chucked into some pit or making a slight misstep and walking away clinging to my life. It just felt so punishing for something that felt like it should just be a slap on the wrist.

I actually don't super mind all the random guys doing 2 damage, though, for some reason.

Part 2 The Pros: 

Why It's a 10/10 Anyway

Part 2a: All the Little Things

(The title of part 2a is not referencing all the tiny details found throughout the game, but rather is referencing everything I list except the big thing, which is found in part 2b (which I left for last because I think it's the most important thing, and I separated out because I talk about it a lot))

It's a 10/10 because the game is just so gosh dang fun.

I honestly think it might be as simple as that for me. Sure, I can write however much I did about things that kind of bother me, but that doesn't mean I didn't have a blast practically the whole time. Obviously, yes, specific runbacks/interactions/bosses got on my nerves, but that didn't stop me from having a stellar experience (Side unrelated note: similar things could be said about my experience/feelings about Wind and Truth).

It's more difficult to pinpoint things that make the game as glorious as it is compared to pinpointing things that weren't my favorite thing in the world, but I'll attempt to name a few.

The Art

I think the game looks fan-freaking-tastic.

The Bosses

So many awesome boss fights. So many of them felt so flavorful too; more than just a random big thing you have to fight. Tons of fun move sets to learn and adapt to. The fights felt unique and individual as well.

The Enemies

I honestly don't feel like this is talked about enough. On top of the diverse set of bosses, there is also such a diverse set of normal enemies. It was super fun to see every new one I came across, learning and adapting how I move and attack ever so slightly for each one.

The Music

It's really really good. The Cogwork themes are my favorite, I think. And Lace's theme.

Part 2b: The Big Thing: The Movement

Left this for last because I think it's the biggest contributor to the game. It simply felt so good to control the character and to walk around the world. Specific walk-backs sucked, but once I got the hang of them, I felt so cool gliding by everything. I felt like a freaking ninja. When you nail the movement in a game, everything else falls into place. It's why Celeste is so so good. It's also a big reason why Hollow Knight is great. Silksong took the core of Hollow Knight and expanded it wonderfully 10 times over. 

I wanted to break this down a bit: 

Hollow Knight and Silksong share the following movement things:

Variable jump height. Variable Double jump height. Cling. And a dash.

Silksong took that and added the following:

Clawline:

  -Clawline on to wall.

  -Clawline into an enemy.

  -Clawline into air.

Sprint.

Sprint jump.

Float.

Floating in air vents.

Ledge grab.

Ledge grab jump.

Diagonal Pogos (or more normal or even more weird pogos depending on your crest).

Oh yeah, and the ability to Dash downward because why not.

Like, this game just added so much mobility and every single piece of it is a BLAST to use. It feels amazing. Because the key thing here is using everything in conjunction.

Sprint --> Sprint jump --> Clawline --> Dash --> Small Double Jump --> Clawline into enemy (because they made it so you can clawline multiple times in one jump if you have enough silk, which is so awesome) --> Double Jump again (because they made it so you can double jump again after not only pogoing but also Clawlining into enemies, which is so awesome) --> Quick float to get into position --> Diagonal Pogo --> WHATEVER YOU WANT IT'S SO COOL

Here's the thing, it's not like HK didn't have other cool abilities too. You'll notice a lack of Crystal Dash, Isma's Tear, and Shade Cloak. With the exception of Shade Cloak, the other two are primarily used for accessing new areas/spots, and that's it. Silksong's abilities let you do that AND make simply walking around and combat so much cooler. (Side note: I'm not saying HK movement wasn't good, as stated above I think it's great. I think it's does an exceptional job at a basic moveset. I think Silksong does an exceptional job at a more complex moveset)

Every time I got a new ability, it felt like the whole game opened up. Both in terms of places and the world, but also just how I moved around. It made me feel like I had no idea how I lived in a world without that power. I just kept becoming more and more cool at a natural great pace.

Which is another thing I should mention specifically: The pacing of getting the new powers felt so perfect. Right as I'm fully figuring out how to utilize one aspect of my toolkit, I get handed another wonderful tool to add to my arsenal. It's beautiful.

Part 3 The Conclusion:

I love this game. A lot. And it's making my love for Hollow Knight increase as well -- my desire to replay that game has increased a lot after finishing Silksong.

And I love that I love it. Waiting for Silksong was quite the journey -- and I only actively followed it the last year and three months. I'm just so happy that the game we got at the end of it is a game that I love.

Shoutouts to Joe for saying I should write an in-depth review for Silksong like this and for quite possibly the only one to read it all the way through and for being a good friend in general.

Part 4 Extra Stuff I Wrote then was Going to Delete But Thought I Might as Well Slap Onto the End:

I didn't originally write this all to compare HK and Silksong (although I ended up doing so in some minor ways throughout regardless). But now that I'm here finishing off this post, I thought I'd write a few thoughts.

For me personally, right at this current juncture, Silksong > Hollow Knight. I'm stating that I personally had an overall better time with Silksong than Hollow Knight, not necessarily it's a better game. 

Here are a couple thoughts as to perhaps why I feel this way:

Wishwells

I overall like the Wish Walls and feel they improve the experience for first time metroidvania players. They actively gave me specific things to do. Doing those specific things gave me natural reasons to relook through areas for secrets I may have otherwise missed. On top of that, they felt like a good mix-up after exploring new areas or fighting new bosses.

Sometimes I felt like they wishes were holding my hand just a tad much, but overall I liked them because they gave me some more direction. I feel this is one of the reasons why I originally bounced off Hollow Knight the first two times I played it -- I just didn't know where to go or what to do (Granted, it was also my first time playing a metroidvania, I'm pretty sure, so that didn't help).

Obviously this balance of guiding the player and leaving them to discover stuff on their own is a personal preference and is a difficult one to reach perfectly.