#2025 media

[a-crow-is-white]

2025 media roundup: confessions of a mask 📚

Back in 2024 I wanted to write little excerpts from art I got to look at/ listen to/ experience etc, so here is my first instalment! After a long and arduous drag to get myself to finish this book, I finally did this January! So let's dive in...

Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima originally 仮面の告白 (Kamen no Kokuhaku)

I should preface this with my own anecdote of how I know of Mishima's work-- the song "I'm Afraid of Japan" from Owen Pallett's 'He Poos Clouds'. It's one of my favourites on the record, and the last lines "Will no one read The Sound of Waves? / Oh, oh, I am afraid" has left an impression on me since I first heard the song in 2008... it wasn't until about 15 years later my beautiful girlfriend gifted me a copy of the book, and I absolutely loved it! So while browsing Toronto's Glad Day Bookshop with friends on an outing I spotted this book on display and had to bring it home...

As for my review of the novel itself, I found it a good read! As the story is told from a first person view with majority of the narration coming from the protagonist's inner thoughts, it certainly has a "dream-like" soliloquy quality to it. I have read many books, but I can't say there are many first person accounts that really felt I was probing around inside their mind; Which leads to a lot of second-hand embarassment or whiplash from reading this.

Looking back I feel like the first two chapters are a bit of slog, as they detail the Kochan's early life. The clarity he describes upon becoming obssessed with death, St. Sebastian, and the crush of having to hide your true thoughts really resonated with the me I remember as a child. (Especially all the parts about a Knight dying and being covered in blood...) I do also think I wasn't putting enough time to really digest the first bit of the book, but by the last few chapters I was hooked.

In the last two chapters where the story stays firmly in the years of World War II, Kochan really struggles with trying to fit himself into "normalcy". The line "..I constantly told myself it would be better to die than become a lukewarm person... a person who wants only to be loved without knowing how to love." hit me like a moving truck I had to re-read that same paragraph over and over... Because then right after having this deep and dark reflection the story pivots with the most unbashed clarity to write about how he tried to masturbate by imagining a woman and couldn't do it.

While those bits certainly made me laugh at the absurdity in the lucid train of thought Kochan has, overall these dense paragaphs really put into perspective how deeply ingrained putting up a front is...

Overall I think if you are interested in the classics and want a decently short "coming out" book to read, I would reccomend it!

[ciitrinitas]

mouthwashing.

the amount of times i repeated "oh, you shouldn't have!" in delighted surprise to this game as it pulled out more and more cannibalism and weird fuckiness around the human bacon mummy...

really enjoyed it.

[thashining]

Don't fall for it

[fyeahdpr-live]

J.E.T. @JETMUSIC_tokyo

J.E.T. TOUR SERIES presented by WON SOJU

[Dabin] 📍 OSAKA Thursday, June 26, 2025 @ GORILLA HALL OPEN 7pm / START 8pm

-----

📍 TOKYO Monday, June 30, 2025 @ WWWX OPEN 7pm / START 8pm

[J.E.T. TOUR SERIES presented by WON SOJU] OFFICIAL INFO < https://jetmusic-official.com/2025/01/20/jettourseries/ >

[J.E.T.] OFFICIAL IG @j.e.t.music

[WON SOJU] JAPAN OFFICIAL WEBSITE https://wonsoju.jp

#jettourseries #jet #wonsoju #khh #khiphop #beo #paulblanco #ashisland #dabin

11:30 PM · Jan 19, 2025

[robo-bat]

2025 Media: Final Fantasy 1 - Pixel Remaster

I'm once again keeping track of media I've consumed this year which is usually contained to just a pinned twitter thread, but this time around I wanna share my thoughts while playing and overall experience in a more extended format. So first things first, Final Fantasy 1!

The first time I played Final Fantasy 1 was on my cousin's original NES cartridge. I was young and didn't have a ton of experience with turn based RPGs and after just going in with the starting team I proceeded to die continuously and didn't really make it past the initial introduction, but had fun. Fast forward some years and I got the FF1+2 collection on GBA, wherein I finally experience both titles all the way through. I've had a soft spot for FF1 in particular for a long time because it has such a charming atmosphere and vibe that just really works with me. It's a simple adventure with a lot of heart and despite your characters not talking for themselves they feel like a passionate bunch on their way to help the world and try their best along the way.

I finally picked up the Pixel Remaster physical edition last year but put off playing them until I had some downtime between other major games and after finishing up a couple others decided to sit down with some good 'ol FF1. The first thing that blew me away was the music. The orchestrated soundtrack is something I didn't realize my ears so desperately craved. Final Fantasy is filled to the brim with iconic songs through and through but I can't deny the first game in particular just hits in a lot of ways cause it's where so many iconic themes originated. I swapped back and fourth a few times but mostly stuck with the orchestrated renditions cause my ears were just unbelievably enamored.

Since I wanted to still have a life and keep the playthrough pretty casual I played with increased money and exp to cut down on any grinding. I occasionally turned off enemy encounters if I was getting a little too strong or was tired of encounters while running into my fifteenth dead end because I have none of these dungeon maps memorized to save my life. These features are one of those things that really made the experience better overall cause it's just nice to pick and choose when i want things to be easier or more difficult along the way. Especially cause I wanna replay FF2 again at some point and turning off enemies will be a godsend

I feel like at the Pixel Remaster's initial launch I remember a lot of chatter about the new character sprite work. Although that may have been mostly aimed at FF6 in particular, I was personally really happy with how the characters looked. Especially once they got class upgrades I thought they looked phenomenal.

Overall I think I enjoyed this playthrough more than the one I'd done in the past because I got to experience a lot more of the game than I had before. As a young teen playing it on GBA I didn't do all it had to offer and definitely skipped over a lot of things I didn't realize existed. This time around I basically did everything there was to do (outside of hunting warmech but that could have taken hours so I made a realistic call) and I fell more in love with the world than I ever have been before.

I think at the very end the thing that touched me the most was a very simple line:

"With the memory of their struggle buried deep in their hearts, they will quietly watch over our world."

A strong sentence that speaks volumes for a game with silent protagonists. A line that encapsulates so many RPGs to come, and so many forms of media that came before it and inspired Final Fantasy as well. The hero's journey to save the world isn't one that is always filled with fanfare and celebration. It can simply be given a quiet reminder that heroes will arise when needed to aid those around them, and continue to play their part long after their work is done.

I'm so thankful to have replayed this beautiful journey, which pleasantly surprised me for how heartfelt it still is after all these years.

Overall ranking: Game good, someday I'll go back and do a solo class challenge run.

[cchickki]

If you haven’t started already, start archiving/downloading everything. Save it to an external hard drive if you’re able. Collecting physical media is also a good idea, if you’re able.

Download your own/your favorite fanfics. Save as much as you can from online sources/digital libraries. Recipes, tutorials, history, LGBTQ media, etc. It has been claimed, though I can’t find the exact source if true, that some materials about the Revolutionary War were deleted from the Library of Congress.

It’s always better to be safe than sorry and save and preserve what you can. Remember that cloud storage also is not always reliable!

Library of Congress - millions of books, films and video, audio recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps, manuscripts.

Internet Archive - millions of free texts, movies, software, music, websites, and more. Has been taken offline multiple times because of cyber attacks last month, it has recently started archiving again.

Anna's Archive - 'largest truly open library in human history.’

Queer Liberation Library - queer literature and resources. Does require applying for a library membership to browse and borrow from their collection.

List of art resources - list of art resources complied on tumblr back in 2019. Not sure if all links are still operational now, but the few I clicked on seemed to work.

Alexis Amber - TikToker who is an archivist who's whole page is about archiving. She has a database extensively recording the events of Hurricane Katrina.

I'll be adding more to this list, if anyone else wants to add anything feel free!

[saywhat-politics]

Trump at a rally -- Elon Musk rigged the election for me

CNN -- crickets

NY Times -- crickets

Washington Post -- crickets

The mainstream media has already given up and died

[manitapaleta]

Historians will say they were roommates

[shenaniganerie]

"Washed Ashore", mixed & found media, 2025

[ruporas]

new year! [id in alt]

[a-crow-is-white]

2025 media roundup: persona 5 royal 🎮

Before you say "Mads, you've played Persona 5 at least five times, why is this here?" Well. I hadn't actually played Royal Until Now. And it's 2025, the year of Persona 5. To me. Warning: Spoilers Below for those who have not played the new content in Royal! (And also a warning that I can't find my USB stick so I've taken photos from my TV, along with screenshots from when I abused the PS4 remote play to bypass the locked scenes to stream the 3rd semester for my girlfriend, haha...)

If Royal was the original release, I think I would have liked it. But because I have played vanilla so many times, the additions with new characters all felt very forced and tacked onto an already complete story. (Which is my biggest complaint of the game, I'll be real!)

To say some nice things about the game: I loved all the updated sprite work, I loved all the additional dialogue from characters, the mini games were fun, and I certainly enjoyed the actual social link with Akechi.

But the things I didn't like... I just could not get into Sumire's character... Something about her rubbed me the wrong way from the get go. For lack of a better word, her character is just such a "nothing burger" and never once felt like an actual Phantom Thief. All members are outcasts from society who have been wronged by adults in positions of power, but her fight never felt... like she wanted to help herself. Her inferiority complex makes an interesting character, but not a good party member.

Sumire lacks a real personality-- which I think hurts more as she is puppeting her sister's likeness for the entire game. What actually sets them apart? Their hairstyles? Do we as a player learn about any of her actual likes or dislikes? The only slight glimpse is when her gymnastics coach talks about bringing out her own "style" -- but we don't actually see any changes to her model, her fighting style, her voice, or dialogue. It's almost like she's a phantom in her own life by design.... Which would have been an interesting dynamic to indulge in, but ultimately she is wasted potential. I'm mostly disappointed she wasn't a playable femMC, because her design is very cute.

Maruki I think I can be less hard on, as his inclusion makes sense from a story point of view. Shujin just had a student attempt suicide, and one of their teachers was abusing the student body.... Of course they would hire a therapist!

.... But again, he's so blasé and isn't actually a therapist; Which in theme of the game again of those in positions of power to take advantage of others, makes a lot of sense. (And I think it's also just super funny that he isn't a legally registered therapist, which makes his social link and general motives so laughable.)

^I will say that this was sick as fuck, so I gotta hand that final boss battle to him. It was cool.

His themes of man's hubris surpassing god in becoming a master manipulator makes sense in game, but again, this is not a novel. You have to play through him giving the same speech over and over again... He never feels like a real threat, and... I know P5's narrative of having people take responsibility for their wrongs is a core theme of the game, but I really wanted to let him go and forget about him there.

The changes to the ending I did like as they give a little bit more info about how they banded together to break the real world's cognition, and broke MC out of prison. It's also a nice coming-of-age milestone how each of them come to head with their own struggles in drifting apart and becoming the person they really want to be... But I don't like how they don't have a road trip together to drive MC home! That was such a cute and sweet ending to me! Instead he just takes the train back so we can insert the tacked on characters for a 0.5 second cameo?

After finishing 'Confessions of a Mask', I'm sure you will write about your Gay Agenda Mishima.

Overall, I can't say I hated Royal but I can't say it was good, either. It was a good experience, but there was just so much nitpicking I was doing in the background that probably made me seem like I loathed it, haha. I did platinum it though so now I have to play all the spin-off games I own.

As an ending note, Hifumi best girl.

[ciitrinitas]

idol hakkenden.

the cover art caught my eye when i was scrolling through older fan translated games, and what a lovely little find! very silly and cute idol adventure game at just the right length.

[allelitewrestlings]

Jon Moxley at WrestleCon 2025 – credit: kerissajadeee on x

[dpdailyupdate]

Dan on his twitter!

19 January 2025

[alchemyfreak123]

KENDRICK LAMAR - Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show

[arcanegifs]

The Strong Gather | 2025 Season 1 Act 1 Gameplay Trailer (Edit by Diyyo) - League of Legends