🌤️ | last post of the year ⁉️
I was thinking that I wanted to get one last post out before 2026, and then (literally) waited til the last minute. lol
so... here's some random things I've been up to!!!!!
My Little Hydroponics Machine!
| AeroGarden - Dec.10.25 |
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I got a new AeroGarden on sale!! I've been eyeballing one of these since 2021, but didn't really budget enough to justify such a big expense...
until it was ON SALE!!!!!
it's definitely been super fun coming back everyday to see how much the little sprouts had grown overnight. I was SHOCKED to see how fast the radishes and broccoli grew!! actually... they got unmanageably big, way too fast. I knew it was gonna happen eventually, but was not expecting that it to be so SOON. 😭
| Made for a cool photo op, though... [Dec.18.25] |
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they... ended up growing so fast that they were outgrowing the lamp on the aerogarden, and regularly getting burn spots! (and, well, due to Circumstances I wasn't able to get new pots or soil sooner...)
unfortunately, the lettuce I planted died, after which I finally moved the radishes, tomatoes and broccoli to their own pots. to my dismay, I'm not sure if the little buggers are doing too well. 😔 hopefully I can get them back in shape soon, but alas... ya live and ya learn.
| And now, we'll try again! [Dec.31.25] |
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new year, clean slate, right? I have struggled a bit to get the hang of gardening, but I think I'll come to figure it out in time. :} and I'll be prepared with a new pot once the plants start outgrowing the garden...!!
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist!
decided to randomly pick up this game, after receiving it as a gift on Steam some time ago.
I... uh. I was NOT expecting to get this much brainrot over this game, and so fast. 😭
as it turns out, I am a SUCKER for visual novels with lots of replay value, who woulda thought. (I think most of y'all know how I acted about Slay the Princess last year.)
I definitely have a LOT more playing through to do in this game, and a LOT more about the world I haven't quite seen yet! but oh my GOD. I am in LOVE with this worldbuilding. I'm genuinely so fascinated by how the colony on Vertumna (the in-game exoplanet) came to be. it's legitimately SO difficult to have to choose just one job per run bc I am so curious about everything in this world!
I've noticed that in a lot of my runs, I tend to gravitate towards being buddies with both Dys and Marz, LOL. Dys shares a lot of really strange viewpoints on the world with me, including curiosity about the ecosystem. I can't say that I completely disagree with some of his point on humans, but... I tend to make Sol more of a presence in their community on my usual runs, so I also can't say I 100% agree w/ everything he says. lol
Marz is Dys' opposite in every way, but like... something still draws me to her?? not just bc of her willingness to overthrow the government when she's old enough (LMAO), but also bc she reminds me a lot of little girls I knew when I was a kid, myself. honestly, I also just love her audacity, and also how she respects it when people challenge her. that's the kind of energy I wanna have!!!
there's so much more about the game I cannot get into without making this post an entire Gothic novel. (... everything with Sym is fucking crazy, do NOT get me started.) I will say that it is a game that is extremely resonant with me and my current life, especially with so much craziness in the world right now.
it's also weird, because... I don't think Japan is ever directly mentioned in the game? I know anime is, but... something about it just RADIATES Shinto. it is CRAZY. though, I guess there is some quite obvious inspiration from other nature-revering religions, so it's not super surprising either. bc I've gotten so deep into Shinto, the worldbuilding in the game and all of its little quirks just make sense to me.
...it's also given me a LOT of worldbuilding ideas for SIML. I'm already going to be so insane with SIML this upcoming year. y'all are NOT ready. /silly
Night Eco
so... it turns out, my AeroGarden AND IWATEX have given me some ideas. my headmates and I have been brewing up this new aesthetic in our head, called "night eco". I think there are some rough equivalents in aesthetics like "frutiger night", dark aero and frutiger aurora.
however, the aesthetic I'm thinking of - it usually involves plants with low or artificial light, in a backdrop of a starry night, dark scene, or similar. it tends to have a lot of elements in common with aesthetics like frutiger aero & eco, but without the focus on daytime scenes.
with all the recent hubbub about Super Mario Galaxy, as well, I think I've gotten a general vision for what 'night eco' looks like:
| Mario Galaxy | WALL-E | World of Re:Package |
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| Sensorio Paso Robles | Ashikaga Flower Park | Singapore Flower Party |
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| Real-life location in California | Real life location in Tochigi Prefecture, sourced from Japan Videography | You get the point. Sourced from Trey Ratcliff |
these are far from the only examples I've found, BUT... I'll probably have to make a dedicated post for that! there's quite a few Windows official wallpapers with a similar aesthetic, though finding what I consider to be truly 'night eco' has proven more challenging than I thought!
anyways, if y'all find more examples of 'night eco', definitely feel free to send em my way :D
Cool Jams
| Silly Terror ! |
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| I really needed an excuse to show off this MV's cool ass art in this post |
wanna recommend some good songs I've had on loop lately ! there really are some astounding gems in the Vocaloid community right now - but my favorites DEFINITELY have to be Silly Terror (linked above) and Baumkuchen End Roll.
Silly Terror is kind of a throwback, in a way... there's something just weirdly nostalgic about seeing a new demo for IA's new Vocaloid voicebank - on Christmas nonetheless - AND it's a song from a really awesome producer who's been making some big waves in the fandom! also DAMN this song is so good, I love the little interlude/break sections where IA's voice glitches out and the streetlamps look like snowy Christmas trees. just awesome, man.
Baumkuchen End Roll has been STUCK IN MY HEAD. CONSTANTLY!!! atp anything with the Triple Baka trio gets me to click, but... there is something especially alluring about this song and its MV 😭 really takes you from feeling bad for a sopping wet pathetic Teto, to feeling awesome for a toxic yuri bad bitch Neru. LMFAO (it helps that Neru's parts are REALLY really catchy...)
and now, for a list of MORE cool jams:
- FAKE NEWS by Malware Ministry | TW: Implied suicide (not shown on-screen) in reference to a real event, flashing images/lights, eye strain
- I legit may have to do a longer writeup on this one sometime; it is based on the infamous lost recording of Christine Chubbuck's death, which has unfortunately become a spectacle in lost media circles. FAKE NEWS is incredible to me, as it writes Chubbuck's perspective in a more human, but still urgent, light. it not only resonates with the message she was trying to convey before her final breath, but it also deeply resonates with our current hellscape of constant apocalyptic news 51 years later. INCREDIBLE shit, just watch it!
- Pigeon's Meltdown cover, ft. Yokune Ruko | AMAZING tuning & MV!!! don't think I've heard a lot of covers that use UTAU's engine noise AS part of the tuning... let alone Ruko singing in four freaking languages?!?
- Starry Party Panic! by KAT | I love seeing KAT drop ANOTHER banger!! quite different in tone from a lot of her other work, but I still welcome it - it's just a fun little song AND has the whole Starry Court partying together!
- CHOJO TAIKEN by NAKISO | TW: flashing lights, eye strain, uncanny imagery | ... something about this song and its MV is strangely hypnotic. I gotta hand it to NAKISO for making some absolute bangers with the most bare minimum of beats - this is AWESOME.
- HARAAO's Disturbia cover, ft. Kasane Teto SV | I am the BIGGEST recession pop stan in the world, but... I think I may love this cover more than the original, lol. I feel like so many Teto SV songs just turn on autopitch and call it a day, but you can TELL HARAAO went the fuck off with the tuning in this one! THIS is the Teto & SV tuning I love!!
- Let's Head to Paradise by Picdo ft. Adachi Rei | kinda love how Rei is the Apocalypse Song Girl now! good for her. this is a strangely charming little tune - it feels like something from an old anime or video game.
1.1.26 update: I HAVE REGRETTABLY FORGOTTEN TO INCLUDE TWO OTHER BANGERS. please please PLEASE listen to Paradox by Crusher. this shit is constantly playing in my head and ALSO gives me SIML lore ideas. I'm insane. please listen to it. I'm stuck in a paradox it's one of a kind and it happened when I tore the fabric of time I don't know when I'll be home but I thi
AND LOVE ATTRIBUTE BY PINOCCHIOP. (tw flashing lights)
Other Cool Stuff I've Been Into
- the Focus Friend app has been surprisingly helpful for getting work done and focusing! like dayum, they weren't lying - this IS a good app for ADHD. I will have to infodump more about it sometime!!!
- not too long ago I got a membership on myNoise, a website with all kinds of hand-crafted ambient noises. some are patron-exclusive, but there is still a HUGE variety of free sounds to choose from! there are little stories with each sound, and you can just tell so much love has gone into it. (and to think it's all ran by ONE guy?!)
- I've been enjoying Seek by iNaturalist! it's an app where you can take pictures of organisms (plants, animals, bugs, etc.), and start a little collection w/ badges and achievements for all the organisms you've scanned! I'd love for friends to also join and share their achievements & collections :D (still struggling to scan any mollusks, though...)
- I. have been going insane on Habitica again. the gift one get one subscription deal has returned. do not even get me started
- finally, I've also been fiddling with EarthHero; it's similar in purpose to Seek, but is instead dedicated to tracking actions & habits you make towards eco-friendly choices. I already got to Level 3 just by checking off stuff I do regularly! I'd like to start a group on there and do some collective good w/ pals, hmu if you're interested :D
Final Note
I... get the feeling genAI/LLMs are going to get even worse. I think most people reading this know how to look up 'AI psychosis' and other detrimental effects from chatbots, so I don't wanna doompost even more about all the resulting tragedies and deaths. we've had enough of that.
I still cannot shake that this is something we will need to build up collective energy over. things are already bad right now. I want to believe that there'll be a tangible change, but I don't think social media CEOs and other such corporate dickholes will stop trying to push their power-guzzling machines just because people make a stink about it. they're only looking at statistics and numbers, not real people and real lives.
BUT ... I also do think there is hope. the internet is so much kinder than it was when I was growing up on it. because absolutely crappy MS Paint videos and low-budget MMDs regularly show up on my YouTube recommended, with people commenting "alive internet theory". no cringe culture, no bashing, just pure respect for creating art for the love of it, without overcomplicated AI tools.
right now is the best time to back up every piece of media that you love - AI WILL try to dilute everything. we're already seeing it with Spotify trying to make bank off of AI ""artists"", with mass disinformation, with constant slop being pushed onto children's screens, and making attention spans worse and worse. and so, it's important to preserve shit ACTUALLY made by real people, and support real artists. plus, streaming offline helps cut carbon emissions, your favorite media is safe in case another streaming network fucks everyone over again, potential lost media may be preserved, and it's easier to cut the cord from subscriptions when the time comes. ... and, also, you're not constantly engulfing a diluge of overconsumptive content like corpos want you to!
please keep loving indie projects, supporting real humans, taking care of the environment, archiving your favorite websites & media, backing up stuff offline, commenting "alive internet theory" on whatever stupid 2010s-esque video you watch next. I also recommend getting the hell off of major social media and switching to smaller, indie services or relatively AI-free websites. neocities, nekoweb, sheezy.art, bsky etc have remained pretty steady in that regard, at least for me.
happy new year, and take care of yourselves!