Surviving the Felon: Week of 03/02/2025
I’m back and so are all of you, for another installment of Surviving the Felon. Its now March and the last moth felt like an eternity. So much bad happened so rapidly that it was easy to be overwhelmed by it. And while we need to focus at least some of our energy on resisting, most of our power needs to be placed towards finding our smiles and laughter.
So I will sped this post as I have all the others before, prefacing the bad and getting through it quickly. Like a bandage on a wound. Then once the worst is done, then I’ll focus on everything that’s making me smile. And if you need something to make you feel better, why not check something out?
The Bad
Ok. Here we are at the bad. And there is plenty to focus on. But doing that gives the Fascists what they want. And the strongest form of resistance is keeping our minds and emotions free from their influence. Currently a bunch of Oligarchs high on being born with money and thinking that makes them special are trying to take over little sections of the planet. But their creativity doesn’t exist and their smiles essentially empty. Remember that these are things that you have that they will always lack until the day they vanish.
Anyway, the first issue I want to focus on is The Felon and the Couch Fucker and their petty and pathetic interactions with Zelensky. I stand with Ukraine and I know a lot of my fellow Americans do too. I don’t think any leader should cave to a school yard bully. Certainly not when those bullies are as weak as the two idiots in question.
Meanwhile while we are forced to watch the clown show, The Nazi is stealing money from the Government under the pretense of cutting corruption. The corruption of course is the one claiming this. I wish more people understood that most if not all of their accusations are confessions. But we don’t have time for philosophy when the arts are just being gutted, right alongside healthcare, weather reporting, and state parks.
The Good
I talked last week about an exercise plan. I would talk more about that except I have not moved forward with those plans. Ok with that out of the way, lets focus on the good that happened in my life this week. I might not have set up my workout routine for the week yet. But that doesn’t mean I stayed inside. I had a very active week in fact and I’ll get to that in a moment.
Due to a mailing issue I took a break from Berserk. But that wasn’t an issue because I immediately downloaded the Webtoon App and started reading Tower of God. The Anime drew me in with its complex world and large cast of likable characters. But the Manhwa is far and beyond much better than the Anime. Its another Berserk situation where the Anime is basically a preview of the full story.
I’m continuing to use short dopamine bursts from gaming and other activities to motivate me to create and better myself. A lot of people like to binge on work and sometimes I like to do that as well. But I’m finding that although its not the most efficient way to complete work, it is a process that allows me to do more than if I had tried brute forcing myself. I have written more blog posts and completed more activities this way than the other method.
Video Games
I’m working my way through the final parts of Metaphor ReFantazio on New Game Plus. Most of the achievements I need to get the platinum at this point are at the very end. But there are a few things I still need to finish along the way to make sure I don’t need a third playthrough down the road.
I’m doing better in Helldivers 2 as well. I recently finished fighting against the strongest bugs the game has ever released. And then got to take part in a game wide event where the server tried to force us to choose one of two planets to defend. But Democracy never rests and we as the player base took over the planets around both of them and forced a third option where we defended both. The evolving story is why I’m enjoying this game so much.
Its been a bit of an aggravating week in Genshin Impact. What was normally my go to peaceful game was disrupted this time around because of an event set up for high level combat play. And I lack some of the boosts that other players do to clear this content. I got all the rewards I wanted, but missed on the first name card released in almost 2 years in an event due to this and I’m left feeling a little bummed. Its a minor setback at worst though. Nothing worth complaining more about.
I am slowly learning all the mechanics of Civilization 7. The game does a good job making each playthrough feel different. I just wished the continent generation was a little more random. I understand that certain types of landmass just are not possible, but trying to make it balanced between civs starting points doesn’t feel like a worthwhile change to me. Interface and map generation aside, I’m sure I’ll be putting just as many hours into this game as I did 3, 5, and 6.
Pokémon Go
This was a special week for Pokémon Go. It was the Unova Tour. This once in the games history event happened to focus on the fifth generation of Pokémon. The one that happens to be my favorite. And that is partially due to being the game that got me through the darkest time in my life. And when I moved to Florida to start my life anew, it was still the game that had my focus. And the sequel was the first game I got to play without my mind being held back by past trauma.
Its also the game that led me to many of my current friends. And it did so again in Pokémon Go. While not exactly a leader in my locale community, I’m still known. Even if that reason is cause I’m a loudmouth. All in all, I had a great time this past weekend catching nothing but Generation 5 Pokémon, Unown, and Pikachu with hats.
I spent a lot of raid passes to catch plenty of Kyurem, Reshiram, Zekrom, and countless legendary Pokémon during the week lead up to the event as well as the event itself. Even the dreaded mistake was an option. And although I’ll always hate it, the Pokémon is too strong both in the main games and Go itself for me to ignore.
Anime and Shows
I’m continuing to watch Re: Zero, Solo Leveling, and Dr. Stone. As all three shows are in later seasons, they can focus more on the conflict between dangerous characters. Despite all being very different stories telling vastly different tales, not needing to set up the world or its rules anymore is a welcome change considering how involved each of them are story wise.
I only watched one episode One Piece. Its a massive time sink after all, but I just didn’t have as much time this week to watch. Slow I might be but committed to finishing it as well. Even if it takes me years to do so. Sunken cost fallacy is on my side for this one.
I still have not started Invincible. This was a busy week for me and I still wasn’t in the right headspace to watch it. Next week is looking promising since there will be a lot less chaos in my life. And I won’t be going on constant Pokémon adventures every night. I have put it off long enough.
Dungeons & Dragons
This week was a huge one of my campaign. Two separate Adventures between two groups created a lot of story complexity. Not that I minded of course. I’m having a blast working with Fey. Their whimsical and complex thinking has made me reluctant to use them in my campaigns in the past. But I stepped out of my comfort zone and gave them a try.
And by running two different sessions I create some impressive dramatic irony for the inevitable book this turns into. Of course my players get to have a blast in the present as they help me write this story. Its been a unique method of storytelling and its helped me challenge myself.
Writing and Editing
Editing sped up a little bit this week. I was stuck for a while on a section that had to be added. Every time I add new scenes, they drastically change future ones. I’ll be editing this next segment for a long time as I straighten out all the new plot threads I weaved. More importantly I’ll have to fill in any new plot holes that appear.
As far as writing though, its mostly tied up in the blog posts right now. Though it does help that two of those blog posts are essentially outlines for future books. Which means that reading those blog posts is like early access to future books.
Wrap Up
We have made it through one month and have another after another with many long times ahead. Things are looking scary out there. Which is why above all else we live our lives and refuse to give into the hate and despair that Fascism depends on to function. As the world grows ever darker, it is that much more important for us to find our lights and burn the horrors away.
The Window Shover, The Nazi, The Felon, The Couch Humper, and all their minions and allies envision a boring world where they make money and all the rest of us slave away. They are convinced that everything else isn’t needed since it distracts form us slaving away. Which is why we must focus on our passions. They are what makes us human. The reason we live is to enjoy our lives and with all the darkness we sometimes forget that.
In times of darkness like now, we need to find what we love and let that give us hope. We have to have hope that we can survive. But we also need those things that give us reason to survive. Don’t give in to those who don’t care about our lives except as a means to move a number up. Rather use your energy towards what gives you joy and passion. In that way we will survive The Felon.