Scruff
@scruff
He/him TTRPG GM currently running: The Wildsea, Heart: The City Beneath, FIST Follow for high quality shitposts and cold takes on old games Read my zines: Avatar by @mjjii.com
Broken Reality 2000 was a delight! It hammers home the "log off and go touch grass" message of the first game with the bonus thesis that cryptobros are ruining the internet and it's better when it's owned by nobody. Plus it's still quite funny!
New profile pic. Thank you to the wonderful @mjjii.com for the art! I'll be tinkering between a few of the following over the next few days until I find out which one I like the most so here is my old pfp and the three wizards I will be going forward.
If I didn't have exciting plans for a profile pic update soon I would absolutely switch to the delightful face of a fairy opening a briefcase in Titanium Court. Look at this guy!
Ever add a song to your playlist and only later realize it wasn't from the official album but instead from some soundtrack for a movie you've never heard of with the fakest looking poster you've ever seen?
Half of these are games that taught me the value of getting really good at stuff and half taught me the value of a good or interesting vibe, each in very different ways. Hades is maxing out both of these approaches.
Honorable Mention: Galaxy: The Prettiest Star You ever read something and realize you understand your friends better now? Galaxy is written by a trans woman for, according to the inside cover, "the girl who needed this book ages ago". Not only is it a touching trans story but the art is phenomenal!
Honorable Mention: Superman Smashes the Klan Superman is an immigrant! No story I've read leans on that and explores is better than this one. In this story we see the struggles of immigrants, the possibility of what our communities can be, and the challenge of grappling with evil in our families.
Honorable Mention: Sex Criminals I read half of this story when it was actively running but going back to it over a decade later to finish it was such a treat! Have sex, stop time, rob banks is such an incredible, funny pitch, but what really stuck with me is the explorations of mental health!
Comic of the Year: Understanding Comics This year I got back into reading comics! I love comics. Scott McCloud helped me understand the medium a lot in this book and helped me critically think about how visual mediums tell stories and evoke emotions.
Honorable Mention: The Brothers Sun A show deeply about the Asian-American experience this comedy crime drama also has the best fight choreography I've ever seen in a show surpassing even most movies I've seen! And it has Michelle Yeoh! What a treat!
TV Show of the Year: Dying for Sex My partner showed me the trailer for this show and my reaction was "Oh, this is going to make me laugh and cry so hard." I was right. A woman decides to go through a bucket list involving a lot of sex when she finds out this round of cancer is going to kill her.
Honorable Mention: Attached I am not a self help book guy, but when your therapist tells you that maybe you should pick this one up it's hard not to at least pay attention. This book helped me understand my current and past relationships on a level I hadn't before and for that I am grateful!
Honorable Mention: Engineering in Plain Sight I love understanding how systems work and this book is a crash course on the civil engineering that surrounds us. Modern politics leans into distrust of systems and this book helps show that a lot of smart people make the systems around us sing!
Book of the Year: Heart: The City Beneath Heart is a TTRPG that has defined so much of how I interact with the hobby and the book was one I could not put down once I started reading it. The writing is sharp and funny and fucked up and I wouldn't have it any other way. Dripping with creativity!
Honorable Mention: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown Bright and colorful, feels like a stage play from a kinder past. Full of whimsy and sitcom stylings that lead to some incredibly charming performances. Everyone loves the mambo taxi.
Honorable Mention: Suicide Club This thriller starts with a whole class of high schoolers joyfully jumping in front of a train getting turned into a wave of blood. The film proceeds to show you the most evocative shit you've ever seen every few minutes until it dumps you off at the credits.
Honorable Mention: On-Gaku: Our Sound Dudes rock. High school delinquents find a connection to music via instruments they don't know how to play. This rotoscoped film is such a vibe and might be one of the most encouraging films to just Make Art.
Honorable Mention: Head (1968) Did you know that The Monkees burned down their career to make a film about how much they hate the Vietnam war, American imperialism, and their own careers? It's psychedelic, the fourth wall is just a suggestion, they blow up a coca cola machine with a tank!
Movie of the Year: Nickel Boys This movie had me hopping up and down shouting "that's cinema!" so many times. It's visceral and upsetting with incredible camera work using film as a medium to its fullest! I need RaMell Ross to keep making movies! It takes my breath away.
Honorable Mention: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 It's good! It really is! No amount of cynicism around awards shows will change that Sandfall made an incredible piece of art with strong theming, vibrant worlds, and an ending that reminds me that more games should just be a fucking bummer. I mean it!
Honorable Mention: Frogmonster An FPS focused on some rad as hell boss fights! A giant snake wrapping around you, a giant moth you need to hit all the bits of the wings on, a giant fucked up pelican! It has it all! I had an excellent time learning boss patterns and enjoying the chunky art
Honorable Mention: Against the Storm City building challenges on 2 hour time limits. That's a niche I didn't know I wanted! It's got an evocative fantasy world, has a texture of weighing difficult choices, and in 2 hours it won't matter if I completely hosed it, I'll be working on the next.