2025 Digital Advent #22: Kidwiththechemicalz.net

Hey, fellas. I have been playing a lot of old games this month: yeah, just in December I finished Halo 2 and Jade Empire which both rocked my socks off! So, in connection to that... here's a website that isn't all gaming but is a lot of gaming, and it weaves all sort of old-school cool into the style and look of the pages! It's Iván of kidwiththechemicalz.net!

How did I find this website?

I followed Iván sometime this year, his site is also very compact with excellent font, header background, and graphics choices. It all looks very cool and grunge-y together. There's sick little animations on hover over a lot of buttons, there's flashing banners, and the cool CRT effect. The site is just awesome!

Check this website out if you like...

So there's a lot of music and games that Iván likes that I like too so all the pages related to his interests are fun to browse. If you like anything Valve definitely look at his site! Iván also has a blog that not only looks cool but often covers a variety of interesting topics, the latest one about being an artist on the web really resonated with me. There's a shrine/fansite for Король и Шут (I have a cousin who was really into them) and one more coming for Russian music in general. Iván's link page is very lengthy and impressive, especially for those new to browsing certain sites... with a bottle of rum. 

My favourite page on the website is...

My favourite page is definitely the blog page, it looks awesome, there's some very good writing there. I'm excited to see what else Iván will write in the future.

☆ Finny ★

2025 Digital Advent #21: Cyberstheb

Hey everyone, here come the last days of the advent. Then it's Christmas for all those who celebrate and before we know it, 2026 will be the year! Wild. Today's entry is a long-time mutual of mine, Sthefanny/Sbefy/Stheb/Befy of cyberstheb.neocities.org! I will be referring to her as Befy throughout this post for ease.

How did I find this website?

So, as I re-call (though now I'm worried I re-call everything pretty poorly...) me and Befy became mutuals on Neocities quite a while ago! Probably even sometime before my big site update of November 2024. Either way, the bright and stark look of Befy's site was so good. It's technically monochormatic (with a very vivid and popping pink, delicious!) but has graphics with a variety of colours. It's a very cool look.

Check this website out if you like...

Befy is an artist and has both beautiful watercolour works and digital art too. There are some really awesome shrines: one for Ghost Princess from One Piece, one for Grimes, and one for the 2010's web. There seems to be a fourth in the works too. There is also a neat links apge from which I discovered the retro TV sites which are a lot of fun. Befy is also a part of some cliques (you guys know I love a clique) so there's great collected pixels and those she made herself.

My favourite page on the website is...

I love the collections page, just lots of cute graphics but my fave has to be the 2010's web shrine. It's very chaotic and crazy but that truly was the attitude of that time. I probably started using the web around 2008 but only got my first social media accounts and such in the early 2010s. Just such a fun page, I hope I can come across such pages more often, it feels like a lot of love went into it.

☆ Finny ★      

2025 Digital Advent #20: Subtopia

We're really close to Christmas and also really close to the end of this advent. Crazy! And the year will end... Time goes much too quickly. So lets use what time we have left on this planet to appreciate some sites. Today I bring you an artist's incredible website (and as usual, there is art but there is also more!). It's J/James of subtopia.neocities.org!

How did I find this website?

 

I found James' site when they submitted an application to join my music of the 2000s fanlisting, they also joined my Deftones fanlisting, actually. Their art was somehow very familiar and totally new to me, either way it was very beautiful and exactly the kind of illustration style I really love.

Check this website out if you like...

If you enjoy beautiful art and illustration, very cool compositing of photos, art, and graphics, and animated website components, James' site is for you! There is a lot that is still in the works on the site but James has an archive that displays their many designs of their home, about, gallery pages and more. Always great to see the style evolution of a website! There is also an dark and moody fanlisting collective page and one fanlisting for the album, Shed by Title Fight. I love collectives and I love James' style. There's a shrine to Homestuck though it is incomplete, I picked the Aradia theme because she was my fave. The 'extras' page is also amazing, it's one of the few bright pages and it's very cute.

My favourite page on the website is...

My favourite page is probably the art blog. Duh! This is an art blog! But James has monthly logs of their art that I really love to look at. I just really enjoy their art and can't wait to see more of that on their site. I also love the character on the archive page a lot!

☆ Finny ★      

2025 Digital Advent #19: Onio.cafe

 Hello, there. Today I have another pretty unique project... because it's sort of a hub of web projects itself! Another masterclass in programming that I deeply admire, it all looks like magic to me and it's very cool. It's Onio of onio.cafe! If you love hand-made minigames, this is the website for you.

How did I find this website?

I actually met Onio in a very cool way. I was hanging out in Kuroi's chat with some other folk, answering the question of the week that Kuroi posed to all visitors. Onio was there too and after a lovely chat we all ended up following/linking to each other to stay in contact.

Check this website out if you like...

Right now Onio has a few cute minigames: Vibe Quest which is all about hanging out and fishing and Pet which has you name and take care of a virtual pet! Mine is called Eggo. There is also the coolest bookmark-gadget in the shape of the solar system where every planet can be a URL you pick! Onio's main page also has a chat feature with cool options. There's a lot of technical stuff that is very impressive.

My favourite page on the website is...

My favourite page is probably the simplest one. I really love Onio's web directory because it has many excellent links to other sites and resources. It also has perfectly selected pixel art to go with each section of the page. It's incredibly pretty.

☆ Finny ★     

2025 Digital Advent #18: Blackberrysoda

Hey! Ready for more sites? Be ready for A LOT today! In a good way, in the best way. It's 2000s trashy, pink, blinged out, it's the self-proclaimed best Gyaru in Buenos Aires (I believe her). Today's website is blackberrysodapop.neocities.org created and run by Moru. For fans of pink and leopard print, or both, this will be a very fun ride.

How did I find this website?

I actually can't recall! I think one of my mutuals followed Moru and I was curious about her site. Ever since I've started my blogs I've come across many Gyaru-centric blogs that I really enjoy and it was no different with Moru's site.

Check this website out if you like...

For fans of hot, hot pink! Frosty and blinged out graphics. Clashing, sexy patterns. An amazing personal blog and a very cute microblog. A satisfyingly curated graphics collection. Moru also has two media-related pages right now: one for music and one for movies. On both she has some great selections, many of which I also love! Check out some excellent playlists with names such as 'your toxic boyfriend's band that plays in a garage' and 'white girl music'. Moru also has some narrative projects in the works, like a webcomic, with a few OCs and their subpages, neat!

My favourite page on the website is...

I personally love the blog, it's personal, sort of wild, it really gives me such a fun insight into someone who lives a life totally unlike my own. But at the same time me and Moru share a lot too: we both hate AI and modern social media and like a lot of the same movies, bands, and shows. I was sold after I saw her Halloween costume, yassified Karl Marx. Excellent. 

☆ Finny ★