Blaugust #15: See You Next Year

End of August, end of Blaugust. As this was my first time participating, it's kind of no surprise that it was a real mess on my part. Still, I had fun doing my own thing. Nobody left me a comment on the blog but I got lots of interesting and nice exchanges via the 32Bit forum. In the last half of Blaugust I really didn't have time to catch up and read many of the posts that others made! I'm taking today to catch up on what I missed from my Blaugroll and pick out my favourite posts from the participants that I kept up with and just do a little epilogue of my own.

Without further ado... my favourite posts of my fellow 32Bit forum members!

Halftime Recap (3) - Rosario Delacroix

 

I found Rosario Delacroix's neocities via the Blaugust post on 32Bit. I haven't read a blog this well-written and illustrative in it's language in ages! This isn't to shade other bloggers, often I actually prefer very unedited, off-the-cuff blogging (I mean, have you seen any of my blogs?). I personally can never write this good so I really admire their work, especially when a lot of it is what I'm thinking but as if it's given a proper light to be under. In their words:

"I am a stranger in my own life. When I look in the mirror, I do not recognize the person before me...writing, therefore- is an act of self preservation, and revolution against the status quo of my brain tossing everything in my life into a blackbox."

I actually couldn't put into words why I blog myself until coming across this on Rosario's blog. I don't know why but mired in weird feelings of guilt, sadness, hopelessness, I also lose memories... memories that feel like they should be integral parts of myself. Sometimes it feels like only having put it down somewhere lets me wade out of the frustration of having forgotten. Check out their writing, it's superb.

Personal Computer - Lars-Christian's website 

This has been on my mind for a while. I wasn't actually around for the old web, when was that anyway? I was there in the 90s, if being there means coming to life in early April and not being even one years old at the turn of the millennium (my parents left me with grandma and went to party like it was 1999, because it was, in Italy). But even in the early 2010s, my online prime time, I felt that things were made to be molded by me. Gadgets, websites, computers, programs. There was a set mission: you've got to make this thing yours. And I felt like I could. I haven't felt like that on the internet post-2015, perhaps. As Lars-Christian says:

"Tech used to be magical in that it let us capture, highlight and reinforce all of the things that made us human. Nowadays it feels like the opposite is true." 

I feel that in my bones, and I don't even have so much nostalgia that I have to make things like they were. I just want something really, really new to happen in tech. No, really. Imagine a totally new approach that only thinks about what users want. Full customization of everything, homebrew to your heart's content, switch off algorithms entirely, and on and on. You know, it's a superficial thing but when I saw the Switch's UI and looked back at the UI of the 3DS or the DS, it was a clear sign that fun is slightly dead. I have no feelings for new PCs or consoles but I still feel drumming excitement for my old PC, the Sony VAIO VPC-F1190X or the Xbox 360. Anyway Lars-Christian has many short but fun posts as well as shorter form thoughts, you should really check it out (and he actually knows what he's talking about, I'm only here to be fascinated by pretty colours).

On Buddhism - aster

 

If you've ever read my blogs you know of my personal dislike of religion in it's usual iterations. To me it's the prime and oldest example of the personal and anecdotal turned into a social construct. But it's totally in human nature, we can't exist without believing in something, even without evidence. I'm not opposed to religion at all, I think everyone's got to think about the cruelties, delights, and mysteries of the world in their preferred context. All schools of thought, even secular ones, still exist to address our very self-centered fears (what happens after life, am I important, what is wrong and what is right, and more). 

I've actually lived in China and none of my friends practiced Buddhism often so there's really not much I can say I learnt there (total missed opportunity, I know). One of the most potent interactions I had with Buddhism was from a very poor source, Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. A narrative book by an author from a colonial European background writing about ancient and complex history that has been preserved in a myriad of languages. In high school, I just thought that Siddhartha was a prick; abandoning his family, so neurotic about his own enlightenment, and nothing new. 

Luckily Aster is a well of knowledge and reading their posts on religion and law and Buddhism made me think further on something I only scraped the surface of years ago. Because the core of Buddhism is actually much closer to what I myself believe in, antinatalism (the belief that suffering is inherent and therefore choosing not to bring new life into the world and to actively reduce harm, not whatever eugenicist and doomer bullshit the main subreddit is trying to pedal).

"Even if your rebirth is pleasureful or filled with anguish, it will end as you are reborn once again. This is the "dharma", or ultimate reality, of all things. Buddhist thought puts this as an inherently negative state of being: everything you know and love will die and suffer, and you can not do anything about that."

This really calls to me because I hate when people come to the dishonest conclusion that in the end it's all still worth it, as if all the suffering in the world can be outweighed by the goodness that also happened. I think it's a disingenuous position. Let me be clear, real antinatalism doesn't advocate for the ending of life, only for the ending of suffering and avoiding bringing new consciousnesses into the world when you know you will subject them to inevitable, and possibly unbearable, suffering. I think this is quite similar to dharma, though because antinatalism doesn't have any conclusions about the afterlife there is no nirvana that can be reached. Instead, we must make do while we live. Aster's work is very in-depth and interesting with frequent references to Buddhist text that I found very well done.

Tuesday's Child - Divergent Rays

I'm also a Tuesday's child! Also absolutely no grace. Reading this post was fun it got me thinking about how annoyed I am sometimes at horoscopes, because they are literally never accurate for me. But I also find them endlessly fun, like living a second life, maybe as a more confident mahou shoujo girl? Divergent Rays also has a few posts about gorgeous tiaras!

blog 002: not dead yet - mary cuntrarian 

Mary blogs about identity, art, and her thoughts and interests. There's media reviews too. Her second Blaugust really caught my eye, both for the content and the tone. Here's a part that really stuck in my brain:

"Last night I burst into tears making one of these Dollz, thinking about how one day the only things left behind to prove I ever existed will be the ghost of me online. It was a random intrusive thought that hit me to my core. One day this little pixelated, inappropriately dressed icon will represent me somewhere when I’m not here anymore." 

Kind of embarrassing to say but I literally burst into tears from laughing/a shotgun blast from the past while watching the video to Toy-Box's Tarzan. Specifically the line: "Go cheetah, get banana, hey monkey, get funky". So fucking stupid. It's a terrible song but it, along with their song Best Friend, was one of those songs that were popular with AMVs (kids call them edits these days, right?). A fandom video edited to some quippy song, I watched a lot of them featuring Clone Wars, Legend of Korra, The Big Four (if you know, you know), and Motorcity. Unlike Mary, I didn't actually create anything (except fan art maybe...), but I felt like a part of me was left there, in those videos. I think I'll come back in ten or more years again and recognize myself again. Yeah, even in something dumb like that, I find my missing self. And I also wonder, when will this blog end? When I get bored or when I die? Is anyone going to find it, sometime in the end. Anyway, check out Mary's site, there's some very cool art!

I'm Doing Blaugust! And Why Writing is Often Hard for Me. - Your Local Grubdog

Though I've been blogging pretty consistently this year, I still really relate to Grub's post on the hardship of getting back into writing. In general, his blog cracks me up:

"Did you know that depression is a little bitch."

Heh. Yeah...

That's all for the participants from 32Bit, special shout out to wem1c, Manatee, small_cypress, and effigies who checked in on the thread! It was nice to hear from everyone. Now, here's some from other bloggers that took part this year and who I found through Blaugust!

Commenting on comments - theTangentSpace 

Going to be very petty and honest right now, I'm a little salty that no one has commented on my blog throughout Blaugust. I realize it may have been because my blog was set to 'Only People with Google Accounts' the whole time. Er, my bad. It's not anymore! I feel the same about the comment issue too, an email and talk outside the blog is great but it can get so easily lost or locked between few people. Comments directly on the blog are the way to go!

31 Days of Fictional Crushes Day 17 – Kit Fisto - Monsterlady's Diary

 

What a fun idea for a monthly blog and it was a ride! There's a lot of monster and non-monster crushes I was not familiar with, or at least maybe not their appeal. I don't usually find myself interested in monster-adjacent characters but I get the appeal in some cute aliens. I love Star Wars, the Clone Wars era, and Kit Fisto is just such a dude. He's jacked as hell, an underwater kinda guy, and also so goofy. Ahem, Monsterlady summarizes it succinctly:

"Then I saw him in both Clone Wars versions: the shorter series and the longer, and as soon as I saw him shirtless while swimming underwater, just fighting against CIS forces, he often smiled whenever something went his way or he defeated a powerful enemy. I already had the hots for him with that smile, and all he had to do was strip down to get my heart beating!" 

AHHH!! It has been a weird month for me, I've sort of gone back to crushing on video game characters just like in high school. Just finished Uncharted 4 and it makes me mad but yeah, I'm kinda into Sam Drake even if he is a scheming scumbag. But you cannot tell anyone, I'm so serious right now. This shit stays between us (me and the internet)!

I want those Blaugust Achievements! - A Nerdy Fujo Cries

 

I'm also an achievement/badge addict so I can relate. Gamefying literally everything is sadly in my DNA... Crimson made a pretty cute Steam-style layout for their Blaugust achievements. 

The New Ocean Pavillion is Gorgeous!! - Musings and Mumblings

I haven't been to an aquarium in ages and seeing this post really soothed my soul. My last trip was when I was maybe only 12 and it was really magical. I didn't know you could have that much ocean indoors! Rachael's blog is just very nice and I like when there's lots of photos. 

Hong Kong Snack House - august morning.

I love photo blogs! Jedda's got a great eye and browsing pics on the blog was a lot of fun. This Hong Kong Snack House called out to me because I've actually been missing Hong Kong a bit. Something I never thought I'd say because me and Hong Kong don't get along, it's just too big of a city. But it's been years, can't help but miss it.

Indie Game Roundup (August 8, 2025) - The Virtual Moose

Got me to try the Tiny Bookshop demo and I had a lot of fun! Might buy it some time this year. 

Now, for a little self-evaluation. Here's some of my responses to the Blaugust questions for the last week:

1. If you could go back in time to August 1st (or whenever you signed up for Blaugust), what would you do differently to prepare?

Um, actually prepare? I got sidetracked by Life TM and didn't have time for my own posts and those of others. Next year I'm scheduling everything early as hell and dedicating most of August to actually reading other people's posts! 

2. What are your top 3 or 5 takeaways from your Blaugust experience?

One. I can't have a coherent thought when it comes to my creative projects, I'm in some kind of bubble that only makes sense to me. And that's even with an extra credit course about pitching that I took in uni! Two. People aren't commenting on my blog probably because most of what I've written is illegible but maybe because it's on blogspot? Listen, fuck Google, I agree but it's kinda the best option for me now. Three. I still had fun, hooray! Four. I want that Silver Achievement bad.

3. Were there any posts your read during Blaugust that changed how you felt about the experience as a whole? Share them!

I've shared all the posts and bloggers I loved above! There were many more cool blogs but they just weren't in my zone of interest. In a negative way, I was disappointed to see that a few blogs used Gen AI art. Can't remember who, won't say who. If you're a blogger and you love to write, what if I used ChatGPT to disrespect your craft and generate awful, generic posts just cause I need to fill the page? Think about it.

4. What were your favorite and least favorite parts of participating in Blaugust 2025? 

My favourite was that I didn't have to do all 31 days! I did as much as I needed and it was fun. I loved interacting with others though I mostly did that through 32Bit. Least favourite? Refer to the previous question.

So that's that! I'll be taking a pretty lengthy break from this blog for September. I'll still be doing art but probably posting less. However, I'll be posting daily during Inktober on this blog and possibly doing another thing over on my media blog (31 days of 90-00s teen horror films!). Thanks if you've made it this far or read any of my posts, that's real cool of you. Let's keep the independent web alive and fun! See you next year!

☆ Finny ★