Category: literature

• Enjoying the Hiatus.

  It’s been awhile since I’ve streamed — either on YouTube or Twitch. In the process, I’ve taken time to enjoy the little moments of life. I feel as though my body has said, “Take time to read and to sleep. It’s okay to not be plugged into the digital world and enjoy the present”.

  I still feel as though my body is readjusting to not streaming. There are playthroughs I started and either haven’t finished or haven’t taken a full deep dive on. For some of us, gaming and streaming is a means of socializing while also sharing our enjoyment of a game with others. When you’re a night owl worker who’s also a noon time parent, life is tricky. I also believe the pandemic changed social living as a whole for me. I also understand that everyone’s time is varied. It’s for this reason that at times I’ll stream but in case you miss it, I’ll have the edited version of the livestream and share it with everyone. If there’s a session where I feel more prone to upload to YouTube and edit beforehand, I’ll stream on Twitch instead to have more editing control. As a game streaming creator, I’ve always had an inner debate on my approach and usually it would also depend on the game in question.

  In the process of this hiatus, I’ve continued to write monthly for Drafts again and thus far, the April chapter is coming along further than the last 3 months.

  I am also somewhat stuck in terms of FireFrei’s 7th chapter but I’m certain I will inject something into it to advance the story to eventually drop that novel by Winter.

  My mind has also been entertaining some artwork again and likely revisit some key images from my previous game playthrough as a means to make new merch for my Threadless merch store. It’s been a while and I miss it.

  I’ve also recently finished reading A Game Of Thrones and it definitely gave me the impression that D&D did strip a lot of the fantastical elements of Martin’s literary world in the manner akin to how the movie Troy stripped all the Greek mythological magic that surrounded the story of Homer’s The Iliad. Game of Thrones’ 1st season arguably could’ve been 2 seasons at 8 episodes each to give you a full adaptation and scope.

  Before I jump into A Clash Of Kings, I’m invested currently in continuing to read Fire & Blood as a means to be up to speed on everything that happened before A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. For all the flack some fans gave House of the Dragon’s 2nd season, I’m deep enough in the book’s reading to understand that, unlike the A Song Of Ice & Fire books, you’re informed in-book that you have Mushroom’s version of events and the Septon’s versions and that ultimately the reader has to interpret and determine what parts of their versions of events are true and what is a stretch.

  On that premise, I now believe that House of the Dragon retained some of the Septon, some of Mushroom but also other things of what the director & screenwriter think may have happened and in doing so, trying to carve out the rest of the story in a way to connect to the world of Game of Thrones as we know it (hence Daemon tuning into the Weirwood and all the visions of the Night King). You can like it (or not) but seeing the narrator of Fire & Blood informing the reader gave me a more fresh perspective in that regard. When Martin said that seasons 3 & 4 of HOTD may not be his own story anymore, he’s right to believe it but knowing what we know, it’s okay for it to be its own so long as the essential story beats that lead to the end of the book’s story are maintained (one of which being all the dragons dying, which is the ultimate outcome of the Green & Black divide).

  I’ve also gradually put myself back into working out at home, which is tricky given all the steps and activity I already have logged in from just work alone. From my un-dusting of my personal training brain, I know that stretching my calves and lower back are important, as well as stretching my upper back, given that I often have my chest out all the time to where my body always wants to bend over to even it out whereas other people that work have the opposite (being rounded all the time and struggling to straighten up). This is one of those cases where, once you understand how your body works and what’s required, you’ll know how to readapt and realign.

  04/12/2026

  Art, ASOIAF, drafts, Fire & Blood, game-of-thrones, george r.r. martin, health, house-of-the-dragon, life, ron322, update, Writing

  ---

• Almost a Month of Reprieve. FireFrei writing Thoughts.

  It feels like it’s been a month since I last went live. It was with Elden Ring NightReign and I enjoyed that initial conclusion. There’s more to finish Undertaker and Wylder’s story but there’s a step or two to finish off. Why haven’t I finished that? A lot of moving parts in my house happened and thus there’s some inner reconfiguration going on. If my camera space in my room is messy, I don’t like going live. Additionally, I needed to step away in order to rest, recover and focus on that which feeds my soul for inspiration. I needed to keep writing FireFrei and I surprisingly haven’t been able to write a single entry this month for Drafts either, to my surprise. I needed to lock in.

  I got to enjoy the Bad Bunny performance at the Super Bowl and the Boricua in me appreciated all of it. I’ve said in previous social media posts that he is not the kind of artist I listen to on a regular basis but his last album and his live performance putting our Boricuas on the spotlight is some thing I dearly appreciate. It opened up the conversation online about who we are, our place in history and in turn showing how we mattered and fit in Black History.

  I also got to enjoy A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, to which I believe is the best book to show ratio yet. In a time where things are chaotic, with indecent people showing their whole arse, a story about a mere hedge knight that lives by a code of honor to where a Hand of the King lost his own life to ensure he lived and won spoke volumes. I’m not sure if GRRM anticipated this 1st season of the adaptation to be an injection of hope on the belief of such moral principles during this time period but it definitely has been. It’s been a reminder that, although honor, decency and honesty are rare traits to find in everyday people, there are still those whom possess such traits.

  FireFrei writing of chapter 7 has continued and as I write, there’s a sense of dread I have with the conclusion of this chapter. I’m not a believer in sudden destruction of tender-hearted souls that bring reprieve and relief to a group of characters that just went through some near-catastrophic hell in their city unless you give that character a chance to shine their light to contrast the protagonist’s journey. I need their shared memory with whom may be her father to add weight. You want Emmanuel Lucifer’s mind to open up to the reader. I believe it’ll add more to his connection with the ill-fated character. I feel it’ll also add more to her sweetness as a soul and so, if or when the moment comes, it’ll hit harder.

  The conclusion of Act 1 from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 also gave me that reminder when it comes to storytelling — don’t kill off a character for the sake of shock. If you do kill off a character, give it meaning, show the reader/viewer a reason to care and understand why that death matters and what it could mean.

  We also now live in a world where people often need constant reminder of the main plot and stakes, which I despise. I still believe in telling a story and moving along but just leave bites in previous chapters or books so as to remind people “Hey remember that part a while back? Keep it in your head, it’ll mean something later”. In part, that’s what made a lot of earlier writings of Shakespeare so damn good— he sometimes just gave you the ending to your face but because it was vague and without context, you wouldn’t have known it was the conclusion he was putting in front of you until you took the whole journey of experiencing the story.

  My goal is still to finish writing of FireFrei before October and same for Drafts. The former has a looser schedule while the latter has a mandatory schedule of writing a chapter every month, no matter how long or short those chapters are. Can it be creatively limiting? Probably but will it give me a sense of urgency? Yes, astoundingly so.

  02/17/2026

  a knight of the seven kingdoms, break, Elden Ring NightReign, FireFrei, honor, Life, ron322, storytelling, streaming, update, Writing

  ---

• FireFrei writing resumes; Drafts story progression!

  I got to watch A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and this far, I enjoyed the premiere. In a world where shows usually have this obsession with starting off hot, hard, dark or aggressive, it’s nice to have a show start off simple. Knowing ahead of time who Egg is, I at least have the knowledge that what is coming from this show will be good — especially if George R.R. Martin himself was directly present and involved on set.

  I’ve been enjoying the time off from streaming. Don’t get me wrong, I do have the itch from time to time but after 5 years of streaming content that consists of in-game commentary, reactions and breakdown, I’m occasionally reminded by YouTube that I’m an artist, not just a gaming content creator. Maybe, just maybe I need to heed that little reminder.

  I’ve resumed writing chapter 7 of FireFrei and I’m happy to say that it’s refreshing to finally resume the story and knowing where I want to take this chapter, knowing where the endgame of that story will land. It’ll also give a chance to understand Emmanuel Lucifer’s friends, the meaning of their bonds and Elsabelle herself. The importance of Elsabelle is knowing her tie to Emmanuel, as any disclosure of their relationship can set the endgame of the story into motion.

  I’m almost done with this month’s chapter writing for Drafts and while December was a slow month for me in terms of writing, January for this story, while slow, has been a bit more productive as I’m now trying to piece together the lore behind Guillermo and Lusciel, the connections between Old York and New York, as well as understanding Ronoir’s origins and why the world feels new yet déjà vu for him.

  2026 is simply off to a different start and energy. I’m also being more conscious of my food intake again, as I want to optimize and course correct in the way I used to pre-pandemic. This means going in reverse on many things I indulged in and thus this stage of my life is a sense of self-healing on physiological level that I sort of neglected during the pandemic and its aftermath.

  01/23/2026

  2026, a knight of the seven kingdoms, drafts, FireFrei, healing, Life, ron322, storytelling, update, Writing

  ---

• FireFrei Continues! Gaming and Thrones!

  Last weekend was a peaceful holiday weekend. I got to complete my first playthrough of Undertale, of which I concluded in a Neutral/Pacifist route that sadly concluded with Mettaton taking over the entire underground as my character left to the surface; there’s something bone-chilling about that. The thought of a monster-crafted robot dictating over all of monster society in some obligated fan club felt so wrong. It’s like having AI taking over society and the collective are to bow to its whims or else.

  I also had the fun of playing with other players in jolly cooperation in Elden Ring NightReign. While it’s purposely designed as a multiplayer experience, the game has a narrative for all the characters available, as well as concerning the Nightlords. I appreciated how, upon diving in, I understood that FromSoftware respected its material enough to not jumble the timeline of the main game. What I mean by this is that the events happen after The Shattering War but before the call of the Tarnished to return to The Lands Between to mend the Elden Ring. I like this.

  I also managed to nearly reach the 1/2 way point of A Game Of Thrones by George R.R. Martin and the deeper I’ve gone into this first book from A Song of Ice & Fire, the more apparent it becomes that the show left a lot on the table as far back as Season 1. The meltdown with The Mountain in the tourney, the looming assassination plot towards Robert Baratheon and especially the major conversation between Ned Stark and Varys was an eye opener. The deeper I go in on this 1996 classic, the more I understand how much David & Dan left behind that would’ve added so much more weight to the story.

  Speaking of stories, I’m finally up to #7 in FireFrei editing. Now that I concluded transferring and editing #6, now my editing and writing can be closer together. This will definitely ensure that I have a tighter grip on my writing to have the novel ready. I think it also helps that I’ve been keeping livestreaming more in the passive lane as I prepare myself for this. This story needs my love and attention, as does the art for the final chapters and eventually the cover art itself.

  I also concluded writing a 2nd chapter for the story tentatively called Drafts. It’s refreshing to craft a story from a month to month basis with chapters only as long or short as my mind can allow. I cross my fingers that by October of 2026, I’ll have it concluded and then release it.

  12/02/2025

  a game of thrones, drafts, elden-ring, FireFrei, Gaming, george r.r. martin, literature, NightReign, ron322, Undertale, Writing

  ---

• Fist of the North Star! Deadly Art fueled by the Power of Love!

  I just finished watching the classic Fist of the North Star anime series. If you haven’t read the manga, this show is a great adaptation. If you only saw the anime film, you’re missing a lot of the story and important lore. I highly recommend this show. Created by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara, it’s the reason we have Berserk. It also led to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Vinland Saga, Double Dragon, and many other beloved shows and games.

  Kenshiro’s journey is not just about love and revenge against Shin. It is also about standing up to Raoh’s attempt to be Ruler of Century’s End. It’s not just about overcoming an enslaving tyrant like Souther and preventing Kaioh’s evil reign. If Pete Cetera’s song “The Glory of Love” were an anime, it would be this one. The twist that the fighting style is powered by love highlights a story that, while brutal, embraces masculinity. This masculinity is driven by ideals like Beauty, Freedom, Truth, and Love. These themes are similar to those in Moulin Rouge.

  If you want a story that demonstrates a man void of misogyny and sexism, this is it. Kenshiro is driven to restore nature in this post-apocalyptic world. He will not allow women, children, or the elderly to be enslaved. If you seek to shackle the populace with evil, he’ll stop at nothing to destroy you. It doesn’t matter if you share his bloodline. Even if you were his brother, Kenshiro’s fists are aimed at you if you embody oppression and suffering. Behind his brutal techniques lies a deep reservoir of love. He longs for people to be free. He wants them to experience love and embrace peace as a viable truth.

  As old as this anime adaptation is, it has aged deceptively well. There are techniques and attacks that Kenshiro unleashed in the story that were decades ahead of their time. Goku’s Mastered Ultra Instinct in Dragon Ball Super manga? Kenshiro did it first. The way Jonathan Joestar, Lisa Lisa, young Joseph Joestar and the stands of every Joestar member’s fighting style? It’s got Kenshiro written all over.

  If the ending indicates anything, and Fist of the North Star was as influential to Kentaro Miura as it seemed, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Berserk manga might conclude with the ultimate baddie going down. This includes Falconia, Godhand, and all. However, Guts might ride into the sunset and let Isidro take the mantle the way Kenshiro did with Bat. Kenshiro knew staying around Bat and Lin would attract endless fights. So, he rode off elsewhere to liberate other lands. This is seen in The New Fist of the North Star OVA. Isidro sees Guts like a big brother and looks up to him as such. Like Bat, Isidro isn’t as proficient or as strong in combat. He makes up for it in wit. He would be entrusted to help the entourage. Kenshiro entrusted Lin with Bat’s life as well as everyone else that has survived Kenshiro’s journey.

  If Guts’ story in Berserk is about a boy thrusted into manhood. He is plagued with trauma, betrayal, and abuse. Despite these, he learns to persevere and heal. Kenshiro’s story in Fist of the North Star is a legend about a man who has persevered. He has not allowed the evils of this world to tarnish him. He does all this in the name of love. One man is riddled and has to claw his way into healing. The latter somehow ran through it all untarnished. It’s raw, it’s brutal but also beautiful.

  06/06/2025

  anime, beauty, berserk, buronson, fist of the north star, freedom, kentaro miura, love, manga, masculinity, movies, Review, reviews, ron322, seinen, Tetsuo hara

  ---