#yearly roundup

[allthingslinguistic]

2025 year in review

In 2025, Lauren Gawne and I reached our 100th episode of Lingthusiasm, our podcast that’s enthusiastic about linguistics! It’s a special format featuring 100 fun things about linguistics, which makes it a great entry point to the show if you haven’t tried it yet or are looking for something to forward to people. We also celebrated our 100th bonus episode (does that make this year actually our…

[little-smartass]

yearly roundup 2025!

so obviously this year has been a pretty darn big one for me, with the arrival of the little froggy 🐸 ...who is not so little now at the end of the year! I know it's a cliché but truly, "the hardest thing I've done but the best thing I've ever done" is the most accurate description of parenthood I've found so far. he is a goddamn fucking delight and I love him more than anything and I am. so fucking tired. oh my god. the froggy's arrival was distinctly, uh, fraught, to say the least, though thankfully 8 months on my health has recovered, the scars have healed, and I'm much closer to feeling like myself again, or some approximation of myself anyway 🫠 I'm still really struggling with creative burnout but I want to try and push myself this coming year to return to regular drawing practice, whatever that looks like.

the rest of the year just feels like an exhausted blur but other things did happen... like losing my job, which was somewhat fucking gutting! I'm thinking 2026 may be a freelancing year for me unless something really awesome falls in my lap. on the bright side I got to go to a couple of weddings of dear friends which was amazing, and several other friends have also either had babies of their own or gotten pregnant, so there's an exciting year ahead of us for sure!

[rng-purrgatory]

alphabetclan years 1-5 roundup

drew some of my favorite cats (and my less favored cats that are in high positions) across 5 years / 60 moons of my clangen clan (mostly cats related to allergenstar...)! all of the cat's information are as of moon 60. going to do cat roundups like these every year in my clan because i don't have enough time (management) to do an actual clangen comic

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useful explanation and useless rambling below the cut

exhibit A: why are the cats' names so weird???

I'm doing some kind of theming challenge where cats of one generation all have to have names that start with one letter e.g. all the clan founders' names start with A, and all their kittens have to have names that start with the next letter. so the clan founders are going to have names like Applestar and Apricotfur and their kittens will have names like Baytail and Birdstripe, and their kittens will have names like Coyotetuft and Cherryspot and so on and so forth and cats can't repeat prefixes either

HOWEVER. i want cats with goofy names so instead of taking the clangen prefixes I'm taking the prefixes directly from my Random House Webster's Concise Dictionary I found lying around in my house with the help of a random string generator. i also took the "challenge" out of the theming challenge by just inserting cats who join the clan into the generation they'd fit the most without it looking off based on their age so gameplay isn't that much more difficult than a normal run besides the editing i have to do 💀 well i can't repeat prefixes but it's a lot easier than just using the built-in prefixes

Also the cats here are "genetically accurate" because i think having genetically accurate inheritance for a very generation-focused clan theming would just be fitting. genetically accurate in quotes because I take a bunch of creative liberties with the designs and also I'm just straight up guessing on the inheritance of some of the traits ESPECIALLY white spotting and eye color. then why am I not using genemod built specifically for this purpose? mainly because i don't feel like it.

exhibit B: Shenanigans

Apiaryswirl died the month before Allergenstar was going to have their babies, Alexa play Despacito. He died following the scent of a trespassing cat of a rival clan. Allergenstar still has beef with that rival clan to this day.

Argotmane initially retired on moon 41 at the age of 124 moons but then a whole 2 months later he had a thought wishing that elders should be able to patrol. So I took that as that he wanted to be deputy again so I made him deputy again.

Before his first retirement Argotmane would just get condition after condition. as soon as he gets better from one condition he just gets another one within the next 1-2 months and has to go back into the medicine den 💀 no wonder he retired.

another cat not in the roundup named Articleash was also constantly getting injured till he one moon he died of one of the injuries

between Argotmane retiring and Argotmane going back to being deputy another cat named Aden (not pictured above) was deputy. But he's not important rn.

if I do another alphabet themed clan I am NOT naming another cat with the "Another" prefix. Anothermimic gets to have his fun once and never again.

Cynicalpaw and Curbpaw have a third littermate who should hopefully appear on my year 6 update as a warrior

as of JANUARY 1 2026 (new years heck yeah) asks are open!! in case you want?? more shenanigans??? idk

exhibit C: extra art of Allergenstar and her babies

[dread-red-queen]

🚫Do Not Re-Upload/Edit My Shots/Art Without My Permission🚫

[Bluesky][Patreon][Instagram][Tumblr][AO3][Nexus][Ko-Fi][Discord]

It's that time of the year again, I like to do an Art Year roundup so here's mine

FREE Template is available in my Ko-Fi Shop - HERE

[thewaether]

Stuff I made this year:

(links at the end of post)

Stuff that's not as big, or not finished:

A Supernaturalerotic Sneak-Preview

Mirra (from Supernaturalerotic)

Hell (from Supernaturalerotic)

Mall (from Supernaturalerotic)

Amy in Artland, some graphical tweaks

Cut section (from Supernaturalerotic)

New logo

Femininomicon (from Supernaturalerotic)

Mysterious door

Album (not finished)

Deliah model

Lots of art

a lot of my time was spent on one project this year, but it's multiple games in one, so I've kind of made a lot of games that haven't been released yet

[aikawa-kazuki]

What I watched in 2025 - The Bad, The Good and The Thumbs Up.

Selected overview of my drama watchlist this past year.

In 2025 I completed 63dramas, plus 3 variety shows, both on air and in my “free time.” Would be too much in my opinion to go over every single drama” and it would take ages, so I decided to divide this list into subcategories: disappointments, surprises and didn’t change my life but I still had fun watching it”. This list only focuses on Asian dramas, so no movies and no western series (there are like 2 non-Asian shows I watched…)

Whole article available for free on substack!

What I watched in 2025 - The Bad, The Good and The Thumbs Up.

Selected overview of my drama watchlist this past year.

I hope you guys don't mind me writing it on substack instead of here. I wanted to try it out and write it in a more formative way. I would greatly appreciate you guys reading it. I had quite a lot of fun writing it and it's nice to try something different every now and then:)

[libratxt]

spotify wrapped, discord checkpoint, your bank exposing your spending.. none of it compares to the 2025 tumblr roundup! sinners changed my life and i'm curious to know what was major for you? shows, movies, songs, moments, anything at all spongebob big guy pants ok!

YAY!!! my favorite ask of the year <3

movies

sinners: man, i went to see Sinners in imax kind of on a whim right when it had come out and it absolutely blew my mind. the scene when sammie sings "i lied to you" moved me to tears. it's honestly everything a movie should be. and the sound design is INCREDIBLE! i feel like every movie lately even strict musicals (looking at you wicked) sound bad like the mixing is garbage. but Sinners is as much an auditory feast as it is a visual one.

bring her back: it was a good year for horror! i'm impressed every time the philippou brothers have put out a movie and this one is absolutely the best one so far. it's ultimately a movie about grief and trauma, and it was devastating but also beautiful and scary. this one was really a highlight for me this year.

tv shows

honestly ever since succession ended... i feel like tv is kind of whatever for me :( it's hard for me to find anything i've loved as much as succession but here's some of what i enjoyed this year:

severance: not as solid as the first season, i will say. but still really good, and the finale pulled it all together for me. i'm really hoping they get the pacing right next season because there were so many loose ends this season, too many characters separated from each other, and not enough conclusions to feel satisfying. but still stunning set design and fantastic acting.

the pitt: okay?? procedurals are not usually my thing and the last time i've been anywhere near a doctor show is like watching grey's anatomy with my mom when i was in middle school, but i did kind of obsess over the pitt when it aired earlier this year and i am looking forward to the next season.

andor: OH MY GOD i almost forgot to write this one out. i know disney is whatever and star wars is also whatever but!!! andor was not afraid to go there in terms of drawing direct parallels to the current rise of fascism and the genocide occurring in palestine, and also wasn't afraid of showing the messy, complicated and sometimes necessary violence for fighting oppressive powers?? like truly spectacular writing, costuming, acting, and message. this was the best tv show for me this year.

better call saul: this one obviously didn't come out this year but i tried watching pluribus and did not like it so i decided to try watching better call saul instead a few weeks ago, i'm on season 2 now and i love it love it love it. jimmy is a surprisingly compelling character, and his dynamics with both his brother and kim are fascinating to watch... and well, jimmy and kim forever <3!!

music

okay it's been such an amaaaaazing year for music like there have been so many good albums this year from beginning to end.

debi tirar mas fotos (bad bunny): this album is his best so far. i love that it sounds like home to me because it's so inspired by the kind of music i grew up listening to at home with my parents. i love that it blends traditional caribbean sounds with more modern reggaeton. it's such a delight.

virgin (lorde): it's funny because i feel like virgin didn't make as much of a splash as i wish it had. it took me a few listens to get into it but when i got into it, i was in it. i love that it's unapologetically honest to the point it can get a little gross or a little weird or a little uncomfortable. so much about it resonates with me even if my experiences aren't really anything like lorde's. it honestly made me want to start songwriting.

ego death at a bachelorette party (hayley williams): hayley williams is my forever icon. every haircut i've ever gotten has been inspired by ms williams okay. and i love to see her really knock it out of the park with this solo album. she sounds incredible, i love getting to hear her voice in songs or genres we typically wouldn't get via paramore. i deeply felt some of the songs, and like lorde, i just feel like there's something really refreshing about the unapologetic authenticity. also bonus: i looove the song she did with moses sumney earlier this year. i'd been literally manifesting a collab between the two of them for years now and their song is perfect, it's so fun to sing along to.

lux (rosalia): this album is jaw-dropping. i wrote a substack essay about it (shameless plug) because i just have so many thoughts on the appeal of this album. the instrumentation is incredible, her singing is otherworldly, and the lyrics are just so beautiful and brilliant.

video games

blue prince: i picked this one up because i saw a reel earlier this year of someone complaining that they just couldn't finish it because it was too hard. but i loved it! it's a puzzle game and it does have like a million different pieces and mysteries to solve and even when you've finished the game, there are so many more things to uncover to really feel like you've finished the game. i've put in so many hours and could probably put in a lot more to feel like i've really uncovered everything i want to.

god of war ragnarok: not from this year either but!!! i finally got to playing ragnarok and i loved it so much. the writing is really good and the gameplay is fun. i complained about dragon age veilguard last year because it kept trying to like make social commentary that just felt so forced and cringe and completely inorganic, and i feel like ragnarok actually does it successfully. it touches on toxic masculinity, grief, and other complicated themes in a way that is so subtle, thoughtful, and really works!

silent hill 2 (remake): i am a huge horror person and somehow had not played any silent hill before this year. naturally i became extremely obsessed with the series. silent hill 2 remains the best of the best for me. i have a lot to say about it but i don't want to keep yapping so i'll just say that the fact that the horror is atmospheric and creeping really does it for me, and the narrative is really compelling.

silent hill f: this came out right around my birthday! i thought the story was fantastic, but the gameplay is a pain in the ass and honestly just made me want to play silent hill 2 again. but the horror and story really work, i just wish the gameplay wasn't so miserable.

OKAY and that's enough from me because i could go on and on about things forever. ty imo <3 and thanks to anyone who read all this!!

[cavedwellermusic]

CDM Top 10 Albums of 2024: As Chosen by the CDM Group

We once again ran a poll in the Cave Dweller Music Group over the past few weeks, where YOU, our users decided what you believed to be the top 10 albums of 2024. As always you came through and provided us with over 300 votes, clearly deciding on your favourite albums of this past year.

You voted for:

1. Full of Hell - Coagulated Bliss

2. High On Fire - Cometh the Storm

3. Uncle Acid and the deadbeats - Nell Ora Blue

4. Pallbearer - Mind Burns Alive

5. Thou - Umbilical

6. Ulcerate - Cutting the Throat of God

7. Ulver - Liminal Animals

8. Panzerchrist - All Witches Shall Burn

9. Mastiff - Deprecipice

10. Couch Slvt - You Could Do It Tonight

CDM Top 10 Albums of 2024: As Chosen by the CDM Group - Cave Dweller Music

We once again ran a poll in the CDM Group where YOU, our users decided what you believed to be the top 10 albums of 2024.