A weekly status update from everyone’s favourite caffeinated weirdo.

Welcome back to Whatcha Up To! It’s ya boi, Coffee, and here’s to the end of another week! And what a week it’s been. Thank the gods it’s the weekend, just saying. Anyway, let’s break down what’s been happening:

Whatcha Playin’, Coffee?

FFVII Remake continues to have a stranglehold on me. I’ve hit Chapter 17 on Hard Mode and have decided to take on the remaining Combat Simulator battles. Simultaneously, I’m grinding AP for Materia in the push towards the final battles against the Whispers and Sephiroth in Chapter 18.

At the same time, I’ve completed yet another game on the backlog – this time, it’s the original Double Dragon for the NES. The differences between the first and second titles are astounding, and I’m not just talking about controls either. I honestly feel like the second game was much easier than the first. It was still enjoyable, nonetheless.

I’ve started to muck around with Kid Icarus. It’s definitely a challenging title. I could use a password to skip ahead of everything and beat it… buuuut that’d be disingenuous of me to do so. I want to finish the games in my backlog semi-legitimately (cheats and save states, woo!)

Whatcha Writin’, Coffee?

A whole bunch of things HAHA. The first Backlog Busting post is ready to go, just need to upload screenshots. Working on my second and third ones next. In terms of Mobius VII, I finally found some traction on the story and have started it back up. I’m way past behind to make my initial deadline, but it’s OK. It’s not a race, after all. Little by little, it’ll all be done.

I don’t think I mentioned this, but I’ve dabbled into some original fiction! Back in summer 2023, I was invited to write a short story for an upcoming Dark Fantasy anthology book based on the Major Arcana. My choice was The Emperor and I felt that I wrote a compelling story. The book is in the editing process right now. I’m not sure when it will be released, but I’m hoping for sometime before the end of the year.

Whatcha Readin’, Coffee?

Star Wars Ronin, A Visions Novel, by Emma Mieko Candon. I finally got around to reading a good chunk of this book and I’m pleased to report that it is some compelling stuff! Set in a Feudal Japan-esque universe, The Ronin is an unnamed former Sith warrior wielding a unique lightsaber who’s running from his past mistakes. Those mistakes catch up to him when he becomes involved with recovering the missing seat of the former Empire from a deadly witch. At the same time, he is mercilessly pursued by a bandit – another Sith who he killed earlier in a temple, but mysteriously returned to life. At 330 pages, I should be able to knock this one out fairly quickly.

How’s Trainin’, Coffee?

It’s been a bit of an off week for me, honestly. Kids are sick and work is piling up, but I still managed to get a few light workouts in. Inverted rows have become my favourite thing to do in recent weeks. I’ll have something more substantial for next week.

That’s it for this week. Anything new on your end? Let me know below. Otherwise, I’ll talk to you next week!

~Coffee