It's funny how quickly life can shift. I guess just like any major life event, it can come out of nowhere and completely knock you down and drag you out. The last few months for me have been really challenging, but I guess going through so much in one lifetime has a way of strengthening you.

Way back in the archive we featured a game called Swords and Sworcery. Even after all this time, I'll never forget the lasting impression that game made on me. Not that it was incredibly fun to play or mesmerizing in any way- it was simply a mechanic. In S&S, as you progress through the game the protagonist is faced with difficult challenges...and these challenges exert a toll on her. The air has cleared, the scene finally settles. The boss is down, but the fatigue is setting in-- she drops to the ground, trying to regain her composure while her enemy lies slain. Soon, however, we are confronted with the grim reality that her vitality is sapped...permanently.

This is the way the game introduces difficulty progression. The enemies aren't getting stronger-- you are getting weaker. When I first caught on to this, I thought it incredibly profound. There have been so many times in my life where I felt like this is how life wears on a person. It grinds them down until they are dust. Something that would barely phase them at an earlier point in their journey can now inflict mortal damage.

For a long time, I honestly thought life was going to wear me down. But after recent events, I feel like... Naw. Vitality can regenerate...it just takes time. And sometimes, out of willful defiance to prove your strength, your sheer will and self actualized power, you go out and be a badass to flex on those who would doubt you. Patronize you. Deceive and stoke anxiety in you. Fuck you, Zach. Also, thank you. Your near-virtue signaling, your positivity platitudes and instagramably quotable justifications for your actions only disguise your inability to handle your emotional shit. Let me show you what real strength is.

So go out there, dear readers. Say an emphatic "Fuck You!" to the Zach's of your world.