Hello and welcome back. This is Issue 19 of “a bit of bird words” and I hope I finish this in time to be sent at its usual hour. The end of the month really snuck up on me!

What did I do this month?

At long last, after months of stopping and starting, Silksong finally took me by the throat and did not let go until I’d fully finished the game.

I love Hollow Knight, but I actually think I love this game slightly more. A lot of it comes down to Hornet herself; watching her interact with people rather than just be spoken to creates all these little moments of camaraderie and tension that are missing in the Knight’s interactions. It’s also nice to be in a world that isn’t nearly as full-dead as Hallownest.

Related to that, I really like the fact that there are interactions I completely missed in my playthrough. There are characters I never met until it’s too late and I stumbled across so many little rooms that felt like they didn’t need to have a game-level purpose to justify their existence. That makes for a map that feels less like a game and more like a real place.

Also it wasn’t really harder than the first game. A lot of that can be attributed to the many tools Hornet gets; the Knight has to solve most of its problems through skill, but Hornet can solve a lot with just some well-placed tacks. But also, Hornet feels a lot faster than the Knight; I think that pushed me to play more aggressively, and I was almost always rewarded for that style of play. (Then again, I could probably afford to play more aggressively, considering I had, at this point, over 100 hours of experience in this game type at this point.)

It’s a tough game to recommend if you’re brand-new to games, but I’d still suggest giving it a go.

Outside of games, I kept chipping away at The Black Company, but. I’ll be honest. I read a lot of Chiikawa this month. These are a series of comics about being “a small, cute thing” (which is where the term “chiikawa” comes from) and the many characters in Chiikawa’s life.

Everyone has a favorite, and mine are Hachiware (a cat-shaped cutie who loves art and maybe has a bit of anxiety about doing well and right by their friends) and Rakko (a sea otter-shaped friend who encourages personal growth and secretly loves sweets). But I feel fondly toward all of them, even that rascal Momonga.

There are animated episodes as well and I encourage you to seek them out and enjoy a simpler world of snacks and monsters.

What else?

Let me tell you about balls.

Well, okay, no. Let me tell you about MASTERBALL. This personal website is chock-full of one person’s lifetime of memories related to Pokémon. There’s a collection of physical goods, team showcases from every game she’s played, and so many secrets. Truly, this site is bursting with interesting and surprising moments. You might even find your way into the Trick House if you’re sharp-eyed.

Please do have a look around, and know that I’m definitely drawing inspiration from this site as I add to my own.

In the spirit of that, my recommendation this month is to share something you love with someone. Maybe it’s a food, maybe it’s a book, or maybe it’s just a really funny joke. Building these webs are how we connect with and inspire each other.

See you next month.