Aywren's Nook - Gaming and Geek Blog

Last weekend, I released a quick update video on my YouTube channel talking about what all I’ve been up to both in and out of FFXIV.

I haven’t been involved in many of the Steam Next Fests lately for a number of reasons.

I don’t usually like to write about negative things, but I’m idling here waiting on the FFXIV login servers to come back up after being down for several hours due to emergency maintenance thanks to a massive PHP security breach.

It’s not a happy thing to write this post.

As most of you who have followed me for any length of time probably know, I have an alt problem in just about any MMO I play long-term.

It’s time for something a little different.

Last week, FFXIV patch 7.56 brought the newest limited job, Beastmaster.

Tomorrow launches the new series rewards for PVP in FFXIV.

It’s the final day of August, a day I’ve traditionally used as a time to look back and quickly tally the number of posts I’ve created over this month.

In a previous video, I talked about the things that cause MMO players social anxiety.

Palworld has turned out to be one of my most-played games of 2026.

I love my blog.

In a previous video, I asked the community for tips on how they deal with social anxiety in FFXIV grouping situations.

I do love a good pirate sailing game, preferably one with decent naval combat and some trading routes thrown in there.

As of August 17, 2026, the original Bard Music Player (BMP) program has been retired.

Earlier this year, I did an early demo review of the cozy, idle bee keeping game that sits at the bottom of the PC screen – Grandpa’s Bee Haven!

I’ve been holding off in writing about what’s happening with me IRL because there are a lot of things up in the air.

While we got some more information about Evercold at the EU Fanfest, we barely scratched the surface in understanding more about the changes that I want to see.

One of the biggest boss fights in Enshrouded is the Fell Dragon Youngling.

In a previous video, I talked about role play in FFXIV and what you can do to get started.

Back when Balatro was still new, I heard a whole lot about this deck-building Poker roguelike.

In this short series, I finally pick up some games that I’ve heard about, and are highly rated, but I just have never given a shot.

While I do take care what games I pick up during Early Access, I have a weak spot for crafting survival games in particular.

I got feedback from folks in previous YouTube videos listing their top activities they use to unwind in FFXIV.

I know that August has 31 days and that day 15 is not technically halfway, but I still tend to view it that way, anyhow.

The past few years, I’ve been blogging less and less, specifically about gaming – and I’d like to talk about why.

Just after I talked a little bit about my adventures with YouTube this year, and my quiet hopes to maybe one day earn a little bit from my work, YouTube drops the bomb on all small channels by increasing the requirements to unlock monetization in the futu…

While I’ve only been making YouTube videos for a little over two months, my ambitions always seem to get the best of me.

As a daily user of the Neocities hosting platform, I’ve observed some quiet updates the site has begun to roll out over this past year.

As a gamer, specifically a console gamer, things are getting tough out there.

In a previous video, I talked about the top things that cause players anxiety in FFXIV.

Immersion is extremely important to me as a story-focused player in FFXIV.

It’s that time again in FFXIV – Relic Weapon grinds!

I’d heard rumors that the FFXIV Mobile version would be canceled about a week or two before the official website posted an announcement.

Last year I first discovered HTML day, though this event has now run for the past 4 years!

Making videos was one of those things I said I’d never do.

In a previous video I where talked about social anxiety in FFXIV, one of the top responses I heard was that folks wanted to roleplay, but either didn’t know how to start or were too afraid to try it.

The weekend of June 25-26 featured the EU FFXIV Fanfest in Berlin.

Last month, we lost Belghast in his fight against cancer.

This year, it’s been a bit of a challenge to start this announcement post.

Last night, I learned that we lost Belghast, a truly special individual and a pillar of the gaming/MMO community.

Social anxiety is a fear response to a specific situation you're anticipating, often triggered by past experiences or trauma.

Okay, so maybe the backlog doesn’t completely win.

I’ve never been much of a video creator.

Tomodatchi Life: Living the Dream was a rather impulsive purchase for me.

While I’m cautiously optimistic about the future of FFXIV, it’s been a tough time to be a dedicated FFXIV player during the Dawntrail era.

I’ve been playing through FFXIV Patch 7.5 on all my up-to-date characters, as I do.

I was present at the 2026 FFXIV NA Fanfestival, so I got to be a part of the crowd that welcomed the announcement of the upcoming changes coming in the next expansion.

I just returned from the 2026 FFXIV NA Fanfest that was held in Anaheim last week, and boy was there a LOT revealed there!

This time next week, I plan to be out in California and soon heading into the events at the FFXIV Fanfest 2026!