So im starting a project. Inspired by Every Story Ever from War Rocket Ajax. Im going to start reviewing everything i read or play or listen to or watch, and ranking it.

to begin, a round of retroactive rankings, based on my past media consumption

Alan Wake

Alan Wake is a story about being afraid of the dark. Its also about creation. Its also about the mortifying ordeal of being known. Its also about love. Its also about hope. Its about a lot of things, but at its core its a horror story. and it changed my life. It reshaped how I interact with the act of creation and the mortifying ordeal of being known.

Hotline Miami

Hotline Miami is an incredibly violent video game. Its about the russian mob and a secret society puppeting a veteran to commit horrific violence, but mostly its about the horrific violence. i love it. not as good as alan wake, but still pretty good

Hotline Miami 2

HM2 is a lot like HM1. its also about a lot of things other than violence, but the primary aspect is violence. its got a more varied selection of levels, and though it deviates from the original playstyle signifigantly and the newer modes could be considered unnecessary, i like them. id say its better than the original but only slightly, its more intellectual themes are about the relationship between audience and artist and if you couldnt tell already youre going to learn very quickly that i love such themes.

The Eternal MxTape

The Eternal MxTape is a series of short stories and SCP articles, written by Tsercle. Its one of the most meaningful stories in my life. it, too, is about the mortifying ordeal of being known, but its also about the annihilatilon of the self into the creative, dissociative disorders, and transgenderism, all things deeply relevant to my own life. 100/100. certainly its not the best story ever id never claim that. but its been incredibly impactful on me in my life, so it takes the top spot for now. better than alan wake. i reccomend all of you go read eternal mxtape. but do please read the content warnings theyre there for a reason.

Passing

I read Passing, the novel by Nella Larsen, for a university course. I am, for context, white as hell, dating a Black person. The book is bout the phenomenon of racial "passing", and its role in the lives of Irene Redfield and Claire Kendry, the main characters. I couldnt help but feel a sort of connection to the feelings Irene expresses about "passing" black people, relating it to my interactions with "passing" trans people - trans people who appear to the outside as cis - and "stealth" trans people - trans folks who have essentially gone undercover as cis, with very few people in their lives knowing theyre trans. Passing is, painfully, still relevant, as oppressed people - black and otherwise - attempt to find ways to assimilate into dominant cultures rather than suffer the discrimination that comes with being o0f a marginalized group. id put it above HM2, but below alan wake(PLEASE NOTE: im not saying passing is "worse" than Alan Wake or Eternal MxTape, its just impacted my life a lot less than either of those stories)

Genesis

Genesis is, of course, a book of the bible. yes im counting biblical texts. not saying their fiction, im just engaging with them on the level of narrative for fun. i like most of genesis, its a good creation story, and gives a satisfying history of a people. however, the consistent attitude of the author toward outsiders is deeply hostile, and makes it difficult to engage with the text on its own level. G-d is also a fairly cruel figure, and i question whether He is worthy of worship, given his eradication of multiple cities for the sins of only a few, and his consistent disregard for the impact of His actions on the people around Him. also theres also a lot of incest. based as fuck. 10/10. better than passing.

Im going to end here, so that leaves the list as

Eternal MxTape Alan Wake Genesis Passing Hotline Miami 2 Hotline Miami

PS:

ive also reviewed SICK! TRANS! GLORIOUS MOONDREAM! so ill rank it, it goes below MxTape but above Wake