Fake Reads, Retro Feeds, & the $80 Fan Fumble – TWIG’s Toxicity Takedown
This Week in Geek — Blog Edition
Missed the live episode of TWIG (This Week in Geek) on May 22? No worries! Here’s the “reader’s cut,” shorn of awkward pauses and tech gremlins but bursting with the same nerd-flavored goodness that Nerd Pastor Nate and special guest Wizened Lemur shared on stream.
1. What We’ve Been Watching, Playing & Reading
Nate
Watching: Spring anime slate—still hailing To Be Hero X as peak absurdity.
Playing: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33—story rocks; the crunchy combat does not.
Reading: The Book of Alchemy—essay-plus-journal-prompt format that’s sneakily spiritual.
Wizened Lemur
Watching: Endless Star Trek reruns and the gloriously campy spectacle that is Eurovision.
Playing: A delightfully chaotic trio—MLB The Show, Far Cry 4, and wholesome dino-rancher Paleo Pines.
Listening: A Tchaikovsky deep dive before catching a live performance with his dad.
2. Headlines & Hot Takes
Chicago Sun-Times prints AI nonsense. The paper accidentally ran a summer-reading list with books that don’t even exist—syndicated AI slop pushed through without editorial review. Moral: AI can hallucinate; editors mustn’t nap.
Game Pass goes retro. Microsoft and Antstream Arcade just dropped 50-plus Activision 8-bit/16-bit classics (think Pitfall! and MechWarrior 2) onto Game Pass, complete with save states and achievements. Preservationists rejoice.
Randy Pitchford’s $80 fumble. The Gearbox CEO tweeted that “real fans” will find a way to pay $80 for Borderlands 4, then back-pedaled after the internet breathed fire. Lemur’s verdict: “Very Let Them Eat Cake 2: Loot-Shooter Boogaloo vibes.”
3. Main Segment — Online Toxicity & Nerd Culture
Why it matters: From The Last of Us actors to Star Wars stars, marginalized creators keep bearing the brunt of harassment.
Don’t feed the trolls: Silence + block/mute/report are your first-line armor.
Positive flooding: Counter hate by showering targets with fan-art, kind words, and up-votes.
Build safer spaces: Clear rules, consistent moderation, and empathetic leadership turn chaos into community.
Faith framing: Trolls still bear the Imago Dei; seek justice without surrendering to vengeance. “Darkness can’t drive out darkness; only light can do that.”
4. Upcoming Releases Worth Your Hype
Eurovision 2025 replay (Peacock) — Austria’s surprise opera-pop victory makes perfect background chaos.
June 5:
Nintendo Switch 2 — new-hardware smell + shiny launch library.
Mario Kart World (Switch 2) — 24-player races, open-world hub, and a knockout tour mode—start revving now.
Deltarune Chapters 3 & 4 — Toby Fox returns; ready your feels.
Autumn 2025: Tales of the Shire — a Hobbit-hole-sized cozy-crafting sim (please let Gandalf’s beard look right).
5. Meme of the Week
Courtesy of community member NailHood: a stick figure battered by Seasonal Depression, Regular Depression, and finally Josh—because apparently Josh just shows up to pile on. Dark? Yes. Relatable? Unfortunately, also yes.
That’s a Wrap
Whether you tune in live on Thursdays (7 PM ET on Twitch/YouTube) or skim the blog afterward, remember the three truths Pastor Nate signs off with every week:
God loves you—really, really loves you.
Checkpoint loves you and wants community with you.
You matter. The nerd-sphere is better with you in it.
See you on June 5 for the next TWIG—right after we’ve all taken Mario Kart World for its first spin. Until then: do good, do no harm, and keep striving to grow.