i've wanted to make a blog about this for a while, and i'm not sure why. i think it's an interesting topic. (also - if you disagree with me, this is my blog, in case you forgot.)

ever since i joined Neocities, i've seen at least a hundred sites claiming the same thing - that they made their own website to "take back their part of the Web from corporate evildoers that are taking over the Internet"... but if i'm being real, i think that's fake.
before you start screaming, i'm not saying people can't make a site for that reason, but it just feels really stale now. most people only say it to feel included in the conglomerate of webmasters that do agree with that sentiment, meanwhile they use ChatGPT and character.ai - they just don't like flat design, or something. YAWN. it's all performative.
do i agree with the fact that a centralized Web has caused the Internet as a whole to become less creative and personal, and do i agree that companies no longer care about our online experience? absolutely. HOWEVER, it's also not that deep... because are we really shocked? it's been this way for a long time, and way longer than most people seem to believe. there were plenty of clickbait ads, curated algorithms, AI programs, and data trackers in the 2000s-2010s, too (certainly less, but even still).
i think it's miles better to make a website because you want to - for example, to share your art, try out web design, or make a cool-looking page - rather than to just reiterate the tired fact that the corporate Web is lame. we know. we get it. i think the whole of Earth has heard the same manifestos over and over again.

while finding examples of performative manifestos to continue writing this, i came across Layercake's Manifes-don't and totally agreed with this statement:

"I fully conclude that if you decide to write a manifesto, you should bring something new to the table, and thus suggest actions on how to lessen the awful-ness of the sides of the web you dislike, instead of purely throwing around the same old sentiments we see time and time again."

all this is to say: if we're to "take back the Web" or "keep the Web free" (as i have all over my pages), all we have to do is just make a site and stop trying to be performative. nobody cares what you think about big corporations. plus, you likely Googled something recently, and maybe saw a Reel today that made you laugh.
the Web is still creative; it's simply changed. everyone has their nostalgia-filled heads so far up their ass that they think the "new Internet" is nothing but negative, when in reality, there is so much good that's come out of the modern Web.
upwards of repeating the same 500 statements everyone on the indie Web has heard, there's really nothing you can do about how the Internet is now, so just do your own thing, man. a free Web already exists - you only need to stake your claim to keep it that way.

-mako

the elephant in the room is begging to be addressed. i know, i know. i feel so guilty for not tending to my beautiful baby booboo site more often, but i really haven't had the time. hell, i barely do now, but i just wanna talk... so whatever!!

first of all, happy new year!!! i hope your 2026 has been going well.
life dropped fifty tons of Life Stuff on me, as it goes, but i still checked up on the site regularly to make sure everything was spic-and-span. (if you noticed, i still replied to guestbook comments and updated my statuscafe a few times!) i love makoenergy with my whole heart and i'd never forget about it.

i have so many blogs to write and sooo many pages i'm really excited to add. i found a crapton of FF7 media on the Wayback Machine (fanart, wallpapers, old forum signatures and pfps), which really motivated me to work on my FF7 shrine. i have a lot of ideas and i just need to pick one. as a D1 procrastinator, that's the worst part...

one other thing - back in September or October, i can't remember, but my site was MENTIONED!!!! IN A VIRAL VIDEO!!!!! i was just scrolling on Instagram Reels one day, back probably hunched at a 90-degree angle, and i came across this Frutiger Aero fanpage. this isn't the type of stuff i typically get on my FYP, but coincidentally, it was about cool skeuomorphic/Frutiger Aero websites; i watched out of curiosity to see if maybe mine was there, not expecting it to be.
...you can imagine how fast my jaw clattered to the floor when the video cut to the Links page of my site. it honestly took me a second to notice, too. LOL i was like "wait that looks familiar..."
when i went to check it on TikTok (it was a crosspost), i saw that the video had a combined 500,000 views or something. this made me insanely proud. i couldn't believe my site was THAT influential, not to the point where people actually saw it and thought it belonged in a video about cool websites. little ol' me... wow...

it probably sounds like i'm suffering from imposter syndrome. i wouldn't doubt it. but truthfully, i'm just so honored - and it really gives me motivation to continue to work on my site - but i think i'll go at a pace i can handle for now. i am 100 percent still alive, still online, and not going anywhere. you can email me if you ever question that... but i'll probably just troll you in return.

love you guys so much, and thanks for reading!!

-mako

really quick message from future mako: sorry if this is all over the place, i first wrote this at 12 in the morning and omitted a lot of it when i reviewed it today, both to keep it short + to preserve what's left of my anonymity - oh, and so i don't cringe whenever i open this section in my files. also, i dreamed about Mystery Person the same night, which made me completely forget to upload this. sorry. okay... enjoy my (in)sane rant.

y'know, i really hate crushing on people.
doesn't everyone, though? i guess so. maybe not.

i've seen a lot of people say they love the rush it gives them, being actively in love with someone is euphoric, yada yada bla bla bla- NOT ME!! i really hate it!
...but that's probably because the way i crush on people is kind of crazy, and, not gonna lie, that's on me.

i'll give an example, embarrassing as it is- maybe you can relate.
when i like someone, my brain locks IN on them. the whole shabang. there's a solid 23% chance this person could like me back, plus they're attractive/have a good personality, AND i have some form of frequent contact with them. mash all that stuff together, and i get real obsessed.
and no, i don't mean that in a cliche way. i mean they're ALL i can think about. constantly. like if i'm trying to get work done, i might think to myself:

"hmm, i wonder if they're thinking about that conversation we had the other day."
"let me see if i can find that one picture of them. i WILL look at it this time instead of throwing my phone across the room."
"*starts tweaking* *complete lack of coherent sentences ensues*" <- (usually, this is where i end up.)

mind you, these thoughts are completely unrelated to EVERYTHING i'm doing. when i'm in this mode, my head travels alllll the way up to la-la-land.

usually, i only crush on people i'm friends with. that's the other issue. if i had a penny for every time this has ruined my friendship with said person, i'd have two pennies so far (which isn't a lot, but it's annoying that it happened twice).
plus, i'm nosy and a bit of a stalker, so i may do some Internet snooping to find out more about them when i'm up for it. ...wow, i thought i'd take that to my grave. despite this? at the same time, i REALLY hate actively trying to look at anything related to people i'm crushing on- including the person themselves- and i don't know why, but i assume it's because i just get really embarrassed + am extremely avoidant.

i dunno. i have a love-hate relationship with things like this. it's a weird two-sided thing and i can hardly explain it. and i only mention all this because i'm going through it again. i need to get over it immediately

-mako

...and thank goodness for that.
just kidding, i didn't hate it, it's been a year of learning and growth for me. i've just been so burnt out- mostly in this second half of the year. at the beginning, i was so much happier and i can FEEL the difference. i haven't had time to actually focus on and enjoy my hobbies in months, but i'm trying to get back into the swing of things because i know it's probably just your typical seasonal depression...

regardless of all of that! i'm proud of you and i for making it through. 2025 is gonna be our year (hopefully!)
i was really excited to make a blog post about a new flip phone i got, the Hitachi W51H- which is very well-known for having an FF7 demo game on it- but mine was wiped by the seller and i can't do anything with it, blehhh. i'll keep looking until i get a good one, though! it was cheap so i'm not too bothered. still disappointed, though.

next year i hope to work on the site more and hopefully finish all the main stuff. the Extras page gets more and more elderly every time i look at it, and there's some good-ass content there so i want to make sure it's worth clicking.

last thing- i saw this trend going around online where people say if you eat 12 grapes under the table at 12:00, and finish before 12:01, you'll have good luck for the whole year. unfortunately i don't have any grapes, so maybe i'm cooked. but whatever- i'll just do all the other superstitious things and hope that makes up for it.

happy new year!

-mako

yeah. social media SUCKS. it's one of those things every Neocities user on the planet says at least once, so i guess it's my turn.

but this is about the FF7-related side of social media. i'm not one of those people who completely abandoned my space online in favor of this site. sometimes, though, i kinda wish i did. i won't get into why because i've already bitched about it to my friends enough to feel sick of talking about it.

over the years i've been here, i've been harassed, blocked, called a fascist among numerous other politically charged insults, ratioed over the dumbest shit, and YES, that makes me mad...
but i've also made unforgettable friends, gotten the opportunity to post about something i love to a generally great community, and been able to meet the developers of the game i appreciate so much. it's a double-edged sword, basically.
one day you could be enjoying everything about the fandom, and the next you're getting into childish arguments with a 45-year old woman and her pro-shipper friends over whether Tifa or Aerith deserves to be with Cloud (for the record, i don't care) when all you did was post about how ugly Cloud's hair is.

do you ever get the feeling that you want to abandon social media, but you just can't because there's been so much good that's come out of it? then you know how i feel. FF7's internet community has been miserable to be a part of in the best way possible. i love it and i hate it. that's why i have this space on the side away from them to talk to you guys. i definitely think i prefer this space but the upkeep is kind of annoying. thankfully, i can't get ratioed here. LMAO

i hope you are having a better day than me!!! don't let idiots online get to you (i know it's hard, but hang in there)!

-mako

well, it's officially been a year since makoenergy first opened to the public! i figured i'd talk about what's changed and what i've learned.

having this webspace to myself is honestly not something i planned- it was one of those spontaneous decisions. i took a Post-It from my desk, scribbled a design onto it with a stubby pencil, and got to coding the next day.

i've learned a lot about myself since last year- mostly that i am much better off keeping my peace. i told myself i'd stay anonymous here (though, it's become more semi-anonymous than anything) because i have a bad habit of oversharing, making my problems other people's problems and vice versa. honestly, you can see me struggle to not overshare in older versions of my about page.
i've grown as a person and as a web designer since then- so i think i've changed that and i'm really proud of myself for being able to!

as for my love for FF7, well, you can tell it's not going anywhere. part 2 of the Remake wasn't out when i first made makoenergy, but alongside wanting to pay homage to fans of the past/present/future, the hype train for part 2 was definitely a cause for me to make a site like this.

off-site, i've improved in terms of my art, going from drawing on my phone to primarily using my computer (FYI: for now, i still draw on my phone when making art for this site- i've gotten a bit rusty with mobile digital art since switching, but i think i've still got it!). with V2 i wanted to show off my creative side by making a bunch of graphic designs- for example, my NavLink ad and the big banner on the homepage. i'd love to make more and definitely plan to.

here's to next year! if you're reading this, thank you! i would have thrown Brackets in the trash within a week without your support and encouragement.
'till next time...

-mako