as oot any% shifts back to vc-j, my mind wanders to the ess adapters
and to the virtual console, that doesn't crash when gim is performed
and to the old kakariko route, resetting the console to save time
and to the timing method, the arbitrary start and end points
my mind wanders...

to the homebrewed wii, the region freed wad,
to the replacement joystick, to the hori mini pad,
to the rubber band, tape, and grease
my mind wanders...

to the practice, the process, the savestate
to the gameshark, the game saver, the gecko code
to the cheating, the splicing, the policing
the audio waveform
my mind wanders...

to the timer, the inconsistency, the dropped frames
to the bitrate, the capture card, the interlacing
to the emulator, the graphics plugin, the deadzone
the deadzone...

the ess adapters are subtle, invisible, already in use
i see the grand decentralization of it all
my mind wanders...

to the ique player, the fast memory card, the old gamecube laser
to the ps2 disc speed, the sloppy port, the hd remaster
to the pal cartridge, the patched glitch, the japanese text speed
to the turbo controller, the rules
the rules!

all the categories are arbitrary
perhaps marksoupial said it best:
do whatever you want, there are literally no rules

the futility of it all. the statistical waiting game
grinding endless attempts, waiting for the outlier
never enough, suboptimal, improvable
my mind wanders...

to the rng, the frame perfect timing, the human error
to the attempts, the streams, the splits
to the audience, the shit talk, the cliques
the fame
my mind wanders...

to the traveling, the marathons,
sexually harrassed, fleeing, hiding
reclusive, paranoid, getting high
playing smash, destroying my wrists
my mind wanders...
to the life i poured into it all
working in a frenzy, managing a community
disrupting speedrunning
building upon it, something new and greater
and then it fell in upon itself
jiano saw it first; i was foolish
it couldn't be unified; all the categories are arbitrary

finished painting my nails, doing my makeup
put on some mascara, roll up my thigh highs
all the categories are arbitrary

slip on a skirt, buy a new dress
feel the pain from the laser
all the categories are arbitrary

leaving the clinic, bottles in my hand
spironolactone, estradiol
all the categories are arbitrary