log 1 -- made the inexplicable decision to finally pick The Witness back up again while browsing my library on the steam deck. blew through way more than i had ever gotten to before in one day--what felt like most of the main island's puzzle sections (up to the mountain). genuinely maybe 8 hours. i don't know why i got that locked in. maybe i'll shelve this again, because i haven't gotten a lot out of the game so far that i hadn't already by playing before, or by listening to other people talk about the game, but for the sake of scratching the gestalt itch i'll probably finish the game, even if by largely referring to a guide for time.
log 2 -- finished the main goal of the game, largely cheating with guides. didn't feel satisfied and ended up continuing for another too-many-hours to fill out many of the optional puzzles i missed. i know full well there isn't any sort of completion reward, but i wanted to do it. beating the randomly generated Challenge course was genuinely rewarding, and some of the secrets i "found" were pretty cool to see. as soon as an FMV scene began i had a flash of remembrance that i'd certainly been told about it before, so my reaction was an interesting blend of appreciation and detachment. while i update this log, i'm waiting for the eclipsed moon to finish it's hour-long path so i can get that notorious checkbox ticked. that's some fun synchronicity--that i felt somehow drawn to return to this game soon after an unusually much talked about total lunar eclipse across my part of the world.