April Round-Up '26

This month looked completely different from how I envisioned it would earlier this year. Ultimately, there are a lot of awesome activities that I was lucky to be involved in. I'm grateful my friends Cin and Echo are the ones by my side each day, where we can lift each other up and experience so many cool happenings together. In this probably longer-than-usual blog post, I'll let you know what's been going on for me this very, very busy April with many pictures and recounts of moments that meant a lot to me... thanks for reading!

The Current State of Alix

Underneath it all, I'm still not doing well. I was denied closure, which means that a huge part of healing from my grief is stifled. Whenever someone says something like "I'm glad to see you're doing better," it feels like a knife twisting in my heart because that's not actually how it is. I've been told by people I trust that I'm strong, and that to others it looks like I'm further along with healing because of how I'm able to present myself and hold onto little joys, but the fact is that I'm struggling terribly. Oftentimes I'll think "I can't wait to share this with Chris," only to realize that's not something I can do anymore, and it hurts.

Even still, I'm trying my best every day because I want to see a happier future. The mourning process for this relationship has been difficult, almost too much to bear, so I'm super grateful for my lovely, caring roommates and cherished friends stepping up when I've needed extra strength. My tendency to find things to be happy about and filled with gratitude despite everything has also been coming in clutch, especially as the waves of grief crash over me.

Through the power of love, and little treats, I'll make it somehow.

Birthday Celebration

This birthday time was bittersweet for me. For the last decade I'd always done a huge celebration with my now previous partner since our birthdays are one after the other, so I was somewhat dreading this time of year... however! Friendship and love prevailed to where I felt uplifted instead of entirely despaired, which made time I was anxious about instead filled with heartwarming moments. One of my favorite memories was my roomies and I making a cake together; my mom sent me some tummy-safe cake mixes and icings, of which we used a chocolate cake and vanilla icing that we spiced up. Echo sliced and placed the strawberries, Cin decorated the cake with the star-shaped dollops and placed Cookieboo (my Mew), and I iced the sides after baking the cake itself. It was immensely fun!!

We actually celebrated twice, since my birthday fell on a day where I couldn't do my original plans. On April 19th (my actual bday!), we visited our local aquarium! There were so many beautiful and cute animals, some of my favorites being the Black-Tipped Sharks, Binturongs, Tree Kangaroos, and Gentoo Penguins. I also had the opportunity to pat some Sting Rays - so silky!! Something I loved was wearing an adorable dolphin bracelet my mom sent for the special occasion, it matched my dress! When we got home, my roomies and I ordered Tibetan food from the restaurant we did our first "treat" meal at, and I savored a tasty veggie momo, fried rice, roasted potatoes, and fried noodles for my bday dinner. Yummmm.

The second celebration a few days after was what I'd originally wanted to do: introducing my roomies to Round 1 and Dog Haus!!! And get a bunch of free bday treats!!!! Our local arcade had an immense selection of my favorite rhythm games, which made me super happy, as well as games that my roomies got to show their skills off in - Echo is INCREDIBLE at Fighting Games, and Cin was KILLER at Gitadora and the racing games!! They also both enjoyed Dog Haus!! I'm so lucky to have such fun roommates...

Thank you again to everyone who wished me joy on my birthday, and even in the days that came afterward - I can't overstate how much I appreciate your presence in my life. You're each the greatest present to me!! I was also surprised to get physical gifts this year, including some beautiful art pieces lovingly crafted by friends. I hope it's not too much to gush about on my own blog, I simply want to share my appreciation somewhere...

... starting with this gorgeous piece by my precious friend Valeria! Her works have always given me such joy, but this in particular almost made me cry happy tears when I was waiting for our aquarium tram... To be seen as a "knight" has a lot of special meaning to me, and her constant companionship and healing presence to be represented as a "healer" is so fitting for her. Simply looking at this piece gives me so much strength. Thank you Vale!!

Here is another beautiful piece from CreeperBoi!! His works have always brought a smile to my face no matter what trials I'm facing, and seeing this sweet art based on my Klonoa image gave me SUCH a huge grin! He made a companion piece with one of his characters dressed as Lolo that I also like very much... thank you for making these terrific arts, Boi!!

My sweet friend Robbie sent an immensely touching care package/birthday gift filled with an abundance of joy. We've known each other for a few years now and he included many things that he specifically knew I adore, such as making special sparkly Mew and Clefairy pins for my backpack, including an army of bootleg Clefairy and other 'mons I like, some tasty treats, Missingno keychain plushies that he special-ordered for a claw machine at his shop, a bunch of merch from his shop RATNEST (PLEASE GO VISIT it's literally my favorite store in the universe), and so many other extremely special little touches (like this card with his lil' sona!). Something that warmed my heart immensely (and that I'm finding every opportunity to use) is this awesome SEGA Genesis that also plays Mega Drive games, alongside several games that Robbie included! Thank you!!

To help me on my adventures, my lovely friend Elizabeth sent a super cool guide that actually originated from the Natural History Museum that my roomies and I visited (more on that in the next section)! I'm looking forward to reading and appreciating what's around me even further thanks to this guidebook - thank you so much!!

Another dear friend, Anthony, sent a couple things meant to cheer me up and celebrate such a special time, including several games I didn't have anymore. Life has also been tough on him lately, and yet he still carved out time to make sure I felt remembered amongst it all... that alone means so much to me. Thank you so much!!

Pic unrelated, but still very cute and I wanted to fit it in somewhere!!

My family sent an assortment of marvelous gifts, but the most significant part is that they were each connected to something that my family knew was important to me. My dad helped me find a way to get a PS5 again, and Niki and her family got a game for it they knew I love but no longer had. My mom shared delightful art supplies that I'm excited to get crafty with, as well as new bed sheets to comfort me. Keli treated me to some delicious food that she knows I enjoy. I deeply appreciate the thought behind each present.

A Month of Adventure

Something that truly helped me get to know my new surroundings and settle into SLC a bit better was winning the "Community Explorer Pass" from my local library! This gave me and my roomies free access to several amazing places: the local Aviary, Garden, Planetarium, Art Museum, and Museum of Natural History! We spread out our visits across each week of April, which helped a lot in giving me something to look forward to as I continue going through a rough time.

I relished each of the experiences, but my favorite by far was the Aviary - I absolutely ADORE birds, and my mom provided us money for the Lorikeet Adventure (where we fed lorikeets some nectar) as a roomie gift! I definitely want to go back!!

My other fave was the Natural History Museum, where they currently have a special exhibit called Bug World - which I utterly adored, it was super fun n' interactive - and lots of cool dinosaur bones!!!

Aside from the many museums and special places, Cin and I went out to check out Indie Bookshop Day! There, we participated in a super fun stamp rally across two different shops - Under the Umbrella and The Legendarium - where we crafted, I tried a fun drink, and I won some little prizes!! It felt nice to support such cool local shops, and we also randomly stumbled across a Japanese Festival while we were out! I wish Echo could've joined in our adventure, but thankfully this won't be the only amazing thing happening here in the future.

Another thing that gave me immense joy to share with my roomies was celebrating Kirby Day! I streamed Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe on Twitch, which is a fantastic remake, and then made Japanese Curry for dinner with a dessert of Southern-style Strawberry Shortcake. We played Super Smash Bros. Melee and Kirby Air Ride on my Gamecube, as well as watched a few episodes of Kirby Right Back at Ya in Japanese since neither of them had seen it that way before. What a pleasant day!

Twitch Streams

Like I just mentioned, I've started streaming on Twitch again! Talking to friends in a low-stress environment has been sincerely uplifting amidst everything I've been feeling. I started the Pokemon celebration I'd wanted to do in February, live-drawing all 151 original Pokemon (I'm about halfway through, working backwards!) and a PokePark Wii playthrough that I've been enjoying thoroughly. I had a special Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil playthrough that I did as a birthday celebration, sharing the Phantasy Reverie version of the game since my roomies recently experienced the original version on PS2! I also did a live doodle requests stream yesterday - thanks again to everyone who stopped by, and an especially big thank you to those who got some art! I'm hoping to do that kind of stream at least once a month from now on... we'll see how that goes!

Some small posters announcing some very special streams I did this past month

Creative Projects

It's been a slow process, but I'm beginning to reclaim my creativity to begin new projects. There are two things that released this past month: I made a silly artwork for my friend Event Horizon's April Fool's Day song "Hero Incoming!" The song was made as a bit of a joke, but it came out really well - that's Event's power!!

There's also my latest zine, Hidden Critters of Salt Lake City, which I made to hand out at Grid Zine Fest. I'm grateful such a neat and heart-fulfilling event took place so close to when I moved out here, because it seriously picked me up and let me meet so many cool new local friends!

Media Experienced

I did it. I fully watched Journal with Witch... and I've never cried so continuously throughout a piece of media. Empathetic to its core, incredibly affecting, filled with love, and such solid advice for all measures of grief, this show is truly something special. This hit me on such a personal level I can't help but urge others to watch it. The line "My life isn't over because I'm still alive!!" has been exceptionally resonant for me. Highly recommended.

Spring anime has begun, and Dorohedoro Season 2 has finally started airing! Yeehaw!! The first night this started (with a whopping 3-episode kick-off), my roomies and I had a gyoza party to celebrate. This was a good move because I immediately wanted gyoza after watching it, heheh... The series continues to be an excellent adaptation of the manga, and I'm digging the return of (K)Now_NAME on the soundtrack and opening/ending songs. I love it, but it feels even LESS like something I could just casually recommend to others because of how macabre this part is... just a word of warning!

The adaptation of Witch Hat Atelier is as decadent as I hoped; exquisite animation and compositions from Bug Films, a gorgeous soundtrack from Yuka Kitamura (composer of works such as Elden Ring and Sekiro) featuring hammered dulcimer, and lovely storytelling and voice acting. The idea of magic being an art form truly hits home for me, and the way it's portrayed alongside its world building is inspiring and hopeful. I'm very grateful to be sharing such a show with a friend.

I'm a big fan of Hiromu Arakawa's works, especially Fullmetal Alchemist, and have been looking forward to her latest work Daemons of the Shadow Realm's anime adaptation without having read it yet. It is SUPER intriguing right off the bat!! I've always liked her humor and it's very present in this story, and each episode has kept me guessing as to where it'll go. The characters are all very interesting, and the art direction adheres to Arakawa's style fantastically. It's a show I'd recommend going into blind!

I'm introducing my roomies to a show that I greatly liked when I watched it two years ago: Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night! I think the spirit of it is very fitting for all of us as creatives, especially since we have projects we want to collaborate on as well. We're only about halfway through, but I'm happy to see bits of the story and characters resonating with my friends.

Cin introduced me to one of their favorite shows of all time, Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts, and it immediately also became one of mine too! Each episode is filled with engaging writing and stallar worldbuilding for its excellent cast. I also don't think I've ever found a more relatable character than Kipo herself...? Honestly, I'd say if you're looking for a show that feels as fulfilling to watch as Avatar: The Last Airbender, give Kipo a shot!

I'm playing through what's basically my first time with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and loving it so far!! This is a game that I've always wanted to indulge in but never had a chance to, but now I'm happily playing the original on the Gamecube. I'm only maybe halfway through, but I already consider it a favorite of mine in the series and am quite charmed by the visuals and Link's silly expressions.

My roomies are playing Zwei!! The Arges Adventure for their first time, which has been a treat to watch. Both Zwei games are criminally underrated (with another friend playing 2 on my recommendation and loving it yesss)... even though the first game is a bit more obtuse, it makes for such an unusual game experience that I'm appreciative Cin is finding the fun in!

I was very pleasantly surprised when my roommates and I watched GOAT! Delicious animation carried the sweet story beyond what I expected, and I love that an integral part of it features a young boy idolizing a girl athlete - that just doesn't happen in films like this!! The character designs were also very good: featured animals included little-seen species, and it was awesome to see black hairstyles lovingly modeled on 3D characters. Even if sports films aren't typically your thing, I think the empathy and hope of this movie is enough for me to recommend it, even aside from how beautiful it is.

I'd been meaning to watch the movie The Concierge at the Hokkyoku Department Store (or simply "The Concierge") for awhile now, and I'm glad I finally made some time for it. It's a pleasant movie about a freshly hired concierge who works at a mall for anthropomorphic animals getting into some mischief as she learns the ropes. You can't go wrong with cute critters accompanied by pretty animation!

What's to Come

I'm not going to be "okay" for a long while yet, but I have friends and family at my side. My roomies are fully supportive and loving, continuing to be there for me in person when I'm struggling. My healing process feels as though it's going at a snail's pace, but that's alright because I love snails.

There are some personal projects I want to work on... and since May will have a little more open space, I'm hoping to reignite my inner creative spark for real. There's a lot that I wanna learn, especially regarding starting to make games again, that I'm going to attempt to make time for. I have so many things I want to do, but so little energy.... body be nice!!

I'm also hoping to open my VGEN sometime in the next month or so. I haven't had the mental space to really sit down and figure out what I'll be offering there, but I'm looking forward to being able to make art to others on a larger scale when I do. My goal is to make each month-to-month a bit less stressful, but we'll see how it goes. I'll certainly be letting everyone know whenever it's ready.

Thanks so much for reading this whopper of an update - I'm gonna tell you again! I appreciate you!!! May we all shine forth and hold onto the things that we love.