June Round-Up '26

Hi welcome, here is something very important that I'm going to get straight to:

My VGen is LIVE!!!!

I've been working very hard to figure out what to offer on VGen (for those who don't know, this is an artist-focused website where you can commission artists for various services!), and decided on four different things: Emotes, PNGTuber Art, Chibi Character Art, and Full Character Art (which can include a background)! Please click here to see my VGen and consider either following or commissioning me there (or both!) to help me get Verified! Without that verification, VGen doesn't show my art in their search feeds, so it's very important to achieve that since this would greatly help my situation. Making an account to follow mine is free, and seeing the support also simply means a ton personally. Thank you to those who have already done so!

here's an example of emotes that I've made!

Okay thanks again for looking at that!! Here we go with everything else!

Alix's Daily Life

This year is trending to be the most difficult I've ever lived, but even despite the constant challenges there is still so much to appreciate in each day. Every morning is colored with heavy emotion, especially lingering from persistent bad dreams (and lack of sleep), but I'm trying Very Hard to keep finding reasons to smile. Healing is going to be a long time even still, and though I'm struggling I haven't given up continuing to seek out ways to be happy.

A surprising amount of festivals happened this month! So many things to celebrate, so much happiness to experience. I went to a local art meetup and met a new friend, who ended up attending one of the events with me. One of my favorites of these celebrations was going to a 1-year anniversary for a local board game collective, where they had decorated everything like you're playing a game to show their first year's journey, gave out adorable goodie bags filled with treats from local makers, had board games to play, and some free cake! There was a lot to see around the city as well, and I tried an assortment of new flavors of food and drink, finding some new faves along the way. Here's a small look at all of that:

Speaking of festivals... one of my most cherished experiences regarding those was one I just happened to stumble upon when looking at events around the city: The Woodland Fairy Festival in a little village square! The way everything was decorated was utterly cute and festive, I hadn't seen something so decked out in ages and was absolutely thrilled to see so many fairy houses!! Every shop joined in the theme, and I got some "Fairy Nectar" to fuel myself up as I explored the village and sought out fairies A-Z in a scavenger hunt. There was also a petting zoo closeby, which brought me immense joy to play with and pet cute animals. I wrote on fairy-themed post cards on the ride back home to share a little bit of the magic with my family.

My roommates and I attended the opening night for the musical festival "Joy in Rhythm," which had live Jazz, Americana, and Swing as the main performances. I got some vegan Salted Caramel ice cream to cool myself off after the heat of the day, which pumped me up for the music. I didn't really get up and dance like I typically would since I was pretty exhausted, but I loved the vibes!

We celebrated Sonic the Hedgehog's 35th Anniversary at my apartment with a day of fun! I streamed Sonic Forces in the morning (my roomies are its biggest defenders and I found some new things to like about the game), I made my special homemade chili dogs for dinner, I introduced my roommates to the Sonic OVA (which is one of my favorite pieces of media ever), and Cin played through Sonic Mania. My mom even contributed to the fun by sending a pack of Sonic gummies for each of us!

We also celebrated Juneteenth by supporting a beloved local Black-owned business: the vegan cafe Eats!! I love their decaf coffee and the way they make their drinks, it's sooo good... Their donuts are also my favorite that I've found in this city so far!

I got some really lovely care packages from loved ones, which gave me such boosts of joy to keep me going even in the darkest moments. My mom sent many beautiful decorations, a lot of tasty snacks, my grandmother's necklace (a very special keepsake), and amusing activities to celebrate a couple of the places my roommates and I had visited around SLC (and simply for funsies). Included as part of the activities were several of those little "grow this thing in water" kits with several rows of sponges in capsules, with a prize attached for whoever found a specific creature; having it become a lighthearted "competition" added to the fun! Also, one of my very dear friends recently visited Japan and sent me a collection of goodies that had reminded them of me... it sincerely meant the world to be thought of while they traveled. Pens, stationery, a squishy soft Mew plushie, and an assortment of Japanese KitKats - it brought me so much delight! Thank you!!

Video Games

June is video game news season with tons of video game conferences kicking off the month! My friends and I had a snack party while watching Summer Games Fest, but my favorite showcases included Story-Rich Showcase, Women-Led Games, and some surprisingly good announcements from the big consoles. The PS State of Play, XBOX Games Showcase, and Nintendo Direct shared news for games I'm incredibly excited for. The things I wanted most from the showcases were news on the final part of the FF7 Remake, Kingdom Hearts 4, and Deltarune Chapter 5, and I got all three - including Deltarune's release this month (but more on that later)!

they highlighted my creature Vincent Valentine so much at the end of Summer Games Fest YAY

My lovely friend Polly's latest game Planet Attrition: Hive Assault is here at last!! Addictive arcade-y action hit me just right. It's easy to pick up and play with simple controls, difficulty that amps up in a pleasing way, and cleverly designed spaces within each level. It's also free to download! Give it a go!!

Donut County surprised me with how much it made me miss Los Angeles. I love how this dev's works are each so different (Ben Esposito also made Neon White and Tattletail)! Simple, yet smart with how they build the hole-based puzzles, I love how it's unlike anything I've really seen or played. It was a joy watching Cin play through it!

I completed The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for my first time! I was surprised to hear about all the places many people drop off from finishing the game, because to me those parts embellished the story in such cool ways? I loved the writing, especially for how it caps off the story... it's wonderfully hopeful. The gameplay was a lot more open than I expected, and I was grateful to have Echo guiding me through the story. I can see why they cherish this game so dearly, and am grateful I could share my first playthrough experience with my roomies.

Just as my roommates have expressed, I would say this is one of my favorite (if not my ultimate fave) portrayals of Ganondorf, both in visual design and character writing!

I finished PokePark 2: Wonders Beyond on my streams! It immediately became one of my favorite games in the series, and I'm wishing they had either revived or continued it in some way... it was just too fun to run around as different Pokemon and befriend everyone. The writing was a huge step up from the first game, and there was a point where I was agape at what was happening in the story. Please GameFreak... let us dream once again.....

Cin suggested I try Ruku's Heart Balloon, and it got surprisingly difficult!! Maybe that was because the night before I streamed it I didn't get any rest, but I digress... the style of the game's graphics, the gentle music, and the flowery puzzles to where you're forming heart-shaped balloons was just so heartwarming. Check it out, or at least try its demo!

Many people probably know how much I love the Moomin series, and I felt with Summer starting, it was the perfect time to check out Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley. I shared it onstream without having previously played it, and ended up finishing it entirely in one sitting! This game bestows the coziest vibes while perfectly capturing Snufkin's anarchistic character. No rules, only nature!!

Echo wanted to try Kirby Star Allies, so my roomies and I all played it together and had a blast!! I found out you can use GameCube controllers to play, which helped immensely since I only have one working set of Switch Joy-Cons. We each took turns trying out different "Dream Friends" to play as - my faves included Magolor and Marx! Such a short main story, but a super lovely co-op experience; I hope the three of us can share more games like this together!

I started a proper playthrough of Bomb Rush Cyberfunk and I dig it!! I had only heard a handful of songs from the soundtrack to this point, and I'm glad to have more of its upbeat, funky vibes in my life now. I'm not all that far into the game from what I can tell, but I'm having such a good time just zooming around in each area's space (and destroying the environments when they're destructible).

Deltarune Chapter 5 is the first one that I played with friends to experience. It was cool to hear what they pointed out, see what paths they wanted to try exploring first, and had a good time laughing at the jokes together. I particularly loved how many unique game mechanics were added in to mix things up, and the Touhou inspiration on the soundtrack filled me with glee! People have been weirdly divisive on how this chapter was received, but I personally think it was nice to talk to some flowers. The day it came out I made Glamburgers for my roomies, and Cin went out to grab us some "Bangin' Church Juice" - they found a juice that was called "to the Power of Seven Red" which was highly fitting for Chapter 5 (I added sparkles to it as well hehe).

Media Experienced

My city's library is hosting a Summer Reading Challenge that's dinosaur-themed, and I already won its Dino-riffic prizes!! I personally love reading but it's been hard to put energy toward it for awhile with how overextended I've been this year... this gave me an excuse to make time for it, which brought me a small bit of comfort. One of the prizes I got for completing the challenge, a graphic novel from writer Marissa Meyer and illustrator Joelle Murray called We Could Be Magic, was very endearing and a great read to kick off Summer. It follows Tabi, a girl forever young at heart, seeking out the whimsy in life and always wants to share a smile on others' faces... aspirations I relate to. Her dream is to become a princess actor at the Disneyland-like "Sommerland," but faces struggles achieving this due to reasons outside her control. This is a story about believing in love, magic, and working hard for your dreams, and the determination underneath it all was gratifying for me to see.

Hello Sunshine by Keezy Young was excellent. Presented in chapters from the perspective of different characters dedicated to finding a missing friend, this story handles love, loss, and mental illness with such kindness and empathy that I don't tend to see in media. The art is handsomely drawn and I love the blend of supernatural elements into the story. Very affecting with turns I didn't expect; I recommend it!

I read On a Rainy Moonlit Night without realizing it's currently releasing, and it stopped at a very big moment aaah!! But this story sure is sweet - it was created around the theme about things that couldn't be seen. It begins as its title says, where one girl bumps into the other on a dark and rainy night, and they realize they share a class when going to school the following day. One of the girls, Kanon, is reluctant to make friends as she lives with hearing loss. While she utilizes a hearing aid, it's not something that magically makes her hear everything - the struggles feel well-researched and real, and the mangaka is very careful about not making that the entirety of her character. The other girl, Saki, is determined to become Kanon's friend because she wants to get to know her and understand her feelings better. The thing that kept me reading was the writing's empathy and understanding, and how the girls' relationship not only opens more doors for both of them but those around them as well. I'm not sure how many chapters will come next, but I'm looking forward to its completion. I also found out there's an anime adaptation coming out in the next few years!!

For the like... 4th? 5th?? time I'm watching Sk8 the Infinity yet again, this time with my roomies! They've seen this show but never with its English dub - which I LOVE - so I recommended it as a summertime activity. I'm happy they're liking the way the dub was handled! Now we just need another season!!!

everything is made better with a cute creature! thank u sk8

I finished the adaptation of Witch Hat Atelier with my pal Anthony and gosh... from start to finish, this was as decadently and gorgeously animated as I wished for. Despite knowing what happens, each week kept me yearning for more with how they adapted the story for the anime. I'm SUPER excited that Bug Films has announced a season 2 so the world can experience more of this artsy, magical world! If you're even a little bit curious about this show, please give it a watch or even seek out the manga!! It's a big favorite of mine.

I had heard so many people say "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie doesn't really have much going on story-wise" and... yeah, that's accurate! Illumination's works are eye-candy by design so it was very pretty to look at, but my favorite aspect of the movie was the soundtrack - so many musical nods and allusions to moments they referenced directly out of the games, beautifully blended into a movie setting. I think I'd say that I enjoyed this better than the first one, despite that one actually having a bit more cohesive writing?? But also I love Bowser Jr. and Yoshi, so that was pleasing to me (despite what they did to yoshi's voice.......)

The Boss Baby was recommended to me by my little sister Niki, who claimed it was a lot better than I'd expect, and while I do agree that that's true, my bar for it was sitting on the ground so that wasn't too hard. It wasn't a bad movie, but the central conflict of "babies are being out-cuted by puppies" was so silly it made me wonder how that plot even came to be?? There were some moments that made me laugh so I could see why my sister enjoyed it!

I kept seeing friends get excited about it and hadn't actually seen any of it myself, so I watched the entirety of The Amazing Digital Circus back to back in one sitting. Overall thought it was good and could certainly see why it was resonating so much! I felt like I didn't connect with most of the humor, which was just a personal thing, but I did love the surrealism and my most favorite moments were when the characters would share heartfelt connection. Some of the conversations reallyyyy hit home for me with everything I'm dealing with right now... I thought the animation itself was also really fun!

I've been listening to the main menu theme from Ena: Dream BBQ nearly every day since I discovered ENA last month; I adore its rhythm and the way it builds upon itself with slick guitar and popping rhythm. I sought out the composer Ippei Torii's other works, and found a jazz fusion album from him that I like a lot: Refine. This brings to mind the same feelings that Sonic Adventure's soundtrack do, so it pleased me to find!!

Keeping on a jazz kick (probably influenced by the Joy in Rhythm festival we attended), Cin shared Nubiyan Twist's Find Your Flame and it felt as though it were peering into my soul. The lyrics of so many of the songs hit me hard, as though it could sense the struggles I've been going through, and uplifted me with hope and strength. Songs infused with Funk, Soul, RnB, and simply the grooviest of beats make it to where you can't help but move your body when you listen. I really loved this album.

July is Bringing the Heat

It seems as though everyone is going through a heat wave, phew. It's been a little scary with the fires around me - I thought I'd left those behind in California!! - but with bouts of rain and cool winds, it's not been as bad as I'm used to. July currently isn't quite as stacked with events as June was, so maybe I'll finally be able to relax and get to some creative projects again. Now that my VGen is up and running, I can finally focus on other endeavors, such as personal art and potentially some GameDev. I'll also be streaming on Twitch like I have been too!

Thanks for reading; I hope you found something interesting to check out. I'd love to hear about what you think if you experienced any of these things too! I'm wishing you all the best!