June Update

Hey all, back again, this time for Pride Month! Last month I wished for May to calm down a bit, enough to catch my breath. I'd say that prayer was somewhat answered, but only somewhat.

With my girlfriend finishing out her semester at uni and most of our friends leaving town for the summer, it's been very quiet. Too quiet. Honestly it has been nice to be able to sleep in more without worrying about going out every other day, but at the same time it leads to me falling into my less admirable NEET tendencies. Not showering as often, not being as productive, not being as social and being worse at reaching out to people, that sort of thing. Something I've been trying to do the last week or so has been to actively combat that, take care of myself more, etc. It's been an uphill battle, but I've been feeling better and doing better in general, so I think that's a good sign.

Things really were quiet this month, because I got to do actual site updates!!! You can read all of this month's updates in the changelog, but the main thing was a complete overhaul of the Tea-drinker tab, generally called the "Something About Tea", now the Web Badge Tea Garden! I did a lot of rearranging, made new pixel art, featured new sites, etc. and I'm really happy with the way it came together! I want to add more badges in the future, and I have several ideas for ones that I want to make, so stay tuned!

Over on Patreon I've been hard at work, Chapter 4 of The Gaia Machine dropped on the 31st. Got the monthly update out yesterday, and the Bonus Content post out today. I'm now working on both a new chapter for next month, and also seriously planning the next story I'm going to be releasing, which was the subject of this month's Bonus Content post. I'm really excited for this new story because it's different from the sort of thing I usually write, and I want to both experiment and also make some new and different to my usual style. I love what I usually write, I just want to diversify a little. Hopefully planning stages go smoothly, I'm hoping to start the early access release for Patreon supporters this summer and run it until it's done! It's a winter-themed story, so it would be cool if it was finished by the end of the year, but I'm really not holding my breath for that, I don't want to rush it. Either way, I'll sell it digitally on the Patreon store tab when it's done, so there's always that!

I won't talk too much about it because this is for the game blog, but I've been playing more games recently. Been sinking a lot of time into the Minecraft server Hypixel, dabbling a bit in Skywars and Bedwars, but primarily in their Skyblock MMO. I've always been a fan of MMOs, and Hypixel Skyblock is entirely free, with mainly cosmetics and convenience being locked behind the pruchasable ranks. There's no real limits as to where you can go and what you can do, it may just take a little longer if you don't have some of the extra features that come with the one-time-purchase ranks and renewable purchase buffs. Very fun, been playing with my girlfriend and occasionally a friend of ours, having a lot of fun with it.

Overall, despite everything that is going on, it has been a little more relaxing. May went by pretty smoothly all things considered, and I'm excited for the future, which is a sentiment that's still somewhat new in my life. I've been doing my best to spend time with friends, take photos and capture memories, generally make sure that any moment I spend is enjoyed, because if I'm not enjoying myself than what's the point of any of it? I want to make sure that whatever I do in any given moment is fulfilling, and as long as it hits that, I'm happy to carry on each day. Cheers to another month, let's hope June is another good one.

Happy Pride Month, everyone!
~ Alex Amelia Pine