Wednesday April 1, 2026

Happy April Fools!



illustration by: sylviefishin
Normally I don't really love April Fools - I think I'm too gullible for it, but I do always like doing something silly with the CozyCo girls. This year we thought - wouldn't it be cute if we all swapped outfits? A random number generator decided who got which outfit, and honestly it couldn't have picked better! Cheryl looks absolutely adorable in Mycie's mushroom fit, I'd say I make a dashing adventurer in Remi's ensemble (though not as dashing a figure as she cuts), Mycie looks so dang sweet in my blouse and skirt, and Remi honestly looks perfect in Cheryl's jumpsuit. The fates were with us in helping to create something that was not only fun, but aesthetically a hit for this year's "prank".

The CozyCoians absolutely loved it. I think everyone was charmed to see the outfits on a different model and sylvie did such a sweet job with everyone's expressions! All-in-all a complete 10/10 cozy prank for the server.

I still got got by more than my fair share of pranks, but honestly if it can be contained to a single day a year where I believe something that isn't true I'll take it. Hopefully you all got a bit of a laugh today too!

Saturday March 21, 2026

Collabs remind me why I love vtubing so much. I don't tend to do them often as I'm fairly introverted, my schedule is quite inflexible, and usually I find them to be quite stressful. I want my collab partners to have a good time and I also want my Cottagers to have a good time so it can be a bit of a juggling act to keep everything running smoothly, but truly getting to just sit and play games with someone and laugh for a few hours is the best.

The CozyCo girls are by far the easiest to collab with just because we're so familiar with each other. Having a standing invitation where we try to get together once a month to play some game or another always gives me something to look forward to and usually we just end up cracking up as we minorly terrorize each other. Today we got to play Sheepherds! together and honestly the game was quite a bit more challenging than I thought but it was hard to have anything but a good time with the girls. From group howls, Zi running around peeing on everyone, Mycie's hilariously woeful commentary about some lost straggler sheep, and Remi doing her best to carry us all through to the end of each level, it was such a fun play session. I found myself getting real quiet trying to lock in and help out but honestly I'd end up laughing about some shenanigan or another we'd managed to get ourselves into.


I'd like to get comfortable this year collabing with more people. IRIAM streams are so casual that I think they'd be a good starting place - something easy with minimal set up. Then maybe I can branch out to doing more gaming collabs but for now I'm happy just hanging with the girls. I have no idea what new adventure we'll get up to together in April but I'm positive our play session will be filled with nothing but laughter.

Friday March 13, 2026

I finally took several days off from streaming. Completely planned. No weather issues, no illness, no family events. Just me deciding not to stream on any of my platforms for the first three days of the week and it was completely weird. At first it was great! I had my lunch back to just sit in silence and do other things! I no longer had to plan out what I was going to yap about that day, but it's been so many months of streaming near daily on IRIAM plus our normal gaming streams every week that I started feeling like something was missing.

I think I need to retrain myself to take that time back. Rest is good for me. Daily streaming on IRIAM while often fun was also a struggle at times and I think it's better if I spend more quality time playing Monster Hunter or making Youtube videos or tending to my garden now that spring is right around the corner. I spent so long training my brain to get ready for streaming that now I have to train it out of that behavior. But I'll get there! This gives me more time to work on other projects I had been struggling with as well. So I think it'll be a win-win situation.

As an extreme creature of habit the disruption feels strange - a bit like knowing you're forgetting something - but it'll go away eventually. The same thing happened when I stopped raiding weekly in WoW, or when I swapped my stream nights. It just takes a little time to readjust but I'm hoping that in the next couple weeks I'll catch up with all the work that piled up around me and soon we'll be able to jump ahead to lots of cool projects! I've already got a few cooking - think you'll stick around to see them come to fruition?

Saturday March 7, 2026

One of my favorite parts of getting to live in Japan during the spring was how even for such an ephemeral season it really did feel like everyone stopped and took in the beauty of nature. Tokyo is bustling. All hours of every day there is something happening somewhere. And yet despite how busy life could feel, you'd grab a blanket, prepare some snacks, and just appreciate the season with friends.

I think we should all hanami a little more in our lives. Notice how much the snow has melted, how loud the river has gotten, how suddenly mornings are filled with birdsong, and how quickly life can pass us by when we aren't paying attention. The same can be true in other spaces as well - not just out in nature. Admire how pretty a game looks, how good a song is, or how nice your best friend's voice sounds after a long day. Truly I think it's the little things that keep us going in life.

It's far too easy to get wrapped up in big goals or encroaching deadlines and not focus on the little things that are right in front of us. I want to take time out of each day to notice the little things more. I want more snugs with Pickles. I want to laugh at my character going head over heels after a Yian Kut-Ku tailswipe while playing Freedom with my husband. I want to just sit and drink a cup of coffee and listen to new music.

I'm going to slow down this year. 2025 went fast. Far too fast. I want 2026 to be savored a little more. I want to have lunch under the cherry blossoms and then carry that hanami energy forward with me - a little petal close to my heart. Will you hanami with me too?

Friday February 27, 2026

It's honestly hard to believe that February is almost over. How is it already the 28th tomorrow? I could've sworn that the month only just started but then when I sit down to look back on things it turns out that the days have just been passing in a blur of a lot of laughter. This month was fairly hectic at work which I think also contributed to feeling like I've timeskipped through the month, but we also had a lot of activities planned.

First up was supposed to be my 4 Year Anniversary stream on the 1st but we had a snow storm that really knocked out my internet for a few weeks. Things were intermittent and although I usually had enough juice to do my general web browsing, streaming was basically out of the question. Some days I would run into no issues and other days the internet would drop out completely while I was in the middle of something - sometimes taking hours to return. Honestly I was really bummed during this period. It's not that I had planned a whole lot for the anniversary stream, but it felt sad that it just kind of fizzled out. The joys of living in the woods during inclement weather!

I didn't mean for it to, but I think that initial disappointment really put a damper on my mood for the beginning of the month. I was already falling behind in a couple of areas, and it felt like a herculean task to catch back up. Admittedly I'm still not caught up. To the Cottagers who I owe their free keychains to...I promise I'll make it to the post office eventually. Thank goodness I didn't accept payment for this round of merch or I think I'd be drowning.

Not to wallow though! Even though I've been struggling with some things I really have had a lot of fun this month! Valentine's Day is always a fun stream theme and I've acquired some really lovely assets over the years. I managed to get a new opening screen and animated emote this month and they were well-received by the Cottagers. The CozyCo Valentines release was a bit chaotic but we managed to make some really cute ones to share on Discord even though they came out at the last minute. I had fun sending them to some friends just to make them laugh. Horse Raz was a fan favorite.

We then had our CozyCo Valentine's Collab on the 21st. It was honestly a complete riot. The girls and I played the official KFC dating sim, I Love You Colonel Sanders and we picked out different characters to voice. It was ridiculous and hilarious and Remi's Colonel voice was FAR too good. I think we all also fell prey to the propaganda because by the end we were all craving chicken for lunch/dinner. Kudos KFC for making something so silly. In the end I'm pretty sure we got the middle of the road ending but we had fun dying in random spots and yelling over the absolutely wild writing. As always with the CozyCo girls, we end up having way too much fun. I'm not sure if my throat was shot from the voice acting or from laughing so hard.

Although it was supposed to come out in the middle of the month, the Hikaru Nara cover project I was part of for Meimei's birthday had to be a bit delayed and ended up coming out this past week. Honestly I'm not much of a singer but I was so touched to be asked to be part of such a special project. When we got the mix back I honestly had chills during the chorus sections. Everyone sounded so amazing together! One of my favorite parts of vtubing is that I've gotten a chance to experience things I don't think I ever otherwise would have and cover projects are a prime example of that. There are so many talented and creative people in vtubing. It's so inspiring to have a friend grab you by the virtual hand and bring you along for something fun. I hope that I'm able to offer similar opportunities for creativity to my friends in the future!

On the gaming front this month was super exciting with the release of the last major update of Monster Hunter Wilds. Arch-Tempered Arkveld is super fun and the music is an absolute banger. The violinist went above and beyond - absolute cinema. The solo Nadia quest to beat 9 star Gore completely humbled me. I spent a full stream carting to him and had to go back to the drawing board a bit. I got it down in the end but it was a good reminder that there are plenty of aspects of my play that need cleaning up. I've been kind of coasting in 4-player with the help of the Cottagers but I think I might need to spend some more time solo locking in.

That said we have a completely ridiculous slime quest to complete this weekend that I've already done once with Razband. It was just as silly as I had hoped and I look forward to getting devoured alongside the Cottagers! As a consolation prize I'll be amped to see which pendant colors I get. Which reminds me that I still need to go back to the egg carry quest for the final baby Rey Dau pendant. I want to make sure that I hit all of the event quests before they're gone. I'm sure once the Arkveld Free Challenge Quest comes out I'll be focused on trying to get an A-rank over there so it would be nice to get most of the other quests out of the way earlier.

This past week also kicked off the OshiUplink Flyer Event on IRIAM. It was a bit of a last minute decision but after chatting with Mycie and Dovely we decided to go for it to see if we could get on the poster together. Nothing is set in stone yet, but everyone has been doing so much to lift all three of us up! We've been off to a great start and I've got my fingers and toes crossed that we'll be able to make it to the finish line together! It will be nice to have a presence at an east coast convention. OffKai is really cool but it's hard to catch west coast folks during morning and midday streams. If nothing else we've had a lot of fun brainstorming prizes and just yapping with each other about how the event is going. Do things with your friends y'all. It makes competitions so much more fun! Honestly more than the poster I'm just looking forward to the potential of Team 7 Cosplay art with the three of us. It's too silly of an idea for my brain to give up.

Now that I look back - it's actually been an extra hectic month! I got to do so many fun things and although it started off a little tough, I'm really thankful that I've been using vtubing as my creative outlet for 4 years. These past 6+ months with IRIAM especially kicked my inspiration back into gear. I wasn't ever doing monthly goals, or thinking about big events, or participating in collabs as frequently before. I want to work more on creating a better online and offline balance, but I'm thankful for this hobby for connecting me with so many people and giving me space to find a lot of joy.

Cheers to an honestly really fun February. I can't wait to see what March has in store for us~

Friday February 20, 2026

Egg Delivery quests are the closest I think I'll ever get to playing a horror game and enjoying it. In most games I don't like being chased. I'm not sure I like it in Monster Hunter either but I do find them fun even when I get jumped by a genprey one step away from a loading screen into a safe zone. Sure in the moment I'm sad staring at the remains of my delivery but I don't dread these quests.


These carry quests are a nice change of pace. Sure I could go on a complete killing spree and try to take out all the monsters nearby. Sometimes I do, but other times I see how far I can push it. I've never been good at stealth missions in games though. So the jury is still out on how well I manage to actually push the envelope and how much is just me being emboldened by past successes - ignoring all my numerous failures.


There's something extra special about making it though. Hustling through the wilderness, our hunter huffing and puffing, probably sweating as a Rathian closes in. But the drop off point looms and with a dip, a duck, a dodge we manage to set the egg down unscathed. Then we usually have to head out for another one.


When Monster Hunter Wilds announced a Monster Hunter Stories 3 collab I knew an egg carry quest was coming. Although you CAN deliver eggs in Wilds, you're never really asked to and certainly not required to trek up to a Rathian's nest to snatch one. At Easter time last year I did it just for the laughs, but there's something far more fun about an official quest where the monsters are on high alert. Nearly every time I picked up an egg in this one I had something charging at me - Rathian (sometimes two), Rathalos, Doshaguma, Lala Barina - if it lived in the forest it was coming for those eggs. They weren't even eggs that belonged to those monsters! I guess with almost all young being born from eggs, anyone carrying one starts to look like a kidnapper.


I had a lot of fun with the quest. I've managed to unlock two of the three pendants you get from bringing back the extra potent eggs - Gravios & Chatacabra. Now I just need to secure Rey Dau and I'll have gotten the whole set. I might come back to the quest again when I need a bit of excitement - a little extra adrenaline to spice up my hunts. The hair on the back of my neck will stand on end when my palico yells that we've been spotted and I notice my Ghille Mantle is down. We'll just have to leg it and hope that our nearest camp hasn't been taken out of commission. I'm not much for horror but this cat and mouse game will do just fine.

Sunday February 8, 2026

Did you know I spent years convincing myself not to play Monster Hunter because I was resolute in my belief that I wouldn't like it? Kind of silly to think about but I've always been picky. I find I like something and then I don't want to try anything else because I'm having so much fun just doing the thing that I like. But sometimes it keeps me from discovering other things I'd like - like Monster Hunter. In my mind I loved playing Unholy Death Knight in WoW and that was all the combat I needed. For downtime I just wanted to spend time in Harvest Moon or Animal Crossing. I felt like I didn't need anything else.

To be fair I'm not sure that I did need anything else. But being open to the possibility I think is important too. Eventually I gave up on WoW and suddenly I was without the complex melee combat I had come to adore. I tried to simply delve deeper and deeper into farming sims, but it wasn't quite the same. And while initially fun, New Horizons didn't have the same feel as the original Animal Crossing I had loved so much. I started streaming because I was mainly playing single-player games but that was incredibly lonely after spending so much time in online communities. I became a vtuber because while most people on the internet are weird in a wonderful way, some are weird in a way that made me feel unsafe. And then one day my husband convinced me that I really needed to give Monster Hunter another try. And here we are.

If you're like me and you enjoy being comfortable, there is no shame in that. But sometimes there are new comfort zones to explore and the only way to find them is with a little discomfort. Like with this website. It's a little clunky right now. The ways of the old web are like an old friend you haven't spoken to in a long time - familiar and yet alien all wrapped up into one. It feels a bit cringe to write out thoughts like this, but also it feels important! To me! With time it'll become a little more comfortable to just write and be and share. I'd like to share how much I've been enjoying Monster Hunter and have a place to collect all the things I like. A new comfort zone to hunker down into but for now it'll be a bit uncomfy as I get over this learning curve.

This site will be a landing pad for my streaming activities. An all-in-one spot for Cottagers to see what we've been up to in our adventures so far, keep an eye on exciting events, and look over what we've got on the horizon. And this blog section will be for me to put thoughts down. Maybe one week it'll be about how cool I think the architecture in the Iceshard Cliffs is, or why I think it's a bit odd that the wild Popos of Hoarfrost Reach let you just hop on their backs. A place to ramble or ruminate or research. I'd like to write something once a week if I can! And over time the site will grow - a bit like tending a garden. It won't always be about Monster Hunter. It might be about other games we play or media we experience together as a community. The Monster Hunter teams have put so much love into that franchise over the years that it seems like an easy place to slot in and explore. So cheers to the start of the blog!