The June 2026 Quarterly Media Report

Hey! Quarter 2 of this year was a little rough for me between stressors and tragedy. July (minus the Heat Advisories and Dangerous Heat Warnings) has been much better for me. I lost my beloved cat Mr. Mittens in June, and that really affected things. I knew the grief of losing him would hit me hard (I'd been having some anxieties about it the past couple years) but it hit worse than expected.

I am doing better though, and I'm hoping Mr Mittens will pass on to a better life soon, or is there to meet me at the rainbow bridge or whatever happens! I normally wouldn't mention this, especially in this much depth, but it affected my activities to say the least.

Games

April

This may shock y'all but Pokopia? Soothing. After the initial release I started pacing myself as I didn't want to burn out.

I am a sicko. So, I had a perfectly good Fire Emblem 3 Houses Golden Deer save, and while I still intend to play through that route at a minimum, I found out Edelgard is voiced by Kakuma Ai in Japanese, so I immediately jumped ship and restarted. Yes I know a good chunk of the spoilers and I want to hear Ionasal.kkll.Preciel's take on [REDACTED SPOILERS]. Maybe it's because when I think of Kakuma's roles I think of Ion and also Ikushima Sora in Tokyo Xanadu but I genuinely would not have known this is the same voice actress without Wikipedia.

I played little Stardew Valley. You're gonna see a lot less of that after May. I didn't burn out exactly. Different problem.

I played a little Hades II. I think part of why I take this game slowly (other than wanting to smooch people) is that Mel's play-style is completely different than Zagreus and while I know that factually I keep forgetting that in the heat of battle and yeah. Still haven't beaten the surface route.

I tried out the demo for Fishbowl. I really like the concept. I decided I wasn't in a good place to play it at the time though, and I'm hoping maybe in Autumn or Winter I'll feel differently.

I tried out the Taiko no Tatsujin Rhythm Festival demo. I decided that while it seems like a good game it doesn't seem like a good game on PC! So at some point I will probably get it for Switch or Switch 2.

I played some Tiny Bookshop. It's so soothing.

May

So May was stressful and I mostly played soothing things like Tiny Bookshop, Pokopia, and Stardew Valley.

There was also a small amount of Umineko episode 8 no I still have not beaten it. Scheduling sucks!

June

Okay so there was of course Pokopia. I also played some Hades II. I got back into Fate / Stay Night (I'm still on the first route).

Then…. Then what I discussed at the top happened. I'll be honest: Stardew Valley disappeared from this list because I named my cat in that game after Mr Mittens. I didn't want to use butterfly powder on him, though editing the name in a txt file is possible. Though I wasn't ready to do that.

So. I focused my attentions on Fields of Mistria. Which is notable, because you can both change the name and appearance of your pet (And as some wonderful people pointed out, I can also attach a halo to the cat as a hat once I feel ready to see Mr Mittens digitally again). If nothing else, I have learned people on the internet are extremely kind about this sort of thing.

I also replayed this game will end in 205 clicks. It felt appropriate for the month.

Things I'd Like to Work on (Game-wise)

I very much want to finish Umineko ep 8 before the "Anniversary" in October, 40 years (in theory)!

I very much want to maintain a healthy balance with games, while also working on my backlog. I say that but I am eyeing Atelier Ayesha (I mean I own it and have played it before on PS3) and if I can make that work on Deck I will PROBABLY start it. And FF II etc etc. XenoBlade Who?

And I should probably put "Finishing Hades II" on the list but other than the fact I kind of don't want it to end, I can really only focus on the game when my brain's not-clouded, and guess what the heat (and migraines) tend to do to my brain?

But most importantly: for the anniversary an In Stars and Time book-club is starting. I'm going to start (heh) with Start Again as I recently learned I did not get the true ending (you get credits if you get it).

Things I'm looking forward to (Game-wise)

The Pokopia DLC. Since we share a switch 2, I bought it for my brother's birthday, and I'm hoping we can both use it (if not I'll buy it a second time but I will NOT be happy about it). I really love this game and I don't know how to express it.

Also, I am very much looking forward to the Fields of Mistria 1.0 release, though I have not decided who I will marry it is very stressful (I will probably start a new file tbh).

Books

So, reading! Books!

April

I read Nancy: A Comic Collection by Olivia Jaimes, the previous Nancy cartoonist before Caroline Cash. I won't lie, Jaimes got me really into Nancy (though I have come to love Cash's take and the Ernie Bushmiller ones as well).

I finally finished Either/Or (The Idiot #2 ) by Elif Batuman. The Wikipedia page describes this book as being about "Hetero-pessimism" and I'll be honest the take I had to the really unpleasant sex in this book was less Hetero-pessimism and more "She really needs to go to a doctor". If Batuman puts out a third book in this series I'm sure I'll read it but some of this felt uncomfortably jarring. Doubly so because one of my aunts asks what I'm reading (she means the more literary stuff) and I had to mention this book and this stuff. I dunno if it's the Catholic background of my family or what, but it's very awkward to mention sex, even of the heterosexual variety.

After an eternity I finished Cruel is the Light by Sophie Clark which is the first in what I think is a duology. I enjoyed it.

What I really have to shout out is the Jenny Lawson book How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay: Tips and Tricks That Kept Me Alive, Happy, and Creative in Spite of Myself . I expected it to be more of a "you need to water your plants even when the world is on fire because otherwise you'll have fascism and dead plants" but it's more about creating while mentally ill / Neurodivergent, etc. It's a delight, I need to read it again, and I need my own copy.

May

In May I finished Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle by Clare Hunter. It's very good, and I want to read more about it, especially the part she mentioned about crafted fiber arts globes.

June

In June I have three notable ones:

First, the The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith, secondly. The Secret World of Briar Rose by Cindy Pham, and third I read the audiobook of Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey. I enjoyed all three, if nothing else the McConaughey book is extremely enjoyable to listen to even if I'm 95% sure he's punching up his stories. It's just unhinged (positive). As for the other two, they were quite good, I really enjoyed Pham's take on Sleeping Beauty and dealing with trauma. The Rose Bargain was quite enjoyable, I sort of like this weird "Selection-esque-Mania" we're having for a mini book-trend.

Things I'd Like to Work on (Reading-Wise)

 I still need to finish the sequel to The Rose Bargain, called The Thorn Queen. I'm just going excrutiatingly slowly. I would also like to move some things in my house around so I have a reading nook again (I can read on my bed but I don't think that's advised). If nothing else, while I do enjoy reading outside, with heat advisory after heat advisory, I'm not really getting a chance to DO that.

Things I'm looking forward to (Reading-Wise)

 As I write this, a companion novel to Francesca Zappia's Eliza and Her Monsters is coming out at the end of July—Evie and Her Nightmares. I am going to reread Eliza (when am I not rereading that?) before I read it. I am practically vibrating with anticipation.

Miscellaneous

April

I started watching Make Some Noise on Dropout.

I started a rewatch of Riverdale. I'm gonna try to finish it this time. I got three episodes in during April.

People have been talking about The Apothecary Diaries so I made my brother sit down and watch four episodes with me in April.

For Mastodon's Movie Club, I watched But I'm a Cheerleader, and I absolutely loved it.

As far as Audio Dramas are concerned:

There was of course more of The Twelvelms Conspiracy so I listened to episode 9.

I listened to more of The Count of Monte Cristo, finishing Season 1. I started Season 2 soon after.

I tried out the game Tarot Telling for Two with my OathSworn Friend who I've been bullying into watching Puella Magi Madoka Magica with me.

May

Okay. I know this will surprise no one, but I must state for the record: the Witch Hat Atelier anime is really good.

I heard (I think via the podcast Wonderful! maybe?) about this "Reality Dating" show, Is She the Wolf? I have only watched one episode so far but I like it. I'm wondering as I go on if I will wonder more about issues of consent (in theory since this is / was an on-going show in Japan before the translated Netflix season, I would like to think everyone knew what they were signing up for when they agreed to be on the show) but who knows!

We watched a bit more of Season 1 of The Apothecary Diaries and a bit of Season 2 of Castlevania.

For Monsterdon, I subjected myself to Seedpeople (1992). I have to say even if most of the movies I've watched via this are hot garbage, they usually have really good practical effects and I think that is what makes me most nostalgic for movies pre-2000s.

Since it was May, that meant Re: Dracula started up again and I witnessed my friend Jonathan Harker restart his timeloop.

I did a re-listen to Remnants S1:E08. I'm going very slowly as this is an emotionally exhausting show! And then yay, more Twelvelms. I couldn't remember what happened the episode before so I relistened to that after episode 10 dropped.

June

 Okay, June as you know, had its ups and downs. For most of my "miscellaneous" media, it was a good time. Watched more of The Apothecary Diaries and Castlevania.

My Puella Magi Madoka Magica viewing with my OathSworn friend finally got to episode 3 where they experienced well, that for the first time. I told them if we watched they had to watch through at least episode 3. I should see if they're willing to subject themselves to another episode soon!

Speaking of things I did with my OathSworn Friend: We both watched the A Midsummer Night's Dream play stream The Space (A UK company) was doing. I think we watched it over two or three days? It was fun. I love that play. I'd seen it once before as a child, that time had a very different portrayal of Puck than this one, but both were good.

You may not know this, but I really like the movie Labyrinth and on a particular saturday in June it was the 40th anniversary, so I rewatched it and livetooted observations, and convinced at least two other people on Mastodon to also watch it that night. And then more people watched it because it became a Mastodon Movie Club pick.

There was more Re: Dracula, I listened to a bit of early Welcome to Nightvale, and I was like "You know what I should re-listen to? Shelterwood why the hell not." I am not done with that re-listen but it's such a good show y'all should listen to it.

Then finally a show I was excited about premiered! The Disappearances of Lydia Fountayne's first episode.

My OathSworn friend hosted an online session of the game Alice is Missing. I played such an overbearing mean character and it felt good? But I also felt guilty about it. I actually apologized to the person I was bullying in the game a day or two later and they were like "Why are you apologizing? It was a game it was fine". Alice is Missing is a really good game I whole-heartedly recommend it.

Things I'd Like to Work on (Miscellaneous)

In general I'd like to make more time for TV and movies, I feel like I don't experience many of them and I feel guilty about that. And yes one of these days I am going to Finish Riverdale. And hopefully other pieces of garbage (affectionate).

Things I'm looking forward to (Miscellaneous)

I think Re: Frankenstein is supposed to release this Autumn? I'm quite looking forward to that.

One More Positive

Early in July we went to trim Terra's nails and while we were waiting, we were looking at adoptable cats. I'll be honest, I was pretty certain about not adopting a cat until October, for a variety of reasons. However, in this case I feel like Mr. Mittens' guided me towards this one. A mischievous little Smoke-colored kitten, who pounced on my brother's shoelaces and was noted as loving to cuddle. What made me set on him though, what allowed him to pounce on my brother's shoelaces in the first place was the meow he made. It was positively round, just like Mr. Mittens' were (Maybe I have synesthesia? But I've shared a recording of Mr. Mittens' meows and was affirmed in the fact they were round, so if I do, I'm not alone). So after Terra's nail trim finished we went home and immediately filed paperwork to adopt him. And we heard back a couple days later.

And that is how the cat I now call Sir Robin "Puck" Goodfellow came into my house. Swear fealty to him!

I'm hoping it won't be an issue, but the Quarter 3 post may be a bit late because of life stuff. Also I may change up the format of it a bit, I haven't decided.

Until Next Time!