This Saturday (July 29) is National Cheesecake Day! I love cheesecake, so this is pretty much a religious holiday for me. I, of course, must celebrate by making cheesecake. Duh. The fun extra part is thanks to YOU watching streams, following, subbing, and cheering, enough rupees (our in-stream currency) have been redeemed to make a baking stream happen, just in time for this! The people who cashed in their points to make this happen have voted, and this Saturday starting at 1pm Central I will be streaming the making of a fudge truffle cheesecake! The exact recipe will be posted following the stream, however for those who want to turn this into a bake-along, here are the ingredients you'll need:

• 3 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened
  
• 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
  
• 12oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
  
• 4 eggs
  
• 2 tsp vanilla
  
• Chocolate crumb crust (choose your favorite!)
  
• Springform pan
  

The stream will start with some basic notes about prep I've done and tips you should be aware of before we get started, and go all the way through getting it into the oven.  At that point we'll wait for it to do its thing by finishing the LEGO build from Wednesday night and having some serious puppy playtime. I'll answer questions as we go as best I can, but be prepared to ask them again after the cake is in the oven in case I missed it the first time!

Be sure to tune in on Twitch to learn the tips and tricks to making the perfect cheesecake <3

The original intent of Patreon was to be a replacement for Twitch subs because, well, I didn’t have a sub button. And now I do! So, in response to that, I'm tweaking perks here for the next renewal date. Here's what's coming! Assume if I don't mention a perk it stays exactly where it currently is.

 - Twitch subs will be getting access to the Discord server! Discord has updated their system to integrate with Twitch Affiliates, so if you sub and connect Twitch to Discord you'll automatically get access. Some channels will only be available to Patreon backers, however.
- Patreon Discord access will be moving to the Bronze ($5) level and will include access to all chat channels. Rupees (loyalty points) can still be cashed in for this level of access. Early YT access will be removed from this level. 
- The Silver ($10) level gets early YT access and gets play date priority.
- The Gold ($15) level will now have puppy cam. The Etsy discount will be removed as it has not ever been used. 
- The Platinum ($20) level will automatically get a pin, and gets double drink for 20 minutes instead of 15. 
- The Diamond ($35) level gets everything that is currently at the Adamantium ($50) level, which will be removed entirely.
As we get a feel for things the split of Discord channel access may get adjusted, but we're gonna start with this. The emote(s) for being a Twitch sub are currently in approval and will hopefully be usable soon!
Even though the page will update soon, actual perk changes won't go into effect until August. I'm sure the shift in perks and the addition of the Twitch sub button will mean some of you adjust your level, which is totally fine! I'm making these changes to try to make things better for you guys <3 Again, these changes will take effect at the August renewal, so you have some time to figure out what you want to do!
Thanks again for all of your support!

It happened! IT HAPPENED! I have a sub button on my Twitch channel!

*continues screaming in the background*

While I still have work to do to reach Twitch Partner, having a sub button on my channel is a huge milestone for me. It feels like part of a rite of passage, a major point in this journey. It is still a journey, though. This is not the final destination, and while I'm excited about it I don't see it actually changing anything about how I stream. It's just really effing cool to have this addition.

I haven't decided what to do for the two upper-tier emotes yet, but the base level one is being worked on RIGHT NOW and will hopefully be in for approval into Twitch's system soon. Raids are gonna get a whole like more sparkly.

With the addition of the sub button will come a much needed overhaul of my Patreon rewards. I'm drafting up a revamped version and getting feedback, and will launch the new perks next month. If I had known we were going to get the button I would have been prepared, but the last thing announced was "oh it'll be soon" and then it was "HEY LOOK IT'S HERE!" Don't worry about losing access to anything; nearly every change will mean you get more stuff at each pledge level!

Thank you all so much for watching my content. Whether you're a Patron, sub, or someone who just likes to watch and hangout with us, you're why I get to keep doing what I'm doing. <3

I'm starting to schedule out games I want to record for YouTube. I'm looking at ideas for both solo play and for another series with LoLink. What games would you like to see me/us play? Are there any topics you'd like to hear me/us cover in vlogs? Let me know in the comments!

Filming for the second season of Day 5 has been over for a little while now (psst it premieres on August 6th!), but I've only been actually away from it for a week due to all kinds of post activities. Turns out when you film for 13 weeks and have a lot of actors and crew and equipment all coming in and out at various times there's a lot of loose ends to wrap up. I joked about my newfound "freedom" when I left the office last Friday, leaving behind 14 hour days (on a good day...don't ask me about the length of the worst) and practically living in the office since January, but in reality I wasted no time getting back to my usual grind.

In other words, be ready to see a lot of me. What all am I up to? Glad you asked!

The Constantly Calibrating​ crew is doing a lot of E3 coverage over the next several days, and I'm joining them for the Nintendo Direct on Tuesday. For any of the conferences, tune in on Twitch​ 15 minutes beforehand to get some pre-show goodness of predictions, expectations, and general commentary before the real heavy-hitting news starts. I'll be live with them starting at 11:45AM Eastern/10:45AM Central for Nintendo's session Tuesday.

BoLS​ is a tabletop gaming news outlet that's been doing their thing for 12 years, keeping tabletop gaming fans up to date on the latest in miniatures, board games, and D&D. Traditionally operating in written media, they've started branching out into video representation of their content. Their latest experiment is joining the world of Twitch​, showing off tabletop games with an awesome studio set up that both introduces new players to the game and brings ridiculousness to the interwebs. This coming week is the big launch, and I will actually be joining them! Every(ish) Tuesday from 5PM to 8PM Central I'll be part of the board game contingent (no D&D from me...yet) bringing you news, instruction, entertainment, and probably some creative not-swears.

Putting out my own videos is definitely what suffered the most through Day 5 production. LoLink and I finished Train Valley, so now it's time to tackle a new game that tests the limits of our marriage. I've also started filming a solo-series again, which I'll hopefully be able to start releasing after RTX. I'm not-so-patiently waiting for the Steam summer sale as well, eyeing some more good games for recording purposes...

I semi kept up with streaming during production, but it also slowed down a bit. No more! I'm shifting my schedule to better compliment my new endeavors, but I'll be back on a pretty regular basis now.  My new schedule is (all times in Central):

Stardew Sunday - 2PM to 5PM
BoLS Tuesday - 5PM to 8PM (on BoLS channel, but also hosted on my own)
Creative Wednesday - 7PM to 10PM
Tiara Thursday 7PM to 10PM

Creative Wednesdays (yeah I know it needs a better name) will be a mix of cosplay, painting, and LEGO streams. There will probably be extras of these types of streams mixed into the week as I work on things, but this is your guaranteed music-request-and-chill slot!

Some of you may have already seen my name popping up in weird places because of this one. I am taking on various types of freelance work in order to learn new things, keep my current skills sharp, and have new ways to help bring you guys content that you enjoy. I'm doing video editing, production assistant gigs, jewelry commissions, you name it.  I'm all over the map! I've already had the pleasure of working with some fantastic groups and learning a bit about camera op, and I'm looking forward to practicing that and picking up some new skills.

Lots, LOTS going on. I'm sure juggling everything will get a little funky and may require a little more schedule shifting, but this is what I'm looking at right now. It's about time I make up for all the patience you all showed me while I was working on Day 5! <3