A weekly status update from everyone’s favourite caffeinated weirdo.

Welcome back to Whatcha Up To! Coffee here, and here’s to the end of another couple of weeks!

Summer vacation is upon us and there are games to beat, things to write and goals to smash! Heck, these past two – almost three – weeks felt super busy compared to previous ones; though it’s likely due to the multitude of appointments, lessons and site work. Oh, and GAMES. Lots of games, haha.

Also, (And I’ll be honest, I kinda forgot about this) the Brampton Library Local Authors Showcase – which features the book my short story is in – officially launched Saturday June 21st! It’s been a wild ride from application to release and I’m glad the book is out there for people to check out. It’s got me inspired to write not only my fanfiction, but new stories set in my fictional city of Vrandaska. I just need the time and energy to do this.

Anyway, here’s what’s been happening lately:

Whatcha Playin’, Coffee?

I’ve returned Cult of the Lamb, but I’m definitely going to pick this up for my personal library the first chance I get. Speaking of library runs, I had taken a break in recent weeks from borrowing games, but now I have a hold on Mario & Luigi Brothership available to pick up this week, so that’ll be what’s coming next.

Earlier this month, I picked up Shantae, Shantae: Risky’s Revenge and Sifu for my Switch – all on sale. I started Shantae this past Monday, but something wonky happened just after I finished the first dungeon. I was travelling back to Scuttle Town where I whipped this green enemy when the game froze and ultimately crashed. I booted it up again to find that my save got wiped out. Way past not cool, dudes. I’ve since regained my progress and now I’m about 75% of the way through. Man, that first game is ROUGH around the edges! Lots of bottomless pits, enemies are fairly tough and your monster-whipper isn’t the greatest of whippers thanks to its short reach. Still, I’m having fun with it. Mostly.

In other PlayStation-related news, Borderlands 2 is a riot. I met the Slab King (Brick) and finally reunited the gang from the first game. Then, I headed to the city of Opportunity to cause chaos and carnage in Handsome Jack’s turf and find a body double of Jack. Now, some sad stuff happened and I’m back to sidequesting to prep for the big finale. The story is highly engaging, with heavy moments balancing out the over-the-top humor. All in all, I’m digging it and I’m looking forward to finally putting this one to bed.

I also began my run of Tomb Raider: The Definitive Edition a couple of weeks back. WOW. I can’t believe that I missed out on playing this one earlier; it’s really good! And it runs so smoothly on the PS5, too! I really liked the angle they went with this, with Lara being this completely green adventurer. I had just beaten it with 100% completion after almost two weeks of playing it and it is just phenomenal. I picked up Rise of the Tomb Raider Definitive Edition the day after I finished the first game.

Oh yes, I’m still working on Secret of Mana… but I feel stuck. I don’t have motivation to play it at the moment. I’m currently at Northtown, where I’ve spent some time grinding out levels, weapons and Mana power. I’ll put it down for now and go back to it later in the summer. I feel like I’m at the point where I want to give up on the Mana series, but I haven’t even played the third one yet. I feel like I need to give that one a chance before retiring it altogether. It’s not the series, I think it’s just me.

Finally, what better way to celebrate Sonic’s birthday than a playthrough of his very first game for like the hundredth time. I can’t remember the last time I played it – and trust me, I was pretty rusty for the Green Hill Acts 1 and 2 – but I beat it 100% in record time. Happy 34th birthday, Sonic!

Whatcha Writin’, Coffee?

OK, I haven’t been writing too much, mainly due to work commitments and stuff. And honestly, I’ve made enough excuses on trying to find time, so I’ve made the move to block out time in the mornings to focus on the story, starting next week. We’ll see how that goes. If anyone complains, that’s gonna be their problem to deal with, haha.

Ever since the showcase’s debut, I’ve had tons of new ideas for new stories set in my Vrandaska universe (Yeah, that’s what I’m gonna call it). Between school settings, romantic comedies and action-packed, socio-political thrillers, I’ve got plenty of short stories and novellas to write and build my universe around. My hope is that all of those lead to the big one – the one story that’s the sole reason for this world’s existence.

Alas, Mobius VII does take priority over everything at the moment. I’ve worked too hard on the lore and worldbuilding on that one to just give it all up. Hence, the reason why I’m blocking time in the mornings to focus solely on writing that particular story. It’s less that I need to finish it and more that I want to. Every time I hear the soundtrack or see people playing Final Fantasy VII, I get so inspired to write more about it. So, I need to capitalize on those feelings and start writing again.

Whatcha Readin’, Coffee?

Um. Nothing new these past two and a half weeks, heh, heh. I’m sure I’ll start reading something soon – I have a lot to catch up on, book-wise. Particularly, those books within this year’s Local Authors Showcase. There were a few that really caught my eye when I went to the debut a couple of weeks back, so I’ll pick them up and see what they’re about.

How’s Training, Coffee?

Oh, wow, this is back again, huh? A lot’s happened in the past couple of months.

First off, my shoulder’s almost 100% better. All that rehab has finally paid off, so I can start going ham on the workouts once again. I also saw a specialist to talk about my psoriasis. On top of a couple of supplements to take, I’ve also been put on an anti-inflammatory diet to help clear up my gut and hopefully alleviate some of my current issues. It makes for a prime moment to focus on training and getting stronger again, so, the segment’s back! Hopefully for a long time, too.

That’s it for what’s been happening recently. Anything new on your end? Let me know below, or on Bluesky.

~Coffee