Today Twitch announced a new GenAI Training program (forced onto them by Amazon, their parent company) where they will be using content creator data to train models for Amazon. We do not know what these models do or what their purposes are. Neither does Twitch. However, thanks to community backlash and utilizing the UserVoice forums, we've been given an Opt Out toggle. You can access that toggle here

I've created the attached watermarks to match my branding, but also have them available to the public for use. There's also a Canva Template (not an ideal way to share, as they have their own problems in using GenAI on their platform) but I feel that it's the easiest method to share while still allowing people to customize them even if they don't have the skills to navigate an actual graphic design program. 

Template is linked here, along with simplified instructions


I really hate that this GenAI obsession has gotten to the point that we have to poison our own content, but maybe now that the issue is affecting more than just professional artists and creators that we'll see a larger pushback across the globe.

Hiya gamers! 

I've been working offline a bit to bring a neat new community to the Lancaster/York/Harrisburg area of Pennsylvania. 

Twitch Community Meetups has been an amazing inititive by Twitch to bring together streamers in a local area to meet, greet, and network. It's one of the things that I've loved most about streaming, actually! 

There are groups on either end of PA, but none in the middle and so I've decided to take on the work to make that happen. 

To qualify for Twitch support, I need to host at minimum 2 events before applying to be an official organization. So I have 2 events coming up in December! 

You can find details for both on the discord server for the group! 

If you're in PA, or near enough, please consider stopping by an event and saying hello!

-Pixel <3

If you've been around my streams lately, you'll know that I've been playing Guild Wars 2 again. 

This is the game I started streaming with, after Tumblr followers asked me to begin streaming my content reviews and guides as opposed to creating blog posts. 

With the announcement of Guild Wars 3 and just how many expacs have been released since I last played, I decided to create a little challenge for myself!


The Challenge:
- I must 100% a map before doing any story content on it.
- Any location I enter must be 100% before I'm allowed to leave.
- I must limit my use of expac things (mounts, gliding, builds, specializations) as much as possible until I reach the content that added it. *
- I must 100% any map that is part of the pack I'm on, including and locales that were not visited during the story. 
- I must do at least 1 full run of every dungeon and fractal available before labeling the base game "complete". 
- Raids, PVP, and WVW are optional but may be completed as a special stream or event. 
- I must be max level before taking part in World Boss Rushes or larger story map events if possible. **
- Any extra event I take part in, I must try for a Gold Emblem finish.


*I can use mounts and gliding to get to annoying vistas, but cannot use them for general travel if at all possible. Gliding cannot be turned off though so it's a bit unruly to limit.

**If these events happen while I'm already in the location it's fine to participate, but I cannot seek them out or loiter on a map waiting for them to spawn. 


To make this challenge awesome, I've created a new character! Brittany Spinch. She's a Sylvari Necromancer that will almost certainly end up wearing the color Blurple.

I've loved Guild Wars for years, almost all of my decade or more long friendships spawned from Guild Wars, and I'm so excited for Guild Wars 3! I'm hoping this challenge not only brings me up to date with the lore of Guild Wars, but also takes me back to all the things I've loved about streaming. I've been struggling with content creation as of late (I'm sure you noticed lmao) and I feel like really just resetting who I am on stream back to when I was my most authentic is the correct move. 

For now, I'll be focusing on Guild Wars 2 as my main content on Twitch. I'll be taking a few breaks as games I've been looking forward to come out, and as review opportunities come up, but for now I'd like to quietly label myself a Guild Wars 2 Streamer.

Thanks for being around, gamers!

Hiya databytes! 

 Couple new things coming to stream at some point later this year! 

I've been accepted into the Loftia Partner Program! What this means is that I'll have special insight into Loftia, a cute solarpunk MMO coming to Early Access later this year. It looks super adorable and is also pretty much every thing I love all rolled into a single game. I have big hopes for this. 

On the irl front, I have new events planned for the Stream PA group. At least once a month I have a meetup of some manner planned. Usually dinners but I might have something going on for 2 upcoming conventions in the area. And a LAN event meetup later in the year. 

I'll also be at PAX East! I'll be helping host a meetup event for Queer and Femme streamers at PAX East, but details are still being confirmed. 

FINAL UPDATE: The husband and I have finally sold our house in Austin, Tx, so we're moving on to the next part of our life plan. This one is also a big moment:

- trying for a baby! 
- moving to a new apartment with space to have our own offices. (currently we share an office, so you've probably heard him in the background lol) 

I think that's everything I have to share with you all for February's update. I'm pretty sure. I'll probably have a second post later in the month because of just how many things are actually a "more details later" type of thing.

As always, thank you all for being part of my life. 
Pixel

Hiya databytes! 

Happy New Years! It's 2026 and I have some plans! 

First of all, I'll be doing a weekly stream focused on learning something. Kind of open to whatever and however I choose to learn. Sometimes it'll be painting, sometimes digital art, sometimes vtuber rigging. I really want to have a space that encourages not just me to build a skill but also you guys. Part of that is the new Discord channel called Learning Museum in the Arts & Crafts category. It's there to post stuff you aren't personally impressed with but is proof that you're trying to learn something. I'll be posting things I hate but made with my own hands so I can see the progess I'm making as I develop whatever skill it's tied to. You guys should do the same!

Second, games may take more of a back seat this year. I probably won't be playing too many games in general or just revisiting ones I've enjoyed in the past. I did enjoy the indie showcases and demo events I did last year so those may be the only focused gaming streams. I honestly haven't really decided. I also want to do some Animal Crossing decorating streams. Basically just be really casual about games and not really try to stream the new hotness unless I'm also really into it (Paralives.)

Finally, I want to try being more active in general. This year I have a lot of irl things I want to do. I have the community meetups group to expand on, I have a baby I want to start trying for, conventions to visit, etc. Dan and I are in the process of selling our house in Texas (more on that at the end of the month!) so we're also saving to have a good downpayment on a home in PA. Parts of this will include more Discord activity from me as I tell you guys all about this stuff. And updating posts here because I did say I wanted to blog more. I'm not really sure what counts as blogging though, so welcome to reading my journal lmfao. 

Anyways, I'm really glad you guys are here, and I hope to see you on Discord, Twitch, and Bluesky too! ILY! 

Pixel.

Summary: This challenge follows a family through 5 generations as they grow a small business into an empire. This challenge will use a restaurant as the business, but can be adapted to any business within The Sims once the Business and Hobbies DLC is released.This challenge will make use of DLC. If you do not have a necessary pack, the challenge will become much harder than intended. You can find a pre-built starter lot on my Gallery (HiyaPixel), or create your own.

Generation 1: 

You've arrived in a new town with just enough to buy yourself a small home with an empty area to start building your dream business. You've never owned a business before, and you're not really sure what to expect, but it can't be that hard, right?

Sim Requirements: 
 1. Single Young Adult
 2. Master Chef Aspiration
 3. Ambitious and Foodie Traits

Lot Requirements
 1.  Only the required items can be on the lot for the business area.
 2. Starting home area must have only 1 bedroom with its own entrance, bathroom, and kitchen.

Generation Goals:

 1. Be able to afford to renovate your lot to have a second bedroom and 6 restaurant tables. Funds for this can only come from business profit.
  2. Meet and marry one of your restaurant staff.
  3. Have at least 1 child. At the toddler age and above, the child must always be with their parent when visiting the business. As a teen, the child must work at the restaurant from 4pm to 9pm and maintain straight As.
 4. Must complete aspiration before handing the restaurant over.

Generation 2:

You've grown up along with your parent's restaurant, and it's been your dream to continue your legacy. Your parents may have loved their restaraunt, but food is your passion. But it seems like maybe the previous generation didn't exactly have it all together. The stress is starting to build...

Sim Requirements:
 1. Young Adult
 2. Appliance Whiz Aspiration
 3. Glutton and Family Oriented Traits

Lot Requirements:
 1. Business can now use items to decorate the space. Only business profits can be used.
 2. Add the mold lot challenge. This can be removed by clearing 10 related lot events. Once cleared, you can add the Chef's Kitchen lot trait.

Generaltion Goals:
 1. Clear the mold lot challenge.
 2. Upgrade 3 kitchen or bathroom items.
 3. Have at least 2 children of different ages, but marriage is optional. These children must have a close relationship with their parent.
 4. Complete the Appliance Whiz Aspiration before handing the restaurant over.

Generation 3:


Sim Requirements:
 1. One Young Adult, One Teen
 2. Fabulously Wealthy Aspiration, Drama Llama Aspiration
 3.

This isn't really a challenge in the typical Sims concept. It's more of a challenge for myself.

Here are the rules:
1. I can only use packs and content from the world associated with that pack within that world. (example: I can only use Vampire pack items in the Forgotten Hollow.)

2. I can use Base Game and packs that did not include a world with every build. This means that most stuff packs and kits are free to use across all worlds

3. I do my utmost to stick with the architectural styles that relate to the inspirations for the world I'm working on. (example: Willow Creek is inspired by Louisiana, so lots should reflect Louisiana buildings.)

The goal is to redo and customize every single lot within every single world on one save file. This includes custom sims that have connections across worlds for every housing lot. Businesses must be owned by sims that are created for the save file.

I'll post silent speedy builds on youtube, and post the longer form of speed builds for members here. They'll be waaaay less edited, but will have voice over talking about the world itself, the relationships between sims, and what I was thinking about when building.

Hey guys! First update of the New Year is about Hybrid Effigy! 

Hybrid Effigy is the VTuber Creations Guild that I started with my friends MangoLily and Scribbles. We're really pushing this year to create models for people from the ground up. As such, I decided to update our logo and brand colors. The new logo is pictured above, and I'm hoping to have regular content out through HE this year.

The HE website has been updated too! And the VGen shop! You can check out both below!

HybridEffigy Official Site
VGen Store