JUNE RECAP. a powerful pride month.

30 june 2026, monday

What a month! Somehow, in between all the events and the worlds and jumping between communities, Lauren and I were able to take a photo in our pride T-shirts for this month! We hope you like it. And if you don't, well that's too bad because we look fly as fuck.

This June, I'd like to quickly highlight someone from the community, Ariel Emerald, for her work in film and cinematography. Below, you can view a reel of her work from both IRL and VR! I am a big fan of her works Like Crazy, a music video featuring TFMJonny and LydianMelody, and Ulterior Motives, a beautiful film that was also featured at Raindance Immersive. I find her work to be emotionally charged, as it is easy to be drawn to the subjects present on the screen thru her lens.

Pride is always a busy month for me, with this year being of no exception. Except this year, I have been slammed with illness since the start of the second week of this month, making me miss quite a bit. Fortunately for me, there's always another pride month next year! As my friends told me there's only one of me, I suppose I have to try and take better care of myself. It already sucks that I don't get into VRChat during the week as much as I used to, meaning I see people much less, but it's better for me. I can only manage to be standing up for an hour or two before needing to sit and rest. It's a huge change from how I was last year, but change is okay. Thanks to those of you in the VR community for caring about me! I already feel much better because of all of you.

This month, I took a friend of mine to a world another friend of mine took me. It's a loop, of course, because that's the beauty of friendship - sharing is caring. This world, Shape Collector, was initially introduced to me by the lovely Evil Toaster, and it is such an interesting experience to go thru with just another person. I wouldn't really recommend going here in a large group. Small groups or duos are best.

Shape Collector at its core is more than just a puzzle world, it's something that speaks to a person's being. I won't spoil anything here, but if you're interested in unique virtual reality experiences, this world in VRChat definitely gives that.

I really like worlds that bring you into the headspace of the world creator. The simplicity of the, uh well, shapes, really eases the player's mind into the puzzle. It's hard to really grasp anything that is happening and if it has meaning because we're just collecitng shapes... right? Well I shouldn't say any more lol. Please do check this world out here.

For the first weekend, I was able to catch Sanctum with GCatz and then later Buncha on the decks. The world venue for Sanctum is massive, as upon entering you are greeted with a large, brutalist structure. The concrete walls tower over you when you get into the building, its wide open spaces making you feel miniscule. If you've read my other posts, you know that I am a big fan of feeling small in these environments. To enter the main part of the world, you have to pass under the angel seated at the top of the door, a sword in her grip as a flag with the Sanctum logo is hung proudly above her.

we arrive in a snowswept environment... there is a building in the distance

the walls and the ceilings are tall and unreachable, crowds of people filtering in and looking up at the grand expanse of the building we find ourselves in

the angel guards the entrance as the lobby fills up with people before event start

Complete darkness is something that I believe can be used in the virtual reality clubbing scene as an interesting medium. Light, shadow, and emission play important parts to people's immersive experiences. Perceiving the light against the wall rather than the ceiling, seeing flashes of light and then collapses into shadow, waiting in anticipation for the beat to drop and then the room goes ablaze. Sanctum achieves this well, as I found myself looking around constantly while the music blasted into my ears.

What I've heard people say about complete darkness as of late is that it can be really hard to see anyone, especially if you want to be present with friends. What I found really neat about Sanctum is that there were several well lit areas just outside the main dance floor from where Buncha was playing that people could group-up with their friends or have a quick conversation. It's nice when worlds have an area like that for people who want to be able to take a moment. I think it can be quite jarring to be in total, utter darkness for longer than five minutes while the music is going on, and thankfully that didn't happen here at Sanctum.

I will say, I found myself captivated by the dancers as they took to the stage during sets. Such talented and strong indviduals! I had a hard time keeping up ^^;;

Next was pulling up for PULSEVR's UNIT 4, a techno-centric event run by Toxictrate and the PULSEVR crew. Several homies were on the lineup, so I had to roll by.

the room grows dark, bodies get closer to the decks, light is scarce and catches the very edges of everyone in the room as they dance and move

The screen in this world venue is actually the floor, with the light emitting upwards. The streams of light are interrupted by the bodies of the crowd and the meshes present on the dance floor. Bodies change the way light and shadow shape the world, and I love seeing that happen. I could never get tired of techno, even if that is all I listen to when I party on the weekends, I am there on the dancefloor ripping it up gross style. I don't mind thrashing around in venues like these because no one is really /looking/ at you while there. The vibe of UNIT 4 is very much dancing with your friends. A lot of homies pulled thru for this night so it was nice to dance with them a bit!

A good friend of mine, Bread Lady, had a birthday celebration in VR. We all gathered in a world called Abstract:Echo, a world that we used to use often for parties and get-togethers when we used to host events.

The best part about this world is that there are various gathering areas - a fireplace with a seating area, the video player area with couch seating, the bar area inside the building, the roof which has wings for people to use to fly around, and the courtyard right by the entrance, which is where we hungout for most of the birthday party. People would stream in and see us immediately conversing and goofing off, and it really felt like a piece of the "good ol days" had come back. So many friends from different parts of the VRChat space showed up to celebrate our dear Brebby, and it was really fun to be there.

At her birthday party, I got to see some old friends from Ancients of VRChat for a little bit! Note: Austen is the worst person ever.

our friend Nonsenze bends over while Fray points at his ass
this is supposed to be a reference to Astro Boy.... LOL

gathering around to talk seriously a bit about our spaces, we locked in here

I really love the ability to have hangouts, because typically I am found in music events and related. I used to be able to host my own, but time has been unkind to me and my friends, and we are all very much busy. It felt like the stars aligned for us all to meet for Brebby's birthday, and I can't wait to hangout in a group space again. Music events are fun, and very much my preference for attending while in VRChat, but being able to sit down and talk with friends is something I do really cherish.

The following weekend after Brebby's birthday was tough, as I had to take better care of myself. Thankfully, that's been sorted, but I had to attend my homie Chilly's event VENT on desktop mode. VENT is a techno-centric event hosted and run by xChillphil, lovingly Chilly, and that weekend the lineup was Ephnel andToxictrate, two people who explore the vastness of techno with driven passion. Ephnel delivered a hypnotic and ethereal set, opening up the room and drawing a trance over the crowd, bodies slowly but surely moving faster and languidly to the music. Toxictrate had an electrifying set, driving the groove that the crowd already had until the end of the night.

photo taken by rayman*. the room darkens, and then a flash of light in the center

photo taken by rayman*. the crowd inside vent during ephnel's set.

photo taken by rayman*. another shot of the crowd from the corner of the room.

VENT is a world venue that is inspired by an IRL venue by the same name in Japan. Chilly had done an amazing job recreating the venue! The way down into the main area, the lobby outside the main area for conversation and rest, a vending machine out in the hallway with boxes of Pocari Sweat stacked up in the corner, and two interesting employee of the month placards towards the front. I love it here.

One thing I have accepted to be a part of most events that are techno-centric is that the emphasis of the event is very much the music and the vibes, as they say nowadays. The venue has to add to both of those aspects, and I believe this one does. There is a mood that this venue sets, that when you're packed into a room with a crowd of people hearing music blaring from two large speakers and lights flashing and zipping around you, you settle into the atmosphere the world sets. You must surrender to it, let the energy of the room take you, so that you may be fully immersed here.

Of course, I say all of that as a person who regularly throws it down crazy style on the dancefloor, so if you enjoy doing that, you'll enjoy VENT.

Towards the end of the month, I had two sets: one at Star Party for my friend Maya's birthday and the other at CONCRETE: INSIDE with fellow DJs ephnel and Zerto.

These two sets I knew would be the last sets I'd DJ for at least a bit, as I have been meaning to take a break from the decks for at least a few weeks. I wanted to deliver emotionally charged sets for both venues, and I pray that I did just that.

Star Party is a venue owned by Sushiferret, also known as Maya by friends. The world features a luminous night sky, stars twinkling down as the DJs play music that reminds them of the stars. That night, Crys, Strasz, Grost, and I played hour long sets to fit the prompt. This place is so relaxing, I almost fell asleep because I was in such deep relaxation and contentment!! But Star Party is the perfect place to do that, and the hostess herself encourages it! I love that this venue and world is a safe space for so many people in the scene to be vulnerable and let themselves rest.

photos of Grost, myself, Strasz, and Crys taken by Maya

Unfortunately during my set, I was on open mic!!! I do mean to rerecord the set, and when I do I'll link it above this paragraph, but for now if you're curious, linked below will be the original recording with me on open mic ^^;; if you don't mind my high pitched ass voice.

Lastly, I had my CONCRETE: INSIDE set that I played two hours of music for and almost passed out in exhaustion from the exhilaration and the energy of the room getting me stomping the hell out of my feet. However, I'm not going to detail what happened for that event here, and instead will be writing a full page about it in a later post.