Following Suit

Following Suit

a hololive fanfiction by The Overlord Bear

Summary: Shien Kageyama meets a strangely cute femme fatale wannabe calling herself the Warden of Time. Whoever this Kronii Ouro was, he was going to charm back.

Previous Part: “Wiling Time Away”

Continue reading “Following Suit” →

The Good Shepherd’s Self-Love

The Good Shepherd’s Self-Love

some insomniac musings by The Overlord Bear/Jem De Ocampo

With how I curse my knowledge of my sheep, I might as well be a hireling. I could sell away these fellow sinful men, these short-sighted animals I have to shepherd like I was, to excess humiliation for my own convenience. And with this knowledge of my gravest hate so far, I strive to bounce back yet again by His will, letting His love for me transform my love for myself.

Continue reading “The Good Shepherd’s Self-Love” →

Milestones, Turning Points, and Activity Updates – April 2024

Something about this month got me with more guts to step up against my self-loathing, especially as a man. I realized that I did that stepping up especially thanks to these X/Twitter threads I made for the Holostarmin, the fans of HOLOSTARS, particularly the ones crossing over from being hololisteners, the fans of the Stars’ work sisters, who are more usually referred to when one says the name hololive. But as for what led to that, I think I forgot now, but I feel like four videos of me impersonating some of them, girls included. Heck, the first one was of the Abyssgard Twins, which got me cackling as I realized how I could imitate them even though I think I don’t watch them that much! And then I remembered how my family told me that I sound like Bettel, which led me to making another impersonation video out of that. Then I tried pushing my limits via Bii-chan and Bae and then Ruze. I suppose it’s the proper praise, then?

Anyway, I think that those were the main forces that led to my tagline change, going from the more negative and quite resigned “Another obvious villain we can cancel anytime” to the more positive yet still grounded “Learning and doing my best even if it means being outdone.” This change also got me realizing that while I’m still down to play villain roles, I’m done with Vaguely Roleplaying Overlord’s Diary, or at least playing as a villain in it. And I hadn’t even mentioned the two blog posts I made for this month: a cover of Rikka’s “rebirthful” that was also released for his birthday, and a fanfic about Bettel Gavis’s mascot Phantom that was inspired by the debut of Bettel’s first alternate outfit. And I think I still got more to say about the tagline change or at least a part of what led to that in another reflection post that I haven’t finished drafting yet.

As for more about my plans for the following month, there’s yet another song cover and hopefully another fanfic. And maybe some rest, because man, that change I mentioned also involved a lot of stress that somehow also motivated me to chill out some more. That, and I wanna prep for HOLOSTARS’ 5th Anniversary concert, Movin’ On!, which is their third paid concert. Might still try to work on some YouTube videos outside the blog post schedule, though, maybe voice acting ones, maybe VTuber clips.

And I guess that’s it for this digest. I’m itching to take a bit more of a break again. And again, honest constructive feedback is highly encouraged and will be highly appreciated. God Almighty keep on challenging and guiding us all according to His will.

Rikka – rebirthful – TOB English Cover

As I said I wanted to when I released my cover of “sleep mode,” I did a cover of the title song of the secret story of the holoroid Rikka. I wanted to release this in the month after the “sleep mode” cover to time it with his work anniversary, October 20, but some things held this production back, and I ended up deciding to time this with his birthday, April 15, which I suppose is a better fit, considering when “rebirthful” was first released, which was during last year’s birthday celebration. And I gotta say, my appreciation for Rikka grew even more over the past year, especially thanks to his chops as an event organizer, a fighting gamer, and, of course, an idol VTuber.

Anyway, working up the translyrics for this one was another freaking fun trip. While my early listens to the song had me feeling like it was such a swerve compared to “sleep mode,” watching Rikka’s associated 3D birthday celebration program and understanding the song’s lyrics had me appreciating the song on its own, as a part of a story arc, and as a part of the overall HOLOSTARS discography. As lighter as it sounds, it still holds quite the emotional weight, and it fits with what I call the Stars spirit.

At the same time, I think I underestimated the challenge this lightness would give, as I found the song’s rhythm trickier than I thought. Still, I found fun especially in being able to express emotions to the point of ad-libbing, which I didn’t really feel like doing in my “sleep mode” cover, as I felt like the original and my voice already expressed enough. I think I’m sync with both songs’ themes there, then!

As for audio engineering, Kururu is at it again, giving my voice a starkness that I think works well with this song! And as much as his work here got me realizing how much I underestimated the song’s rhythm, he made the emotions I expressed here further stand out with warmth especially! Listening to his work some more, I further feel the wisely relieving reflectiveness that got me appreciating this song so much. So again, thank you very much for your work, Kururu!

All that said, have a link to this cover’s mp3 and a link to this cover’s lyrics sheet. And again, honest constructive feedback is highly encouraged and will be highly appreciated!

Milestones, Turning Points, and Activity Updates – March 2024

Happy Easter, people. I feel refreshed there, and not just because of the season. As I further feel my need for my very own purpose in life, I managed to discuss that with someone I trust enough, and I thank God very much again for His help. I guess I really made up for not posting anything here last week, then.

As for what I did post on this blog, there are two: a poem about tryharding being a hermit and an English cover of a Japanese Vocaloid original song about a certain sort of red flag girl. As for significant uploads outside the blog, I somehow managed to release two March 2024 entries for the Vaguely Roleplaying Overlord’s Diary. One diary entry also foreshadowed how much more I played Street Fighter 6 later in the month, where I found myself being inclined towards shoto characters, especially Ken, with whom I’ve reached Silver Rank with on Classic Controls. The other diary entry, meanwhile, foreshadowed how many sets of English translyrics I’d end up writing during the month. Perhaps there is worth even in those diary posts being sparsely updated, then, and now it reminds me of how I have been managing to do these monthly digest posts here for a long while now.

Other things I’ve been up to during the past month include really getting into the groove of WaniKani, which I’ve set to notify me about Lessons and Reviews via email daily due to the wonderfully high volume of work it’s been giving me. Another is how I’ve been making more progress with clipping VTubers, slow it may still be. And then there’s how I’ve been kinda getting back to voice acting. On the other hand, with how I’ve been feeling slow or dry about posting writings on this blog right now, I feel like I’ll end up posting just a vocal cover before the monthly digest on this blog this month. And if you’re gonna look for me, well, I’m usually in the VTuber community, especially around the holos, who have also been quite the influence in my recent gaming, with the biggest highlight there so far being the Stars’ SF6 streams further inspiring me to play the game myself.

Anyway, I hope to be able to properly share the joy I have in my life to you peeps following this run-of-the-mill villain we can cancel anytime. And again, hit me with that honest constructive feedback!

Vell – So-Called Angel – TOB English Cover

At last, I return to covering Vocaloid songs with public official music videos, and I’m even covering a song from a newer producer I’ve never covered before! The producer’s name is Vell, and the song’s English name is “So-Called Angel,” which is one of their songs which seem to be about a red flag girl plus one of their songs featuring chess-themed visuals, with this particular song’s visuals having the pawn. And considering what pieces of knowledge I have about this song’s sort of red flag girl, especially knowledge that the line that can be read as “I’m everyone’s angel” reminds me of, I think I can see why the pawn was used for the visuals here.

And speaking of the “I’m everyone’s angel!” line, I translyricized that as “I’m your cutie angel!” Considering the individualism I’ve seen from English speakers, I think a more self-centered wording would be more familiar there. Still, you can find the spirit of the “I’m everyone’s angel!” line in the “It’s your cutie angel!” line before it, the original line being something that can be read as “I’m a cute angel!” Either way, the veil over the ego and contempt is already freaking thin, and the difference is that the persona in the original hides behind the collective’s rules, while the persona in my translyrics takes refuge in brazen self-assertion.

So with what I said above, I suppose having my dude voice on this makes for some overkill, no? Or perhaps this is more welcome than a squeaky girl voice? Anyway, I think my tenor range and my soft timbre are of help here. I think those worked best in “Sure, go call me your angel, I’ll go ‘Meow, peace~♥'”.

As for the audio engineering on this, I got to work with Shigeru again! I’m especially thankful for the somewhat glitchy clarity that powered up the force of my vocals here and the artificial harmony work that shines the most in the choruses! Got me appreciating my lower range some more, too!

And now, I present to you a link to this cover’s mp3 and a link to this cover’s lyrics sheet. Again, honest constructive feedback is highly encouraged and will be highly appreciated!

Wannabe Hermit

Wannabe Hermit

a poem by The Overlord Bear/Jem De Ocampo

Unclean, unclean
This wannabe hermit speaks
Of himself with his disease
Even his own skin keeps hidden
For rules to be broken
As if salvation were selfish whims
Permitting or forbidding everything
Than compassionate order
With its many ways back to Him
Who beckons even that “hermit” I am
And lets us trip into His many oases
Our desertion will never beat
Even when He’s hurting.

Milestones, Turning Points, and Activity Updates – February 2024

I think I forgot to work on this post earlier due to trying too hard to get back into and get into some things. FOMO, especially about immediate things, is certainly a common struggle of mine, yes. Still, it’s not like those things I’ve been getting back and getting into are as trivial as I’m making them sound, considering one of them being me getting back into exercise, though that also involved a humbling reminder from my parents. Still, I took that as a chance to update my exercise routine and add 15 minutes of walking into it so I can also touch grass, as they say today. Also helping is how I had to commute to my day job’s company’s office for tax stuff and miraculously managed to accomplish that on time.

As for the other stuff I got back into and got into HOLOSTARS, particularly Shien Kageyama, got me back into playing Blue Archive through things like this stream that jackal mafia boss did out of what I think is excitement over a new event starring his fellow outlaws Problem Solver 68. And speaking of BA, I’m happy to witness more fandub productions from Kuragi and StrawberrySana. And then there’s my continued viewing of the Stars playing Street Fighter 6 here and there especially getting me further into Guile Village, particularly as I learned how to do charge inputs. Arurandeisu left quite the impression on me there, indeed. As for more bro things that have been inspiring me this month, there’s I Am Not Big Bird, a raunchy and heartfelt Pinoy bro comedy that also has Enrique Gil making a comeback. Said movie was something I went to watch thanks to my sister recommending it to me while asking me for money to watch it.

As for more about my video gaming, I’ve already started the second part of the DLC in my copy of Pokemon Violet. So far, I’m enjoying the added challenge and Pokemon, especially with how I’ve been building my party with self-imposed conditions like having one Eeveelution (because I’m a Penny fanboy) and one starter (because I’m excited to be able to use so many starters) in the party. Also, Lacey is super cute.

As for more about VTuber stuff besides stuff like going plain social media, it’s been slow, but I’ve gotten back to making VTuber clips. What I consider the best thing about that so far is how I’ve been learning how to make more efficient use of AviUtl, especially the Scene, Camera Control, and alias functions. Also, this train of thought reminded me of how I’ve been kinda growing an interest in getting back to WaniKani and making more use of it so I can have some semblance of formal Japanese language study.

So yeah, those are some stuff I’ve been up to this month that I feel are worth sharing here. Of course, there are also the two blog posts I posted this month, the first being a poem that also includes the image of texting with God, and the second being a cover of a holoEN member’s mellow English original song. Also, I somehow managed to post four February 2024 episodes in the Vaguely Roleplaying Overlord’s Diary, episodes which I decided to record and edit on those weekdays and post and share during the weekend to see how more efficient I’d be with it. The thing I liked most about that little string of productions was how inspired I felt about working my digital drawing skills some more, although said skills are actually mouse drawing skills.

And now, I guess I should talk about plans for next month, which I’m expecting to have another two-post combo starring a poem and then a song cover if we’re talking blog posts. And I suppose I’m gonna be grappling some more with reviewing my daily routine and social circle as a VTuber fanboy, especially with how much I’ve been running on impulse about it, as much as I’ve been finding more fun in being one. Perhaps a better sleep routine would be a good start, and maybe some church work would also help. And I suppose I’m feeling the spirit of Lent some more. God Almighty keep on challenging and guiding us all as He wishes, alright.

And with that, I ask for honest constructive feedback yet again, folks!

IRyS – One Step at a Time – TOB Vocal Cover

I gotta admit, while my renewed appreciation for the girls of holo thanks to the boys have furthered into stuff like tuning into Bijou Koseki and her prodigy kid sister personality live, I’m still not that tuned into the now holoPromise member IRyS. Though somehow, my horniness aside, and even with her focus being more on streaming than on music right now, she still has her claws on me via music like this groovily crooning English single named One Step at a Time, which I also realized is my favorite IRyS original song so far with the help of this fan animation by Kanauru. Her higher voice brings to mind a struggle, though it also comes off as an expression made after a significant amount of recovery. Still, she sounds like she’s in a place even someone like me can reach, and that sound is a reason for my interest in covering this song.

And yes, I see the irony in being a distant patron of hers yet bothering to sing this song which also sounds so up close and personal. But I think that distance is a key part of my expression here, my expression of relief about being able to cling onto hope, which is also what her lore says she embodied and delivers, via improving my principles and relying on others as well even though I’m more in the state of conflict. So here I am with my lower voice that also required some restraint on the ad libs. I think you’ll feel my struggle with that restraint the most in the instrumental interlude, specifically when I hum with my mouth closed. It’s a nice reminder for me to not be cocky.

Furthering the impact of my lower voice is Kururu’s audio engineering, and I’d like to apologize to him for making him deal with my attempts to put hammy ad libs into such a mellow song, especially the part where I try to go crazy high with the backing vocals before the chorus repeat in the final chorus. I should’ve further kept in mind how I struggled to do that while recording the main vocals. And again, I’d like to thank him very much for his help.

With all that said, here is the mp3 of this cover, and again, I ask for honest constructive feedback.