Month: December 2022

Milestones, Turning Points, and Activity Updates – December 2022 + 2022 in Review

Happy Birthday to the Word That Became Flesh, and may He challenge and guide this wannabe writer and artist and entertainer and more into being more lovingly careful with his words, among other things, for I often put too much emphasis on the “careful” part, and like my fellow fools, I was born to not just be loved but also love. And I feel like He’s been doing that work freaking well even before this latest demand of mine, most especially with how much I’ve been enjoying hololive Production and VTubers and more way beyond what my down abyssal butt ever expected through HOLOSTARS English. Those boys made me feel like I can have fun even with my slow growth and even without the rushing I honestly wanted to do with that slow growth after ending Lisa the Tearer earlier than I planned and starting streaming some time after on top of churning out all them covers and one name-your-price fan song and a bunch of other works more dumbly exhibiting my heavier desperation for power and responsibilities I don’t know how to handle. Watching the rest of HOLOSTARS on top of holoTEMPUS’s streams thanks to the latter inspiring me like how Calli and holoMyth inspired me into becoming a hololive fan on top of becoming a VTuber fan, I’ve gone as far as also watching and enjoying the second concert by the 1st-3rd Generation of HOLOSTARS, the nine whom I also call the HOLOSTARS Nine, and the 3D debut of UPROAR!!, whose variety program Jump UPROAR!! I’ve also grown to enjoy looking forward to and tuning into. I even found myself taking my Japanese, subtitling, and video editing skills to the next level because of them, considering how I’ve been translating Gamma Hizaki’s YouTube Shorts and how I’ve started clipping VTubers. Combine that with stuff like the appreciation for my HOLOSTARS covers, especially the ones for Kaika Sengen, Monologue in a row, and Silent Night Requiem, and here’s this freaking motivated me who feels like he has an improving sense of direction now. Yes, I’m pretty scared about coming out with skeletons like how down abyssal I am about the Live ladies in the process, especially by hinting to you about the fact that I’ve been writing and posting smut starring some of them out there, and how I realized that I’ve been watching the Live girls and the Stars boys way more shallowly than I thought until the Tempus boys came around. But I’m reassured about my capability and need to do better, especially as a man, by the Stars boys’ ability to be responsible with the lesser power they have, so much that my interest in following the girls got renewed and this piece of fanfiction starring Tempus and Kronii got made. Perhaps this meme vid and this vlog can give you a better idea about my improvement this year, too.

But if you’re looking for more signs of improvement that are posted on this blog and aren’t just HOLOSTARS content, then you might want to look at my other stuff from this month first, them being the one TRY for this year and my latest collab cover. As for categorized older stuff from this year, there are:

In terms of individual older stuff from this year, I recommend:

And looking at the 2021 review post, I guess I have at least a bit more evidence that I went above and beyond my overall expectations and/or went against my dumb expectations for myself and my Tobbyworks this year. As for my expectations next year, I think I’d like to make more content as a fan of VTubers, especially holoPro, probably even in a way that would get me some sort of sideline, though may God Almighty help me handle that more properly if I’m meant to have that. On top of that, I think I’d like to release one or two original songs, make more time for my gaming backlog on stream and off stream, go through more of my reading backlog and maybe even my podcast-listening backlog, post one or two fanfiction pieces worth sharing here, post one TRY and one Superheroes vs God Almighty piece, and do something I’d find more healthily entertaining with my handwritten reflection habit. And while I don’t think this desire will be that fruitful this coming 2023, there’s still my desire to get a lovely lady. Whatever the case, may God Almighty challenge and guide me towards what He wants.

Now, I’d like to show my appreciation for some more ordinary life stuff that allows me to do these Tobbyworks. There’s my day job’s company doing better, and I wouldn’t be able to up my production values and my sister’s fun in life without that. There’s my more personal space I have while being mostly emotional support for my grandparents, which also contributed to my streaming ability especially. And there are my long-time friends and my immediate family I often take for granted, my loved ones who learn and do their best to support me more than I like to think. And of course, there’s God Almighty, the Word whom I underestimate and overestimate like how my fellow fools underestimate and overestimate words. May He keep on challenging and guiding as all as He wishes.

And again, this hopefully even more smartly obvious villain of a man we can healthily cancel anytime asks for honest constructive feedback, for yet another miracle. Merry Christmas, my fellow filthy animals, and may we have a Happy New Year.

Oga Aragami – Silent Night Requiem – TOB English Cover

So I faced what’s probably the greatest challenge for my lower range so far in this cover of Oga Aragami’s first original song. The way the gritty lore is combined with Christmas themes also helps. And yes, I decided to have two song covers this month (the other one is of holoCouncil’s Rise) because I also want to scratch my now stronger itch to cover more HOLOSTARS songs, especially in English.

Anyway, yeah, this cover was a challenge, especially in the verses and in the volume. I don’t think I can boom my lower register as well as Oga does, but at the very least, I think I made up for that with my expressiveness. And goodness, k. enhanced that freaking well with the rough vibes she gave the mix. It feels like something that you wouldn’t believe if you only knew the idea on paper. So thank you very much again for your help, k.!

Also, it’s been a while since I last made a song cover with my own translyrics, huh? With how I’m still writing translyrics and forming habits out of other translation stuff lately, I think it’s pretty much me being impulsive about things again. Hopefully, I’m learning and doing my best with it, and whatever the case, may God Almighty keep on challenging and guiding us all.

Now, here are the cover mp3 and the lyrics sheet. Again, please credit and link me if you’re going to use my stuff, and please give me honest constructive feedback.

hololive English -Council- – Rise – RingNin and TOB Vocal Cover

So here’s the big one I was talking about posting on the Sunday before today, my birthday. Just so happened that I started showing some symptoms of the Rona last Thursday, and hopefully, I’ll be fully recovered today or sometime soon, but anyway, that had this release slowing down, especially with my video work for this. But hey, at the very least, I got some sort of break, and I even learned some more about using AviUtl, my top highlight there being the use of curve movement for the camera control! And of course, this upload’s on my birthday! I feel like the most intense song cover I’ve made so far in terms of the production process should be posted on such a time, you know?

Talking more about how intense this is, this is a duet cover, and I haven’t done a collab cover for over six years already. And this cover singer who’s now more focused on VTuber songs, especially holo ones, had the honor of doing a cover of holoCouncil’s Rise with RingNin, whom I think I first encountered while looking through Shigeru’s mix commissions info again. Remembering the well-contrasted vocal combo in the epicness that is holoCouncil’s first original and my eager listening to the fluffiness that is Nin’s singing voice, well, I ended up wanting to cover this song with her, and I’m very humbled by her work! And it seems like this is her first song cover in English, too!

Leanna also made a smart move in putting Nin’s vocals in front and mine in the back. I mean, why have a voice as cute as Nin’s in the back? And I tend to blast my dude voice, so yeah. Add the warmth Leanna managed to add in a revision, and we got this epicness here! Also, it seems like Leanna and I share a birthday? Well, whenever her birthday actually is, I’d like to greet her a happy birthday!

And last but not least, Nin and I got help from Syd for our avatars and the background in the cover MV! The designs match the members with the individual lines we covered, with me having Kronii’s and Bae’s and Nin having Mumei’s, Fauna’s, and Sana’s. Other references include Fire Emblem Engage’s Alear (who was also designed by Bae’s character designer, OG-level artist Mika Pikazo), and The World Ends With You’s Neku Sakuraba for this take on my avatar, while the titular Cardcaptor Sakura served as a reference for this take on Nin’s avatar. And I feel like purple is the hard-carrying color in our avatars here. As for the background, it makes me think of Syd as even more of a badass with how detailed and complementary it is! And speaking of Syd’s awesomeness, check out their official work for Elaine of KoMETA’s second original Nakaukit too!

Also, how much have I been watching holoCouncil recently? Well, like with the rest of the girls of holoPro, I feel like I’ve come to watch them more than I did before thanks to HOLOSTARS and their brand of classiness humbling and grounding me. As for specific members I’ve been tuning into, the most I have so far might be Fauna if we’re talking solo streams, Kronii and Bae for collab streams, and Fauna, Bae, and Mumei in terms of music. Surprisingly, overall, Fauna is at the top of my fave Council member ranking right now. I guess it’s the fluffy voice and the horror writing.

With all that said, here’s an mp3 copy of the cover~ And as always, I’d like to ask for honest constructive feedback!