Dubious Discourse

[Dubious Disc]

Welcome to the place where I talk about the music I like and maybe other things sometimes!!
I usually (but not always) post once a week.​

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Yo. I'm Disc and this is my thought dump. いらっしゃいませーっ
I tried starting a blog a while back, but ultimately I didn't really like the format of it and I just gave up. So here's a different one. Honestly, I'll probably just end up rambling about Vocaloid and adjacent Japanese music, but whatever. My personality has pretty much been replaced by Vocaloid at this point ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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So I've decided to try out profile theming for a bit, picking different images for my banner and sig to match my avi, but who knows if I'll actually be able to keep it up lol. There's a few songs I've been wanting to theme in particular, but eventually I might just end up getting lazy and going back to my default. Right now it's TAMAYA-themed, since that's my favorite song. It lives in a special place in my heart. I'm a big fan of Chinozo, if you couldn't tell.

Been listening to Chogakusei's EP that released last week. ...even though I only vibe with like half of the songs on it lol. I really love Chogakusei's covers, but I find it a little harder to like his original music, I really only like 6 or 7 out of the 20-ish songs. That said, those 6 or 7 are really good. I've been obsessed with Overlook in particular, it's just really catchy all around and keeps getting stuck in my head. (Fair warning, the MV contains a lot of animated blood. Both the song and video are references to The Shining, that's why it's like that.)

The other song that's been taking over my brain is Incubator, which is just a complete banger. That's all I can say about it. I was absolutely blown away the first time I heard it, I definitely wasn't expecting it to have so much energy. Since the lyrics aren't written anywhere I can only understand like half of what it's saying, but honestly I don't even care. I don't need to know what's going on, I only know that it's an absolute utter vibe. Every Surii/Chogakusei collab so far has been so amazing, I hope they continue.

ECHO is almost at 100 million views!! I'm excited c:

I ran out of things to say. gonna go listen to some inabakumori now

 

[Dubious Disc]

The eclipse was a letdown <3

I've been thinking about memories lately. It's weird, but sometimes good memories actually hurt me more than the bad ones - when I look back at bad memories, sure it hurts, but there's also a sense of relief and accomplishment, like "that was bad, but at least it's over now." But with good memories, there's a part of me that always feels pain when looking back at good things that happened, because those things are over and I can't go back and I can't experience them again. The actual thing that happened only lasts for a short while, and then for the rest of your life after that you can only look back at its shadow and imagine how you felt, playing it over and over and wishing you could be there again. Sometimes I wonder if it'd be better if the good thing hadn't even happened, just so I wouldn't have to keep replaying it and feeling bad that it's over.

It feels weird thinking about stuff from middle school and high school. It's as if my self from those days is an entirely different person. There are some memories that feel more like weird dreams than things that actually happened, to the point that I sometimes wonder if they really happened or if they were just something I imagined and thought about so much that they became real to me. Because they feel so different and disconnected from how I am now. Particularly good memories, where I remember feeling so happy that a part of me thinks "there's no way this could actually have happened. It's too good to be true." Obviously it did happen, but it just feels hard to believe.

I used to not dwell so much on my memories, but I guess since I haven't really been making any good memories lately, I just naturally end up looking to the past. Because I've been so unhappy lately, my mind has to look within itself for the evidence of past happiness instead. I wish it didn't, though. Remembering good things from the past just makes it harder to deal with the present.

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" is such an annoying quote.

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I've been listening to Sou this evening. He's probably my second favorite singer after Chogakusei, although their voices are so different that it doesn't really feel fair to compare them lol.

I respect the fact that Sou has collabed with all of my (current) top 3 favorite producers (Chinozo, Kairiki Bear, and Hiiragi Kirai) since their styles are so different from each other, particularly Chinozo and Hiiragi Kirai. It makes sense that Sou would work well with Chinozo's music, since he has a soft cute-sounding voice that matches the Chinozo vibe, but it was a pleasant surprise to find out that he had also done a song with Kairiki Bear, and it sounded just as good despite having a very different energy, much more troubled and negative. Sou's Hiiragi Kirai collab was an even bigger surprise - at first I had only heard the Vocaloid version, so I didn't know it was a collab at all, but I remember realizing "wait, this song has a Sou version?? How? There's no way that would work!" And yet somehow it did work. Even though his voice stays soft throughout most of the song, it carries a great deal of emotion, so it still has a lot of power despite not necessarily being loud or forceful.
The songs in question: Yosasou (Chinozo) // Sparkbug (Kairiki Bear) (this one is my favorite!) // Nero (Hiiragi Kirai) (cw: flashing lights)

I wish Sou would cover more Chinozo songs. Seriously, their sounds are such a perfect match.

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Might post some stuff in my art thread tomorrow or the day after, depends when I have time.

(insert some memorable ending sentence, cause I'm tired and can't think of anything)

 

[Dubious Disc]

It's been nearly a week since 2036 released and I've only just managed to get it out of my head. Every time Chinozo comes out with a new song it pretty much becomes the only thing I listen to for the next few days lol. Admittedly I don't click with 2036 as much as Chinozo's other songs, I don't find myself coming back to it as much as Furisode or Taxy, but still, it's catchy. twoooo thousan' thirty-siiiiix ♪
I also caught the premiere, for the first time! Funny how I hate waking up at 6 to get ready for class, but I'm totally fine waking up at 6 to watch the premiere of a song on YouTube lol.

Anyway!! I have bigger news. I have learned the TAMAYA character's name :)

So basically. I've noticed a lot of instances where Vocaloid songs that become popular end up getting manga or light novel adaptations, and there's an ongoing series of novels based on Chinozo's songs, starting with Goodbye Sengen. I don't really know what they're about, and at the moment I don't really care (it even kinda bothers me, because now I worry that I'm misinterpreting the songs or missing out on some extra meaning). But anyway, I was listening to TAMAYA recently and I noticed a lot of comments talking about the novel, and a few of them mentioned the characters' names, so I got curious. Just to make sure, I did some surface-level research on the novel itself, and what I found checks out, so...

His name is Yuki Ogawa! I can't be sure of the kanji, because I've seen it written like four different ways, but it's still Yuki. さすがにそのかわいい奴がかわいい名前ある ^__^

I learned a few other lore things that somehow make the MV make more and less sense at the same time, but I'm just focusing on the fact that I don't have to keep calling him "the guy from TAMAYA" lol. Surprisingly I wasn't able to find names for the characters from the other songs? idk maybe I didn't look hard enough. I already knew that the girl from Goodbye Sengen is called Rena, so I presume everyone does have names but I just couldn't find them. Whatever, Yuki is my favorite so I don't really need to know what anyone else is called. (I tell myself this so I won't waste time looking through more comments and summaries lol)

Whenever I see the name "Yuki" my mind immediately goes to Kaai Yuki (another one of my favorite Vocaloids), this is gonna take a while to get used to lol.

Less than a week until the new album! (it doesn't really matter since I can't buy it and I've already heard almost all the songs on it, but still. I'm allowed to be excited.)

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"will you please stop talking about Chinozo all the time" fine I'll talk about Chogakusei instead!
I think Chogakusei is in some sort of Hazbin Hotel arc, since his 3 latest covers have all been Hazbin songs. ignore the fact that two of them are actually the same song in different languages lol. the Japanese version of Poison is better btw Hazbin Hotel doesn't particularly interest me, I have no opinions on it either way, but it looks like the music is pretty good at least. So I don't mind. I actually hope he'll do a few more, it's a good change of pace from the usual Vocaloid covers.

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Can't believe there's only three weeks left in the semester. Probably because those three weeks are crammed full of deadlines and big projects .__. College kinda sucks lol.

 

[Dubious Disc]

On April 21st, 2024, Crusher's ECHO became the second Vocaloid song in history (and the first English Vocaloid song) to reach 100 million views! It took almost 10 years to reach this point... And I was there to see it happen :) As in, I was frantically reloading the page over and over to see the view count finally change lol
Honestly, this is really cool! ECHO was the first Vocaloid song I ever heard, it was a really big part of my middle school years (as it doubtless was for many others) and I have a lot of nostalgia for it. So it's exciting to see it finally reach this milestone.

I don't even remember when I first heard ECHO - I'm suspecting I might have been recommended it because I was watching a lot of Undertale content at the time, and if I recall correctly, there was a pretty popular animation that used ECHO as background music, so that might be how I found it. Either way, my edgy teen self really latched onto it, I remember listening to it for hours lol. That was the start of my very short English Vocaloid phase, during 2017 or thereabouts. I found a few other songs that I liked (Copycat, Last of Me, Karma, and MONSTER are the most iconic ones in my memory) and absolutely consumed them. Now I look back on all those songs very fondly, they always take me back when I listen to them. I think that only lasted a few months though, I kinda forgot about Vocaloid after that and I just started listening exclusively to Undertale remixes lol. ...and then six years later I stumbled upon Japanese Vocaloid and my entire taste in music was overthrown and rewritten. (That's where I am now. hello!)
All of this to say that I consider ECHO to be a very important part of my past! So yeah, I think it's awesome that ECHO of all songs has made history like this.

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Speaking of history-making Vocaloid music, Chinozo's new album is finally out c:

Overall, it's pretty good! It's got a lot of the songs I like. I was glad to see that one of the new songs had Kasane Teto, hopefully this means her appearance in follower of the crowd wasn't a one-off and we'll get to hear more of her in the future. Honestly though, my favorite of the new tracks is the alternate version of Goodbye Sengen - it was really cool to hear Chinozo's most iconic song revisited with the new Vocaloids that have joined the crew since then. It almost feels like we're hearing the song's character development lol.

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Miscellaneous rapid-fire about other new songs that released in the past week or so:

Spoiler

I'm the Rain by inabakumori - I will never say no to more rain-themed inabakumori songs c: It feels more energetic than the usual melancholy vibe you get from inabakumori, so that's a nice change. The animation in the MV is neat too.

Reversal by syudou - YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHH! FREAKING LOVE IT! It's always good to hear some upbeat syudou. Even though I didn't initially know it was another Tsukimichi opening, I could immediately tell from the beginning, like "wait this is just like Gambling!" Gambling is my favorite syudou song by far, so it was awesome hearing a song that's basically a partner to it. Loved seeing all the references, both in the MV and the lyrics. The characters look really cool, Ryuuseee's art never misses.

Wink by Azari and Rosu - I'm disappointed that the video has a normal title instead of being blank or mysteriously short lol. But woooooow, what a good song. The vocals are crazy good, the high pitch is so eerie and it fits the song's unsettling vibe perfectly. Overall a certified spooky Azari banger as always.

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I'm glad the weather is finally getting better, hopefully once classes are done I'll be able to spend more time outside.

 

[Dubious Disc]

When did May sneak up on us? I was writing today's date on something and I accidentally wrote April 31st instead of May 1st. Seriously, how is it May already?!

Thinking...
I think it's a little weird that I've never really found any fictional characters that I can relate to. Somehow, of all the characters I've come across, there hasn't been one that I can look at and think, "they're just like me." I don't really know why, though. Is it because of their personality not matching mine, or me not understanding their experiences, or something else? Sometimes I'll come across someone who seems relatable, but then they have some trait that's completely different and irreconcilable with my own being.

In terms of personality, it might be because most of my defining features (e.g. difficulty communicating, lack of friends, self-esteem issues, etc) are considered flaws, so any character who has those traits usually overcomes them by the end of the story. So if we have an outcast who doesn't fit in, for instance, I might relate to them at the start, but then they end up developing a tight-knit group of supportive friends and I grow to resent them instead. (This is why The Owl House hit a bit of a nerve near the end.) They live in an idealized story where everything has to work out, while real life isn't like that. I don't have a writer making sure that everything turns out right for me in the end.

Another thing that I think gets in the way is how introverted characters are often portrayed - like, I'm honestly tired of seeing shyness and social awkwardness depicted as something cute and endearing. Most shy characters I come across are shown as being soft and gentle and likable. I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing, but it's just so far from my own experience. My own social awkwardness isn't something cute, it's awkward. It's embarrassing. And I'm tired of seeing the things I dislike about myself romanticized and treated as something charming and likable. I just want to see an introverted, socially awkward character who isn't portrayed as a soft fragile little uwu bean.

Spoiler: tangent

Okay, I'm coming way out of left field with this one, but while writing the above I just remembered exactly one such character that I actually do kinda relate to, except it's from a somewhat unexpected source material lol. Even though Odd Squad (a PBS Kids show that's targeted toward elementary schoolers, but which I still unironically love even as a young adult) has been around since like 2014, I only started watching it a few years ago, and when I got to Season 2 I really resonated with Otis in particular - being introverted and socially awkward is pretty much the core of his personality, but it wasn't handled in an irritating way at all. It wasn't portrayed as something likable or something negative, it was just there, as a natural part of his character. I mean, it was played for laughs now and then, but not in a disparaging way. When I laughed it was usually because I recognized that I'd do the exact same thing in that situation, like "yeah I feel that lol." This might be because it's a kids show and its primary focus is teaching math, so it didn't go as in-depth with character development as a show aimed toward older audiences would have, but I honestly really appreciated how Otis was written. So yeah, looks like there actually is a fictional character I relate to, and it's a kid from a PBS Kids show of all things lmao. (I seriously do like Odd Squad though, something about its absurd humor really scratches my brain itch. It's a great show as long as you don't take it too seriously.)

Still, I wish there was some character from a video game or non-kid-centered TV show that I could relate to more. For instance, I don't relate to any Pokémon characters. I mean, maybe Pokémon isn't really the best example to use, but still, can't think of any game characters that are really like me. Maybe I'm just too picky, like I'm trying to find someone that's exactly like me with no differences, but those differences are what keep me from relating to them in the first place. So I don't really know. Whatever, I'm mostly rambling aimlessly at this point lol.

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Obligatory music-related stuff!!
I finally listened to all of Chogakusei's MARETU covers for the first time recently, and wooooooah they're insanely good!!! Honestly, I don't normally listen to MARETU - even though I really like their musical style with all the cool electronic stuff, their subject matter kinda weirds me out, so I've avoided them for the most part. But I've been listening to the Chogakusei covers on loop for days, his voice is awesome and it fits MARETU's style perfectly despite being pretty much the opposite of Hatsune Miku in every way imaginable.

Anyway, the timing on this was absolutely perfect, because it turns out that he's dropping a new MARETU cover tomorrow!! ...except the preview hints pretty strongly that it's Binomi, and I...don't like Binomi lol. I don't even like the instrumental, which is rare. Lyrics aside (which is a whole other weirdness), it's just too unsettling for me to listen to. Bit of a shame, since I really liked Dance of Life before it, but whatever. I trust that Chogakusei will be able to work his magic and make Binomi somewhat listenable

Kairiki Bear had a live show a few days ago, of course I had no way of seeing it but I hope it was cool!

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I wrote all of this when I was tired, and I haven't had the chance to reread and edit it 50 times like I usually do, so apologies for any incoherence or weirdness lol.

 

[Dubious Disc]

Yoooooo it's my first Bulbaversary!! Man, I can't believe it's already been a year since I joined. Sometimes it feels like I've been here forever, other times I feel like it's only been a week or so lol.

It feels weird looking back at my past self from a year ago, when my main interests were Kirby and Mega Man and I knew almost nothing about Vocaloid. And now I barely think about Kirby anymore, and Mega Man has kinda gone on the back burner too, in part because of circumstances beyond my control. In general it feels weird looking back at how my interests have evolved, especially since my taste is rather fickle and prone to suddenly changing before I know it.

I kinda wish I could have a normal relationship with my interests instead of constantly being bound by obsession and fixation. For some reason, I can't really take a superficial casual interest in things - either I'm completely apathetic toward it and don't care to engage with it at all, or it consumes my mind and thoughts and becomes my entire personality, leaving no room for anything else. And then sometimes I get burned out, and it feels like I have this void that I can't figure out how to fill, and then I get over it and the cycle begins again.

It's always a strange feeling when I realize that my main "phase" has shifted. It used to be Pokémon a few years ago, and then Kirby, and around the time I joined it was shifting to Mega Man. And then sometime during the summer I discovered Vocaloid, and at first it was just a minor interest, but then I started to fall further down the rabbit hole (ironically, I haven't actually listened to Rabbit Hole lol) and just a few months later I noticed that I wasn't really thinking about Mega Man anymore. And at first I felt kinda guilty about it, like "but I'm a Mega Man fan, right? That's what my whole thing is, isn't it?" It's only recently that I've finally accepted that my hyperfixation has changed. So at the moment I'm kinda indifferent toward the likes of Mega Man and Kirby - not that I don't like them, I'm still happy to see them, I'm just not as invested in them now. They're more part of my past than my present.

It's a little sad in a way, the fact that I stop caring about the things that used to define so much of me, but ultimately I usually lose interests like this because I ended up finding something I loved more, not because I started to dislike them. Like, I may not listen to video game music much anymore, but that void has been filled by the new music I've discovered. Chinozo occupies much the same place in my heart as Dreams of an Absolution and various Kirby tracks used to. So it's not a loss as much as a replacement. And if, at some point in the future, I start to disconnect from Vocaloid, I can always go back to VGM.

If anything, I guess this has taught me that it's okay to change. It's okay to dislike the things I used to like, or to like the things I used to not care about. I don't have to feel obligated to like something, or stick with the same interests forever. Maybe I'll stop liking Vocaloid too in future, or maybe I'll keep listening for years to come. Either way, it's okay.

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Oh yeah, I listened to the Binomi cover! I don't know whether it's because of Chogakusei's voice specifically or just the fact that it's a human vocal with more emotion, but somehow the cover was even more unsettling. Sometimes a good cover can save a song I don't like, but this wasn't it lol. Not saying it was bad, in terms of voice it's good as always, just that it didn't weird me out any less than the original. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Loved the earrings, though!!

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It's kinda annoying how these horizontal lines don't show up well on Grimergarden's dark background. Makes it look like the spacing between paragraphs is wonky :P

Gonna go watch some more Cardcaptor Sakura...I only have a few weeks to get through as much of it as possible before it leaves Netflix ;__; I'm sure I can find it at the library, but using Netflix is way easier than renting and watching DVD's so I'm gonna make the most of the time I've got. I've got like 40 episodes to go, aaaaaahh...

 

[Dubious Disc]

Whew, I'm finally back. Been away for a few weeks on vacation. It's been a while since I did any major traveling, so it was pretty stressful trying to adjust, but I toughed it out. I don't really have anything specific to talk about this time but some music things happened while I was gone, so I can annoy you with those :)

First of all: a new Hiiragi Kirai song!!! Let's goooo!! I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a Teto/Yuma duet instead of the usual flower, even though nothing beats Hiiragi Kirai's flower it's cool to see them branching out to other vocals. It's funny because the way they tune flower is iconic for how non-human it makes her sound, but their Teto and Yuma are completely on the other end of the spectrum with how realistic they are. Like, in their first Yuma song, I genuinely thought he was an actual human singer, I was so surprised to look through the comments and find out that he was actually a SynthV lol.
Anyway, I liked Bad Bird (or Bad Bard? could be either) a lot, even though I haven't really figured out its lore yet. I've watched the MV plenty of times already and still can't tell what the storyline is lol. But I'm not really skilled at Hiiragi Kirai lore in general so I'm not bothered ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It's still a catchy song whether or not I understand it.

New PinocchioP too! I liked Fake Meme as well, it's more chill than the hyper upbeat PinocchioP vibe that I like, but this was nice too. It's rather calming.

Can't forget Chogakusei either, of course... another Hazbin cover! This one I didn't vibe with as much, but I think it's because I don't know the context of the song. Stayed Gone seems to have a much closer connection to the storyline, so it didn't really make sense to me as someone who hasn't seen the show. The voice acting was really impressive, though!! It's neat to see that Chogakusei can do some cool speaking voices as well as singing.
The Dec. cover from the week before was really good too. I should listen to more Kanaria...
Super hyped for tomorrow, when we get to see his take on a certain 32ki song!!

I guess I should drop my two cents on After Epochs too, right? It's pretty good. Not something I'd listen to on the regular, but it's nice for what it is. I really like the animation too. In my tier list, I think I'll put it in "I vibe with it :)" tier.
I'm stoked for Kanaria's Project Voltage song! Even though I don't listen to Kanaria as much as I should, I like their style and I'm excited to see how they do a Pokémon song.

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Oh yeah, and Sushi Ramen Riku uploaded a new video! The experiment in this one was slightly more extreme and unhinged than usual, but I still enjoyed it. As someone with hay fever it was honestly quite horrifying seeing how much pollen those cedar trees produce, like you can literally see the clouds of pollen floating out of the forest! there was so much of it!! I'm glad they replanted new trees in the end, I get that they had to reduce the risk of an actual wildfire but still, it did hurt my conscience a bit seeing them cut so many trees down. Although it was kind of cathartic seeing them blow up all that pollen lol.
(This probably sounds so confusing without the context of the video lmao)

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I'm almost done with Cardcaptor Sakura!! I've got 3 episodes left, I think I might be able to finish it today actually!

 

[lisianthus]

Stopping by, I hope that's fine! If not, please let me know and I'll delete this to keep the peace.

Just wanting to say I hope you enjoy the rest of CCS! I've been meaning to head down to my library here and read Clear Card... the anime for that is only 22 episodes, so maybe I can get through it ehehe. (can't watch lengthy anime) And Sushi Ramen Riku! I'm an infrequent viewer of his (the 'hiding in a refrigerator' one sticks in my head a lot LOL), that seems like an interesting video topic! Better look myself, then~.

 

[Dubious Disc]

Stopping by, I hope that's fine! If not, please let me know and I'll delete this to keep the peace.

Hello hi! It's totally fine, thanks for visiting

Just wanting to say I hope you enjoy the rest of CCS! I've been meaning to head down to my library here and read Clear Card... the anime for that is only 22 episodes, so maybe I can get through it ehehe. (can't watch lengthy anime)

wait...there's more? I've only seen Clow Card and Sakura Card on Netflix, is there more anime that I'm missing? :0

And Sushi Ramen Riku! I'm an infrequent viewer of his (the 'hiding in a refrigerator' one sticks in my head a lot LOL), that seems like an interesting video topic! Better look myself, then~.

this actually made me go rewatch the fridge video lol, the hiding in the ceiling/wall/fridge trilogy is a classic

 

[lisianthus]

wait...there's more? I've only seen Clow Card and Sakura Card on Netflix, is there more anime that I'm missing? :0

クリアカード編！She's in junior high in this one I think, and it's a sequel to the original series. Pretty recent, only from like ~10 years ago, and still by CLAMP of course! So I have high hopes for it as well...

this actually made me go rewatch the fridge video lol, the hiding in the ceiling/wall/fridge trilogy is a classic

THERE'S MORE???? I remember him mentioning the wall one but I'm going to watch the ones I missed LOL. o/

 

[Dubious Disc]

Is maintenance finally over? good, I can get this posted before going to sleep lol

throws a low-pitched Mesmerizer your way!

Spoiler

(the earrings in this one are really cool too)

I actually didn't really vibe with Mesmerizer at first, I thought it was overrated, but it's grown on me lately. I've come to enjoy its hyper energy.
Tomorrow's cover is a DECO*27 song but I don't listen to Deco so I don't really have anything to anticipate this time :P

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We got a new Ado song! Didn't expect MIRROR to have such a chill vibe, but honestly I really like it. It's very calming.
I keep telling myself I need to listen to more Ado, but somehow I've never gotten around to it. I've mostly only listened to her more popular songs and then the collabs she's done with producers I like (specifically Rebellion and Lucky Bruto, by Chinozo and Hiiragi Kirai respectively). Currently my favorite is Readymade, but that could change if I find something I like better.
I was actually really surprised by how much I liked Lucky Bruto lol. Especially since the MV has some horror stuff which I generally have a very low tolerance for, but here I just found it cool. It's a creepy-sounding song even by Hiiragi Kirai standards, but I do like how unsettling it feels, and the vocals really add to the spooky atmosphere.
And Rebellion! Honestly, if I didn't already know Rebellion was a Chinozo song, I don't think I would have recognized it as one lol. Lucky Bruto pretty much screams Hiiragi Kirai, but Rebellion is a bit different from Chinozo's usual style, it's more intense and dramatic. Although I guess some of that intensity does come from Ado's singing. If anything, I'd have recognized it from the lyrics (the "wowow"s are a dead giveaway lol) rather than the instrumental. But it still has the feel-good energy that Chinozo brings to every song, and that's what matters.

I'm a Controversy is good too. Slightly ashamed of myself for not recognizing PinocchioP's style lol. Backlight is super cool. Gira Gira is very nice. idk that's about the extent of my opinions right now, stay tuned for when I get around to listening to more. Whenever that ends up being.

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Forgot to mention last time that I changed my profile theme to Newton Dance! It's a collab song between NayutalieN and Chinozo, and it was how I discovered Chinozo in the early days/weeks/months of my Vocaloid phase, so it's very important to my lore even though I don't listen to NayutalieN as much anymore. Also it's a banger.
(Edit: and then I changed my theme the day after :P)

Still listening to Bad Bird, I don't think a song has gotten this thoroughly stuck in my brain since Overlook lol.

Oh yeah I finished Cardcaptor Sakura too! I don't think I understood everything in the finale, but that's what I get for being stubborn and refusing to put the subs in English. Ideally I'd be able to have both English and Japanese subs on screen :P Anyway it was pretty good. Didn't leave me feeling disappointed or unfulfilled, which is rare for an ending.

 

[Dubious Disc]

This week marks two years since I graduated! And I still haven't adjusted properly to college since
Even though college was kind of a scary prospect, being in a whole different environment away from all the classmates I had known for years, a part of me was kinda excited for it too, all the pamphlets and websites manage to make college look like a super cool fun experience. I thought maybe I'd finally break out of my shell and get to know new people as well as expanding my skills and trying new things. But no :) Sure, I've learned new artistic skills and all, but has college been any fun at all? Honestly, not really. In some ways it's an improvement over high school (mostly quality-of-life things like not having to navigate crowded hallways, being able to eat lunch in a peaceful environment, it being somewhat less of a big deal if you're late, etc), but I can't say I've really had a good time, not like everyone around me or the idealized student groups you see in all the marketing photos.

The biggest thing is that college just feels really lonely. I missed my opportunity to make friends with people before they all got attached to each other without any room for anyone new, so I don't have any sort of social life here; everyone is too busy with each other. Pretty much everyone in my year is part of this interconnected network that basically formed without me even realizing. Plus I don't live on campus, so that's another degree of social disconnection. I just go to class and then come back home, I can't usually stick around for all the events and stuff. I guess college might be more fun if you've made a bunch of friends to do fun stuff with, but when you're just one shy loser who doesn't fit in and can barely talk to anyone anyway, there isn't really a lot to enjoy.

Even my classes themselves have gotten kinda stale. There's been a few here and there that I enjoyed and learned from, but with so many of them I just feel like I haven't been able to put my heart into my work, like I've just been trying to get this project over with and move on to the next one. I'm studying graphic design currently, which I initially enjoyed, but I think recently it's started to lose its appeal. Maybe it's just burnout, maybe it's the fact that all my graphic design classes have been project after project without a lot of actual design-related instruction, maybe it's my lack of confidence in my abilities, I don't know.

There's been a few times where I've felt like I don't even want to do graphic design, it's just my only choice because it's what I'm least bad at. Like there's not really anything else I can imagine studying or doing as a career. I like linguistics, but only casually, and I feel like studying it formally would just take all the enjoyment out of it. I used to like math in high school, but I've stopped liking it since - I like reading about mathematical topics, but actually doing math myself doesn't appeal to me anymore. At some point I considered studying Japanese, since a lot of my family is Japanese and I'm admittedly embarrassed about my rather shaky grip on both the language and culture, but due to various circumstances it ended up not being feasible. Ultimately I'm just stuck with what I've chosen, I have no other options.

So basically, I've spent the past two years very lonely, studying something I've gradually started losing interest in, losing my confidence. I get good grades, but somehow I feel like that isn't enough.

---

Wow, how negative I'm being! How about some good news? Chinozo is working on a new song!! He shared a short in-progress clip a few days ago and it sounds pretty good already, it's got a catchy beat kinda like Shamer. I know it's probably too early to speculate about vocals but I'm hoping this one is with Teto, it's been almost a year since her last MV. Still waiting for another self cover too, whenever that happens...

Hmmm... nothing else music-related really happened this week. Nothing important to me personally, anyway. I've been listening to some Guchiry, I guess?

KICK BACK keeps getting stuck in my head lately. (I have never seen Chainsaw Man.)

 

[Dubious Disc]

Having recently made the decision to join Art Fight this year, I've had OC's on my mind. Even though I technically have a lot of OC's, they mostly only exist in half-finished universes and stories, and most of them don't have designs beyond my hazy mental images of them, so I don't really count them as fully established characters. They're more like concepts than characters.

Anyway, I actually do have some Pokémon OC's, most of whom are from the same continuity. The ones I think about most are a quartet of Trainers from Johto - initially they were just side characters in a larger story, but I liked them so much that I gave them the main focus lol. Initially it started because I was working on a story involving my universe's version of Brendan, whom I named Terry - at some point, I was thinking about how the Hoenn protag moved from Johto, and I thought it would be interesting to think more about what Terry's life was like before he moved. So eventually his friend group came into existence:

• Elliot, an aspiring Pokémon Breeder who helps out at his family's Day Care on the outskirts of Ecruteak City. He was Terry's closest friend and looked up to him a lot, and essentially became the leader of the friend group after Terry moved away.
• March, a Steel-type Trainer with a flair for the dramatic. In the current day (about four years after Terry moves to Hoenn) she sometimes works as a Gym Trainer at the Olivine Gym.
• Chase, a Trainer and Pokéathlete who likes so many things that she can't really figure out the one thing she most wants to do.
• Van, a serious Ace Trainer who's constantly trying to improve himself, although it usually leads to him subjecting himself to unrealistic expectations and intense pressure.

They're nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary happens to them, and that's kinda the point. Terry is off in Hoenn having Pokémon protagonist adventures and becoming Champion and whatnot, but these four are just some random nobody Trainers in Johto leading normal lives.
I've spent a few years working their designs out. I first tried to draw them in 2021, but it wasn't until 2023 that I made an effort to actually finalize their designs, and then again I had to fix some things recently when I was drawing out their refs.

Their lore, though, that's when things get complicated. With all my characters I find that I'm constantly changing things about them, tweaking their dynamics, giving them different traits, so they're always shifting in my mind. And when I try to write stuff about them, it feels like I'm locking them down, like I'm carving those traits into stone and I can't change them anymore if I find something that works better.

I'd like to tell their story sometime. It's all just in my head right now, but I do want to explore all their stories and relationships, all the stuff that goes on among and around them. It's difficult figuring out how, though. All four of them (five if we count Terry, which I guess we have to) have a slightly different story, so how do I tell all of them? And where do I start? They don't have any overarching plot or storyline, they're just living ordinary lives where stuff occasionally happens. There's no strict "beginning" or "end". Do I start when Elliot and Terry first met when they were six? Do I start when Terry moves away, and then go backward to show how we got there, and then skip forward to where we are now? Or do I start in the present and work backward through flashbacks? It's not one continuous story, it's more like a series of scenes or vignettes that are only loosely connected, so I don't necessarily have to start "here" and end "there".

I'm not much of a writer, so I don't know how much of this I'd be able to put into practice, anyway. The only thing I've written so far is one scene from Terry's point of view, the first night after he moves to Hoenn, and it's mostly a collection of his confused feelings about being far away from the life he's always known up until now. It does mention his friends, but only really briefly to give the tiniest hint of what their vibes are. I wrote it in one afternoon on my phone while I was bored on vacation, so I don't know how well-written it is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Everything else just lives in my head, I haven't gotten any of it into writing.

It's weird that I haven't really figured out their Pokémon teams yet, either. I know Terry's, but for everyone else I only know their starter and maybe one or two mon. At least with March I have a place to start, since she's a type specialist, but I still haven't gotten around to building anyone else's team. The Pokémon don't really play a large part in their story, I think they're influenced more by the elements of the Pokémon world (e.g. earning gym badges, becoming champion, different Pokémon-related careers) than by the Pokémon themselves.

Man, it's weird. Like, I know exactly what they're like in my head, I know exactly how they interact with each other and what they like and don't like, how they'd react to any situation, but it always feels so weird trying to solidify that feeling into something concrete like art or words. I feel like no matter what I draw or write, it won't exactly match the image in my head. And maybe that's normal, as an artist I know all too well that sometimes you can never get something to look as good as it does in your head. So maybe I shouldn't worry about it.

Ask me questions about them if you'd like!

---

Obligatory music section! Putting it under the spoiler to save space.

Spoiler

Haven't heard anything new about Chinozo's next song, but this week he released another set of LINE stamps with characters from his music videos and they're all so cute!! Since I live in America I don't really have much use for LINE, but I love looking through LINE stamps, they always have so much charm.

Chogakusei is doing an anime OP next month, which is pretty neat. Hopefully this week he covers something I like, the past two songs have just been stuff I'm not particularly attached to. Not that they weren't good (I'm listening to the ALWAYS BE WITH YOU XD cover on loop as I write this), just that I hadn't heard of them so I had nothing to be excited about beforehand. It was cool seeing a collab last week, although I generally prefer when he duets with feminine voices, I feel like the contrast sounds better than when they both sound similar.

Gero unexpectedly covered something too! I'm not really a big fan of Cute Girlfriend in its original form, even though it's one of syudou's most popular songs, but I've liked most of the covers I've heard. So I was happy to see Gero's version.

I finally listened to Hizumi Rei's speedcore Under Construction remixes after seeing them in my recommended several times, and woooooooah they go so crazy!! I guess I should have expected it from something called "speedcore", but I love how fast and intense they get, it's so much fun to listen to. I particularly appreciate their dedication to Hiiragi Kirai, like how the Eva/Bocca della Verità/Autophagy remixes all reference each other and how they also work with some of Hiiragi Kirai's lesser known songs instead of just the popular ones. (And right now they're working on a remix of Faraway, which is one of my favorites!) There's a Goodbye Sengen remix in there too, I always like seeing Chinozo mentioned :)

Sou has a new original song out but I haven't listened to it enough to determine if I like it or not :P

---

全部読んだありがとう! This was a long one, sorry lol.
It's been so hot out lately, usually I like going outside but now it's too uncomfortable to stay out for too long. I wish it would rain a bit...

 

[escolopendror]

Woo! I'm so glad that you're participating this year ^^ I have a lot of forum users on my hitlist now ;)

Their lore, though, that's when things get complicated. With all my characters I find that I'm constantly changing things about them, tweaking their dynamics, giving them different traits, so they're always shifting in my mind. And when I try to write stuff about them, it feels like I'm locking them down, like I'm carving those traits into stone and I can't change them anymore if I find something that works better.

I can relate to this. I'm not someone who tends to write their characters down, I always feel quite... embarassed? about it. They never turn out to be just as good as how they are in my head. I also tend to make changes to my characters quite often. Well, it's a trend for me to update all my references for Artfight (quite tedious I might say, but I can't help it!).
Something, something, 'kill your darlings'... I think that if something doesn't work out, it's okay to change it! Why being 'consistent' if that drags you down?

Man, it's weird. Like, I know exactly what they're like in my head, I know exactly how they interact with each other and what they like and don't like, how they'd react to any situation, but it always feels so weird trying to solidify that feeling into something concrete like art or words. I feel like no matter what I draw or write, it won't exactly match the image in my head. And maybe that's normal, as an artist I know all too well that sometimes you can never get something to look as good as it does in your head. So maybe I shouldn't worry about it.

I feel like any artist feels like this at one point (what can I say, I feel this all the time haha). That last sentence is very true. In my opinion, even if something doesn't quite turn out to be exactly what you thought it would be, you gotta keep pushing. You gotta reach the finish line. And, like I said, there's no shame in remaking and changing stuff if you don't like what you have.
Good luck this July! Stepping outside of your confort zone SUCKS but sometimes it's what you need ^^

(PD. Oh man, I can relate with the heat... here it never drops below 30ºC (86ºF) in summer, ugh. The sun is a deadly laser X( )

 

[Dubious Disc]

Another week, another post. Been working hard on drawing refs for my Reploid OC's so I can have them done before July starts. I probably should be looking forward to July, what with Art Fight starting and all, but I also have a major dental procedure during the first week so that does kinda dampen my enthusiasm On the bright side, I'm supposed to relax and take it easy for a few days afterward while I recover, so I have an excuse to laze around and draw all day lol. I mean, that's pretty much what I already do, but this way it'll be justified.

Hard to believe June is almost over already... my summer break is almost halfway over. I still have July and most of August, but I can't help feeling like I've been wasting this summer. Like I should be going out and doing cool stuff, instead of just chilling around all the time. I'm trying to spend time outside, although with the heat and bright sun it's not really that easy. At least the next few weeks are shaping up to be a bit more bearable, we've even gotten some rain lately.

I went roller skating around the neighborhood the other day and it suddenly started raining, so I had to turn around and go back home. But I had an umbrella with me, so it wasn't really a big deal - it was actually a lot of fun lol. I think what made it more fun was how unexpected it was, like I'd probably never intentionally skate in the rain, so this was something that could only happen by chance. Life just randomly threw a new, rare experience at me and I made the most of it.

But still, I can't shake the feeling that I'm just wasting every day. You hear about people doing all sorts of things in summer and having all sorts of plans and whatnot, but for the most part I just find myself doing the same thing every day with very little variety. I just go through each day and before I realize it, a whole month is gone. My summer just hasn't been feeling like how a summer is supposed to feel.

I did go on vacation in May, I came back almost exactly a month ago, but honestly my feelings on that were kinda mixed - I didn't like it when I was there, my extended family was annoying and I found it really difficult to adjust to the environment. I had kind of a tough time and the whole time I was there I kept counting the days until I got home and got back to my ordinary familiar life. And yet, now that I'm back home, a part of me almost wishes I was there again, because at least it was something different, you know? Something out of the ordinary, not just the exact same daily cycle over and over.

I guess the problem is that when I think about places I'd rather be, I tend to focus on the positive things and overlook all the stuff I didn't like. Like when I was on vacation, all I could think about was the things from home that I missed. And now that I'm home, I find myself wanting to be somewhere else again, and I have to remind myself that there were plenty of things that I didn't like. Or, looking at it a bit differently, me wishing I was back in high school where I was more comfortable and surrounded by people and things I knew, while forgetting how much I hated about it.

I wish I could be happy where I am, instead of constantly being plagued by notions of what things could or should be like.

---

On a related note, I'm trying to get comfortable with the idea that dwelling on good stuff from the past might be holding me back. Like, instead of trying to hold on to a memory of some event or person that I know I'll never get back, it might be better to let it go. It might have made me happy before, but I feel like thinking too much about those things from the past is getting in the way of the present. If that makes sense. I don't think I'm expressing myself very well, lol. But recently I've been replaying memories and thinking, "yeah, sure it's a good memory, but it also makes me feel bad that I'll never see them or do that thing again." Like if thinking about the past makes me feel worse about the present, I should stop trying to live in the past and just move on, accept that I'll never get those experiences back.

I don't really know if any of this makes sense lol. It's just some stuff that's been in my head lately.

---

We got another preview of Chinozo's new song!! This time it's got some of the vocals, and I was right, it is Teto! (and what sounds like some tiny samples of Chinozo's own voice, which is also cool!) With the vocals added it sounds even more like Shamer, I hope they end up having similar vibes. I've been wanting another song with that bouncy yet laid-back feel.

I started this post feeling all down about how I've been wasting my summer, but talking about Chinozo ended up cheering me up lol. idk there's just something about Chinozo that always makes me happy.

Finally theming ECHO! My avi really just went from happy GUMI to sad GUMI lol.


(next-day edit because I just saw that Ado is collabing with MARETU!! woooooah I'm hyped! this is gonna be so cool!! I'm gonna try and catch the premiere :D )

 

[Dubious Disc]

Guess who's recovering from oral surgery :'D I got my wisdom teeth out a few days ago. I'm pretty sure everything is healing alright, but I still haven't been able to eat much, and the lack of fuel is starting to make me feel weak and unwell. My body needs real energy from real food, but all I have is squishy foods and stuff cut into tiny pieces

At least Art Fight is giving me something to do! I might not have the energy to go around doing stuff (and I'm technically still in the "avoid physical activity for a few days" period), but at least I can still draw lol. I've been pretty productive - I got four attacks out, just finished a fifth that I still need to submit, and I'm currently in progress on a revenge and some bookmarks. I'm still working on multiple pieces at once, that way if I get stuck on one I can switch to a different one until the motivation comes back.

I'm particularly excited to draw all the Mega Man characters I've bookmarked, it'll be fun to draw a whole bunch of new robots instead of just the same ones over and over lol.

---

Music time!! New songs aplenty!

RuLe (the previously mentioned Ado/MARETU collab) was so good! That raw maniacal rage it radiates is incredible, nobody but Ado could pull off that kind of sound. As much as I like the calmer songs like MIRROR and Gira Gira, Ado's angry vocals will always be my favorite. The instrumental was cool too, the electronic sound was characteristic MARETU all the way.

I forgot to mention this last time, but syudou dropped a new song recently too! It's got a different energy from most of his original work, but I still like the vibes, it has kind of a chill summery feel. Like something you'd listen to on the radio while driving on a summer night with the windows down. To be fair, it's literally called Love Trip Summer, so it's supposed to have a summer vibe. Yeah, it's a love song, but whatever. If it's catchy enough, I don't mind that much.

We also got... YAMADA PERFECT? a... sequel to Konton Boogie?? (I'm so confused by this lol, it feels so weird) It appears to be based on a few specific lines in Konton Boogie, and the two songs are structured almost exactly the same. idk maybe this is just a general "sequels inferior" sentiment, but I don't really vibe with YAMADA PERFECT at the moment. :P I guess it sounds good on its own, but I can't help feeling like it just sounds like an off-brand version of Konton Boogie. Like, it doesn't do anything that the original song doesn't do better. Maybe it'll grow on me in the future, but for now I'm sticking to Konton Boogie. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The new anime OP that Chogakusei did is out too. It's alright, I think? There's some parts that are really good, but also some parts that I don't totally vibe with. Maybe with the actual visuals from the anime it'd be better idk.
Shoutout to his Nightmare Restaurant cover though, it was really good c:

Sou's next song on his album is a collab with NayutalieN! I actually first discovered Sou through his NayutalieN cover album, so it's kinda neat to see them working together again.

Also, I just learned that KANKAN is gonna be featured in a version of this latest anipoke ending theme?? Man, Horizons is getting a lot of music that appeals specifically to me... first Chinozo, then Giga and TeddyLoid and the FAKE TYPE. guy whose name I can't spell, and now one of my favorite singers! Honestly, KANKAN's voice would be a really good fit for Pokémon music, I'm excited to see how their version turns out.

---

Anyway, here's hoping I can get back to eating regular food soon .__. I'll need to keep my energy up if I'm gonna be drawing all month without burning out.

 

[Dubious Disc]

(Mii Channel music circulates around my head)

I wonder whether I'll get to 1k posts or 1500 reactions first? Maybe I'll get both at the same time lol.

Anyway, I'm feeling much better compared to last time! My gums have been healing very well, and I'm more or less back to eating normally now, so I've gotten most of my strength back. I would have recovered quicker if it wasn't for some other side effects that got in the way, but right now I'm on the mend and in fairly good spirits.

For a while I didn't even have the energy to draw, but now that I'm finally feeling up to it I've been getting back into the art fight. Trying to slow myself down a little so I don't start too much and get overwhelmed, though. I draw pretty fast when I'm in the zone, but when I burn out I really burn out.

---

Not a lot of music stuff this time. I totally forgot that Ado's new album was releasting, I guess I just had too much on my mind :P Most of my favorites are on the first album, but this one has Rebellion and I'm a Controversy so at least there's some stuff I like. And Show, can't forget Show.

Theming KAFU now because she's one of my favorite vocal synths. Alongside Kasane Teto SV she's probably tied for third place after flower and GUMI.

---

idk I didn't really have anything specific to say this time, I mostly just wanted to drop in and give a quick update that I'm doing better now.

 

[Dubious Disc]

I guess I'll reach 1500 reactions first :P Makes sense, I don't really post that frequently.
Anyway, I'm sick again It's just the common cold, caught it from a family member, but still it sucks. like ugh just let me feel okay already T__T And it means I can't go out anywhere cause I keep coughing all over the place.

---

I spent most of last week feeling really miserable, but it was very slightly eased by hype. Because Chogakusei covered RuLe and it was peak. Angry Ado vocals are peak, angry Chogakusei vocals are also peak. He managed to perfectly capture all the screaming rage of the original while still adding his own vibe, and it makes for such a good listen. (and now it just makes me want an Usseewa cover even more lol) I also really like how the MV has a MARETU-style word cloud at the last chorus, it's a pretty cool reference.
I just realized it's been almost 2 months since he's covered a Vocaloid song, as opposed to one with a human singer. That doesn't really mean anything, it's just something I noticed.

PinocchioP gave us a new song recently as well! UTuber was... just okay. Not my favorite. I'm always a bit iffy about social-commentary songs like this, but this one is just too on-the-nose for my taste. It's not really even catchy enough to listen to without thinking about the lyrics. So yeah, this one wasn't for me

WHAT ABOUT KANARIA'S PROJECT VOLTAGE SONG, THOUGH?! I was not disappointed!! It does bother me a bit that the Cynthia intro is kinda long, but the song itself goes so hard. The rhythm, the sound effects, the Pokémon cries, the lyrics referencing the different Pokémon, all of it comes together so well. (Also, in the defeat message at the end, the player is named ああああ which is literally just "AAAA" and I think that's funny.)
Even though the original songs are officially done I'm glad they're still doing more Project Voltage stuff, looking forward to the remixes. I don't care much about iyowa either way but I do like inabakumori and I've had positive experiences with inabakumori remixes in the past, so I'm fairly optimistic. In the meantime, I'm going to put all my effort into summoning a Giga remix!! PinocchioP would be cool too, I was a bit let down by their song so I hope they'd bring the more energetic electronic style that I was initially looking forward to. I wouldn't say no to more Kairiki Bear either. Giga is my #1 desperate hope though.

I totally forgot that Sou's album was releasing as well .__. somehow I thought it would be a few months later. But I don't really care. I've always preferred Sou's covers to his original music, apart from the ones done by producers I like.

---

Man, I've been so exhausted these past few days. Like, I've put conscious effort into trying to eat enough and get enough sleep (not sure whether I'm succeeding, but I'm trying), but somehow I always feel like I'm running on empty. It might just be from being sick or stressed, but my anxiety tends to misconstrue even the most innocent symptoms, like "what if this excessive fatigue is a sign of something wrong??" To be fair, my mind does this every time something even slightly out of the ordinary happens to my body, so this is nothing new. It's tiring though, I can't seem to tell the difference between what's normal and what's wrong.

Sushi Ramen Riku has a new video out but I haven't watched it yet. Seems to be about some MrBeast challenge, so I'm not particularly interested, but I'll watch it all the same when I have time.

Why did YouTube randomly change the community tab to be called "posts" instead? What was wrong with community? Kinda bothers me how YouTube is prone to making random annoying UI changes, like removing the About tab and rounding all the corners. I hate rounded corners and I wish people would stop using them, they're just so much less clean.

 

[Dubious Disc]

"The 'IT'S TOO HOT!!' Song" by Karameru
(happy belated birthday to Karameru, one of my favorite Internet Funny Guys)​

uwaaaaaah it's too hot out I want to go out and do stuff outside but it's too freaking hot! And even when it isn't hot, it's either rainy or humid and muggy so I still can't stay outside. At least my cough is finally gone, so I can go shopping or something if I want, or stop by my local library again.
Happy August! Art Fight is oveeeeer. I had a pretty good time, so I definitely made the right decision participating. Looking forward to next year already c: In the meantime, I can go back to not knowing what to draw lol.

---

Anyway I've been trying to do more writing stuff to expand my OC's more. Shoutout to @carpology for sending me a long list of character questions, I've been using a random number generator to pick different ones for each character. It's interesting how some of the answers immediately came to me, while for others I really had to sit and think. Clearly there's still a lot about my own characters that I don't know lol.

These are what I've done so far, 5 questions for each.

Spoiler: Elliot

What’s something that makes them laugh every single time? Be specific!
For the record, it is super easy to get Elliot to laugh. Puns, funny pictures, shenanigans from the Day Care mon, there's hundreds of things that can always get a laugh out of him. If I have to be specific, though... transformed Ditto with the :] face. People often leave Ditto at the Day Care and whenever he unexpectedly sees them transformed with the silly face he always loses it.

How often do they show their genuine emotions to others versus just the audience knowing?
It really depends on what the emotion is and who he's with. Generally he's pretty open about how he feels, but will consistently avoid expressing anything too negative toward another person. Like, if he's around someone and he finds them annoying, he won't show it at all, but it'll be very clear in his internal monologue.

How do they greet someone they like?
Hugs, high fives, fist bumps, etc.

Do they act on their immediate emotions, or do they wait for the facts before acting?
Elliot's first instinct is to act on his emotions, but he's usually able to restrain himself until he gets a better idea of what's happening. Not always, though, if he gets really good or bad news it can make him rather reckless.

What’s the lie your character says most often?
"No problem" when he in fact does have a problem. As I alluded to above, Elliot usually doesn't say when something is bothering him.

Spoiler: March

What would they do if stuck in a room with the person they’ve been avoiding?
March isn't really the kind of person to avoid someone; usually she's the one being avoided lol. That said, I think she'd try her absolute hardest to ignore them completely if they try to engage her. She would fail, of course, because March sucks at ignoring people. It's not in her nature.

What do they tell people they want? What do they actually want?
March tells people she wants to be strong, memorable, well-liked, etc. and while all that is true, what she really wants is for everything to go her way, and to only be surrounded by the things she likes. She knows it isn't possible, but it doesn't stop her from trying.

What fact do they excitedly tell everyone about at every opportunity?
She likes to brag about the time she met Lance, when he was visiting the Olivine Gym on League business. They didn't really interact at all, but she likes to play it up as a big deal.

What hobby are they good at in private, but bad at in front of others? Why?
Skateboarding, roller skating, and generally anything involving wheels. In front of others, she's much more inclined to show off and try something beyond her skill level, so she messes up more often than when she's just doing it on her own.

What’s a simple daily activity / motion that they mess up often?
Listening to people without interrupting them. Also, if she's making something that involves adding hot water to a mix, like oatmeal or instant ramen, there's about an 80% chance that she'll mess it up in some way, whether it's adding too much or not enough water, not boiling the water enough, somehow accidentally using vinegar instead of water, etc. March can cook more complex things with ease, but somehow the "add hot water and wait 3 minutes" type recipes always defeat her.

Spoiler: Chase

What’s the worst gift they ever received? How did they respond?
Chase used to be afraid of Bug-types when she was a kid (she got over it eventually, partly because she got used to being around March's Scyther/Scizor). When she was about five, an extended family member gifted her a Ledyba plush that absolutely freaked her out, and she started crying right in front of them. It still embarrasses her to think about.

If invited to a TED Talk, what topic would they present on? What would the title of their presentation be?
"Why You Suck at Mario Kart"
Starts out as racing game advice and gradually devolves into a metaphor-filled discourse on self-confidence.

How do they greet someone they dislike / hate?
I'm having a hard time imagining Chase disliking someone lol. If she really didn't like someone, I don't think she would greet them at all, just kinda look at them sideways and refuse to acknowledge them.

What belief / moral / personality trait do they stand by that you personally don’t agree with?
Making friends is easy, people are inherently trustworthy, and all of DECO*27's music is good.

Would they eat something they find gross to be polite?
Probably. While Chase likes to mess with people, she tries to not be rude or offend them.

*disclaimer: I don't actually think Deco is bad, they just aren't my vibe lol. this was just for the joke. some of their songs are okay

Spoiler: Van

How loose is their use of the phrase ‘I love you’?
No. Van is extremely restrained when it comes to emotional expression. Even among family members, he's not really at ease expressing love.

If someone was impersonating them, what would friends/family ask or do to tell the difference?
Ask him to recite the intro of his favorite podcast, or what any one randomly chosen episode number is about. He's listened to it so many times that he's pretty much memorized every episode.

What do they feel guilty for that the other person doesn’t even remember?
Getting too much change from the Poké Mart one time and not doing anything about it.

Are they a listener or a talker? If they’re a listener, what makes them talk? If they’re a talker, what makes them listen?
Van is 100% a listener, hence his habit of constantly listening to podcasts. Aside from asking or answering direct questions, he mostly talks if he has something he deems really worth saying. He's annoyed by random stories and small talk that doesn't really matter (this is where he gives a long, pointed stare at March), so he makes sure that everything he has to say is something important, not just talking for talking's sake.
Also, if you say something wrong about a subject he knows a lot about, he will instantly jump in and correct you.

Did they take a cookie from the cookie jar? What kind of cookie was it?
Probably not, he's not really a fan of sweets. Anyway, his conscience doesn't let him do stuff like sneaking cookies.

I should probably do these for Terry, too, since he's technically still part of the story...

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Subject change. So, as I mentioned on my profile a while back, I recently found out that Gero and Meychan's YouTube channel is going on hiatus, specifically because Meychan himself is going on hiatus. I actually haven't been watching them for very long, only a few months or so, and I've really only scratched the surface of all their content (the main and sub channels combined have over 900 videos, and I've only watched like 30 of them lol), but I can't pretend it isn't a little sad to see them go. I guess it doesn't hurt as much as it could, since I haven't been around there for a long time, but it's easy to tell that they've built up a big community and made a lot of memories over the years, so I can see how it'd be difficult to say goodbye. It's been fun watching their chaos and friendship, and getting to see more of their personalities. I tend to feel a little intimidated by the creators I like because of how skilled they are, so it's good to be reminded that they're still human and might be bad at stuff like Mario Kart or basic math.
Anyway, I wish them and their team the best, and I hope Meychan gets the rest he deserves. In the meantime, I'll keep on listening to their music and gradually chipping away at their massive pile of videos. As someone who isn't super proficient in Japanese, I don't always understand everything they say, but I generally get enough to follow what's going on.

As usual, it's Disc's Vocaloid (And Other Relevant Music) News Time, under the spoiler to avoid post longness:

Spoiler

Gero has some kind of announcement stream tomorrow, I'd tune in but it's a bit inconvenient for my time zone :P Maybe I can at least catch the last half of it or something.

Interesting to see that Young Girl A has surpassed ECHO in views. It's still got a long ways to go until it catches up to Goodbye Sengen though, they're still around 25 million views apart. I'm not sure what the next closest song to 100M is... I think Aishite Aishite Aishite and Kyoufuu All Back are both pretty close, they're both around the 95M mark. (Which is funny because Aishite is from 2015 while Kyoufuu only released last year.) Honestly, it's realistically possible for Kyoufuu to reach 100M even faster than Goodbye Sengen, which took a little over two years.

We got a new song from NayutalieN, surprisingly! I think it's related to Project Sekai somehow, and for the first time in NayutalieN history (afaik) it uses Kagamine Rin alongside the usual Hatsune Miku. idk, it's really kinda just okay. I'm still more used to Nayutan's older music. I don't even listen to them much anymore, just for the nostalgia. They were a good starting point, but I've branched out since then.

We also got a new song from Fushi! I've never mentioned Fushi here, since I only discovered them relatively recently, but they make cool rock music with GUMI and they've already become one of my favorite producers. This new song is called Unluck! It's an official demo song for GUMI's new voicebank and it instantly became one of my favorite songs from the first listen. It's a banger, I highly recommend it c:

Chinozo did a collab with McDonald's lol. It's a Goodbye Sengen parody about some kind of cheese/bacon(?)/potato pie that they're advertising. I guess the best way I can describe it is cringe, but in an endearing way. flower singing the McDonald's jingle at the end was funny, though.
PetaPeta only has about 50k views until it reaches a million! It's one of the few (post-Goodbye Sengen) Chinozo songs that has under a million views, which is a shame cause it's one of my favorites. It's really fun and upbeat, plus it's relatable since it's essentially about gifted kid burnout.

Kudos if you actually read everything lmao. This was another long one. This is what I get for not posting last week, I end up overloaded with things to write about lol.
Just a few weeks until my third year of college starts... I have no more expectations, frankly. I've lost all hope that this year might be different. Whatever, it can't be helped.

 

[Dubious Disc]

CHINOZO'S NEW SONG IS HERE!!! LET'S GOOOOOO

sorry about taking up a bunch of space with another embedded video lol... i wish there was a way to change the size of this thing​

Very glad to finally be hearing it in its entirety, rather than just looping the first 15 seconds from the preview clips lol. It's pretty good! And just like I was hoping, it does have a similar vibe to Shamer, only darker. I was pretty surprised at the chiptune part too, but as a chiptune fan I will always accept unexpected chiptune :) The character design is cool but I'll leave that commentary for my art thread.
The "aaaaaaaa" at the end kinda startled me lol. Be aware of that, I guess.

I don't really have any other music news this time :P Last week Chogakusei covered a song I really like, so that was cool and hype and whatnot, but tomorrow/this week's cover is of a song I don't really like that much and it's a collab with two other people, which means I'll probably end up getting a headache trying to keep track of who's singing and when. Covers or songs with three or more different singers always mess with my head unless their voices are REALLY different. I spend the entire time thinking "wait, who is this? I can't tell who it sounds like... or maybe it's more than one person at the same time? ... I thought that last part was [whoever it might be], but this is clearly them right now, so who was it before?" and then I forget to pay attention to the actual song lol.

Lots of artists I like have YouTube Music Weekend stuff for next(?) week but I likely won't be able to catch the premieres, they're (as usual) not friendly to my time zone. I can probably still watch them afterward though. (this is just to remind myself: the music people in question are meiyo, Sou, syudou, Surii, KANKAN, Nanawo Akari, Kairiki Bear, and Meychan. be sure to remember all of them, future Disc reading this!)

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Man, now that Art Fight is over I'm back to having nothing to draw lol. Having a backlog of bookmarks was a bit stressful, but like at least it kept me busy. Now I just have a bunch of ideas and never really get around to executing them. It's not art block or lack of motivation or anything, I just don't do it for some reason lol. I'm able to draw a lot, it just seems that I choose not to. (probably just lazy honestly idk)

I've been thinking about replaying Undertale Yellow before summer break ends, but then I remember that I'd have to fight that rhythm game miniboss again and suddenly I think maybe it isn't worth it lmao. That fight gave me a lot of rage, okay? Like, if your boss fight is gonna be a rhythm game, you might, I dunno, have it actually sync up to the music instead of all the patterns being totally random? Also the Wild East stuff was a real slog and idk if I have the patience for it. idk whenever I consider replaying a game, for some reason my mind always goes directly to the annoying parts that I don't want to replay.
I do kinda want to do a Neutral Route so I can try my hand at Flowey's final boss fight, but I don't know if I have it in me to kill anyone :'( Maybe just the rhythm game miniboss lol. I'm not even gonna think about the No Mercy route, cause (1) once again, I don't want to kill anyone and (2) the boss fights look crazy hard. Ceroba with the whole reducing your max HP thing, and Martlet just looks straight up unfair.
It's weird how I'm much more reluctant to do Undertale Yellow's No Mercy route, cause I've done it several times in regular Undertale without any emotional qualms. Maybe I've just gotten so used to how it is in Undertale that I've become desensitized to it.

(idk if I actually needed to spoiler out the bosses, since it's been like eight months now, but I figured I'd do it anyway :P Doesn't hurt to be considerate.)

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Watched the pilot for TerminalMontage's new series, it looks really fun.

I feel like there's something I'm forgetting to mention, but I don't know what it is idk maybe I'll just edit this if I remember.
Edit: I think it was that Readymade reached 100M views, congrats to one of my favorite Ado songs