Oh hello there blog. I'm just going to vaguely refer to how busy stressful life has been lately because I don't have time to write much BUT HEY LOOK AT THIS SHINY BRIGHT LIGHT. Four members of Gemini did a spontaneous short cover of a fhana song for Peace's birthday!!! (Peace is a very sweet person that we're very fond of––he's been super supportive of Gemini and we tied for 3rd place during LSO with his group Magicolle whom we're also quite fond of ^^)
【Gemini 「G4」】 コメットルシファー 〜The Seed and the Sower〜 「HBD Peace! 」
And a bonus!! I was able to have a really nice dinner last night with Mimi and Chiisana! I got us these masquerade masks (it's a reference to Gemini's LSO round 2 entry Blue World) in September but I hadn't been able to see both of them together until now. ;^; I LOVE THIS PICTURE I LOVE MY GIRLLSSS
(get it.... my eyes are wide open......... heh.. 👀)
MY AWESOME GROUP THAT I SANG IN AND MIXED, REVOLUTIONARY GIRLS, CAME IN 2ND PLACE FOR ROUND 1 of Oto&me CB..... And we were late too and I thought my mixing might've held us back but I'm shocked and honored wow.
"LSO has ended and the results aren't even out yet, but I've already decided to join another upcoming chorus battle 8D;;;; When you see our line-up, you'll understand why I couldn't resist temptation. I have the honor of singing with some awesome ladies!"
So I wrote this in September..... AND FINALLY. THE REVEAL OF THE AWESOME LADIES that persuaded me to join a chorus battle not with Gemini.
I'm in a group with Saint, Minty, Mong, Chiisana, Tsubame, and Kimunyu!!! How could I pass up a chance to work with them? This is seriously such a hot, hot, hot group of talented ladies.
I also had the privilege of mixing! (I didn't master the mix though.) It was.....kinda crazy? LOL. Really unfortunate circumstances that left me with tight time constraints, and I happened to get really busy-stressed with my job last week. I feel like I worked pretty hard and didn't get much sleep, and yet sadly I'm not happy with this mix. Of course, I LOVE this entry and everyone on the team—but I had really hoped to show my full mixing potential this time and I definitely failed to. I feel bad. I keep making excuses, I could blame the time constraints and all, but I can't help but think... If I had extra time to work on this, would I even have the ability to make the mix as good as I wish I could? Maybe I'm just seeing my limitations? A more competent mixer probably could have done so much better even with the same time constraint. When will I be fully proud of my own mix without feeling regretful after it's uploaded? I have a lot to improve on.
But hey, these vocals and animation and art are GORGEOUS.♥ You're going to want these ladies to step on you. Enjoy!
Just wanted to share some more pictures from the making of my 10th anniversary video aka my last minute impulsive decision to go with the idea that required shooting about 60 shots. orz Why did I do that to myself LOL.. It was veeery time consuming, and oh my god it was so frustrating when I went from frantically running around for two days/nights doing nothing but shooting, to...being completely bedridden with food poisoning and still many shots to go. =A=
Actually, the concept I was originally planning on was basically a scrapbook and then I'd superimpose the videos while editing, WHEN SUDDENLY my mom brought home a pocket projector she got for free. 8D;; So that just kind of fell into my lap and I was super excited, but god it came with so many limitations lol... I couldn't get the projector to play videos from my SD card—let's be real, there are reasons that this was given for free—so I had to lug my laptop around everywhere and change out all of the shots that I had planned to be outside. :c
My little "studio" on my bed was also janky as fuck LOL and I only had one LED light to combat the terrible, terrible, terrible, ugly lighting in my house.
And then... the 2 days it took just for color correction because the footage looked. so. bad. LOL Still does, but I'm glad that such a difference can be made at least..!!
It was a ton of work and time but I had fun making this video for sure! Let's not impulsively decide to rush a video with 60 shots again. That was enough wannabe-videography fun for a while~
Yesterday was such a weird day and I'm surprised as fuck that right now I ... feel....... better than ever and pretty normal? LMAO.
I had a blood test in the morning. Surprisingly didn't make me weak considering I'm sometimes anemic.
Was in a car accident in the afternoon. I was in my friend's car and we were hit from behind on the freeway.
Had really delicious bbq dinner that triggered my digestive system which was still recovering from last week's terrible food poisoning. Pains for a while and proceeded to feel nauseated all the way through this morning.
Got home at 11 PM and mixed... until 7 AM. Ran on some ugly shivery but effective adrenaline.
Now on to today, I slept for 2 and a half hours and went out with friends until the afternoon, and then mixed til now and SOMEHOW I'M STILL AWAKE AND SOMEHOW I FEEL OKAY AND COHERENT AND NOT IN ANY KIND OF PAIN. Is this the power of adrenaline???
That's right!!! Ten. Ten whole years..... For half of the entire duration of my lifetime I've been doing this thing where my parents would be at work or asleep, and I take out my little microphone in my bedroom, shut the door, and record myself shrieking in languages I can't speak.
Looking back, this hobby gets really time-consuming and it's frustrating, but definitely rewarding in its own ways. Somehow I feel like I've found and lost myself many times over the years because of singing.
In middle school, I likely permanently ruined my own throat because I wanted to take advantage of every breathing second that I had after school and before my mom came home from work—which meant forcing myself to keep singing even when it hurt. Sometimes I purposely sang with my throat in pain because it dulled my very obnoxious vocal tone.. It was an exciting new hobby and it was thrilling to collaborate with other coverists and be a part of something. I could never say no, and god I had so many lines to do LOL. But probably because of that, I'm still dealing with throat issues today. Right now I'm going through a decent phase, but sometimes it just hurts to use my voice, and that was a pretty big source of depression for me especially early in college. There was nothing I was passionate about, but I knew at least that I loved to sing and rap—it was the only thing that made me happy and through which I had an expressive/emotional outlet—but it physically pained me to do. And my throat doctor didn't even know what to do with me. But I'm a bit better now ^^ and I learned a huge lesson in self control haha.
Then there was my phase in high school during which I was super obsessed with trying to cover k-pop songs as soon as they were released, so that I could "ride the wave" of attention. I ended up spending a lot of time covering songs that I didn't actually like that much, just for what I perceived to be "popularity." A few of them I kind of regret; they were so half assed LOL. I wouldn't do it again. :'D It's still a struggle of balance finding something that I think others might enjoy and that I would enjoy and be able to put my heart into producing.
And of course feeling shut down and built up again and again; it's been a rollercoaster!! I'm not someone who was born with inherent talent, and it's so easy to compare yourself to others and feel like you can't even do anything. Honestly, I can barely sing at karaoke. Even to as recent as Tokohana for LSO's final round in September, I was actually extremely emotionally distraught when trying to record lines and I wished my vocal tone were better, struggled a shit ton with higher notes, struggled to hold notes out, couldn't live up to the other members' awesome. (rly if you haven't heard it yet, please do bc Gemini sounds amazing<3) But I figured out a long time ago, that if I couldn't be the master at anything, I needed to put in that much more effort to strive to be a jack of all trades ;v; That's how I ended up dabbling in all these different languages, in rapping, in "animating," in mixing and mastering, even tried to dance.
I consider animating a lost battle for me. At first in the Dark Ages, I was so proud that with my AMV-making experience, I was able to put names for when people sang in groupdubs LOL! And then I assumed the role of video-maker for Gemini since I was most interested in Sony Vegas. But then when everyone else was making magic in After Effects and I was still in Sony Vegas with my very (still) brokenly horrible sense of aesthetic, I couldn't keep up and decided to focus on mixing. Now I'm slowly picking up bits and pieces of AE because of work, but I suck LOL.
And mixing..... That's still very much a work in progress. I first started out trying to "mix" in Windows Movie Maker lmao, and I still remember DUBattle Royale in 2011 when the judges told us to EQ, and I was like, "What's that?" LOL I really fell behind my peers in learning to EQ and master.. Although I've improved a lot in mixing (especially during LSO), I end up feeling ashamed and as though I know nothing compared to other mixers. LSO was really a huge challenge; I was so proud of myself at first and then I kept realizing all of these mixing flaws I caused and got mad at myself tbh. But that's all the more reason for me to learn more and prove myself, so my next challenge will be OTO&ME CB! Q^Q)9 I'll.. try my best and hopefully can make something nice for us to all look back on!
Because of this hobby, I found a career path for myself. I totally went through a phase in high school when I dreamed of becoming a Hello!Project idol and then a K-pop idol LOLLLL. It was always obvious that I'd never be able to. I knew I loved singing, and it was depressing that I had waaay too many limitations to do that, but I had enough interest in mixing and video editing that I decided to enter university as a Radio-TV-Film major. I still always felt like I had no talent, but eventually it ended up working out great! 8D Because now I primarily do video and audio editing at my awesome grown-up full time job; otherwise working on sets and often as the audio recordist. It's great.
Most importantly!!!!!! I'm grateful for how many people I've met and how many friends I've made in online covering communities, as well as all the support I've received. Q___Q I met my best friend Chiisana in 2007 because we both covered overlapping anime songs and made AMVs—turned out we lived in neighboring cities and obviously both didn't care enough about stranger danger even though she was literally 11 years old LOL!! Then I got to meet a lot of nice people through singing Mermaid Melody and Hello!Project. AND THEN K-POP.... I got a message in 2010 from some girl named Mimi who did some k-pop duets with a guy named Ryan. And you see, kids, when coverists really love and accept each other, sometimes they do things all night (talked in chat) and give birth to baby groups like Gemini. And sometimes, this group becomes family as important to you as blood. QAQ I'm so lucky that we still sing together and even came back as a full group for a chorus battle this year, five years after our last battle!!! <3
And joining the vocaloid/youtaite and twitter community in 2012 really changed my life. I had never felt so immersed in people that were similar to me and accepted me. A lot of them were so cool and social or really talented or popular, but they still wanted to be friends with me?? I felt for the first time that I could kind of talk to people and socialize, and it made me more confident and outgoing in my college classes. ^^ Since then, most of my friends that I hang out with IRL have been people that I met in the youtaite community—bless that there are so many of them in Norcal. :'D It's been a bumpy ride, but some of these people will be lifelong friends I think.
I typed for too long, sorry. Here is my celebratory(?) 2006-2016 vocal evolution reel!! I hope I can improve much, much more and keep singing with cool people in the future~ Thank you!
VERY SORRY FOR MY UGLY HANDWRITING AND HUMOR AND THE UGLY IN GENERAL TBH.... Hi everyone!! This is a very special video to me because 10 years ago—when I was 13 years old—I uploaded my first cover on youtube. And somehow, 10 years later, this is still my hobby. I'm still here trying to learn to sing and rap and mix and slaughter languages, and it's still fun. I forget to express it, but I'm really grateful to everyone who's ever supported me along the way! ;_; Thank you for encouraging me and teaching me!! ♥♥♥ To commemorate, here is my 2006-2016 vocal evolution reel archive compilation...video thing. An update to my last reel which was 5 years ago! https://youtu.be/9sGI7ZSdXEo (And an excuse to bring to light a lot of covers that were never finished tbh.) Please watch your ears—it will be painful, sorry. :'D Thank you for watching!!! If you'd like to hear the full version of something that's not on my channel, you might find it on my collab playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA5E87AF81CFCA7C6 soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/waterpixieva box of extras: https://app.box.com/s/e3hdl6o7hhhneyjd2u7i Or just request ^^
Idk how since I didn't eat anything special for Thanksgiving but my body turned into a useless empty shell of a vegetable all yesterday and it was misery and pain and disgusting and a waste of my time. :c
It was dark and I was alone when I walked out of my work building today, but I walked out with a smile and realized I'm pretty blessed to be doing what I'm doing? Not that I never have little complaints sometimes, but I think I do quite like my job.
There's so much more to being a video editor than I had imagined, and it's kind of awesome. I'm fortunate that even though I'm mostly working on corporate videos—which some people tend to assume are meaningless and dry—they're still subjects that I can care about and feel proud about. For one thing, I have the power of outreach because I'm an editor. I can help messages come across that people may not have paid attention to before; and I can strive to help the videos gain even more traction (hopefully is what I'm doing, at least) by carefully selecting shots that are appealing and human moments that are compelling, by editing in a way that hopefully doesn't bore people, by emphasizing certain messages that I believe will attack viewers' heartstrings. ;v;
I can be a persuader. It's a privilege to work on videos that can expose kids (especially young girls; I'm still very proud of this <3) to science and technology programs and competitions, and I can show just how amazing, how bright, ambitious, hard working, recognized, diverse, loved, and passionate their slightly older counterparts—and hopefully role models-to-be—are. In a small way, I may be able to help persuade people to pursue their dreams. Maybe I can persuade their parents to better support them and believe in them.
I can be a teacher. I've spent most of this week editing science experiment videos (assisted on the shoot too), and I may not have written the script or designed the experiments, but I do get to make decisions in pacing, which shots to use, and adding some motion graphics to illustrate ~science~. I hope people find them to be fun and, equally importantly, educational. ^^ Even better if kids come to learn that there is fun to science and build on it!
I can be a storyteller. Most of today was spent relistening to interviews and crafting a story for a recruitment video that's going to go on top of a company's Careers page. And this goes back to luck again that it happens that this company does great, philanthropic things and hearing the employees discuss it even makes me almost wish I could work there haha. They glow when they talk about how helpful and welcoming the culture is there, how everyone believes in their mission, and they have such a meaningful purpose with which they can make a difference for millions of ordinary people. It's fun to be able to highlight that as I put together the pieces for a hopefully cohesive flow and create a certain character for the company that I think will be good for the brand. In general, I love that I can listen to people's thoughts, develop an understanding of what're passionate about, and try to showcase that. It is kind of a vicarious bond and experience of passion, but somehow I end up caring about these people and what's important to them, and try to paint a nice picture of their story. ^^
And as I wrote in my post about Coco... I hope that I can even be a healer for some. Touch some hearts, give them peace, give them hope.
I found this old post completely by accident while searching for something else, and I......... sort of forget sometimes that I used to have no ambition. That's a great thing, right?! That means I've become an ambitious not-coward, right?!! Wow.. right... I sound so confident and optimistic now LMAO. WEIRD.
Woah, what is this?! I went somewhere and am actually blogging about it while it's still fresh? (I'm so bad usually HAHA.)
So I got back from Washington DC last night! I was there on a business trip—my most intensive one thus far. In 6 days, I worked 68 hours..... For full context, I was there as part of the video crew and the editor for a big science fair for middle schoolers. Thousands of applicants were narrowed down to the 30 (brilliant, young af) finalists who were brought to DC for a week-long program/competition during which they got to show off their projects, go on tours of a university and museums, do team challenges, and bond. Meanwhile, judges follow them around the whole time, and at the end of the week, they had an awards ceremony/gala (some of these middle schoolers got like $20K...) and showed the highlights video we made that summed up their week!
So my task was to collect footage everyday and craft a story out of their interviews and put nice shots over them. The video even included shots from the DAY it was shown at the gala... It was insane. Unfortunately, the only window that the crew had for conducting most of the interviews with the kids was Monday 4 - 5:30 PM.......... And the full video was due at 9 AM on Tuesday, then after whatever changes, the final version was due at 4 PM and shown at 8 PM. o<-< ......... CRAY CRAY.
So on Monday, I worked from noon til 6 PM, took a 45 minute break, then worked nonstop all through the night until 9 AM.... Slept for an hour and a half. Got client feedback and headed back to work until 4 PM. Then we headed to the gala..... and still had to work because our cameraman had to capture the winners' moments, and then we had to set up an interview area, shoot interviews with a bunch of people (I operated audio and helped with lights), and clean up until 9:30 PM. SOOOOOOOOOOOOO BASICALLY I WORKED FOR A LOOOONG LONG ASS TIME and that night, I slept like a cadaver.
I barely got to see DC, but I liked it!
Also, I have a lot of feelings and tbh it's all really selfish thoughts, but I couldn't help but feel sad about certain things.
I SHOULD REALLY GO PACK I'm probably gonna go to bed pretty soon after getting home from work tomorrow so that I can wake up at 4 AM BECAAAAUSE I'm flying out to Washington DC for a business trip!!!! Yoooo!!! I was traveling so much earlier this year that it felt weird to be stationary for a few months, but the adventure's back on! It's my first time going to DC and also my first time playing such a big role as I'll be the main editor for the video that's gonna be played on the last night of the event. ^^ A big test is waiting and I hope I ace it. (or else.)
While procrastinating on packing, I went back and mixed down a short thing that I recorded last summer and...prooobably won't be continuing. I love this song though! It's "Synchronicity" from Tsubasa Chronicle's OVA series, Tsubasa Tokyo Revelation and sung by Sakura's voice actress Makino Yui <333333 I love Tsubasa Chronicle, I love Makino Yui, I love suffering and angst (apparently).
QuQ.... I had a very positive performance review at work yesterday, and I'm really proud!!! It makes me so happy that my coworkers/bosses seem to love and appreciate me (and don't hesitate to let me know) and think that I add a lot of value to the company. ;u; One thing in particular that struck me though.... was when they said, "A lot of people can edit videos, but only a few are great at storytelling, and that's a gift that you have. You're a very gifted storyteller, while understanding exactly what kind of messaging and tone the client is looking for."
............ I've.... never in my life ever been called "gifted" before, I think.
That's a word that I genuinely believe I've never heard being used to describe me in my entire life, and it's something I always feared that I lacked. I've always had a ton of insecurity, being surrounded by my university classmates who were all much more passionate and knowledgeable about filmmaking than I was. Insecurity being surrounded by all of these talented youtaite who easily exceed me in technical skill and aesthetic, just making videos online as a hobby. In terms of technical skill especially, I know nearly nothing. All through college, I thought there was nothing special about me because there was nothing I particularly excelled at or was passionate about—I spent so many nights crying in worry that I wouldn't get an internship, wouldn't be hired, was far away from being able to imagine a career for myself, would always be a "pathetic, dependent failure."
Earlier this year, I was able to realize that it wasn't true that I have nothing special to bring to the table—that you're special just by being yourself (see Food for Thought: To Be Special Without Specialty). ;u; But now.... to be call gifted? The opposite side of the special spectrum?! ..I.. I'm gifted!?
Me..!?
Um, yes. I'd like to thank myself because I couldn't have achieved this crazy wonderful gift of a praise without myself and how I was myself for all these years by myself. Thanks.
I bought my first kigurumi!!! ㅠㅠ Kigus are freaking expensive, but I've been considering getting one for years and I needed a riajuu Halloween costume that's not my cosplays or Disney Princess costumes..... Plus it's soft and comfy and will keep me warm///
I liked sea otters before but omg after I went to the aquarium last month...... they've been holding my heart hostage. So fucking cute. And they're predators so they're fierce! And playful! They're just like mer-dogs Q___Q Ohhh, my heart.
LSO final results came out!!! Gemini finished tied for 3rd place (with MagiColle), and that's really amazing. ^^ I'm really glad our team members' hard work was recognized. It was crazy but a fun run, participating in my first youtaite community chorus battle. ;v; So proud of everyone!
I would normally feel quite empty, but.... I've..just been working almost nonstop and have more things on the horizon LOL. I just have good memories of LSO ^^
Firstly!! I've been really wanting to do a solo cover since this summer, and when BLACKPINK debuted, I had decided on their song Whistle. Right after the end of LSO round 2, I had tried to start recording but didn't get very far with my sore throat, which then developed into a cold. So now finally after LSO round 3 finished, I went right at it and have been working on this almost every night—learning the raps, recording, mixing, making the video. FINALLY I'M DONE YAY QUQ
So here is my solo cover of BLACKPINK's whistle! It was a fun song to do!
I'm sorry if you disagree, but we must think very differently if you do. I went to a big sales conference today and saw a big fancy keynote, and frankly I feel like the only thing I learned was that I was right in my beliefs. I never wanted to be a robot. I refuse to be a robot. Today I'm very glad that I stuck to my guns in choosing to pursue the creative media industry because it was the only thing I decided I "didn't hate" when I transitioned into college. I'm an art major—I'll never make a lot of money and will never become truly influential or universally acknowledged as successful—but I'm a proud lowly, poor employee of arts because I can't imagine having to live a life in which my job is unsatisfactory or meaningless or insincere, when just the bare action of living life is already hard. I know if I had forced myself, like others wanted, to pursue something my heart doesn't feel right in, I'd be fucking miserable. :/
And I don't mean anything to be a jab towards non-arts as a whole—people should pursue their passions, and however their hearts choose, that's awesome—but just I find certain aspects can be so messed up? And it's really not for me. I hate to sound so fragile as to be offended by a notion, but I'm honestly so offended that anyone can value "productivity" (tbh euphemism for "making more money") over....basic courtesy of customer service and socialization? You expect me to applaud you for using an application that saves a salesperson time by using pre-written generic email responses to customers? That pains me!!!
Shouldn't customer service be about genuinely listening to their needs and helping to guide them towards solutions and ensuring that they're happy, if it's a respectable relationship? Wouldn't sincere, basis-specific, personable, enjoyable interactions be more appropriate to drive a better business and social relationship? Wouldn't everyone be happier? And ultimately if you want to think profit, people will pay money for things and interactions that make them happy. Compared to a heartless quota, I think that's wiser and more admirable. I have to say that I'm really, really, really proud that the amazing people I work with value 'customer service' and 'fun' just as much as they do 'quality'—they inspire me—and hey, clients come back to work with us because they love collaborating with us and the results we create. And I'm not a miserable robot so that's pretty cool.
Anyway, I know better now what type of person I should strive to become ^^!
On the way back, we stopped by a museum store full of cool, interesting stuff and I made a purchase I'm super happy with tbh LOL.
Lenses that you clip onto your mobile device!!!!
Me: Woah, this is cool. But do they actually work lol
Coworker: Oh yeah those do work!! They're pretty cool!
Me: Really? WAIT THIS ENTIRE THING FOR 3 LENSES IS 10 BUCKS.
Me:
Me:
Me: I'M BUYING THIS.
It's super cool! And such a good deal! I almost feel like I ripped off the store. Next time I go back, I may feel compelled to give a donation to that museum LOLOLOL....
This is the wide lens—my favorite so far. <3 It's shocking how effective it is and it doesn't look bad! These two pictures were taken from the exact same position; all I did was snap, remove the clip from my phone, snap again.
Fisheye lens that I'm 99% certain will be utterly useless to me.
Macro lens for tiny things and that suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper ridiculously shallow depth of field!
For the past 11 weeks, I've been following the show Girl Spirit, and it's been such a wonderful run that I'm sad to see these girls go. (We're promised more seasons to come but I'm expecting a different cast.) The show features the main vocalists of 12 girl groups that have yet to win #1 on a music show and gives them their own stage for exposure. I love all the girls—they're so talented and sweet—but without a doubt, my favorite would have been Kei even if Lovelyz weren't my favorite group. ♥ *___* She's so inspiring! Goddess! Such goals! She keeps challenging herself and improving with no end to her potential! With her pure angelic voice, you wouldn't expect the amount of depth she's able to harness. She sings with so much sincere emotion, and her natural personality is just always positive, warm, and bright.
Now that the show's over, I think I can say that her performance in episode 9 of "My Voice" and "If You Just Live" (both from the musical Seopyeonjae) is probably my favorite of hers, although all of her performances have been incredible. What an uphill climb from the first episode until this point..! Literally all of her performances are worth watching.
If you like girl groups, I would definitely recommend this show; but if not, this is the context. ^^ The theme of the episode is Thank You Song, and Kei has decided to dedicate her performance to her mother. "The lyrics really touched my heart. Whenever I wanted to give up, my mother always told me that time will solve it. So she told me to keep going without being disheartened."
With my limited Korean and varying translations, I can't be certain that I'm understanding the nuances accurately—but I love what I can feel of the essence of the song's meaning. I interpret the lyrics as saying... that as long as you push through and survive, you'll be okay and things will get better. If you just keep living and don't give up, you'll learn to able to truly live. ♥
Really, what an epic performance..! It's heartbreaking and empowering, like the warmth and comfort of a small, persistent flame when entrapped in ice. Kei looks fragile; but with how much strength she displays, how can you not find her admirable?
And if you're not touched yet!!!! The dancer is her older sister. She did the choreography and the stage setting! These talented siblings are performing together for their mother! It just makes the "motherly figure" that she's playing feel so much more real and heartwrenching. This stage feels like a musical and I love it ;__; Oh my god, how tearjerking is it when Kei sings the line, "Don't cry because you are alone," after her sister leaves the stage?
Speaking of tearjerking, the other show I've been following is Real Men's currently airing special (starting episode 172), which features male and female celebrities as they join the Navy and.... suffer... and suffer..... and continue to suffer. Wow. I don't think I would ever last in the Navy.
One of the cast members is Jisoo from Lovelyz, and I couldn't be fucking happier that she's on this show. I'm really glad that Lovelyz members are starting to have activities as individuals; it means they're finally being recognized as deserved. <3 Jisoo is especially underrated, and I believe this is Jisoo's first time being on a show by herself. She seems to have gotten a good response! There's a lot more support for her now, which is a beautiful thing. I'm glad it's this show too because she's been able to show how much of a strong spirit she has.
Episode 175 struck me especially hard, when they all had to make a 10 meter dive as training for abandon ship measures. You can watch Jisoo's cut here, but unfortunately it's not subbed.
Jisoo is afraid of water.... so watching her overcome this challenge was aslkfjsdfl Q___Q I was a choked up mess the first time. Among the 3 women who were afraid of water/heights, she was the first one to dive. She cries the entire time: before the jump, during it, afterwards. But even though she keeps crying harder and harder up there, she just grits her teeth, tries her best, and remembers to follow proper procedure. When the commander blows his whistle, she doesn't hesitate to shout, "Cadet Seo Ji Soo, ready to jump!" trying to sound confident even though her voice was cracking. Q_Q Or is that the sound of my heart cracking?
She then says that she misses her parents and the other Lovelyz members, before shouting, "I CAN DO IT!" And she conquers it!!! I'm so proud of her ;_; She makes me feel that I should try to be more fearless too.
Woop, I feel so active now! LSO has ended and the results aren't even out yet, but I've already decided to join another upcoming chorus battle 8D;;;; When you see our line-up, you'll understand why I couldn't resist temptation. I have the honor of singing with some awesome ladies!
For now, before OTO&ME CB starts, I've been trying to work on a solo cover. I've been recording at night for the past few days and my throat hasn't been hurting! Bless!!!!!!! Oh my god!!! I haven't had the luxury of being sore throat-free in......I can't remember how long. It feels great. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish soon but I'm struggling a bit with raps haha. My inner workaholic has been kicking in since it hasn't even been a week since LSO ended and my job has been extremely busy this week. I was working until 8 PM on Tuesday and still recorded at night omg maybe I am just maso lol.. I'm exhausted but fairly happy.
Also, a pleasant surprise! Sia's "Karakuri Pierrot" chorus that I recorded lines for in 2011 has been completed and released LOL! So cute, all these nostalgic singing babbies. I'm thankful that this chorus was even finished at all since so many projects just get forgotten forever ;u; This has such a nice cast..!!! I feel privileged to have sung something with these folks.
Since it was mixed to a different arrangement than what we recorded to, our lines were sped up which is a bit confusing but—enjoy this piece of nostalgia!
We did it ;_;!!!! Gemini and our amazing support team made it all the way to the completion of LSO's final round—and it's been an undeniably arduous but rewarding journey! Out of all three of our entries, I must say that I'm especially proud of this one, which is fitting for a finale. <3 Gemini honestly thinks that this is the greatest thing we've ever done. ;u; Chienu's art is always always gorgeous (I don't know how she does it), our animators really put in their all and created some of their best animation work (oh my god this video is to die for; it's so pretty, thoughtful, and feels complete), and I really think.... this is the best mix ever done by both Gemini as a collective and me as an individual. We worked super hard. I hope that it shows! I'm really happy with what we were able to create together!!
【Original】 ✩”トコハナ/Tokohana (Undying Flower)” by Yanagi Nagi
Please join me in admiring Chienu's beautiful art (+ curry's background + kuroko's magic circle) aaa~
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So I'm going to assume that by now, you've hopefully watched our video ;v; (please?)
The ending was a surprise we kept from our support team until the final video was uploaded. XD It worked out well because I was helping the animators render and edited together the full video, so I could sneak it in without anyone knowing hehehehehe. It's unfortunate really that we can't give them more of a spotlight when they're actually the heroes here—without them, we couldn't have made something this beautiful and so complete. They're really the driving force of our success, just like in our fictional story. <3
This adoooraableee flawless art was done by aeror404 ^^
Yesterday I wrote about Gemini's plan to have our classmates wear a sapphire blue mask to the school masquerade if they secretly supported gaming.
Not anybody, not a single person other than the 6 of us was wearing sapphire blue...... The blue world I'd hoped for in my imagination crumbled more and more as we watched people arrive wearing every other magnificent color. ; ;
The school director asked to see me this morning.... They tracked my IP address and removed the post from the school forum. What hurt the most was when she told me that she wouldn't have been so furious if not for finding out that she was stabbed in the back by her own staff, someone that she trusted and had always complied quietly. I keep wondering if it would have worked if I weren't involved.
You might think, oh you're student council president so try to persuade her, but in reality I'm powerless and too afraid to fight. > < That title is a lie—what am I other than a messenger?
And now I'm not even that, because as of today, I've been permanently removed from the student council.
Good night everybody,
- "Leia"♡
Tuesday, August 16th, 2016
I don't know what to do.
Without student council duties, I have too much extra time to keep logging on Lyrica System Online.. and finding none of my friends online.. logging out... logging back in again.
Last week, I chatted a bit with Razzy, the former student council VP, and now president. He's kinda bummed that now with the extra responsibilities, he might have to quit the Cheerleading Club.
Agh, he told me that all of the Gemini members have been temporarily suspended from their club activities ;______; I didn't know how to face them... I feel embarrassed and have lost motivation, and I can only imagine that the others feel the same way.
Yesterday, I had lunch with Chiisana and Mimi for the first time since everything happened. ♡ I'm glad they seem okay, but we're worried about everyone else.
We went to the Tea Club room as usual, which became our hangout spot ever since we discovered that Ryan works there and Mimi and Jay are regulars. And someone told us that Ryan isn't just suspended... he quit the club.
We're still trying to find out what's going on with him > < Ryan used to be the most confident host at the club, too...... Mimi tells me that he's scared of others thinking of his gaming interests as geeky and a flaw to the cool image he has to project in order to represent the club. We think he's too ashamed and believes he's tarnished the club's pride. ; ;
As for Jay, I was able to contact him, and he wishes to take a break from Gemini. I know that he's scared that the school will tell his parents, who are suuuper needlessly strict about his studies and math club activities.. It doesn't make sense that they don't trust him to succeed, when he always does... But I didn't press on. I can't do anything to help him.
And Jeffrey... the kid's gone MIA. No one's seen him in classes for a week. His jock "friends" have been joking that he got deported back to Australia. (￣ ￣|||).. I continue to be very unentertained by them.
The time with these friends—as the six of us made up Gemini and shared a bond while playing games together when nobody else understood—now just feels like a dream. One too sweet for this bitter reality.
Until next time,
- "Leia"♡
Friday, September 16th, 2016
´͈ ᵕ `͈ Maybe.. Maybe we'll have a chance at winning this fight..!
I met with the current student council president Razzy, and he gave me some pretty sweet ammo, hehehe. The results of this year's school survey, which shows that grades have dropped even more and student moral is at an all-time low. I was confused at first, not sure what I would need this information for... I thought the battle was over. ; ; We'd lost the night of the masquerade.
And then he gave me a New Club Application Form....... for... a Gaming Club !! ; д ;
And it's been signed by: Curry from the Animation Club, Mari from the Animation Club, Catalystfrom the Animation Club, Chienufrom the Art Club, Amjupyfrom the Art Club, and Lia from the Korean Dance Club!
I nearly cried all over their signatures and destroyed the form!!!!!
Our friends, when they found out about everything that happened—the masquerade, the suspensions, Gemini falling apart—stood up for us when people were spreading rumors, and admitted that they also have secretly been playing video games. And...I think now, they're very proud of it. And the badmouthing among students has all stopped! They say that they were inspired by us, but they did what we could never do.. And they don't even need masks!! * ^ * How they had the bravery still amazes me.
Afterwards, they all popped out to surprise me and came with me to find all of the other 5 Gemini members—even if it meant going to their houses. I.. I even talked to Jay's parents!!! ╹д╹; Watching our friends' examples, somehow they've given me strength and conviction that I've never been able to muster before. They gave all of us the strength and conviction we were always missing and afraid to own. They showed us that there are still people on our side and that we can make a change.
In the end, it was our friends' support that led us to believing in one another, and believing that we might win. They're the heroes of the fight, and we're lucky to have them.
And so tomorrow, all of us will be taking our club application to the school director's office together!!! It's going to be a tough boss battle; but with these friends by my side, I'm no longer afraid! ^ ^
Thank you for following our adventure,
- Eva of Gemini ☆
Gemini channel's been so active!!! Another upload happened in the meantime before our LSO 3rd round entry. I'm currently mixing nearly day and night. Rly tired tbh but excited for this entry!
Mimi was the luckiest lady on this day because Ryan and Jeffrey sang the Mystic Messenger opening as a duet for her birthday, AND THEY SOUND LIKE....... MY.. DEATH. Such handsome voices that suit the song perfectly ughhhh we all wish we were Mimi. I looped this so much—it's improved my life quality LOL. *q*
【Gemini-Jeff♔Ry】Mysterious Messenger • 수상한 메신저 OP • (HBD Mimi!) HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MIMI (and everyone else!)
