.png){kind=small}
Contrails: Aug '26, Week 1
;u; I'm still physically exhausted from the week, so I'm typing this very slowly. Sometimes I'm glad that I generally feel mentally disconnected from my physical sensations so that I can keep going on days like this. I want to take it easy today, but there's much to do. So maybe I'll do what I can then rest for the rest of the day! 🥹
🌙 Work as Minerva 🌙
I woke up on Monday morning ready to work on something for Ari in preparation of her 2nd Anniversary stream after writing my weekly post, then to start working on the vocal edits of a collab. The day pretty much went as planned. ✨
But on Tuesday morning, my eyelids flew open at the realization that I had failed to envision how Ari's stream agenda would play out, and that there was a jarring point that I should have provided feedback on: I offered to edit her Vtuber debut VOD into a trimmed video that she could just play and react to on stream. She graciously allowed me to try despite having no experience in clipping/ editing long form videos.
I thought it'd take just a day, but I ended up spending 4 full days (and nights) working on it. I barely made it in time, submitting the video only 2 hours before her stream. I think I took a total of about 40 hours? There was so much more I wanted to do, but I had to adjust my expectations to make it in time for the hard deadline. 💔 Fortunately, she said that she enjoyed the video, so I guess the video was worth all the effort. 🥹
I learned a lot in the process of making the video. I'm not sure if I'd ever have the opportunity to do these kind of edits again, but I feel a little more confident to say that it's something I am capable of doing! ✨ (Thanks for the opportunity, Ari! 💜)
The major things I wanted to do that I had to drop were:
I wanted to display the names of everyone who left a comment on her live chat, because this video is not just a debut stream VOD -- it was a video for her to reflect on her last 2 years of content creation. How many have stayed, and if they were watching the stream, I'd have wanted them to feel appreciated for sticking around. Maybe even prompt Ari to naturally thank everyone in response to the list.
I wanted to animate transitions more intentionally, especially during the section about Goals and her announcement that she was planning to return to Malaysia. I had stopped carefully timing animations and transitions past a certain point because I had just 1 day left and I was not even at the halfway mark for animation. I didn't have animation presets saved for making videos like this, so that probably contributed to how long I spent on just animation.
I would have cut the video a lot shorter if this was a "summary" edit and not a "anniversary reaction" edit.
I wanted to add captions/ subtitles just in case the video audio was too soft on stream, and to compensate for the volume difference as she grew tired across the debut stream.
Actually, 2 years ago, before Ari had her debut stream, I thought about the possibility of offering to do VOD clips and edits for Ari. I had mentally prepared myself for that possibility as well. But I realized that edits of stream VODs weren't necessary because her focus was still making music. When I became her unofficial "retainer" this year, I realized that it made sense for her to do clip edits on her own because it'd help to save money that could be better spent on more meaningful things. I had long abandoned the idea that I would ever do video editing of this nature for her.
So when I got the opportunity to edit specifically her debut stream, not only did it feel like I finally had the opportunity to prove my worth, it almost felt like a dream come true. Knowing that I had kind of pushed the idea on her because it wasn't the initial plan, I would have been devastated if my idea did not add value to her stream. I would like to believe that it did, because Ari and her chat seemed to pay attention to the little things that I added, like:
The giggle counter, because I wanted to give people a reason to watch till the end.
The super chat screenshots. I would like to believe that my intentional inclusion of it prompted the super chat train.
The names of people she responded to on stream, because I wanted to remind everyone that these were not just messages -- there were real people who were there with her then. And that every message today is a proof that there are still people with her today.
The stream quality and technical issues she faced that day, and reminders of the things she still likes as of today in contrast to what she no longer feels as strongly. I wanted people to feel how long 2 years is and how much had changed in 2 years.
All in all, I was glad that the react section of her stream went on without a hitch. 🥹
I was glad that the question randomizer during the Q&A was working well too. I'm still not sure if there are apps that are better for such a purpose, but looking at it on her anniversary stream made me really happy that due to how it was built, it was simple yet customizable to fit the stream visuals. 🥹
But I only felt a huge sigh of relief after watching the premiere of Ari's first original song. ⭐️
Ari approached me months ago with the demo of the song, asking for help to suggest lyrics. She was having difficulty getting help and finding words herself. To be completely honest, a part of me felt honored, but another part felt like I was "just the affordable, easy, last resort". I wasn't enamored by the song, and I even told Ari that I couldn't see "Ari Anjou" in it. But she explained her conviction and key messages that she wanted to express in her first song. I felt that I was being thrown an impossibly difficult task that I wasn't excited to invest time and energy into.
But I knew how much this project meant to her. In my mind's eye I saw her sitting with her PC/ iPad/ notebook, trying to fight against the urge to think, "I can't do this/ I'm bad at this." I never successfully wrote lyrics for a song before, but I imagined Ari receiving my work and thinking, "This isn't good enough too. Let me try again." And suddenly it felt worth it. Maybe my efforts would encourage her to keep trying.
So I agreed to try, with the caveat that if she isn't happy with it that she should try to find someone else. I set aside a day to work on it. While running an errand for her, I listened to the track on loop, closed my eyes, and thought very hard about Ari: What I knew of her thoughts, her feelings, what she said and what was left unsaid. I've always liked Fall Out Boy, and since Ari wanted some Japanese in her lyrics I took inspiration from the lyrics May'n writes for Abyssmare. By the end of the day I felt like my brain was fried, and I knew that whatever I wrote was not good enough to use as-is.
But she seemed happy and motivated after reading it, and that was good enough for me. I never expected her to actually use almost all the lines I wrote, or even the title I wrote at the top of the document to help me focus on an imagery while choosing words. But here we are. I'm glad that I got to contribute to her first original song. 🥹 The words are hers now, and I hope she'll keep finding new meaning if them as she goes on.
Happy Anniversary, Ari! 💜
Watching her anniversary celebration play out left me with lots of thoughts. It made my upcoming cover ever more apt to describe how I felt. So I wrote the video description over the weekend and decided that it's best if I published it soon.
🎮 Gaming 🎮
Welp. Didn't have the time or energy to play much, but I did boot up FFXIV, Divinity Original Sin, and Forza Horizon 6. 💜
🐰 IRL 🐰
Saw my dermatologist for my skin condition. She couldn't figure out what was going on based on my recurring inflammations despite treatment. So I was sent to do a general medical checkup. Getting my blood drawn was not a part of my plan for Friday (rushing Ari's video was), so when asked which arm to draw from I immediately said, "The left one, please," because I couldn't afford to slow down work if my right arm started aching more than it already did.
I'm still waiting on the results. I'm hoping that not only will we find out what could be causing my skin issues, but also to highlight if I have any other concerning issues. We'll see how it goes this week. 🥺
On a brighter note, we had friends over for food on National Day (Sunday)! They had beef. I had specially prepared salmon because I don't beef. :B Food was tasty. But I crashed on Friday night after rushing all week in preparation for Ari's anniversary, and was still fatigued (I'm still fatigued), so I found myself wondering when the friends would finally go home so that I could rest... D':
Shared a few shots of whiskey. Been a while since I drank alcohol. It was delicious. :')
~💜~
Hopes for this week
♪ Edit vocals (from the collabs)
♪ Publish a cover
☆ Medical tests reveal actionable next steps. ☆ Regain energy! ✨
☆ Play Divinity
☆ Remember to do my daily Allied Society quests in FFXIV.
☆ Play Forza 💜
Thank you for reading! 🌙🐰
Comments