Contrails: Jul '26, Week 1

Minerva Murasaki
Jul 6
3 min read

I'm starting on this post a little later than usual because I chose to spend time earlier in the day to tie up loose ends regarding an upcoming project. There are so many unknowns, but I hope that if I listen carefully to and believe in myself that there will be a happy ending. 🥺

🐰 IRL 🐰

Did a lot of house cleaning this week because I had neglected most chores for 2 weeks as I was rushing out vocal edits. Could have done more, but I know that it was good enough. There is always time to pick up the slack, and chores are never-ending anyway. ✨🤔

🌙 Work as Minerva 🌙

Started on my (now) yearly karaoke medley project. I have decided to do it for myself, and to be satisfied with what I'm able to create with my skills today, even if no one watches/ it impacts my channel visibility. My only hope is that the songs I chose won't result in a copyright strike. 💀

I chose a whole bunch of Anisongs that highlighted different points in my life -- the highs, the lows, and even the "normal" simply good times. Is the set list going to expose my age?! 🤣 It's fine. I'm looking forward to recording these songs and writing a blog post about the set list and all its stories. Maybe I'll even leave the link to the blog post in the video description?

While struggling with the production of this medley and reflecting on the past few times I made my own arrangements, I had a revelation: I think I appreciate detail and thoughtfulness in songs, and the reason why I'm never satisfied with whatever I make is because it's always missing the details from the originals that I appreciated (progression, storytelling, how rhythm is expressed, ear candy, choice of words, etc.). Consequently, I have decided to stop attempting to make my own arrangements, and try to focus on how I want to share my appreciation for songs that mean something to me. If I can do it my way, showing what music is to Mimi, that would be even better. I have an idea, so I'll try it out and hope for the best.

For now, I want to stay focused on the goal: to do music that matters to me. I'm hoping to publish the medley in October, so I think I'm good on time! ✨

🎮 Gaming 🎮

Played a lot of Risk of Rain 2 this week! More friends have gotten the game lately, so my partner could set up gaming sessions anytime -- and I mean, given any opportunity. 🤣 Still not great at the game, but at least my damage output as Bandit seems to be increasing?! 🙃
Returned for Divinity Original Sin whenever I felt like chilling out. Had a few moments this week when I felt like playing Baldur's Gate 3 instead, but Divinity tickles my brain just enough to keep me engaged. 💜
And of course, played Forza Horizon 6! I ended up playing it alone this week, so I was reminded of how much I dislike playing with other random players online. Before my partner got the game, I was committed to enjoying the game solo -- play the game my way, at my pace. But I eventually started playing online because he was keen to get the weekly rewards from the weekly multiplayer challenges. This week I was met with "that one reckless driver in an Itasha/ car plastered with anime girls", egoistical chat spammers, players who give up too easily, and players who don't understand how to work as a team. So without hesitation I switched my Xbox settings back to restricting online play. I can still join friends via Horizon Life (online), but I can no longer access player-made content, which makes it difficult for me to join multiplayer games where it is the norm to use community car tuning. On the bright side, it gave me the motivation to finally try tuning cars by myself with the help of this guide. I managed, and I'm happy. :D