August wrap-up report

"These days, people having a tough time, huh?" ----- I thought this while sitting in a café drinking coffee, after the owner got two scam calls within 40 minutes.

Hello, welcome to my August wrap-up report. It’s called the August report, but it actually covers a lot of past and future stuff too. I just couldn’t think of a better title, so August wrap-up it is. Let’s start with the formal stuff, and then I’ll share what’s been on my mind lately.

Let me start by talking about a few things you all might care about. First up is the remake of [Invade]. Let me tell you about the challenges I’ve run into.

If I remake this project, I can’t bring myself to kill them off.

Let me first share with you a project that really left an impression on me:

[Watari Laboratory] Owari Doushi

Normally, I’d say if you haven’t checked out this work yet, you should go buy it. The creator, "渡里laboratory", is absolutely a standout in the R18G scene. But I’m bringing up this work today because, honestly, its content kind of freaked me out.

Basically, this isn’t much different from other R18G works—someone kills someone else and uses their body for gratification. It’s the kind of theme I often work with too. But the key here is that the character development was so extensive. What I mean is, the reader starts to really like the character, even seeing them as a person, and then—bam—they’re suddenly killed off. Of course, I absolutely believe the character portrayal was a success, and the story itself was too. The original author clearly wanted to tell this kind of story. But honestly, when I dropped my pants, ready for something thrilling, it felt a bit *too* thrilling. When I saw our “prey” die, my immediate reaction was, “What? You can’t do that! Why would you do that?” But the weird thing is, I clicked into this for exactly that kind of content. It’s something that really got me thinking.

If I were to remake [Invade] today, I’d add some new scenes and deepen the character development. I’d create this warm, happy family atmosphere, with cozy mother-daughter interactions—totally fine. A remake should bring something fresh, not just better visuals. Honestly, from what I’ve seen, visuals are the least important part of an artwork. It’s like a game—you care more about whether it’s fun than how good the graphics are. So, if I don’t add new scenes, the remake feels pointless. But if I successfully build this heartwarming family vibe and then immediately kill them off and use them for gratification, even I’d feel uneasy about it. Weird, right?

In [Picnic], I can do anything to Nahida and not feel bad at all—it just feels good. Or in [Ending], using Ryo’s body, it’s the same deal. That’s because I skipped the character development part. It turns the R18G scenes into pure necro content or ryona, since it involves murder. But it doesn’t leave you feeling bad.

In other words, if I build up the characters and create a warm family atmosphere, killing them off would make the whole video feel really uncomfortable, even shocking. I’d feel sorry for these girls. But if I skip character development and just make the film high-res, I think that time would be better spent on a new project. At least that way, [Invade] can stay a fond memory for people—including me, since I love the work too. Someone suggested, “What if you kill the characters but they wake up from a nightmare, so no one’s actually hurt?” Yeah, the “it was just a dream” trope is super cliché. It might help, but I doubt people would want to see that. It could disappoint everyone—necro fans would be like, “Oh, it’s just acting, just a nightmare,” and those wanting heartfelt scenes would be like, “Oh my God, necro!” Honestly, I haven’t made up my mind yet, so the [Invade] remake is on hold because I’m torn. That’s my take—what do you think? Drop a comment below or hit me up on the Discord server.

Alright, next thing—I’ve been thinking a lot about video length and content. Last month, I went all out and made a ton of videos. The standout was probably [Special Coaching]. I made it to test a new model, so I had Mito help me try out this new video. I think [Special Coaching] was made in a way that’s similar to how I used to do my four-part series, but only focusing on parts two and three. This approach clearly helps with production, as you can see from my high output. But here’s the thing—I’m always trying to find some kind of balance. Is it possible to go back to making those four-part series with high quality and tell a complete story? I think [New Management] went to one extreme—super polished, super expensive, but not necessarily that fun, just looked impressive. On the other hand, [Ending] was closer to blending the old four-part series formula into a single video. Almost everything was trimmed down a bit but packed into one film. It’s decent—I could probably make one of those a month, but there’d be a longer gap with no new videos for people to watch. Still, I think [Ending] struck a good balance between cost, content, and quality, making it a solid test. But lately, I’ve been wanting to try bringing back the old four-part series style to tell a proper story, not just the highlight reel of sex scenes. I know a lot of people watching porn skip the buildup and jump straight to the action, but if everyone just focuses on those “key” parts, I think the artistic value takes a hit. So recently (and I’ve already started), I want to create a story with original characters. We’d bring back the four-part series approach, just with higher quality, and see how it turns out.

Let’s talk about my expectations for this new project. Basically, I’m aiming for a fully customized scene, which will make the atmosphere and visuals way better. But that means building the scene from scratch, kind of like setting up a whole studio. It’s super time-consuming, but it’ll be a lot better than tweaking some pre-existing scene. The main characters will be similar to [Invade], with dual protagonists—a milf and a loli, so I’m building a house in a city battlefield where everyone inside dies when a bomb drops. Then, a lucky boy escaping the war stumbles into the house and finds food and some fun

I’m planning to use the first episode to set up the story, then get to the main stuff in the later episodes. But I still remember one reason I stopped doing four-part series was that “once you release certain episodes, the rest of the story gets really restricted.” For example, Halo 5 was a complete shit, so by Halo Infinite, they had to pull a full-on amnesia plot where all your companions are clueless, and nobody knows what’s going on. The storyline explains nothing because the previous game screwed it up. So, they spent a whole game starting a new story while wiping away the last pile of crap. I’m going to avoid dropping a mess in the first episode that makes it impossible to move forward with the second. As for the scenes and characters, I’m still building and designing them. Should have some new visuals to show you all next week. As for the pile of half-finished projects—Chisato, the goblin cave crew, or the other bunch of incomplete works… uh, I'm still tweaking it; they should be done soon.

Alright, we’ve covered the big stuff. If I missed anything and you’ve got questions, feel free to drop a comment below or hit me up on my server. Next, let me tell you what I’ve been up to lately.

Some of you might know I’m really into Chinese literature, especially the way ancient poets used subtle language to express themselves in poetry—it’s absolutely an art form. So, with Grok’s help, I finished writing the text for my spring couplets. But I still need someone to actually write them out because, honestly, I suck at calligraphy. So, I got my mom to help me find this master calligrapher who apparently even mayors and big shots go to for their stuff. Looks like I might have some mayor-level spring couplets now.

When I got these couplets, I didn’t even have glue at home. I had to run to my neighbor to borrow some just to stick them up. The meaning behind them is a bit tricky to explain perfectly in English. If you read Chinese, you’d probably appreciate them more. Basically, the right side uses the imagery of a clear stream flowing to metaphorically suggest inspiration naturally welling up like water. The left side uses the imagery of pine trees and a gentle breeze to imply wealth and good fortune arriving quietly like the wind. The top line draws from Tao Yuanming’s “Peach Blossom Spring,” with the line “unaware of the Han, nor of Wei or Jin,” to express a longing for a peaceful, prosperous era.

So, I’ve been dealing with insomnia for a while now. Picture this: you lie down at 2 a.m., ready to sleep, but when you close your eyes, it feels like your eyeballs are flipping around under your lids. You can’t just relax and shut your eyes—you have to force them closed. I even started wearing a sleep mask because my eyes just wouldn’t stay shut. Then I’m tossing and turning, checking my phone every hour, and maybe drifting off by 5 a.m. I wake up around 10 a.m., but feel like I haven’t rested at all. I remember telling that auntie who asked for advice about her elementary school daughter wanting to be a creator—the first thing I said was her daughter better be ready for nights of insomnia. It’s been a long-term issue for me, though it’s finally started to get better the last few weeks.

This room used to be my entire living space. Now, that spot that looks like a workout area is my bed. I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at my computer desk, then head straight to the bed in the back to sleep at night. In the morning, I get up and keep working in this same room. I used to think this setup was more efficient—everything right at your fingertips. But every night, no matter what, I just couldn’t sleep well. My coach told me I should separate my room into different spaces—one for eating, one for sleeping, and one for working. You know, when I first heard that, it sounded like some superstitious nonsense. How could changing rooms make any difference? But I still followed his advice.

But as soon as I moved my mattress to another room, I suddenly felt this sense of calm. No more blinking lights from electronics, and the space felt so open. That first night, I still didn’t sleep great, so I was skeptical about this whole “different rooms for different things” idea. But the next night, when I was getting ready to rest, I walked over and turned on the light in my other room, planning to take a shower and then head to bed. All of a sudden, I was shocked that the word “room” popped into my head, like it was a brand-new concept. Before, everything in my life happened in one place. In that moment, I got this feeling like I was on vacation at a hot spring resort: “I’m gonna take a shower, then head back to my room to relax, maybe roll around on the bed or use a massage gun to loosen up.” When I flipped on the light in that other room, it genuinely felt like I was somewhere else, like I was on a trip. I wasn’t stuck at my computer all day anymore. I suddenly realized that when I was playing *Rimworld* and separating all the rooms, it actually made sense—it really does make you feel better. It’s such a wild thing.

Moving my bed out of my workspace made it way less cramped, and now I’ve got so much more room. I can actually stretch out in the back when my neck and shoulders start aching, which keeps me from hurting all over the place. Honestly, I’m sleeping better at night now, and having that extra space to move around and stretch has really helped keep my body in better shape. I talk to my fitness coach a lot about what’s on my mind—I’ve got a ton of worries—and he told me, “You’ve got a lot of worries now, but if your health starts tanking, you’ll only have one worry left.” And yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Staring at a screen for hours messes up my neck and shoulders and gives me these damn headaches. If I could chop my head off and still live, I probably would, because the pain just hits out of nowhere, along with a bunch of other random health issues. A while back, someone told me about a 40-year-old manga artist who just dropped dead, and they were shocked. My reaction was like, “Huh? A manga artist? Oh, yeah, that job’ll kill you.” I guess deep down, I know being a creator is a deadly gig. So, I’m pretty stoked I’ve tweaked my lifestyle a bit—it might just help me live a little longer.

Let’s circle back to the first thing I mentioned in the article. I recently found this café run by a woman who’s about my dad’s age. She’s an absolute powerhouse. Everything in her café is homemade—except for growing the coffee beans herself. Her fruit tea? She buys the fruit, cuts it up, and turns it into jam herself. The cinnamon rolls, sandwich fillings, all of it—she makes from scratch. This woman is a total badass. I’ve heard some wild stories at her café, and one of them is about getting two scam calls in just 40 minutes.

One time, I ran into a retired teacher, probably around sixty. My Ray-Ban sunglasses caught his eye, and he said they reminded him of a Tom Cruise movie. We got to talking about the economy, and he asked me if I knew how much of the world’s wealth the top 1% own. I thought for a second and said, “Maybe 70%?” He said I was close—it’s about 63%. The wealth gap’s getting worse, he said, and asked what I thought was causing it. I’d talked about this before, so I didn’t even hesitate. “Simple,” I said. “The early birds grab everything, and then money just makes more money. It’s the fastest way to get rich.” Right after I said it, he frowned and blurted out, “What did you just say?” He looked kind of pissed. I realized I’d messed up. This guy was one of those “early birds.” My comment sounded like I was accusing his generation, but I wasn’t. It was just my take on why the wealth gap exists. Picture a Minecraft server with no reset mechanism. The first players chop down all the trees near the spawn, mine all the diamonds, and build houses to claim the land. Latecomers have to go farther out to find resources, but resources are finite and keep dwindling. Eventually, the server’s so picked over you can’t even find dirt or stone. That’s my point. I wasn’t judging his generation; it’s just what I’ve observed. I quickly backpedaled, saying, “Oh, no, I mean, your generation had its own challenges too.” Then I threw in a bunch of polite nonsense—don’t even remember what I said, just trying to smooth things over. He seemed satisfied and started sharing his own take on the wealth gap: it’s because money makes money faster. I laughed and pointed at him, “Didn’t I just say that?” He skipped over the “early birds” part of what I said, so he thought we agreed on the outcome but not the process. I'm sure he think it’s not about early birds taking everything—it’s just that money breeds money. He kept going, but I don’t really remember what he said after that. Honestly, I was kind of checked out from the conversation. You know, if the person across from you isn’t up for a real debate, you just let them talk. Debate sounds intense or aggressive, but I think it’s how humans move forward. It’s just been demonized as something hostile. People label you as aggressive or confrontational if you try to debate. If he had an issue with my “early birds” comment, he could’ve just asked, “Why do you think that?” Or if he had solid examples to prove me wrong, he could’ve said, “I don’t think that’s right, because…” and laid out his case. For example, before I wrote this article, I told my mom about the café owner getting two scam calls in forty minutes. My conclusion was, “Times are tough for everyone these days.” My mom shot back, “No way. Things were tough before too. People didn’t even have enough to eat, but there weren’t this many scams.” When she said that, I realized my take was off. It’s not that times are necessarily tougher now—something’s changed. Maybe the cost of crime is lower, like going to jail is a better deal than working. Or maybe society’s values have shifted—people might look down on the poor more than on criminals, so you’d rather steal, rob, and flaunt gold chains than be broke. I haven’t quite pinned down the exact reason yet, but when I do, I’ll let you know.

I ran into that retired jeweler again at the coffee shop near my place—the same sixty-something woman we talked about before. She told me her 87-year-old mom took a fall and hit the floor, needed a few stitches in her head. That’s why she’s been MIA lately; she’s been taking care of her. I was like, damn, an 87-year-old falling and hitting their head? I thought that’d be it, but nope, just a few stitches, and apparently, she was yelling about the pain with no other issues. We got to chatting about society and stuff, and she dropped that she deleted all her social media accounts. I told her, “Man, that must feel so freeing. Cutting out all that noise probably makes life better.” She nodded and said, “Oh yeah, now I can focus on farming and looking after my mom in the morning, read a bit in the afternoon, then cook dinner and spend time with family at night.” Honestly, this woman, who looks like your average sixty-year-old with super casual vibes, had a point. We both agreed that people on social media “sharing” their lives—snapping endless food pics, posting about yoga, crafting, or their latest trip—feels so hollow. It’s like performative flexing, screaming, “I’m free, I’m not chained to a job, I’m rich enough to do leisurely stuff.” We both see it, but I was struggling to pin down why people do it. So I asked her, “What’s driving this? Is it ego? Showing off? What’s the deal?” She gave this smirk, like she thought it was genuinely hilarious, and said, “Hmph, they’re just small-town folks who haven’t seen the world. What’s so special about this stuff?” She went on, “You post pictures saying your son got you this gift, your husband got you that—can’t you just buy those things yourself?” That hit me. From that moment, I started seeing it as “small-town mentality.” It’s such a perfect way to describe it.

# In the original text, she said "沒見過世面", It’s more like not having seen what the world looks like. In English, the closest term would be "small-town mentality," so that’s how I translated it. which is translated into small-town mentality. but this description is so spot-on that if you know Chinese, I bet you’d want to learn this phrase.

We then talked about how people these days are struggling more and feeling more disconnected. She said she thinks there should be a way to get the government or people to organize something inspiring. Like, can’t we get those who have the means to help out more? The rich pitch in money, the able-bodied pitch in effort, and we all figure out how to make this country better and stronger. “That’s a great ideal,” I told her. But in today’s world, if you went up to someone on the street and said, “Hey, can we take care of others?” they’d probably just say, “I’m already doing good by not robbing anyone.” Socialism sounds nice—people helping people—but honestly, socialism and communism are just a step apart. If you ask me if communism is good or bad, I’d say if you mean communism where Michael Jordan and a hot dog vendor make the same money, I think it’s bad. Okay, back to socialism. My neighbor, who’s a hairstylist, told me that forty or fifty years ago, when there were tons of young people, he worked at a hotel doing hair. A single haircut could cost $200 or even $300, and women would come in every week. The place was packed with young women clamoring to drop two or three hundred bucks on their hair. I think in that kind of high-output, high-circulation economy, socialism could work—most of the working population supporting a small number of retirees. But fast forward forty or fifty years, and almost all the wealth in society has flowed into real estate. People built a ton of houses no one can afford, and the money’s just sitting there. Everyone knows real estate holds value, so the goal for everyone in society is to buy a house and rent it out to have an income. Even my dad says that. He told me to save up, buy a house, rent it out, and that’s how I’ll have money. But think about it—if the whole country’s goal is to buy a house, retire, and live off other people’s rent, how can a country stay competitive? The money’s just frozen. Back to the population issue: before, you had lots of workers and few retirees, so young people could work, pay some taxes, and support the elderly. Now, there are more old folks than young ones. How can that system not break down? When we talk about these structural problems, everyone knows what’s wrong and how to fix it. It’s just that nobody’s doing anything about it.

Sometimes I get caught up in this… vibe, this weight of all the frustrations in society piling up. As regular people, it’s hard to do anything that actually shakes the world. Some folks think you can change things by riding a wave of emotions or passion. I’ve got a cousin’s kid, a little girl, who looks like the most miserable person on earth. She’s always angry, showing her frustration with her face or body language. I asked her mom what was up with her—she looked like a tiny angry bird. Her mom just said, “Oh, don’t mind her. She’s just like that.” So when this girl tries to do something with her emotions or gestures, she can’t even get through to her own mom. Her mom even told me to just ignore it. That made me realize the only thing you can really do is make yourself a little happier. Feeling or thinking about all the world’s pain, or even doing something extreme like setting yourself on fire like some monk, won’t change a thing. In the end, all we can do is try to live a bit happier. Remember when I said I had someone write a Chinese New Year couplet for me? The top line was about staying away from the world’s chaos and getting along with people, while every day doing a little bit of kindness to try to make the world a slightly better place because I’m in it.

Alright, that’s it for now. Anyway, I’m gonna focus on finishing that scene with Pekora and the goblin lair first. It’s a four-character scene, and I’m hoping my computer doesn’t catch fire while recording. If you have any questions or there’s something I didn’t cover, feel free to drop a comment below or hit me up on my Discord server. I’d be happy to answer your questions

https://discord.gg/AVm3TGhdYC