#*will follow for more update and future neopet projects!!*

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers: June 6th, 2021

I’m back with more ask responses! You can also check our Frequently Asked Question sheet if there’s something you’re wondering that’s not answered here.

FAQ   Also, if you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

Thank you for the patience with these questions  ♡

Hey in very beginning of step 3 in the scene where Mr.Holden had a thought dancing on the tip of his tongue but he kept it to himself after MC and Cove were being cute (idk if it makes a difference but this is when they're dating)... Can we know what he was thinking/ wanted to say? It's been bugging me lol 

He would’ve gone into a “look how much you’ve grown”, “your dad is so proud of you”, “I’m so glad things worked out with the MC”, and etc spiel, haha. But he resisted the urge to fawn on his baby boy, at least for that scene.

If we planned to move away for college/future plans in step 3, is it implied that MC and Cove would have a long distance relationship for sure? Could MC have convinced Cove to come with them? How is the dynamic of their relationship going to be addressed in Step 4, if that makes sense? 

Cove is willing to follow the MC where they went after everything is settled for them there, and if they’re sure they want him to come! You’ll get to decide how things shook out during those transitional years just by making choices about it during the opening prologue of Step 4.

Hi! First off, how does it feel to have created one of the best games when it comes to inclusion for lbtq+ peeps? I've never felt as validated with my identity and sexuality when playing a game and I'm seemingly not alone ♥ Second, and this might be a little too specific, but what kinds of drinks does Cove like as well as dislike? Thank you, you're the best ♥

Thank you for very much! It’s really nice to hear the game felt inclusive. Cove likes regular water and fruit juices/smoothies most! He dislikes coffee and cola, and he’s not super into most teas either.

Hi, may i ask what gb patch stands for? Specifically the gb part lol

It stands for my old, silly username I used in places like Neopets as a kid, aha. The company name wasn’t super thought out since it was originally just me making VNs as a hobby. Luckily, “GB Patch” kind of seems like it could mean something reasonable, so I didn’t have to rebrand when it did become a more serious, commercial group.

If we chose to not propose to cove in the step 3 dlc would he propose or would the mc propose in step 4 or the wedding dlc? 

Yeah, you or Cove can propose in Step 4 if you’re not already engaged! The Wedding DLC takes place after the engagement so the proposal scenes aren’t there.

will you guys announce if the early access for the new game is out on patreon ? 

When beta builds of Step 4 or whatever start coming out on the Patreon we will mention it here on social media too.

Heyy I just had a quick question about Baxter if that’s okay :)?

I saw in an ask+answer that it’s possible to casually date Baxter In step 3, but what leads up to that? I have the step 3 dlc and I’ve tried playing them In a different orders and ways but it doesn’t seem to get anywhere ^^;

The Step 3 DLC is Cove-based because he’s the default guy. There’s a separate Baxter romance DLC that’s not out yet. That’s where you can get him to date you. I’m sorry for the confusion!

Will we ever get any LI's or side characters with physical disabilities or deformities? I think your games would be a great place to have them in since they're always so accepting and safe! 

Yeah, we do hope to have representation for that in future projects ^^. Thank you for the confidence in us.

Is it possible to get Cove to take the bed and MC to sleep on the floor? 

Not in Step 3, I’m afraid.

So, I have played the prologue of Our Life countless times and I haven't gotten the [Your Life] achievement, why is that? 

Steam sometimes isn’t connected properly when an achievement unlocks and so it remains locked on your account. If that happens, unfortunately getting the scene again won’t unlock it. The achievement becomes inaccessible because the game thinks you already have it. Playing with the same Steam account on a different device or fully deleting your game data (more than the only the save files) are the only work arounds we’ve found.

Since when you talk with Jeremy in step 3 it's mentioned he goes on dates with someone (which assume is JB because who else would take this boy on dates) that makes him happy, does that sort of make JB and Jeremy the canon relationship in the first game?

The default for XOXO Droplets is that JB casually goes on dates with each of the jerks! Shiloh would’ve been harsher if Jeremy was the only guy getting her attention, haha. But the player can change that default by dating just one person the whole game for their own story and who she ends up with for real has no default.

Hi, hello! Huge OL fan, thank you so much for the wholesome content, it was very much needed during these times. Managed to get several people to join team Cove, so that's very exciting, I always have people to fawn over him with. I have a little question and I'm sorry if it was asked before, but does it ever come up in the game what Cove has told his mom about us? (who knows, with so many options, one can miss it) Or, alternatively, will it come up in the Step 4 DLC? 

Thank you very much for sharing the game with people <3. It’s really great to hear people are liking it. Right now that doesn’t come up in game. Kyra is willing to keep her mouth shut and Cove isn’t gonna have that conversation either. At least not when he’s younger, but yes, perhaps when he’s a fully grown big boy in Step 4 you can ask him about it.

I’ve been thinking about this ever since it has been confirmed that there would be two love interests for OL2, would there be the possibility of forming a polyamorous relationship with both love interests? I’m sorry if you answered this previously, I’m just curious. 

We are considering it, but it’s not a guarantee yet. It’d be really great to have but it’d add so many extra alterations that’d need to made, aha.

Hello! You mentioned how Cove would be uncomfortable with kids at 23, but how old would he be when he’s comfortable with having/adopting kids? (Same goes for the other LI’s.) btw, love your game!! 

He’d want to be at least 25, but even older would be good. Derek would want to have kids when he and his partner could reasonably support them, the age itself wouldn’t matter. If they were doing good at 22 and wanted kids, he’d be up for it. Or they could wait until their 30s or whatever. Baxter is also more of a “when it feels right” guy rather than having a specific age requirement. Cove is just especially wary of being a young parent because of his own parents. I’m happy you like the game!

does step 4 immediately play after you press "end summer" in step 3? or is there another button/transition (like the story text thingy) before the epilogue begins? what happens after the epilogue? roll credits? 😂 

Step 4 will have transition section always and there will be an extra button, if you own the Derek or Baxter DLC. By default the Cove-based version of Step 4 just plays once Step 3 is over. However, having the other guys’ storylines will mean you get to pick which version of Step 4 plays; Cove Step 4 (the basic one), Derek Step 4, or Baxter Step 4.

Happy pride, thank you for all you do for us🥰

I have a quick question though, I recently got a MacBook after my old windows computer broke, and now steam says I cannot download it, but it has no issues with other games, what can I do to download it?? I’m sorry if my English is bad

Happy pride month! Unfortunately, Our Life isn’t available for Mac on Steam right now. To be an approval application Apple requires having special notarization and we as a small group haven’t gotten that. Itch doesn’t care and lets us release the game for Mac there anyway, Steam does care so we’re locked out of putting the Mac build up on their storefront. Feel free to email us and we can try to help the situation out further!

support@gbpatchgames.com

Hello! I was jus wondering if the Baxter and Derek DLCs are still happening? I haven’t heard anything about them on here or patreon in a while so I just wanted to make sure ^^

They’re still coming and we just released a new sprite sketch on the Patreon for the Derek DLC c:. But right now Step 4 is still much more of a priority. Once that’s closer to being done we’ll focus way more on sharing previews for the other guys.

is it possible to tell cove you love him (platonically) at step 3 fondness/selecting him as basically family? i just love the mc and liz sibling interactions and it got me wondering about it (especially if you've selected that option)

You and Cove can be as close as family, but there’s not a specific scene in Step 3 where you say “I love you” in a family context. But there’s always Step 4~

do you intend on ever adding a collectors mode to Our Life? Like a way to collect achievements and CGs for the gallery without it effecting any save files? 

We weren’t considering it before. But if a lot of players would find that helpful, we could start thinking on that!

Sorry if it's a silly question haha, but (in crush/love) is Cove really aware of how cute and cuddly he seems to MC? If so, what does he think or do about it? Or does he just ignore it? 

He isn’t particular aware. Cove never truly stops being surprised that the MC is interested in/attracted to him, haha.

Would you say that the alone ending of xoxo droplets is worth playing again to get? 

Nope, haha. The goal is to make friends/get a boyfriend and so the alone ending is kind of the bad ending for the game. Though there is a consolation prize if you get it by accident.

Is there any possible situation which would ever prompt Pran to bake for his girlfriend? Like I know it's unlikely I mean even if JB broke her leg somehow I'm pretty sure he'd still be like "I considered baking you a cake and doing the frosting the way I think looks interesting but you don't deserve a cake, no one does." right but also ahhh it would be super nice if some day he just surprised her with baked goods one day out of nowhere. JB would be so shocked it would be cute. So is there any possible situation where that could/would be a thing that he would do? 

He might bake out of spite, like if he felt he had to prove her wrong on something. Or if JB used some good reverse psychology on him. Or he might do it in a relatively nice way if he could make his GF so shocked by the kind gesture that his amusement with that overrode his insistence on not being sweet. Pran is very difficult in high school, aha.

Is the "one route (where) it can be seen that Everett will drop his seemingly eternal waging with Jeremy pretty easily and can start getting along without thinking much on it" the Lucas route? I'm curious! 

Yep! Everett will side with Jeremy if it’s between him and Lucas.

Hi I hope you guys are having a great day :) I just had to ask how Cliff would feel about Cove's partner/fiancé Mc calling them dad whether it be accidental or otherwise and secondly I also wanted to ask how he would feel about being asked to be the one to give the mc away at their wedding. 

He would be very touched and excited! I hope you have a good day too :D

Hello! I saw an ask relating to whether Cliff "moves on" after Cove's grown up and stuff (and he stays single), but what about Kyra? Will she be with anyone else or will she stay single? 

She does start dating again, but she takes it slow.

Hi! I absolutely love the art for characters in OL and I wonder is this fine to draw my MC in same drawing style and upload online later? Is this something artists would be okay with? Thank you! 

Yeah, you can certainly do that C:

Hey there!

I wonder if I'm just being stupid here.. Is Step 4 a DLC? And if so, where can I find it? I can't seem to find it on Steam :< Thank you!

Step 4 is a free epilogue! It’s not done yet, but once it is finished you’ll just update your game file and Step 4 will be there after Step 3 ends.

hi! are step 4 and the wedding dlc two different things?

They are. Step 4 is a free epilogue that’ll be a default part of the game once it’s done, the wedding DLC is an optional paid expansion that takes place after Step 4.

Why did Baxter not receive a step 2 sprite seeing how he shows up later

Sprites are time consuming to draw and take money out of the budget that could’ve gone to other things. His tiny appearance in Step 2 wasn’t worth all the effort to make a sprite, aha.

I just realized, what happens if if you get the patreon exclusive moment but at a later date, when you don't have the membership anymore, it's updated (like a bugs fix update for example)? Would you have to get the membership again? 

You would have to get the membership again to redownload the build. But there’s very little chance there’s going to be an update once it’s been out for over a month. If a build gets released with errors, players catch/report them within the first few days. So by the time the first subscription period ends, any problems that were noticeable would already have been fixed. And we’re certainly not gonna be adding new content to it once it’s been released for a long time. There’s no need to worry about missing out on something worthwhile in the future if you cancel your membership. It’s being made with the idea in mind that many players are gonna be getting it and then going.

Hello! Wanted to ask about gaming choice in step 3? Once upon a playthorugh I got the option to buy Cove a bracelet for his graduation present. I played the same basic character again and that option wasn't there anymore. I'm not sure where I went wrong. My Cove wears a bracelet on each hand and my MC is into fashion and jewelry. Do I need to put an earring on him or? Sorry, love your game so much. 

He also needs to have liked bracelets in Step 2 for that to be considered a good gift option for him. Sorry for the confusion! I’m happy you love the game :)

Is Step 4 being released at the same time as the Wedding DLC or will the first come before the latter? Thank you! 

I’m not sure. Ideally they’ll come out at the same time, but the wedding DLC has a lot of art to get done and we may have to release it after Step 4.

Can mc still get confession from Cove at the end of step 3 even if mc casually dates Baxter in step 3? Such as in crush mode? 

I don’t think so. Maybe that’ll change, but generally there’s differences to the Step 3 ending if you were dating Baxter and those differences likely will conflict with getting the Cove confession.

For the patreon moments/dlcs, will it be available for all tiers? 

It’ll be available for tier 2 (Fans) and up!

[uselessbard1031]

All Current Fics Update (March 29 2021)

Hey! Just wanted to pop on here and give ya’ll a little update on where each fic stands currently chapter wise and when I anticipate finishing each one (as well as some future fic ideas I have in progress).

The end dates may or may not change just depending on if I feel like writing that fic or not one day, as I’m trying to write for fun; Trying to write to write. So, without further ado, here is my tentative fic updates list.

LOK X Reader Oneshots:

Current chapters: 47 / infinity

Estimate End Date: These will not end. I will be writing these until the end of my fanfiction career. :)

I Bought A War Criminal:

Current Chapters: 20 / 26

Estimated End Date: August 2021

Notes: I’ve fallen out of love with Kuvira as I’ve fallen deeper in love with MILFS lol. I still love her character and will be writing more fics with her in the oneshots and on her own, but it’s because I don’t simp for her anymore that finishing this fic will take time. I have it planned but I don’t want to rush it and thus have the writing quality suffer. 

Kya’s Wife:

Chapters: 2 / 6 (Working on the third after I finish this post)

Estimated End Date: May 2021

Notes: I am in love with this idea of Kya having a wife that for some unknown reason wasn’t in the show. I mean, the woman has a betrothal necklace and GAY! Lol. I’m actually working on some fanart of the scene from the first chapter right now because I love it so much (though I’m no artist so don’t get excited).

Dear Copper:

Chapters: 16 / 18

Estimated End Date: March / April 2021

Notes: This was my first two author fic and I really enjoyed it. I made a good friend during the process and currently am waiting on their chapter before we write the final one. I definitely recommend  writing as part of a team sometime because it has been quite the experience. 

So Close, Yet So Far Away:

Chapters: 6 / ???

Estimated End Date: July/August 2021

Notes: I have a few ideas for this fic but no set plans. It could run anywhere from three more chapters to thirty more, depending on where the story takes me. It’s not my main focus right now, as I’m trying to clear out some other longer fics first. However, it will still get updates, don’t worry. ;)

Dearly Departed:

Chapters: 6 / 13

Estimated End Date: May/June 2021

Notes: I have so much steam for this project and am beyond excited for what I have planned. I will honestly probably finish it before most of the others on this list just because I get so excited to write it. 😅

The Future.....

Currently I have two ideas for longer length future fics that won’t get put out until I at least halve my current fanfic workload. Then again...doesn’t mean I can’t tease you ;)

Burnout - A Lin X Reader Fic

A promising young firebender who chose to give up the opportunities her parents always wanted her to have comes to work along side Lin starting up a K-9 unit for the RCPD. Lin was promised a gifted and mature firebender with years of experience; Instead, she gets a fun loving sarcastic girl who everyone thinks has lost her way. Can this free spirit break through Lin’s armor to her heart and teach her how to live in the moment?

Avatar: The Balance of Raava and Vaatu

Set in the avatar world about  forty four years after LOK (putting us approximately in the 1960s) this fic will be something new for me: a non X-reader. 

 The water tribes feel threatened at a corporation’s plans to put a man on the moon, but the tribe leaders take only peaceful and political action. Will it be enough? Or will they need to fight?

On top of it all, Shova, the girl trained to be the avatar after Korra’s death may have a dark secret that even she is unaware of. 

This fic will follow the story of the avatar after Korra, a boy named Len, and his friends as they traverse a world caught up in a cold war over the space race. They’ll fight villains as they go, but also be forced address the possibility that perhaps good and evil isn’t black and white. Maybe, we are all a part of the grey.

Thank you all for your support over this past, what, not even a year of writing fanfiction? I love reading your comments and the fact that I have people willing to follow me here just blows me away. 

I hope you will continue to support me through all kinds of fics I write. But that being said, don’t worry the X readers aren’t going anywhere. ;)

Also, to whoever put ‘Neopets’ in the google form when I asked what social media you all wanted to see? We’re married now. No take backs. Lol. XD

[neomatch]

Neomatch is live!

Neomatch is a “dating site” made for the purpose of pairing the neotag’s lonely neopet OCs together with the intention of finding them friends, and maybe a little something more :)

Like all fun things, NeoMatch has some guidelines we would like you to read before submitting apps to help clear up any confusion or concerns! Please click to read more about this project and learn how you can be part of it.

Guidelines

Neomatch is intended to be a fun, community building activity and resource for people in the neopets fandom who would like to incorporate other’s neopet OCs into their stories/character development and need somewhere to start. We want to keep this site as drama free as possible and ask everyone to abide by the following rules:

Neomatch is purely for fun and not meant to be taken too seriously, so please refrain from starting conflict if your neopet does not find a partner or is turned down by the partner you wanted for them. This site is for making friends, not enemies! 

We ask everyone to respect the boundaries of the other individuals associated with this site. That means that if someone isn’t looking for romance for their pet, don’t ask! If they don’t want to RP or have ship art drawn of their pet then please be sure to respect that. What this also means is, regardless of the pet’s sexuality, if the user has stated they are only looking for a specific gender of partner for their pet, please abide to that as well. (I.E. someone’s OC is bisexual but only interested in girls, don’t pursue them with your male OC! Neopets can have preferences, too)

The minimum OC age to use this service is 16, and RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN UNDERAGE OCS AND ADULT OCS ARE NOT ALLOWED!!!! We have created tags with the purpose to seperate the adults from the teens, but while searching through other tags on our blog PLEASE keep an eye out for which OCs are “neominors” and “neoadults” respectively. The only exception to this is the “2 year age gap” rule which basically means that if your OC is 16, the oldest OC they can date is 18. If your pet is 17, the oldest OC they can date is 19. Please be mindful of this rule regardless of what your opinion is of age gaps irl. Anyone found to be purposely breaking this rule will be removed and blocked from Neomatch and will not be allowed to participate in events related to it.

Contact us ASAP if you receive any form of harassment from someone related to using this service. This includes disrespecting pre-established boundaries (unsolicited RP/ship art), pressuring or giulting someone into having your OCs date/be friends, and anything related to shipping minors/adult OCs together (that breaks the 2 year age gap rule). Anyone who is found to be breaking the rules will either be given a warning or be blocked and banned from using the service (depending on the severity of the situation). 

Now that is over with, let’s get to the fun part!

1. Making your Application

Below are examples of the templates available to you at this time, the first one is the Neomatch Application which is required to fill out in order to use this service.

Here’s a beautifully illustrated and completed version of the template made by Zji:

Here is where you can download the template yourself! The folder includes a Visual Guide, a blank PNG, and a blank PSD.

The second template is the Neomatch Profile which is completely optional!

Here’s Zji’s version of the profile:

Here is where you can download the blank version of the profile, as well as the visual guide +PSD! This template is easiest to fill out in Photoshop, but if you don’t have Photoshop you can add text to the blank profile in another art program like Paint. If you want to add emojis to your profile but don’t have them on your computer, I would type up the bio on tumblr mobile, save as a draft, screenshot it, then paste into the profile :)

Here is a brief rundown of what is OK and not ok to do when filling out the templates:

Feel free to

change the color of the background, text boxes, and font as you wish (as long as you can still read it)

add multiple pictures into picture box

use a different font to fill out the form

Please refrain from

Changing the color of the header/footer (This is fine on the Profile, but we want to keep the grey top and bottom on the Application)

Removing or editing the Neomatch logo

Leaving info boxes blank (except for the “Other” box) 

Filling out the form illegibly (if you really want to write in the info yourself just make sure other people can read it)

Using images you don’t have permission to use as the profile picture

If you have any problems filling out the form or have questions for us related to it, please send us an ask or DM and we will help you ASAP.

Here is where you can see some more of Zji’s apps/profiles if you want to see more examples.

2. Submitting your application

If you go to the Submit page you will see we have a few more rules and stuff to follow just to help keep stuff organized. I will briefly address them here as well as some other things 

We prefer at this time if you don’t post your applications to tumblr on your main blog/other blogs. You are absolutely welcome to reblog submissions from us, but we would like to keep everything in one place and don’t want to clutter people’s feed’s with the same picture over and over again.

You can submit as many apps as you want, but if we receive a lot of submissions at once we may put them into a queue to try to space out the posts.

It’s very important to use that you tag your submission correctly to save us a little bit of time when uploading them, we can’t tag them for you because we aren’t at liberty to assume what your OC is looking for

If your application or something related to your submission is incorrect we will send you a message and explain how you can fix it

If you have any questions or are confused about the submission process please shoot us an ask and we will try our best to help you

It is also required to fill out the following form in the description of your submission to be accepted:

Contact: (your blog[s] here) Is it OK to draw your OC interacting with other OCs platonically?: (yes/no/ask first) Is it OK for Neomatch to send you “Matches’ via DM with similar characters your OC may be compatible with, or would you like to look by yourself?: (yes or no) [BE SURE TO HAVE YOUR DMS OPEN IF YOU SAY YES OR ELSE YOU WONT GET MATCHES FROM US] If you marked “No” above, is it still okay for us to match your OC with other’s OCs? (you won’t get a DM from us but someone might DM you): (yes/no) Other important info: (maybe include a bit of your character’s backstory & if you are looking for characters to add to your story, etc? or anything else at all you would like to include)

3. Receiving Neomatches

We intend on providing a little matchmaker service to those who opt into it, what it consists of is the admins of this blog helping you find friends/romance for your OC by taking mutual interests, location, age, and so on into consideration and pairing your OC with someone else’s based off of that. These “Neomatches” will be DMed to you privately (SO KEEP YOUR DMs OPEN) and it’s completely up to you on whether or not you’d like to pursue it or not. The message will consist of something like “_____ has a new match!” and we’ll DM you the profile of the other OC. If you find this service annoying or are not interested in using it you can let us know and we will stop sending them to you :)

I think that basically covers the jist of it, so keep an eye out for future updates and announcements! Feel free to send us an ask here if you have any questions or concerns related to using this service! We hope you all have as much fun with this as we will!

[sonicmega]

Hm... I'm enthralled now. How did you come to do voice acting? Was it a sort of, spur of the moment? Or was it more so like a passion you wanted to pursue after highschool/college? I've also begun to wonder. What do you specifically do to change the timbre of your voice? I assume its different for every voice actor out there and, given your experience, you've most likely developed a method no? Lastly, how do you land jobs? Do you need a specific talent or is it more so fitting the voice color?

January 2007 

I discover that voice acting is a thing. My time spent on Neopets noticeably dwindles for the moment.

(Also none of these are specific moments that I think made or broke my career, I am just offering all relevant moments in time)

Feb/Mar 2007 

A man by the name of Deven “Mac” notices my frequent postings on Newgrounds - my fervent spamming, more like - and informs me about Voice Acting Club. Kira Buckland, 10 years younger, is finishing up school soon and has begun plans for moving out of Alaska to pursue life in Cali

March 2007 - 2008

Amateur Voice Acting AHOY! I audition for a shitload of projects, mostly fandubs. Mostly Newgrounds. my voice is terrible but my enthusiasm and energy is unyielding. Mac helps me with basic tenets of voiceover techniques and I also exhibit some pretty shitty behaviors (delaying submitting lines for weeks because I’m nervous about ‘doing them wrong’).

September 2008 

I get accepted into Western Michigan on a scholarship. I decide to major in Film/Video/Media studies because it’s 'the most similar to what I want to do’ (Voiceover) and decide to put more personal interests in as minors (Journalism, Japanese, Psychology).

The actual curriculum itself did jack shit for my career but it’s what I did during my time there that matters more.

2008-2012

Four years of college. I make friends within my interest groups but nearly all of my time is spent either in class or in my dorm room on my PC. OMGPOP is king of my time until Maplestory releases the Evan class.

More importantly, it was also the formative years of my freelance career.

I sign up for Voice123 membership. It goes horribly. Low ratings nearly all the time. I take on an audiobook job and deliver over-estimate by 7 goddamn months. Client is PISSED.A site called VoiceBunny also crops up; more suited for quick one-off jobs that don’t need 'the perfect voice’, just a suitable one. Extremely reliant on being at your computer at a moment’s notice.

I have no social life.

This meshes well.

Within college, I am constantly involved in things related to acting/voiceover.

- On-campus Sexual Health Peer Education group (skits and lectures) all 4 years of attendance. This also gave me opportunities to record voiceover for segments needing 'voice of god’- local radioplay group All Ears Theater (2 productions every 2-3 months, included a formal audition process and live performances in front of audiences for later broadcast via radio/web)- Audio Production class (as part of my Major) quick-learns me basic editing techniques, directly translates to my ability to do quickfire editing and turnaround now as a freelancer.- Continuing to do auditions for stuff for Voice Acting club. This is probably the most similar to many ‘Tumblr phase’ performers on here.Over time, constant exposure + guidance from peers/my mentor helps me to hone my skills. I still tend to 'loud-act’ things, IE using an unnecessarily loud/forceful voice for simple business narration,but I’m beginning to understand the intricacies of different styles (Commercial vs. Promo vs. character, etc)

January 2009

During winter break, on a ski trip with family, I learn about Anime Expo’s AX Idol competition. I tell my dad the one thing I want for my birthday present is funding to help go to this convention and compete. He obliges.

Summer 2009

I go to Anime Expo and compete in AX Idol for voiceover.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUQpkyfVYog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-PwvyeM1jw

Things go well.

Fall 2009 - sometime 2011

Things DO NOT GO WELL. My victory at AX causes me to feel like I know what I am doing, leads to an almost 2 year stint of godawful delivery choices as I 'phone in’ performances like they’re just going to be good on foundation. My mentor is frustrated with me and at least one peer of mine actively thinks I don’t deserve the kinds of opportunities I’ve had over how hard he himself has worked.

2012

I graduate from college, determine that the only way I’m going to make progress is by forcing myself into the community where the industry exists. If I’m going to get workshops and studio auditions and actual non-online work, I need to be where the work is.

Summer 2012, 2 months after graduation

I move from Michigan to California

I have enough savings to cover about a year of rent if everything goes horribly horribly wrong (including losing every single freelance client I’d slowly built relationships with during college), but it’s obvious I need to find work to continue to stay out here.

I take a Graveyard shift job at Stanley security. It sucks my fucking soul out.

Meanwhile by day, I am still doing my freelance thing. I let BangZoom know I am now local. I work with my mentor on piecing together a demo both from good bits I’d done before and fresh content written for the demo, something I can show off to clients that is good enough to be worth listening to but that I can admit “I am new to the area and aiming to get my foot in the door for more professional work so that I can update my portfolio accordingly”

2012-2014

The Workshop Grind

Workshops with BangZoom, with Crispin Freeman, with VoiceTrax West, etc.

Through character archetype classes, I begin to understand where my inherent strengths lie (I already had an idea from my freelance side, but now I was able to confirm those strengths by having actual professionals go “You made great choices”)

BangZoom, meanwhile, SLOWLY works me up the chain of trust. I get called in for unpaid walla sessions just to see if I can meet appointments on time and follow directions.

Then unnamed 1-time characters in a crowd.

Then unnamed characters you can hear.

Then a recurring unnamed character.

Then at some point I get audition sides for something called Sword Art Online, for Kirito and Diabel. I initially only plan on auditioning for Kirito (dem Protagonist dweams) but have a last-minute Skype Workshop with Crispin about my auditions and get feedback from him.

He recommends I still try out for Diabel because it plays into my strengths and “why the hell not?”

I do.

2013-2014

Pretty much my ONLY studio work is coming from BangZoom, and it’s not frequent. I quit my job at Stanley only because I had some extra savings now and wanted to force myself to 'git gud’ instead of letting a safety net of money keep me from pursuing more.

But slowly, SLOWLY, through BangZoom auditions and the occasional booking, web strings begin to attach.

Out of personal interest, I do a brief stint as a QA tester for NIS America. This also happens around the time BangZoom is casting for DanganRonpa and Fairy Fencer F. My employment didn’t affect my audition chances, but it did solidify NISA’s knowledge of me as a voiceover artist.

I do some work for Ys: Memories of Celceta for a company called XSEED. Nothing comes of it until almost 3 years later, when a new localization lead named Brittany recalls my performance from Ys and says “I think he could be a really good fit for this dude named Rean Schwarzer”.

I land work on Killer Instinct through BangZoom. The director of that LOVES my performance, proceeds to slowly bring me back now and again for recurring roles on stuff like Gundam IBO and other projects.

Back to XSEED.I land my lead role in Trails of Cold Steel. Recording is at PCB Productions, who now knows I exist.

Everyone has a good time, I send my samples/demos to PCB (now updated further), they begin sending me THEIR audition sides as well.

At one point, a director for PCB I know well is collaborating with a studio called Cup of Tea on Akiba’s Beat. Kira has been working with Cup of Tea for YEARS but I had never had an opportunity to get in touch with them before now.

Director puts me in touch with Cup of Tea, who now knows I exist. Session goes decently, I tell them I am very interested in pursuing future work/auditions and would like to share my demos with them. They accept.For sake of time I will leave that thread where it is because I imagine you can understand what the underlying theme is.

Just a sporadic but progressive timeline of preparedness + Opportunity allowing me to expand my options.

Back to Workshop Side:

I continue actively pursuing workshops for other companies, especially VoiceTrax west. I sign up for “meet the pros” evenigns where I have a chance to perform + get feedback.

The workshop actively disclaimers that there is no expectation of getting work + it is intended to be a learning experience, but I go in with the mindset of “I’m going to leave them WANTING to work with me”.

With a much more thorough understanding of my strengths by now, I tend to do a formula of picking 1-2 characters I know I can do well, and one that is within my range but is relatively challenging. Worst case scenario I still leave a good impression, best case I completely surprise myself (and the host) and leave a lasting one.

This works out well. Said method greatly interests a representative from Mattel and one from Disney Parks (not the animation side, just the theme park side). I thank them for their time, ask if I can share demos with them/get their contact email, contact them and express interest in receiving audition opportunities.

Through one of these same workshops, I also meet my future agency, SBV Talent’s lead person Mary Ellen Lord. I do the same thing. Mary proceeds to circumvent SBV’s entire policy of “Referrals Only” representation to ask me to come to their offices to record an official application demo.Note that none of these workshop outcomes, or the workshops themselves, were things pointed to me by studios I was working for. This section was all self-driven/pursued (and also required me to be local).Since then, I’ve been continuing the routine of doing freelance work from home, sending out auditions for studio-hosted projects when the sides are provided to me, and generally working with my mentor when I have questions about approaching a certain character. Either because of personal growth or recent portfolio additions (or both), my success rate with booking new roles has kind of shot up; I’m hoping this trend continues for the foreseeable future.