#reworked piece from April 2022!

[ahyuggg]

Happy bday Dimitri! ^^

[vyl3tpwny]

why it ourple

ok.

i'm going to tell you the story of how purple became my favourite colour. and then, where the name vylet pony came from.

———————————————————

ch.1 the mace windu incident

once upon a time. I really liked star wars. i kind of still like star wars i guess. but when i was a kid, i REALLY liked star wars.

in my room, i had a mace windu poster.

i still can't find the exact poster. it looked something like this

mace windu was my fav star wars character for an inconceivably long time. with that, i also became fascinated with his purple lightsaber. nobody else had a purple lightsaber. i loved it. staring at that poster constantly made me really like the colour purple. ever since the poster started exerting its technicolour pressures and whimsies upon me, i became fixated on the colour purple. forever.

"hai!~ im mace windu and i loveee Videos!" - mace windu, star wars episode iii: revenge of the sith

———————————————————

ch. 2 the viny scratch era

fast forward like 7 years. i am in the my little pony fandom now. i am 13 years old. i really like vinyl scratch. she is pictured here:

my first online presence in the mlp community was as a vinyl scratch / dj pon3 roleplay account. for a good year, people called me vinyl and "vy".

however when it came time to start releasing music in the fandom, i couldn't go by vinyl scratch at the time. this name was already being used by the artist who currently goes by Scraton!

this is still one of my favourite songs by them:

anyway. i actually held a really insane, irrational grudge against scraton for being named "vinyl scratch" as a music artist before me. i got past that after a while, because i had to stop being 13 first. i stopped being 13 and eventually fell in love with their music and we became friends later after!

but it's 2013 and i can't be vinyl scratch anymore. people already called me "vy" because of being a vinyl scratch persona.

so.

———————————————————

ch. 3 it's vylet time-wait is that can opener? CANNI?

it started on december 28, 2012. i posted to my then-instagram account this image:

you may recognize this as my oc canni. here's their reworked look in the 2022 album (10 years later) can opener's notebook: fish whisperer (illustrated by @astroeden):

can opener's original name was "ultra vylet". their colour scheme was originally intended to be the inverse of vinyl scratch's, as a sort of strange protest to not being able to be vinyl scratch. i was like ok. well if i cant be vinyl scratch, i am going to make a character that swaps the main colours. within a few months of "ultra vylet" existing, i discarded the design in favour of a completely different one:

this would be the only time vylet consistently had purple in her design until 2018 or so.. lol.

then. on april 15, 2013, i posted this to my instagram:

i had essentially combined three things:

The fact the people called me "vy'

The fact that my favourite colour is purple (violet)

The fact that I wanted to be vinyl scratch (dj pon3) before

———————————————————

ch. 4 vylet pony ≠ vinyl scratch

that is to say, i never really put a lot of thought into "vylet pony" as a name. i just made it when i was 14 and now i am going to be 25 soon. will i keep vylet pony as a name forever? not sure. do i take great pride in its insanely snarky origin? absolutely.

after i had decided firmly on "vylet pony" as a name — after dropping the "3" from it — i made a new instagram account. the very first thing i posted to it was this:

illustrated by my friend, shade.

now that looks slightly vylet-like, design-wise, oc-wise. oh. but now she is grey and black? ok.

she stopped being purple from 2013-2018.

here is how her design progressed through the years:

the first one is by my then-partner sara. this is when vylet's cutiemark was still an upside down music note, reflected from "ultra vylet" / can opener's original design. i'll show how it became a puzzle piece next.

the second one is by shade

the third one is by chibadeer

the fourth one is by astroeden

———————————————————

ch. 5 the puzzle piece

to this day, i still cannot find the fanart in question. but over instagram, someone asked to draw fanart of my pony. in doing so, they misconstrued the shape of the upside down music note as a puzzle piece, like this:

i've been looking forever for the original fanart/fanartist that made this mistake. because ever since that art, i just stuck with it anyway. i like puzzles and puzzle games. i'm also a puzzling and enigmatic person. and the puzzle piece can go into so many different things. all sorts of problem solving is like a puzzle. music fits neatly into that category in my opinion. so because of its intrigue and ability to mean so many different things, i just went with it. i never looked back.

———————————————————

ch. 6 that is the history of the colour purple and vylet pony character design

i hope this answers the question "why it ourple"!

[sirenspells]

WIPs and abandoned projects (March 2021-December 2023)

Info on each one (as well as what the songs/audio sources are):

The song playing in the intro and outro is Dianthus Nardiformis from the Dreaming Mary OST.

19: March 2021. Okay so this one's not actually a work in progress. I made this on my 19th birthday, the joke being that the singer just says 19 then it ends. I think I thought it was kinda dumb so I didn't end up actually posting it. Also features a sona I had before Cress that I never really got attached to, so she was barely used. Song is 19 by Old 97's.

Lonely Holiday: July 2021. This has the honor of being the first OMORI mv I ever attempted. I started this on a whim while bored out of my mind dogsitting for a couple weeks, and I kinda just lost interest in it. Dunno if I'll go back to it. Song is Lonely Holiday by Old 97's.

Numb: July 2021. Another one I started while dogsitting, and another one I kinda just lost interest in, but I absolutely want to revisit it someday because it's an idea I've had for a while and still really want to do. Song is Numb (Linkin Park Cover) by Robyn Adele Anderson.

The Artist: December 2021. I stopped working on this one because doing everything manually frame-by-frame got really annoying and I started to hate working on it. I dunno why I did the zoom in manually but it looks bad, lol. The entire MV would have been just this verse of the song because I thought it really fit Basil and Omori. Tbh I still like how this looks and I may come back to it. Song is The Artist by The Hush Sound.

Higher: February 2022. It's the animation meme. I actually posted this wip a while ago but I'm still gonna include it here for completion's sake. This was really just storyboard practice, so I don't have much of an interest in completing it beyond this. It's Omori Strikers AU (my omori x persona 5 crossover au) and it's basically about Omori's identity issues due to being Sunny's Shadow. The quality's really bad on this one, for some reason iMovie refused to export it in a higher quality than this, I don't know why. Song is High by SIVIK.

Little Sunbeam: February 2022. This MV would have centered on the omari au, and beyond this it'd switch to Mari's pov and take on different palettes. Doing that text effect made working on this very annoying and would make my art program lag a lot so I lost interest in working on it. I might revisit this one, though I'd have to rework the original idea I had now that my perception on the common omari au has changed lol. Song is Little Sunbeam by Eleisha Eagle.

Nightmarish: April 2022. This MV would technically be a remake of one I made in 2020. Same song, same color palette, but with a completely new media. Part of wanting to work on this is wanting to spread Dreaming Mary propaganda cause I love it and I think people who like OMORI will like Dreaming Mary as well. Also I love this song. I definitely wanna go back to this one at some point. Song is Nightmarish from the Dreaming Mary OST.

Keep You Safe: July 2022. Like Higher I also posted this wip before but will still include it here. I absolutely want to go back to this one someday because I still really like the idea I have for it. Fun fact, for those who remember this piece, that was based on this MV, but it's not like you can tell based on what's shown here. Song is Keep You Safe by The Crane Wives.

Four Walls: August 2022. Amnesiac Omori MV, what would have been his youtube introduction if I hadn't stopped working on it and then made When Am I Gonna Lose You. I think I kinda just lost interest in this one, though I wanna go back to it at some point I think. Song is Four Walls (The Ballad of Perry Smith) by Bastille.

Someone Gets Hurt: January 2023. Amnesiac omori again babey!! Animatic that would have taken place after he regains his memories, where he's basically really angry and lashes out at Sunny and Stranger. Might revisit this one. Song is Someone Gets Hurt (Reprise) from the Mean Girls musical.

Uhh some shitpost: February 2023. Silly thing, it's a shame I stopped working on it before it actually got to the main funny part. I dunno if I'll go back to this one. Audio from @/tylergaca on twitter.

Jealous: March 2023. Animation meme. It would've been about Sunny and Mari in my pmd au and the leadup to the incident. It took me a while to get that second shot right and I still really don't like it. Do wanna revisit this one cause I love angst surrounding these two so much I love them in pmd au GRAHHH. Song is Jealous by Eyedress (slowed down).

Stranger lipsync test: May 2023. This was way too difficult as a lipsync test so I gave up on it, though I still like the animation for it. Also this is a pretty good contender for headcanon voice for Stranger I'll be real. Audio is from Persona 5 Royal.

Propaganda: August 2023. Amnesiac omori au storyboard that I do actually wanna make into a completed thing. This is very spoilery so my master plan is to not explain what's happening. Muah hah hah >:3c. Also once again iMovie exported this in a really bad quality for some reason. Song is Propaganda by Kill J.

Alter's Rant: December 2023. One more amnesiac omori animatic for the road. Once again it's really spoilery but it's basically Alter and Omori's final confrontation. I have more done than what's shown here but I wanna keep it a surprise for when I finish it, which should hopefully be soon >:3c. Also this one also got hit by iMovie's low quality curse. Song is Eva's Rant from Bring It On The Musical.

[glitchpirate]

It's 2023 and I'm still using the same template now 7 years in a row! Yippeee!

This year I decided to ramble about each artwork presented so uh. Storytime! Under the cut.

(Also usual reminder that now I have a GW2 side blog so that's where I'll upload GW2 artworks from now on -> @glitchgw2 (except the zine piece because I entered the zine with this blog))

January: I was going through a bit of an artblock, most of the things I drew this month were traced. One of the only things not traced was this Anassy! "Ah, etto... bleh!" I said after tracing the 5th drawing I saw on the internet.

February: a commission! Long overdue, but I finally finished it. Sylvaries are always tough to render. >.< The other things I drew this month were art party doodles and personal stuff.

March: one of the two months where the featured piece is the only thing I "finished" that month. And last minute, too! Made for trans visibility day which was on the very last day of March.

April: due to several things, Tyria Pride 2022's art commission giveaways got delayed to 2023. This was my piece for the person I was assigned to! ^_^ This was fun, I found out some new ways to render sylvari hair...

May: I vividly remember seeing a Diavolo art with this same reference and I was like hey. I could do this too but with Lucien. How haven't I done this before. P.S.: he's actually nothing like Bateman but it's a sick cover anyway lol. Mmm knife...

June: it was a sick (as in like epic) month for me. I reworked Dawn and Incendere (my Ghost OC), welcomed my unhinged self and drew a lot of nsfw. But not good nor holy enough to share. :P But it was a nice practice anyway. I chose one drawing of Dawn because out of everything I drew it looks the most "clean" and finished.

July: I remembered My Life as a Teenage Robot as I do tri-monthly and almost made an AU for Lucien. Almost. So instead I just made whatever this is. This was one of the most fun pieces I've ever did, I finally feel comfortable lining in CSP and just in general this was super shapey and smooth to work on. <3

August: Tyria Pride giveaway commission but this time, in time! I got to work on a lovely charr which I don't do often! My other choices would have been a cropped nsfw commission but I lowkey like this one better.

September: the other month where I didn't draw anything but this. Had a banger idea for Gliaster's future which is them becoming a lich but also being corrupted by malignant powers so they're now even more evil and also driven by vengeance towards the Commander and Aurene. Tried to come up with a design for them, alas this piece. It's... very in progress. But I like said progress so far.

October: the opportunity for an art related full-time job came up which meant I had to up my portfolio and draw some realistic/semi-realistic studies. I was surprised by myself lmao but ngl it was also a big pain in the ass. Art is suffering. <3

November: the continuation of October but now with an original piece! Felt like drawing one of my best friend's GW2 characters. <3 Haven't uploaded this one yet as I might rework the background sometime.

December: and finally, my piece for Commander Of Your Heart GW2 zine! Which wasn't actually restricted to only Commander characters, but any other OCs/player characters too, so of course I chose Gliaster. :D And we can apparently show teasers, so I can include this little bit! But what is Gliaster up to? Find out in February, for free!

*

Aaand that's it. It was actually super fun to look back to the year not only in pictures but some words too. :D If you read this all, I appreciate you, thank you so much. <3

[geminineart]

I decided to do an Art Summary again! And this year I wanted to focus not in my best pieces, but in the ones that sum up my year better♥

January I started doing videogame art on my own (Trying to make my own projects and participating on game jams), which is basically what I want to take from this year overall.

February was a dead month due to a tragic loss.

March was focused on commissions, work, money!

April was focused on a very delayed Magical March ♥

May wasn't very active per se, but I got to post some old art for a project I worked on during 2022, and call me superticious, but I feel posting them gave me good luck! ♥

June was dedicated mostly to selfportraits and reworking my commission options and prices

July was Art fight! I got to do lots of pieces this year!

August was dedicated to making adoptales, in the hopes to both work on my stories and get some extra income!

September I dedicated it to OC art and fashion design, playing around with my warrior princess Arabelle while I continued with commissions!

October was also a busy month, but I got to do some Halloween art, and I'm really happy about it!

November was mainly dedicated to another game jam. Working hard on achieving the dream!

December has been mainly for real life and work has been slow, so there's only a little doodle to sum it up.

Overall, I feel this was a... complicated year. Lots of inconsistency and a lack of focus, and I don't feel there's so much to show for it. Emotional pain has been the most notable constant for me, and today I'm hoping to leave that all behind a welcome a new, much better year ♥ To all of those struggling, I hope you can look back and appreciate the little things you accomplished (I myself I'm trying to take my beginning in the world of gamedev as my summary of this year!), even if you don't feel they're as muchs as you'd have wanted♥ Let's start 2023 with a good step!

Thank you to those who read all this and thank you all for being here all this time ♥ Hapy new year, I love you all! ♥

[molagboop]

Molagboop's Commissions

Hey, I'm opening commissions. This sheet is up to date as of July 13th, 2022.

If you're interested, please read the information under the cut. You'll find a transcription of the images as well as further information.

Notes on Pricing:

All prices are in USD.

Payment is upfront through Paypal or Ko-fi.

If you don't receive communication from me within 3 months after payment (and your commission has not been delivered), you have the right to request a refund. I will remain in contact with you, I will let you know if there are any delays, and I will keep you posted with how your commission looks. I don't anticipate any major delays, but there's always a chance, so I'm covering it here. I'm not gonna dip with your money and leave you with nothing to show for it.

~ Prices ~

Uncolored Sketch

Prices start at $15 for a half-body/bust and $20 for a full-body sketch.

The price may be higher depending on how complicated the image is, how many elements are in it (2 or more characters, very detailed but uncolored background, etc). You're safe to assume this is true for all my commission offerings.

+ $5 per extra character

Colored Sketch

Prices start at $25 for a colored bust/half-body sketch and $35 for a colored full-body sketch.

You can add a detailed background for $10.

Simple, single-color, and blank backgrounds come with no extra charge.

I can throw together a sketch fairly easily, so the price is mostly determined by how complex it is. Full-body images and complex works with many small details may nudge the price a bit higher.

Line Art

Prices start at $20.

Full-Color Headshot / Bust with a Simple Background

Prices start at $25.

Additional costs calculated based on the complexity of the work.

Black & White or Minimal Color

Prices start at $40

If you want a detailed background, $10 is added to the price.

Simple, blank, and single-color backgrounds are available at no extra cost.

Additional costs calculated based on the complexity of the work.

Full Color, Cel Shaded

Prices start at $50.

Colored lines cost an additional $10.

Same extras from Black & White/Minimal apply here.

Full Color, Soft Shading

Prices start at $65.

Colored lines cost an additional $10.

Same extras from Black & White/Minimal apply here.

If you have a specific style or aesthetic you want me to aim for, let me know.

If you see a certain piece in my backlog and you want me to replicate the style from that bit, throw me a link. Whether it's something I posted on Tumblr back in April, something out of my DeviantArt gallery, etc, hit me with the link and I'll make it work.

I will communicate with you throughout the creation process. Do not be afraid to ask questions or request changes.

In lieu of this: please provide references: as many as you can throw at me. Poses, expressions, anatomy, whatever you've got, give it to me so I can curate your commission to suit your desire.

If you want the lines on your sketch to be cleaner, say something! If you want more detail or for me to rework something, tell me! I won't be offended, and I'll remain polite; this is a special piece just for you, and my goal here is to make sure your commission comes out looking the way you want it.

✔ A not-comprehensive list of what I will draw:

Furry/anthro

Humans

Complicated designs

Reference sheets

Nudity/suggestive material

OCs

Characters from existing media

❌I won't draw:

Porn

I have the right to refuse a commission for any reason, but this shouldn't deter you from asking! Outside of the "I can't" list, I'll really only refuse requests that make me uncomfortable or are outside the scope of my skill level. I'll let you know if I can't do something, and I won't be rude about it. When in doubt, feel free to ask!

You can pm me or contact me at chorizocommissions@gmail.com.

[mcnamara84scarborough]

Burberry Males's Leather Belts For Sale

The styles have all of it from the aviators to the round frames and the over-sized ones. Burberry is an internationally recognizable model, a luxury British style house with lines in every thing from sunglasses through to fragrances. While the label's distinctive tartan sample was as soon as its calling card, the model now units developments across women's and menswear with the Burberry Fashion Week present one of the anticipated. At Darveys, you'd be capable of spend cash on Burberry belts that are iconic and fairly obtainable to the shoppers. You can just go ahead and choose the Burberry belts that suit your persona one of the best at discounted prices. After all, who doesn’t luxurious trend to return alive at cheap prices? The Burberry brand now seems extra like a luxury fashion house visible identity, signifying elegance and magnificence and portraying an influential brand with legacy and history values. Authentic Burberry belts include serial numbers which are unique to the piece, as nicely as tags, a dust bag and a branded box. https://calsmedia.nl/replica-designer-belts/replica-burberry-belt.html They even have a high degree of workmanship, from the stitching to the embossed brand logo on the inside of the belt. Select PayPal Credit at checkout to have the choice to pay over time. This time, the inscription stole the thunder from the symbol. The emblem was abstract and small, only a black stable shadow, minus any letters and details. The Burberry inscription was rendered in title case with a faint “Of London” slogan in uppercase under it, written in a serif font like the primary inscription. The Burberry brand was originally designed in 1901 and had a pink emblem above a wordmark. Burberry was an impartial family-controlled firm until 1955, when Great Universal Stores assumed ownership. There are two main Burberry signatures – the iconic verify and the trench coat, and there’s about to be three thanks to Riccardo Tisci. Delving into the archives, the designer has reworked Thomas Burberry’s initials into a new emblem for the model. You’ll discover this TB monogram throughout our edit of Burberry belts. Italian-tanned black and brown leather-based is accentuated with new and traditional house signatures, including the Thomas Burberry monogram as a clasp and a pattern, ‘Kingdom’ slogans and the Vintage verify. It began, after all, with Thomas Burberry's invention of gabardine, but it did not stop there. The brand is continually trying new things and has adapted very quickly to the fashionable digital world. wikipedia handbags According to the South China Morning Post, Burberry was the primary trend brand to live-stream fashion reveals, which it did in 2009. The British trend home of Burberry was founded by dressmaker Thomas Burberry in 1856. Burberry is closely built-in into British history, with its trench coats and nova examine patterns recognisable worldwide. These infamous checks feature on their style, sunglasses, and luxurious purses. The model provides conventional and innovative style for informal and occasional gown. Expect most Burberry belts to cost between £150 and £410, however it’s value noting that some types will vary in price relying on the retailer. I was given a stunning black trench coat and it doesn't have the belt. I am a skilled seamstress and it did not even happen to me to cut off the hemline. Your concept saved me bunch of time going to the fabric retailer, making an attempt to match...or, worse, trying the thrift shops. Riccardo Tisci introduces the Spring/Summer 2022 equipment collection for males, that includes new and signature styles elevated with unmistakeable home codes. In October 2013, it was introduced that Ahrendts would take up the place of Senior Vice President of retail and on-line at Apple, Inc. from April 2014, and get replaced as CEO by Bailey. During her tenure, sales elevated to over £2 billion, and shares gained more than threefold to £7 billion. In spring 2014, fashion designer Christopher Bailey grew to become CEO of Burberry and retained the role as chief inventive officer. His primary salary was £1.1m, with complete compensation of as a lot as £10m a year relying on gross sales targets being met.

[alleiradayne]

A 2021 Writing Review

I wrote in 2021. A lot. Did I finish much in 2021? No, but that's hardly important. What matters most is that I worked on my craft. And I'm proud of that. So here's a little review.

Works Posted in 2021

Innuendo - For Fic-Facer$ 2021, I wrote this story at the request of my winning bidder, @minxyone93. This story... I have no words. I think it kicked my love for Destiel into high gear. I've never been so motivated to write a ship. And it created a whole universe for me, a post-15x18-Cas-burned-out-his-grace-and-became-human-to-save-them world. No spoilers, but I highly recommend reading this for what's about to come in 2022.

Works In Progress in 2021

A Touch of Evil - I cannot talk about this piece much except for the fact that it is a continuation of the Innuendo universe. It'll be released in April/May of next year.

The Flight of Icarus - I had been writing this story constantly in 2021 up until about October/November when I signed up for the event that spawned A Touch of Evil. Act I is highly polished and only needs one more read-through from a fresh set of eyes. Act II needs editing and lots of beta'ing. Act III is finished in the first draft phase, but needs tons of editing and reworking. And Act IV is about halfway through the first draft. Then there's Act V. As soon as I finish a few events at the beginning of the year, I anticipate beginning to post this story 2-3 times a week by the end of 2022 at the latest. The frequency with which I post this story will highly depend on reception, but because there are 88 fucking chapters (prologue and epilogue included), I may have to post more than once a week out of necessity.

Homemade - A Flight of Icarus universe one-shot, much porn, much smut, next to no plot. Dean finds Elizabeth's porn account where she had posted some fairly tame porn prior to their relationship (mostly tit-drops and cute underwear masturbation) and he brings it to her. When she expects him to be angry, he instead begins recording their own porn (Castiel included for polyamory love).

Three's A Crowd - An extremely smutty one-shot, again in the Flight of Icarus universe. This is the first time Castiel joins Dean and Elizabeth. Needs a lot of rework because it's highly out of character at this time.

Lazarus Excita - A random plot bunny the night that Dean returns from Hell in Lazarus Rising. While taking a shower, Dean finds all his scars have been healed and he can't stop thinking about that damned angel, Castiel...

Teacher's Assistant - For some reason (I know the reason) I reread Hot for Teacher this year and was inspired to write a follow-up. Sam is a tenured professor at Stanford and Natalie Murphy has been teaching there for about a year. They've had a loose friends-with-benefits relationship for a month or so by this time. At the end of a long day, Sam approaches her in a lecture hall, and as things are heating up, the Dean of Students, Professor Gabriel, walks in.

My Favorite Things - Alone but for the two of them in the Bunker, Castiel seizes the opportunity to explore more of his humanness with Dean in the kitchen. A smutty one-shot in the Innuendo universe.

These WIPs all have words in them to some degree.

In total, I wrote 153,377 words this year!

And for me, that's a lot of words!

I have two more plot bunnies in mind that will require substantial plotting before I get to them (not to mention finishing other prerequisite works). But here's where I'm...

Announcing

Theseus and the Minotaur - A prequel to The Flight of Icarus that will focus on the events leading up to Hell's revolt. This alternate ending to Season 14 sets the stage for the alternate Season 15 that is The Flight of Icarus and since so much needed to change, I figured it would be worth writing a prequel. There will be some focus on Natalie, Elizabeth, and Ali, but we'll primarily be seeing Sam, Dean, Castiel, Jack, Mary, and Rowena as they stop Hell's revolution. There might be a wedding at the end...

The Anatomy of the Human Heart- A prequel to Innuendo focusing on Castiel's guilt over his deal with The Shadow, the lead up to 15x18, and 15x18. I think I plan on writing multiple povs, Dean, Sam, and Castiel primarily. But I'll take specific scenes from Season 15 and rework them to fit a narrative wherein Castiel sacrifices his grace and becomes human (well 99% human, no spoilers though) to save them in 15x18. This piece will most likely end after that on a bit of a cliffhanger for Dean and Castiel specifically. 15x19 will occur to wrap up the Chuck-Plot but will not be featured in this story. 15x20 does not happen. You could jump right to Innuendo after this even though that story starts a year after 15x18.

That's everything! While I posted little, I'm proud of what I accomplished. I am so excited for everything coming up in 2022 and cannot wait to get things finished. I wish I had a consistent tag list of people to tag here so I'm only going to call out a few folks.

@minxyone93 @peridottea91 @princessmisery666 @redbarn1995 @slytherkins @starlightoffandoms @atc74 @amanda-teaches @bluishorange @stunudo @truecolours412 @dustyl @sinshine71 @afterspaced @judithandronicus @haus-seeblick @lastoryx

And to my og's, my first mutuals: @kateywumpus @oblivionscribe @sabriel @felan-daris I love you all so much. We might not talk much or at all anymore, but you're still important to me. And while I've abandoned the BioWare fanfic scene, know that I still see you and your posts and your likes and your reblogs.

I know I've forgotten people, but if you're seeing things, it's because Tumblr's algorithm managed to not suck for five seconds, and I love you.

Happy New Year!

[sagehaleyofficial]

HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED THIS WEEK (2.2-2.8.22):

NEW MUSIC:

Spanish Love Songs revealed that they are releasing a new version of their 2020 album Brave Faces Everyone. It will be released on April 15 via Pure Noise Records and will feature reworked versions of every song on the record.

After going viral online, The Linda Lindas announced the details of their debut album Growing Up. The long-awaited record will be released on April 8 via Epitaph Records.

Mayday Parade released a new music video for their song “Angels Die Too.” The song comes off their most recent album What It Means to Fall Apart, out now via Rise Records.

Nova Twins announced the details of their new album titled Supernova. The highly-anticipated release will drop on June 17 via Marshall Records.

Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows shared their first proper single since 2011 titled “Destiny.” The band’s new lineup features guitarist Jona Weinhofen and bassist Aaron Patrick, both coming from other related bands.

After teasing it early in the week, Machine Gun Kelly and WILLOW's new collaboration “Emo Girl” was released. The former artist also revealed his new album Mainstream Sellout will be released on March 25.

Superlove dropped the details for their debut album titled Colours. The album will be released on April 1 via Rude Records and features previous singles “Wanna Luv U,” “Save Yourselves” and “Maybe I Could Tell You.”

Bring Me the Horizon contributed a track titled “Moon Over the Castle” toward the upcoming video game Gran Turismo 7. The song comes hot off the release of their previous single “DiE4u.”

nothing,nowhere. released a new track titled “Sledgehammer,” which serves as a sequel to 2018’s “Hammer.” It's the first new track since “Pieces of You” dropped last year.

Beauty School shared a new track titled “Pawn Shop Jewels.” The song follows on from their debut single “Take It Slow.”

TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Creeper announced the rescheduled dates for their previously postponed United Kingdom headline tour. The short tour will now kick off in Torquay, England, on March 14 and end in Manchester on March 19.

Manchester Orchestra announced that they are going to be going over to the United Kingdom for a pair of headline shows. They will play in Manchester on September 15 and London on September 16.

Alongside their appearance at Slam Dunk Festival, The Summer Set announced that they will also be playing some headline shows. The band will be playing three shows in Birmingham, Glasgow and Southampton, respectively.

Avril Lavigne announced that she is rescheduling her upcoming tour of the United Kingdom and Europe to 2023. The move is due to the ongoing complications with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Slam Dunk Festival announced some more bands for their 2022 event. The lineup will now also feature Beartooth, Counterparts, 3OH!3, Set It Off, Nova Twins, With Confidence, Magnolia Park and Lil Lotus.

Fall Out Boy’s Andy Hurley was recently featured on a cover of Van Halen’s “Unchained.” The cover also features High on Fire’s Matt Pike and Russian Circle’s Mike Sullivan.

OTHER NEWS:

Evanescence's video for their iconic track “Bring Me to Life” surpassed one billion views on YouTube. It's the first of the band's tracks to reach the number, with “My Immortal” closing in with 817 million views so far.

Trekstock launched their Merch for Good campaign for 2022, on what is World Cancer Day, which features a T-shirt design donated by Bullet for My Valentine. 100% of proceeds will be going to Trekstock to directly support their work.

Don Broco's Amazing Things reached the top of the United Kingdom albums chart. It's the band's first No. 1 record, with Technology peaking at No. 6, Automatic at No. 5 and their debut Priorities peaking at No. 25 previously.

Two Linkin Park tracks - “Papercut” and “Bleed It Out” - hit Gold certification level in the United Kingdom. They join “One Step Closer,” “New Divide” and “Crawling” at the Gold level.

___

Check in next Tuesday for more “Posi Talk with Sage Haley”!

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

April 13, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

Today, the administration issued a proclamation on Black Maternal Health Week. It noted that Black American mothers die from pregnancy-related complications at two to three times the rates of White, Hispanic, Asian American, and Pacific Islander women, no matter what their income or education levels. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris declared their commitment to “building a health care system that delivers equity and dignity to Black, Indigenous, and other women and girls of color.”

There has been talk lately about President Biden assuming the mantle of Democratic president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who piloted the nation through the Great Depression and World War II. There is a lot to that. Biden is enthusiastically embracing the idea that the government has a role to play in regulating business, providing a basic social safety net, and promoting infrastructure. That ideology has been on the ropes since voters elected President Ronald Reagan, who argued that the government pioneered by Roosevelt smothered business growth and stifled individualism by levying taxes for programs that Washington bureaucrats thought would benefit the nation.

Since he took office, Biden has used the government to help ordinary Americans. He began by ramping up coronavirus vaccines at an astonishing rate, and then got through Congress the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, designed to rebuild the economy after the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic. Now he is turning to the American Jobs Plan, another massive package designed to remake American infrastructure as it creates high-paying jobs, just as FDR’s New Deal did.

Biden is clearly trying to undermine the Republican mantra that government is inefficient, and he is succeeding. His own chief of staff, Ron Klain, has made it a point to compare the two men.

But an article by Laura Barron-Lopez, Alex Thompson, and Theodoric Meyer in Politico begs to differ. Based on an interview with House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), the piece makes the argument that Biden is far more President Harry Truman than FDR. Unlike FDR, who constantly had to compromise with white southern Democrats to get his measures through Congress and thus had to back off on issues of racial justice, Truman worked to advance civil rights in the U.S. More like Truman than FDR, Biden has focused on addressing racial equity in his response to the various crises he has taken on in his first days in office.

To my mind, though, what jumps out about Biden and Harris is not their focus on either jobs or Black Americans, but rather their attention to the needs of children and mothers. Even before the pandemic, 21.4 million American women lived in poverty, as did nearly 11 million children, about 14.4% of kids under the age of 18.

The American Rescue Plan increased the Child Tax Credit from $2000 to $3600 for children under age 6 and $3000 for other children under age 18, offering monthly payments immediately, in advance of the 2022 tax filing season. The measure also provided $15 billion in expanded childcare assistance, and it increased food benefits (SNAP) by 15%.

Experts estimated that the American Rescue Plan could cut child poverty in the U.S. by more than half.

The administration’s American Jobs Plan continues the focus on children and their mothers as it sets out to shore up the caregiving economy. The coronavirus pandemic hit women particularly hard as women, particularly women of color, left the workforce to care for children when childcare centers closed. Women have lost 5.4 million jobs, nearly a million more than men. The American Jobs Plan would invest $400 billion in the caregiving economy; $137 billion in schools, early learning centers, and community colleges; $111 billion in clean drinking water; and $621 billion in transportation.

FDR tried to shore up the nuclear family, headed by a man—usually a White man—enabling him to support a wife and children. Truman nodded toward including men of color in that vision. But Biden and Harris are recentering American society on children and on their mothers, giving mothers the power to support their children regardless of their marital status. Theirs is a profound reworking of American society, much more in keeping with what has always been our reality despite our mythological focus on an independent man and his family.

The crisis in Black maternal health is not new; a 2017 report from the LA Times revealed that maternal death rates more than doubled between 1987 and 2013, with Black women suffering in the highest percentages. But it is hard to imagine any previous president making it a priority. That Biden does suggests that his vision of rebuilding America is not that of FDR or Truman, but something entirely original.

—-

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[jackdawyt]

In a recent blog post on BioWare's website, Casey Hudson posted a summer update sharing some of the things the studio has been up to! 

Mentioning Anthem, and it's latest Cataclysm event, and Star Wars: The Old Republic, with a DLC set to launch this Fall.

However, the piece of cake here is the "other stuff going on" at BioWare, Casey says as followed:

"We have several other big projects in the works.  I wish I could tell you more about them, but they’re mostly super-secret right now.  I can say however that one of our projects has a large and growing team in Edmonton working through pre-production, and based on the progress I’m seeing, I can confirm that indeed the Dread Wolf rises."

Before we delve straight into the Dragon Age 4 hot takes, let's talk about those "several other big projects in the works", surely one of them has to be Mass Effect 4 right? Based on the news in April, we know the series is "warming back up" and  Casey Hudson is super excited to share more on possible Mass Effect games.

So Mass Effect must be among other games at BioWare that are currently in the works, same as Dragon Age 4, other than those two franchises, potentially BioWare could be working on something Star Wars related considering their history with creating truly amazing games with the Old Republic franchise.

Or, even further than that, perhaps they could be working on a follow up to Jade Empire, as we've heard rumours in the past that the studio would LOVE to crack into the franchise again.

Anyhow, as we understand at the moment, BioWare are currently working on several projects, and the largest of these right now is Dragon Age 4 as it's accordingly working through its pre-production stages, seemingly looking good as Casey indicates.

Although this is great news, and I've seen plenty of mainstream outlets coming out of the woodwork and actually declaring that Dragon Age 4 seems like it's going to be alright then. The hitch for the fans is, I guess we all thought the game was coming sooner, I mean, I've extensively reported on plenty of news pieces that indicated the game was in deep development stages, and pre-production seemed complete.

We had Fernando Melo leave the company just last month, his role within the studio was quintessential to the pre-production stages, he spoke on leaving at the perfect time that would best for him and the development of Dragon Age 4. Maybe, they're nearing the end of pre-production?  

I'm curious how much of the game has actually been developed. You see, pre-production is the planning phase of the project where developers focus on concept development along with the writing of initial design documents. Game design documents have to be precise and descriptive, outlining the work ahead.

Key processes during the pre-production stages include:

Concept Art

Storyboarding

Level Design

Mechanic Design

Internal Marketing

Interestingly, BioWare is hiring many new job hires that relate to pre-production stages like concept artist, animation manager, game designer and many other design-focused jobs. So it certainly seems like these core stages are currently crafting away at BioWare, with project prototyping and working on the basic mechanics.

We found out back in April that Dragon Age 4 will use Anthem's codebase, which will ease elements of the development process because the foundation has already been created. At the point, we assumed the game had been in deep development, however, what if prototyping, coding and many of the essential pre-production stages were just beginning at that point.

Project Joplin was scrapped in 2017, with a lot of the production reworked into Project Morrison, has the studio been in pre-production for two years?

As we know, the Frostbite engine has been a nightmare for BioWare in the past, so if have spent two years on just crafting the essentials of Dragon Age 4, mastering the Frostbite engine and laying the groundwork, then I have no bother waiting until this game is perfect.

As we know, both Anthem and Andromeda needed way more time in its vital early stages. So, here's hoping Dragon Age 4 will have that. The only thing we need is for EA to not press BioWare into a ridiculous deadline, so the developers can create this game at their own pace. Otherwise, Dragon Age 4 could come at as a rushed potato, so EA don't rush them!

Of course, if Dragon Age 4 is still in the pre-production stages, then that means the release window is going to be further than we thought. Judging by previous Casey Hudson statements, it was assumed Dragon Age 4 would have a 2021 - 2022 release window.

Based on the current development now, I'd say 2023 - 2024, on top of that, BioWare generally start to market their games two years before release, so we could be seeing Dragon Age 4 at the bare minimum in 2021/2022?

Even though it's a long wait, I do see this as a good thing, more time spent on Dragon Age 4, the better the game will be, period.

Wrapping up, with the potential release window in mind - do you think they revealed the game teaser too early? A 2018 teaser trailer for a game coming out in hypothetically 2024, that's a six-year wait from the first trailer, not to mention ten years since the previous Dragon Age game.

No wonder the studio plans on releasing books, comics and other tie-in's, we're going to be waiting a while guys, but hey, I'll always be here covering BioWare content as my main focus. I may try other games, just because we are waiting for ages until the next glimpse of Dragon Age 4, but I'll always be creating BioWare content. Needn't fear about that.

[fnafbakerau]

Baker AU Timeline (Reworked)

FFDiner (1984)

-Owned by Henry Emily and William Afton

-Dylin Baker hired as a waiter/entertainer

--January 1984 - Opened

--April 1984 - Murder outside Diner (William’s first - hit-and-run - Charlie, not vengeful)

--Guests don’t want that to happen again, so business slows

--July 1984 - FFD shuts down, and rights are sold to Fazbear Entertainment

Baker Events:

FNAF1 (1987-2001)

-Owned by Boss

-Dyl Baker hired as a security guard

-Scott Dun hired as a server

--March 1987 - Opened

--Does well for a while

--September 1987 - Dyl alters Foxy’s code - causes Bite of ‘87 (Victim: Jeremy Fitzgerald; Intended Victim: Mike Schmidt) - Foxy ‘retired’

--November 1987 - Dyl and Scott start dating

--January 1988 - Scott promoted to night guard

--February 1993 - Foxy brought back

--June 1998 - Scott’s arm stuffed

--May 2000 - Chris Hemingway hired on as dayshift security

--June 2000 - Kiddos go missing

--July 2000 - Mike Schmidt hired as night guard

--November 2000 - Mike (mostly) stuffed

--January 2001 - Dyl & Scott adopt Tat

--August 2001 - Shut down for smell/lack of sanitation - Boss gives business to Scott

--August 2001 - Dylin Springtrapped

--September 2001 - Chris arrested/charged with five counts of murder/kidnapping

FNAF2 (2001 - 2009)

-Owned by Scott

-Mike hired as dayshift security

-Jeremy Fitzgerald hired as night guard

--December 2001 - Opened - Expanded & Toys added - old models in P&S for spare parts

--July 2002 - Jeremy promoted to dayshift security

--July 2002 - Fritz Smith hired as night guard

--September 2002 - Mike and Jeremy start dating

--November 2006 - Dan Schmidt hired as in-house mechanic

--August 2008 - Melody Newkan hired as night guard

--April 2009 - Shut down for lack of funds - ‘tronics sent to storage

FNAF3 (2021)

-Owned by Tate Baker

-Timothy Jones hired as night guard

--May 2021 - Opened

--June 2021 - Springtrap found

--July 2021 - FF shut down of Tate’s own volition (decided it was all in bad taste)

FNAF4 (2022)

-Dylin haunted by spirits of kiddos

--March 2022 - starts

--November 2022 - ends when Dylin finally ‘wins’ and kiddos are freed

Afton/Emily Events:

Sister Location (2004)

-Rentals owned by William Afton

-Restaurant owned by Henry Emily

--June 2004 - Restaurant opened, Elizabeth clawed, shut down

--August 2004 - Afton opens CBR so the robots may be rented, Michael works as a technician

--September 2004 - Kristi Johnson hired as nightshift for odd jobs

--October 2004 - Kris gets mistaken for Michael, Scooped, possessed by Ennard (not an amalgamation of Funtimes’ current bodies, but rather, their spare parts from creation)

--October 2004 - Kris vomits up Ennard, who leaves some behind (‘there’s a piece of me in every body’)

Pizzeria Simulator (2024)

-Owned by Henry Emily

--October 2024 - Opened as decoy restaurant for Salvages

--Casey Wellington hired as franchisee

--Salvages ‘collected’ over the course of a month

November 2024 - FFPS set aflame - Case escapes through the route Henry mentions

Ultimate Custom Night (2024 - eternity)

-William Afton is trapped after FFPS fire

Help Wanted (2025)

-Project started by Dale

-Jeremy Vial hired as beta tester

-Asteria Redferne hired to document project (does this via tapes)

--June 2025 - hard drives sent to project dev team

--July 2025 - Jeremy starts seeing Glitchtrap, complains of nightmares

--Late July 2025 - Jeremy gets hypnotized by Glitch, attempts to slice his face off, fails, goes for surgery, moves in with Asteria

--Late July 2025 - Asteria takes over Jeremy’s job, works on beta testing, Glitch attempts to possess her, fails

--September 2025 - Project sent to other development, Vanny Peterson takes it up, gets hypnotized by Glitch similar to Jeremy, but instead of slicing her face off, she becomes Reluctant Follower

--October 2025 - Phoenix Tanaka takes up beta testing, finishing the base game before helping to dev Curse of Dreadbear

Special Delivery (TBD)

(Plus a rough basic depiction of the timeline)

[featherwild-sarah]

Wabi Sabi Hip Pouch + Patchwork Phone Holder

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I have one more of these one of a kind patchwork hip pouches it can hold your phone, keys and wallet. You can wear it crossbody or on your hip

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I am making a new phone holder for 2022. It is patchwork like the hip pouch. It can holder your phone and you can clips your keys to it

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The past two years I have been making textile pieces from what I have on hand & it seems I had a lot more scraps of (screen printed, block printed and hand dyed) fabric on hand then I thought

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These scraps are being used to make all kinds of one of a kind pieces

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I start with fabrics that I repurposed or thrifted and I rework these fabrics into one of my textiles pieces

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These will be available @craftybastards, April 9-10, @onec1ty - check out @craftybastards for all the details