#2020 year ender

[endercasts]

three old ender pictures that are special to me

bonus: ender's current twitch icon and offline screen

[tundraechos]

[Image Description: Art showing select things added to Minecraft each year from 2009 to 2024. Above all the art is the text "Minecraft 15th Anniversary" in the style of the official update titles. The years are as follows: 2009: Diamonds, Steve, creepers, oak trees, and grass blocks. 2010: Crafting tables, redstone dust, redstone torches, fishing, Nether portals, and jack-o'-lanterns. 2011: Birch and spruce trees, wolves, beds, endermen, enchanting tables, and villagers. 2012: Cats, jungle trees, cocoa beans, iron golems, ender chests, emeralds, and beacons. 2013: Hoppers, horses, name tags, dark oak and acacia trees, alliums, poppies, sunflowers. 2014: Rabbits, banners, Alex, guardians, and armor stands. 2015 is just text that says "(No significant updates were released this year)". 2016: Elytra, shields, polar bears, llamas, shulker boxes. 2017: Glazed terracotta, recipe book, different colored beds, parrots, and concrete. 2018: Phantoms, tridents, turtle eggs, turtles, coral, and fish mobs. 2019: Foxes, sweet berries, new cat variants, lanterns, pillagers, crossbows, and bees. 2020: Respawn anchors, piglins, crimson and warped fungus, netherite, and lodestones. 2021: Copper, deepslate, moss, axolotls, glow squid, amethyst, and goats. 2022: Wardens, echo shards, goat horns, frogs, allays, and mangrove trees. 2023: Cherry trees, new default player skins, decorated pots, armor trims, sniffers, torchflowers, and pitcher plants. 2024: Armadillos, New wolf variants, wolf armor, maces, wind charges, breezes, and crafters. End Image Description.]

This is a spiritual successor to my 10th anniversary art, which I have always been very proud of. It's amazing to see how far we've come!

[blueishspace]

Looped Sun 2

Loop #16

They didn't stop looping in time, but at least they had eachother. Grian had to admit that it was almost fun with Scar around, definitely felt less lonely with someone else to talk to.

Loop #19

It took 3 loops for Scar to suggest having some fun with this, spice it up. Grian hadn't expected stealing Martyns and Ren bit would be their objective this time but he didn't mind. Getting to be king and screaming "red winter is coming" was actually quite funny and being all shady in Last Life was nice too. As Secret Life comes to an end Scar whispers.

Scar: Alright alright, let me be king next time ok?

Grian laughs at the suggestion just in time for-

Loop #21

Grian had noticed soon that not every loop started the same exact day a while ago but he never expected to wake up already during Limited Life.

Surely things couldn't get weirder then that.

Loop #26

He spoke too soon. This time around he woke up as he was singing a piece of paper, a declaration of indipendence, while wearing a very weird blue american indipendence outfit together wih people he had never met before.

He just went along with it of course and fighting against a weird masked guy for indipendence had been a breath of fresh air but Scar was still missing and Grian was very confused the whole time.

Well until ...

Scar: Thank you Soot, however I think that I could run this country far better!

Grian: Scar? Where were you!? ... What are you doing!?

Scar: That's why I'm going to run myself! Vote for Scar 2020!

To be fair it took some times for things to go badly.

Grian: This is your fault you know that right?

Scar: Hey! Look! At least the country didn't explode or something-

*Boom*

Grian: ...

Scar: ...that wasn't me.

Loop #31

Grian: Damn I didn't bring enough tnt to rig the enchanter. How did I forget??

Scar: Don't worry! I got some!

Grian: Oh thank... where did you get it?

Scar: I kept it in my second inventory from last loop.

Grian: Your what?

Scar: We have a second inventory now! Didn't you notice!

Grian: I see it now ...how?

Scar: It keeps stuff safe from one loop to the other! Cool right!?

Grian: ... Like an enchanting table? But for loops?

Scar: I guess?

Grian: How are you not freaking out about this!?!

Loop #33

This time they woke up early, back in season 6! Grian doesn't understand why Scar doesn't care because he does! Why can't someone explain it to him for ender sake.

Loop #36

Someone explained it. He and Scar woke up somewhere completely different and it was confusing and scary but they finally got answers.

Grian: So our universe is part of a big big big tree?

Anakin: Yes, like every other.

Grian: And the tree is what, under maintenance?

Anakin: Basically.

Grian: And so we are stuck looping?

Anakin: You don't need to pretend to be calm, I can feel your emotions in the force.

Grian: So... we are stuck? Forever?!?

Anakin: Not forever forever, until the tree is fixed-

Grian: So possibly for billions of years!?!

Anakin: Some of the older loops have been going for trillions even.

Grian: ... I'll... I...need to think.

Anakin: I'll write some useful terms down so you can read them once you aren't... You know.

Grian: Guess I have all the time in the world to come to terms with it... Scar is going to hate that he didn't get to meet you.

Loop #37

Scar: ....soooo what you up to?

Grian: Memorising these terms Anakin gave us.

Scar: Ooh sounds...fun!

Grian: Every loop has an anchor, without it the loop can't exist. I tought I was the anchor but it's not possible because I was sent to a different loop last tims.

Scar: So am I the anchor?

Grian: You were missing for the first loops Scar... the only option that makes sense is that both of us are anchors. But even then...

Grian underlines the term "co-anchors" a bunch of times.

Scar: Does that mean I'll get to meet Anakin Skywalker?

Grian: Probably? One day?

Scar: Wooooho!

Loop #38

They were waiting for the moon to crash when Scar posed the question.

Scar: Do you think we can just... stop the moon?

Grian: Hmmm... I guess I never tought about it, why?

Scar: I don't know, just thinking.

Grian: I have an idea...

Loop #43

Scar: Grian what are you doing?

Grian: You remember how last loop started in s7?

Scar: ... Yeah?

Grian: I decided to keep something in my pocket this time around.

Grian took out a golden gauntlet with 6 colored glowing stones.

Scar: ... The button?

Grian: The button.

Grian snapped and the moon disappeared.. He then carefully removed and pocketed it again.

Grian: Well, I'm surprised it actually...worked...

Scar: But what happened to it?

Grian: I just made it really really small.

Loop #51

This was unbearable, Grian tought it was weird when this loops Timmy was acting like an incapable child, then he became worried when he saw that Scott was a pacifist who wouldn't hurt a fly, and then Cleo started burning down literally everything and he started to question his life choices. Everyone was barely themselves, it was like they had been replaced by very cheap imitations.

(Poor Grian had to walk into fanonland)

Loop #67

Scott Smajor liked to think he was often in control of the situation. Not many people liked that about him but if he died it was by his decision.

He didn't feel very in control at the moment, back in the Last Life with Grian and Scar being completely different from what he remembered them being... And he didn't like it one bit.

Scott: Ok ok, stop it!

Grian: What do you mean? We aren't doing anything wrong!

Scott: It isn't right! You are supposed to be in a team with Jimmy and Martyn and you Scar should be alone on a mountain!

Scar: ...

Grian: ...

Scott: ... Sorry that was-

Grian: You remember too?

Scar: New looper! New looper!

Scott: ...uh?

Prev Next

[yourreddancer]

MARC ELIAS

DEMOCRACY DOCKET

In Ernest Hemingway's first novel, The Sun Also Rises, one of the characters is asked how he went bankrupt. “Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.” Nearly 100 years later these lines still ring true. Bankruptcy — whether financial, moral or political — tends to happen gradually until it happens suddenly.

The moral bankruptcy of the Republican Party did not happen overnight. It happened gradually — starting with Newt Gingrich’s attack on the government in the early 1990s. It continued with the Tea Party movement, the birther conspiracy and the nomination of Donald Trump in 2016.

It gained momentum when Trump won the 2016 election despite losing the popular vote. Once in office, it grew worse when his attacks on democratic institutions were met with acquiescence by most of his party.

The mistake many of us made was believing that the aftermath of the 2020 election marked an end to the GOP’s descent into moral collapse. We were wrong. Jan. 6 marked a further descent into the moral abyss.

By 2024, the few principled Republicans had already abandoned their party for the “Never Trump” movement. What was left were Trump dead-enders and those without any core principles at all. A party once built on the promise of Lincoln had become the morally bankrupt party of Trump. As we approached the 2024 election, I knew that there was a chance Kamala Harris would fall short. She had been dealt a very difficult hand — a campaign she inherited rather than built and a short time to introduce herself. She was also going to be running against a man without boundaries or decency, who built a movement based on hate.

What I was not prepared for was the rapid descent of so many other people and institutions I thought were, like me, bracing for the worst while hoping for the best. Even before the election, the once-proud Washington Post, had been called to heel by a billionaire owner terrified of what Trump might do if elected. The paper's slow trickle of economic loss became a torrent when its subscribers canceled en masse.

Since the election, other media figures and outlets have followed suit — each in their own way, each moving gradually towards obedience to Trump and then suddenly. As ratings and circulation rates suffer the financial risks do as well.

I no longer believe this pattern will be limited to Republican politicians or even the media. All corners of public life are showing gradual signs of accommodating Trump. Some of the voices most critical of him three weeks ago have grown more measured. Others have gone silent.

Corporate titans have gone out of their way to praise a man and a movement that in 2021 they promised never to support. World leaders who know better act as scared children avoiding an abusive parent. Even some progressive groups are acting with more trepidation and care.

I understand it. I feel it. Like others, I fear the threat of government retribution, political vengeance and an angry right-wing mob. But I know that giving into it will only strengthen Trump and undermine the future of our democracy. Trump wants us to be scared. He wants us to give up — gradually and then suddenly.

When I started Democracy Docket in 2020, I envisioned it as a place to share information, analysis and opinion about democracy. My focus was on the courts because there were so few resources for nonlawyers to get information about how judges were affecting voting and elections.

It has evolved along with the challenges democracy has faced. In the aftermath of the 2020 election, it became the primary source for tracking lawsuits seeking to overturn the election. In 2021, it tracked the unprecedented state legislative attacks on voting rights and the litigation that followed.

Along the way it added a daily newsletter and most recently premium content. What it has not added are outside investors. It owes nothing to corporate interests or external financial backers. It is not tax-exempt and thus seeks no favor from the government. Though more expensive, it hosts its own website so that it can never be shut down by a platform like Substack.

Thanks to its supporters, it has the luxury of being fiercely independent and uncompromisingly pro-democracy.

If, at some point in the future, Democracy Docket goes quiet or goes bankrupt, it will be because its subscribers and members have decided that it is no longer worth supporting. Until then, I can promise you, it will not obey and it will not back down

[curoopeez]

I randomly stumbled upon your blog and I feel like a thousand years old but what is all this stuff you like about? I've never seen these characters before and I don't understand where they come from. Who's dream?

Dream is a minecraft youtuber. He rised in popularity during the 2020 lockdown, when two of his projects went viral, the minecraft manhunt and the dream smp

Minecraft manhunt was a series of videos where he tries to kill the ender dragon before his friends manage to kill him

The dream smp was a roleplay server that a lot of streamers rising in fame joined and grew massively

Usually people refer to the streamers as cc! (So like cc!dream) and the characters they played on the dream smp as c! (c!dream), but I don't usually make that distinction in my blog

[vadertyrannus]

That Time Darth Vader Killed A Kaiju For Fun

In Issue #11 of the 2020 Darth Vader comic run, in a triumphant moment, Vader mind controls a Summa-verminoth, an enormous kaiju with psychic abilities, with the Force.

In Darth Vader: Dark Visions, which takes place years earlier, we see Vader kill a civilization ending kaiju, The Ender.

If Vader is powerful enough to mind control something that big, why didn't he do it with The Ender? Why didn't he just mind control it and force it to kill itself?

The Summa-verminoth even had psychic abilities. The Ender was just a mindless beast.

My answer: he did it for fun.

Darth Vader is so powerful that killing a civilization ending kaiju is a game.

And that is fucking awesome.

[shinigami-striker]

55 Konami Games I Can Name | Thursday, 03.20.24

Barring compilations, free-to-play titles, and remakes, these are the 55 Konami titles that I could find and name to celebrate the 55th anniversary of their establishment as a Japanese video game company known for developing and publishing over 1,000 video games since its conception in 1969 (exactly 55 years ago).

Titles:

1978

Block Game (Arcade)

1981

Frogger (Arcade)

1982

Pooyan (Arcade)

1985

Gradius (Arcade)

1986

Vs. Gradius (Arcade)

1987

Castlevania (1987 video game) (NES)

Contra (Arcade)

Top Gun (NES)

1988

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (NES)

Super Contra (Arcade)

1989

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989 video game) (NES)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game (Arcade)

1990

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES)

1991

Super Castlevania IV (SNES)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (Arcade)

1992

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (SNES)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (Sega Genesis)

1993

Rocket Knight Adventures (Sega Genesis)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (Sega Genesis/SNES)

1994

Sparkster (SNES)

Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2 (Sega Genesis)

1998

Mystical Ninja starring Goemon (N64)

Metal Gear Solid (1998 video game) (PlayStation)

1999

Goemon's Greatest Adventure (N64)

2001

Dance Dance Revolution (video game) (PlayStation)

Konami Krazy Racers (GBA)

Silent Hill 2 (PS2)

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2)

2002

Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (Xbox)

2003

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) (home console versions) (Nintendo GameCube/PC/PS2/Xbox)

2004

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus (Game Boy Advance/GameCube/PS2/Xbox)

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2)

2005

TMNT: Mutant Melee (GameCube/PS2 (Europe only)/Xbox)

Frogger: Ancient Shadow (GameCube/PS2/Xbox)

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix (Nintendo GameCube)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare (Nintendo DS/Nintendo GameCube/PS2/Xbox)

2006

Bomberman Legacy (PSP)

2007

MLB Power Pros (PS2/Wii)

2008

MLB Power Pros 2008 (Nintendo DS/PS2/Wii)

2010

Rocket Knight (2010 video game) (Microsoft Windows/PS3/Xbox 360)

2013

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Microsoft Windows/PS3/Xbox 360)

2014

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (Microsoft Windows/PS3/PS4/Xbox 360/Xbox One)

2015

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (Microsoft Windows/PS3/PS4/Xbox 360/Xbox One)

2016

Vs. Bomberman (iOS)

2017

Super Bomberman R (Microsoft Windows/Nintendo Switch/PS4/Xbox One)

Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 (Microsoft Windows/PS3/PS4/Xbox 360/Xbox One)

2018

Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner MARS (PC/PS4)

2019

eFootball PES 2020 (Android/iOS/PC/PS4/Xbox One)

Frogger in Toy Town (iOS)

2020

Skelattack (Microsoft Windows/Nintendo Switch/PS4/Xbox One)

2023

Super Bomberman R 2 (Microsoft Windows/Nintendo Switch/PS4/PS5/Xbox One/ Xbox Series X | S)

Super Crazy Rhythm Castle (Microsoft Windows/Nintendo Switch/PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Xbox Series X | S)

2024

Silent Hill: The Short Message (PlayStation 5)

And that's the 55 Konami games I know.

Happy 55th anniversary, Konami! Thank you for you continuing contributions in the world of video games! 🎂

[tiny-cloud-of-flowers]

i feel like you have an old oc or s/i that you never talk about anymore but still think about pretty often just for fun :]

(@sleuthinginstinct)

Hello, anon who is totally not Icarus =P

(source: this post by fkclou)

anonymously make an assumption about me and i’ll confirm/deny it - Some of the self-inserts on my carrd could almost definitely count for this one, hahaha (and because of that, I’m confirming this as true!)

I’ve talked myself into a tangle about this before, but I think my arguably oldest self-insert is Amber, one of my Skyrim self-inserts. I originally created her as part of a Minecraft RP, of all things - she was half-human, but also carried the blood of the Ender Dragon (giving her certain powers as a result), and the story was that she was seeking out other “half-Enders” like herself to stop the dragon invading the overworld, while the dragon was doing the same to try and get those same half-Enders on her side instead. I then started playing as her in Skyrim, because I realised that her concept of “sword-wielding girl with dragon blood fighting on the side of humans to stop the evil dragons” fit that game extremely perfectly. While I don’t really talk about her, especially not here since she isn’t connected to any of my F/Os, I do still think about her whenever I’m playing Skyrim, especially if it’s on her save file ^-^

(Incidentally, my other two self-inserts for Skyrim - Camille and Carmine - are also ones I think of as being pretty old. In Camille’s case, it’s because she again began as my character in an RP on a Minecraft server, though it was after the one I made Amber for - in it, she was a dream mage who gave the others support as they explored a mystical forest trying to save it from being tainted, only for it to have been revealed that she herself had been tainted all along. This origin is why she gets raised as an acolyte of Vaermina in Skyrim, since Vaermina is the Daedric prince of dreams. In Carmine’s case, she was established for Skyrim from the start, because I’ve played Skyrim since I was eleven years old and I liked playing as a Khajiit a lot because they’re cats - however, I didn’t really give her any particular lore of her own until after I started actively selfshipping and I decided she could be Inigo’s sister. Prior to that, she was just “how I played the game when I wanted to play as a thief”, not “my self-insert who I played as in the game” - which is why I don’t tend to think of her as the oldest self-insert. This logic is also true of Emily, my Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons self-insert - I’d played HMDS Cute since I was little, but I only actually gave her any kind of name or story as an outright self-insert after I started actively selfshipping in 2020, so I don’t think of her as being an old self-insert in the right way!)

My oldest OCs (that I can remember/still think about, at least) are my Splatoon ones, but I came up with those when I was in year 10, so they definitely came later than the fledgling self-inserts. However, a discussion about old self-inserts would be arguably incomplete without mentioning my main Kingdom Hearts self-insert, Aria - she was, I would say, the first instance of me actively giving lore and story to who I was playing as, from near the beginning of playing her game (so she was an outright actively-developed self-insert, and wasn’t just “how I played the game”). She’s also the first self-insert I used to actively express my love for a character (specifically Aqua), and establish story for a selfship with that character, in a way that wasn’t just “I like this character so I’m going to focus on them a lot while I play the game”. (This is why Aqua and Anti-Aqua are my only romantic F/Os where the start date of my selfship is before I made my first selfship blog in 2020). But I created Aria when I started playing KHUX in mid-2017, and the others already-mentioned existed prior to that, so she doesn’t quite count - and also, I talk about her a LOT, so she doesn’t count for your assumption for that reason either =P

..I don’t seem to be getting any less long-winded, do I? Apologies for writing so much; I wish it was this easy to write so much for all my lab reports and essays. Still, thank you for sending this assumption, and if you did take the time to read my very rambly answer, then a) thank you and b) I hope you enjoyed what you read!

[rozinaaa]

Rediscovering the Small Web by Parimal Satyal

I first discovered this essay in June 2020, and it's the thing that got me interested in considering web development as a career, simply because I was a lot more creative, and after having discovered the likes of net.art during my first year of University at the same time, I wanted to know more about using the web as a creative medium.

Additionally, the combination of being disillusioned by the state of the current web, the boredom of always scrolling through social media (although I haven't fully kicked that addiction, so this is more of a slow burner for me, but I've massively improved over the past few years), the excitement of discovering some artist websites (and the way that they designed the overall look and feel of their sites, often using unconventional layouts and novel forms of navigation), the curiousity to know how they managed to make it work, and exploring the potential of using different forms of technology as a creative medium, were also massive factors in making me find web design and development to not only be interesting, but also something that could potentially be a lucrative career for me.

Soon after I read this essay for the first time (just as I was turning 19), I felt inspired to teach myself the very basics of web development, by learning about HTML and CSS.

Unsurprisingly, I hosted my very first handcoded site on Neocities (where a lot of similar people with similar goals happened to be) and found a community of people that designed and created their own sites the way that they wanted to create them without having to conform to different templates.

Although Neocities was a good foray into web development (especially from the perspective of a somewhat tech savvy artist), I wanted to take web development seriously and move beyond the somewhat babyish aesthetic of Neocities itself.

At that point, I discovered GitHub, and although it seemed baffling at first (and sometimes, it still baffles me, since I probably use a small percentage of its features), it felt more professional to me, and that's when I created the first iteration of my website, mainly so that I could showcase some of the creative coding work that I did in its raw form, and so that it could actually be interactive instead of forcing the user to just watch a low quality video of it in action.

Coding my own professional site in early 2021 was pretty awesome (even if it did look like it was from the 90s, but I was glad that it was all mine), and I maintained it for a few years until the domain shenanigans happened, which caused me to partially abandon that site.

Based on creating my professional site, I planned on creating a business where I'd create a web design agency in which I'd create websites that were cool and creative, and although that still sounds like a cool idea to me now, there was no way I was able to pull it off at the age of 20 when my creativity was high but my web development skills were pretty basic, so I had to shelve it.

Fast forward to July 2022, where after trying to bookmark all of the interesting sites that I came across, I decided to just create one website where I'd have a list of links to all of the websites that not only existed at the intersection of art and technology, but also ones that I found interesting, and is something that I still maintain today, even after having slightly abandoned it and trying (and failing) to use the easy way out by using a website builder and commercialising it, which I realised wasn't actually within my best interests.

As of now (September 2024, although time flies when you're not working), I'm working my way through The Odin Project, because after having spent a year working with a team of web developers (some of which were front enders, fullstack developers, and some back enders) and being exposed to everything to do with web development, I've realised that I want to move beyond the basics of web development (as good as using plain HTML and CSS for everything may sound from an idealistic and philosophical standpoint), and to do things that are more interesting, so that I can not only just find another job that's similar to what I did previously, but to also improve my skills, and to actually have the ability to execute some of the ideas that I've had for years, as well as having the chance to come up with new ideas and being able to have an easier time understanding the whole web development process, so that it's easier to work with web developers in the future.

However, I've realised that actually learning about the basics of web development (as opposed to skimming through a few docs, merely being surrounded by web developers, and doing a few courses that hold your hand a bit too much) is a long and mind bending process, so I've just got to take it one step at a time, and as long as I'm consistent with it, I should hopefully be able to improve my skills.

Anyway, here's to me rediscovering the thing that first got me interested in web development from a creative perspective over 4 years ago.

[dylannitroblog]

Las Vegas 4-Wide Nationals Recap

For the first time this season, the NHRA has back-to-back race weekends as the NHRA heads to Las Vegas for the first of two 4-Wide Nationals. These races are different that your standard 2-Wide race at every other National Event as instead of two cars race and one advance, four cars will stage side by side by side by side and the first two to cross the line will move on to the next round, one other thing is that you earn 20 points for advancing a round and while tow wides have up to 80 points to earn 4-Wides can only add up to 60 points in round wins. With the format explanation out of the way, here are some highlights from the Las Vegas 4-Wide Nationals

First up is Pro-Stock Car the final round saw the #1 qualifier of Jerry Tucker, Brandon Foster, The natural Jeg Couglin Jr. in his first final since returning to the sport, and reigning champion Erica Enders. All four cars staged and left but Foster went red and Enders had issues early on so it was a race between Tucker and five-time champ Jeg Coughlin and at the stripe, Coughlin earned his first victory since leaving the sport in 2020.

Next up was Nitro Funny Car and this final on paper was unpredictable. You have the faster car on the planet in Bob Tasca III, you have the reigning champ in Matt Hagen, the former back-to-back champ with Ron Capps, and the Funny Car phenom in Austin Prock. The four best cars over the last few years are staged and gone with Bob Tasca getting a large starting line advantage but with Hagen and the others gaining it's gonna go all the way to the stripe and it's a triple holeshot for Bob Tasca, a 3.915 beats a 3.904 which beats a 3.902 which beats a 3.895. Matt Hagen goes low ET of the meet and comes in last in this incredible drag race.

Finally, its time for Top Fuel, and this final is also packed with some real star power. The reigning champion of Doug Kalitta faces the four-time champion of Steve Torrence who faces the hot shot Justin Ashley who faces the rookie Tony Stewart in his first ever Nitro final round. The four cars are staged and gone with the champ earning his first win of the season. Interesting note here, out of four races Kalitta Motorsports has won 3 of the top fuel races.

Overall this was a shockingly good race, the first one of the season without any rain delays so hopefully that trend continues in Charlotte where the NHRA goes 4-Wide for the final time this year and where Pro-Stock motorcycle will make its grand return.

[chellyfishing]

one of my booktubers has been reading books from every year since she was born so i decided to look up what i might read if i did that and 1986 was kind of stacked?? (because of the cocaine, i assume)

to say a stephen king novel was published in a given year is like, name any year since 1974 apart from 2020. most years he was publishing more than one. so it’s not that impressive, and this year he “only” published one, but it was it, which has surely got to be top five most iconic

not much different for diana wynne jones whom i miss every day but this was the year that gave us howl’s moving castle, which thanks to miyazaki is definitively her best-known and most popular work.

the first volume of watchmen was published this year

as was all of frank miller’s the dark knight returns

the first baby-sitters club books

AND the first sweet valley twins books

AND the first american girl books, with three each for samantha, molly, and my favorite kirsten

AND the first magic school bus book which unlike the others was not a series i read but still, the launching of another iconic childhood book series

the first volume of maus (published only chapter by chapter in a magazine to that point)

the first redwall

the third book of tammy pierce’s first series song of the lioness

the second ever discworld

(second books/volumes both for ender’s game and dragon ball but those feel less impressive—i guess the anime for the latter also started this year?)

the hellbound heart (aka hellraiser)

burning chrome by william gibson (the collection)

more inspirations for films: forrest gump (yeah that was a book, no you shouldn’t read it), and fincher’s zodiac

probably of interest mainly to me but wait till helen comes by mary downing hahn, this is probably her best-known work

and of course tons of 80s staples who like king were putting out one or more books every year at the time but none of them particularly stuck out to me as being noteworthy, but they were there

[johnny-chaos]

YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG I'VE BEEN PREPARING FOR THIS MOMENT

-- TEXT POSTS

“gordon talks about [x] movie to benry-” FALSE... | blue-means-i-love-you | jul 2020

I don’t get why people are going crazy over these hlvrai videos... | baaulp | may 2020

why IS benry turned into the angst character when dr coomer... | foulserpent | may 2020

FIRST NAME DARNOLD LAST NAME PEPPER HE IS DR. PEPPER | biigbiby (aka paintedhen) | jun 2020

bro im so glad hlvrai was made this year... | gayrika | aug 2020 / jan 2021

actually EXTREMELY funny that canonically gordon is just pretending while in game... | jewishtommycoolatta | mar 2021

anon: I just took your new character quiz and that makes the SIXTH time now... | sporesgalaxy | oct 2020

Reminder that coomer and bubby are canonically catholic ... | benreyhater1994, via forgottenhlvraifacts | may 2021

idk what "hullvray" is but... | yellowlipstick, via me | aug 2020

via luthiferx | jun 2020 -- via ssundiall | aug 2021

-- EDITS

sleepii-moth | feb 2021 -- possumdemon | sep 11 2020 -- castletxwnmoved | jun 2020

black-at-back-mesa | aug 2020 -- kagaminerinwiki | jul 2020 -- candleiite | mar 2021

amurderscene | jun 2020 -- ventussolder | jan 2021 -- benreyhater1994, via mcdraggy | oct 2020

-- ART

wiseseamonster | may 2020 -- doktorhuetter, via 5comfort | aug 2020 -- tubeon | nov 2020

via brucebocchi | may 2020 -- via maxkillertart | jul 2020 -- rcyguns | jun 2020

childhoodgrave | jun 2020 -- black-at-back-mesa | may 2020 -- 06 | aug 2020

emujln | oct 2020 -- filthyguts | may 2020 -- e-caesia-deactivated20210724, via asteampunkcat | mar 2021

pseudo-soda | jun 2020 -- curlytsunamiart | feb 2021 -- 2u3u1u2002dotcom-deactivated202, via jinxedeyes | apr 2020 (all three have several more images in their posts)

drbuby, via lucarioknight14 | aug 2020 -- artwasps | jul 2020 -- windrag | jan 2021

knifepdf | apr 2020

-- ANIMATICS

Half Life VR AI but the AI makes fun of your YouTube habits | genaleah | jul 2020

WAAAHH~! (A Half Life VR AI Animatic) | facefullabugs | may 2020

HLVRAI Animatic: Dangerous Moth Up Ahead! | goosterbold (facefullabugs) | jul 2020

GOD | freerfman | jul 2020

bubby gets absolutely smashed n lip syncs 2 his favorite song Dr. Feelgood™ by Mötley Crüe™ and just ruins everything:) | batz | may 2020

Sk8er Boi | (Joke) HLVRAI animatic [Frenrey] | bbboney | nov 2020

careful with the hole | hlvrai animatic | feraljayce | jan 2021

People Talk About The First Time They Ran Out Of Radishes (hlvrai animatic) (subbed version) | calamarispider | nov 2020

ender dragon hlvrai animatic [volume warning] | spectral-sweetvoice | aug 2020

i have to stop now because the recommended videos are hurting me. i hope this helps your cause.

Hello, im searching for hlvrai artrfacts.

For the upcoming 4th annivesary, i wanna take a look back at the "fandom". If you wanna help me, please send me ancient hlvrai posts, preferably from 2020. Fanart, posts, hate comments (if they are funny!).

Thanks in advance, fellas.

(full annnocuemnt of the event soon, when i get off my ass and actually start organizing it)

[lexiwritesstuff]

DO NOT REPOST MY WORKS ANYWHERE, reblogs are ok, report stolen work and notify me if someone has stolen/reposted my works please. anything on this acc has been written by me from 2020-2023, i do not own any characters other than my own oc's.

"Exile."

Story start ☆彡

"C'mon Dream! You can't do this to me, I've done everything you asked! I empty out my pockets every day just so that I don’t die!" Tommy crawls back as Dream stalks towards him, large clunky boots making dents in the sand of the beach, sending small amounts of sand flying up and onto the aforementioned boots and some onto Tommy's clothes.

"Oh Tommy, you ought to know I was going to snap eventually right? You should’ve known that one day it was going to get a little bit too much.” Dream hissed out through clenched teeth.

All of the stunts Tommy had pulled, from trying to hide his special belongings from Dream in a hidden chest, trying to get Dream’s own sister to help him, building his annoying cobblestone “towers”, and just being uncooperative, the thing Dream hated most. He could live with The young blond trying to turn his own sister on him, he could handle the stupid towers, he could deal with the hiding of his valuables. But eventually, he snapped. The already unstable man was going to crumble under the stress at some point.

“You should’ve seen this coming Tommy…” As Dream takes his sword out of its carrier, Tommy feels his heart rate heighten. Tommy needs to make a plan, and fast.

‘I’m not dying today, not to him.’ The young boy’s thinking thousands of thoughts, but this is the most prominent. ‘I will not die to him’ Repeats in Tommy’s head over and over again. He’s determined not to die by the cruel hands of dream, or sword rather.

In this moment Tommy wished he had his older brother Wilbur’s quick thinking skills, or Techno’s strength and strategy skills. He needed to think of a plan and execute it, otherwise he wouldn’t live to tell his story. He wishes he had his best friend to help him, but Tubbo isn’t here, so he’ll have to do this on his own.

“If you want to make it out of this alive, I suggest you start running.” Dream was making quick advances towards Tommy, Making him even more nervous. The younger of the two’s heart thumping against his ribcage, it felt like it was going to burst right through his ribs and onto the ground in front of him.

‘Oh I’ll show you running, Dream.’ Tommy thought to himself. Still anxious, but now determined. He was more determined than he had ever been in his 17 years of life, he was going to do this.

Then, he started running, not worried about where he was going to end up. Running away from the beach, running through grass and trees, nearly hitting a few. He ended up finding an old and abandoned cave, perfect. Tommy started walking into said cave. He could’ve sworn he lost Dream, until he heard footsteps. He quickly dug a small hole with his pickaxe and used what smooth stone he had to patch up the hole. Heart racing, breathing fast, his hands shaking. He’s safe.

Dream eventually leaves the cave having given up. Tommy sees this as his escape. He finds the materials to make an invisibility potion with the brewing station he had in his backpack. He made an 8 minute invisibility potion, he wasn’t too far from home.

“Ok, that’s done, time to go.” Tommy whispered to himself, then packed his bag quickly, running out of the small cave he’s been living in for the past 2 days. He was afraid of Dream catching him and of his stuff being missing from his chests when he got back. He couldn’t even guess what Dream would do, nor does he want to.

Tommy got back to his “house” - more like a tent, but it was home to him - and hurriedly put his valuables in the only place Dream couldn’t get them, his beloved ender chest. He quickly grabbed anything he needed, including the polaroid he had of him, Tubbo, and Ranboo. He smiled to himself.

A thud was heard, then it all went black…

[mountainorangeproject]

Ender’s Story, 3/24/2023

The day I realized I was Gay was in 4th grade. I had changed my name to something I don’t use anymore, but the day I realized I was trans it was mid-2020. I changed my name multiple times over that year and went through a gender crisis. Arguments with my parents about my gender, telling them to use my pronouns, going through all of this as a 5th grader fucking took a toll on me but I’m in 8th…

[akkedu2]

America's Blindspots

Hello everyone this is Arielle and I am here with another blog. I will be discussing a song of a popular music star and the ways the song connects to the present. Without further ado let's get started.

With the way the world is. Kendrick Lamar really summarized it with this memorable track called “XXX.” that was released on April 14th, 2017 along with the album DAMN. This track of Lamar's was for educational purposes and to spread awareness because there are citizens that give America full worship without knowing or caring about the downsides. 

As many people who live in the U.S. are very much aware that blacks and other minorities are not the most respected individuals. Discrimination occasionally occurs more than we think. It happens in schools, jobs, the grocery store, etc.. There are many people who ignore and do not consider how rough America can be for blacks and other minorities. For decades people have tried to put a end to discrimination but unfortunately discrimination is still around. In order to get into peoples minds efficiently is through music or popular music stars. According to Tommy Ender and Bretton Varga studies have shown that popular music most oftenly discusses the past and present to expand education. Throughout the track “XXX” by Kendrick Lamar, the melody switches. The background instruments get fast, loud, slow, then quiet. With this track Lamar uses a real life story of a situation that happened that included police officers and an african american person. While discussing that in his song Lamar had a serious tone along with fast paced beats in the background. From a listener it is understanding that this is not a good situation because of the tone Lamar had. Lamar provides these fast paced melodies along with a serious tone to connect the audience and show them that’s how the black community feels about the situations. Another situation like this was during the pandemic in the summer of 2020. George Floyd a 46 year old black male was murdered by a Minneapolis cop due to neck compression. In honor of Floyd there were many protests all around the U.S. to make a stop to police brutality. This goes on to explain that this is not the first incident that has happened. This is to inform you that things have not changed at all. We are not seeing any progress because people like to ignore and only see the good. Besides racial discrimination, the U.S. also has gun violence. A lyric from XXX to clarify this is “drums and bass”. When we think about drum or basses we know by common sense that the sound of those things are loud and thumping almost like how a firearm sounds. So therefore the lyric has figurative language in a way. So “drums and bass” is a way to say that firearms have a chokehold on U.S. citizens because there are many people who carry but use it the wrong way and end up hurting and possibly killing innocent individuals. This song goes on to say “you close your eyes to look around”. So from that lyric, you close your eyes to see. Although it is not possible to see with your eyes closed which is to explain how a majority of the citizens of the U.S. do not get the full picture because we ignore the dark side of America. Further along in the song Lamar attempts to address another issue with the lyric saying  "Compulsive disorder, sons and daughters Barricaded blocks and borders". The border Lamar is talking about is the border that is separating the U.S and mexico. With these blocks,barricades, and borders the U.S. is signaling that they are trying to keep the immigrants from entering the country. Referring to the border, something the former president Donald Trump did while being president was coming up with the border and having it actually built. As the song goes on "Donald Trump's in office, we lost Barack and promised to never doubt him again". By this lyric Lamar made a point that ever since Trump became president things took a turn. During that time we did not know what to expect.This is because some of the people who are not minorities see it as a revenge because they did not like having a black president, which is Barack Obama.

“XXX." by Kendrick Lamar was a really well put together song that summarized everything. Lamar had an appropriate tone for this track so it was taken seriously, he also used real life events without sugar coating, he also shared his personal feelings in a way and that was smart because as a big music star he is a influencer in a way. With that being said people will actually listen. This song along with the album it originated from got many attention. This track highlighted the idea that people in the United States are intentionally ignoring the plights of marginalized groups-specifically blacks because they want to hold onto the idea that the United States is the greatest country. It needed to be said because people need to realize that nothing has changed. It is the same thing every year, every decade there are events of discrimination. Music is a good way to spread awareness about something, especially through popular music artists. Popular music is good for mentioning the past and the present which is why music is a great form of education in a way.

[call-me-shadowborn]

2020, I desperately wanted to find a good, 'classic' rpg. Since WoW becoming more and more 'worn out' and being multiplayer (after 10 years of playing wow, i eventually realized that i never really liked that aspect ;_;), Witcher, AC and the like being 'not customizable' regarding of the Main Char, Skyrim being uh, not refreshing after hundreds of hours of playtime, and me being too nitpicky about rpgs in general, i was recommended to check out Skyrim mods (which i always carefully avoided for some reason), and that i might want to look at a certain 'not-just-a-mod-you-silly' Enderal.

One of the best advices i've gotten in my life x'D

hello hi beloved vynblr i had a little question for all 18 of you :) how did you find out about vyn!!

i'll go first i was looking for questing mods for skyrim and i saw enderal pop up as a suggestion in a reddit thread :)