#monthly post March 2021 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

gunsatthaphan · 10 months ago

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~ Monthly BL Breakdown: February 2024 ~

🌱 Happy March!!! 🌷

Disclaimer: ALL shows can be streamed here or here, as well as on Youtube and other platforms. For more info on where to watch what, check out this post!

New breakdowns are coming at the end of every month - feel free to add stuff! -> previous breakdowns

What came out this month? (green = seen/currently watching)

🌟 Anti Reset - February 2nd (Taiwan)

🌟 Love Syndrome: The Beginning - February 8th (Thailand)

🌟 Baka Pwede pa? - February 9th (Philippines)

🌟 War of Y: The Reunion (special episode) - February 10th (Thailand)

🌟 1000 Years Old - February 14th (Thailand)

🌟 My Strawberry Film - February 16th (Japan)

🌟 A Secret Love - February 17th (Thailand)

🌟 To Be Continued - February 19th (Thailand)

🌟 Unknown - February 24th (Taiwan)

🌟 Wedding Impossible - February 26th (South Korea)

🌟 Kiseki Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 - February TBA (Thailand)

🌟 Ambiguous - February TBA (South Korea)

Monthly likes/dislikes

❣️ I'm gonna have to list Cherry Magic and Cooking Crush again just because they filled me with so much serotonin lol. Truly beautiful productions, so carefully written, so well executed and with so much wholesomeness and so many green flags lol. I had the best time watching them and the fact that 2 OG pairs had comeback shows back to back gave me so much nostalgia lol, especially since the genre is reminiscent of their old shows. It's been a blissful and therapeutic few months and I'm extremely sad that it's over 😩🥺🫶🏻 A+ content from everyone involved. 12/10 for both.

👎🏻 It has been a year lmao a lot of things happened this month, the Pawin situation makes me sad, we don't know what actually happened but the whole thing is messed up either way. James dropping out of LUAT came as a surprise as well, I'm not a NetJames fan but if they really had a falling out like the rumors say then that's sad. Singto coming back to gmm has been a nice surprise amongst the scandals lol but other than that I hope things go uphill after this 🥺

New series & movie announcements

🎥 My Bias is Showing (manwha adaption) - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 All About Lust - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 A Balloon's Landing - Date TBA (Taiwan)

🎥 Roommates - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 Good Night to Get Drunk - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 First Note of Love - Date TBA (Taiwan)

🎥 Living With Him - Coming April 11th (Japan)

🎥 The Young Gangster - Coming 2025 (Taiwan)

Other news from the BL world

❗️ Actor Singto Prachaya has returned to GMMTV as an artist. He previously left the company in 2021 to work as a freelance actor & producer after being under contract for nearly 5 years. It is unknown whether he will be part of any projects of the 2024 lineup.

❗️ The Thai BL Playboyy is getting a second season.

❗️ The upcoming Korean series High School Return of a Gangster announced the removal of the original BL plot. The show will air as a censored version, focusing on the friendship between the male leads.

❗️ Actors Charles Tu (HIStory 4) and Michael Chang (My Tooth Your Love) were confirmed to star in the upcoming BL First Note of Love. The series tells the story of a musician who is struggling with stage fright and one of his fans. An air date has not been announced.

❗️ Actor Non Ratchanon will no longer partake in the upcoming BL Live in Love. In an official statement, the production company stated that the decision was made due to disagreements between his agency and the one representing his co-star Hearth Chindanai. A recast for his role has yet to be announced.

❗️ GMMTV actor Win Pawin was accused of physically assaulting his ex-girlfriend, who made public allegations with photo evidence of her wounds. As a result GMMTV released a statement announcing the suspension of Pawin from all further work activities until legal investigations are complete. This lead to him making a public statement saying he is withdrawing from the upcoming BL We Are. He was cast as one of the 8 protagonists and was paired with his former partner Marc Pahun. GMMTV released a followup statement today, announcing Pawin's character would be recast to newbie Poon Mitpakdee.

❗️ Actor James Supamongkon announced his withdrawal from the upcoming Domundi BL Love Upon a Time. He released a statement on Twitter, saying he wants to expand his career and focus on other projects as an artist apart from acting. The company stated that Net and the others will stay part of the cast and that a new partner for Net will be cast shortly. This caused a big uproar amongst the fans who have been waiting for the series since it was announced over a year ago. Whether James' dropping out has anything to do with a dispute between him and Net is not confirmed.

Upcoming series & movies for March

👉🏻 Love is Better the Second Time Around - March 5th (Japan)

👉🏻 Deep Night - March 7th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Two Worlds - March 21st (Thailand)

👉🏻 High Demand - March 23rd (Thailand)

👉🏻 Wuju Bakery - March TBA (Thailand)

👉🏻 The Star - Date TBA (Thailand)

👉🏻 Blossom Campus - March TBA (South Korea)

👉🏻 Jazz for Two - March TBA (South Korea)

#doreens monthly bl breakdown #thai bl #bl drama #upcoming bl #update #bl news #what a month it has been ffs #cancellations; withdrawals; comebacks; censorships...#whats next #ugh #also another kbl censoring? what is this china??? fml #im getting tired of the BL world i just want my lesbians djkgdf #23.5 came at the right time #big sigh

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yourlocalartsonist · 3 months ago

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MONTHLY MFIP UPDATE✨✨

9/24 | Month 2 | Next Month | Month 1

Hey folks 🦐 I finally got the chance to make this month’s MFIP Update cuz god damn life was kicking my ass. College is fine for the most part tbh, just a lot of reading and writing cuz of the specific classes I chose. HOWEVER I have 💥FUCKING PMDD💥 so um skill issue on my part but it’s why I’ve been kinda exhausted as shit this week and was late with the update so my bad folks! (Also for more info on PMDD, click here! I don’t wanna spend this post yapping about it but wanted to leave a resource to spread awareness just in case :3). Also, Imma be tagging some of y'all who have been reading/supporting MFIP consistently just for this post, so yk you guys actually know these updates exist. I was gonna do that for the first ever update but as with many things, I forgor, so I'm doing it now! They’re supposed to come out on the 18th of every month, but yk sometimes life happens and I’m a lil late. It won’t be any earlier than the 18th tho so look out for these once it hits that date! Anywho, cheers to this month’s update!

Alrighty folks we be starting with the Art~!

Alrighty so obvious new thing, WE GOT RAPH’S REF SHEEEEEEEET TEEHEEEEEEE

BRO IM SO HYPE ABOUT IT! It turned out so genuinely amazing and I’m ridiculously proud of it! Especially cuz I honestly thought Raph was gonna be a harder design to figure out yk? I’m not used to drawing his body type, I wasn’t as familiar with his outfit, and even tho I’ve sketched him a few times before, I was just a bit nervous with Raph. Funfact, he’s also been the hardest to figure out how to write back when I was first starting MFIP. I genuinely don’t know why, but I got there eventually (I actually really love writing him now—) and same thing happened with his design!

Since MFIP’s taking place a few months after the Krang invasion, i’m able to take creative liberties and update the boys’ designs more! For some clarification btw, in my story’s lore, the invasion took place in September 2020, and MFIP starts on March 2021. Anywhizzle, my ideas for the boys’ designs is to combine their movie look with their show look, cuz while I do LOVE the black on them, it doesn’t feel right to me to not make them still unique in their own ways. These guys are all about authenticity, so why make their gear exactly the same, ya get me? I basically recolored his show gear to be black and red (and added a lil asymmetry on his legs) cuz I think it makes Raph feel older and more sure about himself, just feels right for him! I also just think the red fade on the black is hella cool! Fun lil color theory i think application, the black is more of a really dark, inky blue, so it makes the red pop out even more! I decided to make a bow out of his mask tails, too! I don’t wanna spoil the entire lore reasoning for it yet (it’ll pop up in the story), but I can indeed say it’s intentional that it looks a little like a lunamoth with damaged tails :3 I also took a BUNCH of creative liberties with his sais’ handles, since we haven’t really seen it much so like idk gaslight yourselves into thinking it’s always been this epic✨✨

Also I gave him his shorts back because FUCK YOU I LIKED THE RED TRIMMMM—

OH I ALMOST FORGOT yes he has longer eyelashes! I saw he grows to have really pretty eyelashes in the future cuz of his turtle species, and I wanted to lean into that by showing they’re starting to grow now :3

Bullshit Gag Because Yes‼️‼️

There ain’t shit to say about this, I just pulled a silly. I saw the fact Donnie was supposed to have a “Doctor Donatello” persona in the deleted episode where Dale turns into a werewolf. I’m really heavily on the train of Leo being the team medic and into medicine in general. I don’t think it makes sense for Donnie to be the medic judging by his sensory issues and this mf being as much of a germaphobe as my mom, and in my opinion it felt too stereotypical anyway to have Donnie be the medic. Ofc, to each their own, and this is just my interpretation of it, but I thought it’d be funny if Donnie still had this persona and was passionate about it, but was like horrifically bad at being a doctor. I made this dumbass sketch that I’ll finish sometime in the future (it’s gonna be a chapter in Arc 3 probably) and I just wanted to share it with yall~

THEY’RE HUMAN NOW⁉️

My ass wanted to show off cuz I’m sketching out some ideas of what my human designs for the boys culd be. I already did Leo’s like ages ago so he’s not on here but I’m realizing as I’m typing this my dumbass forgor to post it so um my bad I will do that in a few days—

But I wanted to design (or more accurately, redesign cuz I did draw em once a while back but I’m not satisfied with them) and I think I ate so far so uh yea. There isn’t any logic to sharing this, I just thought it was cool😭

And actually, imma share them here too just so y’all can see my boy ;w;

(A lil outdated cuz I didn’t give him lips at the time)

Okay there we go~

As you can see, I want all the boys to look kinda etherial and like they'd turn heads, and I think I am SUCCEEDING SO HARD SO FAR CUZ DAMNNNN THEY'RE ALL PRETTY AS SHIIIIIIIT TEEHEE✨ Also am tryna make sure they actually look Blasian since that's what the canon of my story says they are. I'll talk about them more another time when I have all of them on here~

But yea that's all for art this time folks :> ONTO THE NEXT THINGGG

Chapter Progress Time Whoop Whoooop‼️‼️

I didn’t make much progress on anything this month due to college—again, it’s fine, but there’s a shit ton of time management going on in my part to just manage everything and make sure I’m on track—BUT I am indeed still working on chapter 10. We’re up to 20 pages now which is only two more pages written from last month, but it’s kinda cool writing Donnie and I feel like I’m getting a better understanding of him! One thing I’ve been tryna do is understand autism better as a condition cuz I do wanna acknowledge and show bro’s autism instead of just ignoring it due to a lack of understanding. Donnie ain’t Donnie without it, ya know? I don’t know everything and tbh I would say I still have A LOT to learn on the subject matter, but I’m tryna expand my knowledge every opportunity I get and experimenting with how to better show it! This is to say tho, I’M NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL, NOR AN EXPERT ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM. This is what I’m finding and comprehending via my own research, and can tbh end up being wrong so please don’t quote me as a reliable source, I’m still learning ;v;

I remember one of the things I kept hearing about was autism leading people to struggle with empathy. The best way I heard it being described was someone bringing the example of when their friend was upset. That person can’t truly feel their friend’s emotions because they’re not the one experiencing it, so can’t properly understand how it’s making their friend feel. But they can see that their friend is communicating their sadness, and they still try to comfort them and make sure their friend knows they’re there for support. I understood it as bringing logic to emotions in a sense; collecting data and figuring out how to handle the situation based on the data rather than using intuition alone.

I’ve been using that to figure out how Donnie might handle more emotionally subtle situations, where he might try to rationally work through what’s happening and kinda substitute it in place of natural empathy. Like the little tidbit I gave above! Instead of just automatically being able to get vibes that the other person is upset, I felt maybe Donnie would instead notice the fact their tone is kinda different from before; it’s basically a data point. With that data point in mind, he could connect it to past experiences where a tone change could indicate a mood change, and as a result he might conclude that Salena’s tone change means she’s upset. I comprehend it as manually working through empathy rather than it being second nature, if that makes sense. Obviously and thankfully Donnie isn’t gonna spend the entire chapter playing a guessing game or anything with Salena’s emotions, it’s just one lil moment that I thought was cool challenge to myself with when writing him! I really love putting myself in the characters’ shoes when I’m writing them or their dialogue. I highly recommend it as a tool too, since it's helped me a lot with staying in character!

Last Lil Segment Y'all

Aight so, I wanted to try doing something cool if y'all are up for it. I really love rambling about my story and lore and characters blah blah blah, but I don't really know how to do so tbh. I'm not that familiar with how social medias work cuz I just never took it seriously, and I don't wanna just keep being like HEYYYYY ASK BOX IS OPENNNNN like I'm screaming from the top of the hill either. Sooooo insteaddddd

I think it'd be fun to do Q&As here! Or at least something similar. I'll open my ask box again and feel free to send any questions you want; it can be about the story, past lore, design questions, getting to know the characters, absolutely anything! Then when I'm gonna do my update for the month, I'll compile all y'all's asks, (prolly will have to tag to make sure you guys know I answered it, or if you ask anon then uh idk look out for the monthly update) and then answer them during the monthly update as the last section! I think it'll be a cool way to make this feel more interactive, and gives me an excuse to ramble. Don't be afraid to ask potentially spoilery questions either! If it's something I can't spoil yet or even give hints or vague answers about, I'll just say so in the update!

Anywhizzle, That's All Folks~!

I'm glad there was so much to talk about this month! I actually deadass thought it would be short but I should know better with my yapping' ass💀✨ But yeah, thanks for reading everyone! I hope y'all enjoy the rest of your days, and I shall see you next month~ Bye :D

Tageroonies:

@yosajaeofficial @chaoticspeedrun @ramblehour @randomcerealbrand @goldanrabbit @m1sf0rtun3 @foundthethief @ackalice @jellyfishheartsss @dollyrin @harukonene @iieieiw @mwantstossleep @zipzaizen @hypocriticaltypwriter @lordfreg @rainbowpr1sm @idioticsky @oleander-nin @cheeselord-official @skittlesqueen101

By the way, if you guys think you’d like to be tagged whenever an MFIP chapter is posted, lmk in a reblog or comment (no asks or dms plz, too inconvenient) and I’ll be sure to tag so it’s more reliable than tumblr notifs :3🫶

ROTTMNT: Moths Fly In Packs

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painterofhorizons · 6 days ago

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A Year in Writing: 2024

Reviews for 2020 (222k), 2021 (205k), 2022 (95k), 2023 (20-30k?)

Total wordcount as of Dec. 31: 74.090, which is a monthly average of 6174 words. So 74k is nowhere near close to the 200+k that I used to do, right? But don't be fooled, it's AMAZING 74k, because after two years of utter struggle I am finally having fun again with writing! So 74k might be even a bigger win than the 200k I used to do. Big Win. Like, Big.

General review: Remember (you don't, neither did I, but my last review clearly states it) how I wrote in my yearly writing review last year:

The blorbos might even be knocking at my door again - quietly and very politely, but I can see them. So, here’s hoping.

And boy. Little did I know.

So, this has been a very good writing year. Don't ask me what was going on in march and april, I honestly have no idea. Zero. No memory. As opposed to former years it was not like some big scary thing going on, I guess I was just busy with work maybe? Not feeling it? Who knows? Even better: who cares? Because bitch, I came back strong!

First of all, I did start tracking again, which now gives us nice statistics. And I set a monthly "goal" of 5k, which is something I can do, but like not as an actual goal but more as a number for tracking. And despite these two blurry nonexistent months I did that great.

But it's not about numbers. It's about being back in my since-I-can-think-favourite-hobby and outlet, and I am having fun with it again. There has been plenty of days when I didn't write anything, and I only wrote when I felt like/inspiration hit. But more often than not, when it hit, it HIT.

And I have to give a big shoutout to @kyratittyfish for this. (Which was already mentioned as a highlight in my 2022 review! Love ya, friend. <3) A lot of these words would not have happened if we didn't have that amazing Berlin trip in May with all the ideas that it sparked and if she wasn't such an amazing encouraging friend who always supported my late night "listen, what if..."-messages. Who always went all in "do tell me more about it" and "I like how you think" and I don't think I have to tell you, but that is fuel for writers. So the biggest part of these words would not have happened if dear Kyra wouldn't have supported all those small and huge what if's I have encountered this year. You know who you are, girl. (And then we met again and went on a fabulous winter island trip which has been another highlight of this year for me. <3)

So yeah, very good year, after two very hard years. Here's hoping for 2025.

Things posted: Plenty! Which includes two oneshots finished and posted on AO3 (a James/Steve ME3 banter and a James/Shepard post war scene) as well as a couple of WIPS from the post Akuze fic that has basically been my main focus this year (with a side of post war angst and some ME3 smut, mind me), which was tense knees, about cake, TBI, sleeping in the Kodiak, jello, two aces in disguise, post akuze promotion, sign language, James wrecks his knee, Corporal Giles, being stuck.

Things I would like to do next year: Write? Ehehehehe. Well, I would like to bring those MANY many many words of post Akuze notes into something I can start to post on AO3. That would be cool. As much as I love the fic, it's giving me a little trouble in terms of putting all those notes and ideas into one form to publish a fic with it. I would like to do that soon. Also, most recently the blorbo sleeper agents from 20 years ago woke up again, so maybe we will also see some King Arthur (2004) fic next year? Who knows?

Most important: take it easy and have fun. That's what I wanna do writing wise next year.

Since the Corporal Giles mini WIP was my most popular things this year, have it here once more.

“How’s Giles doing?” It’s a macabre question to ask, but it cuts to the chase. Shepard shrugs. The answer is as simple as fucked up. “Better.” Well, obviously Giles isn’t better. There’s no way he can get better, because he’s dead. He’s rotting in the dirt of Akuze, eaten alive by thresher maw acid, cowering behind a rock right next to Reda. He’s taken most of the hit, and she hasn’t (still got enough damage to need a trachea transplant and eighteen percent third degree burns on her skin, but she’s alive and he’s not, so that’s that). Corporal Giles won’t get better. But he stopped haunting her every single night, and every single minute of the day, and every single art therapy session. Because he’s the only thing of Akuze she remembers and while she’s bad at drawing, she’s apparently gifted in the horror genre, and she’s gotta draw something. Maybe she’ll draw something else tomorrow. Or maybe she won’t. Because Giles is better, but he’s still dead.

#painterofhorizons writes #mostly:#mass effect #akuze #reda shepard #it's been a very good writing year I am very happy about

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choicesmonthlychallenge · 7 months ago

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There are so many great resources for Choices content creators, but it can be hard to keep track of all the different things. So here is my attempt to compile a list. Please message me here or @lovealexhunt if you know of something else. I’ll keep this updated as new things open too.

⟢Monthly Challenges⟢

December — @choicesdecember2024 [Prompts]

Upcoming:

January 2025 — @choicesjanuary2025 [Prompts]

February 2025 — Taken

March 2025 — Taken

Prompts for the monthly challenges usually post around the 20th of the month prior. If a host drops out, I note it here. Please be patient as we all have lives outside of Choices.

⟢Celebration + Themed Events⟢

November 24- January 4: Winter Holidays @choicesholidays [Prompts]

Top 5 Event @choicesficwriterscreations [Event Info]

January 10-18: HSS Appreciation Week @hss-appreciation-events [Prompts]

February 3-9: MC Appreciation Week @choicesmcappreciationweek [Prompts]

Know of any celebration weeks? Send me a message!

⟢Other Events & Things⟢

@choicesficwriterscreations: Fic/Art of the week, WIP, Throwback, and other special events

@choicesprompts

@choicesholidays

Fandom Birthdays 🥳 [list here]

Choices Book Club : @choicesbookclub [Event Info]

⟢Not Currently Active⟢

@moodmusicmonday (Monday music prompts)

@choicesflashfics (weekly dialogue prompts)

⟢ Past Monthly Challenges ⟢

2024 Monthly Challenges

2023 Monthly Challenges

2022 Monthly Challenges

2021 Monthly Challenges

2020 Monthly Challenges

#play choices #playchoices #choices #choices fan fiction #fan fiction #choices game #writing inspiration #resource

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neil-neil-orange-peel · 9 days ago

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Neil Bitch's Pinned Post 🍊

Hi, scumbags! R here. I thought I'd put together a post of links to the various things I've written or been a part of during my time in the fandom. I'll add to it if/when anything new comes along, or I remember something I've forgotten.

Likes/follows come from @scumbaganarchy. ❤️

Closest I'll get to a face reveal. Art by @xgardensinspace for Scumbag Monthly.

Fanfic ✨

My ao3 account is scumbaganarchy.

Fics of mine I'd like to signal boost:

Once In Every Lifetime (written 2019-2020) - First thing I ever posted on ao3 and my way back into writing. The Young Ones. Set post 'Summer Holiday'. Four parts. POV switches to a different young one with each part. Eventual Rivyan. 20K in total. Link to OIEL master post on Tumblr.

Prompts From Scumbag College (written 2019-2021) - Series of shorts/one shots based on one line prompts. The Young Ones. Featuring mostly Rivyan, but also PunkPye, Mivyan, CookPunkPye, CoolPye, and Gen prompts. 20K in total. Link to prompt master post on Tumblr.

Punks and Princesses (written 2019-2020) - The Young Ones. Halloween fic. Eventual Rivyan. 18K.

A Bastard's Carol (written 2019-2020) - Christmas fic. Parody of A Christmas Carol. Rivyan. Crossover between The Young Ones/Kevin Turvey/Filthy, Rich & Catflap/Drop Dead Fred/Bottom/The Comic Strip Presents.../The Dangerous Brothers/The New Statesman. 59K.

Rantings and Ravings (written 2021-present) - Ongoing series of writings for Rik and Ade Fests. Features various Rik and Ade shows. Currently 19K in total.

The Basterds of Hammersmith (written 2022-present) - Bottom/The Young Ones crossover. OC heavy. Set pre both shows. Concerns the history of the Basterd family. Includes heavy topics. Eventual Richie/Eddie. Slow to update. Currently 19K.

I also tag everything I post about any given fanfic of mine on this blog with its title (example: #the basterds of hammersmith).

Scumbag Monthly ✨

Scumbag Monthly was a free online fanzine for The Young Ones (and sometimes adjacent media) produced by fans between 2020-2023. From Issue #4 (1.6.20), I was its editor.

Twenty-five regular zines were produced, as well as several specials. SM featured fanart, fanfic, memes, puzzles, competitions, pages "made by" the characters, occasional thought pieces, and other miscellaneous bits and bobs.

SM's website is here, and its archive of zines is available here.

All SM Comic Strip reviews are also available on ao3 here. The twelve episodes of The Young Ones, as reviewed by twelve scumbags for the TYO 40th anniversary zine, are available on ao3 here too.

These reviews are also available on Tumblr: Demolition, Oil, Boring, Bomb, Interesting, Flood, Bambi, Cash, Nasty, Time, Sick, Summer Holiday.

Scumbag Monthly zine timeline:

1st March 2020: Issue #1, No Theme

1st April 2020: Issue #2, April Fool's

1st May 2020*: Issue #3, Alternate Universe

1st June 2020: Issue #4, Pride

9th June 2020: Rik Special

1st July 2020: Issue #5, Summer

1st August 2020: Issue #6, No Theme

1st September 2020: Issue #7, Back to School

1st October 2020: Issue #8, Halloween

1st November 2020: Issue #9, Bonfire Night

1st December 2020: Issue #10, Christmas

1st January 2021: Issue #11, New Year's and New Beginnings

1st February 2021: Issue #12, Valentine's Day

1st March 2021: Issue #13, One Year Anniversary

1st March 2021: One Year Anniversary Poster Book

1st April 2021: Issue #14, April Fool's

1st May 2021: Issue #15, Modern AU

1st June 2021: Issue #16, Pride

9th June 2021: Rik Special

1st July 2021: Issue #17, Road Trip

1st August 2021: Issue #18, Pirate AU

1st September 2021: Issue #19, Mike the Cool Person

1st February 2022: Issue #20, Monster AU

1st March 2022: Two Year Anniversary Poster Book

20th May 2022: Issue #21, After the Cliff

9th June 2022: Rik Special

18th August 2022: Issue #22, Summer Camp

31st October 2022: Issue #23, Historical AU

9th November 2022: TYO 40th Anniversary Special

13th January 2023: Issue #24, Fantasy AU

1st March 2023: Issue #25, Band AU

1st March 2023: Strip Tease Compilation

*Zine arrived late on 20th May 2020

The twenty-five regular cover arts of SM.

SM sign off post, written by me.

Dormant Tumblr blog: @scumbag-monthly

Dormant Instagram, includes stories "from" the characters: scumbag_monthly

Active ao3 account, which is still used to host Rik and Ade Fests through a pseud: ScumbagMonthly

Redbubble: Scumbag Monthly

Rik And Ade Fest ✨

The Rik and Ade Fest is run by myself and @xgardensinspace as a yearly fandom event. It involves fans submitting prompt ideas for any show/film featuring Rik and/or Ade, which participants can then claim and make fic/art for. Each fest's creative output is hosted in its own collection on ao3.

Though the first fest in 2021 ran to coincide with Christmas, every fest since has run to coincide with Scumbag Easter (12th June).

The Rik and Ade Fest was originally "sponsored by" Scumbag Monthly and still uses its email address and ao3 account to operate.

Tumblr blog: @rikandadefest

Ao3 account, a ScumbagMonthly pseud: RikAndAdeFest

Link to the fest master post, containing links to all collections, the Google form prompt sheet, and Discord server

Complete Bastards Week ✨

A new fandom event due to run in January 2025. A list of seven NSFW and seven SFW prompts were voted on by fans, who can now make fic/art/anything pertaining to these prompts.

Running: Mon 20th - Sun 26th January 2025

Tumblr blog: @completebastardsweek

Master post containing the prompts

Miscellaneous ✨

A Bastards Carol PDF - formatted with cover art by @viviangreeneart

An Epilogue (and a Prologue) - writing for TBOH, available in three parts on Tumblr. Centred on Vyvyan. 5.8K in total. One. Two. Three.

The Young Ones as a Cultural Source for Early 1980s Britain - undergraduate essay I wrote about The Young Ones.

All answered asks are tagged #asks

I tag my wafflings, both fandom and miscellaneous, #me rambling

My fandom OC tag is #my bastard ocs

#pinned post #links #fanfic #scumbag monthly #scumbags fandom #rik mayall #ade edmondson #the young ones #tyo

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rainmustfallts4 · 3 months ago

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One Stormy Night (Short Story)

Theme: Horror/Suspense/Thriller

Challenge/Date: Monthly Simlit Short Story/March 27, 2021

Genre: Friendship, attempted horror, crime

Word/Picture Count: 999 words/12 pictures

Original Note: So, I’m not at all confident in this story :/ I feel like it’s super cliché and just… stupid. But I put in the work, so I might as well post it, hey? This was written for the March 2021 edition of the Monthly SimLit Short Story Challenge. I also struggled with the word count. I was over 700 words over and had to seriously downsize, so I feel like the “story” is way too choppy but I can’t think of anything better so… here’s my trash lol

Warnings: Blood, murder/killer

‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊ ‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊ ☔ °̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥ ·͙̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥̩̩͙‧͙ °̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥ 🍂 ‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊

Bennett preferred his life as a hermit, living deep in the woods of Granite Falls. This left him isolated, something he had grown quite fond of. His day started like any other, the sky covered with clouds, the air chilly.

He had just finished watering his plants and headed inside when he heard a sound coming from the storage room. Curious, he headed over to check.

What he found was more than he bargained for. A man dressed in all black stood there, axe gripped within his hand. He saw his target and the man raised the axe high.

Bennett’s lips parted and the man brought the axe down with one quick stroke, impaling it within the hermit’s skull.

The body flopped to the wooden floor, blood pooling beneath. The man regarded the corpse before tossing the axe onto the shelf, pulling out a knife from his pocket. All he needed now was to cut off the man’s thumb and return home to claim the riches he deserved.

Thunder roared, rain beginning to fall in droves. He was beginning to step out of the room when he heard voices outside, barely audible. He cursed under his breath, gripping the weapon tighter. The hermit was a loner, so who were these people? He quickly ducked back into the room, closing the door and pressing himself into the corner.

Outside, Alexander and her friends approached the cabin, their clothes dripping wet.

“Told you we should have brought umbrellas,” Octavio huffed.

“Where are we?” Amari wondered, looking around.

“The hermit’s house!” Alex grinned. “He’s an old friend of mine and his place is the perfect getaway spot!”

“There’s too many mosquitos,” Jaiden muttered, swatting at the bugs buzzing around them. “Can we go inside?”

Alex knocked on the door and waited – there was no answer.

“The rain is starting to come down,” Astrid squinted up at the darkening sky. “We should head back.”

“No way! We came all this way,” Alex wrapped her fingers around the doorknob and turned. It clicked and the door creaked open. “Come on in, dry out by the fire.”

“We can’t just -” Landen swallowed nervously, looking around as the others headed inside. No one else seemed bothered, just wanting to get away from the storm and the angry bugs. With a groan, he followed.

“You home?” Alex called out from the bottom of the stairs. “I’mma check upstairs, maybe he’s sleepin’. Make yourselves comfortable but don’t break anything.”

Landen pouted. “Why are you looking at me? I would never -“

“Not on purpose,” his brother interjected with a snicker. “But you’re super clumsy, bro.”

Landen could only grumble as his cheeks warmed up.

Alex stopped at the top of the stairs and glanced around. She could see every corner from the spot. With a shrug, she returned downstairs. “Nope, he’s definitely out foraging. I hope he finds those rainbow bugs or the black fluffballs. Those are my favorites!”

Astrid’s brow furrowed. “You mean dust spirits?”

“Yeah, those!”

Octavio stood near the kitchen, glancing around. “Hey, you think…?”

Alex grinned. “Go for it, I could use some grub!”

“Here’s some,” Jaiden smirked, tapping his finger against the glass of one of many insect containers. Inside was a thick, pale green worm with spikes.

Octavio, being a lover of cooking, jumped at the chance to make food.

Amari shuddered at the thought of eating bugs, browsing the bookshelf to get his mind off the subject. Most of them were focused around insects, though, but he found a cookbook.

The food was prepared quickly and the group grabbed a plate, taking whatever seat they could find. The mood within the group was cheery until the storm picked up, a bolt of lightning striking nearby and lighting up the sky. The wind was slamming against the house, thunder shaking the windows so hard they almost broke.

“Shit!” Octavio screamed in fright.

A scream ripped from Amari’s throat. “Why are you screaming?!”

“Lightning is terrifying!”

Alex snickered, heading for the door. “Nonsense! The chance of lightning hitting a living sim is small.”

The boys watched her head out into the rain with childish laughter. By now, they were used to her daring and dangerous actions and they weren’t worried at all.

Octavio screamed again, his eyes wide as he looked at something behind Amari. He grasped what little courage he had and turned around, only to shriek like a banshee and snap his head back.

“D-D-Demon!!”

“Yeah, so what?” Alex tilted her head. “What’s your problem?”

“Did you…” Jaiden quirked a brow.

“I’mma need to hear those statistics again…” The upper half of Octavio’s body slumped forward.

“Did it hurt?” Landen poked her blackened arm.

“Just a tingle!”

“Hah?!” Octavio grasped his hair.

Jaiden rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath about the idiots as he cleaned up the mess. “Where’s the trash bin?”

“Storage room,” Alex answered. “By the stairs.”

He grunted, heading into the room.

Standing in the room was a man in black, trying to wipe up a pile of blood from the floor. Jaiden dropped the bag.

“Who the hell are you?!”

Alex, hearing the yell, rushed into the room as the man tackled Jaiden, stabbing him in the gut.

Alex screamed, freezing up as panic rushed through her body. Everything was happening so fast, her mind couldn’t keep up. The rest of the group scrambled into the room, trying to figure out what was happening.

The man stood, the knife clutched in his hand. He certainly was not opposed to taking the entire group down.

With a cry, Astrid gathered up her power and thrust her hand at him. His body flew back against the wall, suspended in mid-air, feet kicking wildly.

Landen gasped, his body trembling.

“I-I can’t look!” Amari squeezed his eyes shut.

“We have to – to remain calm!” Amari stuttered.

Astrid’s head was spinning.

By now, the sun rose over the forest, the rain coming to a halt, the sky clear.

#short story #short stories #monthly simlit short story #msss #simlit #horrow #halloween #the sims 4 #ts4 #sims 4 #simblr #the sims #the sims community #sims 4 community #the sims 4 simblr

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narutoevents · 2 years ago

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burningdarkfire · 3 months ago

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blood moon (author's notes)

Putting this post on my resume as proof that I am committed to seeing things through to the fucking end. It might be 2024 now but here is a finished author's note for blood moon!!

It's been long enough that the below is more of a retrospective than what we usually think of as an author's note. Some of it dates back to two or three years ago, a lot of it doesn't. With the goal of finishing these notes, I recently reread the fic in its entirety, twice, and I still very much enjoyed it. That's all I can really ever ask of a fic, so I'm happy 💕

Writing Timeline

Blood Moon was a fascinating writing problem. I always knew it was going to be a long fic, longer than I usually wrote, and I also knew that I was bad at finishing long fics. I started writing in November 2021 with the promise to myself that even if I didn't finish it, I would eventually share whatever I had. I initially planned to upload chapters without editing because I suspected that it would bog me down in a lot of small details … and I was entirely correct! So here is the 18 month journey of the fic, in monthly word counts, from start to finish:

November 2021: 18723

December 2021: (no work)

January 2022: 3591

February 2022: 2872 (finished the shadowgast oneshot, outlined the rest of the fic)

March 2022: 4353 (this is when i first thought "the ending was in sight" LOL)

April 2022: 3667 (i made the decision to edit/rewrite some chapters—at this point i had already written up to fjord meeting back up with the m9 after getting the third eye)

May 2022: 1163

June 2022: 2028 (this was my initial estimate/deadline for finishing)

July 2022: (no work)

August 2022: (no work)

September 2022: 3371 (i copied over my existing work—up to fjord and astrid's conversation—and started a major edit/second draft)

October 2022: 1228

November 2022: 2278 (posted the first chapter to ao3)

December 2022: 2144

January 2023: 1876 (finished my second draft and sent to beta for edits)

February 2023: 126 (finished edits! left some very minor points to polish)

March 2023: 17

April 2023: (finished posting!)

Blood Moon Universe

Blood Moon is an original universe of mine that dates back to 2011. It has all the clich�� vampires vs. werewolves vibes that I will shamelessly admit I have never grown out of. We didn't get to see a lot of it in the fic, but it's a very fertile, flexible environment—this is the fourth story I've set in this world, and even though they've all been vastly different from each other, the shell concepts have always served me well. Unsurprisingly, one makes original worlds that are conducive to the themes and motifs that one likes to write about.

Caleb and Fjord live in a dark age, where the last war between the vampires and werewolves decimated both populations so severely that the world is simply emptier than it used to be. Molly and Yasha raid abandoned manors, Caleb lives on ceded vamp territory where the wolves are also absent. Caduceus is alone in the Clay family home except for his temporary companions. Everyone is busy with their own survival, and there's no way for the scarce, scattered populations of the northern forests to repel the Shades on their own.

It was a big decision to write a story about two humans in this world, but Fjord and Caleb have always been underdog stories struggling with established powers. It's hard to imagine them any other way.

Canon-Related Concepts

One of my favourite arcs of Campaign 2 is the pirates arc, because the characters are asking themselves such deliciously heavy questions about their place in the world following Molly's death. I wanted to explore those facets of these characters.

I've also always found it so interesting that Travis said Fjord would have left to find the third orb if the Wildmother hadn't come through for him.

Caleb seeks an impossible magic for selfish aims, but he does it because he loves his parents. Fjord would make a deal with the devil for power, but he does it because he equates power with agency, and he wants the ability to protect himself and others. Caleb had a taste of that power, but it soured when he used it for the wrong reasons. Fjord is tasting it now, and can't imagine ever letting it go.

Related Works

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

The initial pitch of Blood Moon explicitly referred to Caleb as a "Frankensteinien" character. Pervasive in that book is the desire for a domestic life, in which love, happiness, and security are enclosed. Frankenstein loses his mother, and then loses everything else as a consequence of the actions of his grief and uncertainty. What if Caleb's desire to undo what he did to his parents outweighed everything else?

Blood Moon borrows heavily from the magic in The Raven Tower, where one can literally speak something into existence. The idea of a world where "if you say something, it must become true, or you die trying" is extremely evocative and has stayed with me. It was a beautiful way to explore how grief can change the world.

If I can be honest here for a moment, I actually no longer remember why I have The Magicians listed as an inspiration for the fic. I started Blood Moon 3+ years ago and read The Magicians shortly afterwards, and I've since forgotten everything about that book except for what it made me feel: a despair that was hard to look in the eye.

Themes

These are phrased like high school essay questions because I couldn't think of a better way to present them. These are some of the questions that I asked myself while writing:

"With great power comes great responsibility …" Perhaps the defining question of the entire story. How is the question of duty explored in the fic? What do different characters feel responsible for and how do those responsibilities compete? How would each character answer the question "What do we owe to one another?"

Magic is intention. In this world, anybody can do magic. How is the magical presented in relation to the mundane? How much agency do the characters have? What kinds of choices do different characters make? How much does magic change their perception of the world?

The knowing is part of the price. Caleb and Fjord are both characters who don't know who they are or don't fully understand what made them. Initially, Fjord is resistant to the idea of learning more about his teacher at all. Vulnerability, he understands, is something that can only be given when you have power. What role do alter egos and second identities and our strange other selves play in this fic?

Life and death are the greatest changes of all. Caleb is determined to bring back his parents at any cost. Fjord is determined to live at any cost. Both of our lead characters have other forces calling for their dues. How are death and grief explored in this fic? How about ideas of rebirth and change?

I am nothing like I was. I cannot teach you; I cannot protect you. The story of Blood Moon is the story of what happens when Fjord goes looking for a teacher. In fact, many of the primary relationships in this fic are a mentorship or potential mentorship between a teacher and a student. What role does learning and teaching play in interpersonal relationships? How do different characters challenge these categories?

Home is where the heart is. The residences of several prominent magicians feature heavily in the fic as their seats of power. What role does "home" play in Caleb and Fjord's lives? How do they imagine, think of, and build their homes? What happens when someone's home is destroyed or otherwise absent?

Return. What is Fjord's relationship with the sea?

Misc. Notes

The enduring image of the fic that still lives rent free in my head is the burning house. Caleb's childhood house goes up in flames -> Isharnai's house goes up in flames -> the manor goes up in flames, and each time the axis of the world shifts just a little bit.

If you read and enjoyed the fic, please know that you have my eternal thanks. It means a lot to me.

And of course:

#my posts #writing blogging #widofjord

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aghostrandom · 2 years ago

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W.I.T.C.H., interview with the creators

Some time ago, I made a post about "the original Elyon being a guardian," and since everyone was confused, I thought I'd translate the interview from which I read this information.

I don't know if someone else has already done it, but since I didn't find anything online, I decided to do it myself. I will translate the entire interview with the help of an online translator and a friend of mine.

Just remember that this interview was published in April 2021, marking 20 years since the release of the first volume.

Enjoy!

Here the original link in italian: https://heroica.it/w-i-t-c-h-20-anni-barbucci-canepa-intervista/

It is April 3, 2001 when Italian newsstands are hit by a small earthquake, which will soon transform into a hurricane...

The first issue of W.I.T.C.H. is released, a comic magazine that will shatter every sales record in a matter of months, embarking on a quest to conquer the world.

It all begins in Milan, at the headquarters of Walt Disney Company Italy, with an intuition of the then-director of the company's women's periodicals, Elisabetta Gnone, and the talent of two young artists, Alessandro Barbucci and Barbara Canepa, whom I have interviewed for you.

Interview with Alessandro Barbucci and Barbara Canepa

Let's start from the origins: How was W.I.T.C.H. born?

Alessandro Barbucci: It was 1997, Sailor Moon was still fresh in everyone's memory [the last series had been broadcast in Italy between March and May of that year, editor's note]. And then there were the Spice Girls...

"Sailor Moon was ironic, arrived at the right moment; the Spice Girls were five purely pop characters, worthy of a cartoon - during that period, we were big fans, we even went to see the movie in the cinema!" Alessandro revealed to me.

Elisabetta Gnone, who was then in charge of the women's periodicals at Walt Disney Company Italy, had a great intuition: she realized that there was a missing product for teenage girls, an audience segment that had never been considered by the major company before. When thinking about teenagers, one couldn't ignore what was happening in pop culture at that moment...

Barbara Canepa: During that period, a passionate fanbase for manga was beginning to take shape. it was clear how this new language was able to respond to the tastes and needs of teenagers - not just boys, but girls as well!

In fact, up until that moment, it was believed that girls didn't read comics. It was precisely with shoujo manga (like Sailor Moon, but not only) that this belief began to falter.

Canepa: Exactly. I had already been an avid manga reader since the days of Candy Candy: we're talking about 1986 when Mondadori released the first monthly editions at newsstands. I started reading my first manga at the age of 12, and at 16, I saw Akira (1988) for the first time in theaters. In fact, I was the one who got Alessandro passionate about this style, even though he already had some knowledge of it. We felt that the language of manga was the best way to visually "tell" this story.

Barbucci: Initially, I proposed girls in a steampunk, military style. I was a big fan of Tank Girl by Hewlett and Martin.

In my mind, Hay Lin had already existed for a long time: I had been drawing her since high school, but she was a punk with military boots," Alessandro revealed to me.

Elisabetta Gnone told me that the concept was considered too "masculine," so she proposed the idea of the five witches, which directly connected us to manga. Some people at Disney Italy were afraid that, given the theme, it would veer into Satanism, but their greatest fear was the manga-style big eyes!

Canepa: For them, it was inconceivable to publish a comic even vaguely inspired by manga, which at that time were their direct competitors in the market.

Barbucci: At one point, they considered investing in the relaunch of Daisy Duck by introducing our five characters as anthropomorphic animals. It was an attempt to somehow connect with the Disney universe.

Canepa: Yes, exactly. The project was called Daisy D. and it was intended for the monthly magazine Minnie Mag. The story featured Daisy Duck as a private investigator, accompanied by our W.I.T.C.H. characters, who in this version would have had snouts and gloves, just like Minnie and Mickey! I still have the first page done in watercolors, as we wanted to make it like the pages of Paperinik's Trip...

The scriptwriter, Ilaria Isaia, revealed to me that the inspiration for Daisy D. came from the success of "Minnie and the Magnificent Five," a story published in Minnie & Company in 1993. It featured Minnie in the role of an investigator, solving a mystery connected to five girls. Daisy D. wouldn't have been very different: "It revolved around Daisy Duck as an investigator, called by her friend to investigate mysterious events happening in a college attended by five students with magical powers," explains Ilaria.

Barbucci: Fortunately, nothing came of it.

Canepa: We were well aware that a story starring Daisy Duck wouldn't resonate with teenagers. We needed five normal girls that the readers could identify with...

Barbucci: So, the W.I.T.C.H. characters returned to being human.

For Will's design, Alessandro Barbucci Alessandro Barbucci was also inspired by "Alita" (1990) by Yukito Kishiro.

The graphic style of W.I.T.C.H., while drawing inspiration from manga, remains a hybrid of the West and the East. It doesn't stray too far from certain Disney characters, starting with Ariel from "The Little Mermaid" (1989).

Barbucci: I can tell a funny anecdote about this! As we mentioned, Disney Italy opposed W.I.T.C.H. in every way possible: they particularly disliked those manga-style big eyes. Together with Elisabetta Gnone, we came up with a game, a kind of bet with the top executives of Disney Italy. I drew a series of eyes, including manga characters, Disney characters, and our W.I.T.C.H. characters. Only the eyes were visible, nothing else. "Since you have so much to say about these manga eyes, guess which ones belong to the W.I.T.C.H. characters!" That was the bet: they could no longer complain. Well, they were wrong: they chose the eyes of Ariel from "The Little Mermaid" (1989), the protagonist of the Italian magazine of the same name, directed by Elisabetta herself, and successfully published by them for years. They didn't take it well...

Indeed, Ariel broke the Disney graphic conventions with the proportions of her face.

Barbucci: It was a "graphic shock," something that had never been seen in Disney until that moment. It was certainly a step towards manga aesthetics, with these very large eyes that we later found in the design of many subsequent characters, from Belle and Jasmine to Anna and Elsa.

We remember that you and Barbara worked on the magazine "The Little Mermaid" in the 1990s, just before W.I.T.C.H. started. In the covers drawn and colored by Barbara, I can already perceive some hints of manga style. Was it intentional?

Canepa: Absolutely yes! At that time, I bought Japanese magazines like Newtype and Animage to get inspiration. In one of the illustrations I made, there's Ariel with a straw hat: I think I took inspiration from an image of Nadia from "The Secret of Blue Water" (1990-91), or maybe from some other cover. The close-up of the face, as well as the fluttering leaves [like flowers in shoujo manga, editor's note], the pose of a model on the cover of a fashion magazine... it was all too innovative and "manga" for Disney Italy at that time, which often had something to say about my work! Even before W.I.T.C.H...

The scan on the left is taken from the website www.onlyshojo.com.

Walt Disney Company Italy didn't want anything to do with W.I.T.C.H., as we mentioned. What made them change their minds?

Barbucci: We worked on it secretly for at least a year, even at night. Then, finally, a ray of light... At the time, the main headquarters of Disney would send representatives around to other offices to find out what was being done in the rest of the world. Elisabetta was lucky to come across an American manager who was a big fan of Wicca. [Secretly from the top management, editor's note], she presented W.I.T.C.H. to him: he fell in love with it and financed the project, ordering Walt Disney Company Italy to proceed with its production.

Concept art created by Barbucci and Canepa between 1998 and 1999. Notice the homage to Minnie in the first illustration!

Images provided by W.I.T.C.H. Italia.

The project then gets underway. How did you divide the work?

Canepa: It's hard to say. Officially, Elisabetta wrote the plot, Alessandro created the character design, and I took care of the color and atmosphere. In reality, the three of us worked together on the concept, characters, and the world they would inhabit. We drew inspiration from our personal lives when creating these five girls. The city of the W.I.T.C.H., Heatherfield, is a mix between our hometown of Genoa and San Francisco, which we had visited together. Will shares my birthdate, while Elyon shares Alessandro's. At the time, I was a big fan of frogs, just like Will! Cornelia's cat is named Napoleon, just like mine - I also gave the same name to Elisabeth's cat, the protagonist of the first volume of END, the comic I created with Anna Merli. For Hay Lin's restaurant, we were inspired by a small Chinese "hole in the wall" where we often ate near our apartment in Milan... In short, W.I.T.C.H. was built and conceived based on our personal experiences: friends, memories from adolescence, and more.

Based on these characterizations, I created the character profiles that you can find in the first five issues of the magazine, as well as some internal editorials.

The character of Irma is inspired by Barbara Canepa in terms of design and personality, while Will is inspired by Elisabetta Gnone: with her, she shares an introverted personality and the detail of touching his hair when she is embarrassed.

Scans by poochieandotherfriends.it

Elisabetta chose the ethnicities and names of the girls, coming up with the acronym W.I.T.C.H., while Alessandro created the symbols of the Guardians. To draw the Heart of Kandrakar, Alessandro was inspired by a pendant, a unique piece that I was very attached to and still possess to this day!

Scans by poochieandotherfriends.it

Lastly, I'll reveal something you may not know: I was the one who designed the Witch's transformed costumes! I remember when Elisabetta jokingly scolded Alessandro, telling him to draw them less provocatively... (laughs). As for their everyday costumes, Alessandro created them, often drawing inspiration from his and our friends.

Scans by poochieandotherfriends.it

Another significant responsibility of ours was to form a team of artists who would work on W.I.T.C.H. alongside us. In fact, Alessandro and I couldn't have done it all by ourselves: W.I.T.C.H. was becoming a massive and important project, especially since it would be released on a monthly basis! Therefore, we conducted courses at the Disney Academy: Alessandro taught how to draw the Witch, while I taught manga techniques, coloring, and graphic design.

Scans by poochieandotherfriends.it

Did you encounter any other issues with Disney Italy during the production?

Canepa: There were some controversies, but at that point, the project was already underway. There were several delays, actually: the first issue was supposed to be released on Halloween in 2000. I remember that they criticized the covers: they didn't like the white background, and in the first cover, they didn't like the difference in proportions between Will and the others, which is another typical graphic characteristic of manga.

Barbucci and Canepa created the first five covers of W.I.T.C.H. and the corresponding chapter opening pin-ups.

You create the comic of the first issue: On the third page, there's a very intense panel with Will partially nude (without nipples); she appears like that later during the Sailor Moon-style transformation as well. These are not erotic images, but they certainly deviate from the Disney style. Did you face any issues regarding this?

Barbucci: Strangely, no. Maybe they had already given up at that point...

Scans by poochieandotherfriends.it

You left the project after the sixth issue. What happened?

Barbucci: The back and forth with Disney to bring W.I.T.C.H. to newsstands was incredibly exhausting. By the year 2000, we were drained from the continuous meetings, discussions, and delays... Moreover, both Elisabetta and we had realized our potential as authors. She was the first to leave: she left the world of magazines to fulfill her dream of becoming a novelist. And she succeeded greatly, as a few years later, she created the Fairy Oak series of novels, which sold millions of copies worldwide! Barbara and I were already in contact with various French and American publishers. In France, they allowed us to express ourselves artistically in a completely free way. It felt like a dream! There were so many things we wanted to talk about, things that weren't even proposable in Disney: sex, religion, politics... Sky Doll was born during this period. Furthermore, there were legal disagreements with Disney regarding the moral rights of the Witch characters. In short, after a few years with the multinational company, it was time for us to move on to other things. We needed a change of scenery!

The story you had in mind for W.I.T.C.H. was different from what we later read in the issues after your departure?

Canepa: Yes, it was darker, introspective, and more complex. It was a glimpse into teenage life presented through five very different girls. The plot had different layers of interpretation, including ecological aspects. It was certainly closer to manga in terms of themes: there was more focus on the girls' personal lives, their adolescent struggles. There wasn't a clear division between good and evil: the girls would be drawn to the Metaworld and tempted to join, crossing over to the other side of the barricade. Elyon would be the first to succumb, but they would all do so to some extent, even fighting against themselves.

Moreover, the Metaworld was a fascinating place, a natural paradise that was quite different from the medieval setting that Disney eventually created. At the heart of it all was the concept of growth and transformation, which is so dear to adolescence: the girls would have had the ability to transform into fantastic animals! Like teenagers who find themselves caught between childhood and adulthood, the W.i.t.c.h. would have been caught between two worlds, remaining trapped in one or the other, by choice or against their will. It wasn't always clear...

The W.I.T.C.H. transform into adult versions of themselves, adhering to the main theme of many majokko ("magical girl") anime.

Even Elyon, who in the version you have read is the princess of Meridian, was a very different character in our story. She was the Guardian of the Metaworld and had powers related to time, wild nature, and death. She would have tried to bring the other girls to the dark side and then redeem herself: in the last issue, she would have sacrificed herself to save the lives of her friends.

In W.I.T.C.H. #2, you can perceive some traces of the original Elyon, who at a certain point addresses the girls repeating, "Come to me, come to me..." as if trying to lead them to the dark side.

I transferred her main power, the ability to "bestow" death, to the protagonist of END, Elizabeth: with this character, I have done and will do everything that I couldn't do with Elyon, who was initially supposed to have white hair like her.

Barbucci: What was actually realized was a harmless mythology, closer to fairy tales and therefore to the Disney style. There is no mention of witches anymore... We would have focused on a more New Age aesthetic, with references to Wicca, which was very popular in those years.

After leaving W.I.T.C.H., you left Italy for France, from where you embarked on various successful projects, with Sky Doll first. It can be said that you found your dimension and creative freedom. Now that 20 years have passed, what is your relationship with W.I.T.C.H.?

Canepa: It's needless to say that the bond has always been very strong and still is today. It was our own creation for a long time: seeing it succeed worldwide brought joy, but also suffering because we felt disconnected from it.

Barbucci: It was a love-hate relationship, but I must say that it gave me the greatest satisfaction of my life: seeing dolls of the characters I drew being sold in supermarkets!

Some sketches made by Alessandro Barbucci at the beginning of 2021, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of W.I.T.C.H.

Canepa: After twenty years, perhaps it can be said that we have made "peace" with what happened. The hardships we endured have now drifted away with the wind, and that's how it should be. Today, I can talk about W.I.T.C.H. with more tranquility, almost with tenderness. For many years, I didn't even want to face it. Initially, leaving Italy helped, but then W.I.T.C.H. reached France and the rest of the world. Over time, this forced me to look at it with more "serene" eyes, so to speak. If I hadn't left W.I.T.C.H., I would never have created Sky Doll and END, and perhaps I would have never become the director of a French series that, today, celebrates nearly 100 books 12 years after its creation. Destiny, then? I believe so. Fate wanted to take something away from me to give me something else. In hindsight, I truly believe there was a magical thread in all of this... or rather, a true witch's touch! There is a happy ending to it all: today, history reminds us that we are the true creators of W.I.T.C.H. The readers know it, and so do industry professionals. Even Disney, in the end, acknowledged us. Every now and then, Elisabetta, Alessandro, and I talk and, laughing, we say, "What if we got back together and remade W.I.T.C.H. in our own way?" In any case, this remains and will always be the most important project of my life. And to have touched so many hearts around the world... well, there's nothing more beautiful and satisfying. So, thank you all. I was happy to give you these five girls.

For Women's Day 2021, Barbucci drew again the famous pinup from the first issue, Halloween.

Current and Future Projects

Alessandro Barbucci His most recent work is "Le Sorelle Grémillet" where he returns to portraying teenage girls ("it's a bit like how I would have liked to create W.I.T.C.H. back then, but it wasn't possible"). Additionally, Alessandro continues to work on "EKHÖ" and other projects. Follow his Instagram and Facebook to stay updated!

Barbara Canepa For over 12 years, Barbara Canepa has been the editorial director of the Metamorphose series for the French publisher Group Delcourt, with over 100 published books. She has several projects in the works, including "MINA's Diary," where she will serve as the writer, while Isabella Mazzanti will handle the artwork and coloring. The work is a free interpretation of Stoker's Dracula, introducing a new way of conceiving vampires. For the past two years, she has been finishing the writing of 12 volumes of a new jeunesse series, "GREENWOOD," aimed at rediscovering and respecting nature to the fullest. Stay updated on her activities by following her on Instagram and Facebook!

#w.i.t.c.h.#interview #alessandro barbucci #barbara canepa #disney #witch #elyon escanor #will vandom #irma lair #taranee cook #cornelia hale #hay lin #end

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darkmaga-returns · 11 days ago

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NOTE: VAERS data is not perfect and filtering it — such as when filtering by “Month of Vaccination” — always leaves out some minority of reports which either had bad dates or no dates (or perhaps dates in the wrong place in the filing form).

Here are 16 years of serious adverse event reports (serious AERs) from flu shots, according to the month of vaccination:

The years have been truncated so that they only include the 8 months out of the year when people take flu shots in the first place (July to Feb). October is the peak month, and it is not uncommon to see 150 or more serious AERs from the vaccines giving out during that month of the year. At right is the 2008/09 season, with 110.9 million doses:

More total flu shots had been given out the year prior (112.4 million), but due to the chart-high for the 2008/09 season — with over 250 serious adverse event reports from October 2008 flu shots — that season will be used in order to compare to COVID. Here are serious AERs from COVID shots by month of injection after Oct 2020:

The COVID shots given in April 2021 led to 31,347 serious AERs. And now let’s view them side-by-side, with the 2008/09 flu season at left — when the October peak was 278 serious AERs) — and the months leading up to peak COVID shot reporting rate (Apr 2021) at right:

As you can see, even if you account for the increase in monthly uptake of COVID shots — i.e., ~15% higher monthly uptake than the October 2008 uptake of flu shots — there is no way to bridge the sheer distance. For flu shots, the October numbers represent about 60% of total numbers, and 2008/09 had 110.9 million in total.

For uptake of COVID shots, the first of March 2021 had 77 million:

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dandelionsresilience · 10 months ago

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I’m not sure how reliably I’ll be able to keep up with it, but I’ve been wanting to start posting weekly or monthly Good News compilations, with a focus on ecology but also some health and human rights type stuff. I’ll try to keep the sources recent (like from within the last week or month, whichever it happens to be), but sometimes original dates are hard to find. Also, all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.

Anyway, here’s some good news from the first week of March!

1. Mexican Wolf Population Grows for Eighth Consecutive Year

““In total, 99 pups carefully selected for their genetic value have been placed in 40 wild dens since 2016, and some of these fosters have produced litters of their own. While recovery is in the future, examining the last decade of data certainly provides optimism that recovery will be achieved.””

2. “Remarkable achievement:” Victoria solar farm reaches full power ahead of schedule

“The 130MW Glenrowan solar farm in Victoria has knocked out another milestone, reaching full power and completing final grid connection testing just months after achieving first generation in late November.”

3. UTEP scientists capture first known photographs of tropical bird long thought lost

“The yellow-crested helmetshrike is a rare bird species endemic to Africa that had been listed as “lost” by the American Bird Conservancy when it hadn’t been seen in nearly two decades. Until now.”

4. France Protects Abortion as a 'Guaranteed Freedom' in Constitution

“[A]t a special congress in Versailles, France’s parliament voted by an overwhelming majority to add the freedom to have an abortion to the country’s constitution. Though abortion has been legal in France since 1975, the historic move aims to establish a safeguard in the face of global attacks on abortion access and sexual and reproductive health rights.”

5. [Fish & Wildlife] Service Approves Conservation Agreement for Six Aquatic Species in the Trinity River Basin

“Besides conserving the six species in the CCAA, activities implemented in this agreement will also improve the water quality and natural flows of rivers for the benefit of rural and urban communities dependent on these water sources.”

6. Reforestation offset the effects of global warming in the southeastern United States

“In America’s southeast, except for most of Florida and Virginia, “temperatures have flatlined, or even cooled,” due to reforestation, even as most of the world has grown warmer, reports The Guardian.”

7. Places across the U.S. are testing no-strings cash as part of the social safety net

“Cash aid without conditions was considered a radical idea before the pandemic. But early results from a program in Stockton, Calif., showed promise. Then interest exploded after it became clear how much COVID stimulus checks and emergency rental payments had helped people. The U.S. Census Bureau found that an expanded child tax credit cut child poverty in half.”

8. The Road to Recovery for the Florida Golden Aster: Why We Should Care

“After a five-year review conducted in 2009 recommended reclassifying the species to threatened, the Florida golden aster was proposed for removal from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants due to recovery in June 2021, indicating the threats to the species had been reduced or eliminated.”

9. A smart molecule beats the mutation behind most pancreatic cancer

“Researchers have designed a candidate drug that could help make pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal, a treatable, perhaps even curable, condition.”

10. Nurses’ union at Austin’s Ascension Seton Medical Center ratifies historic first contract

“The contract, which NNOC said in a news release was “overwhelmingly” voted through by the union, includes provisions the union believes will improve patient care and retention of nurses.”

This and future editions will also be going up on my new Ko-fi, where you can support my art and get doodled phone wallpapers! EDIT: Actually, I can't find any indication that curating links like this is allowed on Ko-fi, so to play it safe I'll stick to just posting here on Tumblr. BUT, you can still support me over on Ko-fi if you want to see my Good News compilations continue!

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marveltrumpshate · 7 months ago

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May 2024 MTH fills

The best way to see all the fills that have been shared with us is our monthly roundups tag or our #MTH-fills channel on our Discord, but you can also view them through the following methods:

Our Tumblr tags: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

Our AO3 collection (only has works posted to AO3; see "subcollections" for specific auction years)

Completed works tag list

To find specific content, use our completed works tag lists above which includes instructions on how to search for a particular character, gen or romantic relationship, universe, and fanwork type.

SOLO CHARACTERS

Carol Danvers

@kerravonsen - Carol Danvers jewelry set composed of a red, blue, and gold chainmaille necklace, bracelet and earrings for @illogicalkat

@secondalto - Cross-stitch piece of Carol Danvers in her uniform with her helmet on, with her symbol in the background for kourtain

Erik Lehnsherr

Sayah1112/ @sayahs-corner - Two shirts with Magneto's helmet on it and one shirt with a triceratops for @v-thinks-on

Natasha Romanov

@messypeaches - My Little Pony Natasha with red hair and her Black Widow outfit for logan97

GEN/PLATONIC RELATIONSHIPS

Clint Barton & Phil Coulson & Natasha Romanov

@uofmdragon - "Brave Enough to Make the Right Choice" (Batfam!Clint & Phil & Nat fic where Clint meets runaways Clint and Nat) for @oper1895 and stillcentre

SHIPS

Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers

@darter-blue - "A Good Tart" (Steve/Bucky Great British Bake Off fusion fic) for @kalika999 (MTH 2021)

@kinstein-art - Two illustrations of Steve and Bucky kissing from "History of American Capitalism," a football player Bucky/history major Steve college AU fic by and for @zenaidamacrouras1 (MTH 2022)

lou2 - Beta service for "Private Dancer, Public Shame," a non-powered Steve/Bucky AU fic for @buckybarnesdeservestobehappy (MTH 2022) (posted in March 2023) - Beta service for "What Comes on the Stage," a historical Western arranged marriage Steve/Bucky AU fic for buckybarnesdeservestobehappy (MTH 2022) (posted in March 2023)

Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark

swtalmnd/ @amysnotdeadyet - "Corner" (Bucky/Steve/Tony AU fic where Steve and Bucky making breakfast and discussing being in a relationship together with Tony) for @saganarojanaolt and newtypeshadow (MTH 2022)

swtalmnd/ amysnotdeadyet - "Starter" (Bucky/Steve/Tony AU domestic brunch fic) for saganarojanaolt and newtypeshadow (MTH 2022)

Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark

Dogsled & @summerpipedream - "My Hero" (three-page 616 comic where Tony rescues Bucky from the rubble after an explosion at the Sokovian embassy) for @massivespacewren (MTH 2022)

Clint Barton/Phil Coulson

ArielT and NickiB - "Hawkeye and the Hermit" (Clint/Coulson AU fic where SHIELD agent Clint meets a reclusive Phil after an op gone bad) for oper1895

Matt Murdock/Foggy Nelson

@pomegranate-belle - "Before I Knew That I Had Begun" (Matt/Foggy Pride and Prejudice fusion fic) for Mooch (posted in November) (MTH 2022) - "One Man's Trash" (Matt/Foggy AU fic where vigilante Matt is rescued by garbageman Foggy who's involved with the mob he's investigating) for RoseLover (posted in February) (MTH 2022)

Steve Rogers/Tony Stark

@ashes0909 - "A Date with Death" (telepath Steve/vampire Tony True Blood AU fic where they investigate a string of vampiric murders) for thewaywerust (MTH 2020)

RoseRose/ @tehroserose - "Sonnet 2012" (Steve/Tony sonnet where Steve and Tony don't get along at first, and then Steve realizes Tony's better qualities) for @wilmakins

#monthly roundup #may 2024 #mth 2020 #mth 2021 #mth 2022 #mth 2023

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mariacallous · 9 months ago

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On Reddit and Truth Social, users have been trying to re-create the meme-stock magic for Trump Media and Technology Group—the company behind Truth Social—that boosted companies like GameStop in 2021. So far, they haven’t been too successful.

Truth Social, former president Donald Trump’s Twitter copycat, lacks two essential ingredients to the narrative of previous campaigns: underlying fundamentals and the foil of institutional investors. Large hedge funds had shorted GameStop, betting that the price would go down. This time, the stock is owned primarily by retail investors.

Unlike other social media companies, the Truth Social doesn’t disclose how many users it has, but has said previously that just 9 million people have signed up for the site, compared with over 3 billion monthly active users on Facebook. TruthSocial visitors have declined from 5.4 million in January to around 5 million in February, according to web analytics firm SimilarWeb. The site’s lack of users has contributed to poor financial performance.

On the r/wallstreetbets subreddit, home of meme-stock boosterism, most users aren’t buying what Truth Social is selling. “If you invest in this on a long enough timeline you will lose everything. Thus is strictly a movement play,” wrote Reddit user Rich4718. “If you think Donald Trump is going to create an income positive social media platform you are an absolute fucking moron.”

The company started trading publicly on March 26 under the ticker symbol DJT and has already experienced wild swings in price. On Monday, the stock slid nearly 20 percent, erasing $2 billion in value.

In a filing on Monday, the company said it had just over $4 million in revenue and $58 million in net losses. This comes after the auditor for Trump Media and Technology Group made a startling admission: The company’s losses “raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue,” according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on March 25. And yet the company is valued at around $7 billion, despite reporting these sizable losses. The valuation is propped up in part by Trump fans who see investing in the company as a way to support the former president. In some cases, these investors hold a genuine belief that Truth Social could become a major social media player.

Albert Choi, a professor of Law at the University of Michigan, says investors in Trump Media may be motivated by factors beyond traditional financial logic, like boosting the price through generating hype.

“If that’s your primary motivating factor, then you’re not going to care too much about whether the company is actually making money,” says Choi.

“I believe DJT is an investment in Donald Trump, not just Truth Social,” Reddit user autsauce, who declined to share their real name, tells WIRED. “If market participants start asking that question, which I am betting they will, they will likely arrive at a very different price valuing Truth Social in a silo.”

Choi noted that Trump winning the Presidential election could actually hurt the company’s stock, as investors' perceived need to support the former president financially by investing could fade.

“My guess is that the interest in the stock would largely disappear,” Choi said.

Some Truth Social fans have spun the company’s entry into the public market as a fresh start. The infusion of capital from people buying shares in the company will enable Truth Social to post an improved financial performance, they argue.

“With $300M to properly grow a company and Trump’s impending win in 2024, the entire situation has changed,” Chad Nedohin, who regularly livestreams about his support for the company while wearing a Jack Sparrow costume, wrote on Truth Social.

Still, Truth Social doesn’t really provide anything unique. The company’s defining feature is that it's the website where Trump is currently posting, and it is, unsurprisingly, home to many posts discussing conspiracy theories about QAnon, stolen elections, and deep state plots.

But Devin Nunes, Truth Social CEO and former Republican US representative, said in an interview last week with the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk that the company plans to combine features from other social networks.

“We’re trying to take the best of all platforms and put it into one,” Nunes said, “whether it be Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, et cetera.”

Truth Social still needs to comply with Apple’s and Google’s terms of service to remain in its respective app stores. Nunes claims, however, that Truth Social “doesn’t use any of the woke companies, referencing Parler, the social media company that was kicked off Apple’s and Google’s mobile app stores in the wake of the January 6 riot at the Capitol. “It’s kind of an interesting investment, because you’re really investing in your constitutional rights,” Nunes said. “We’re the only company out there that can’t be shut down by woke companies.”

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beardedmrbean · 1 year ago

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California is facing a record $68 billion budget deficit.

This is largely attributed to a “severe revenue decline,” according to the state's Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO).

While it’s not the largest deficit the state has ever faced as a percentage of overall spending, it’s the largest in terms of real dollars — and could have a big impact on California taxpayers in the coming years.

Here’s what has eaten into the Golden State’s coffers.

Unprecedented drop in revenue

California is dealing with a revenue shortfall partly due to a delay in 2022-2023 tax collection. The IRS postponed 2022 tax payment deadlines for individuals and businesses in 55 of the 58 California counties to provide relief after a series of natural weather disasters, including severe winter storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides.

Tax payments were originally postponed until Oct. 16, 2023, but hours before the deadline they were further postponed until Nov. 16, 2023. In line with the federal action, California also extended its due date for state tax returns to the same date.

These delays meant California had to adopt its 2023-24 budget before collections began, “without a clear picture of the impact of recent economic weakness on state revenues,” according to the LAO.

Total income tax collections were down 25% in 2022-23, according to the LAO — a decline compared to those seen during the Great Recession and dot-com bust.

“Federal delays in tax collection forced California to pass a budget based on projections instead of actual tax receipts," Erin Mellon, communications director for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, told Fox News. "Now that we have a clearer picture of the state’s finances, we must now solve what would have been last year’s problem in this year’s budget.”

The exodus

California has also lost residents and businesses — and therefore, tax revenue — in recent years.

The Golden State’s population declined for the first time in 2021, as it lost around 281,000 residents, according to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). In 2022, the population dropped again by around 211,000 residents — with many moving to other states like Texas, Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona.

Read more: 'It's not taxed at all': Warren Buffett shares the 'best investment' you can make when battling inflation

“Housing costs loom large in this dynamic,” according to the PPIC, which found through a survey that 34% of Californians are considering moving out of the state due to housing costs.

Other factors such as the post-pandemic remote work trend — which has resulted in empty office towers in California’s downtown cores — have also played a role in migration out of the state.

Poor economic conditions

In an effort to tame inflation in the U.S., the Federal Reserve has hiked interest rates 11 times — from 0.25% to 5.5% — since March 2022. These actions have made borrowing more expensive and have reduced the amount of money available for investment.

This has cooled California’s economy in a number of ways. Home sales in the state are down by about 50%, according to the LAO, which it largely attributes to the surge in mortgage rates. The monthly mortgage to buy a typical California home has gone from $3,500 to $5,400 over the course of the Fed’s rate hikes the LAO says.

The Fed’s rate hikes have “hit segments of the economy that have an outsized importance to California,” according to the LAO, including startups and technology companies. Investment in the state’s tech economy has “dropped significantly” due to the financial conditions — evidenced by the number of California companies that went public in 2022 and 2023 being down by over 80% from 2021, the LAO says.

One result of this is that California businesses have had less funding to be able to expand their operations or hire new workers. The LAO pointed out that the number of unemployed workers in the Golden State has risen by nearly 200,000 people since the summer of 2022, lifting the percentage from 3.8% to 4.8%.

Fixing the budget crunch

The LAO suggests that California has various options to address its $68 billion budget deficit — including declaring a budget emergency and then withdrawing around $24 billion in cash reserves.

California also has the option to lower school spending to the constitutional minimum — a move that could save around $16.7 billion over three years. It could also cut back on at least $8 billion of temporary or one-time spending in 2024-25.

However, these are just short-term solutions and may not address the state’s longer term budget issues. In the past, the state has cut back on business tax credits and deductions and increased broad-based taxes to generate more revenue.

Mellon did not reveal any specifics behind the state’s recovery plan in her comments to Fox News. She simply said: “In January, the Governor will introduce a balanced budget proposal that addresses our challenges, protects vital services and public safety and brings increased focus on how the state’s investments are being implemented, while ensuring accountability and judicious use of taxpayer money.”

#nunyas news

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