#the new portraits and new locations and NEW MUSIC

[arrgh-whatever]

so many good things are coming out in November: Arcane, Great God Grove, Over The Garden Wall special (and a handful of other things I forgot about but I feel that there's something else). it will be a good month

[blackleatherjacketz]

Shadow and Sin: Chapter 1

Klaus Mikaelson x Female Reader

Summary: Having just recently moved to New Orleans, you get intimately acquainted with both Mikaelson brothers, but don't find out who they truly are until it's too late.

This Chapter: Your art is finally put on display at a local gallery, and Klaus has a vested interest in it.

Warnings: Klaus Being Klaus, No Personal Space, Alcohol, Flirting, Almost Kisses, Art Interpretation, Dark Themes

Word Count: 1.2k+

Read the rest of the story HERE

Your first art show in New Orleans isn’t nearly as extravagant as you thought it would be, despite the small jazz band in the corner and the free champagne being served at the door. The jubilant music seems to fade off into the distance as you stand just a few feet away from one of your pieces, silently stalking the patrons as they walk by and observe it, muttering amongst themselves. You try to hone in on what they’re saying about your work, about how it makes them feel, or if they’ve caught onto any messages you’ve hidden in your mixed medium on canvas. So far it’s just been a mixture of silence and solitary comments like “interesting” or “hmm” as the glass of champagne warms to room temperature in your hand.

“Which one’s yours?” A man’s eloquent voice pulls you from your anxious thoughts, forcing you to look over at his delicately handsome face as he walks toward you with a confidence that could rival royalty.

“Huh?” You take a sip of your lukewarm champagne in order to gain some liquid courage to engage with this gorgeous man who seemed to appear out of thin air.

“I’d recognize that look anywhere,” he starts, touching one of the sculptures he clearly wasn’t supposed to. “Will they like it? Will they understand it? But most importantly, will they buy it?”

“That obvious, huh?” You take another sip, letting the bubbles take their time to crinkle your nose as the rest of the carbonation slowly fizzles out.

“Painfully, I’m afraid.” That smirk of his warms into a coy smile as he takes a step toward you, his own glass of champagne nearly empty. “Yours isn’t the landscape with the sailboat, no… those waters look far too calm for you.” He stands next to you and continues to guess, letting his fresh clean scent surround you as hints of a bergamont settle into the air. “Not the still life either, you don’t strike me as someone who focuses on something as mundane as coffee and beignets.” He pauses and looks at you briefly, taking in your features. “No, a work of art from your hands has to contain something different, something much… darker.”

“And what makes you think that?” You chide in return, enjoying this little game he’s created for himself. “Maybe I love coffee and beignets.”

“Well, darling, who doesn’t? But that’s not why you became an artist, now is it?” He raises his eyebrows, giving you a chance to notice the hints of green and gold in his blue eyes.

He was good, you’ll give him that.

“My money’s on the portrait of the faceless woman drenched in blood.” His tone drops to the level of darkness he previously described as he steps behind you, his voice like butter as it melts down each vertebrae of your spine. “It’s beautiful, really; the way you captured the themes of the tortured and macabre while still maintaining an intimate beauty of the feminine experience. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

His change in tambre and location freezes you in place, forcing you to look at your own painting through his eyes as he hovers behind you, making you shiver with the anticipation of his intentions. The fact that you’ve allowed him to get this close so fast makes you wrestle with the idea that you may already desire this stranger based on nothing more than the words he’s chosen to speak with that velvety voice of his. Are you that subject to flattery? That desperate for validation? Longing that deeply for some level of intimate connection? Perhaps you are...

After what seems like an eternity of moral gymnastics, you no longer resist the temptation to turn toward him as he guesses correctly, noting the triumphant look on his face as your lips linger mere inches away from his. You barely notice the still breath that remains inside your lungs, expanding your rib cage for far too long as you stare at his plump lips, taking heed of the single droplet of champagne that rests on them.

“And what makes you such an expert on the feminine experience?” You manage to ask as he allows you to stare at him a little bit longer before answering your question.

“Oh, I’m not. I’m merely a curious third party who’s invested in the local artists that my charitable donations help support.” He confesses with a step back.

“You’re a benefactor?” You don’t mean to sound so judgmental, but he doesn’t exactly look like most of the ancient relics who usually pour money into the city. If you’re being honest, he looks more like one of the musicians you’d find on the street corner playing a cover of ‘Wonderwall’ on guitar for tips.

“Oh, don’t look so surprised, love, we come in all shapes and sizes.” He laughs, looking you up and down while the shock of his financial status slowly begins to wear off. “Now, tell me, was I right? Is that your painting?”

“Maybe.” You cross her arms over your chest, trying your best to resist his evident charms. “But you already knew that, being a benefactor and all; that’s cheating.”

“Cheating is such a harsh word. I merely used my astute powers of observation to put two and two together.” He casually places his hand on your shoulder with a gentle squeeze in order to keep you near. “Surely, you can’t fault me for that.”

“I suppose not.” Your heart races at his sudden touch, the gleam in his eyes barely hiding the raging fire behind them. He’s going to be trouble, you can already tell. “Do you flirt like this with every new artist you meet?”

“Just the morbidly disturbed ones that I find deeply enchanting.” His strange compliment is oddly personal, hinting that he might know a little bit more about you than he’s currently letting on.

“You think I’m morbidly disturbed?”

He gives you a knowing look.

“Oh, it’s all over the canvas, love. It doesn’t take an expert to notice the hurried brush strokes in the busy background, the aggression with which you plastered the feminist news clippings together contrasted against the time you took to purposefully pour the viscous, slow drip of blood on it until it’s nearly spilling onto the floor.” He closes the gap between you, his hand now in your hair.

You swallow hard as he fishes around in your psyche for an accurate interpretation of your work, his proximity nearly turning your insides to quicksand as his cologne dizzies you on the spot. Good god, he’s beautiful.

“You know there are other ways of releasing all that pent up rage and aggression… all that passion.” He leans in so that his lips ghost over your cheek as it blushes against his stubble. “Although they aren’t quite as lucrative as this.”

“And what would those be?” You ask coyly, eagerly daring him to show you.

But instead of going in further for a demonstration, he leans back with a satisfied grin, as if he’s already gotten everything he wants from you at that moment. He grabs a pen from a nearby table and takes your hand, writing his phone number on your palm. “Find me when you feel like it gets to be too much, when all those emotions make you feel as if you’re absolutely about to burst.”

[galleryofart]

The Love Song

Artist: Edward Burne-Jones (English, 1833–1898)

Genre: History Painting

Period: Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

Date Created: 1868-1873

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

This oil painting occupied Burne-Jones from 1868 to 1877. A consummate achievement of Victorian art, it fuses a reverence for Venetian Renaissance painting with a distinctly Aesthetic sense of the connection between music and love. Cupid, personifying Love, slowly squeezes the bellows of a portable organ played by a maiden whose music bewitches her lover, an armor-clad knight.

The composition was first created as a design for the decoration of a panel in an upright piano given to Edward and Georgiana Burne-Jones on their marriage in 1860. Georgiana was an accomplished singer whose repertoire included folk songs and medieval music as well as modern pieces; the title of the painting may derive from a traditional Breton song “Hélas! Je sais un chant d’amour / Triste ou gai, tour à tour.” The composition was also used for a watercolor of 1865 (now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). Most revealing, however, is a portrait of his mistress, the sculptor Maria Zambaco (1870), in which a tiny version of Le Chant d’Amour is shown, as an illustration to an illuminated manuscript she has been reading. Burne-Jones perhaps identified himself as the lovesick knight.

The style of the work is much influenced by Venetian art, and especially the so-called Concert Champêtre in the Louvre in Paris, then thought to be by Giorgione. This richly toned pastoral scene depicted courtiers playing music outdoors, attended by female nudes. It was in an essay on “The School of Giorgione” in 1877 that the Aesthete Walter Pater coined the phrase “all art continually aspires to the condition of music.”

Le Chant d’Amour was shown in 1878 at the Grosvenor Gallery, the preeminent exhibition space for the Aesthetic Movement. In Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience, the Aesthetic poet Bunthorne declares himself to be “a greenery-yallery Grosvenor Gallery / Foot in the grave young man,” a reference to Burne-Jones’s muted coloring and enervated male figures.

[infinitestarsdev]

Devlog 2024-02-09 (Episode 4 - Part 1 is out NOW!)

It's Friday! And this is a special Friday because it's a RELEASE Friday!

That's right! Episode 4 - Part 1 is now live!

Update Edit: It's also a sad day for my family. I lost someone dear to me this morning, someone even dearer to my loved ones, and my heart is aching with them for our loss. I wish things weren't the way they are. I wish I could do more to ease their suffering.

Project Details:

167,666 words in total. (That's roughly the same length as the first two Harry Potter novels combined)

825 possible choices.

Patrons can get their version over here (win|mac|lin) or here (android), and everyone else can get the full game on Steam or Itchio!

Episode 4 - Part 1 continues the story after the dramatic conclusion from Episode 3.

It introduces several new characters, several new and redrawn backgrounds, several new portraits, several new music tracks, an overhauled story controller, a new free-roam mechanic, a new star system navigation interface, a lore gallery with unlockable entries, a system for players to load custom-made stories written by other players into the game, a seasonal event (Spooktober Heist), and nearly 40K additional words of content (some being intimate content for Kiaria, Lochem and Khalil).

It also includes two very special player portraits! Thanks to the amazing ladies from Wanderlust Games, you can now play your Mah'Abeu as a younger version of Damon or Ayame from Andromeda Six! (Seriously, if you're hearing about Andromeda Six for the first time– You're about to fall in love. Go check them out and support them if your wallet allows!)

We've been working extremely hard to bring this release to you, and while we've added a ton of new things, we would have loved to add more. Sadly, we had to draw a line in the sand and release what was available.

Some of the things that we could add before the deadline that were requested by our beta testers:

MC is more knowledgeable about the Cephilusk.

Added a location hint during free-roam sequences.

Made Kiaria more Kiaria when dealing with current events.

Your Mah'Abue now crafts the notice being sent to the crew.

Several more personality options (with more on their way)

Most free-roam scenes now have the crew members touching on or hinting at the current situation.

Fixed some logic bugs with Sonia's scene.

Adjusted Andreas' scene with an additional choice if he becomes too much.

Added some additional logic and checks to the response you can give when the crew/your LI asks about how you are coping. (Might still expand on this.)

Your Mah'Abue now has more control over how they handle Nikau.

Added Lindi's music track.

An additional intimate scene for Khalil

Some of the things that we couldn't add before the deadline that will be added very soon. (over the next week or three):

Implementing some more of the Beta Tester feedback requests.

The start of Tabitha's character arc.

A free-roam scene for Lebeny, along with an additional intimate scene.

Adding a semi-intimate, more risque scene with Matthias.

Adding additional character expressions to some of the free-roam content.

Additional music tracks where there is only silence.

Missing Lore Descriptions, replacing the WiP notice with actual content.

The new trailer for Episode 4.

Some of the things that we couldn't add before the deadline that will be added down the line. (more than a month from now)

Additional backgrounds and characters.

Continuing Episode 4, including the much-anticipated Matthias Elevator scene.

Additional Lore items to unlock.

More free-roam content, more character content (Reyna and more), more intimate scenes.

Character relationship arcs (and intimate scenes) for Raymond, Matthias, Veera and Tabitha as a prioity.

Character relationship arcs (and intimate scenes) for Cephilusk, Andreas and TBD a little further down the road.

As always, despite the hours and hours and heaps of financial resources poured into the project, Infinite Stars is still entirely free! If you like what we are doing and can afford to show your support, please consider joining one of our paid Patreon tiers!

Infinite Stars wouldn't be nearly as cool as it is without the support of our amazing Patrons who believe in us!

If you can't afford to support us, that's cool. We still love you, and having you enjoy our game fills our hearts with joy! If you like the game, share it with your friends or give us a positive review to help with the visibility algorithms.

Have a peaceful weekend, enjoy the release, and go hug one of your loved ones!

[rwrbmovie]

Prime Experience, Prime Video’s annual Emmy FYC activation, is back for its 2024 edition. Held at a new venue, NYA West, across the street from last year’s location, the event will let invited members of the Television Academy and Hollywood guilds get closer to some of Prime Video’s top series, movies and specials through in-world installations, interactive exhibits, show-inspired menus and panels.

Opening April 24 with an “Inspiration & Innovation” panel event featuring showrunners from across the slate, Prime Experience will runs through May 20 with a lineup of 12 screenings, panels, and additional special events.

Featured FYC panels will include Expats, Fallout, I’m a Virgo, Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Red, White & Royal Blue, The Wheel of Time, Amazon Music Live with Garth Brooks, Jim Gaffigan: Dark Pale, Jenny Slate: Seasoned Professional, Tig Notaro: Hello Again and For Love and Life: No Ordinary Campaign.

Recreated in the space are the post-apocalyptic world of Fallout, the Hong Kong night market of Expats, the New York City brownstone of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Gen V’s Godolkin University campus. Each interactive installation provides a glimpse into the show’s production design, cinematography, visual effects, casting, music, and hair & makeup.

Additional Prime Experience exhibits include life-sized manuscript pages from contenders in writing and other categories like Red, White & Royal Blue and I’m A Virgo; in hair & makeup, with a wall of portraits from programs like Wheel of Time, The Greatest Love Story Never Told and This Is Me…Now; and in sound and music, with a pair of listening booths with comedy clips from Jim Gaffigan: Dark Pale, Jenny Slate: Seasoned Professional, and Tig Notaro: Hello Again.

[newyorkthegoldenage]

The 306 Workshop Group in front of 306 West 141st St., late 1930s.

The 306 Workshop Group, also known as the Harlem Art Workshop, was founded by artist Charles Alston. This group served to bring together Black artists such as Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Augusta Savage, and Langston Hughes, just to name a few. Located at 306 West 141st Street in Harlem, the Harlem Art Workshop provided these artists with both a meeting and work space. In the 1920s, Harlem became a coveted address. The neighborhood in New York City was synonymous with an outpouring of production in the visual arts, music, literature, theater, and dance that some began referring to the creative era as the Harlem Renaissance.

Famous artists of the Harlem Renaissance included: sociologist and historian W.E.B. Du Bois, writers Claude McKay, Langton Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston, musician Duke Ellington, and entertainer Josephine Baker. These artists strove to express their racial identity and pride.

Jacob Lawrence, an artist of the Harlem Renaissance, believed his paintings were “a portrait of myself, a portrait of my community.” The community he grew up around included artist and mentor Charles Alston and leading philosopher Alain LeRoy Locke.

The people of Harlem and their rich heritage were constant sources of inspiration for Lawrence. The community experience—its triumphs and tragedies, its dreams and disappointments, its pleasures and humility, collectively forged by the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Depression era—lives on in his paintings.

Photo & text: Phillips Collection

[life-imitates-art-far-more]

François-Hubert Drouais (1727-1775) "Portrait of a Woman, Said to be Madame Charles Simon Favart (Marie Justine Benoîte Duronceray, 1727–1772)" (1757) Oil on canvas Located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York, United States In 1745 Mademoiselle Duronceray—the singer, dancer, and comedienne probably portrayed here—married Charles Simon Favart, the father of French comic opera. Among her best-known roles was that of the heroine in The Loves of Bastien and Bastienne, 1753, in which she inspired a revolution in theatrical costume by wearing authentic peasant dress. Drouais’s portrait of her seated at a harpsichord recalls traditional representations of Saint Cecilia, patron saint of music.

[snapscube]

are you willing to share what mods you’re using in your current sv playthrough? I love the cosmetic mod you’re using and the custom flower dance outfits are so cute!

sure yeah!!! be warned though, it's a long list (it's around 70 right now LOL). too long for me to go through the trouble of linking, but here's all the current ones i have installed and I've bolded the ones that i'm pretty sure affect graphics in the way you were wondering about. they're like 99.9% from Nexus so you don't have to go to a bunch of different sites to find them. just search them on the one site! :)

under the break!

AeroCore Content Patcher AntiSocial NPCs AutomaticGates Better Artisan Good Icons CJB Cheats Menu CJB Show Item Sell Price Combat Controls Console Commands Custom NPC Exclusions DialogueBoxRedesign Entoarox Framework Error Handler Expanded Preconditions Utility Experience Bars ModUpdater Extra Map Layers Generic Mod Config Menu Farm Type Manager Fast Animations Font Settings Gift Taste Helper NPC Map Locations Shop Tile Framework SAAT.API SpaceCore Json Assets New Objects for Stardew Valley Expanded Stardew Valley Expanded Forage Locations SAAT.Mod Stardew Valley Expanded Music Stardew Valley Expanded - Shop Tile Framework Stardew Valley Expanded Grampleton Fields Grandpa's Farm Forage Locations Grandpa's Farm HD Portraits Lookup Anything More Grass PyTK Save Backup Simple Crop Label Skip Intro Wind Effects Slightly Cuter Characters Slightly Cuter Characters - SVE Edition Seasonal Cute Characters Seasonal Cute Characters SVE 1oxnes and talkohlooeys' Seasonal Portraits 1oxnes and talkohlooeys' Seasonal SVE Portraits Bathroom after 2nd Houseupgrade Coii's Girls Sets Pack Coii's Hair Sets Pack Coii's Hats Pack Elle's Cat Replacements Elle's Dog Replacements Elle's New Barn Animals Elle's New Coop Animals Elle's New Horses Stardew Foliage Redone Original Elle's Seasonal Buildings Elle's Town Buildings Elle's Town Animals Hats Won't Mess Up Hair Kats Brighter Hair Shardust's Hairstyles for CP Vanilla Tweaks Vintage Interface 2.0 (CP) Wildflower Grass Field

[pitchmoss]

SMAPI & Modding Guide

🍒Mandatory Mods: these are the ones that make the pretty/gameplay mods work.

Stardew Modding API aka SMAPI: The mod loader for Stardew Valley. Will have it's own pop up window upon launching the game: do not close it, this is how you run modded Stardew. It will also tell you what mods aren't working, what needs an update, etc. Most mandatory, most helpful.

Generic Mod Config Menu: Adds an in-game UI to edit other mods' config options. Will be shown on title screen at the bottom left as a gear icon.

Content Patcher, Alternative Textures, Json Assets, SpaceCore are the most common mods that make the fun mods work. If you're downloading mods, 9/10 times you're gonna need these.

Farm Type Manager, Custom Farm Loader, Fashion Sense, Faux Core, Portaiture, are probably second most used and are for more specific mods (farm layout mods, custom appearance, etc).

🍄Gameplay Mods

Skip Fishing Minigame: Hate fishing? Me too. This skips the fishing minigame and catches fish for you. You will still have to click when you get a Hit, just fishing without the fuss.

Stardew Valley Expanded: A fanmade expansion for ConcernedApe's Stardew Valley. This mod adds 27 new NPCs, 50 locations, 260 character events, 27 fish, reimagined vanilla areas, two farm maps, a reimagined world map reflecting all changes, new music, questlines, objects, crops, festivals, and many miscellaneous additions! (last updated April 8, 2024. also would recommend to second time players due to amount of content)

"I Fixed Him" A Shane Consistency Mod: Makes Shane's post-6-Heart-Event Dialogue and Gift Tastes consistent with his character arc.

🌈Aesthetic Mods: let's beautify this game some more!!

Custom Menu Background

Seasonal Cute Characters & Stanloona's Revised Portraits (not updated to 1.6 but still work)

Ana's Toned Down Sprites

Overgrown Flowery Interface and Overlay

❤I use pretty much all of Gweniaczek's mods, specifically:

>Way Back Pelican Town, Medieval Buildings,

>Gwen's Mailbox, Fishponds, Doghouses, Stable,

>Shipping Bin, Paths, Fences, Craftables, and Tools.

❤Aimon11 makes some good mods too, like:

>More Lively Sewer (+ Krobus content <3), Amanita Lover

>Tidy Cozy Cellar, Distant Lands; Witch Swamp Overhaul

Dynamic Reflections | No Fence Decay: Redux | Destroy Bushes

Cornucopia: More Crops & More Flowers

All Animal Mods: Pets,Farm Animals | Horses | Butterflies

Hats Won't Mess Up Hair & Coii's Hats and Clothes

Fae's Elf Ears or Expressive Elf Ears

(Unofficial) Simple Foliage for 1.6

Firefly Torches or Wisp Torches

Siamece's Furniture Recolors (AT)

DaisyNiko's Earthy Recolor & Tilesheet (if other mods have Earthy Recolor versions I download those too. They will match! Many modders will do this with other recolor mods so have fun with your new game palettes!) (Also DaisyNiko has so many amazing mods, just check out her page!)

[lingy910y]

Weekly Tag Wednesday

tagged by @energievie

name: ling

age: 17

location: ny

latest music discovery: swallow and ribcage by kevin atwater go hard

latest movie: have not watched anything new since the eras tour movie

last tv show you finished: also have not watched anything new since shamey

most recently started book: they both die at the end by adam silvera

most recent trip out of town: connecticut in the 5th grade for my senior trip, those were the good times 🥲

most recent trip out of the country: visited my grandparents in the 2nd grade

most recent gift you made yourself: drawing for myn's birthday

most recent gift you made to give someone else: same thing

most recent text message you received: if you mean directly received, it's this from my friend bc there's a character in honkai star rail named gallagher who's described as untidy appearance wise and likes tobacco, candy, and alcohol 💀

most recent text message you sent: in general it's a tumblr link in a fanart channel of a discord server

last fic you read: fragile little fate the portrait of a marriage updated and i was abt to send it to jade until i saw her in the comment session already 💀 it was 5 so i read some and went to sleep so i can absorb it better tomorrow. AND IT WAS EVERYTHING I WANTED AND MORE, WOULD WAIT AGAIN

last drink you had: water

last thing you ate: egg sandwich for breakfast (i finally used corn oil again, my dad thought olive or avocado oil was healthier but it tasted so bland)

latest piece of clothing you brought: september of last year right before school started to buy some autumn clothes. also was the first time i shopped for clothes by myself

latest piece of advice you received: last night i told my dad that when i brush my teeth there would be blood and he said it was prob gingivitis 😬 i figured, and he said to just brush my teeth more often and carefully and to use mouthwash

latest piece of advice you gave: idk, prob telling the same friend above to play the newest genshin event cause she was worried abt missing it but not playing it when it's currently here 💀

latest thing you promised yourself: to wash my hair after a long time, and i did it :D (as you can see i have very poor hygiene, i don't have the energy to do anything)

okayge tagging @creepkinginc, @mybrainismelted, @deedala, @michellemisfit, @mmmichyyy, @iansw0rld, @jademickian, @vintagelacerosette, @lupeloto, @sgtmickeyslaughter, @doshiart & @blue-disco-lights 🫡

[detectivedrewshouldgetaclue]

hey, if you could make your own nancy drew game, what would it be about, what would be the plot, and what would be like the fun minigame?

What a lovely question! Thank you, for asking.

Hmm, let me see. So many things I’m interested in, have already been done within the games!

That being said, I think I’d have Nancy visit somewhere completely new! It would be cool for her to go to Russia and search out some fabled Romanov treasure. She could play off her mother’s espionage legacy. Not quite as emotionally heavy as SPY (obviously, Russia is a serious place and the Romanovs are a tragedy), but something more diplomatic. Assisting the United Staes with foreign affairs sort of thing, via The Network (formally ATAC). Of course, the Hardy Boys would be helping, as Network agents.

I’d make the plot revolve around exploring the Russian palaces the Romanovs inhabited. Trying to find the treasure so the USA stays on Russia’s good side or something to that effect. A peace mission, if you will; return the treasure to Russia and, in return, smooth the ruffled feathers, between the two nations. There is trouble lurking about, though…whispers of a KGB rebirth that might threaten Nancy’s mission…

The tensions of strained relations, a murdered royal family, the infamous Rasputin, dark, mysterious, nighttime Gypsy camp visits, and possible fascist regime uprising add to the spook/goosebump factor in this game.

You could go to multiple a palaces with different clues and puzzles…because I can’t get enough of castles and old buildings, in these games! Each location would give clues, until you find the hidden treasure. Featured puzzles would include: A Russian nesting doll puzzle, a Romanov family portrait slider puzzle, a mystical trinkets puzzle in Rasputin’s hidden lair, a playing a balalaika (a Russian instrument) puzzle, a Romani/Gypsy tarot card puzzle (GET OUT OF HERE, RICHARD TOPHAM), etc. I’d also have Nancy do some crazy side task with a beautiful, intimidating, female, ex-Olympic figure skater (please, stop thinking about Yanni, this is different okay?), where you have to do a series of intricate taps, using your keyboard arrows, to land ice skating moves and gain her respect.

As far as a mini game goes, Nancy would have to to cook and decorate blinis (Russian pancakes), as her undercover job. She’s a history major exchange student, working on an internship and trying to fund her schooling (thanks for the hookup, Network!). This gives her an alibi for snooping, in historical areas.

I’d have the game set in winter, because I like the coziness of a snowy game and…WELL. IT IS FLIPPING RUSSIA.

You know the soundtrack would go hard, with some traditional Russian-inspired music.

Anyways. Just some thoughts, off the top of my head. 🇷🇺🌨️🪆

Annnnnd since I’m so visual…some inspo:

[the-broken-truth]

This is my Leech brother OC.

Name: Loïc Leech

Gender: Male

Age: He’s actually a triplet to Floyd and Jade but he lies to everybody to hide his identity and says that he’s fifteen.

Height: Due to his abusive upbringing, his height ended up being 155cm or five feet and one inch.

Reason for leaving: Ever since he hatched, Loïc was firmly abused by Floyd and Jade for being the technical runt out of the three of them. His tails no longer long and shiny but folded in on themselves, bones breaking, sticking out and stabbing elsewhere into his tails forcing them together. He was forced to live in the cold basement where there were bars over the window and he slowly scratched his way out of his prison, breaking the bars and clawing his way out.

New family: He doesn’t have one. Loïc has not been shown kindness due to what species he is and who his family was. He lives on his own ‘two legs’.

New name: He only goes by Loïc. He no longer uses Leech as a last name.

Dorm sorted: Scarabia. Loïc’s intelligence and craftiness got him safely into Scarabia.

Unique Magic: Shell Rally. If Loïc is given a sea shell, his unique magic can turn it into either a shield, a weapon, a living suit of armor or other creature. An example of each would be: A clam shell becomes an indestructible shield that defends from all attacks, a turritella shell (The spiral ones) will be turned into a spiral sword to wield, if given a nautilus shell, a living suit of armor will be made and if given a piece of coral, Loïc can make a huge seahorse that looks like the coral that anyone can ride, in the sea or on land. Incantation: May these weapons and troops lead us to victory - Shell Rally!

Small Bio: Loïc Leech is the triplet to Floyd and Jade. His eyes are a mix of the two’s color in both of his eyes and he has two black stripes that go over his head and down his back. Those are very long and go down to the base of his back. In his merman form, Loïc can’t swim due to badly his tail is busted up and in his human form, one of his legs is facing behind him (So, imagine that your leg is turned the opposite way all of the time) and the other is facing to the left all of the time. He prefers his human form over his merman form and always makes sure that he has the human turning potion near him. Much to his chagrin, Loïc ended up being a huge fan of basketball and mushrooms just like Floyd and Jade have. Due to not being able to use his legs properly, Loïc has really strong arms and could scale a mountain side thanks to his grip strength alone. He also has a cane to help with walking.

Likes: Instrumental music, basketball, mushrooms, seashells, sea horses, hand held puzzles,

Dislikes: The sea, swimming, real horses, Floyd and Jade’s tricks,

Favorite Food: Anything from the land really.

Least favorite food: Undersea food from their culture.

Favorite Class: History of Magic (It’s nice and simple that he can enjoy.)

Favorite staff: Sam. (Sam always has the most interesting things to tell and share with Loïc about the world.)

Least favorite staff: Coach Vargas (Not because of his personality but because Loïc sucks at P.E.)

Best Friend: None. Loïc has a hard time making friends since for the first fifteen years of his life was spent trapped in a basement. So, he’s open to nearly everyone to make a friend or two.

Worst Enemy: His brothers. If Loïc sees one, he’s immediately trying to hide away.

Favorite Location: Sam’s Shop. He got a job there to his joy.

Broken: Whoa! The First Platonic-Yandere AU OC Offer comes not only as a Leech Triplet OC, but from one of my FAVORITE TUMBLRS! THIS IS AWESOME! I made his portrait so he would have a face, but I'm working on his fully body and profile! Without further ado, Introducing the 3rd 'Leech' Sibling: Loïc!

Broken: How does he look, everyone?!

[seeminglyranch87]

Taylor & Travis Timeline

August 2024 - Part 3

"salt air and the rust on the door, I never needed anything more" August, T. Swift

August 20 - The Eras Tour, Wembley Stadium, London, UK N8

Guest appearance from Florence and the Machine to perform Florida!!! alongside Taylor during the TTPD era (after So High School)

The timing is everything:

"I need to forget, so take me to Florida, I've got some regrets, I'll bury them in Florida"

next stop on the Eras Tour ... Miami Florida.

Death By A Thousand Cuts x Getaway Car with special guest Jack Antonoff (guitar) & So Long London (piano)

Taylor & Jack reenact the moment they wrote the bridge for Getaway Car (x x)

Goodbye London Boy ... see the sweet smile when she sings "I'll find someone"(x) Here is looking at you Travis!

Taylor releases music video for I Can Do It With A Broken Heart (x) with behind the scenes footage of the Eras Tour. This MV was played at the conclusion of the show.

This wraps up the European leg of the Eras Tour.

Taylor is the first artist to sell out 8 shows at Wembley Stadium, London surpassing Michael Jackson's record of 7 shows (x)

Adam Sandler appears on The Tonight Show and reveals that Travis will guest appear in Happy Gilmore 2 (x).

Taylor posts to IG addressing the cancelled Vienna shows (x) and celebrating the European tour.

August 22 - Chiefs v Bears, Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO, NFL preseason

Travis arrives at Arrowhead Stadium ahead of game

August 24 - Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce spotted in Rhode Island together with the Mahomes family, Jason & Kylie Kelce’s family, Ryan Reynolds & Blake Lively’s family, Bradley Cooper & Gigi Hadid’s family, Channing Tatum & Zoe Kravitz. (X x x x)

August 27 - Kansas City Sports Awards. Travis Kelce is awarded Polsinelli Sportsman of the Year (x). Funny moment recounting an Andy Reid interaction (x)

It is reported that Travis has purchased a share in a race horse named Swift Delivery... see Jason Kelce response via X and yes the horse is named after Taylor. (x x)

August 28 - New Heights season 3 premiers... Ep 98 (x) with guest Adam Sandler. Travis mentions that Adam and his daughters attended the movie premier of the Eras Tour Movie, Adam admits he is intimidated by Taylor as his family adores Taylor and loves her relationship with Travis and he doesn't want to mess it up and say the wrong thing. (1:22:05) (x)

On ESPN NFL Live, Adam Schefter asks "“How do you that know Travis Kelce didn’t buy an engagement ring?" with a knowing look... (x x)

August 29 - Chiefs celebrated the start of the season with the annual KC Chamber Kickoff Luncheon (x)

Chris Jones says he wants to add more trophies and more Swifties to Chiefs Kingdom. Travis Kelce said, “They’re on their way” (x)

Interviewer Mitch Holthus tells the players that he loves them, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce reply that they love him too. He responds by asking

“Do you love me more than Taylor?” “Maybe not.” Travis replies. (x x)

August 30 - KC Chiefs releases portraits from 2024 training camp(x)

Kansas City Star article speculating about a possible engagement between Travis & Taylor (x)

Kelce and Swift have been spotted at a number of restaurants around town over the past year. One of those locations this week contacted people who had reservations for Sunday night and said someone had rented the establishment for the evening. Every preexisting reservation was being canceled. The owner told one couple the establishment would help them get another reservation and promised a gift card and drinks. Is that a confirmation that Kelce and Swift are holding an engagement party? Of course not, but with all the scuttlebutt about a special announcement coming from America’s Favorite Couple, it is something for Swifties and Chiefs fans to keep watch.

Are we expecting a possible engagement party after the first game of the season Trav & Tay? Prime Social maybe??

Go to previous update -> August 2024 part 2

Go to next update -> TBC

Return to the timeline

[mdeanstrauss]

After I purchased a new guitar last summer, I realized shortly thereafter that it needed a set-up badly... I hunted fruitlessly high and low for a guitar luthier/tech in the Triangle area for months, and then realized that at the shop where I take music lessons were located two of the best techs in the area... they have a steady backlog of work and do a great job... they were kind enough to let me make portraits of them at their work...

[middletone]

Introduction Post

My Perfection-run Farmer is Leander. He’s roughly in his late twenties; a latent witch, having let the forest magic he had begun to cultivate as a child staying with his grandfather fade once he moved to the city with his mother. Will he be able to reawaken his powers after returning to Aurora Fields Farm?

Well, we’re doing the Community Center route, so probably.

I’ve never really kept a game log before and I thought it would be fun; Stardew Valley lends itself to this type of thing so well imo. I’ll do weekly (in game) updates of the highlights so I’m not flooding people’s dash.

WILL CONTAIN 1.6 SPOILERS! Tagging as “Aurora Fields” if people would prefer to block; mod list under the cut.

Aurora Fields is a Meadowlands-type farm with remixed CC bundles & mining rewards; guaranteed 1st year completion set.

Initial Goals:

Fast-track Blue Chickens - I thought you had to marry Shane so I have never gotten them

Max hearts - Everyone will be our friend, so help me

Marry Sebastian - He was my first bae and continues to be my favorite; also best spouse room

Spring – Year 1: Week 1 - Week 2 - Week 3 - Week 4

Summer – Year 1: Week 1- Week 2 - Week 3 - Week 4

Mod List (Available on Nexus):

Better Butterfly Hutch

CJB Cheats Menu - Durable Fences, No Friendship Decay, Instant Catch Fish enabled

Content Patcher

Content Patcher Animations

Crafting Collection

Daily Screenshot

Deluxe Journal

Dynamic Reflections

Farm Icon on Load Screen

Fast Animations

Generic Mod Config Menu

Highlighted Jars

Horse Squeeze

Menu Cycle

Monster Slayer Anywhere

More Grass

NPC Map Locations

Part of the Community

Portraiture - Using SHIE’s Portraits (hoping for an update to include the new outfits)

PyTKLite

UI Info Suite 2

Visible Fish - Viewable Trash disabled

Babies Take After Spouse V2

Bathhouse Hot Spring

Bedroom & Kitchenette

Better Lilypads

Better Water

Clint Rewritten

Bath House Running Water

Musical Cellar

Summer Bird & Cicada Sounds

Even Better Artisan Good Icons

Fancy Artisan Good Icons EBAGI Pack

Fancy Artisan Good Icons Retexture

Elle’s Cuter Barn Animals - Edited various assets

Elle’s Cuter Cats (Edited) - Edited assets to incorporate my IRL cat, Steve

Elle's Cuter Coop Animals - Edited various assets

Elle's Dirt & Cliff Recolor

Elle's Cuter Horses

Elle's Seasonal Buildings

Elle's Town Buildings - Edited Marnie's Ranch to have original colors

Family Choices Expanded

Jealousy Responses Begone

Less Ugly Spouse Rooms

Love Letters

Night Market Cat Boat

Perma-Fluffy Sheep

Please, Remember My Marriage

Seasonal Mariner to Mermaid

Seasonal Special Orders Board

Seasonal Wedding Arch

Rustic Traveling Cart (Edited) - Edited assets to keep original cart color, but incorporate modded boar & roof shape

Simple Foliage

Simple Resources

Spam Mail

Squid-like Squid Kids

Uniform Rings

Animated Junicrows

Animated Mining Pack

Auto Animal Doors

Automate

Better Train Loot - Set to max 1 train per day, otherwise too chaotic/OP

Change Farm Caves

Custom Fixed Dialogue

Destroyable Bushes

Fall 28 Snow Day

Fall 28 Snow Dialouge

Greenhouse Sprinklers

Like a Duck to Water

Placement Plus

Ring Overhaul

Stardew Hack

Supply Crates on Beach

Tree Transplant

Waterproof Items

Wear More Rings

Bachelors/ettes Stay Friends

Better Beach Farms

Blue Eggs & Golden Mayo - Edited to match EBAGI

Elle's Grass Replacement

Immersive Spouses

Natural Paths - Gravel Path changed to Dark Grass path, Wood Path changed to Light Grass path

Please, Remember My Birthday

Demetrius Visits Farm Cave Redux - Set to Saturdays as Demetrius doesn't so anything special on Saturdays/there are no Saturday Festivals

More Grass – Set to 50% coverage; using Ali’s Flower Grass, Lumisteria More Flowery Grass, & Lumisteria Short Flowery Grass

Platonic Partners & Friendships

Platonic Relationships

[isfjmel-phleg]

Random OC Facts: Amarantha (Revised and Updated)

This is a combination of two earlier lists, with some adjustments for things that don't work anymore or have since been contradicted, with the addition of some new facts!

Specializes in portraiture, principally because it involves people and capturing their essence in a single image. Faces and silhouettes appear in the margins of most of her papers and letters.

Is not such a good artist that her father will let her illustrate any editions or serializations of his writings. Maybe when she’s older. She has a lot to learn in the meantime. Provides him with fanart nonetheless, which he pins to the wall by his desk.

Keeps a windowbox of plants with the intention of adding Aesthetic to her room but is not good about remembering to tend them. Feels bad about this (does it make her a murderer on some level?) but still forgets anyway.

By no means socially oblivious but has a tendency to publicly drift into rather intense, harsh facial expressions without meaning to.

Good at sizing people up and is often more or less correct. Not so good at questioning or critiquing her own judgments or realizing that sometimes these conclusions have expiration dates--people change.

Her prize possession is a camera Elystan gave her. She develops all her own pictures and knows (more or less) how to hand-tint them for when black and white doesn’t say enough.

Cannot read, work, draw, or do much of anything else while music is playing (sometimes her father has the phonograph going). Sensory overload.

Generally quiet and withdrawn but gets very outspoken about perceived violations of social appropriateness and tact. Probably too outspoken.

Decent seamstress, as long as she doesn’t get too lost in thought and sew armholes shut or jab herself with the machine, both of which happen embarrassingly often. The family purchases most of their clothing ready-made, but she has made a few pieces that she is proud of.

Beta reader of her father’s stories. Good at catching consistency of theme and characterization. Unfortunately neither she nor her father tend to catch inconsistent details, so these often end up going to print, where Amarantha’s mother will discover them too late.

Excellent at comebacks with about a day or two’s delay. Once telegrammed Elystan her retort about a week later, and he had no idea what she was talking about and shrugged it off.

Has a Plan. Do not throw it off. You will break her.

Perfectionist in the most frustrating, least convenient way. Most of her art is perpetually in progress, never quite right enough for her.

Considers herself the brains of the operation in her creative collaboration with Elystan. Will not say so because he thinks the same of himself.

Combats frustration by painting (as opposed to drawing). It doesn't exactly help, but there's something minorly satisfying about slamming paint on a canvas when what you'd really like to do is slam the canvas over someone's head. Most of her paintings (at least at her current stage of life) have a rather frantic quality because of this angry "technique."

Despite her quietness and few friends, is socially well-adjusted. Can navigate small talk well and converse with her father’s business visitors with grown-up gravitas.

…but is still capable of incredibly childish arguments with Elystan, whom she rivals in being dramatic (she’s just better at hiding it than he is).

Once rearranged all her father's books according to color. The effect was beautiful, which was what she was going for, but he was none too pleased at not being able to locate anything anymore, and he made her restore them to the seemingly random order that he had left them and which somehow made total sense to him.

Takes everything far too seriously. Especially herself.

Has made numerous family portraits featuring her Hedge motif, all a little different. Sometimes the Hedge is blackberry brambles. Sometimes it's ivy. Sometimes the leaves have withered. Sometimes it has attracted a flock of picking, pecking birds. Must mean something. She couldn’t say what.

-

Acquired her signature pinned-up braid hairstyle as a means of both keeping her hair out of her way when she draws and deterring hair-pulling. Borrowed the hairpins from her mother’s dressing table, and nobody has thought to ask where she got them.

Has developed a taste for comic opera after her father took her to a few matinees of the productions that were popular in his youth. A lot of the humor goes over her head, but she and Levico enjoy (at home, in their spare time) competing for how much of the patter songs they can accurately recall at the greatest speed.

Has taken it upon herself to be the official supplier of morning tea to her mother whenever she’s home, and takes trouble to make it as nice as possible since she’s sure that no one does thoughtful things for Edmara in Elystan’s household. Uses the good china (even though it’s supposed to be only for guests), folds the napkin artistically, decorates the tray with flowers. The result usually looked better in her head, but she’s Trying.

Has embarrassed herself frequently in the classroom by answering the wrong question when called upon, because she has been reading ahead in the textbook instead of listening.

Has paid several excited visits to the Royal Art Gallery with her father, where they talked over the latest movements and artists. As highly acclaimed as Princess Antavia’s work is, she emphatically does not care for it. How much of this is a reflection on the quality of the art or on some nasty things Antavia’s written about Levico isn’t clear. Either way, Amarantha is sure she can do much better.

Aside from her father’s books, is fondest of a bizarre little fairy tale called Alis’s Travels in Peculiaritie and something called The Princess and Her Goblin, which she picked up once from a relative’s collection on a visit and has never been able to find since–which is a pity, because she didn’t get to finish the last three chapters. Has been dreaming about that ending for the last couple of years.

Wants to move to Dorin, Faysmond whenever she becomes an artist. Saw its architecture on a postcard once and fell in love with it. Is sure the entire population of the city must have a deep connection to Art in the abstract–how could you live in such buildings and not?

Is irritated with the lack of color selection in boxes of colored pencils or paints, has strong opinions about what is actually necessary in these, and can rant on this subject indefinitely if given opportunity.

Daughter of a trained nurse but has hardly any concept of first aid or how to respond in a crisis. And would probably lose her head and panic anyway even if she did know.

Used to want a brother or sister, but her parents, when asked why there was only her, explained that sometimes that’s the way things are. Her theory on the matter is that it’s because her mother couldn’t look after Elystan and a new baby; she’s already too tired. This makes sense to Amarantha, and she is resigned to it.

Part of her application process for the scholarship to Queen Edella's School was to write what basically amounted to a cover to Queen Bethira and submit some samples of her work. It was one of the hardest things Amarantha has ever had to do, given her last encounter with Bethira, and she was sure that her application would get declined.

Is the dedicatee of her father's Morrick Hopeley novel, A Composition in Crime, because of some art-related information she was able to provide him with, which helped work out the plot. The dedication read, "To my daughter, Amarantha, without whose expertise my readers would write me indignant letters about my misrepresentation of the art world."

Always carries three pencils, a small blank notebook, a pencil sharpener, and scissors on her.

Writes to her mother once a week, every week, telling her everything. Everything factual, at least. It tends to be a rather glowing picture of the family doings. Does not know that her mother has kept and reread every single letter, or that Elystan is quite familiar with these letters too.

Her favorite painting is, surprisingly, not one by her favorite artist (Teofila), but one by a modern painter, called "The Cloudburst." At a glance, it appears to be a young woman beneath an umbrella caught in a downpour amid a crowd of people. But upon closer examination, the rain is in fact only falling on her, and no one around her seems to notice that anything is unusual. Amarantha saw this painting at a gallery and had to be dragged away from it; her father managed to find a small print for her, which is framed on her bedroom wall.