HappyDragonite

Hey folks, it's been a hot minute since I last checked in, and I just wanted to wish you all a belated happy holidays. This year has been difficult for so many people, and I know this time of year can be sad and lonely at the best of times, let alone at the tail end of a really stressful and frightening year. If you're feeling poorly, I urge you to seek out the resources that may help, be it with your friends, family, your doctor or even a therapist, because you matter, and your well-being matters. Please be gentle with yourselves—be patient and kind with others too.

I'm afraid I don't have much to provide in the way of updates, but as always, you can find my other social medias linked on my channel if you'd like to catch up elsewhere. I hope you're all well, and I hope that you all feel a little better going into the new year than maybe you feel leaving this one.

Ps. Here's the annual picture of my cat with his Christmas crown.

4 years ago | [YT] | 132

HappyDragonite

Hi, all—just wanted to check in again. I'm in the midst of a lot of planning right now—nothing I can share yet—but I really wanted to leave a message here, for those of you hangin' about.

Things are really scary right now in the world (I mean, things have been really scary for about half a decade at this point, but you know what I'm getting at), and I know it feels like we can't do much of anything to make that better, but I really do hope that in spite of it all, you and your loved ones are safe and well.

Regardless of what your government is doing or telling you, caution is still very much a good thing, and your critical thinking skills are, with your compassion for others, an absolutely invaluable asset during a time of uncertainty and fear like this. Check in with your pals from a safe distance, and try your best to keep your spirits up. Wash your hands for a good twenty seconds, and if you can, try to find some good moisturising hand sanitiser that you can use if hand washing isn't available. If you're worried about being laid off or trying to make rent, please look into organising with your fellow workers or tenants—there's power in numbers, and solidarity with our fellow humans is how we get shit done. And, in future days, please—dear lord, dear god—if you're eligible to vote, make sure you can do just that. Ideally for someone who thinks universal healthcare is a good idea, or at the very least respects human life and this weird little accident of a planet we live on.

If you happen to be a service worker, or a nurse or doctor, thank you so much for your work, your time, and your generosity. Please consider all of us in this little community clapping for you. You are so appreciated, and I'm sorry it's taken a goddamn pandemic for people to realise how important you are to a functioning society. I hope you're all being taken care of by your places of work, and you're not being run ragged in the process of doing your work.

I wish I could end this with some cheery, "Alright, gang, this may be tough, but we'll all get through it!" but I won't insult your intelligence by suggesting that saying such a thing is true. Because the reality is that some of us won't—and I hate that—but I won't sugarcoat that. In a lot of places, things are bad right now, and potentially getting worse, and I'm not about to gloss that over to make myself sound like I genuinely believe when this is all over and done the world will just return to some nebulous sense of normalcy. But what I can do is wish you all well, and say that I very much hope we all come out of this.

With all that said, I'll check in again soon. Wash your hands, kiddos. Stay safe.

5 years ago | [YT] | 114

HappyDragonite

Hi, pals! Happy New Year! I'm just popping in to give my seasonal well wishes—hope you had a nice holiday season!—and continue my trend of vagueposting about what I'm up to, and what you can expect. This next year is going to be really big for me, professionally, personally, and, er, yer boi is gonna be right strapped for cash by the end of it, but hopefully much better for it. This means, of course, that the lion's share of my efforts is going somewhere else at the moment, and while I'm terribly excited, it very much means that it's going to be a stretch longer before I return to these (semi) hallowed halls of YouTube. But let's have a chat about that.

I've not written about this anywhere other than responses to comments and the odd tweet, but I'll use this as an opportunity for transparency about what I'm planning on doing here in the future, and how you can help me get there if so inclined. I've veered further away from remix, and I'm dedicated to original works at this point. That means, for all intents and purposes, there aren't going to be anymore PokéTunes, or LaytonTunes, or anything of that nature. This is for a number of reasons, including issues with copyright, viability of that work as sustainable, and, to be entirely frank, my interest level. I'm proud of the work I did, and I take immense happiness in knowing it'll most likely always be there for you to return to and enjoy, but I've realised that I don't need to. I can do something different. And in fact, I have been doing a great many things different, and it's resulted in a good number of demos, which I hope to fully realise in the not-too-distant-future.

I understand that might be sort-of disappointing for some of you to read, but I feel very passionately that the best way forward is to trudge my own path, and I'm more passionate about that work than ever. Unfortunately year-or-so ago, I lost access to my DAW (Digital Audio Workstation, or the thingy that makes the blips and boops) of choice, which has killed my ability to produce music as I'd like to. Shortly after that loss, I started a Ko-Fi as a method of raising funds to help me not only rebuild my little studio, but build an actual little studio, where I can record directly from my piano, and produce my music on the updated version of that aforementioned DAW. To level with you, that crap's expensive, and I'm staring down the barrel at a decade of student loan debt. But every cent helps, and I'm so grateful for those of you who've pitched in, those who've shared the Ko-Fi via the good ol' retweet button, and those who've voiced their support in other ways. I'm very lucky to have accrued a good gang of people around me, and I want you—yes, you—to know that I'm so grateful for your support.

Also, with utterly no pomp or circumstance, this channel turned a whole-ass ten-years-old in November, which is bonkers. I started this thing when I was a lonely and depressive teenager, and now I'm a lonely and depressive adult! Self-deprecation aside, I gotta give my love to both the folks that have been around since the beginning, those who're new to our little pack of weirdos, and all of the folks who showed up to the party fashionably late somewhere in the middle. It's very cool that we exist in the same time, and somehow, in the middle of it all, we were able to connect with each other through a bunch of ones and zeros. Fifteen-year-old me would think that's hecking rad as heck. And then he probably would've asked if I had my life figured out, and I would've laughed myself to death, like Chrysippus, who got his donkey drunk on wine and fed it figs, and literally laughed himself to death. Look it up. Antiquity was, as the youths say, lit.

If you'd like to support me, you can throw a few bucks my way here: ko-fi.com/happydragonite
And as always, you can find my slow (but live!) descent into madness on Twitter and Tumblr, which are at: twitter.com/happydragonite and happydragonite.tumblr.com/
Thank you for your kind words, and thank you for your seemingly endless patience while I pour the foundation for what I want to do. Ya'll are stars, the lot of you. I hope this new year—this new decade—is good to us.

Here's a picture of my cat, wearing a bowtie, pretending he was a loaf of bread.

5 years ago | [YT] | 78

HappyDragonite

Hey, people who are presently alive and also potential ghost-readers. Just wanted to pop in and let you all know I'm still presently alive (let's celebrate the small victories!), still working away at things for you, still working away at things for me, and I totally deleted my Facebook, because that website is awful, and I wasn't even using it anyway, so bye Felicia. As always, if you're lookin' for your fix of me, a strange internet person, you can find me primarily on Twitter (where I tweet about sadness and occasionally other things), and Tumblr, where I reblog things and pretend I'm more involved. I'm still collecting funds to get new equipment for music (and, hush-hush, just between us, start building an informal studio...), and I'll include a link for my Ko-Fi here in case any of you fine folks wanna throw me a few bucks. While absolutely not required, it's always appreciated, and is really helping me in the process of music creation. Thanks for stickin' around, pals. I hope to have some neat stuff to show you sooner rather than later.

Ye olde tip jar: ko-fi.com/happydragoniteThe ol' timey saloon with a history of watered down gin and inedible gruel: twitter.com/happydragoniteThe cure for cholera: happydragonite.tumblr.com/
Ps. Have a picture of my cat. He meows a lot, and he's objectivity an asshole, but he's very photogenic.

5 years ago | [YT] | 105

HappyDragonite

Hi all! Folks? People? Gang? I like that. Makes us sound like a group of Victorian ruffians. Rad. Quick update for you here—I just wanted to drop in and answer a question I've been getting a lot for the past few months, which pertains to download links. I am so happy (pardon the pun) that you've been collectively downloading the tracks, and I appreciate the support very much. Unfortunately, as I do not have a premium account on Soundcloud (which I use to host the MP3s'), once I reach a certain download threshold, the downloads are disabled. Why this is, is completely beyond me, but it's out of my control, and that means that many of the download links are and will be bum links, which is to say, they're not gonna work. If any of you have a solution, do let me know, I am open to suggestions here. I've considered putting a big ol' album on Bandcamp, which could potentially be a way for you to support me if you are so inclined, but I don't know how you all would feel about that. Me no-know.

If you'd like to follow me on Twitter for my thoughts on everything from the burrito I had last Sunday to snarky tweets about *gestures around vaguely at the world*, you can find me [at] happydragonite, or twitter.com/happydragonite
If you'd like to give me a few bucks to support me in rebuilding my studio, you can donate to my Ko-Fi account. It's completely optional, but hey, if you feel like it, it's here. www.ko-fi.com/R6R8OURS
As always, I appreciate the kind comments and words. Ya'll are good eggs.

6 years ago | [YT] | 52

HappyDragonite

Hi all! It's been a hot minute, several seconds, and possibly a few milliseconds too, maybe even a femtosecond. I hope you've all been well, and had really good holiday breaks with friends and family! Anyway, here's an update:

Some stuff has changed since I've last checked in, namely that I have lost access to my DAW (Logic Pro 9) since updating my computer, and I've been dropped by the network that was representing me here. Unfortunately that means that between a lack of income from YouTube, and a lack of equipment to make said income, I'm in a bit of a jam, and not like a delicious plum jam. To answer the question that I'm sure you're wondering: no, this does not mean I'm definitively quitting YouTube. This just makes my hiatus a bit more complicated, because now I'm not only busy with school, but I can't really make the music I want to anyway because my equipment is outdated and not functional.

So, I've decided to start a sort-of tip jar—entirely optional, of course—that you can donate to if you have a few extra bucks lying around that you wouldn't mind giving to me. This donated money is going directly into my savings, which will allow me to not only make music for you again, but better music, music that I'm really excited about making. I appreciate the kind thoughts and words that I see in my comments still, and I'm really hoping to be able to return to you lovely people sooner rather than later!

As always, best places to keep in touch and Twitter and Tumblr, both of which are linked on my channel, both of which are HappyDragonite.

Donations: ko-fi.com/happydragonite
Thank you so much for the support. Ya'll are a great group of people, and I appreciate the heck outta you. Here's a picture of my cat.

6 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 78

HappyDragonite

Hi, all! It's been a month, or so YouTube tells me, and I wanted to check in and give a little update. Since then my shower door literally fell off its hinges and I have eaten several burritos and possibly a pizza. Last time I wrote in I said that I was working on new music, and I still am. I really want to do something different, so it's going to be a while before I can put something out before the bigger thing I'm working on, but as usual, the absolute best place to follow along is through my Twitter, which as usual I'll link here. I'm super excited about this project I'm working on, and I think you'll like it too! Hopefully! Maybe? Let's say hopefully. Anyway, I hope you've had a really fantastic summer and are settling back into the doldrums of regular life again, whatever that may be. See ya around, friendos.

Twitter: twitter.com/happydragonite

7 years ago | [YT] | 61

HappyDragonite

Hi, all! Been a while, etc, this is just a friendly reminder that I'm here and where you can find me these days. I'm working (slowly, but surely) on new music, and to keep informed on that the absolute best place to be is at my Twitter, where I'm able to post updates more efficiently without clogging up your feed here. I've been replaying some old Pokémon games, and sharing some thoughts and retrospectives over there too, so if you're into that, great! If not, hey, that's fine too. Hope you've all had a really good summer, and it hasn't been too smokey wherever you are! Also here's a candid picture of my cat. See ya around, friendos.

Twitter: twitter.com/happydragonite

7 years ago | [YT] | 80

HappyDragonite

Hi, all. Long time, huh? I realise the last time I posted an update here was about half a year ago, and the last time I posted a video was even longer ago—which, y'know, my bad fam. Do people still say that? Anyway, I'm hard at work trying to get the other parts of my life sorted out, and that's absolutely sapped my time in a way I really didn't plan on. I'm hoping to get back into YouTube soon to make music for you all (among other things!), but for the time being you can find me hanging out on Twitter (@happydragonite), or if Tumblr's more your jam I try to keep my blog updated with pretty pictures and the like (also happydragonite)—the links are down below in any case. Thank you so much for your patience, I can't even begin to express how much I appreciate it along with all the comments, messages, all of that stuff. Hope to see you soon.

Ps. Here's a picture of my cat under a table in keeping with my tradition of animal pictures with a post.

Twitter: twitter.com/happydragoniteTumblr: happydragonite.tumblr.com/

7 years ago | [YT] | 87

HappyDragonite

Hi all! Since my feed is about ducks, and self-promotion...here's a duck (her name is Belinda and I hope she's living her best life) and also, again, if you want to have a bit more of me in your life during my hiatus (in which I am learning to make better things and also reading Plato??) you can follow me on Twitter for, like, my thoughts. Also Tumblr! Havin' some fun there. Hope you're all well!

7 years ago | [YT] | 72