#effects demo board

[fuzzkaizer]

IBANEZ TRY BOARD 77

"Went home sick one day from work and woke up to my girlfriend telling me there was a pedal board by the dumpster at our complex nearly sprinted out of my place to go save this from the trash, it's an Ibanez demo bord from the 70's. All the pedals worked besides the flying pan, had an in and out on either side, pretty much this would be set up at a music shop to try different effects."

cred: facebook.com/Nickoli Erickson

[tonkable-art]

✷ Tonk's Art Resources ✷

Hi! No one asked but I wanted to make a big list of art resources I use because I like to try and help people be creative! Not everything I list is free (mostly the books & some PDFs), but I’ll try my best to keep a big portion of it unpaid.

I've also made a carrd with the same links and a set of software links + prices but I'll be updating this with more things I find that I think would be helpful. :)

Drawing

GES DRAW PARTY - Timed model videos

Drawing Tutorials Online - Figure drawing tutorials (& fun SVA student sketchbook videos)

Line of Action - Timed model Photos

3 tips to improve your PEOPLE SKETCHING (fast urban sketching techniques), Sketching Scottie

Creating Backgrounds, Tim Mcburnie

Drawabox

Reference Angle

Kaycem

Colour Theory

Why Color Studies Are So Powerful, Light Ponderings

Marco Bucci

Colour Tips and Tricks, Iniro (PDF)

This post

Animation

The Animator’s Survival Kit, Richard E. Williams (book) - I think this one is a pretty obvious must-have

How to Animate Night In The Woods [Scribble Kibble #103], Crowne Prince - Helped me get a grip on After Effects

Little Miss Hellraiser Toon Boom Harmony Rig, Edu Bruks - Free Toon Boom Harmony rig

Alex Grigg // Animation for Anyone

BaM Animation

Storyboarding

Exploring Storyboarding, Wendy Tumminello (book)

Storyboarding Essentials: SCAD Creative Essentials, David Harland Rousseau & Benjamin Reid Phillips (book)

Storyboard Pro Crash Course/Tips for beginners, OhJeeToriG

A Guide To Storyboards, MagicBunnyArt (PDF)

Character Design

Character Design Crash Course - A huge free course document with assignments you can work through

Delicious in Dungeon - Fundamentals of Character Design, lines in motion

Writing

Writing for Animation, Comics, and Games, Christy Marx (book)

Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, Syd Field (book) - I have the 1987 edition

Reedsy

How to Plot a Comic From Start to Finish!, McKay & Gray

Portfolio Tips

How to make a Character Design Portfolio, Jackie Droujko

Top Tips on How to Kickstart Your Storyboard Portfolio, Brown Bag Films

25 Tips to Create an Animation Demo Reel, Sir Wade Neistadt

Extras

PuccaNoodles’ Animation/Art Resource Sheet

My Study References Pinterest board

Motivation Station - Playlist of sketchbook videos and some speedpaints that I use to motivate & inspire me

The Illustrated Freelancer’s Guide, Heather Parry & Maria Stoian (PDF) - Really useful for freelancers in the UK

Software substitution chart

Adobe Suite substitute chart

Remember to check out the carrd, it might have a more updated list!

[rubyfunkey]

Exactly one person asked me to share my thoughts on Leander so here's all the notes I've been taking and thoughts I've had since playing the demo a billion times (not all of these are polished thoughts some are simply just observations that i think might be important to understanding him)

- Leander seems to value information the most out of all the LIs

     - He is the only LI that asks the MC what they think about everyone

      - He asks the most questions

      - He repays the MC for their information by providing them with room and board

- Leander sways the MC's opinion

      - When discussing Vere, no matter what the MC says about him, Leander makes it clear that getting close to Vere is a bad idea, and that he is a very dangerous individual. Notably, he says "-but like any monster, he's dangerous." which seems to conflict with how he views Ais, despite both being monsters.

      - When discussing Ais, when the MC mentions that they met him at the Seaspring, Leander chokes on his drink. If the MC states that Ais was upfront, Leander asks if the price of the Seaspring's effects seem worth it, and implies that he views Ais's "red-eyed minions" as another form of pet that Ais keeps. The topic seems to upset him so deeply that he requests a change of subject. If the MC states that Ais was intimidating, his reaction is almost the complete opposite, almost pleasant, and the subject of the Seaspring drops entirely. When asked if Leander is afraid of Ais, he says not at all, and explains that he sees the two of them as rivals. The MC worries if being rivals with a monster is smart, and Leander downplays the seriousness of it, saying that Ais isn't a bad guy. To me, when paired side-by-side, these two interactions read as Leander trying to sway the MC away from the Seaspring, or maybe even Ais himself. His reaction to knowing that the MC is intimidated by Ais is casual and amused, because he doesn't need to say anything else about it; The MC is already scared of Ais. If the MC WASN'T intimidated by Ais when choosing to say the former option, they probably would have been at least a little more apprehensive after seeing Leander's reaction to the Seaspring's effects.

- When discussing Kuras, regardless of what dialogue option the MC chooses, Leander seems to think fondly of him, with the exception of his bedside manner. If the MC chooses to say that Kuras seems like a good person, they will then ask Leander if he believes that Kuras could cure them. When asked this, Leander's face will drop*, and he will pause before responding, saying that Kuras is good, but he's "only a doctor". If the MC states that they found Kuras to be cold, Leander heartily agrees, saying that "he never warns you when something's gonna sting, and he's stingy with the pain medicine too". His response to both options is mostly the same, what caught my eye was his reaction to asking whether or not Kuras could cure us. Maybe he has some bitter experience with the limitations of Kuras's capabilities, or maybe he just doesn't want to entertain the possibility of the MC seeking assistance from someone outside of himself. Considering his response to hearing that you visited the Seaspring while meeting Ais, I'm inclined to believe the latter.

*I’m not sure how reliable the sprite expressions are re: understanding character motivation, but I’m going to use them anyway. With a grain of salt.

- When discussing Mhin, if the MC chooses to say that Mhin seems lonely, Leander states that he believes that Mhin actually prefers things that way, and goes on to say that if Mhin wanted to be our friend, we would know. If the MC chooses to say that they find Mhin to be irritable, Leander simply agrees, saying that even paying Mhin for work can be a struggle. His responses while discussing Mhin aren't as foreboding, but they don't really need to be. Leander seems to shoot down any hope the MC may have of being close to Mhin, and if they don't show interest in befriending Mhin, then there's nothing more to say.

- Leander is "friends" with everyone, but has something to say about each LI that makes them seem unpleasant or even dangerous to be around

- Leander is the only LI whose silhouette is unaltered

      - "not all monsters are inhuman"

- When selecting Leander on the Choose Your Fate screen, the description reads: 

Leander offers you something that should be impossible: a taste of normalcy free of your curse. As the first person to withstand your touch, he could change your life, but some things are simply too good to be true.

      - When discussing the Senobium with Leander, Leander states "things that seem too good to be true are often just that". He then proceeds to offer himself as "something that should be impossible" for the MC, as the Choose Your Fate screen says.

- LEANDER is an ASSHOLE

      - During the scene where Leander is asking you to show him the curse, regardless of whether or not you hold back or choose to trust him, he will grab your hand to prevent you from pulling away. IF YOU CHOOSE TO HOLD BACK, his grip is tight, his face falls, he takes a deliberate step closer, and even reaches for the MC's throat causing the player to worry that they've just ruined him and are now going to get choked out for the second time that day as a result... He then smiles and says he's just fine. I've seen a few people stating that they believed this was the curse beginning to take effect before he managed to push it away, but personally, i think he was just being an asshole. Like, some small punishment for you not trusting him like he asked you to. A silly little guy moment. I hope he chokes

     - When first mentioning the Senobium to Leander, his face falls, but he doesn't immediately comment, instead he continues to drink, ignoring the fact that his Bloodhounds have begun verbally accosting you. He only speaks up and snaps at them once he notices you're looking. The first couple times I read this part, Leander's response seems uncharacteristically snide in comparison to how he acts for the rest of the demo, which is NOT me saying he's been written inconsistently, it is me saying he is fake as hell. I hate this dude

- He seems genuinely concerned when asking the MC if they're alright after their run-in with the roughneck. When he asks them if they'd like a drink, he orders the same as them regardless of what they choose. He doesn't do this when you first meet him, he orders beer regardless of your choice. I don't know if this is important to my research. Compels me though

- "Acquaintances are merely friends you haven't shared a drink with yet" -Guy That Has No Friends

Here is a small list of things I believe I could confidently conjure some bullshit out of upon further research (or with enough imagination):

- The Bloodhounds' motto (As Above, So Below)

- Leander's earring. Maybe.

- Leander's quote, "They [flowers] don't last long, but they leave an impression"

- Another quote, "There are solutions to every problem, and alternatives to every solution"

- The ouroboros on Leander's Kickstarter charm

- The fact that Leander likes masquerades and hates sleep

Here is a list of things relating to what the other four LIs think about Leander that caught my attention:

- Literally everything that Vere said

      - Vere either has history with Leander that neither of them have talked about (unlikely given how "subtle" Leander was about his relations with Mhin), or Vere is able to read Leander in a way that the others either can't or don't make known to the MC. Vere clearly has sharp senses and sees through the MC like they're made of water, I'm not sure if this is just a thing for the MC but it could probably be assumed that he sees things in Leander that we can't.

- Ais' comment about Leander's resolve

- I could pretend like something Mhin said re: Leander interested me, but I don't think there was any deeper context to their words other than the not-at-all-subtle feelings of forced-down affection and open annoyance. Love Mhin though

- My thoughts on what Kuras had to say are similar to Mhin's, he seems to be fond of Leander and didn't have much untoward to say, unless you count what he said about the company that Leander keeps

I have no idea what's going on with this man. I believe that he may be involved in some harmful magick-y malarky that is having unseen and horrific effects, or maybe he's simply a charismatic manipulator whose personality is just as monstrous as his peers. I have silly little theories but I would be very shrimpterested in hearing what other people have to say.

TLDR; there's something WRONG with this man and I will be spending the next two years crafting a version of him in my brain that is almost certainly dead-wrong but goodness won't it be fun

[presidentbungus]

i’m still trying to decide what exactly demo does after the war. i do think he breaks the degroot cycle and i do think there’s a chance his mum disowns him for it. i think he realizes he’s too miserable to ruin a kid pretty early on in adulthood and decides it’s worth it to sit through every long lecture about bloodlines and grandchildren over birthing a child into a loveless marriage and making it just as miserable as he is (which, he eventually comes to terms with, is exactly what happened to him)

it’s hard. cleaving yourself from your family like that, your clan, the people that brought you into the world and half-raised you and filled your head with all kinds of funny ideas about honor. after the war i thjnk he just shuts himself off from the world and sulks for months and months and months regretting his choice, knowing he can never go back, figuring this is the path of unluck he was following all along, destined to die alone in his thirties to alcohol poisoning in a huge mansion he has all to himself. eventually, though, someone does come along. soldier or scout or engie, in town for a visit and they won’t take no for an answer when tavish tries to tell them he’s moved on and he’s not really in the mood for a drink. it’s just one night, they just go get smashed at a random dive bar off the street and probably end the night in jail, but he wakes up the next morning and realizes that whatever it was tipped the single upright nail barely keeping aloft this whole massive pile of misery and self-pity and for the first time in months he wants to live. he wants to know people. he wants to try to rebuild what he had even if it’ll never be the same again

i think he just packs his bags and moves closer to someone he knows, honestly. makes a few calls and picks up and goes closer to wherever everyone else he knew in the war fucked off to, the closest thing he ever had to a family (even compared to the people that raised him), and starts to rebuild his life from scratch. it’s hard but he’s got at least one friend near him who’s probably in need of a project anyway, and he finds out quickly he had much more family than he thought as his coworkers start becoming parents and uncles of their own, and he never ends up having his own kids but he might as well considering how many times he finds himself godfathered, after everything he’d done for everyone, which turns out to be much more than he thought.

i think eventually he manages to get a job teaching high school chemistry or something stupid like that. not for anything resembling loose change, but it’s something to do, and there’s just a little bit of pride in knowing his mum’s probably doing flips in her grave every time he goes into work. he’s not great at teaching what he’s supposed to, but somehow the kids always come out of the class scoring twice the national average on whagever standardized tests they have to take, and he’s basically paying the school to work there below board anyway, buying buildings and funding school supply initiatives with the millions he has stocked up from all that thankless work in his twenties and thirties. even if he doesn’t have a kid of his own he makes himself a part of so many kid’s lives, not just teaching but building relationships, helping with homework and checking on home lives and showing up on the soccer field afterschool to cause a disturbance. and well it’s hard to feel like you’re a horrible useless person when every student you pass on the way to the teacher’s lounge beams at you and tells you about their day. it’s not much to a lot of people but it’s everything to him, finally something he can do that has a tangible positive effect on people’s lives, and that gives him a reason to stay upright, too, keep on trucking, keep being a positive example for every bright eye that looks up to him. for the first time in his life he feels like he’s worth something, without pretending to be something he’s not, bending over backwards in work he doesn’t enjoy to please someone who never loved him for anything he was in the first place. ok that’s it i think i have to go cry now

[tf2fansderogatory]

guys hear me out. if the mercs were tf2 animatronics what would their mechanics be

my guy you just gave me an entire AU idea

RED and BLU are rival entertainment companies, both build animatronics that perform at restaurant locations and can be rented, FNAF-style. their animatronics are so similar that one *has* to be ripping off the other, but nobody knows which is the original and which is the copy so people just pick which one they go to based on the color scheme and aesthetic

Scout has two main functions; waiter/server, and entertainer via sports. he has impeccable balance and sure footing, making him perfect for carrying plates and other dishes across a room filled with rambunctious, running children. when it comes to entertaining, he has an entire portion of his memory bank dedicated to just about every major sport in existence. his AI’s pretty good in that if the kids don’t understand some of the rules for a game, he can easily roll with it and come up with rule modifications on the spot to make sure the games are as fun as possible. normal racing is a popular game, especially since Scout’s fast. a lot faster than he lets on.

Solly works as one of multiple story-teller bots, specializing in exciting, action-filled stories- 9 times out of 10, war ones. when he was being built, the poor engineer/mechanic/all-around technician (Miss Pauling) was too sleep deprived to come up with many ideas beyond war stories. Soldier also promotes general physical health, and will usually run through “training exercises” (fit for kids) with everyone in the room after the story is over. a lot of the parents think that only the boys would like Soldier and some of them actively discourage their daughters from visiting him but they’re DUMB. at least half of the crowd of yelling, confidence-boosted cadets is eager young girls raring to fight and prove that they can do anything the boys can. sometimes the kids’ll form teams and play-fight/do a mock war. Solly makes sure that nobody gets injured and everyone knows how to “fight” without actually hurting someone. he knows how to do it perfectly, after all.

Pyro does arts and crafts, sometimes with Demo or Engie. they also, by nature of their mute design, encourage kids to be more understanding of people who don’t talk for whatever reason, which then carries over to being more understanding of anyone not like them. Pyro’s room is by far the most colorful; walls painted like Pyroland, cork boards absolutely littered in drawings the kids have given them, the shelves in his personal room (basically a closet where he goes to deactivate at the end of the day) filled with trinkets the kids made. their room is also connected to a small outside area with a fire pit. it’s nice for kids to relax with him and just watch the fire go. he even has a built-in lighter function in his hands, so he can start up a fire whenever.

Demo is also a story-teller, but his story genres are mystery and mythological/paranormal. he has a specialized voice box that lets him make sound effects, but so that they still sound like a human imitating the sound. his room is one of the most popular ones, though he prefers to wander around the establishment instead of sit in his room when he’s not telling stories. he helps out Pyro with arts and crafts, occasionally, but another way he likes to spend time with the kids is by showing off the medieval weapons (models) he has, and the kids always find it cool. it’s a rather large collection, and the models are quite…accurate.

Engie is, just like his normal tf2 counterpart, good at just about everything and pretty overworked. if animatronics could get stress headaches, he would, although mostly because of his desire to get all of his jobs done perfectly all at once. the jobs in question are musical entertainment, assistant cook, helping with arts and crafts, and helping with maintenance after the place is closed. he can play any strummed string instrument, and has a separate voice box just for singing. he also has extensive knowledge of the inner workings most of the electronic systems in the building; lights, sound systems, fire suppression- but not security. the company doesn’t want to risk him going haywire or getting some kind of malware and then letting thieves and such in. Engie also has an issue with his programming for talking to adults- the speech part of his ai is lacking in that department, so he tends to pull from what he knows for talking to kids, which used to make him come across as condescending at times. by now, though, he’s tweaked it and managed to perfect that polite, disarming tone of voice. he’s very good at it.

Heavy and Sniper’s rooms are connected and are the two designated “quiet rooms”. Heavy also reads to/with the kids and Sniper also tells nature stories, but for the most part they just keep a calm environment. kids with sensory issues, kids who get overstimulated, and even just kids who want to take a nap come to their rooms. there’s plenty of differently textured stuff available if someone needs to ground themselves or just wants to feel a certain texture. as for Heavy and Sniper themselves, they’re very calm and keep their voices low. Sniper makes sure everyone’s doing alright and doesn’t need anything, and Heavy deals with kids that are getting too loud or rambunctious (he’ll guide them out of the room and give them a gentle scolding, then let them back in if they promise to behave). if, for whatever reason, a parent is the one causing the issue, it’s still rather easy to get the parent out of the room(s), especially considering the strength of the two

Medic is the first aid bot, of course. the are a handful of different first aid stations around the building, with buttons to call Medic to them if he’s not there already. something went a little wrong with his personality coding, making him that unhinged man we all know and love, but he’s surprisingly good with kids and filtering what he says to not disturb them. the kids adore him. like Engie, though, he has issues interacting with adults- but instead of pulling from kid interaction info and coming off as condescending, Medic goes off of default, bland, robot interaction and ends up being just…creepy. short, curt speech, a lot of staring (with eyes that are far too observant and watching to be comfortable), and over time it goes from creepy and emotionless to creepy and somewhat hostile. it’s clear he’d rather be anywhere but around the adult. if one is being very insistent on talking to him, he’ll take to tidying up the nearest first aid station, giving a few…specific tools a rather thorough cleaning.

Spy, on the other hand, deals entirely with adults. he greets people at the door, and ensures the adults are at the very least comfortable while their kids have fun. most people question why his face was designed the way it was (with a mask), but…he’s calm, sophisticated, charming, the perfect animatronic for the job and honestly a good conversationalist. so nobody ever bothers to ask. it’s just a design choice, after all. Spy’s second function is assistant security, which has two parts of its own. the first is if a kid gets lost in the admittedly very large building. he’s the one who tracks them down and guides them back to their guardian. the second is helping the night shift guards when the place is closed. on most nights, he just patrols with them and takes care of any issues by following normal protocol. sometimes, though, he can convince the guards to go home and get some rest, and he and some (or all) of the other bots patrol. if someone tries to break in on one of those nights, well…you weren’t expecting to break into the home of nine sentient, semi-malfunctioning robots and get out, were you ?

[toa-archive]

Oozing a bit from a weather induced headaches so apologises for any typos/general janky wording.

This week's storyboards are from the Wizards episode Killahead and are by Dan Stone! Tumblr is still point blank refusing to link properly so below is a screenshot preview and the link to the gif. Enjoy an untextured stick if you were struggling a bit on the shape of the thing

Link here. In addition there is this related tweet:

Overnight he announced he's moving from boarding to writing so these were backed up along with his other non-youtube/vimeo sequences juuust to be safe. The folder these are in are affectionately dubbed "Making the stick."

Now rather interestingly this is not the only place the machine shows up! On Alison Donato's website it's there too for an effects breakdown in it's untextured glory.

EFX breakdown and look ideas for this sequence; the 3d model was provided to me from the cg team.

Source

Unsure who that rough board belonged to though without a doubt the other three are Daniel Stone's aka these give or take:

Not unheard of for boards to be shown on another artist's work, just very unusual!

What is also very unusual is we actually have the model artist for the machine as well which will be posted on twitter on Monday. His name is Anthony Syracuse and he his two demo reels have all sorts of tidbits you never normally get to see.

Not the best pause in the world but you get the idea. The reel this one is in can be found here.

Enjoy this production rarity of the stars aligning and enjoy for your reference needs!

[insectoidvania]

HANDFUL OF BEETLE GAMES

hellohello! i'm making a game collection post for this week about games centering around beetles :]

the games will be formatted as such: an image from the game, the game name, an excerpt from the game page, content warnings if needed, and where to play the game. this is just somethin' more laid back than recording a video for this week ^^

all these games are free to play!

as most of these games i haven't played (either at all or only a little bit), please let me know if there's more things i should add to this post if you've played the game(s)!

post warning: image heavy!

BEETLE ARENA

"Beetle Arena is a casual arena fighting game in which you play as a beetle! Face infinite waves of enemies and grow stronger to survive. To play you only have to start a game, shoot the enemies and survive!" (from the itch.io page)

the game on the itch.io page is only an open beta version! the full game is actually on google play.

content warnings: flashing effects

play beetle arena on itch.io here or get it on google play!

DICE BEETLE

"Instead of dung, this little beetle likes to roll a die around! Try and get it to the goal with the special beetle face pointing upwards." (from the itch.io page)

play dice beetle on itch.io here!

A BEETLE ROLLS SOME DICE

"Play as a beetle who rolls dice around a map to get the correct number facing up on the designated spaces." (from the itch.io page)

woah! another dice rolling beetle game! i really like how these 2 dice beetle games have the same concept for the same game jam but they're still different than each other :]

play a beetle rolls some dice on itch.io here!

RHINO BEETLE GENERATOR

"The Rhino Beetle Generator allows you to randomly generate a wide variety of beetles, each with their own appearance, physical aptitudes, and personalities. Please take one home with you!" (from the itch.io page)

while lacking actual gameplay qualities, it's still a cute and fun little tool!

play rhino beetle generator on itch.io here!

BEETLEBUM

"Beetlebum is an insect-themed, classic survival horror demo with pre-rendered backgrounds. It takes around 10-20 minutes to complete on a first time play-through, and supports both keyboard and gamepad input." (from the itch.io page)

get beetlebum on itch.io here!

SPIKE THE BEETLE SIM

spike the beetle was an actual beetle whose owner gave him a marker to draw with! his legacy has ended recently, but you can still check out the twitter account here!

while also not too heavy on the gameplay, its fun to watch this little beetle sprawl around on the drawing board with its marker

play spike the beetle sim on itch.io here!

BEETLE ARCHAEOLOGIST

a simple click and drag, hot n cold game where ya play as a beetle archaeologist looking for artifacts and treasure!

play beetle archaeologist on itch.io here!

that's all for now! there's more beetle games in the game list but i'll be saving those for individual game posts! see you next time!! :]

[jules-has-notes]

Will.of.Oz (Unexpected Musical) — PattyCake Productions music video

For the third offering in their Unexpected Musicals series, the PattyCake guys got even more ambitious. Combining the club jams of the Black Eyed Peas with the spectacle of The Wizard of Oz required a bigger cast and more locations than their first two videos. Not to mention all the costumes, props, set pieces, and visual effects. But they pulled all of it off with their own unique flair.

Details:

title: Unexpected Musicals – Will.of.Oz

performers: Rachel Copeland (Dorothy); Alexander Browne (Scarecrow / coronor / Winkie guard); E. Michael Evans (Tin Man); Earl Elkins, Jr. (Cowardly Lion); Olivia Adkins (Glinda); Kathy Castellucci (Wicked Witch); Fletcher Wakim (Toto); Eli Jacobson (Lollipop Guild); Annesley Kolb, Kelsey Kolb, & Lilly Kolb (Lullaby League); Charlie Crook, Blanca Rosero, Savannah Simerly, Annabel Rosario, Danielle Peronto, Fred Ramos, Nick Perez, Britt Nicole, Richard Bianco, Polly Pocket, & Jonathan Shane Ferrell (munchkins)

original songs / performers: [0:20] "Let's Get It Started" by the Black Eyed Peas; [1:46] "Don't Phunk with My Heart" by the Black Eyed Peas; [2:10] "Don't Lie" by the Black Eyed Peas; [2:40] "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas; [3:10] "Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eyed Peas; [3:28] "Scream and Shout" by will.i.am, featuring Britney Spears; [3:54] "The Time (I've Had the Time of My Life)" by the Black Eyed Peas

written by: all songs by William "will.i.am" Adams in collaboration — "Let's Get It Started" with Allan "apl.de.ap" Pineda, Jaime "Taboo" Gomez, Terence Yoshiaki, Michael Fratantuno, & George Pajon, Jr.; "Don't Phunk with My Heart" with Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson, Priese "Printz" Board, George Pajon, Jr., Full Force, Kalyanji–Anandji, & Shyamalal Babu "Indeevar" Rai; "Don't Lie" with Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson, Jaime "Taboo" Gomez, Allan "apl.de.ap" Pineda, Chris Peters, Drew Peters, & Richard "Slick Rick" Walters; "I Gotta Feeling" with Allan "apl.de.ap" Pineda, Jaime "Taboo" Gomez, & Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson, David Guetta, & Frédéric Riesterer; "Boom Boom Pow" with Allan "apl.de.ap" Pineda, Jaime "Taboo" Gomez, & Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson; "Scream and Shout" with Jean Baptiste Kouame, Tula "Tulisa" Contostavlos, & Jef Martens; "The Time (I've Had the Time of My Life)" by John DeNicola, Donald Markowitz, & Franke Previte

arranged by: Tony Wakim & Layne Stein

release date: 5 December 2016

My favorite bits:

the munchkins' various entertaining entrances

Eli recreating the Lollipop Guild's expressions and herky-jerky dance moves

the Scarecrow saying ♫ "lose control of body and soul" ♫ as he's gangling about

the "Ding Dong" instrumental melody playing underneath Dorothy and the Scarecrow's exit

and "If I Only Had…" under the Tin Man's introduction

including the iconic "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" as a counterpoint to "Don't Phunk With My Heart"

Earl's fantastic lion growl and melodramatic wailing (and poor little Fletcher getting confused by it)

the lovely harmonized ♫ "no no no no" ♫ section in "Don't Lie"

the bombast of "Boom Boom Pow" being delivered by the illusory visage of Oz the Great and Powerful

Kathy's pitch-perfect Margaret Hamilton witch cackle

the layered melodies in the coda section

all those incredible costumes (Tony was busy!)

Trivia:

According to PattyCake's Instagram teasers, it took 68 yards of fabric to make Glinda's voluminous gown, 2500 hand-stiched sequins to cover each pair of ruby slippers, and 57 pounds of actual tin to make the Tin Man's armor.

The Lullabye League is portrayed by Layne's step-daughters.

Jonathan Shane Ferrell isn't just one of the munchins. He's also one of the artists from Makeup & Creative Arts who provided the incredible character prosthetics.

PattyCake released their first public blooper reel for this project, and it is very fun.

The team at Makeup & Creative Arts released a time lapse prosthetics demo video for their Oz collection a couple years later with Dan Varnum donning the Lion's mane, Kathy Castellucci reprising her Wicked Witch role, Geoff Castellucci going gray silver as the Tin Man, & Paul Kaleka getting stuffed into the Scarecrow's burlap.

Rachel slipped back into Dorothy's gingham dress the following year to play Judy Garland in PattyCake's "La La Land" video.

Tony had performed "Let's Get It Started" many, many times during his decade as Dracula in the "Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue" at Universal Studios.

"Let's Get It Started" was also part of the opening medley for VoicePlay's second episode of The Sing-Off, though not the section the guys were featured in.

Layne had previously created a remix of "I Gotta Feeling" back in 2010 through his studio, Rayne's Room.

[anhed-nia]

BLOGTOBER 10/30/2023: TALK TO ME (2022)

When I was 9 or 10 years old, I went to a slumber party with a lot of other girls who started a game of choking each other for the rush. I didn't participate, but watched in fascination as they took turns making each other pass out for several hours. Early on, it devolved into a lot of girls faking it so they could then pretend to say outrageous things "in their sleep", so this wasn't as extreme a scenario as it may sound. However, there's something deeply perverse about it, at least relative to the (bullshit, often harmful) "innocence" society projects onto children, and I wasn't sure if I should even write this all down. I had a feeling that probably lots of little kids have done this, but I couldn't be sure. I tried looking it up on the internet, and found a pretty upsetting article about it from just a few years ago. So, I suppose it's probably pretty common, and has been so, though it's not always the casual thing I remember from childhood. I thought about this for the first time in decades when I recently saw TALK TO ME, a strange and original Australian horror movie that I'm really sorry I missed in theaters.

Mia (Sophie Wilde), an alienated teenager struggling with her mother's suicide and her father's subsequent withdrawal from her, finds a bizarre form of comfort in a disturbing game she learns at a house party. Local delinquents have somehow procured an embalmed, severed hand that causes anyone who holds it to become possessed by ghosts. This is safe when done for short periods of time, beyond which there lie untold perils. Inevitably, Mia breaks the rules in order to reunite with her late mother--a foolish mistake that sets off a gruesome chain of events, threatening to destroy her along with all of her loved ones.

For a movie with such a fun and stylish veneer, TALK TO ME is surprisingly sad and grim, and also unpredictable. Things about it didn't quite add up for me: Where does this object come from? Why do the kids accept its extraordinary supernatural effects so readily and fearlessly? What effect does it exactly have on them, that cause them to behave like addicts, endlessly going back for more even when many of them are humiliated by the behavior of the possessing spirits? At that, why do kids play games like Bloody Mary, where the expectation is that a demoness will spring out of your mirror and murder you? Why are Ouija Boards all the more attractive because of the rumored dangers? These questions dredged up my ancient memories of the choking game, something that may not have made sense to most adults, because it was a little scary, and because it broke the rules around what society assumes about innocent young children. At that, there may be something to the fact that TALK TO ME was made by first-time filmmakers Michael and Danny Philippou, whose relative inexperience may have given them the freedom to ignore the usual expectations. This produces a rather uncertain viewing experience that sometimes results in a breech of contract with the audience, who may not expect something as intense as this movie becomes.

Obviously this is a commercial graphic related to where to stream TALK TO ME, but it so represents my feelings about being a film lover in the modern world that I'm including it anyway.

Of course, I had to look up who the filmmakers were, which was sort of an unpredictable journey in and of itself. First it was like...oh no, they're YouTubers. I really don't want anything to do with that whole entire culture. Then further down their Wikipedia page there's the Controversies section, and I was like, Oh no, half the time I am forced to hear about a YouTuber, it's because someone has been outed as a gross predator, I don't know if I even wanna look... And then I read what was in there. Twice. And I was OK with it:

The End.

[doobnnoob-tf2]

prompt: how do the Mercs sleep

Scout: He takes up the whooooole dang bed.  No matter how big or small it is, he’ll find a way to take it all up.  Limbs are everywhere.  No matter what position he fell asleep in to begin with, it won’t be the same when he wakes up.  Blankets are everywhere, there might be a pillow on the floor, and the alarm clock might be halfway across the room.  He has the most obnoxious, open-mouth snoring.

Soldier: The team suspects he sleeps as stiff as a board, when in all reality he’s almost - almost - as bad as Scout when it comes to sprawling out all over the place. The only thing stopping him are his raccoons, all of which have their designated spots on his bed.  Once they have settled down for the night, he works himself around them.  On days off, he is known to fall asleep on his feet.  This prompts many games of “How Much Shit Can We Put On Him Before He Wakes Up?”.  When he’s upright, he doesn’t snore, laying down is a different story.

Pyro: Two words: Plushies.  Galore.  Their bed is 95% plushies of all sizes and shapes.  There is a single space in the middle just large enough for them to join their friends.  Each plush is placed with such care and Pyro will know if anyone has been moved.  They usually sleep, curled up tightly in the middle in a Balloonicorn onesie and still wearing their gas mask.  They only snore when they’ve got a stuffy nose.

Demoman: There’s always an arm or leg hanging off the bed, and a pillow tucked against his chest.  He’s a snuggler through and through, he’ll find something to snag a hold of and cuddle like there was no tomorrow.  When Demo says he’s going to bed, he means it.  Not long after he announces he’s retiring for the night, he’ll be in his bed and out like a light and he’s not waking up until his internal clock - or Soldier’s incessant yelling - says otherwise.  He does not snore.

Heavy: Big bed or not, he subconsciously tries to take up as little room as possible.  This is probably due to living with his mother and sisters and sometimes having to share a bed with them when the nights were too cold.  It is true, there is a smaller bed next to his for Sasha - it has been upgraded to be larger after Scout pointed out to him how small it was.  Once he falls asleep, he does not move an inch.  Meaning whoever is in his grasp better not have any plans on moving.  Scout likes to blame his own snoring on Heavy (”I don’t snore, it had to be the big guy.”), but he doesn’t snore.

Engineer: Does he actually ever sleep?  He claims he does, but no one has seen this happen.  There’s always some kind of equipment running in his workshop, following by a quiet curse, and then after a few moments of silence, it starts up again.  This may due to insomnia, or just the fact he takes frequent, light naps when there’s a lull in the daily battle.  Usually, he’ll lean against a dispenser and push his hard hat down slightly, and then nod off for a few moments.  Whenever he actually has a deep sleep, his snoring can put Scout’s to shame.

Medic: The true king of “Sleep is for the Weak”.  Though team speculation says this isn’t simply from napping during the day or suffering from a sleep disorder, and more that he’s injecting himself with something.  If anyone were to bring this up to him, however, Medic would laugh and sit them down and school them on all the side effects of huffing the Medigun’s fumes like a giddy child at Show-and-Tell.  But all good things must come to an end eventually, and he hasn’t quite perfected the science behind never needing to sleep.  It usually hits when he least expects it.  Which could range from working on paperwork, to doing physicals, to even eating in the common’s area.  One moment, he’ll be chatting up a storm, and the next - thump - he’s out.  When he crashes, he snores, there’s no doubt about that.

Sniper: It’s not so much a question of how as it is where.  And the answer is everywhere.  That chair, the top of his van, that windowsill, the cab of his van against the steering wheel, anywhere he can plant his ass and pull his hat down is good enough for him.  He’ll cross his arms, close his eyes, and he’s not to be disturbed unless you want a startled Australian shoving a giant knife through your gut.  However, that’s just his napping habits.  When he finally decides it’s time to sleep, he always crawls into the too small bed in the back of his camper and curls up.  He does snore, but a harsh nudge will earn you a grunt, and shove back, and then peaceful silence if you desire.

Spy: He also suffers from insomnia, which leads him to staying up long hours of the night, reading his teammate’s files or snooping through personal belongings he’d managed to nab when they weren’t looking.  But on nights he isn’t entirely feeling up to staying up, he prefers sleeping on the love seat in his smoking room more than he does his own bed.  It’s too big and empty for him.  He usually sleeps with his face towards the back of the couch and his mask and gloves still on.  Spy’s not always a pretty sleeper, though.  On off days, he can sometimes be caught on one of the other large, plush chairs with one leg kicked up on the back, the other on the floor, on arm curled up with the other still holding the book he’d been reading.  When he sleeps like that, one can see where Scout inherited his snoring from.

[fuzzkaizer]

Ibanez - EC500 MULTI EFFECTS BOARD - EFFECTS DEMO. BOARD

cred: facebook.com/Oliver Turrek

[paragonraptors]

Hello, I absolutely adore that last piece of yours. The one from Andromeda. My question is - what are your favourite aspects of the game. I played the demo version (first ten hours) and I have mixed feelings about it. So I would like to know what kept you hooked on it if that's alright?

Thank you! You've just asked me the one question I have spent the last like 5 years thinking about. So, well...[cracks knuckles]. As much as I hate saying it, I feel like the first 10 hours are a poor representation of the game, depending on how quickly you progress through the main story. For better or worse, Andromeda's first act frontloads you with a lot of side quests, and I think a lot of the ways it presents its setting and ideas in that time can leave someone apprehensive about how it grapples with its themes later on. If you're willing after reading this, I'd grab it on sale for super cheap or borrow it from a friend/the library and give it at least until finishing the mission to rescue the Moshae on Voeld. (This is around the 15-20 hr mark.) Loyalty missions begin to trigger after that and you really start getting into the thick of it. Though I think they're worth doing as you progress (you are rewarded for it in the final mission), anything that's not in the main quest and companion tabs of the journal can pretty much be ignored without consequence and completed post-game.

Despite all the online shit, it was love at first sight for me. I played at launch and got close to finishing before the first major patch came out. A lot of what probably kept me in my first playthrough was that the idea I had for my Ryder fit really well into what the game gave me, so I was deeply invested in my PC. I think that can really influence one's enjoyment of an RPG.

Ryder is not Shepard, and Ryder's canonical backstory as a 22 year-old nepotism baby who, from what we can tell, had a fairly cushy life growing up on the Citadel until fairly recently is kind of essential for the story to work. I joked in a caption that ME:A is a YA dystopia, but I'm also completely serious about that. It still has a lot of the core cosmic horror themes of the original trilogy, but with a much more scrappy, unexperienced, underdog flavor that you get with a younger protagonist. I liked this in contrast to Shepard being highly and unquestionably competent and having already experienced significant trauma before the story starts via their origin or psych profile. It almost forces you to create an entirely different perspective on Mass Effect's universe as a whole.

Beyond that, it really hit on things I felt were missing from the original trilogy, and especially in comparison to ME1, it's an incredibly compelling introduction to a new trilogy. (I believe it is a disservice to compare ME:A to the original trilogy as a whole, and have come to these opinions by almost exclusively comparing it to 1.)

I really enjoyed the roleplay system. I think the casual/professional/logical/emotional wheel and the impulse actions were a good move away from the paragon/renegade thing. It allowed for choices to not get locked into the appearance of being "good" and "bad" or a kind of set personality type. I like that Ryder gets a psychological profile and relationship bios that are updated as you progress.

I'm a huge fan of all the characters. They carry this game. I think their flaws are interesting and add depth to what's appealing about them. I think the voice performances are just fantastic across the board. I really loved how the NPCs interact with each other and that they have distinct and active relationships outside of Ryder, which is something we didn't really get for the Normandy crew until 3. I love that the Tempest is a small scouting vessel with a crew of 11 all sharing *one toilet*. It's a MIRACLE they are not actively trying to kill each other! Especially when you consider the Normandy was so big it had a whole staff you just straight up didn't really get to know, and Shepard's squadmates were sometimes actually trying to kill each other-- And they at least had three toilets!!

The male characters were written with a vulnerable emotional depth we rarely get to see, especially in video games, and especially in the Mass Effect universe. Hearing them openly talk about their emotions without deflection, and sometimes even gawking at the idea of deflection, was really refreshing. Its easy to get caught up in Alec's whole thing, but the themes of masculinity and fatherhood in other characters' stories (Drack, Vetra, Gil, Jaal, and Liam particularly) offers some nice balance and reflection to that narrative to the point I believe they are intentional supplements/foils to what Alec's got going on.

This game is PACKED with ambient dialogue and text, and it makes the world feel so alive. The message boards, emails, and data pads you find throughout are so good. The ones on the Tempest and New Tuchanka in particular are my favorites, but even the text you can pull up from the forward stations have some delightful little bits. It's unfortunate that ambient dialogue/banter can get cut off by the slightest thing, and the only workaround is to just stop dead in your tracks the second you hear someone talking, but I love listening to the dialogue. It's crazy to me how much made the cut to be recorded and put in the final product despite the known time crunch issues of the game's production.

I've always favored Bioware's map design over of a lot of open-world games, and this one isn't any different. Though I wish they were more fleshed out, there's a solid attempt at introducing different mechanics for different areas of the game to switch things up. I lament the loss of controlling squadmate powers, but the combat is still fun and I enjoy the fluidity of the class system for mechanical and narrative purposes. I really enjoy Remnant sudoku.

For all the flack Andromeda caught about bad animation, it has some of my favorite bits of animation in an AAA video game. For every awkward animation there is a wonderfully charming and well-done one. I wish I could get into specifics without spoilers, but there's a list of ones that get me every time. I've also always considered these cosmetic flaws to be a feature I enjoy in games. So what Ryder runs kind of weird up and down stairs? Geralt Witcher3 can't walk stairs very well either, yet that somehow never came up when people would compare the two.

Your mileage could greatly vary when it comes to the main story. Upon several replays (through the whole series), really getting into the codices, and reading the novels, I think they were setting up a lot of really cool things that expanded on the ideas of the first three. Cosmic horror, creationism, the integration of organic life and artificial intelligence, regulation vs deregulation, autonomy and self-governance, resilience against entropy and destruction. However, I can see how it could come off as half-baked, thoughtless, even irresponsible. It's not perfect. It's clearly rushed in places and unfinished. I don't really have a counter-argument to this as it does also deal with sensitive topics- specifically colonialism and genocide- where people's tolerance can vary significantly. While Ryder can be fairly principled about the problems you encounter, and can often speak out or refuse to be complicit, not everything is handled delicately. Sometimes you will say "Man, I wish I could do this other thing instead of the options I'm given." or "Oof, that could have been written A Bit Better." It struggles to balance the shoot-em-up gameplay with the Moral Questions. I take it as the necessary, but flawed, result of not hand-holding and spelling everything out for an M-rated open-world RPG that can only offer so many variables, but not everyone feels that way, nor do they have to.

With all that said, this is just one of those games I keep coming back to and finding something new to love about it or a detail that illuminates something in an entirely new way. I think it's a shame that as far as we know, subsequent sequels have been cancelled. Much like ME1, the ending left me ready for more.

[gabb-ro]

Untrue - Burial

[Garage/Dubstep] [2007]

As was the case with early Dubstep, the sound of this album and the scene it came from is so distinctly working class, this pales in comparison to the scale and spectacle of post-Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites Dubstep.

My perspective on this album is from a 19 year old who's introduction to the genre came from Skrillex, Knife Party and Barely Alive in The Great Brostep Uprising of 2012. There is a massive divide between the old and new school sounds, discussions around which sometimes veer into snobbery.

This is not to put down modern Dubstep, every genre will inevitably evolve over time and this shift is directly responsible for the amplification of EDM for the casual music listener, whether you think that is good or bad, it was undeniably influential. Dubstep is far from commercial in recent years, the producers are creating simply out of love for the genre and scene which has led to innovative sound design and maddening rhythms. Some of my favourite modern artists are Sharks, Space Laces and Leotrix. There are plenty of artists today fitting the mould of old-school Dubstep and Garage: Eprom and G Jones for example, both of which take inspiration from D&B and Hardcore as well, even the new Skrillex record is a tasteful homage to the scene of UK bass music he was influenced by - we have come full circle.

The imagery and song titles on Untrue really speak for themselves - "In McDonalds", "Homeless", "Dog Shelter" and even the album cover signal to the listener a specific sense of normalcy and is based in the familiarities of the working man.

The intended listening environment for Untrue is for a slightly too long for comfort bus journey home in the dark, jacket hood up and headphones in, or waiting for your friend to meet you outside the corner shop, watching the raindrops be illuminated by the street lights.

The drums pattering away in "Ghost Hardware" are almost uncomfortably off-kilter, reminding me of "Gyroscope" off the album "Geogaddi" by Boards of Canada from one of the most terrifying albums I have listened to. Hypnotic vocal sampling of odd and very short sections remind me of XXYYXX's 2012 self titled debut of which Untrue was definitely an influence.

Upon researching this album, Burial said in in interview that he used the software Sound Forge to make the album. It is absolutely unreal to me that he managed to squeeze this work of art out of such a primitive and featureless software. Sound Forge is for audio editing, it doesn't feature any kind of sequencer or synthesizer. He produces sort of like an early Dub producer that used the analog mixing desk as an instrument. The fact that he had no grid to work with means the creation of this album was undoubtedly a painstaking process. But this means the drums have a unique swing to them. The reliance on waveforms over MIDI leads to some interesting sampling, pots and pans, rain ambience, vinyl noise, Metal Gear Solid soundtracks and SFX, synth demos and youtube covers.

Untrue is a prime example of how so much can be said with little words or even melodic content. The production itself sells the lonely, melancholic feeling. The emphasis on atmosphere and texture makes me wish for better intros and midsections in modern Dubstep.

All the "imperfections" of this album sell the experience, the click of the sub bass not stopping at the zero-crossing gives a similar effect as using vinyl noise. The title track "Untrue" is the highlight of this album for me, the powerful sub bass, the droning and creative sampling encompass everything I love about the album.

I remember reading a post on Twitter about trying to create an emotional mixdown and I didn't understand what they meant until I began listening to every choice this album makes, as an amateur music producer, I understand the perfectionist mentality so many producers have, endlessly obsessing over one thing that makes little difference until you zoom out to the big picture. My point being that EVERY production choice is intentional and essential to the emotion of the song which should not be understated in projects like these.

[briasfreespace]

Black Artist Exploration: The Illustrious Janelle Monáe

photos sourced by @themakeupbrush

(Before we begin, Janelle is nonbinary and uses she/they pronouns, and therefore, she and they will be used interchangeably)

In each of her distinct eras as a musician, @janellemonae has not only risen to the occasion but brought something extraordinary out of their listeners. They make music for what they're going through and what they're looking for. At every stage of their career, they unboxed new characters and new stories. New challenges for her audience to address in themselves and furthermore liberate themselves from. Monae is not only looking to take up space but to nurture a community for all the arch-androids and pleasure seekers out there. She is a Sagittarius doing right by the stars, liberating people through new ideas and perspectives, and guiding us to the new age.

🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖The Wonderful Janelle Monae🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖

Born Dec 1st in Kansas City, Kansas, Janelle Monae Robinson felt she was destined to be a star. They grew up in the church and theatre, always looking for new opportunities to show off their talent. They have described themselves on numerous occasions as ¨a free-ass motherfucker.” This free-ass personalities genesis started when she was young. Janelle often struggled with her early religious background which had an undesirable effect on her, into adulthood. She was once escorted out of church for singing Michael Jackson´s ¨Beat It.¨ The restrictions she often felt as a kid, is what helped evolve her into a liberated musician and adult.

After high school, they moved to NYC to study at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy for musical theatre. During her time there, she recognized that this was not the place for their talents to flourish. She explained to the Guardian´s Dorian Lynskey,

"I felt like that was a home but I wanted to write my own musicals. I didn't want to have to live vicariously through a character that had been played thousands of times – in a line with everybody wanting to play the same person."

She also acknowledged a lack of diversity drove her out of the school, and she made her way to Atlanta. This was the start of her career and where she would meet some very important names in Hip Hop and R&B. When they lived in Atlanta, they stayed in a boarding house and worked at Office Depot. She performed anywhere she could, including the library steps of Clark-Atlanta, Morehouse, and Spelman -all HBCUs. She would end up being fired from Office Depot, where says she was ¨pushing ink.¨ Ironically, she was fired for attempting to reach out to a fan on their computers. This was a push-comes-to-shove situation where she knew it was time to be all in.

Bria speaking: This exact fucking thing happened to me this year, and bitch, im still getting shoved. But I´m figuring it out every step of the way. For any of my creatives out there who are still trying to get their footing, Janelle´s story is for all of us.

The shove helped her create a song called ¨Lettin' Go,¨ off her 2003 demo The Audition, which brought her attention from none other than Big Boi. She would later be featured on OutKast´s Idlewild, and continued to be featured on a few other projects until in 2006, she signed to Bad Boy Records. This began the professional career of the artist Janelle Monáe.

The Era´s

Merriam-Webster defines an Era as a period identified by some prominent figure or characteristic feature or a stage in development (as of a person or thing)

Just to let y´all know, I am not going into intricate detail on these albums because we would be here all day. 😭

However, maybe I'll study the specific eras of artists in detail for another post, but not today.

The Android era, Cindi Mayweather, and Metropolis

In this era, everything is mechanic, robotic, and Black and white. This era begins with the first EP Metropolis: Suite 1 (the Chase). Here we were introduced to Cindi Metropolis, Janelle´s alter ego, who is an android from 2719. The records from this era, up to Electric Lady, introduce Janelle´s ideology, style, and most importantly the talent they have for world-building in audio and video. Archandroid and ¨We Are Young¨ (2011) were where I was introduced to them, and I have been a fan ever since. For more than half my life, I have loved her talent and their ability to step in and out of androgeny. There are features from Prince, Solange, Erykah Badu, and Miguel.

Dirty Computer and The Memory Librarian (2018)

Dirty Computer (2018) is my favorite era because this is the conclusion of all of the world-building she created in her previous era. This album is all about deconstructing ideologies imposed upon us through the hegemony otherwise known as the owners of the narrative. It´s about acknowledging the harm society has done to brainwash us into feeling shame about our sexualities and general expression. This is the era where Janelle would come out as bi-sexual, acknowledging her own shame around who she was becoming. I really recommend not only listening to the album but watching the film. They also co-wrote a book called The Memory Librarian, which is a collection of short stories that integrated the concept of Afro-Futurism -the integration of black culture and history into concepts of the future. Basically we been Black, will stay Black, and will forever be Black.

The Age of Pleasure and The Tig ole Bitties (2023)

This is the newest album of Janelle´s that caught her a lot of flack. She decided to show her breasts to the world, and many people were not so happy about this. I think her titties are pretty and most would agree. Unlike her earlier eras, this is where she completely omitted the outside world. She is talking about sex, seeking out sex, and partying after a time of the whole world being locked inside. This is where her ideas of liberation hit its pinnacle. You break out the system, and now time to party & fu...

Her influences

Janelle has cited Prince -someone who was a mentor and friend of hers, Sun Ra, Michael Jackson, Grace Jones (a recent collaborator), Quincy Jones, Pam Grier, Tina Turner, David Bowie, Parliament-Fundelics, Stevie Wonder (another collaborator,) Brian Wilson and so many more. Janelle is an artist who knows that to elevate, you need a background, you need a history. If you can´t name the artists before you, who will name you when you're gone. The moral of the story: Study your heroes and icons. You may even get to work with them one day.

Signing off,

B the Virgo

Sources:

For specific links from within the Wikipedia page, make sure you look at the footnotes. It was super duper helpful.

[legitimatesatanspawn]

Okay, I'm... confused? Because I noticed some things I've played are updating / have updated recently and some are really unexpected. For the record: increasing order of surprise.

Secrets of Grindea: 1.01a (2024) - Purchased 2015. No I don't remember the first time I tried the demo but I'm really excited to see it got released I think I first saw it around the same time as CrossCode's older demos. The updates for Grindea were slow but steady, but yeeees. SNES style Action-Adventure with bullet curtain (lite) bosses and lots of extra sidequests and hidden things.

Stardew Valley: 1.6.1 (2024) - Purchased 2016. I thought it was done updating in 2021 but huh. ... I don't remember the last time I really played this. Probably 2018? To be fair I don't often play Harvest Moon style farming sims but hey cool news.

Epic Battle Fantasy 4: v3 update (v2 in 2021 was Beta opt-in mode so I completely missed it) - Released 2014. I remember 3 more clearly than 4 but this is going to be sweet. I want to say "oldschool flash game series" but it was closer to mid/late Flash? But with 3 (which is FREE by the way) they went from pure battle runs to a more general JRPG setup with an overworld and sidequests and everything.

SWR JST DX Selective Memory Erase Effect: New engine... and new name "Selective Jump: Once Again With Feeling". 2015 to 2024. ... I legit don't remember this one. Apparently it's a platformer.

100% Orange Juice: Apparently still updating? About 10 years running (English, came out 2009 in Japan so 15 years) and good lord that's a lot of character pack DLC. If you've never played it, think a digital board game like shoujo anime Mario Party (minus minigames but with card-based combat).

And the ultimate surprise of what I've seen:

Toribash: It was put on Steam (free) in 2014, but I remember playing it via IndieDB before then (it came out 2006 but I know I didn't play it back then). 18 years, holy shit. Toribash is an incremental 3D fighter - basically you slowly changed your ragdoll rock-em-sock-em puppet to fight frame by frame and then you and your opponent got to see how crazy the damage was.

[obafii]

a handful of my TF2 headcanons (especially the trans ones)

(includes modern headcanons/disregard to what technology existed during the time period because we all saw the Apple store)

Mann Co. brand HRT

(many strange side effects, including enlarged hands)

All of the mercs (who partake) are synced up to the same day for efficiency's sake. Medic administers it and will announce over the intercom the day of. It makes sure that no one accidentally misses a dose due to forgetfulness.

Scout is the only one of his brothers who's trans

Sniper and Pyro are "the same" in terms of how the feel about gender:

Use he/him and masculine terms, but don't really care about gender in the grand scheme of things. Just use them because it's easy. (I will gladly go on a rant about this)

Genderfluid Spy (unoriginal, I know):

Not in a drastic "switch" genderfluidity is often portrayed as. He stands heavily on clothes not being gendered. Just because he's in a suit doesn't mean he's a man. No one can tell how Spy feels per day, but he doesn't mind much. Uses any pronouns at all times, but will occasionally correct people if it's especially strong. You know the board? The alert board? The "IS A WOMAN"/"IS A MAN" lights? Yeah, he uses those.

Scout didn't have top surgery before becoming a merc. (Medic fixed that)

Engie is a MASSIVE cat person:

He loves dogs, don't get me wrong. He's Texan, I think it's a crime to not like dogs there. But having a little lap warmer? A little guy to pester you into getting up from your work to feed them, forcing you out of your focus to remember that you also need to eat? Cats are also better for doing Rubber Duck Debugging.

Scout is great at using a microwave, but Pyro is better.

Which state Soldier is from + misc:

Despite being a born-and-raised Midwestern man myself, I don't have a specific state I think Soldier is from. DEFINITELY a corn state, though. He knows about the dangers of corn fields but has a soft spot for corn mazes. Lover of hayrides and cornhole. Either made fake crop circles or was convinced they were real when he was younger.

Engie is both the titular Grill Dad™ and the granny that bakes you sweets at the same time:

He loves making everyone food. Brings people together, y'know? He's not a master at baking, but he'll do his damnedest if someone mentions an old regional food they miss. He is a master of the open flame. Loves cast-iron. Hates microwaves.

Heavy, Sniper, and Scout all seperately want to get a dog for the base but have not spoken about it to anyone.

Demo and Pyro have a little knitting club together. (Demo taught Pyro)

That's all I've got for now!

If you want to talk to me about any of these, or talk about your own headcanons, my DMs are open!