#how did i go emulating john's drawing style

[thevindicativevordan]

Thoughts on Scott Lobdell's Superman run?

Rocafort's art kept me reading.

Rocafort's depiction of Krypton, the Fortress even the armor which no one outside of him and Jim Lee sold me on, all look great! They all had a flavor to them that we don't usually get on the Superman books. He drew Clark with a youthful appearance that suited his age, and I wish going forward artists would emulate New 52 Superman's design for when they want to draw a "young" Superman. Unfortunately Rocafort isn't a fast artist given his style, which meant he needed lots of filler. Still I powered through the filler simply because the issues he did draw were always worth it for me.

Storywise though? It was bad. Lobdell was trying to do the Johns technique of taking old Silver Age concepts and "modernizing" them, but he wasn't as good as it as Johns was. We'd get cool ideas like Kryptonian dragons or Superman benching the weight of the entire planet, but it all rang hollow. There was no real heart or underlying theme just an excuse for the artist to draw cool shit. Early New 52 felt a lot like 90s Image and Superman was hit especially hard in that regard. H'el as a character is nothing but a cool looking Bizarro knockoff, and he is the big villain of the run. The Court of Owls had a point to make about Scott Snyder's relationship with Snyder's hometown and also a point to make about Bruce's relationship with Gotham and his wealth. Couldn't tell you what Lobdell was trying to do with H'el on a thematic level.

Also it's no secret that Lobdell would execute on editorial edicts that other writers wouldn't, which meant he was implementing orders from on high that didn't result in good stories, but did check the list on whatever Didio or Harras wanted. Only Shay Veritas has sorta outlived his run (which is good because I love the concept of Superman befriending the world's smartest woman in contrast to his relationship with the world's smartest man), and unlike Morrison or even Pak's Action Comics runs I haven't seen anyone step up to bat for this run as underrated.

I loved this moment this though:

Clark gives a big speech about the value of truth, justice, and the American Way in the context of real journalism bowing to corporate interests - hoping to rally his fellow reporters to walk out with him in protest - and no one cares!... except Cat Grant. The one person you'd think wouldn't give a damn about those things, does. This is an unironically great Superman moment, one that I think really does capture his appeal as a character, showing how he can inspire others, especially those you'd think couldn't be reached, while showing the cost of that attitude too. Clark and Cat going on to found a blog was actually not a bad idea in the context of "what does journalism look like in the 21st century?" which most Superman runs ignore.

Even having Clark and Lois butt heads over that isn't a bad idea. Clark as a journalist is mainly concerned with his own stories, while Lois as a producer/editor has to look out for the organization as a whole. Clark only has to worry about himself but Lois has to worry about "if the paper isn't profitable and I have to lay people off, what's going to happen to these people in a field where the number of journalism positions is steadily decreasing?" which is a recipe for good organic conflict between the two! It didn't have to be bad or forced for those two to be at odds because a journalist and an editor/producer have different concerns. It just... wasn't good.

Sure looked pretty at times though.

#superman #scott lobdell #kenneth rocafort

[springfieldblues]

So how did you come up with how the Springfield Kids would dress in your comic? What were your thought process and inspirations?

i could’ve answered this more simply but i got a little carried away. oops. sorry this is long. and please don’t laugh at my fashion sense

Bart's style is supposed to be similar to what he wears in episodes set in the future, but tweaked to evoke more of a chill skater vibe. I want him to look colorful while trying to stick to his original color scheme: blue+faded red+orange. I like to give him Hawaiian shirts and hoodies. I'd originally given him Converse, but decided to switch to Vans because they fit the look (and his original shoe design) a lot better. Tyler the Creator is a big influence vibes-wise, I can't really explain it but if you get it you get it. Not shown: vintage faded Krusty t-shirt.

Lisa's look is also inspired by what she's seen wearing in the show. Tried to go for "smart goody two-shoes bookworm but also a bit artsy," hopefully that comes across. Sweaters and turtlenecks seem to be her thing. Her color scheme is red+orange+black or brown. I considered using more pink because she wears it a lot in the show but it clashes too much with the red and orange, so I replaced it with occasional floral patterns that match the "artsy bookworm" aesthetic. also I recently learned that this type of style and aesthetic is called 'academia' which is very fitting for her, I think. (btw she does wear pants too, these are just the designs I use the most) (yes I am aware that she looks like Sabrina Spellman but it was not intentional and it's fitting so I can live with that)

Milhouse....look I gotta be honest. I got nothin interesting for him. Perhaps that's fitting. The show gave him a green polo shirt in Barthood, so I went with that. He also wears the occasional v-neck. I don't know why but striped polos always gave me sort of a nerd vibe? It's like he picked up a GQ magazine and tried to emulate the style of a successful entrepreneur, almost to appear as someone he's not, but he can't get rid of who he really is. The very same thing shows in his physique, like you can tell he worked out like crazy but even though he's ripped, he still looks tragically Milhouse. He's a pretty insecure kid. His color scheme is green+light purple+red. Terrible color scheme if you ask me LMAO maybe I should work on that...but for now, this works. I could give him a fanny pack too or something. would that be too much?

Finally Nelson..........this is where I took the most liberties because I couldn't figure out his fashion sense (or lack thereof) in the future episodes (his design is also super inconsistent in those). So I scrapped those references and worked off of his original child design only. He still wears the vest and the faded pink shirt in my teen designs (obviously not the same ones he wore as a kid come on), but now he has more of a grungy...metalhead-ish...biker-ish vibe, mainly because that's what the bullies reminded me of ever since I was a kid (and why I always loved their designs in the first place)....something about the ripped and torn edges got me like "wow that looks cool as fuck" and then drew a punk version of pikachu in a torn vest in their honor. ANYWAY. It's a shame I can't make his vest too detailed like a real battle vest, but perhaps he likes to keep it simple. I know I do because I'm the one who's gonna be drawing it over and over again. I originally gave him a red plaid shirt to wear under the vest as a reference to John Bender from The Breakfast Club, but changed it to green like his father's. Could even be the same shirt he wore. My reference to John Bender stayed as a red cloth tied around one of his dirty combat boots. His color scheme is muted blues+faded/dirty pink+black +the occasional green. I feel like adding black to any design just makes it better tbh.

that’s all i got!!! whew. they do have more outfits than just these but these are the ones i draw the most. hopefully this is thorough enough....not sure what else i can say. enjoy :^D ?

#pizza cart #the simpsons #bart simpson #lisa simpson #milhouse van houten #nelson muntz #springkids

[bthenoise]

Hometown Heroes: These Are Destroy Boys’ Top 10 Favorite Bay Area Bands

Photo by: Ash Gellman

Whether you’re looking to discover your next favorite punk rock group or rekindle your connection with Bay Area artists such as The Cramps, Dead Kennedys or Primus, you’ve come to the right place. 

Today, to help learn more about emerging Hopeless Records act Destroy Boys, we’ve asked the talented trio to let us in on their musical mindset and show off some of their favorite hometown heroes from the Northern California community. 

To check out which ten artists vocalist Alexia Roditis, guitarist Violet Mayugba,  and drummer Narsai Malik picked as their favorites from San Francisco to Sacramento and everything in between, be sure to look below. Afterward, for more from the punk rock powerhouse Destroy Boys, head here.   

ALEXIS RODITIS 

Burd 

Burd is this awesome duo from SF. I don’t remember the first time I saw them, but I went to every single one of their shows that I could get to. The guitar rips and the drums are so creative. Their two instruments combined with the vocals put me into a trance state where all I wanna do is spaz out and yell along. I feel very inspired by Burd’s hard, melodic, and clever guitar riffs. So sick. 

Rituals of Mine

Rituals of Mine is another one of my favorite Sacramento bands (Sacramento is not the bay, but Sac is where my roots lie. Don't @ me). Terra puts on an incredible performance, taking the crowd on a journey with them through the songs. Their music is very intricate and emotional, something I try to emulate in my own way in rock music. 

The Cramps

Gosh, I love The Cramps!! Another Sacramento band. They were one of the first local rock bands I got into when I first started going to shows. I couldn’t get enough of the sexual energy that comes through their songs, I hadn’t heard anything like it! I love they they’re proud freaks. Their music makes me want to dance and contort. 

VIOLET MAYUGBA 

Tørsö

Torso (stylized as Tørsö) is an absolutely ripping hardcore band based out of Oakland, CA. I heard them for the first time when I was 17 and still living in Sac. They completely changed my vision of hardcore, and influenced me to add a bit more power to some of the riffs I was writing.

Dead Kennedys 

Everyone knows this one. DK's Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death was the first record I had ever bought for myself at 13 (2 years before we started the band). I couldn't stop listening. The urgency and the anger of this band completely painted a picture to me of the kind of music I wanted to make.

RAD 

RAD were a thrash hardcore band from Sacramento that Alexia and I used to go see all the time. Completely consuming hardcore that would bust through 15 songs in close to 15 minutes. They were the first female fronted hardcore band I had ever seen, and I NEVER went back. 

Deftones

My favorite Sacramento band of all time. Around The Fur helped me create a higher expectation of my guitar parts, and influenced me to add darkness and character to our songs. Also, just the sickest band ever. 

NARSAI MALIK 

Juicebumps 

The best current band in San Francisco, hands down. Their debut album ‘Hello Pinky’, which came out in July of 2020 is a top to bottom work of freakish genius. Recorded on tape, this album is all over the place in the best way possible. From tracks that consist only of samples, to full on timeless bangers, to music made by and for computers, there’s something for everybody. I’m sure in another dimension, Juicebumps formed because Devo and Nirvana met in a club in Berlin and had a naughty one night stand, and they were the spectacular creation that popped out nine months later. Their range in style is truly inspiring because I always strive to be stylistically diverse, and I never want our band to be stuck to one sound. Listening to Juicebumps and seeing them live always leaves me thinking, grooving and laughing my ass off which is the perfect trifecta of emotions when I’m listening to music. 

Primus 

My older brother’s hand-me-down iPod Nano had many nuggets of wonder in it, many of them heavily contributing to the music that now embodies who I am as a person. One band on the iPod was Primus and the only song saved under their name was “Harold of the Rocks”. Because I had enjoyed the rest of what was in my brother’s music library, I remember putting it on and thinking nothing of it, but I couldn’t make it past the verse because it was way too advanced and non-traditional rock for my lower school brain. Many years later when I had gotten into Primus’ other hits like “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver” and “John the Fisherman”, I revisited the fabled song and had a revelation that Primus was one of the most important bands to ever come out of San Francisco. At this point in my life, as opposed to when I first found out about them, I had started playing drums. Something I take away from listening to Primus even to this day, is how their drummer Tim Alexander fits in notes where you would have never imagined playing them in a million years. He opened my eyes to the fact that there’s more than just on-beats and off-beats, and that there’s way more room to throw in flurries of hi-hats or whatever, tastefully of course. 

Sly and the Family Stone 

I honestly didn’t know that Sly and the Family Stone were from San Francisco, until I did a quick search for bands from here, but I’ve always loved them! My mom grew up in Chicago in the 70’s, so funk and soul have always been a part of her. It was played in our house and on road trips but I never fully appreciated it until much later. What I like about Sly is that he has the charisma of James Brown, but a  down-to-earth, not so untouchable feel to his music. Before I listened to Sly, all l knew about funk was the flashy, ‘show-biz’ side of it, but Sly and his band made me feel like I could play this kind of music too. I love funk music because it feels so open and freeing, and it’s just really fun to play on drums. It has a sense of candidness and inclusivity that draws you in, even when you’re just playing along to songs in your headphones. It’s the only type of music where I can completely shut my brain off and just play. I’ve always tried to apply that unrestricted feeling to my drum parts, and Sly’s songs are the epitome of that for me.

#Destroy Boys #Hopeless Records #Sly & The Family Stone #Primus #Juicebumps #Deftones #RAD #Dead Kennedys #Torso #The Cramps #Rituals Of Mine #BURD

[mahalkitajohnnysuh]

Sugar and Fluff (Volume 4)

Sit right up on your chairs, for this is a special one. Since I mentioned last week that we’re going back to the start of the timeline, here’s one for y’all. 

Finally, I get to use one of my favorite Johnny GIFs of all time since it’s related to the story. 

I mean, I literally gasped when I watched this for the first time. How dare he do this to us! My poor heart was about to pass out then. 

Mahal ko kayong lahat! :) 

–––

Summary: This installment is a follow-up to How They Met, and how Johnny was to Essie before they became friends. I wrote these stories based on the teaser videos the group had for ‘Elevator (127F)’ and ‘Pandora’s Box’ hence using that dreamy GIF. 

POV: 3rd person 

Word count: 1,700 + words 

Warning: Italics are for thoughts.  

–––

Essie will never forget the time that Johnny pretended to be the pizza delivery boy so he could flirt with her.

It was weeks after they first met when they talked outside her apartment. She was carrying Chinese food takeout as they conversed, delaying her lunch with her best friend Nini.

For this instance, he did the same but in a way that she expected from him. She heard that he was quite a player, and she should try not to fall in love with him. But unfortunately, she did.

It was a cold day – as always in Korea – and despite Nini’s craving for noodles, Essie didn’t cave in to her request. She wanted a giant pizza that had warm and gooey cheese, pepperoni, and bell peppers, so she called Pizza Express to have her custom order.

“I have no complaints with what we’re having for lunch since you’re paying for it, right?” Nini said, flashing a Cheshire cat grin to her best friend.

“Ugh, isn’t that obvious?” Essie rolled her eyes, “I know I’ll be paying for it. So please, be a patient old lady and wait for our food, okay?”

The other girl gave her a thumbs-up before she resumed the video she was watching on YouTube.

///

A few minutes later, their doorbell rang. Essie rushed to the door and checked the peephole if it was indeed the delivery guy. She gulped when she saw someone she didn’t expect to appear at her front door again.

It’s Johnny motherclucking Suh. What the crap is he doing here?

She saw him dancing while holding the Pizza Express box with one hand. He wore a checkered shirt with a funky-patterned cardigan on top and a pair of khaki chinos. The booger also wore eyeglasses and had his light-colored hair curly! He emulated nerd chic, which he is a far cry from in real life.

“Essie, is that the pizza? Why aren’t you opening the door?” Nini asked, who looked at her friend curiously.

The curly-haired girl peered into the peephole again and saw that Johnny was still dancing with the pizza box on one hand. He was doing robotic moves with his other hand and made silly faces as well.

“Yeah, it is the pizza guy…” Essie started, tempted to look into the peephole for the third time, “but at the same time, it isn’t.”

“Huh, what do you mean by that?”

“It looks like Johnny Suh has our pizza, and he’s dancing like an idiot outside our apartment.”

Nini burst into laughter with her statement. “Wow, he must be so into you then. He had to sabotage the real pizza delivery guy so he could flirt his way into your heart,” she said.

“Niniiiii!” her best friend whined, who also stomped the floor at how flustered she was. “Just open the freaking door, and I’m hungry,” the older girl grumbled before going back to her phone.

After three deep breaths, Essie finally opened the door to let Johnny Suh deliver their order. “One custom giant pizza with three different cheese, pepperoni, and bell peppers,” he said in his best professional voice before handing the box to her.

“Yeah, that is correct,” she mumbled, absentmindedly grabbing the pizza with one hand while the other searched into her pockets. “How much was it again?”

“Oh, no need to pay for that, princess, I already took care of it.” Johnny winked at her and gave her a thumbs-up.

“Oh God, Johnny…” Essie wasn’t able to contain her annoyance with his antics and rolled her eyes. “What brings you here then, aside from sabotaging the real pizza delivery guy?”

“I want to see how you’re doing,” he replied suavely, running a hand through his curly mane. “I was just in the area, wanting to hang out with my hyungs, but it turns out they weren’t in their apartment. Then I saw the pizza guy and knew that he was coming here, so I wanted to surprise you.”

“Okay then, thank you,” she said monotonously before heading inside again. “You may leave now if you want.”

“I’ll take no for an answer there, ma’am,” he said, now catching up with her in the apartment. “We might as well hang out.”

“Then I return the same answer to you, sir. No, I don’t want to hang out with you. Today’s my day off, and I want to catch up on sleep,” Essie placed the pizza on the kitchen counter then went to the fridge to retrieve some hot sauce.

“Then I’ll watch you sleep,” Johnny was persistent to make the girl hang out with him. “Or yet, sleep beside you.”

“Johnnyyyyy!” She couldn’t take it anymore and threw a glare at him. “Why are you so stubborn?”

“Because I want what I want to have right now, and that is to hang out with you!”

“Don’t you have any other friends than our neighbors? You can bother them instead!”

“But I don’t want to! I’m already here too, and I know you, so why the heck not?”

“Hold up, hold up! What is happening here?” Nini asked as she entered the kitchen. “It’s past noon, and your voices are too loud! What are you two arguing about?”

Essie rolled her eyes (for the nth time that day) and folded her arms over her chest. “He’s a stubborn piece of ass,” she grumbled. “And she’s an annoying baby princess,” he rebutted.

The older girl looked at them silently before bursting into laughter again. “Oh, you amuse me, Essie. Just give in to his request for now. He made the effort to deliver our pizza. And I bet you didn’t have to pay for it because he already did.”

“Fine, you all win!” The curly-haired girl glared at her best friend and the flirty guy. “But you better behave yourself, mister, because I am not having it.” She took out all the packets of hot sauce from the fridge and grabbed the pizza box again so she could take it to the living room.

“I promise I’ll be a good boy,” he purred in her ear when she has settled the food on the coffee table.

“Ugh, John! Please, stop doing this to me,” Essie groaned, gently pushing him away from her. “I’m thankful for treating us to pizza, but you don’t have to be so damn freaking flirty! We can be friends but not if you’re acting this way.”

Her words hit something in Johnny, who now flashed her a genuine smile. “You do? We can be friends?”

The girl nodded. “Yeah, sure. But just don’t do this again. I feel uncomfortable when someone’s too flirty.”

“But that’s part of my personality, babe. You’ll get used to it. But I’m glad we can be friends,” he said as he sat down beside her on the couch, opening the pizza box he held for approximately five minutes outside.

As the two started eating, Nini was watching them from the kitchen doorway. She never saw someone who acted like Johnny toward her best friend. He was quite direct with his actions, which most guys she saw Essie interact with don’t have the guts to do.

She smiled as Johnny dabbed the sides of Essie’s lips with a napkin. She saw how her best friend was embarrassed at the situation – her ears were glowing red. Nini held back her laughter this time and returned to the living room to get her share of pizza.

\\\

“I remember you were such a flirt when we first met, John,” Essie said one time when they were having breakfast.

Her boyfriend, who was in a white shirt that clung to his body nicely, almost spit out his food from the memory.

“Why do you have to remind me that, baby? I know we didn’t start on a good footing,” he said before eating a spoonful of rice and omelet.

“I know, but that was funny,” she giggled, gently pushing aside her utensils to grab the cup of coffee to her left. “Who knew I’d end up with you?”

He shrugged at her question and continued eating in silence. Essie observed him with a smile on her face as he ate. His hair, which was now light brown with some highlights, was tousled, and some strands almost covered his beautiful honey eyes. He had a ketchup stain near the collar of his shirt. The veins on his arms were more protruding.

“What are you looking at, babe?” He asked, slowly looking up at her.

“You,” she said softly before bringing the cup of coffee to her lips. “I am so lucky to have you, and sometimes I can’t still believe that we’re together, you know?”

“I could say the same too,” he responded with a grin on his face. “You know how the song goes: Everything I do, I do it for you,” he sang aloud the lyrics to the famous Bryan Adams song, making his girlfriend put down her cup of coffee and laugh.

“Damn, you’re cheesy!” She guffawed, slapping the table for effect. She thought of the moments that happened earlier – he was the one who woke her up by opening their sky blue curtains to let some sunlight shine through. “Good morning, baby, wake up,” he whispered before drawing them close when he saw her sit up from the bed.

Even if it took her ages to get up – it was the weekend away – Johnny returned to their shared bedroom and plopped beside her. He laid on the bed with his body face down, showing off his wide but sculpted back. He rested his face on one of their pillows and looked at her lovingly.

“Love, please,” she said breathlessly, captivated with his beauty. “Come on now, let’s have breakfast,” he cooed, pulling her wrist repeatedly from his comfortable position.

“What did you prepare for us?” Essie replied, now standing at the foot of the bed. “The usual, because that’s the best I can cook,” he chuckled before he stood up and carried her bridal-style to their dining room.

“Thank you,” she said once he helped her to her seat. She pecked him on the cheek, which he returned on the lips. “Anything for my darling Essie.”

–––

FIN

P.S. If you’ve noticed, I tend to end my stories with that line. It may or may not be intentional. 

#nct drabbles #nct au #nct fanfic #nct scenarios #nct fanfiction #nct imagines #nct 127 drabbles #nct fluff #nct romance #nct comedy #nct 127 au #nct 127 fanfic #nct 127 scenarios #nct 127 fanfiction #nct 127 imagines #nct 127 fluff #nct 127 romance #nct 127 comedy #nct johnny #nct 127 johnny #johnny suh #seo youngho #johnny suh au #johnny suh drabbles #johnny suh fanfic #johnny suh imagines #johnny suh fanfiction #johnny suh fluff #johnny suh scenarios #johnny suh romance

[cryptocism]

So since pretty much everyone agrees that Tim needs a name change, and I think most people dislike the first two RR costumes (I dislike the pretty much Robin one too, because it seems like he hasn’t accept losing Robin, when I feel a lot of his comics right after Bruce W died was about that?) which leads me to: What do you think Tim’s costume would look like if he got a good outfit, and what name?

o yeah i was not a fan of the cowl. and the n52 design is just… so busy and excessively accessorised (excessorised???) - i drew it a couple times for this project im workin on and the whole process was me squinting at reference panels and whispering softly but passionately “what the fuck” - and i agree on the rebirth RR design, it looks more derivative of dick and jasons retconned robin costumes than inspired by tims og 80s design (however. the unternet costume - its simple and appealing and clearly nightwing-inspired and i am a fan, also the giant scythe/halberd/mace thing was so ridiculous i loved it)

which is why i thank pat gleason for my life bc tims new outfit is such a good modernisation of his original robin design. so i mean to answer ur question i think tim has a p good design right now (although not for long i guess since they announced hed get a new look/codename soon) BUT if i were in charge of debuting a new design and name… hm……….

whatever his new name is, it’d preferably have something to do with wherever his personal storyline is headed, which i dont know, and for all my complaining abt how red robin is a shit name i dont actually have great alternatives lol. i did see somewhere the suggestion for the name “Cardinal” which i dont hate, so ill use that as a placeholder for now (although “Halcyon” is an interesting option)

tangentially, my personal preference for his robin graduation would be a miniseries featuring tim and damian both as robin, begrudgingly having to work together to fight some greater enemy and becoming true brothers along the way. ending with tim giving damian his blessing to be robin (a post-mantle blessing but still) with the first amicable passing on of the robin title literally ever

as for Look: his new design should a) accurately reflect his character b) mesh well with whatever tone his personal storyline is going for c) be a natural progression of gleasons newest iteration while still d) able to stand as its own iconic look

i always thought tim would do really well in a more grounded noir-style detective story, both using and especially subverting the tropes of the genre (for instance tim befriends every femme fatale and romances absolutely zero of them. theyre pals and have weekly movie nights or smthn) obvs using some of the mystery elements to springboard into classic comic wild times etc etc. theres also a great opportunity to include some more cyberpunk aesthetics to the look and feel ofthe story

i.e. tim is part of the waynetech r&d teams, working with them to develop new technologies, and proceeding to test out some of the prototypes while doing vigilante work (bc terry had to get his rocket boots from somewhere ok). gotham is still gotham, but its starting to see some of that neo-futuristic/blade runner flavour from batman beyond.

so. cyberpunk detective story starring cha boy tim drake. im not gonna draw it rn but lemme just gather some ref elements here in case i ever do

first off - motorcycle, obviously. redbird is back babey and this time its a two-wheeler. all his gear would be modded the hell out of, but the motorcycle itself would be an approximate balance of 70% ducati and 30% tron lightcycle situation. a speedy bike with ample room for the edgy overkill batfam aesthetic, with maybe a little akira in there who knows

same goes for helmet; 70/30 on this modern/cyberpunk situation. heres a quickly photoshopped “cardinal” helmet lol 

although theres totally room for some daft-punk leds in there. serving as a heads up display AND a fun neon aesthetic. I really want to play into that John Wick neo-noir situation.

besides that… ive got a preference for street style over the superhero spandex, so… detective jacket. every detective has a good jacket. norm breyfogle made a comment on his early tim robin designs that itd be pretty either/or on jacket vs cape, merging the two looked a little silly. for robin they probably decided on cape to keep things classic, but for cardinal i can do what i want

and i want to bring back some of this popped collar.

which i basically did for that other tim design i drew, which i still like, so this one would probably be at least a lil borrowed from that. 

attempting to merge cape/jacket might end up smthn like these:

which admittedly i like. 

admittedly… i do also like the concept of wings introduced in tims n52 design, i just think they couldve been hidden/incorporated better

greig rapson had a sweet robin design that had a sort of flight-suit (which dove into the actual mechanics??? i love) and since id want to dive into tim testing out waynetech prototypes, its a pretty good natural progression from him to terrys glider thing

the whole ensemble would be fairly understated however - enough to semi blend in with any crowd, hero or civilian. after all the story focus would be just as much about solving the mystery as it is punching the bad guy

the various interchangeable gadgets would be both prototypes of terrys eventual batsuit, and also all the failed prototypes that never managed to get off the ground. just to add an element of tension/plot devices wherein tims gear could break or malfunction pretty much anytime.

im fixated on this rocket boot situation though so itd be a paired down version of terrys eventual seamless/invisible design. still noticable and clunky, but working with the sleek modernish style outlined by gleason

smthn almost similar to the prowler actually from spiderverse - as in: Clearly Rocketboots, and clearly diy’d the shit out of, but still working with that Aesthetic

(most of the screencaps of prowler are dark af so im taking this from jesus alonso iglesias concept art) 

im debating on the addition of more overtly birdlike/cyberpunk elements, so ill add this here cause its dope as fuck (from ahmet atil akar). 

and a lot of batclan capes tend to end with that concave spiked look, which works great for bats but not really for birds. a tailcoat might emulate the bird tail, but it also might evoke Penguin a lil too much idk.

also in the interest of keeping everything within the same sort of design language, i would Love to see some new villains emulating deconstructionist/architectural kawakubo fashion:

like could you imagine the supervillain potential

so uhhh yeah. budding cyberpunk detective story with a little noir and a little technological advancement progressing in fits and starts. taking from the gleason foundation with heavy black featuring brighter coloured accents and modern sleekness, made a little dorky via prototype technology, with some extra neon blade runner shit thrown in there.

depending on how much i love or hate the new codename/design reveal i might draw this via inspired motivation or spiteful motivation lol

#asks #tim drake #tim redesign ref #tim scarlet redesign

[kirathehyrulian]

♥• Obsession: Dark Desires Art Master Post•♥

Please do not repost or alter. At the very least, please give me credit.

Spn Eldritch Bang | Author | Illustrator | Fic- Ao3 | LJ

Title: Rating: Explicit Wordcount: 17,321 Pairings:  unrelated Dean/Sam, Fic Warnings:  Gore/Violence, dark!Dean, bottom!Sam, top!Dean

Summary: Sam and Dean have always been close. Their fathers had gone on many hunts together, so the boys had grown up around each other. When Sam goes to Stanford, Dean stays behind to hunt on his own. But when Dean can't stand being away from Sam any longer, he goes to see Sam at Stanford. And what he finds sends him into a downward spiral no one could have been prepared for.

Art Warnings!!!: (The Rest of the art below this cut are depictions of major fic spoilers and some gore. Please, only click the “Keep Reading” link if you are mentally prepared and have already read the fic.)

Artist Commentary: (scroll down some more if you just want the art)

I struggled a lot with coming up with what I wanted to do for this fic. My author gave me a free rein to do whatever scenes and styles inspired me. They only asked for obsessed!Dean, innocent!Sam, and concerned fathers Bobby and John.

I chose not to focus on John or Bobby. I threw the idea around for a bit, but I’m not really adept at drawing them so I didn’t want to obsess, hah, about how it doesn’t look like them enough. So, all the art is mostly about Sam and Dean.

Again, I wanted this story’s art to be creepy. I wanted most of it to come off unsettling. So I looked at horror games. “Dreaming Mary” was the first one I looked at. It was a cutesy, very disturbing and triggering game. It had two-faced characters, warped reality, chibis, and some silhouettes. I figured it was a good direction to go in.

But, then when I started sketching out silhouette ideas, my friend ended up saying it reminded her of “Fran Bow”’s cut scenes. I’m not really a fan of Fran Bow. It was too random for me, but I probably did subconsciously draw inspiration from that game too. And, I decided to visit that game some more. So I combined the thoughts that I got from both games.

At first, I was thinking about black and white silhouettes with a black and white film feel. But, I already did black and white in suffocation. I wanted these illustrations and style to be different because it’s an entirely different story. So, red is the new white.

I did the title card first. I drew inspiration from old turner classic movie intros before you see the main feature film with the spotlight and text font and placement. I made a bunch of hearts that stare at you to convey obsession. I drew skulls to showcase death and to be creepy. The patterns I made were supposed to be unsettling. I completed the rest of the illustrations in this order, scene: 1, 4, 2, 5, 6, 3. And, all the scenes are supposed to be the world through Dean’s twisted lens.

Scene 1: they’re in an alleyway with Sam yelling. I tried to make him look young here, to convey innocence. Light is coming from the back of Sam to show that the alleyway is vaguely dark.

Scene 2: Lol. I tried. It ended up looking goofy and oddly enduring to me. I love my drooling boy. He’s not drooling, he’s bleeding. Lee here has lost his hands, has a broken jaw, and is getting his eyes poked in with Dean’s thumbs.

Scene 3: Dean is happy to finally get close and personal with Sam. I tried to make Sam look innocently at Dean in shock, and Dean more sultry, whatever. There is a wall behind Sam. The arm that is caressing Sam’s hair is a different shade of red to make it stand out so it doesn’t get lost in their combined silhouette and that it looks like it’s further in the background. The light here is so you don’t get to distracted by all the empty space to the left. And, it's because of my sleep-deprived mind, but when I stare at the area around their noses for long enough they look like they are moving towards each other.

Scene 4: I was really excited about drawing this idea. So, this is Dean’s reality finally breaking down. To him in the roadhouse, these are all the monsters trying to take Sam away from Dean. John, Bobby, and Victor from left to right. The monster designs were me trying to connect the title heart faces to how Dean sees everyone that’s not Sam. In everyone else’s reality, Sam’s pissed at Dean. It is the Sam that jabbed Dean in the side, watched his fiance get killed, got kidnapped, know about Lee getting killed, probably had dubious sex with unrelated Dean, and so on. So, while the silhouette Sam is gasping, or yelling in innocent concern, reality Sam is less innocent and more pissed. Lol, Real-Sam's frown might be too exaggerated to be taken seriously....sigh.

Scene 5: I was actually very proud of how real-Dean turned out here, I doubt I’ll ever get it that good again in this style. I tried to make Real-Dean rougher and more disturbed looking, and like he will gut everyone not-Sam. The shiny glass looking thing behind Dean is a swot member arresting Dean. The arms are Dean’s view of the swot members. They don’t get real bodies because they are not important in Dean’s view here andIgotlazy.

Scene 6: Remember when I said earlier when I don’t think I’d get it that good again. Well, I didn’t. It’s not bad, but this Dean didn’t come out as good, which really bummed me out. It’s good enough, but not what I wished it could be. Dean the stalker is stalking Sam here. I’m happy with my car (even though I can’t draw a steering wheel to save my life) and fuzzy background though, and I normally hate cars and backgrounds. Bad Dean for not wearing his seat belt though. Do not emulate, kids.

Overall, I’m happy or okay with what I did here depending on what we’re pointing out.

Enjoy, if you can!♥♥♥

Musical Inspiration (Things that I listened to this time to get in the mood to draw, but not meant as an accompaniment to the fic):

I listened to a lot of the same stuff for this project as I did for “Suffocation” but here are some ones that I didn’t list before | Dark Piano - Waiting for Sunrise | Little Nightmares OST "A Feeling for Meat" | Dark Piano - Witch | HANNIBAL OST MEDLEY | Emotional Music - A Nostalgic Dream |

#spneldritchbang #wincest #dean/sam #sam/dean #sam winchester/dean winchester #unrelated wincest #sam winchester appreciation #dean winchester appreciation #myart #spn event #2019 #tagging for the squeamish #cw: gore #eldritch moods #spn art #spn fic #fic spoilers

[gumnut-logic]

Dare Devil

@the-lady-razorsharp did some wonderful art!

I got inspired and this little ficlet happened :D I hope you enjoy it. Marks & Wings Universe and young Tracys :D

-o-o-o-

Out of all the Tracy brothers, Scott was the dare devil.

That’s not to say that the other four were incapable of silly stunts, it was a given that any and all of them tried to kill themselves doing something stupid at least once in their lifetime. But it was Scott who was the most proficient in the air and Scott who stretched the limits of physics the most.

Virgil was known to comment that his wings should be grey considering how much worry his older brother caused him. Scott’s answer to that was to declare that his wings were grey because he had four younger brothers who stressed him to that colour.

Gordon would simply laugh and then prove his brother’s point. There may be a cliff involved, or perhaps a shark, but generally an ocean and depths that no other brother could even consider...and, yeah, grey feathers for the eldest.

Alan was very much like Scott and loved to do tricks midair. Said tricks usually ended up in a lot of screaming, whether it be Alan falling out of the sky screaming or the two older brothers berating Alan after falling out of the sky.

Alan’s answer to that was always, “But Scott did it.”

Virgil was often absent after that.

John, thankfully was much calmer, much more logical, much more likely to take the sane route. Virgil had blanked out his younger brother’s one incident of seeing how high he could fly with an oxygen supply attached.

Sure the height limit was well documented, remarked on, stuck on the refrigerator, yelled at goodbye and generally etched into every Tracy brothers’ brain, even Gordon’s, despite his lack of wings.

Gordon’s depth limits were a whole other story, one enough to cause Virgil to moult out of sequence.

But anyway, all the boys knew the limit of the height they could fly and should never go beyond. John, in his ever scientific glory, decided to test said limit.

He hadn’t counted on Air Terranean flight 5476.

Let’s just say he was grounded in more ways than one after that little incident. Their father, wingless and somewhat powerless in the wing parenting department, exploded at all five boys, somewhat unfairly, Virgil thought.

No one went above the height limit again.

Well, no one admitted to it.

Virgil had suspicions that no rules remained unbroken when Scott took to the air. The key was that he did it with so much style, no one cared.

Scott excelled at acrobatics. He could flip himself midair, virtually fly upside down - Virgil had yet to work out how the hell his brother managed that little trick - and soar at speeds that left his brothers in his contrail.

John had theories. Scott’s wings were this shape, canted at that angle, weighed x amount. Virgil, of course, knew all the theory and suspected Scott was just very good at making the most of the available conditions.

Gordon claimed he was gas powered on Grandma’s cooking.

However he did it, he did it beautifully.

Virgil wasn’t afraid to admit he admired his brother either.

There had been moments, standing in the middle of a Kansas field, staring up into the sky, watching his brother soar. There had been sketches and studies, even the occasional paint work. Virgil had initially attempted to keep it secret from his brother. After all, finding inspiration in your older brother could have been considered a little odd. Gordon, no doubt, would have plenty to say about it. So he kept the sketches to himself and simply admired what his brother could do.

Of course, Scott had eagle eyes to match those eagle wings and it wasn’t long before the younger brother was discovered sitting on the grass drawing by his flying brother.

Virgil feared his brother would laugh. But no, Scott, ever the big brother, simply sat beside him, asked him a few questions and admired his work.

If, after that, Scott took to the air and strutted just that little bit more...well, it was understandable.

One thing that did happen was the next time Virgil took a flight with his big brother, Scott made a point to show him exactly how he took advantage of the conditions, how to gain that extra bit of speed, how to fly his best.

Virgil’s black wings were the largest of the boys, and perhaps weren’t as nimble as Scott’s, but he learnt and he improved and lazy Sundays often saw them flying together. Scott doing loop-de-loops around his calmer brother and laughter at the fore.

Later, when the Tracy family launched International Rescue, those skills and those bonds drew all the brothers together into a tight knit and loving team. But for now, it was weekends and after school and smiles and laughter and a crazy elder brother who was determined to turn Virgil’s wings the same colour as his own.

Scott’s answer was always a piece of history.

Because none of the boys had quite screwed up as much as Virgil did the day he got distracted by the beauty of the landscape around him...

...and flew into a tree.

It had taken a hysterical father and elder brother, a cherry picker, a leg and a wing immobilised for weeks and a lifetime of brotherly torture to get over it.

So while Scott did acrobatics, John discovered science, Alan tried to kill himself emulating his eldest brother, and Gordon went on a hunt for the Loch Ness Monster in a lake in Tennessee, Virgil simply couldn’t be trusted to look where he was going.

The ‘George of the Jungle’ jokes lasted a life time.

So yes, Scott was the best flyer of them all - the most agile, most able and most skilled.

And never ashamed to show it.

-o-o-o-

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #virgil tracy #thunderbirds fanfiction #scott tracy #gordon tracy #john tracy #alan tracy #marks and wings

[demidemilitclub]

If we’re being honest with ourselves, 1776 should be on everybody’s list if you’re looking for something to audition with that not everyone knows. Not only is pretty much the entire soundtrack a BOP, but there’s something for every possible audition.

“Sit Down, John”: Not only is John’s mini-monologue a great 30-second piece (if you ever need one) and a wonderful look into his character, the entire song gets you ready for the show and you can probably string together 16 bars for an audition.

“Piddle, Twiddle, and Resolve”: Did I mention John’s characterization? This song is all about getting to know John. And what’s great is that, as much as I love William Daniels, you can have so much fun with this song and playing with it in so many different ways; there’s no one way to play John.

“Till Then”: A nice, light-hearted song between John and Abigail, and really sets up some wholesome moments between the two of them later in the show. I used to hate this moment and some of the later interactions between John and Abigail watching the movie (which is an incredibly faithful adaptation, due in large part to librettist Peter Stone acting as screenwriter and Peter Hunt once again directing almost the exact same cast as was on Broadway) every 4th of July because they were slower and more romantic, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve begun to have a better appreciation for the moments. Great for both men and women.

“The Lees of Old Virginia”: Even though Franklin and John sing in this, this is very much Lee’s song. If you’re looking for a fun, energetic, rhyming song for a more comedic role, then look no further than the loveable quasi-idiot Richard Henry Lee.

“But, Mr. Adams”: Every verse is perfect for a 16 bar audition, and it’s a clever song throughout. It also serves to set up John and Jefferson’s conflicting relationship throughout the rest of the show and honestly has some of the best jokes about the characters in it. And since the entire Declaration committee sings, there’s a character for most everyone in it to choose from.

“Yours, Yours, Yours”: This is the big, traditional romantic duet of the show, and has great parts for both John and Abigail, especially to show off emotional resonance within a song. This is the big moment that “Till Then” sets up, and it’s such a beautiful payoff. Like, if you love ballads/duets, listen to this and then you’ll love Sherman Edwards as well.

“He Plays the Violin”: Oh hey, Martha Jefferson is in this show! Oh, and there she goes. But, don’t get me wrong, this is a great powerhouse of a song for a solid role to come on stage, belt a bit, dance with John and Franklin, make out with Jefferson, and then chill backstage until curtain call. John and Franklin also sing this but come on guys, this is literally all Martha has.

“Cool, Cool, Considerate Men”: This and “Molasses to Rum” are the two villain songs of the show, but choose depending on what kind of villain do you want to play. Choose this one if you want the smarmy, direct antagonist to John and have fun with the genteel Southern politics of Dickinson. But also, be prepared for the lyrics because hot d*mn have they become prescient in the last couple of years.

“Momma Look Sharp”: You know how everyone was so surprised to learn that “Edelweiss” (tune by Richard Rodgers, words by Oscar Hammerstein II) and “Ol’ Man River” (tune by Jerome Kern, words by Oscar Hammerstein II) weren’t actually an Austrian folk tune or African-American spiritual respectively? That’s the case with this song that Edward Sherman wrote. It sounds so much like an old colonial folk song, especially the “mother’s” verse that it’s incredible to think that it’s just Sherman emulating the style. But like, this song is SO GOOD. If you’re looking for a song to take place of “Close Every Door to Me” or “Anthem” or “Being Alive” in your audition rotation, pick up this song.

“The Egg”: It’s funny because it’s the central metaphor of the show. A fun little number about John, Jefferson, and Franklin worrying and then not worrying about the Declaration is made the more ironic as basically the rest of the show is heavy debate regarding the Declaration and American values and all that. It’s basically a three-part song, so just choose a harmony that’s comfortable with you, and you’ll be fine.

“Molasses to Rum”: As well constructed and thematically appropriate as this song is, please be very careful as to which part you select and where you use this when auditioning. Why you ask? Because Rutledge is a big ol’ barrel of racism, and this song is no exception. It’s basically the South (Rutledge) condemning the North (John) for trying to claim the moral high ground amidst debates regarding slavery, as the Southern plantations may employ slave labor, but the Northern shipping industry is what keeps the triangular slave trade going. It’s a great baritone part, but it’s not at the top of my recommendation list.

“Is Anybody There?”: This is the big showstopping number with a pessimistic/optimistic John hoping against all hope that the Declaration is passed. If I had to draw stylistic and musical parallels, I would definitely have to say that this song is the “Being Alive” of 1776. It’s John’s big show off number in terms of vocal ability and emotional range, ramping up and back down over the course of the show.

I absolutely love this show. I referenced “Momma Look Sharp” as Sherman Edwards not writing a weak 16 bars, but that’s honestly the theme of the entire show.

#musicals #musical theater #broadway #acting #acting advice #singing #audition #musical audition #acting audition #musical recommendation #1776 #sherman edwards #peter stone #peter hunt #john adams #william daniels #bill daniels #benjamin franklin #howard da silva #john dickinson #paul hecht #donald madden #edward rutledge #clifford david #john cullum #thomas jefferson #ken howard #richard henry lee #ronald holgate #martha jefferson

[thesteadydietofeverything]

Video Game Year in Review: The Top 10

As with any year-end list, this one probably isn’t complete. Last year, I fell in love with Nioh over winter break after I had already made my top 10, and just a few days ago, I started playing Hollow Knight. As I made clear in my previous lists, Metroidvanias can be hit or miss for me. I can get fed up with wandering around without a clear destination, and Hollow Knight has a bit of that so far, but it also has one of the most atmospherically welcoming settings for a video game in recent memory, and so far I’ve been pretty damn enraptured by it. I’m not too worried about it making the list at this point; it didn’t even technically come out this year anyway, but its Switch release earlier this year gave it somewhat of a second debut, for all the earned attention it finally got. At least I got a little shout-out here before publishing.

Anyway, here’s ten games I loved the shit out of in 2018. This was one year with a handful of games that I absolutely adored, none of which necessarily immediately jumped out to me as hands down the best one of the bunch, and honestly, that’s the way I’d prefer it, but it did make ranking them a bit tough. Really, from number five onward, the ranking gets pretty interchangeable. I didn’t plan on the game in my number one spot being the one that it is until I actually wrote out my feelings for it and decided that out of all them it was the easiest for me to just gush about. Alright, no further ado:

10. Donut County - Overall, it’s probably a good thing that Donut County isn’t longer than it is, but for as mechanically simple as sucking objects into an ever-expanding void is, it’s something that I felt I would’ve been perfectly entertained doing for a lot longer than the game lasted. Donut County has a wildly inspired and novel central gameplay hook, a relatably goofy sense of humor that might border on obnoxious if it weren’t so sincerely delivered, and an anti-gentrification, anti-capitalist message that mostly works without beating you over the head too hard with it. Ben Esposito and his team have created one of the most charming and original games I’ve played in years here.

9. Paratopic - “Cinematic” is a grossly overused and frequently inappropriate word to use in games criticism, but this game often had me coming back to the word, observing how many ways it feels like it authentically takes inspiration from creative methods seen more often in film, particularly art films, than in games, much more so than say, Red Dead Redemption 2, which typically embarrassingly pales in comparison to any movies it’s obviously aping from. There’s its willingness to not explain to you what’s going on, letting you pick up on clues from scenery and incidental dialogue. Its multiple switching perspectives, laced together to draw meaningful narrative connections. Its tendency to sit in the atmosphere of a scene. Its ability to tell a succinct story intended to be experienced in one sitting. And most of all, those jump cuts. I know Paratopic isn’t the first game to employ this technique, but as far as I can remember, it’s the first that I’ve played to utilize them for purposeful artistic effect, and every time it happened, it was oddly thrilling. I loved when I’d switch from walking to suddenly driving, and had a moment of panic, as if I suddenly just woke up at the wheel. The cliffhangers scenes would occasionally end on made me desperate to get back to that thread. Hell, even just the fact that there clearly were scenes, that lasted a few minutes at a time, then moved on to the next one, felt weirdly refreshing at a time when AAA design is becoming so absurdly bloated. Paratopic excited me, not in its desire to emulate a separate art medium, but in its casual realization of how many underutilized narrative techniques work genuinely effectively in this medium.

8. Dusk - I really can’t imagine a game that more perfectly matches my Platonic ideal of “video game comfort food” than Dusk, aside from, maybe, the game in the number one spot of this list. I was raised on 90’s PC FPS games like Doom and, as is much more relevant to this game, Quake. Yeah, for the most part, it’s nice that games have moved on, both in depth of gameplay and artistry, but goddamn does a back-to-basics twitchy shooter with inspired level design and creepy atmosphere just feel good sometimes. The grainy, chunky polygons of this game encapsulate everything I love about the rudimentary but remarkably evocative minimalism of early 3D graphics. The movement feels absurdly fast by modern standards, and the effect is thrilling - every projectile is dodgeable, as long as your reflexes are sharp enough. Undoubtedly the most impressive thing about this game is its ambitious level design, so much of which rivals even John Romero’s. The longer this game goes on, the more sprawling and labyrinthine it becomes. The map shapes become increasingly wacky. The gothic architecture becomes more foreboding and awe-inspiring. Dusk does a lot with a little, and in the process, makes so much more than a tribute to game design and aesthetics of the past - for me, it stands right alongside its obvious inspirations as one of the very best of its ilk.

7. Into the Breach - An absolute masterclass of game design. Into the Breach leaves nothing about its mechanics obscured, making sure you understand how every move is going to go down just as well as it does, and the fact that the result is still compellingly challenging is a sure sign we’re in the hands of remarkably skilled and intelligent developers. The narrative in this game is sparse - you assume the role of time-looping soldiers attempting over and over again to save your world from alien invasion (think Edge of Tomorrow), and that’s pretty much all you get for the plot, aside from some effective but minimal character beats and dialogue one-liners. And yet, every battlefield, a small grid with its own arrangement of sprites (giant creepy-crawlies, various creative mech classes, structures full of terrified denizens given a modicum of hope at the arrival of their ragged potential saviors) offers a playground for drama to unfold, as gripping and epic as any great mecha anime battle. As I mentioned in my previous list with Dead Cells, I have trouble sticking with run-based games, and this game wasn’t quite an exception - honestly, if it had something resembling a more traditional narrative campaign, I could see it potentially filling my number one spot. But that a game of its style nevertheless stuck with me as well as it did proves what a tremendous achievement I found it to be.

6. Astro Bot Rescue Mission - This was both the first game I’ve played fully in VR and the first game I’ve ever platinumed. I guess that might say something about how thoroughly I fell for it. For some reason, one of the questions that my brain kept posing while playing this game is, “would you like this game as much if it weren’t in VR?” I would like to pose that first off, if this wasn’t a VR game, it would be quite a different game, but yes, probably a perfectly delightful 3D platformer in its own right. But most of all, this game helped me realize what a bullshit question that is in the first place. By virtue of its VR nature, this game is just fundamentally different, just as the jump from 2D to 3D resulted in games that were just fundamentally different. The perspective you’re given watching over your little robot playable character allows to look in 360 degrees, and often you need to, if you’re seeking out every level’s secrets, and yet, while it moves forward, it doesn’t follow you vertically, so sometimes you’re looking up or down as well. It’s difficult to describe exactly how this perspective is so much more than a gimmick or something, outside of the cliched exaggeration of “it feels like you’re really there, man,” but honestly, this statement isn’t wrong. I truly did feel immersed in these levels in a way that I wouldn’t have if this weren’t a VR game, and while it’s not exactly a feeling I now desire from every game, it does stand out as one of the singular gaming experiences I had in 2018 as a result.

5. Thonebreaker: The Witcher Tales - I gushed plenty about this game in my review. How its approach to Gwent-based combat is both welcoming to newcomers and remarkably varied, offering new ways to approach and think about the game with nearly every encounter. How its sizable story is filled with fascinating characters and genuinely distressing choices, forcing you to grapple with the inherent injustices of your position. How its vivid art style and wonderfully moody Marcin Przybyłowicz score sell The Witcher feel of this game, despite how differently it plays from the mainline entries of the game. And maybe most of all, how criminally overlooked this game has been. So I’ll make the same claim I did before - if The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt did something for you, it’s likely this game will too. Don’t worry about the card game - I did too, and trust me, it’s fun. It’s the new Witcher game; that really ought to be all you need to know.

4. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life - There’s...a lot about the Yakuza games that I’ve come to adore, but one of the biggest ones that kept sticking out to me while playing The Song of Life is how they build a sense of place. After playing Yakuza 0, set in 1988, and Yakuza Kiwami, set in 2005, I played this one, set in 2016. Each time, same Kiryu, but older, same Kamurocho, but era appropriate. Setting every Yakuza game in the same map has to be one of the quietly boldest experiments in video games, forgoing fresh new vistas to explore in favor of the same familiar boulevards, alleys, and parks of the iconic red-light district, painting an exquisitely detailed and loving portrait of a neighborhood changing with the decades. While Kiryu’s exasperation at once again walking into the all-too-familiar crowded streets of Kamurocho, brighter and louder than ever, hardly matched my eagerness to see how it had changed, it felt appropriate. Though he’s still the hottest dad (grandpa?) in town, he is kinda old now, and he’s certainly earned the right to just be over it a little. Even the silliest of the era-relevant sub stories (one of which delightfully features Kiryu putting a selfie-stick wielding, obnoxious-stunt pulling, wanna-be influencer shithead in his place) serve to underscore how out of place he now is in his old stomping grounds.

By contrast, the other setting of Yakuza 6, the quaint seaside town of Onomichi, very quickly begins to feel like an idyllic retirement destination. The introduction to this part of the game has to be my favorite video game moment of 2018 - Kiryu trying to calm a hungry baby, while walking the deserted streets after dark in search of one store that still happens to be open. The faint sound of ocean in the distance effectively evokes the freshness, the bitterness, of the air. The emptiness and darkness of the space is almost shocking, compared to the sensory overload of Kamurocho. And there’s Haruto. Kiryu took Haruka in when she was 9, so he’s never had to deal with a baby before. He’s out of his element, but hardly unwilling. The help he gets from Kiyomi and his other new friends is the kind of comfort Kiryu needs at this point in his life. Likewise, the events in Onomichi play out like a retirement fantasy - building an amateur baseball team out of local talent, building relationships with the denizens of a bar in an incredible Japanese version of Cheers, hanging out with the town’s Yakuza, who are so small potatoes they seem to barely fit the definitions of organized or crime. It all works beautifully as a touching send-off to my favorite video game character.

3. Tetris Effect - There was a long time where I was contemplating putting this as my number one game. I went through some strange conflicts in the consideration - next to all these original, thoughtful games, am I really going to say that fucking Tetris is best one of them? Is that even fair? Is this game really anything more than just regular-ass Tetris but with some pretty lights and sounds and a 90’s rave kinda vibe? The answer to all of these, is, of course, yes, but also no. I’d defend my choice any day, though. This is the first game to actually get me into Tetris. I always appreciated it; it’s a classic, but it was never a game I had actually put much time or thought into before. This game not only sold me on Tetris, but got me obsessed with it, to the point where the name feels remarkably appropriate: ever since I began playing, I’ve been seeing tetriminos falling - in my sleep, in daydreams, any time I see any type of blocky shape in real life I’m fitting them together in my mind. The idea that all Tetris pieces, despite their differences, need each other and complement each other and can all fit together in perfect harmony, and that this is a metaphor for humanity, has to be some of the cheesiest bullshit I’ve ever heard, and yet, the game fully sold me on it from the first damn level. It’s all connected. We’re all together in this life. Don’t you forget it.

2. Celeste - This is a damn near perfect game, both as refreshing and demanding as a climb up a beautiful but treacherous mountain ought to be. I died many, many times (2424, to be exact), but the game explicitly encouraged me to be proud of that, acting as a friendly little cheerleader in between deaths, assuring me that I could do it. It’s both a welcome break from the smug, sneering attitude so many “difficult” games tend to traffic in, and absolutely central to its themes involving mental health. As the shockingly good plot starts making it increasingly clear that it’s about Madeline’s quest to conquer (or, at least, understand) her inner demons, the gameplay itself offers a simple but effective metaphor for struggling with mental illness - yes, it’s hard, and yes, you’re going to suffer and struggle, but you can make it, and you will make it, because you’re so much better than you think you are. Oh, and also, it’s not all bad, because at least you get to listen to some absolutely rippin’ tunes while you do it.

1. Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom - (Another one I reviewed!) This is my ideal JRPG. In my mind it stands next to childhood treasures like Final Fantasy IX. Unlike some recent Square projects that specifically try to clone their late 90’s output, this game hardly feels beholden to the game design of the past, and yet, feels of a piece with that era in a respectably non-cloying way. It has a bright, colorful, inviting world full of charming characters, an all-time great soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi, and an exciting, deep combat system with an emphasis on action. Building my kingdom of Evermore was remarkably satisfying, down to all the little dumb tasks my citizens would ask of me, none of which my very good boy King Evan was too busy or too proud to refuse. There’s very little grinding. It’s a long game by most standards, but at 40-something hours, it feels lean by JRPG standards. And for as much of a storybook fantasy as the plot is, as much as it reduces woefully complicated socio-political issues into neat, resolvable tasks for Evan to solve, it always came across as perfectly genuine, and sometimes surprisingly affecting. It’s the game that I’ve wanted to play since the PS1 Final Fantasy games stole my heart as a kid. That’s hardly what I expected it to be as I started into it, and what a joy it was to discover that it was.

#Ni No Kuni #Ni No Kuni II #Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom #Celeste #Tetris #Tetris Effect #Yakuza 6: The Song of Life #Yakuza #Yakuza 6 #Thronebreaker #Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales #The Witcher #Astro Bot #Astro Bot Rescue Mission #Into the Breach #Dusk #Paratopic #Donut County #Review #List #Game of the Year #GOTY #Top 10 #game #Games #video game #video games #criticism

[laughoutloudcats]

11 years down

Yesterday marked 11 years of Laugh-Out-Loud Cats. Later this month they’ll hit installment number 3000, and then onward to even more, including another book. But more on that later. For now, in case you missed it all those years ago, I’m reposting John Hodgman’s introduction to my book The Laugh-Out-Loud Cats Sell Out (which is still available for as little as 3 cents). Thank you again John, and thank you everyone.

BEGIN QUOTED TEXT Good evening. My name is John Hodgman, and I regret to inform you that the book you hold in your hand is not real. Do not be alarmed. I am not suggesting that this book is a figment of your imagination. For that would suggest that these very words of introduction themselves are a product of your diseased mind. But the fact is that you are not insane, and I do not live inside your head (yet.) No. Obviously this book EXISTS. But as a former professional literary agent, I have had some experience in elaborate literary hoaxes (I’m looking at you “Michael Chabon,” All of you.). And as a current famous minor television personality, I am naturally a first class authority on being a fraud. And so, having carefully examined these LAUGH-OUT-LOUD CATS cartoons, I have determined that while they are VERY ENJOYABLE and certainly ABOUT CATS, they were not drawn in 1912, as is claimed. How can I tell? Three things. First, the slang used by the cats “Kitteh” and “Pip” is quite contemporary, and almost surely inspired by the “LOL CATS,” (even the names are similar). If you are not familiar with it, LOL CATS is a popular Internet trend involving taking pictures of actual live cats at the precise moment they are talking. It’s a challenging hobby, requiring considerable skill and patience, and also a computer. It is much much harder than just sitting down and drawing an old-timey picture of cats. Second, Kitteh and Pip, you will notice, are portrayed as lovable hoboes. Throughout the strips, they gently chase their small, typically feline desires (naps, stew, and a good game of cards) along the back alleys and meandering country roads of a cartoon version of the early 20th century. Now, anyone can tell you that there certainly were hobo cats during this time, they were vicious creatures who lived cruel lives, and frequently killed their masters. More telling, however, is the fact that cats did not actually start standing on their hind legs until 1972, after the experiments. And it was not until 1980 that Pip’s arbitrary, overwhelming obsession with falling leaves was first bred in the American Shorthair at the Yale Feline Studies lab. Third, I applied the ACID TEST, which is something of a misnomer, as the test involves no acid at all. Instead, the original, hand-drawn cartoons are simply inserted into a small fire. Based on the burn rate of the paper (Fast! Fast! So merry and fast!), I can attest that those cartoons that survived the process and are now collected here almost certainly were not created before the year 2006. YES: 2007. But, you protest, we all remember Aloysius Gamaliel Koford. He was a major historical figure: a daring walrus-hunter, statesman and spy! Why, if it were not for the many folktales and young adult novels based on his life, the whole public image of the cartoonist as a glamorous, sexually confident, man of adventure would probably not exist! But it is so. For my research leads to one inescapable conclusion: Aloysius Koford is nothing but a myth, an internet rumor, a shadow puppet cast upon the wall all formed by the twisted, stubby fingers of man standing the darkness. A man named ADAM KOFORD. But, you continue to protest: ADAM “APE LAD” KOFORD?!? The supposed great grandson of the now thoroughly debunked Aloysius Koford? But that man is a DISGUSTING NOBODY. How could he possibly be a CARTOONIST? Let me tell you the story as best as I can reconstruct it. I first came to know Koford’s work some three years ago. I had released a book of fake history entitled THE AREAS OF MY EXPERTISE. Like all decent reference books, it contained within it a number of handy hobo nicknames, which number was 700. And soon a friendly website would suggest that cartoonists begin illustrating each of the hoboes alluded to in my book and posting them on the web. I trust you see the sense behind all of this, and no further explanation is required. Now it would seem that this Adam Koford is something of an “internet user.” For from the beginning of what would be known as “the 700 hoboes” project, the “Ape Lad” was among the fastest and most prolific contributors. He drew hoboes in every media: chalk hoboes and watercolor hoboes; hoboes as they might have been drawn by George Herriman and hoboes as they might have been drawn by Disney and Al Hirschfeld and hoboes as they might have been drawn by a young man in Florida with a seemingly bottomless barrel of talent and spare time. He drew all 700 and a hundred more, and then he started all over again. Intrigued, I did a simple Google search for the term “Ape Lad” (for I am the world’s greatest detective), and I found not only Adam Koford, but as well a vertiginous portfolio of non-hobo material, comics and spot illustrations in every historical style, each one singing with the Ape Lad’s intelligence, skill, and good humor. Soon I would see his name everywhere on the Internet, and then in the New Yorker. And then finally, THE LAUGH-OUT-LOUD CATS debuted, his signature achievement. For those of us who had followed his work, it seemed at once a perfect tweaking of the Internet that he makes his home, filtered through his own encyclopedic nostalgia for the comics form and the hobo obsessive disorder/general mania (HOD/GMan) that is his sad affliction. And since he just can’t stop creating, Koford then created a creator: Aloysius Koford. As though discovering a secret pile of cartoons was the only way to explain his incredibly daily output. As though the ruse and the joke would apologize and distract us from the fact that he had created something better than the internet memes that has inspired it. For more than that, so much more, THE LAUGH OUT LOUD CATS a thing of intrinsic smarts and beauty. It is always clever in its wordplay (“Cognito,” announces Pip in a ridiculous false beard, “We are in it”). But glib, it is un-it. Rather, in its sincerity and unfussy, beautiful craftsmanship, it rivals the best of the old-fashioned strips it seeks to emulate. And yes, I am including Krazy Kat in that group, because that has only once cat in it, and this one has two. Since then, I have had the chance to meet Adam Koford. We had dinner and drinks, and I can tell you that he is not a walrus hunter. He is a normal person with a wife and two children. At dinner he eats moderately, and a drinks he did notdrink, but he was still good, sweet company. He is not a mad man or a spy or an eccentric. He is simply a genius. And that, frankly, is far more exciting, and surprising. I hope and trust you will enjoy this work, as fraudulent as it is. Now I must go and set to work proving that GET FUZZY is actually written by Thomas Pynchon. That is all. END QUOTED TEXT

[gleefail]

Glee Memories: 1x15 The Power of Madonna

A long, long time ago, as Glee was approaching graduation in Season 3, I found myself nostalgic with some rare free time on my hands. So I decided to rewatch the series from the beginning and jot down some memories, discrepancies that have arisen since, fave quotes, tally solos - all that good stuff, strictly for shits and giggles.

8 years later (eek!) and once more I find myself with an unexpected abundance of free time. With so many revisiting or being newly introduced to the show between binge watching during Quarantine and all the tragedy that has surrounded the show since it went off the air, I figured I’d finish what I started. And by finish, I mean go through the end of S3. Cause I truly cannot acknowledge what happened after that. Except for 5B.

Kicking this off by reposting the first 15 episodes I already went through. Enjoy!

1x15 The Power of Madonna heeee, Sue just referenced Desperately Seeking Susan. Man, I loved that movie as a kid. Who’s That Girl as well anybody remember that one?!

hahaha, how have I never noticed before that Quinn is drawing a picture of Rachel Berry…a very unflattering picture that says “LOSER”? Awesome.

hahaha. Jesse and Rachel ‘hypothetically’ went to a Wiggles concert. Seriously, he’s kinda perfect for her.

Aw – The Montage from A Chorus Line is playing under Jesse’s pressure-her-into-sex moment. I have such fond memories of that song. I was featured in this song for a show that ended up changing the course of my entire life, quite literally. :)

“Would you please stop talking? You’re grossing out my baby.”

“But I can’t wait to get a guy mad at me for saying ‘no’.” Bite your tongue, Mercedes. Also…be careful what you wish for.

Still creeps me out that they have this whole sex talk with Mr. Schue in the room. And that he eavesdrops. And that when he speaks up it’s to ask if they’re having that much ‘guy trouble’, not to actually be a good teacher and help Rachel out in her “my boyfriend’s pressuring me to have sex but I’m not ready” situation or to respond to Britany and Santana’s advice to just never say no and that they should have more self-respect…teacher of the year indeed.

Do women really still earn 70 cents to every dollar a man does for the same job? Oh, eff that!

More Emma pamphlets:                HELP! I’m in love with my stepdad!                I still breastfeed …but how old is too old?                Congratulations, you’re pregnant.                Proper Wiping: Easy as 1…2…3                …and something about Toxic Shock Syndrome and Asperger’s that I                can’t read, lol.

Ugh, douche. Will just said this area of expertise (sex) is Emma’s blindspot. Jerk.

So Glee seems to have a knack for insulting folks that will later be guest stars. Gwyneth Paltrow and John Stamos have been mentioned thus far, and Lindsay Lohan just made the list. Hmmm…

I love the Ann Coultier jab. Cause I despise that ‘woman’

Ray of Light routine on stilts. Still leaves me speechless.  My favorite part is still when the men on stilts do these assisted lifts with women who are not. They get them so effing high.  It’s just amazing.

“Somehere on the English countryside in a stately manor home, Madonna is weeping.”

“Hall of fame MILF”

HA! Artie’s look in response to Tina giving him side-eye. Too funny.

Finn has no idea what misogynistic means. #BlessFinnsHeart

Kurt is gonna do a video of Madonna’s styles. With Mercedes. Kurtcedes love. :)

Yeah, I find it hard to believe high school boys wouldn’t be rubbin’ one out at these girls in corsets, touchin’ themselves and bein’ a little S&M with one another. Even if they hate Madonna with a passion. Their disinterest is completely unrealistic.

Britany has a (younger presumably as she plays soccer with a 7 year old) sister. Forgot about that. I think RIB did too.

The way to get a man forever is to take his virginity? Really? I would think that would unleash him into a sexual awakening and sleeping with everything he could now that he wouldn’t be perceived as ‘lame’ or a loser or whatever for being a virgin…no?

Finnocence. Nice.

Can we acknowledge that Finn lost his virginity in a plot for Santana to snag a younger man (by what, 4 days I think she said?) to emulate Madonna per Sue and not get kicked off the Cheerios? That’s…just so sad.

“You’re about as sexy as a Cabbage Patch Kid.” – ha!

So…watching this post-Nationals, does Emma get to have Madonna playing in her office now? ;)

Finn’s pissed that Rachel lied to him and didn’t really break it off with Jesse. Evs. Mind ya business, Finn.

So because he’s jealous or his ego is hurt or whatever, Finn tells Rachel if her and Jesse leads to something bad for the entire Glee club not to expect anymore friendship from him. Um…yeah. I’d marry him a year or two later. Cause…clearly he’ll be there through rough times…douche. Selfish, childish douche.

I still really like this mash-up of Borderline/Open Your Heart. And as much as I don’t love Finchel, the angst in this is my cup o’ tea. I like it.

I do love all the Madonna shout-outs in the hallway. Makes me feel old that I recognize each of these looks. Oy.

Finn, why are you just randomnly tearing books from the shelves and knocking them to the floor as you walk through the library? Such a badass…

I was watching an episode of Gilmore Girls and Brad was the piano player for one of Emily Gilmore’s parties (I think Rory’s college grad party). Hilarious. Also, he looked EXACTLY the same. How long ago was that?!

I find it awesome that Mercedes has a picture of a gal from So You Think You Can Dance in her locker. I love that show.

Up With People rejects. Ha.

Hmm. Will is suddenly not intimidated at all by Sue and her quips. What brought that on? Although, it’s hot when he stands up to her. Until he makes fun of her hair. Then he seems like a jerk.

“Oh, snap!” I love this moment. And the gif that came out of it.

Birth moment of the Sue, Kurt, Mercedes dynamic right there. Yay. :)

Sue just told Kurt and Mercedes about her sister being handicapped. I don’t care what anyone says, she likes them, even just a little bit. And I love this dynamic of the three of them. It always makes me smile.

Hahaha – Kurt’s reaction to Sue not being able to keep up with the latest looks when she was younger. Hilarious.

“Mercedes is black. I’m gay. We make culture.”

“I picked the Stephen Sondheim biography section for our clandestine meeting because only he can express my melonchalia.”

“You deserve epic romance.” Listen. Looking back from the end of Season 3, I really am not understanding why I’m supposed to want Rachel with Finn. Jesse makes so much more sense.

“Foreplay shall begin at 7:30 sharp.” Oh Emma. A for effort.

Vogue. Man. I was so little when this came out. I remember when it premiered on MTV.

Jane Lynch has such long legs. I’m jealous.

“Will Schuester. I hate you.”

Like A Virgin still makes me really uncomfortable. For so many reasons. I just…don’t need to see this side of any of these characters. I feel like a voyeur.

How did Santana and Finn swing a motel room at 15 years old? Hmm….

Add Whoopi to that list of joked about future guest stars. Yeesh…that’s 5 now? 4? Stamos, Paltrow, Lohan and Goldberg.

Sue is gonna reinvent Kurt and Mercedes. Squee!

Why is Rachel looking at sheet music for Where Is Love? Cause 1. I hate that song, 2. I hate that show, and 3. shoutout to the pilot?

Finn just asked Rachel how her date with Jesse went. With the subtext of “did you sleep with him?” WHY are they even talking about this? I don’t get it. It’s private Finn, so rude you’d even ask. Also, how does he even know they are even close to sex? I missed something. This is so weird. Made even more weird that neither of them seems to think it’s weird that they’re having this conversation. Ugh.

“Just come out so we can talk. Or sing about it.” Jesse is ridiculously perfect for Rachel Berry.

Okay, I’m gonna rant for a second: I know I’m anal and put him on a pedestal and all, but S3, they make it sound like Sam had sex with one of his clients at the strip club; after they’ve shoved super-romantic in-love-with-Mercedes Sam at us for like, 9 episodes in a row over a span of like, 3 or 4 months; regardless of how I personally feel about that or that ship, right now we see a super uncomfortable scene that still breaks my heart where Finn is dealing with the aftermath of sleeping with Santana, when he has feelings for someone else, but more in that he doesn’t have feelings for her, therefore it didn’t mean anything and it’s clearly not sitting well with him. Regret is all over his face. It’s so sad. So…why did they do the same thing but expect it to be okay in S3 regarding Sam (but even more gross cause of the whole stripper/client aspect)? Eff you, Glee.

I feel like this might be the most real and vulnerable I’ve ever seen Santana (in the post-coital conversation with Finn in the motel room bed). I mean…a couple moments may rival it, but it’s definitely top 5 if not top 3. It’s so sad to see how she really feels about this aspect of her life that publicly she seems so proud of and invincible to. Man. Poor Santana.

Um…is Puck playing Ninja in the background or just being a human statue or something? It doesn’t look like anyone is playing with him, so it must be the latter? Random.

Something changed in the way I felt about Glee after this episode, now that I look back on it. I felt like I should’ve left this episode feeling like “wow – they’re ballsy and go against the grain! They’ll do the unexpected” but…instead I was left with a feeling of “do I trust these writers with these people I’ve come to care about?” I’m referring to the possibility of consummation with 3 couples, 2 of which would have seemed…not completely unhealthy and one that obviously was…and they had those 2 chicken out and consummated the 1 that just shouldn’t have because it was kind of an irresponsible message to send to the youngins watching this show who they say at times they speak to when they write things like Kurt’s gay storyline or about being an outcast but finding a group that understands you and being happy with who you are. But here I’m sure they’d say something about how they’re not role models and shouldn’t be emulated. Yeah. This was the beginning of the end of my true love for Glee and the beginning of me just loving certain characters and occasional episodes or storylines…the beginning of my love to hate Glee. Whee. :/

It’s cute that Will polished Emma’s shoes. :)

I know a lot of people think it’s condescending and all, but I think the way Will handles suggesting counseling etc. to Emma was nice. There’s something mature about it. I think it’s that he’s like “we need to take action to work through our issues or they’re not gonna go away” as a team. It was nice.

“What the hell? It seems like now people are doing things JUST to hurt my feelings!” Ok, so maybe Finn IS more perfect for Rachel than I thought. Selfish little man-child.

Jesse St. James just joined New Directions. Kurt is pissed cause it means he’ll have no chance at a solo. Mercedes mentions that they only trot her out at the end of songs to wail on the last note, how is that okay? Truth.com. Also, why were those two issues NEVER addressed by Will? They were put out there, they were true as hell, and they were just ignored. Teacher of the year indeed.

Santana points out that obvs Jesse is a spy. Mr. Schue sticks up for Jesse and lets him join. Yet Rachel wasn’t allowed to date him cause that would be bad for the Glee club? #WTF?

“Mr. Schue, is he your son?”

“Okay, from the top!”  

4 Minutes. Seriously, I never thought Chris Colfer was hot before I saw this song. But let’s be real – he is hot as fuck in this song, I still think so. It was the first time I noticed as well that boy had grown into a little man! When did THAT happen? Wasn’t he just a baby-faced nugget like, 3 episodes before this?

Also, I love both of the vocals for them on this song.

Ok. This still pisses me off (can you tell this is an ep that started my rage towards Glee? Lol): Emma, Mr. Schue and Rachel are all distraught and shocked when they see that Mercedes and Kurt have joined the Cheerios…WHY? Britany and Santana are already on the Cheerios and in Glee and it’s fine. Quinn was. Why is this such a betrayal? They didn’t QUIT ND to join the Cheerios. And isn’t Rachel in like, 16 clubs in addition to Glee? Puck, Finn, Mike and Matt are on the football team. Artie has jazz band and AV club. Mercedes and Kurt and Tina are the only ones who are ONLY in Glee Club. This is stupid.

Shot of Quinn who is happy as a pig in shit for the two of them. THANK YOU Quinn for having sense and being a cool person and good friend.

“You guys could’ve at least given me a heads up.” “You mean, the same you way you gave us a heads up before NOT giving us a solo almost every week?” PREACH!!

You expect me to believe that the sexuality of Express Yourself, Artie working on that kick-ass Vogue video, or that amazing performance of 4 Minutes didn’t sway the boys to like Madonna…but their shitty rendition of “What It Feels Like For A Girl” did? Fuck you, Glee. I’m not an idiot. Stop treating me like one.

Why is Kurt a part of this lesson on treating the girls with respect? 1. He’s into Madonna, so he doesn’t need to be converted. 2. He’s NOT treating the girls like garbage. Teacher of the year indeed.

“I think we’re gonna need a new baritone cause Finn would like to become Finnessa”

“My growing feminism will cut you in half like a righteous blade of equality.”

Kurt mentions he’s an honorary girl. Again, WHY is he a part of this lesson?

AW. It just broke my heart a little that Tina said to Artie “why would you propose when you don’t even like me?” Aw. Poor Tina.

Alright, I admit, I love that whoever wrote this ep finally ended this nonsense with Finn being all pissed at Rachel for dating Jesse like she did something wrong and made him realize why she was even single to be pursued by Jesse in the first place. Kudos…whoever you are cause they didn’t credit the writer or director on this ep (the fuck?).

“Sing off. The parking lot. 5:00. Be there.” “No…”

“Frankly, I need you. I’m tired of carrying the male vocals all by myself.” Oh, FUCK. YOU. Finn! (I say on behalf of Kurt, Artie, and Puck).

Kurt just sang his first itty bitty solo in Glee club and then before Mercedes starting singing he ran up and gave her a peck on the cheek. Oh my God, I love them.

Gospel choir. So. Effing. Random. Yet so. Effing. EPIC.

SOLOS: Rachel (4), Mercedes (3), Finn (3), Emma (1), Santana (1), Will (1), Jesse (1), Kurt (2)

#Glee Memories #Glee #lol Glee #Glee The Power of Madonna

[jesserwoods]

The ultimate pivot: Changing business course(s) with COVID-19

  By Derek Smith

Special to Ontario Construction Report

Steve Jobs was once quoted “Innovation has nothing to do with how many R and D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R and D. It’s not about money. It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it”.

For many of us, COVID-19 taught business leaders that if they chose not to adjust and pivot their businesses, one of two things would happen, someone else will take their customers, or, the business will no longer survive at all.

There has been a lot written by people far more intelligent than me on what businesses have to do to survive post COVID-19. In fact my brain often hurts with the counterpointing perspectives of what success looks like in the coming months. Many were hit far harder than others, and as for construction, in many ways, the industry was largely spared. This is not to say, it has not been easy and it will remain challenging for a while as the cost of the business of construction, has gone up in ways that could not be factored in pricing of projects even four short months ago.

Between January 2014 and March 10th of 2020, my small business, Constructionlab logged exactly 340,000 km on the 400 series highways of Ontario  On average that is about 1,000 km per week for business, or 10 hours of time per week in normal circumstances, but adding in GTA as a large percentage of that, and you are driving on average about 16 hours per week.

For many that is almost 1/2 of a regular work week.Since Monday March 16, my weekly average driving for business related purposes has dropped to 10 km per week or exactly 8 minutes of driving. What happened? My costs, should I realize revenue another way – went completely in the other direction than many.

Constructionlab’s business model is simple. Construction associations and others offer education and professional development as a service, hiring our expertise to design the course material and facilitate the learning in a classroom style atmosphere. Everywhere from Ottawa, to Toronto, to Niagara to the Soo and more.

Like school, on March 13 in Ontario, it was shuttered. No more education offerings in class, no driving, no more anything. Revenue projections reduced 100 per cent in one day for the foreseeable future. Definitely Q2 of 2020 at a minimum, maybe more.

Construction associations, our clients, on the other hand quite some time ago had invested in E-learning to augment in class professional development. While it may not offer the same level of interaction and opportunity to learn from colleagues or share other perspectives, it is nonetheless, a viable base level learning to gain Gold Seal Points, or CPD points for self-directed professional development.

For Constructionlab, there we were – left hanging. Our model was outdated. It did not account for the “what if”. Like many other businesses, I have come to learn – we did not have a disaster plan.

I had always shied away from distance learning, feeling it just was not the type of atmosphere I had come to know teaching in class at St. Clair College in Windsor, or making decisions on methods for delivery of learning as part of the Fanshawe College Program Advisory Committee in London.

Engaged by the Toronto Construction Association a couple of years ago, John Mollenhauer sought out our subject matter expertise to develop e-learning modules for a few courses, but it was not the same, my heart was just not in it beyond building the content and finding a learning management system (LMS) that could work for TCA.

After years of being in the classroom, I could not rationalize the delivery style being the same or able to come close to emulating that learning experience. I was wrong in many ways.

Why did this now matter? In one day, I had to pivot, or my business would no longer be. But was e-learning via webinar the right move?

Enter on-line meeting platforms. Literally in the past 90 days, anyone reading this article has likely become an on-line meeting expert. We use terms like “zoom in” or “go to”, and they are likely to become Webster’s most used words for 2020, naturally following after – coronavirus, of course.

But for a small business, it was do, or die. Give in to the need to learn quickly something that in the past had just not seemed right. Fear of the unknown, that’s really what that is. It is what keeps many entrepreneurs from going forward.

I said to myself, I have to learn to transition the content that was designed for interaction, group exercises, critical thinking and more in a week…or else, in four weeks, turn off the lights.

But was e-learning via webinar the right move? I wondered. It was the question that needed answering.

Back to Steve Jobs…and his quote.

How does a micro business, that serves clients who are not asking you to make the change, because they too are busy trying to figure how to pivot in so many ways themselves…how do you pivot without a huge investment in time or money, when others in the space you occupy have the capital and thought of this already?

You find the best tool you can, work hard and overnight transition your business to a new format. A new model is the answer. You take a risk.

What I learned, now one hundred hours into on-line LIVE sessions facilitated for CCA’s Construction 101, Construction Industry Ethics, Construction 201,  Prompt Payment, Invoicing Properly and Adjudication Mechanics in Ontario, and more, is that when challenged, we will do remarkable things. When challenged and given no alternative, innovation (this is really not true innovation, but it is relative to Constructionlab’s business model) will happen, and it can happen even if you are not capitalized to any great degree.

Constructionlab did not need an expensive “fully automated” LMS, that was true, we did not need five hundred different features in a software solution. We needed three things. One, the ability to interact with learners through the very slick use of break-out rooms, two, the ability to share our screen, and three, the ability to transfer files.

Oh…and a fourth, be first to market with a solid real time “LIVE stream” learning solution. Not E-learning webinars that “push” information. Sure, annotations are excellent and allow us to mark up and highlight text or drawings on the go, or even sketch out financial or mathematical formulae, but beyond that, so long as the content was strong, the delivery interactive and in real time, and the facilitator had subject matter expertise that is relatable, real and comes from practical experience, you can have success and pivot!

Constructionlabs’ future has never looked so bright. Our incredible association clients, grabbed onto the idea, asked me to run with it – and by all accounts, successfully!  In fact, there are three new opportunities emerging quickly that will forever change my micro business, and they are all really exciting and all because we made the pivot!

I am hopeful that for those reading this story, you too are experiencing success in a new reality. It is what drives the entrepreneurial spirit and confirms that micro and small business truly are nimble and can drive changes needed at a time when the world seems to stand still. Stay tuned an amazing announcement soon…slowly but surely – I am “getting it”.

Derek Smith is lead facilitator with Constructionlab.ca.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8873226 https://ift.tt/3j1NJsN via http://www.rssmix.com/

[topmixtrends]

“SOUNDS GREAT on paper.” That’s a phrase I heard a lot as a kid in the late ’70s, usually when my parents and their friends were talking about communism. Certainly an earthly paradise as depicted in the writings of Trotsky or Lenin, but — shame, isn’t it? — communism did not seem to actually work in real life.

The notion that something could sound smart in theory and not work out in practice applies just as well to another product of early 20th-century Russian thought: the individual-over-the-masses, market-worshipping libertarianism philosophy that comes from Ayn Rand. It’s been carried on, after Rand’s 1982 passing, by American acolytes including Alan Greenspan, Ron Paul, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and, probably, someone you went to high school with.

The fact that the libertarian wonderland of absolute sexual and economic freedom only ever worked in Rand’s melodramatic novels and helium-voiced Rush songs — that her philosophy of “Objectivism” has never been successfully applied to actual governance — does not seem to cross the minds of libertarian true-believers. And to many of them, it seems not to matter: a fealty to Rand, to heroic ideas of intellectual superiority and capitalism’s grandeur, is more important than what puny mortals consider political or intellectual reality. If you try arguing sense with them, you’ll quickly wish you hadn’t.

Why should we care, then, about a discredited goofball ideology from deep within the last century? Because Ayn Rand–style libertarianism has probably never been more assertive in American politics than it is today.

What once seemed like the golden age of Rand turned out only to be a warm-up. In the 1950s, you could go to Objectivist salons in New York, where sycophants like Greenspan and future self-esteem guru Nathaniel Branden would gather round the goddess to luxuriate in every word (in some cases, the connection was more than purely intellectual: Branden was one of the polyamorous Rand’s numerous younger boyfriends). In the ’60s and ’70s, you could attend vaguely countercultural conventions across the nation where men would shout conspiracy theories and women would emulate their heroine by wearing broaches shaped like dollar signs. For a while, the Christianity-and-Cold-War strand of the American right headed by William F. Buckley Jr. marginalized the libertarians for their atheism and noninterventionist stance. From the evidence of 1971’s inside-the-whale memoir, Jerome Tuccille’s It Usually Begins With Ayn Rand, this movement was hardly built on solid intellectual ground. The abundance of selfish children driving the ship, part–Veruca Salt, part–Mike Teavee, made this seem like the kind of cult sure to wither of its own ridiculousness.

But with the Reagan Revolution, libertarianism was brought indoors, and the direct-mail New Right that accompanied the movement relied heavily on anti-government dogma. In many parts of the United States — the Sun Belt, the boys’ club of billionaires who fancy themselves self-made heroes, and various enclaves in the capital — Rand’s vision established its second beachhead.

¤

And gradually, the discredited movement that tended to attract nerds and know-it-alls became part of the political mainstream.

“I give out Atlas Shrugged as Christmas presents,” outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan told the Weekly Standard, “and I make all my interns read it.” He only backed away from Rand when her atheism caused him image problems with God-fearing Republicans, who, if they looked closely, would see that Objectivism is almost exactly the opposite of what’s preached by the Biblical Jesus.

In fact, several of the key Republican young guns are Fountainhead-adjacent. Senator Rand Paul is not only the son of longtime libertarian crank and Texas Congressman Ron Paul (he of the racist newsletters). The younger Paul is such an Atlas Shrugged–pounder that a rumor flourished for years that his first name came from the family’s favorite author.

In Silicon Valley, billionaires are working to put the “liberal” back into libertarian — at least, the 18th-century “classical liberalism” cooked up before industrialization, widespread racial tension, and modern finance capitalism. For all their quoting of Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill, it makes their retro version of Objectivism about as useful for 21st-century life as an 18th-century telescope. The Randed-out Peter Thiel, whose commitment to free speech did not keep him from suing a major media company into oblivion, is perhaps the most prominent Valley libertarian. But he’s hardly alone: if you wondered why Elon Musk was selling flamethrowers, just remember he’s another guy who loves freedom.

Besides the true-believers, reactionary wackjobs often stop over at Galt’s Gulch on their way to even scarier neighborhoods. Mike Enoch — born Mike Peinovich — is a racist and anti-Semite beloved on the alt-right for his The Right Stuff blog and the popular podcast The Daily Shoah. On his journey from leftist extremism to far-right derangement, he was energized by the work of Rand, Murray Rothbard, and economist Ludwig von Mises; his libertarian blog sported posts like “Socialist is Selfish” and “Taxation is Theft.”

Similarly, the polite Midwestern Nazi profiled by The New York Times, Tony Hovater, was a vaguely leftish heavy-metal drummer until he discovered libertarianism. He was, in fact, radicalized by what he considers the Republican Party’s perfidious treatment of libertarian hero Ron Paul; today he reads numerous Rand-y academics for intellectual guidance.

Then there’s Robert Mercer, one of the invisible rich people who has more influence on world affairs than just about everyone you know put together. Mercer, who helped fund Brexit and Donald Trump’s presidential race, and, for years, Breitbart News, is also the father of Rebekah Mercer. A toxic rich girl par excellence, Rebekah is known to Politico as “the most powerful woman in GOP politics” and to others as the first lady of the alt-right. (She recently sowed a rift on the right by cutting off Steve Bannon’s paychecks following his tussle with President Trump.)

Even in this charmless crowd, Robert Mercer’s obnoxiousness stands out. The Citizens United decision has unleashed people like Mercer — secretive gazillionaires whose expenditures are often untraceable despite the way they remake our shared reality. “In my view, Trump wouldn’t be President if not for Bob,” an old colleague of Mercer’s told The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer.

Oh, and then there are Charles and David Koch. “Suddenly, a random billionaire can change politics and public policy,” election watchdog and registered Republican Trevor Potter told Mayer, “to sweep everything else off the table — even if they don’t speak publicly, and even if there’s almost no public awareness of his or her views.” And, as of this fall, the Kochs now effectively own Time magazine as well as a bunch of other publications ranging from Sports Illustrated to the retro British rock magazine Uncut.

And Charles Koch’s foundation has given something like $200 million to colleges and universities, in many cases to appoint pro-business, anti-government scholars to institutions like Chapman University.

The Kochs’ defenders talk about libertarians as some kind of oppressed minority. But unlike most other right-of-center subcultures, libertarians are woven into the nation’s intellectual and cultural mainstream. If you went to a liberal arts college, live in a big city and read The New York Times or Washington Post, follow indie-rock bands and watch trendy shows on HBO, you probably don’t know many evangelical Christians. You could very well spend your days with very little contact with war-mongering neoconservatives. The rural/working-class/NRA side of Caucasian conservatism is likely something you experience mostly through Hillbilly Elegy or reruns of the now-cancelled Roseanne. Libertarians, by contrast, are everywhere. Go on Facebook, and some former friend from childhood is lecturing you about the free market.

We are now, many decades after the germination of Rand’s cult of personality, in a world where a Library of Congress survey deems Atlas Shrugged the most influential book next to the Bible. As the GOP, Wall Street, the intellectual plutocracy of think tanks and foundations, and Silicon Valley grow in coming years, expect to see the influence of this group and its ideas grow and stretch.

Despite numerous parallels with Scientology, Objectivism is not just sitting still, getting weirder while remaining confined to a few thousand worshippers. We have not yet reached Peak Libertarian. So where do these goofy ideas come from, and what effect might they have?

¤

A partial answer — both rigorously told and incomplete — comes from a recent book, How Bad Writing Destroyed the World, by Wellesley College comp-lit professor Adam Weiner.

Weiner’s key insight is connecting Rand’s ideas — and the Russian literary intellectual lineage she emerged from — with the 2008 financial collapse. “By programming Alan Greenspan with objectivism and, literally, walking him into the highest circles of government, Rand had effectively chucked a ticking time bomb into the boiler room of the US economy,” he writes in the book’s introduction. “I am choosing my metaphor deliberately: as I will show, infiltration and bomb-throwing were revolutionary methods that shaped the tradition on which Rand was consciously or unconsciously drawing.”

Most historical changes have some kind of intellectual root, for better and worse; kudos to Weiner for tracing how a series of bad ideas and clumsy prose led the nation to the Great Recession. But Weiner, a scholar of Russian literature, appears to be far more interested in one of Rand’s antecedents than Rand herself. Nikolai Chernyshevsky, the revolutionary socialist best known for his 1863 novel What Is To Be Done?, written while its author was imprisoned in a St. Petersburg fortress, is his true subject. The book famously inspired Lenin’s world-shaking pamphlet of the same name.

There’s one small problem with this premise, and one large one. Weiner shrewdly anticipates the first: how could a man of the extreme left — who helped inspire the terrorists who coalesced around the Russian Revolution — simultaneously provide the intellectual foundation for the godmother of the market-worshipping right? He finds the common denominator in Chernyshevsky’s notion of “rational egoism,” which Weiner describes as the idea that “the rational pursuit of selfish gain on the part of each individual must give rise to the ideal form of society.”

Sound familiar? This chimes almost exactly with Rand’s “virtue of selfishness” — the bedrock of her pseudo-philosophy of unchecked capitalism, minimalist government, and rugged individualism pursued by übermensch heroes. “The main heirs of Chernyshevsky’s bumbling, illogical aesthetic,” Weiner writes, “were the Soviet-mandated novels of socialist realism and the ‘capitalist realism’ of Ayn Rand.”

Weiner deftly handled the contradiction here: a bad novel could not only become ideologically potent, but it could also inspire people who would not recognize each other as fellow travelers.

Yet Weiner’s book lives up to neither its title nor its subtitle, “Ayn Rand and the Literary Origins of the Financial Crisis.” Weiner’s final chapter, “In the graveyard of bad ideas,” returns to Rand’s biography — she grew up in St. Petersburg and watched as the Bolsheviks looted her family’s possessions — and intellectual roots. But it feels like an addendum, however skillfully told, to a reasonably lucid and well-researched book about an influential but not very good 19th-century Russian novelist.

In connecting Rand — and contemporary American libertarianism — to an extremist strain of pre-revolutionary Russian thought, Weiner does help clarify this bizarre lineage, its combination of heartland America Firstism with something clearly alien to our Constitution and its mostly British political origins. Ayn Rand is not just Adam Smith in a screenwriter’s bungalow — she’s coming from somewhere different from classical liberalism.

The book Weiner seemed to be delivering — offering the intellectual history of either kook libertarianism, or the 2008 crash, or both — still needs to be written. Until then, the second edition of Corey Robin’s The Reactionary Mind — released in November, this time under the subtitle “Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Donald Trump” — does a skillful job connecting philosophers, historians, and economists of the past with our recent rightward turn. His chapter on Ayn Rand and libertarianism, in specific, offers much of what Weiner’s volume promises and fails to provide.

“Saint Petersburg in revolt gave us Vladimir Nabobov, Isaiah Berlin, and Ayn Rand,” Robin begins. “The first was a novelist, the second a philosopher. The third was neither but thought she was both.” Robin, a political professor at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, starts with pre-revolutionary Russia, but considers Rand’s real birthplace to be Hollywood, where she landed in 1926 and was quickly recruited by Cecil B. DeMille. “For where else but in the dream factory could Rand have learned how to make dreams — about America, capitalism, and herself?”

And Rand’s us-versus-them formulation of the stalwart genius against the “moochers” and “looters” — revived by Mitt Romney in his “makers” versus “takers” speech — is textbook vulgar Nietzscheanism. It also helps explain the appeal of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead to misunderstood adolescents who dream themselves the übermensch.

Rand’s novels heroize — in the same campy way she learned from Russian operettas and Hollywood movies — defiant, comically masculine builders like architect Howard Roark and engineer/inventor John Galt. It feels somehow inevitable that the recent libertarian, anti-government, pro-business strain on the American right would lead us to a man who seems right out of her pages: the defiant, comically masculine real estate developer Donald Trump.

The real history of Ayn Rand’s bad ideas — their roots, their trajectory, their collateral damage — can’t be contained in any book, however good or bad. It’s all unfolding around us, as her zombie devours the Republican Party and soon, the rest of us, with no sign of abating.

¤

Scott Timberg is the editor of The Misread City: New Literary Los Angeles and author of Culture Crash: The Killing of the Creative Class.

¤

Banner image by Erik Fitzpatrick.

The post The Bad Idea That Keeps on Giving appeared first on Los Angeles Review of Books.

from Los Angeles Review of Books https://ift.tt/2uScwIk

#Los Angeles Review of Books #topmixtrends

[kayawagner]

Gnome Stew Notables – Hannah Shaffer

Welcome to the next installment of our Gnome Spotlight: Notables series. The notables series is a look at game developers in the gaming industry doing good work. The series will focus on female game creators and game creators of color primarily, and each entry will be a short bio and interview. We’ve currently got a group of authors and guest authors interviewing game creators and hope to bring you many more entries in the series as it continues on. If you’ve got a suggestion for someone we should be doing a notables article on, send us a note at [email protected]. – Head Gnome John

Meet Hannah

Hannah is an independent game and web designer living in Massachusetts. In addition to her work with Make Big Things, she recently came on board as Director of Marketing for John Wick Presents, where she gets to pitch goofy ideas for 7th Sea. She has a deep appreciation for 90s point-and-click adventure games and tea.

Hannah Shaffer on google+

@hanbandit on twitter

Make Big Things

Talking With Hannah

1) Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work. 

I’m Hannah! I’m a game designer mostly creating in the story game space, but venturing into board games now too! I make games about queerness and people making hard decisions in unstable worlds. I’m part of a three-person game design co-op called Make Big Things, along with Evan Rowland and Brian Van Slyke, and we make most of our games together. We’ve had trouble coming up with a good slogan, but I’ve heard people describe our games as “bleakly hopeful” and I kind of want to run with that.

2) What project are you most proud of?

I’m really proud of our first roleplaying game, Questlandia. It’s a one-session RPG about a bunch of people living in weird collapsing worlds, a la Neverending Story or Miyazaki-style fantasy. Your character is trying to accomplish a big personal goal while the world around you is tumbles into chaos, and you play out how they work with or struggle against the tides of change. In the spirit of “a game is never really done” there’s a lot of stuff I’d do differently if I could go back and do it again, but I think it was an ambitious first game and people are still discovering it and creating cool worlds with it.

And the game actually isn’t done! We’re working on Questlandia 2 right now, and we’re re-designing the game essentially “live” in a bi-weekly podcast called Design Doc. Anyone who wants to follow along can check that out here!

3) What themes do you like to emphasize in your game work?

For Make Big Things there’s a definite current of collapse scenarios, community building and re-building, and the ways people come together in times of change. In my own game work I like exploring themes around people’s physical and spiritual bodies, queerness and sexuality, environmental and social fantasy. I’ve been thinking a lot recently about drugs and bugs, things that may push at the edges of safety and comfort, and I want to make more games that include those themes.

4) What mechanics do you like best in games?

I want to find ways to keep bettering the experience of shy players without making them feel put-upon. I’m not sure what those mechanics are but I’m trying my best at them

5) How would you describe your game design style?

I’ll go back to the idea of bleakly hopeful. I like games where characters confront impossible situations, and I want to find the line where that still feels exciting and interesting and not frustrating. I like a game where you roll or draw the worst possible outcome and everyone at the table goes “Oooooooh!” because that outcome just makes perfect sense.

6) How does queerness fit into your games?

In Questlandia players are exploring worlds that aren’t quite our own, so there’s a lot of exploration around gender and sexuality and different ways of being and loving. In Noirlandia, which Evan Rowland designed, players are inspired to stretch their interpretations of noir genre tropes, so you see a lot of tangled queer relationships and hidden identities that exist in a really shadowy space. Damn the Man, Save the Music is a genre game too, but it’s genre is ’90s teen comedies,  which weren’t super great about queer things. Damn the Man gives players the option to imagine an alternate ’90s where queerness could exist in a safer space.

7) What’s it like working with a game design co-op?

It’s great and hard! I love creating with friends. I think my ideas are better because of that support and it’s taught me so much about communication, shared vision, and compromise. Each one of us has our own style, which I really love, but we’ve sort of converged on a shared ethos for all of our games. I like games about sad people, Brian likes games about movement-building and social justice, but he also really loves puns, and Evan wants to make games that seem like they’re trolling people, but are actually very thoughtful and serious when you sit down to play them. That’s actually left a lot of room for overlap in the things we care about, and we each get to step back sometimes and let the other person’s design choices shine.

8) How did you get into games? Who did you try to emulate in your designs?

I graduated from college during the last housing bubble. People weren’t using the word millennial disparagingly yet, but everyone could feel this real sense of “What happens next? Where are the jobs? Why did this process look totally different for my parents?” Evan and I had been talking about our bleak job prospects, and like you do, we started making a point-and-click video game about Russian psychic technology and economic collapse. We started a little community center and youth program during that time, and on opening day a bunch of Massachusetts tabletop game designers just happened to show up.

After making these newfound friends, tabletop felt like a nice space to explore. As for who I was emulating, I’d say it was knowingly and unknowingly this Massachusetts collective—Joshua A.C. Newman, Emily Care Boss, Vincent and Meg Baker, and Epidiah Ravachol. They’re good people, and it’s kismet that I met them.

9) What one thing would you change in gaming?

I think tabletop gaming can be very insular. I didn’t start gaming until I met other folks who ushered me into the hobby, but that wasn’t for lack of trying! I’d spent years peeking in on game store events and the college gaming scene. Once you’re “in it,” it’s really hard to imagine why it’s so hard for others to get in. The things that made it hard for me that I’d love to see improved are:

Gaming event/convention websites with clear registration information, an FAQ and how-to, times and dates about when registration begins and ends, where the event is taking place, a harassment policy, and a mobile-friendly website so you can find that info easily when you’re headed off to the event.

More public introductory gaming events that clearly explain what the thing is and who it’s for. “New to RPGs? Try Monsterhearts! Monsterhearts is a game about the messy lives of teenage witches, werewolves, faeries, and ghouls. We’ll walk through character creation and play for one hour. Questions are welcome along the way.” One thing that kept me away was that any gaming event seemed to involve pre-established knowledge about the thing and required a many-hours-long time commitment.

Oh, that’s not one thing I’d change—that’s two things. I was gonna just keep going with that list. I know it’s hard to put yourself outside your own shoes, but it’s something I really try to do when I think about welcoming new folks to the hobby.

10) What are you working on now?

Aside from Questlandia 2, I’m working with Brian and Evan on Good Dog, Bad Zombie, which is on Kickstarter now. It’s a cooperative board game where you play as good dogs saving scaredy hoomans from the zombie apocalypse. It’s not a game I could have made myself, because I’m a board game dunce, but I’m really happy to be involved. You move across the map of your ruined city, herding hoomans back to the safety of Central Bark while zombies spawn across the board. It’s a board game that does a great job with its incorporation of theme and tone, and I think it inspires roleplay in clever ways!

It has about a week left on Kickstarter! After that, I guess we’ll be hitting production full-throttle. 🙂

Thanks for joining us for this entry in the notables series.  You can find more in the series here: and please feel free to drop us any suggestions for people we should interview at [email protected].

Gnome Stew Notables – Hannah Shaffer published first on https://supergalaxyrom.tumblr.com

[swipestream]

Gnome Stew Notables – Hannah Shaffer

Welcome to the next installment of our Gnome Spotlight: Notables series. The notables series is a look at game developers in the gaming industry doing good work. The series will focus on female game creators and game creators of color primarily, and each entry will be a short bio and interview. We’ve currently got a group of authors and guest authors interviewing game creators and hope to bring you many more entries in the series as it continues on. If you’ve got a suggestion for someone we should be doing a notables article on, send us a note at [email protected]. – Head Gnome John

Meet Hannah

Hannah is an independent game and web designer living in Massachusetts. In addition to her work with Make Big Things, she recently came on board as Director of Marketing for John Wick Presents, where she gets to pitch goofy ideas for 7th Sea. She has a deep appreciation for 90s point-and-click adventure games and tea.

Hannah Shaffer on google+

@hanbandit on twitter

Make Big Things

Talking With Hannah

1) Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work. 

I’m Hannah! I’m a game designer mostly creating in the story game space, but venturing into board games now too! I make games about queerness and people making hard decisions in unstable worlds. I’m part of a three-person game design co-op called Make Big Things, along with Evan Rowland and Brian Van Slyke, and we make most of our games together. We’ve had trouble coming up with a good slogan, but I’ve heard people describe our games as “bleakly hopeful” and I kind of want to run with that.

2) What project are you most proud of?

I’m really proud of our first roleplaying game, Questlandia. It’s a one-session RPG about a bunch of people living in weird collapsing worlds, a la Neverending Story or Miyazaki-style fantasy. Your character is trying to accomplish a big personal goal while the world around you is tumbles into chaos, and you play out how they work with or struggle against the tides of change. In the spirit of “a game is never really done” there’s a lot of stuff I’d do differently if I could go back and do it again, but I think it was an ambitious first game and people are still discovering it and creating cool worlds with it.

And the game actually isn’t done! We’re working on Questlandia 2 right now, and we’re re-designing the game essentially “live” in a bi-weekly podcast called Design Doc. Anyone who wants to follow along can check that out here!

3) What themes do you like to emphasize in your game work?

For Make Big Things there’s a definite current of collapse scenarios, community building and re-building, and the ways people come together in times of change. In my own game work I like exploring themes around people’s physical and spiritual bodies, queerness and sexuality, environmental and social fantasy. I’ve been thinking a lot recently about drugs and bugs, things that may push at the edges of safety and comfort, and I want to make more games that include those themes.

4) What mechanics do you like best in games?

I want to find ways to keep bettering the experience of shy players without making them feel put-upon. I’m not sure what those mechanics are but I’m trying my best at them

5) How would you describe your game design style?

I’ll go back to the idea of bleakly hopeful. I like games where characters confront impossible situations, and I want to find the line where that still feels exciting and interesting and not frustrating. I like a game where you roll or draw the worst possible outcome and everyone at the table goes “Oooooooh!” because that outcome just makes perfect sense.

6) How does queerness fit into your games?

In Questlandia players are exploring worlds that aren’t quite our own, so there’s a lot of exploration around gender and sexuality and different ways of being and loving. In Noirlandia, which Evan Rowland designed, players are inspired to stretch their interpretations of noir genre tropes, so you see a lot of tangled queer relationships and hidden identities that exist in a really shadowy space. Damn the Man, Save the Music is a genre game too, but it’s genre is ’90s teen comedies,  which weren’t super great about queer things. Damn the Man gives players the option to imagine an alternate ’90s where queerness could exist in a safer space.

7) What’s it like working with a game design co-op?

It’s great and hard! I love creating with friends. I think my ideas are better because of that support and it’s taught me so much about communication, shared vision, and compromise. Each one of us has our own style, which I really love, but we’ve sort of converged on a shared ethos for all of our games. I like games about sad people, Brian likes games about movement-building and social justice, but he also really loves puns, and Evan wants to make games that seem like they’re trolling people, but are actually very thoughtful and serious when you sit down to play them. That’s actually left a lot of room for overlap in the things we care about, and we each get to step back sometimes and let the other person’s design choices shine.

8) How did you get into games? Who did you try to emulate in your designs?

I graduated from college during the last housing bubble. People weren’t using the word millennial disparagingly yet, but everyone could feel this real sense of “What happens next? Where are the jobs? Why did this process look totally different for my parents?” Evan and I had been talking about our bleak job prospects, and like you do, we started making a point-and-click video game about Russian psychic technology and economic collapse. We started a little community center and youth program during that time, and on opening day a bunch of Massachusetts tabletop game designers just happened to show up.

After making these newfound friends, tabletop felt like a nice space to explore. As for who I was emulating, I’d say it was knowingly and unknowingly this Massachusetts collective—Joshua A.C. Newman, Emily Care Boss, Vincent and Meg Baker, and Epidiah Ravachol. They’re good people, and it’s kismet that I met them.

9) What one thing would you change in gaming?

I think tabletop gaming can be very insular. I didn’t start gaming until I met other folks who ushered me into the hobby, but that wasn’t for lack of trying! I’d spent years peeking in on game store events and the college gaming scene. Once you’re “in it,” it’s really hard to imagine why it’s so hard for others to get in. The things that made it hard for me that I’d love to see improved are:

Gaming event/convention websites with clear registration information, an FAQ and how-to, times and dates about when registration begins and ends, where the event is taking place, a harassment policy, and a mobile-friendly website so you can find that info easily when you’re headed off to the event.

More public introductory gaming events that clearly explain what the thing is and who it’s for. “New to RPGs? Try Monsterhearts! Monsterhearts is a game about the messy lives of teenage witches, werewolves, faeries, and ghouls. We’ll walk through character creation and play for one hour. Questions are welcome along the way.” One thing that kept me away was that any gaming event seemed to involve pre-established knowledge about the thing and required a many-hours-long time commitment.

Oh, that’s not one thing I’d change—that’s two things. I was gonna just keep going with that list. I know it’s hard to put yourself outside your own shoes, but it’s something I really try to do when I think about welcoming new folks to the hobby.

10) What are you working on now?

Aside from Questlandia 2, I’m working with Brian and Evan on Good Dog, Bad Zombie, which is on Kickstarter now. It’s a cooperative board game where you play as good dogs saving scaredy hoomans from the zombie apocalypse. It’s not a game I could have made myself, because I’m a board game dunce, but I’m really happy to be involved. You move across the map of your ruined city, herding hoomans back to the safety of Central Bark while zombies spawn across the board. It’s a board game that does a great job with its incorporation of theme and tone, and I think it inspires roleplay in clever ways!

It has about a week left on Kickstarter! After that, I guess we’ll be hitting production full-throttle. 🙂

Thanks for joining us for this entry in the notables series.  You can find more in the series here: and please feel free to drop us any suggestions for people we should interview at [email protected].

Gnome Stew Notables – Hannah Shaffer published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames

[graphic-witchfinders]

An Ocular-Centrist’s Representation of the Seventeenth Century

The overall visual style of my graphic novel is intended to be reminiscent of the woodcuts of the seventeenth century. However, my initial inspiration for the style of drawing that I used in my graphic novel came when our witchcraft seminar visited the Prints and Drawings Room of the National Gallery of Canada to view woodcuts and engravings by Albrecht Dürer. Even though Dürer's woodcuts are very much situated in sixteenth-century Germany, I found myself more naturally able to replicate some of the techniques he uses to create intricately detailed monochromatic prints. I also found that the illustrations collected by Ernst and Johanna Lehner in Devils, Demons, and Witchcraft was another valuable resource that helped me to create a style with an underlying tone that could easily shift from light to dark. It was important that the visual component of my graphic novel added to the historical tone and atmosphere of the narrative. However, because the majority of the narrative is understood through the visuals, I wanted the style to have some foundation within the visual culture of the time period. I address the evolution of the visual style of my graphic novel further in my project blog, but ultimately my intention was to emulate the style of visual art that would have been most accessible in the popular culture of that time period. In the following section, I will address the decision-making and creative process for the components that encapsulate the graphic narrative of this project; character design, mise en scene, dramaturgy and panel layout and the dialogue.

The success of my graphic novel is strongly tied to the representation of the historical actors within the narrative. I was initially intrigued by the idea of taking a more artistic and stylized approach to the character designs -- exaggerated and expressive features, somewhat removed from the more realistic designs which I ultimately settled. However, because the reader is dropped directly into a character-driven narrative I needed to be able to quickly establish who each character was and their role in the narrative. Audiences are more easily able to establish connections to characters that are expressive and have realistic proportions; the more realistic and human a character appears the more relatable they become. I go into a fair amount of detail about the fundamentals of drawing characters and how using basic shapes as the foundation of character design can be used to determine a character’s role within a narrative on my blog. However, I am now going to further touch on the nuances and details of character design, which I incorporated into my narrative to address the archetypes of heroes and villains.

On the surface, Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne are both classic heroic characters with youthful and handsome faces that are drawn to attract the reader and appear trustworthy. I had the fortune of being able to refer to a period woodcut print of Matthew Hopkins to identify key features that I would be able to incorporate into his design. I started out drawing both Hopkins and Stearne with body types that were typical of male heroes, muscular and trim, but I quickly changed this so that there was more diversity within the characters’ appearances making them more easy to differentiate and identify. Initially, this was only reflective in their hair colour and styles; because Hopkins is depicted with dark hair and a Van Dyke beard, therefore, I drew Stearne with blonde hair and because I knew he was most likely older than Hopkins, I gave him a full beard and few wrinkles around the eyes. Since the first version of their designs, Stearne has changed very little in appearance, I would hazard a guess that this is because I felt the most confident in my portrayal of him. Whereas Hopkins has gone through many changes. The first iteration of Hopkins that I drew depicted him without facial hair, as I was unsure whether this would significantly age his appearance, but he was so reminiscent of a Disney prince that I immediately began to practice drawing facial hair. Eventually, I decided to incorporate some hint of the illness which eventually killed Hopkins, tuberculosis, because I felt it added a sense of desperation to his actions - that perhaps from 1645 to 1647 he was attempting to give aid to those he could before dying. To hint at this illness without making him appear too sickly or unattractive, I gave him a more slender figure and sharper cheekbones. The advantage of giving both men sharp features; Hopkin’s jawline and cheekbones and Stearne’s nose and brow ridge, was that at times their appearance could walk the line between hero and villain. Unlike Gaule, whose weathered face, protruding nose and chin, and small narrow eyes are all intended to signal to the audience that he villainous character. Gaule and Hopkins are intentionally designed so that even their appearance is in opposition with one another, while still holding some minute similarities. Where Hopkins’s hair is dark, sleek and straight, Gaule’s is lighter, frizzy and curled; where Hopkins has a youthful face and delicately shaped nose, Gaule’s face is heavy with wrinkles and he has a bulbous nose; where Hopkins is clad in lighter, tailored clothing, Gaule wears long dark robes. Both figures have strong chins and defined jawlines and smaller frames compared to John Stearne or Benjamin Wyne. Margaret Moore’s character design has similar nuances built into it to suggest and elicit certain responses. I did not want to draw a buxom beauty or a haggard crone, I wanted Moore to appear very plain and almost remarkable. I wanted her to appear to be middle-aged and to appear as though she had lived a hard and tiring life. To suggest this I decided that she needed to have a small, delicately built frame. Despite being intent on Moore having a plain appearance, I eventually decided that I wanted there to be some suggestion that when she was young she had been quite beautiful. I did this by angling and widening her eyes, as well as giving her a fuller lip. However, because everything was in black and white very subtle changes to her facial features resulted in a very different character. In giving Margaret Moore full lips, I was treading into the territory of glamour that I wanted to avoid and so Moore’s mouth became thin and less remarkable.

As I’ve mentioned before, the purpose of these portrayals is for the reader to feel conflicted about their interpretation of the characters via their appearance when confronted with their actions later in the narrative. Each character in the narrative has moments where their role as hero or villain is suddenly reversed. I included subtle indicators into the character designs to highlight this duality or to help emphasize specific moments. For example, Matthew Hopkins is the only character in the graphic novel seen wearing a cape, a symbol firmly rooted in heroism. Another example would be Margaret Moore’s nose and wart, which are intended to echo those of the Wicked Witch of West. The hopes I had doing this was to indicate to the reader the range of ways actors can be represented and to unsettle the very “black and white” contemporary attitude towards anything.

I had anticipated that I would delve into a great deal of research on animation, and a little bit of psychology as well, when I was working on the character design stage of my project. However, I did not anticipate how much additional historical research I would need to create mise-en-scène that contributed to my narrative as well as being historically accurate. Constructing the historical setting within each panel required research on the architecture of the sixteenth and seventeenth century, as well as research on decorative arts, interiors of tavern and inns, horse bridles, and horse anatomy. As is the case when attempting to find references for the life of the lower classes, I turned to Dutch paintings of working life, specifically those by Adriaen van Ostade such as: Peasants in an Interior, 1661; An Alchemist, 1661; The Peasant Settling His Debt, 1644. The work of Dutch painters in the seventeenth century was invaluable to helping me create historically appropriate settings and costumes for this graphic novel. However, I also drew inspiration from set designs and costuming in historical dramas such as BBC’s The Musketeers and Channel 4’s The Devil’s Whore, both of which are set in the sixteenth century.