Navigation
The soon to be home for in-character artworks, playlists, etc.

Artworks
Obderedria's Art Morgue, as inspired by the works of Marjane Satrapi, Antonio Profías, Martin Handford & Mark Kistler

Playlists
Inspirational musics, nat. Before getting underway I need to pin a message from former member Sparky, who surprised me with a music playlist for my cast. It's one of the few old Dobby Swap gifts I still have access to, as ones from certain sites like Polyvore became defunct.

Happy Holidays, Will!

I am a big music lover, and I always enjoy trying to translate my characters through song -- I really believe that music can capture the nuances of emotion even better than the static written word sometimes.  Even though I don't know your characters as well as mine, I thought it would be fun to go through and try to do the same for them -- with the side goal of maybe introducing you to a new group or two that you might enjoy in the process. 

For the most part, I tried to pick singers or groups that fit the feel of the character, whether it's the classic power of The Highwaymen for Sissel, the macabre themes of the Villagers for Ligeia, or the earnest longing of Lisa Hannigan for Drea.  (The only exception is Casey -- he is unsurprisingly a tough one to find music for!) Hopefully a few of these will match your ideas about the characters [...]
-- Sparky

Sparky's reccomendations have been foundational to starting many of these playlists, which will be updated within their own posts. The Youtube versions allow me to track down more stuff than the Spotify versions. Suggestions for additional tunes welcome!

Heliotrope | Obderedria & Beverly | Philo | Casey/Hexy & Dinghee | Ligeia | Anadotti | Ursula | Harlan

Obderedria's Art Morgue
If I had kept up with refining my own art style, I probably would have tried to be a cartoonist. Now I can reference that with Drea's artistic talents. Her style is a blend of five of my favorite cartoonists.

Wait...didn't I mention only four in her updated career form? The one representing her "mood art" will be a surprise for later...

Drea's characters borrow the most from Marjane Satrapi and Antonio Profías, sometimes Martin Handford style crowdwork. Architecture and landscape composition borrow from Profías, Handford and mainly Mark Kistler. Her creature features are also influenced by Kistler.

Marjane Satrapi - Persepolis, Chicken with Plums
Wikipedia
Marjane is a French-Iranian cartoonist, filmmaker, and children's book author. Many of her graphic novels detail her life or those of people she knew in response to various regimes. The two Persepolis books (and the animated adaption) follow her growing up in Iran and Vienna during the time of the Islamic Revolution. Chicken with Plums follows a relative of hers, a Tar player. These were first published in French before translations.

Marjane has a crisp yet fluid, emotional art style. Somewhat simplified but it really packs a punch for the dramatic subject matter she covers. Yet her humor and spirit of rebellion shines through. I was first introduced to her work during an early college course. I have Persepolis on DVD but it's been ages since I watched it. Referenced are an excerpt and film poster.

---

Antonio Prohías - Spy Vs Spy
Wikipedia
Antonio was a Cuban cartoonist who came to the US after Fidel Castro rose to power. He worked for an important Cuban newspaper, El Mundo from the late 40s to 50s. He was known for political cartoons and satire with brutally violent characters, such as El Hombre Siniestro, La Mujer Siniestra (The Sinister Man/Sinister Woman) and Tovarich, a Communist Russian that parodied Fidel. In 1960 he worked in a New York garment factory as he worked on a portfolio to submit to Mad magazine. His most noted cartoon is Spy vs Spy, the characters modified from El Hombre Siniestro's design, of which he wrote 241 strips and 6 paperback collections, signing off the strips in morse code (By Prohías). The Spies have been adapted to animated shorts for Mad TV, advertisements and video games, along with comics drawn by other illustrators.

Antonio has an energetic, madcap yet intricately crafted style. The Spies are always one-upping each other and whoever will survive the outcome is often a surprise from some last second gambit. He tired of introducing the lady Grey Spy, because she would always triumph over the other two, making those strips the most predictable. Part of my comic anthology collection are the first two Spy vs Spy casebooks collected by Mad. Referenced are a comic and book cover.

---

Martin Handford - Where's Wally?
Wikipedia
Martin is a British children's author and illustrator specializing in crowd scenes. His most famous character, Wally (Waldo for us Americans) was suggested as a focal point for the crowd work. Soon this traveler of the realms would be joined by other recurring characters, with details and gimmicks becoming more elaborate over the original seven books. Martin is a modern example of Wimmelbilderbuch (teeming picture book) or hidden picture book, although such crowd scenes date back to Hieronymous Bosch and contemporaries.

Martin has a deceptively simple yet intricate style. Most of the 2-page spreads are drawn to printed scale, ranging from 300 to 500 characters for a given scene that on average takes 8 weeks to draw. I remember when I first looked through The Fantastic Journey in daycare. My favorite books were in Hollywood & The Wonder Book. Wally has also been adapted to animated shows and video games, including an excellent mobile adaptation of several books that wasn't too cash-grabby yet was taken offline. In fact, Lambert Windell (Wizard Whitebeard) is overdue for another appearance, since the last time Obderedria encountered him at Hogwarts. Referenced is an scene from The Wonder Book.

---

Mark Kistler - Draw in 3D, Draw Squad
Wikipedia
Mark is an American artist who host various drawing instruction programs for children and families. His works include instruction books, seminars, videos, television series and an online website. He had a few programs on PBS including The Secret City and Imagination Station. Most recently, he has appeared in a 2023 documentary about his career, The Secret Cities of Mark Kistler.

I learned the most as an artist from Mark's methods. Although cartoony, he teaches elements of perspective, contour and shading to create 3-dimensional looking drawings. It was my middle school art/gym teacher that ran an after school "Draw Squad" inspired by his books and I have purchased several. I've never actually seen any of his shows, something I hope to rectify before I watch the documentary. Referenced are selected book covers.

Almost tragically, Heliotrope doesn't come with a Sparky recommendation! But I've found various tunes with my own eclectic tastes. Deets below.

Jump (single) | me n ü

I have a rule for my xfinity radio in my car, which is nicknamed Rhythm & Blues. It's to have stations with a blue theme, mainly blues or jazz. The Chill station skates by for mood. I've heard this one multiple times. I can't think of anything that better represents Helio's "in the moment" approach to life where she rarely gets overburdened by what if. She'll take the jumps she knows how to take.

Submarine (Espresso); Nautilus (One) | Bob James

My other main listening source are smooth jazz stations, which I often save as snapshots on my phone to remember. This is an early photo with a thematic title, although I really like the cool jazzy beat along with the bridge. It's also similar to music I've picked from the Leverage series.

Everything I like in "Submarine" is also present in "Nautilus." Ah cool, when did Bob James write these? Wait, Nautilus was in 1974 and Submarine in 2018?? Nautilus has been one of his most sampled songs and a few motifs were taken into Submarine as well. I guess the songs are like a large body of water; you don't realize how deep it is until you are there.

Fins & Fiddles (Splatune 2) | Ryo Nagamatsu

Fan Cover on Spotify

I love me the Splatoon games, although I've been absent from 3 from some time. In universe, the band Bottom Feeders is one of the groups that license music for inky Turf Battles. The Celtic Punk vibe is strong with this group. It's both the tamest and raucous of the various rock and pop songs featured in the series that fit Heliotrope. She'd be liable to tie up a foe in seaweed from a night drinking should they mess with her friends.

Soldiers of the Sea (Return of the Obra Dinn OST) | Lucas Pope

The 2018 game by Lucas Pope in a similar vein of 'deductive thriller' compared to 2013's Papers, Please. A sea-fearing tale in a unique monochrome pixel presentation, Obra Dinn is a fantastic nautical mystery. Imagine if Cap'n Jack Sparrow's compass in Pirates of the Carribean was instead a pocket watch that guided an insurance investigator to the moments of death aboard a ghost ship. And that premise is all the spoilers you'll get. As for this titular track of one of the game's chapter, it has dual meanings in the narrative. Another action-y song for Heliotrope.

The Distant Spring (Pikmin OST) | Hajime Wakai

YouTube Only

I'm very much a Nintendo Gamecube fanboy, being one of my favorite eras of video games. The debut of the Pikmin series is really the most alien and ethereal. The Distant Spring is an aquatic area with a tranquil, yet serenely sinister ambiance, as if there are dangers to be found in the water. (such as a notorious secret boss) This cycles through the calm and combat motifs for the daytime and evening sections of play. Fitting for the serene yet cautious approach one should have with merfolk.

Berceuse (Aphelion) | Amethystium

Easy listening style channels, such as Soundscapes, are another favorite to have on in the house. Ethereal, natural world inspired electronic is showing up quite frequently on Helio's set, and this is one snapped onto my phone.

Courthouse Rock: Interdimensional Portal (New Visions In Sedona) | Alexander

Another found on Soundscapes, and its inspiration is as far removed from the ocean you can get for biome. That being the desert vistas of Sedona, Arizona. There's a very mystic quality to this atmospheric track. Something for when Helio is more questioning or introspective.

Noki Bay (Super Mario Sunshine OST) | Shinobu Tanaka

Fan Cover on Spotify

Another Gamecube classic. The tropical environment of Isle Delfino is well crafted. It's the first 3D Mario game I played to completion. While the 64 is more highly regarded, I always found the game the most uncanny in presentation of the N64 games. Splatoon is almost a spiritual antithesis of this game (spreading ink versus washing graffiti) and the shellfish population of the Nokis are quite interesting. The pipes and percussion compliment what is the most untouched area of the island, commercially speaking. As the ancestral home of the Noki is filled with cliffside ruins and strange coral. This is the main theme without added layers. It hits the subtle nuances of how I've wanted to tease out elements of Helio's own colony's culture compared to other merfolk.

Inside Job (Leverage OST) | Joseph LoDuca

A reminder from Will that Leverage and its sequel are fantastic shows that you should watch. How have Gina Bellman and Aldis Hodge not been picked for Face Claims at AO yet?! Beth Riesgraf's portrayal of resident wonder-thief Parker is a third of Helio's inspirations (and thanks to this show a plethora of GMYBS gifs for her). Normally the jazzy, thrilling heist music of the show is too bombastic of a vibe for my aims with Heliotrope. She is quite the gymnast on top of being a swimmer but she's not a criminal. Yet she will approach her duties with the same zeal and unique perspective. This tune is often used in series for the subtle parts of infiltrating a building, and shares a title with a major Parker focused episode where she leapt into a high stakes job without alerting the team, for good reason it turned out. She may not always fit in but Helio is direct and decisive with her intent.

Murky Moon (Presence) | Kayla Waters

Another recent favorite making the rounds on the Watercolors smooth jazz station, which sometimes labels itself as 'sea jazz.' Kayla is a pianist and daughter of saxophonist Kim Waters, both prominent jazz composers. I like the track for being tranquil but also rather driven, befitting Heliotrope's personality. The title 'Murky Moon' also harkens to when I rejoined the site in having Helio joining in with events planned by Kit & Gris for the lead-up to Lucinda Temple's full moon abduction. Helio is an impromptu guest during their bar crawl (pub-trudging) and her desire to try some 'Murky Lake' whiskey adds to the confusion when the revelers mistake Luce's absence.

Ice House~Idle (Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo OST) | Alistair Lindsay

YouTube Only

Level music from a lesser known area of the franchise. The titular duo discover the polar bear they sponsor at the zoo, Archie, has been kidbear-napped by Feathers McGraw as he takes over the whole facility. So this has likely been rendered non-canon by "Vengeance Most Fowl" (have yet to see it as of this writing). The gameplay is kind of interesting as you platform and combat with Gromit to escort the less nimble Wallace to various stations for repairs and inventions, plus some vehicle sections.

The Polar level, like many in the game, has a vertical mixing effect by having the music switch to the same part of a matching song via a gameplay transition. The stages for this game use 'Idle', 'Action' & 'Combat' as designations, of which I included the Idle version. Helio's biological cues towards the cold are quite unusual. She can withstand far colder temperatures than most without freezing to death, she's just lethargic instead. The base layer of the level music sounds plenty chilling, while the introduction of the other versions match her dynamics with her friends. Drea is the lifelong fan of whimsical stuff like Wallace & Gromit. If they were somehow in the situation of the game Helio would be clamboring all over the place like Gromit while Philo's tinkering is on point with Wallace.

Snowbound (Curves Ahead) | The Rippingtons

A member of my IRL trivia/gaming group considers the Rippingtons "Weather Channel" music as they were often used in backing local weather updates. Founded in 1985 by composer Russ Freeman, the Rippingtons are a jazz fusion group with a 30 year history, with regulars collaborating with many smooth jazz and R&B artists. Their mascot is the jazzy, beret and sunglasses wearing cat.

For a time I considered this music was too 'enthusiastic' for Heliotrope, almost assigning it to Sissel. But that's a mistake, a folly of me thinking of Helio when she was first introduced as an emotionally stunted student. Revisions for adult plots shows she's plenty passionate and emotive, her difficulty comes from navigating emotional states rather than having them. Snowbound is not an 'icy' sound compared to the likes of the Ice House theme listed prior. It is incredibly active and driving, along with featuring saxophone without it being overblown, which is instrumentation that makes me think of Heliotrope.

Flying (HP CoS Game Soundtrack) | Jeremy Soule

YouTube Only

Picture 2002. The cinematic film for Chamber of Secrets is pending based on 2001's smash hit of PS/SS, the films about 4 years behind their book releases at this point. Video game tie ins are also popular. WB, EA and the author have yet to have their worst practices revealed. So despite some notes from the studio and use of actor likeness, the games are being developed independently. Game composer Jeremy Soule has been working on the two games to develop a soundtrack in no relation to John Williams' film score. The result is just as enchanting for the video game adaption of the stories that still stand on their own to this day, even closer to the books in a few respects. Youtuber Flandrew goes into the differences of the 5 Chamber of Secrets games released over various platforms.

The soundtrack I'll use is from the Playstation/Xbox/Gamecube versions, of which I played the latter extensively. It's where tidbits like Mirabella Plunkett inspiring Helio's story or Edgar Strougler giving Ursula a name come from, both being on collectible Chocolate Frog cards. As such I'll be giving every character originally written as a student a selection from the soundtrack. "Flying" exhibits the freedom to explore the rather limited but not too sparse castle and grounds. It's rarely seen but Heliotrope is the best flyer of my cast, given she can adapt her swimming strengths to the air with a broom. And vice-versa for tempered brooms aiding in deep water.

Back to Playlists

Dotty actually has the oldest defined playlist of anybody on my cast, going back to when I was initially creating her. Which is nearly everything after Sparky's recommendation. And somehow she’s the only one to have both YouTube and Spotify versions be exact matches.

A Better Son/Daughter (The Execution of All Things) | Rilo Kiley

Explicit

Anadotti is a confused, spontaneous, merry-go-round whirl of a mess.  Years of life as a small tree-dwelling rodent have left her unable to hold on to much for very long -- except when she's on, she's on. --Sparky

I either had this conversation with Sparky shortly after receiving the original set-list, or have totally imagined it, but I thought I was gushing about this really fits the morning after for Dotty. Like coming down from a major high, the song starts simple and quietly, while there's an intensity building throughout the whole piece. Until its just a loud mess, capping off with the one thing Dotty seemingly can't do (which is swear properly)

Fever (Evacuate the Dance Floor); Pyromania; Night Nurse (Original Me) | CASCADA

Besides 'Faded' mentioned in C/H's playlist, my other favorite Cascada hits sit thoroughly in the Dotty camp. Eurodance and glamor seem a direct contrast to Dotty's grungy aesthetic. Yet a face value reading of the lyrics highlight Dotty's brazen, self centered attitude to what she wants out of life.

'Fever' & 'Pyromania' are her open invitation to call her crazy. You either jump on board to her brand of chaos or get burned. 'Night Nurse' is the most out there in instrumentation. Most tellingly is the central line "I don't wanna be your lover, oh no / But I could be your remedy, your cure" for her very casual approach to hook ups and benders.

Self-Esteem (Smash); The Kids Aren't Alright (Americana) | The Offspring

The Offspring serves as the counterpoint to the Cascada selections in Dotty’s playlist. In some ways she’s a 90s grunge reject stuck in the wrong decade, with these two songs the highlights of the bands third and fifth studio album, respectively. In this context Self-Esteem would be the PoV of some poor chap Dotty is bowling over by sheer force of personality. The Kids Ain’t Alright could attribute to the kind of childhood she had growing up outside of Las Vegas. She could have made something of herself being a witch, but it all went to pot mainly by her own actions.

Bonus points for the time I used “Hey, hey, hey, Come Out And Play” as a thread title.

Flagpole Sitta (Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?) | Harvey Danger

Harvey Danger ended up an inadvertent one hit wonder, thanks to an early appraisal from Rolling Stone Magazine and every radio DJ who liked the song upon release over-saturating its station presence. So much so it’s hard to see the original counter cultural perspective behind the lyrics. The front man reports to coming up with the chorus right before their first performance and regretting he didn’t use it as the actual song title. That being “I’m not sick but I’m not well”. The continuation of “a sin to live this well” and “I’m so hot cause I’m in hell” very much fit with Dotty, also with one of the verses having “paranoia, paranoia, everybody’s coming to get me.”

Can't Feel My Face (Beauty Behind the Madness) | The Weeknd

Is this really a love song for The Weeknd's first pop hit? Well, it's one that personifies a drug addiction. You don't have to look that hard into the lyrics, either, or the music video where a guy flings his lighter at the singer onstage and he starts dancing in flames. Now, Dotty's drug binges were attributed to 'fantastic elements' such as billywig stings, MUSE or what have you, although realistically she's familiar with actual drugs.

Makes Me Wonder (It Won't Be Soon Before Long) | Maroon 5

Explicit

To immediately date myself, I was nearing the end of my high school education during the original release of the band's second album. It's a song that's always stuck with me; rather than the pending breakup of the song, I'd play it a bunch during a time in college where I didn't really know what I was going with my attempted science degree. Dotty's loyalty is a fickle one as a potential sycophant or underling (even if she thinks she should be in charge) so Maroon 5 isn't that far from the spectrum of her playlist. The song carries a feeling of abandonment. I almost included "Animals" but that's a lot more predatory than Dotty's main motif as a prey species animagus.

Hangover (TY.O) | Taio Cruz

Explicit

"I've been drinking too much for sure." Really, no further analysis is needed for Dotty's M.O. I liked listening to seveal of Taio's songs and this one pointed to Dotty the most. Comedian Bobby Lee also plays the valet in the music video, before his television career iirc, fitting Dotty's loser archetype. Funnily enough Taio is British but the song features American rapper Flo Rida, to bookend the two areas where Dotty has had her crime sprees.

Lump | The Presidents of the United States of America

An alt rock band song about an unhinged woman in a swamp? From their same titled album? Maybe I should have had Dotty grow up in Seattle given the number of bands from that area I feature on her playlist. Composer and lead singer Chris Ballew himself had a benign tumor in his head, giving the word 'lump' when describing a vision of a woman in a swamp. The first time I ever heard of this song was Weird Al's parody for Forest Gump which manages to both cram matching choreography and a cliffnotes version of the film into the span of the band's original brief music video.

Addicted to Love (Riptide) | Robert Palmer

Looking into my archived posts, I’ve truly had half of Dotty’s playlist on lock when I added a post to a former OOC thread in 2011. It has Cascada, The Offspring, Harvey Danger & Maroon 5. And shortly after that post I’d discover Taio Cruz. Robert Palmer has been forgotten in the context of Dotty’s playlist. He’s usually a “Sissel” artist for me; for those of you newer who are wondering who my former temporal investigator turned History prof is. “Love” probably isn’t the opportune word for what Dotty’s been addicted to over the years. But I’m adding it back, post updates for Dotty. It fits the eras of rock on her list but also, ironically, represents her attempts to stay sober for longer. Whether cleaned up or dressed nice all those symptoms of her withdrawal still remain. Plus, if you’ve seen the music video this started a series of Robert Palmer being backed up by models made to look like “unobtainable” mannequins. Which has an unnerving quality; very outside of AO I once used this aspect during an arc in a Chronicles of Darkness RPG campaign using the “Promethean: the Created” rules for a constructed woman named for “Simply Irresistible.”

Bad Reputation; Do You Want to Touch Me (Bad Reputation) | Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

In terms of vibes, if Dotty hadn’t flown off the handle as much as she did following her crimes (and had any music talents to speak of) she might have been as much a rocker as Joan Jett. Dotty sure has the bravado down. As a big fan of the 80s music scene Joan Jett has been a lifelong favorite. So not having the iconic “Godmother of punk” on the playlist of my squirrel brained miscreant has been an oversight!

After her time with The Runaways Joan started a new band. Originally both songs were on her debut album as a solo artist, Joan Jett, until it was reissued a year later in 1981 as Bad Reputation. The titles alone lend easily to Dotty’s bad girl image before looking further into the lyrics. And pairing these two leads to an interesting echo: a repeated “No no no/not me me me” from Bad Reputation; and “Yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah” from Do You Want to Touch Me.

Back to Playlists