#Even if I don’t like this animatic that much I decided to upload it here again instead of leaving it to collect dust

[novadraem]

Woo an Ireland animatic!

[thevictorianghost]

A look back at 2020 - and a thank you to the Zutara fandom

Okay.

So.

I’ve never done this before. I know 2020 has been… a year. To say the least. A messy, sad, hell of a year. I’m not saying my 2020 was perfect. There were many events that were supposed to happen but got cancelled because of COVID. But if you could believe it, 2019 was so much worse for me, especially creative-wise. So I decided to make this post about how my 2020 went, because it went a lot better than 2019!

Never again, 2019. Never again.

Also if you feel like you haven’t been creative or haven’t had the energy to do everything you wanted to do, please don’t take this post as a “haha I did so much better than you guys!” Because that is ABSOLUTELY NOT what I want to achieve. I just want to give myself a pat on the back. Honestly, I think what really helped this year was when I got into a slump for one type of creative endeavour, I jumped to the next. I set myself to start something and finished it. Then, if I felt burnt out about that thing? Like writing a fic? I got into cosplay. Or video editing. Or something else. And then I came back to writing. It was really fun to learn new things and to do multiple kinds of projects through the year!

The Zutara fandom thank you letter is at the end, so if you want to skip my ramblings, you can find the title below! 

So anyway. Here goes!

Video editing:

It’s not that well-known on my Tumblr, but I have a Youtube channel! I made myself a video editing challenge back in January - and I crushed it! Back in 2019, I quit video editing for many months because I didn’t have the motivation to continue doing so. But then in December last year, I found a BUNCH of my old (and I mean, VERY old) videos I’d made as a kid. And it re-invigorated my love for video editing because I realized how far I’d come and that I wanted to do it more! So I told myself: one video a month. Twelve in one year. That’s it. Do that. And I ended up making TWENTY videos this year! I’m so proud of myself!

I even made MORE than twenty videos. A few of these just aren’t published. I made a few more “educational” videos because I’m considering making a brand new Youtube channel dedicated to History and pop culture! I don’t know if it’ll end up being… you know… a thing, but hey! Why not?

I also made some unpublished short edits for a possible Instagram account I’d like to create, too! All for Titanic. An example of those short videos can be found here! Again, I don’t know if that Instagram account will end up being… a thing… but I have faith!

Cosplay:

I got back into cosplay this year! And I learned new skills thanks to it! I learned how to work with EVA foam to create my own Blue Spirit mask (using this tutorial!). There’s a few projects currently on the backburner, but I’m sure I’ll come back to them eventually!

I also learned recently how to sew a pair of opera gloves (because haha, fuck you if you want to buy any that aren’t in size small!) for a Rose Dewitt-Bukater cosplay with my sewing machine I bought way back in like… March… but was honestly too afraid to use. But I did it! I pushed through my fear and I did it! I’ve been practicing more and more with my sewing machine as I repurpose old clothes for my cosplay. And it’s going great!

Writing:

I got back into fanfic! I hadn’t written ANYTHING fanfic related in a while, especially not multi-chapter fics. But this year, I finished THREE novel-length fanfictions. My fanfics The Prince’s Bride, my Star Wars/The Princess Bride AU, and Never Let Me Go, my Avatar: The Last Airbender/Titanic AU, are currently all published on AO3! I haven’t been much in the Star Wars fandom since writing The Prince’s Bride, but I did meet @stressedinadress with who I talk about Star Wars and anything in particular! Thank you for being my friend!

My other novel-length fic, All roads lead to Paris, a Miraculous Ladybug/A Monster in Paris/Ratatouille crossover fic is currently being uploaded every Wednesdays! I’ve also written a Titanic/The Great Gatsby crossover one-shot called Make it count; Meet me at the clock that had been living in my brain for years but I’d never had the guts to write it. But then I did!

I’m especially proud of Never Let Me Go. Not that I’m not proud of my other fics, but this one in particular has a very special place in my heart. It’s the longest story I’ve EVER written and made me love Titanic all over again. Zuko and Katara were the perfect characters to be cast as Jack and Rose. I got back into drawing entirely thanks to this fic. I’d been telling myself “I can’t draw to save my life” for YEARS but then I decided to try again and I’m much better than I was back then! I’m so humbled by all the comments, all the bookmarks, the kudos and the love this story has received. We’ve JUST REACHED 5000 HITS!! Before the end of the year!! That’s so AWESOME!!

I’m tentatively coming back to original fiction after writing a lot of fanfic, especially a Greek Mythology retelling (which is, you know, fanfiction but with stories that don’t have copyrights!). I think writing fanfiction really helped me figure out what I love about writing and has helped me tremendously in creating my own style and voice. It’s been an incredible journey and yes, my Greek Mythology retelling was inspired by a Zutara Greek Mythology AU! So you know, I’m staying on-brand! haha

I’m also currently working on another ATLA fic, heavily inspired by my “what I would have wanted for LOK” post you can find here. It’s going to be much, MUCH shorter than Never Let Me Go, but it’s already longer than Not Like Everyone Else, so I’m really happy with this one. A bunch of bite-sized chapters in the POVs of all these lovely characters after the War and my take on where they should have ended up - and the world.

Zutara:

And finally, but certainly not the least, I got back into the Zutara fandom and really contributed! I made metas I’m really proud of (like this one on Katara’s abandonment issues you can find here!). I wrote the aforementioned fanfic Never Let Me Go. I even made a video about Zutara after my latest rewatch of ATLA (you can watch ZUTARA | Zuko x Katara - BATTLESHIPS here!).

I also made friends along the way! @darkcrowprincess​, @harharj​, @angelsabloom​ and, more recently, @heavensweetheart​. I wanted to thank you for putting up with my weird rants and obsessions! :)

We’re all such a lovely bunch and don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere! I want to thank, especially, @firelxdykatara​, @antarcticasx​, @my-bated-breath​, @peartarts​,  @pineapple-frenzy​ and @hayleynfoster​ for your metas, fics, art, etc.!  You’ve been making my 2020 better. This isn’t an exhaustive list, so if I’ve forgotten someone, I’m so sorry! 

Also I hope everyone who have been harassed recently, like @babytreehugger​, knows that we’re all standing behind you and supporting you.

This is a really special fandom indeed. It took me years before I could rewatch ATLA knowing Zutara wasn’t endgame, but even if it hurts that they’re not canon, we have countless fics, art, poems, animatics, even published authors whose books are basically Zutara AUs! As stated by those same authors! Isn’t that amazing?? WE HAVE A STAR!! WE HAVE A FRICKING STAR!!! Has anyone forgotten that??

And look. I’ve been, for the past few years, in the Star Wars fandom. I’ve been in many different fandoms over the years. It’s been… rough. But I’ve never seen such an encouraging, loving, compassionate fandom. I know it can be difficult outside of our fandom, especially with people fighting on Twitter and Instagram and even on Tumblr with people harassing others. But this fandom, fifteen years later, is so smart, so kind, so positive and so inspiring. 

If you’ve been reading up ‘till now, thank you! 

Also: You can do whatever you set your mind to! I believe in you! Go do the thing if you want to! And never forget to be kind to yourself. 

Happy holidays! Let’s hope (fingers crossed!) that 2021 will be a better year. 

thevictorianghost

[knoxrobbins]

Captain N post-launch...

Hello, this is a follow-up post on my Captain N pitch animatic I’ve attached to the YouTube comments. I’ll be responding to some of the most frequent compliments or suggestions I've been seeing on here.

- "Set up a crowd-fund for Captain N!" A crowdfunding campaign or Patreon for the pitch, to either start it as an independent fan project or even just to make a full storyboard pilot, probably won't happen. Very sorry to say that. Nintendo has had a history of taking down or had the huge risk of shutting down crowdfund campaigns. The webseries A Fox in Space was almost shut down but the creator implemented a name change to further distinguish it as a parody, while Nintendo was quietly putting out an official Star Fox web cartoon around that time. Putting Captain N up in a crowdfunding campaign risks any potential for a reboot never happening, as the companies will only see an unlicensed product that's making money on its own before it could even be released or put into development.

- "Is Kevin going to mentor the new Captain N?" The vision I have for Captain N is more or less a fresh reboot, though I am open to referencing the original series in creative ways - like Mega Man and Simon Belmont with hallway portraits among many others that have been Nintendoland champions. At most at some point I can have Samara, the new Captain N, meet a past champion who was also human but very likely won't be Kevin Keene. When I was first thinking about the idea of Captain N reboot, I thought about making Sam and Kevin related but decided to further distinguish Their World's Champion as its own series. There’s a couple other ideas I had suggested one way or another for Captain N that since I’ve shelved - Sam was almost going to be amnesiac which now won’t be the case.

- "What is your process in rebooting something like this?" Captain N hasn't had a new series premiere since 1989, the most anyone remembers it is out of ironic internet humor. With reboots you got to reintroduce the property in a way someone new can get into it and those who remembered the original can enjoy it as well. If you rely too much on referencing or echoing the original without much introduction, you alienate everyone. Or there's a situation where the original movie or series doesn't resonate today but has enough sold ideas to make something brand new. I'm basically taking the core ideas from the original series of a teenager traveling into a recognizable game world (a few commentators compared it to Iseaki anime which is really good to bring up) and doing my own wild take on them while being respectful to the game franchises.

- "What are you planning for Captain N, now that the pitch animatic is trending?" I don't really have a plan at this time. My plan was to basically make this animatic and pitch it to the world rather than going to just Nintendo or another studio. Your vocal feedback is proof enough if I'm going to at some point present Captain N to a studio again - it's four people against hundreds if not thousands of enthusiastic people who have seen this.

- "I've just subscribed to your YouTube!” Thank you so much, just don’t expect it to be the most active YouTube. I’ll be posting timelapses of artwork now and then. I’m also currently managing Cats Don’t Dance Reanimated which will be released separate from the channel. I’m currently seeking work again as a 3D animator, who does art and wild experiments like Captain N now and then on the side. Captain N took six months of time I was able to put into, and six months balancing it with life or any other artwork I was doing. I am thinking about doing more pitch animatics soon though but it depends which one I’m doing next. I got a bunch of original ideas I’ve been saving for years, I have a Marvel idea I’m also itching on doing.

From my best recollections, the Captain N pitch has been more popular than when trailers for two reboot projects I’ve animated on were first released. Thank you so much for 40k views since I uploaded it three weeks ago and to those who have been spreading it wherever they can. FIGHT FOR THE GAMER.

[sugarsnap-caely]

Meet the JSE Community!! ^^

1. Micaela [REDACTED], 17 as of Nov. 10th (here comes the cringe…), and U.S.A.

2. I just drew this, and it’s the first time I’ve ever drawn myself as a person.

Here are some bonus sketches.

And here is my Ponysona, Sugarsnap (because I often go by the username Sugarsnap Caely now) and her Ink Potts/Gala design! ^^

3. I like to draw if that wasn’t clear, and I’ve started to animate (I’ll upload those later as well as more art!)! I love playing video games (I have many that I’ve started and have yet to finish XD). I really like reading, and I love music. I tend to come up with stories/become the characters for some songs which I then project outwards. (A lot of the time they’re kind of like ideas for animations or animatics I suppose) My family has described this as looking like a seizure (I prefer jamming out XD). I also spend a LOT of time on YouTube and the internet in general but I love spending time with my friends. I also love roleplaying (oh no even more cringe…) which I do a lot with a group of friends. In fact I have a lot of characters I’ve created which I RolePlay (you will probably see their pony forms/regular forms depending on which characters later. Mostly the pony because that’s what I’m best at drawing)

4. My dream job is to get into the Animation field in some sort of way. I’ve always loved anything to do with animation because I grew up with it so much as a child (Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, Don Bluth, etc). I know (probably too much) trivia on animation (mostly Disney/Pixar). I love writing for my characters and coming up with stories (if it wasn’t evident from my love for RolePlay XD). Not only that but I can quickly pick up on a persons voice when I recognize it. So yeah, writing, storyboards, voice acting, animating, character design. I just LOVE animation and art in general.

5. My sketchbook(s), pencils, probably a lot of junk. It may seem organized but really it’s not. If you look through my back pack a lot of papers, again sketchbooks, pencil case, some books. The usual I guess. Maybe some cash I dunno.

6. I’d describe my personality as rather fun loving and energetic but also a bit shy and reserved. My friends have always talked about how kind and nice of a person I am and practically all of them will tell you that I am a cinnamon roll. I get very excited very easily and will talk non stop when off my medication (I have ADHD) I really do love to be bouncy and energetic and it’s why I love people like that. I am also a pure geek (I have more t-shirts from Hot Topic than I do anything else really XD) To sum it all up, I am energetic, can get nervous kind of easily, and cinnamon roll.

7. I actually unfortunately do not remember when or even how I found Jack’s channel (I forget a lot of things) but I don’t think that matters, what matters is that I’ve stuck with this wonderful community and Jack. Jack is just an all around great person, he makes my day lighter if I’m feeling down (as does Markiplier and some other YouTubers) and he’s just one of the kindest, humblest people and such a gift to have.

8. GASP how can one choose?! No really. How? I love all of them. It’s like choosing from MY characters I can’t just pick one let alone 3.

9. Undertale, Inside, Turbo Dismount (I laughed so many times with that game), Skate 3 ( a lot of laughing there to), Plague Inc, Ummm…I can’t think of anymore. But I do love a LOT of Jack’s videos.

10. Quiet up until the recent SepticArt event I think, that was when I really decided to push it and now look at me I’ve created three works of art and now I’m making this!! Hopefully I can gather the courage to do even more like maybe make small comics! I dunno, we’ll have to see! ^^

I’ll probably update this in the future if I find more questions so be on the lookout! (Only if you want to).

[glapplebloom]

So the Girls are adding to the group. Well, Third time is a charm...

So the Powerpuff Girls are adding a 4th Member. I can bet some people will complain, but as a long time fan I knew there were 4th Members before. Not Princess, not the Rowdyruff Boys, not even the Powerpunk Girls, but actually confirmed to be the 4th Member. Let’s start off with the first...

Powerpuff Bunny was the creation of the girls in the episode “Twisted Sister”. Long story short, the girls were tired to save the day and created Bunny to do the work for them. But in the end, she explodes because the ingredients they used were not the highest grade: making her unstable (in a chemical sense). I REALLY hope this 4th Powerpuff isn’t Bunny. As much as I do enjoy the show, I don’t trust them with a character like Bunny. Especially after what happened with Donny.

Behold the second 4th Powerpuff Girl: Bullet. Her first appearance was in the episode Stray Bullet. She was once an ordinary squirrel until a Hawk attacked her and her family. Luckily she was saved by the girls but in critical condition. Bubbles gave her a dose of Chemical X that not only cured her but also gave her super powers. And with a ceremony, she became the 4th Member of the Powerpuff Girls.

But in the end, she decided to stay in the forest to protect the animals there. But this is not her last appearance, as she shows up once more in the The City of Nutsville. I seriously doubt this new 4th Powerpuff would be a Humanoid Bullet. 

BEFORE SPOILERS

Now with the first two 4th Powerpuff is out of the way, what do I think of this upcoming 3rd 4th Powerpuff Girl? For starters, I don’t think she is going to be a permanent fixture. Like Bunny and Bullet before her, she’ll be lucky to get more than one episode. And considering the size, I think she’s going to be more Teenager than Girl. So here are my predictions...

Its a Fusion! - The Original Concept of Dynamo had the girls fuse together. You can see that in the Animatic of the Whoopsass Girls episode “Monster Trouble”. And considering Fusion in both Dragon Ball and Steven Universe has a completely different character, this could be the loophole to add a new one without making it overshadow the girls.

Evil Powerpuff - Mojo finally creates something that can rival the girls fully! But because he used pure ingredients, she’s not as evil as he wants her to be. But luckily a lie makes it so she faces the new Powerpuff Girls. They fight, they realize their mistakes, and after they show off the power of four she leaves to learn the truth about good and evil herself.

HIM created HER - Like in the comics, he creates this new Powerpuff to overshadow the girls. Think Major Glory, except actually defeating crimes before her. With them at their lowest, HIM makes HER attack the girls. But the girls do convince HER to truly fight for good and she fights HIM. But because he made her, HIM can destroy her.

And those are my three takes on it. I REALLY hope its not a returning Bunny. 

AFTER SPOILERS

Well, apparently that image floating around was true. I asked for a clip and they delivered. Too boot, the video was uploaded months ago, before the announcement of the new PPG. So pretty much everyone was late to the party. But let’s see who this Toya Delazy does to make her the voice of the 4th. She is known more for music, so off the bat I expect this one to be able to sing.

Based off that, i can predict how this episode will go. This 4th PPG (who I shall call #4) was the first attempt at creating the perfect little girl. The thing is she was not a little girl, she was a Pre-Teen. So she was more prone to do things for her own and decided to travel.

She returns, showing she can do specific aspect of the girls that makes them jealous of her. A villain shows up and they are unable to defeat it but when #4 shows up, they realize the power of working together and defeat the villain together. She then leaves since she has a life of her own.

I really hope it isn’t that. It would be boring if it was pretty much what I think it would be.