#WhOop WhOop my contribution to the Fandom HAHA

[stressedtaco]

You know guys, i get it. I get the whole Reaper pumpkin head thing but... Blizz missed a great opportunity..

The Jack-o'-lantern

[a-mellowtea]

Sarah’s Soundtrack Corner | RWBY Volume 8

Today: Episode 2 // Refuge  29/11/2020: Episode 3 // Strings

Hello again, folks!

To very quickly answer the question I’ve gotten a couple times over my post about being done with the fandom until hiatus: yes, I’m alright. It’s not one singular thing that’s made me decide to keep my distance from discussion and larger contribution - more an accumulation of behaviors and loudly-echoed opinions that have tired me out. Get told you’re a bad person for sympathizing with a character long enough, and it starts to wear on you.

I deeply appreciate the concern and continued support from all you lovely people. I may not agree with every path RWBY takes with its story, but I still enjoy the show and I love talking about it, and the way I want to focus on doing that this Volume is through these weekly (although occasionally late whoops) posts.

And on that note, let’s get going!

The first scene of the Chapter is silent as far as music goes, which is honestly an interesting choice. Not a good or bad one, mind you: simply curious. The lack of it does keep attention on what’s being said by the characters which I’d wager a guess to be the point.

A piece eases a transition about three minutes in, under the Atlas Eye news broadcast, and I have to say: this reference is super fun. It was pointed out to me that it bore a striking similarity to the electric guitar melody scoring the first fight scene of Volume 7 - RRAYNBBOW vs. the Sabyrs. Sure enough, another listen, and that’s exactly what it is!

You can find that particular bit in “Protector of Mantle”. 

This smooths out into a section of the Mantle “theme” on strings, ending at around the 4:33 mark. 

There’s a cool, fun piece of techno-ish music that plays when Yang’s group take to the streets on their hoverbikes. I honestly love the little guitar sting as Yang does her flip; it’s a solid bit of levity, especially in contrast to the solemnness of Chapter 1.

Speaking of Chapter 1, we get a reprise of the melody from the airship scene - perhaps a new sort of theming for Mantle’s current situation - under Oscar, Jaune, Ren and Yang gathering civilians. I do find myself liking it - this instance is kept on a high bit of flute which, despite the general safe air of what it plays under, adds a bit of tension to the scene.

It’s interrupted by an action stint on brass, strings and percussion which, other than what I believe to be a couple notes of the Mantle/Solitas melody, didn’t ring any bells as being familiar. Not everything has to be, of course; it’d get pretty boring if it was, haha!

When Jaune tries to reassure everyone at 6:08, there’s a lovely little bit of his leitmotif on brass; warm and bright. As another personal aside, the more I hear Jaune’s melody, the more it steadily becomes one of my favorites.

Once Racist Grandma begins speaking about Atlas, there’s actually a bit of a comparatively more obscure reference to some of Volume 7′s material; again from Chapter 1, from when the protagonists first arrive and get onto the streets. One of the previously established “tension” melodies for Atlas is also present, from about 6:25 - 6:31.

From there, we transition into my favorite part of the episode’s music, which I’ve no qualms for being biased on this time.

From 7:04 - 8:09, we get a gorgeous piano and strings melody comprised of Ozpin’s “theme”, Oscar’s “theme”, and “Fear” - the song from Volume 7′s finale credits. It’s gentle and poignant, and oh so heartbreaking in how easily the themes blend into one another. There’s nothing really to say about this section in terms of it’s purpose; that much is clear.

I cannot emphasis enough my adoration for these melodies. Ozpin’s “theme” has always been a favorite of mine, and Oscar’s got a solid spot up there as well the first I heard it. They’re both gorgeous, and Alex always uses them so beautifully.

As we cut to Ruby’s group, the piece transitions into a small quote of Penny’s “theme” when she looks out over the gathering refugees. A little bit of a tonal shift then happens under Weiss’ explanation of the Snowshoe Shipping center; it’s brighter and a bit more playful.

It eases back into seriousness once Ruby reassures Penny; first with a brief quote of “Red Like Roses”, and then another bit of Penny’s melody against a frankly unsettling underlay of strings. Excuse me a moment while I shoot a side-eye at Chapter 3.

Back with the Mantle Team, Banjo Man’s off playing the Mantle “theme”. Diagetic music (ie, music existing in-universe) is always the best. Once Fiona begins talking about how they’re handling so many people in the slums, it plays again on what sounds like... harmonica? I can dig it.

The Grimm “theme” makes an appearance on strings when Joanna wonders what they’re waiting for, then again when Crimson calls in to tell Fiona about the Grimm in the east. In between is another instance of the Mantle “theme”, when Fiona’s Uncle comes to tell them about a fight that’s broken out.

Once the kids head back out into the city, another fun bit of action music kicks in until they defeat the Teryx. There’s a brief lull afterward, up until the Sabyrs show up, at which point some tense strings kick in, leading into the Hound making its move and utterly crushing my son Oscar. 

This section is a variant on the “theme” for the Hound we got at the end of Chapter 1, and it is fantastic; all appropriately creepy/horror-esque strings and brass. It reminds me quite a bit of “Lusus Naturae” - the song from the RWBY: Grimm Eclipse video game.

Now there’s a “the Hound is ‘x character’” theory I haven’t heard yet! 😄

The staccato string melody from the trailer begins once Yang hits the wall and continues until 15:27. There’s another statement of the Hound’s “theme” when its wings are revealed and it carries Oscar off, leaving the rest of the team shell-shocked in its wake. The staccato melody comes back on slightly lower and quieter strings, leading into the end of the episode.

As another brief aside - can I mention how much I love it when the music cuts and the sound team leads to black on a rhythmic or ambient noise? ‘cause it’s always amazing.

So, that’s Chapter 2! There was a surprising amount of material in this episode, and some great callbacks to Volume 7 to boot, as well as that new “theme” for the Hound.

Someone over on Discord asked me if I would comment on things I’d’ve “changed” or “done differently” for the music, and I might. I think it’s a lot easier to make those sorts of comments with the benefit of seeing everything in finished form, not to mention not having the specific input of the directors and writers. The inclusion or exclusion of music is also seldom a bad thing on its own; often it’s to do with the rest of the scene, be it from a narrative or technical standpoint. That being said, it’s always kinda fun to consider how one might’ve gone about it differently.

For this episode, though? I’d have to say no. This one struck a very good balance in its moments of silence and where the music was placed; that opening scene especially, I’d say, needed to stand on its own.

That’s it for this week. Hope you’re as excited as I am to comb through Chapter 3!

[iturbide]

Spite Project - So if Byleth is a Knight, then who is the third instructor? Ohh I reread some of the previous posts and Claude helps Dimitri in the Battle of Eagle and Lion! Interesting! I wonder if that gave Edelgard a bad premonition. What’s Dedue up to during the TS? So retaking Fhirdiad happens early in the war, I can see a lot of emotional moments and convos happening there. With all that marching I wonder if the Imperial army is getting very tired at that point. 1/3

well I’m almost up to a 5% pity rate and no Spring Units at all, so April’s not going so hot just yet haha and next week is going to be a non-stop rollercoaster so wish me luck

When it comes to the final professor, in the short term Jeritza likely takes over, specifically as the instructor for the Black Eagles house for fairly obvious reasons; this leaves Manuela and Hanneman covering the Blue Lions and Golden Deer, respectively.  Of course, Jeritza goes AWOL the month Flayn is kidnapped and then never returns, so with their options fairly limited the two remaining professors split the work as best they can, with Seteth occasionally filling in when and where he can (and if he maybe prioritizes the classes Flayn’s sitting in on...well, that’s obviously a coincidence).  But this does mean that the students are on their own when the Battle of the Eagle and Lion rolls around, since Manuela’s still in recovery and there’s no third professor.

But Edelgard doesn’t see that battle as a premonition, mostly because Claude isn’t exclusively offering to help Dimitri: just before the battle starts, Claude actually calls both of his fellow House Leaders over and suggests they just not fight each other, making the battle a three-way tie.  Edelgard, obviously, turns this down (and assumes that he’s making the suggestion because his House is in no way capable of winning), but Dimitri cautiously accepts this truce to claim victory over the Black Eagles, prepared to fight the Deer afterward if it proves necessary -- but true to his word, Claude makes no move to fight Dimitri after Edelgard retreats, and Dimitri gladly lays down his lance in turn.

(Rhea’s not thrilled about this break from tradition, though, and in the end she declares it a Blue Lions victory since historically the Alliance didn’t exist at that point; the Golden Deer are none too happy about this, but frankly neither is Dimitri, since it seems grossly unfair.)

As for Dedue, he spends the bulk of the timeskip period in Faerghus, since he was still instrumental in freeing Dimitri from imprisonment and Dimitri still believed he died in the escape attempt; however, roughly the last year before Millennium Festival, he makes it to the Alliance and reunites with Dimitri, thanks to the joint machinations of Claude and Judith.  Dimitri’s overjoyed to have Dedue back safe, especially since he had been so certain that his friend had died trying to save him; and Dedue is equally stunned by how different Dimitri looks, more calm and stable and free with his laughter than Dedue had ever known him.

Intense stuff always seems to happen in Fhirdiad (or at least, I think it should).  Dimitri still has to come to grips with the fact that he’ll be king of Faerghus, and whether he’s really ready for it or not -- but he has Claude backing him up, and given that he’s spent the last four years taking care of himself and recovering from a lot of his past trauma, he feels a lot more ready now than he did the last time he’d faced this possibility, just after the fall of Garreg Mach when it seemed like assuming the throne was the only way to oppose Edelgard.  He’s more stable, more aware of how to manage the needs of others while still taking care of his own, and it gives him more confidence in his ability to meet the demands of leadership.  He and Claude definitely have some long talks before the actual coronation, though, because it’s still a lot to deal with.

But honestly, the Imperial Army has always had a lot to deal with.  They’ve been at war for five years already, after all, and stretched thin since they have not only their own border with the Alliance to keep an eye on but an active front in Faerghus.  Edelgard’s particular detachment never gets to Gronder, though, since Fhirdiad falls while she and her company are resting and restocking at Merceus, at which point they change course and head for Arianrhod for another rest and resupply before making for Tailtean; their retreat from that field is significantly less organized, though, and the stopover at the Silver Maiden much shorter, intended only to tend to the wounded before continuing back toward home. 

Of course, Arundel starts putting his plans in motion there, too, which is part of why we end up having a surprising end battle

But to be honest my absolute favorite thing about Spite Project is still Dimitri innocently causing the biggest invasion scare since the last Fodlan-Almyra war.  He didn’t mean to, honestly, and everyone thinks it’s hilarious after the fact, but he’s still very sheepish about the whole thing.

For Bad End AU...well, Byleth has come to the realization that they made a mistake, and unfortunately there’s no talking Edelgard out of it at this point.  They’d been hoping, earnestly, that they could get her to stay her hand, try to save what lives they could...but when she decided to execute Claude, that’s when they knew that they had no chance of that.  So they decided to risk everything on trying to get Claude out of Derdriu: that strike was meant to leave him alive, as was Hilda’s (though Byleth was significantly more worried about her since the attack was more rushed and could very well have killed her).  Once the war ends, they take to the front lines against the Agarthans almost entirely because it keeps them far from Edelgard, and even though they can’t use the Sword of the Creator anymore, their combat prowess is noteworthy, which is what keeps them from being utterly crushed by an enemy that hasn’t been exhausted by five years of war and also has tactical missiles.

When it comes to unexpected survival, though...well, I guess it depends on what you mean by “unexpected.”  A lot of the Golden Deer were presumed dead by the Black Eagles, and have been lying low since the end of the war specifically to avoid their notice: this includes both Raphael, who Bernadetta is convinced she killed at Myrrdin, contributing to her crippling guilt in the years following the war; and Ignatz, who Petra reported as dead in order to cover for his escape since she couldn’t bring herself to kill him at Derdriu.  Ashe and Annette both were missing and presumed dead after the fall of the Kingdom, but their appearance isn’t the same kind of “risen from the grave” shock that Claude and Hilda pull off when they storm Fodlan again.

Thanks for the AA fic rec, too!  It’s actually been a long time since I’ve read much for the fandom (not to mention written for it -- Crime of Passion is a decade in the making with no actual start date in sight haha whoops), and I struggle with managing my time well enough to both read and write, which is what I usually prefer to be doing when I have the opportunity, but I do love found family stuff, so it’s going on the list.

Also, RE: Felix pokemon: yes to Perrserker.  Every time I see that little monstrous furball I crack up, and between it being A) a cat and B) made of knives, it’s basically his perfect pokemon.  When it comes to Ferdinand, a standard Ponyta/Rapidash might fit better than a Galarian one since the flames are a better fit for not only the Imperial color scheme, but also his glorious post-timeskip hair.  No I’m still not over Ferdinand von Aegir and his incredible mane like wow Ferdie you go.  Also he’s just.  So passionate about everything he believes in.  Very fiery when he gets going.  And as for Mercie, an Audino is an absolute necessity!  They’re sweet pokemon and very attuned to others’ feelings, so it makes a lot of sense that she’d have one, especially since it’s a supportive healer.  I could also see her with a Ralts, again playing off the empathetic nature, and possibly a Bellossom for its generally carefree nature and its penchant for soothing others, in this case through the melody its flowers produce while it dances.

[creepweirdo]

don’t worry about slow replies or w/e this is meant to be fun when you can!! but capitalism is the worst. and yesss, my faves openly support lgbt+ fans they’re good boys. i almost missed the yoi news because of the destiel spam so i wasn’t even sure if it was a joke at first either. tumblr is on fire right now. it wasn’t that art but wow also HELLO SIR I AM LOOKING not very respectfully i am but a weak bi. i used to read a load but quarantine brain is broken so i cant focus on novels now.

i want to read tgcf but i keep flopping after like 5 pages but also san lang hot and i heard there’s wlw in it?? cloud recesses does look so pretty to live in but i’m such a nhs, i just want to sit in his nie sect and paint fans and look at pretty things all day. let other people swing swords and all, gossip is way more powerful. rogue cultivator tho your mind! this is the best answer to this question. and that’s not lame, the reason my s/o is the best is bc they know i like to have my own time

most of the time and we can just sit and chill in quiet for hours. it’s perfect. OK! mdzs question which char deserved better (so many choices…) and tell me about other fandoms you’re into/active if you have any more!

hi classified cultivator!!

LMAO THE DESTIEL SPAM. all those memes about the 2020 bingo card - destiel canon, yoi return, and now the marvel trailer for the sambucky show 💀💀 they’re going to queerbait us so bad i’m in love with the chaos that is going to happen 😍❤️

i took me a little bit to get into it too 😭 all the word building but it gets better ❤️ ahaha it’s just vibes - i was like wow i’m pretty sure this is all important information but yeah i’m still a little confused. i was given a character sheet google doc/drive thing that might be able to clarify some things!! i’ll link it at the end! and omg wlw!!! lmao they haven’t shown up in the 100 chapters i’ve read but that info has made me excited 👀 maybe i’ll continue reading it on my days off this week ahaha!

OKAY BUT TRUE THATS MY SECOND CHOICE - to be nhs and vibe all day 💀❤️ and be a gossiper and mastermind on the side 😼 i am a gemini after all HAHAHA.

omg which character deserved better 😭😭 oh no, my gut reaction of lan zhan of course 💔 i’m still thinking about that fic i read like 2 weeks ago where it was his life recovering and grieving after the 30 lashes ahhh all the pain he went through and waiting 13 years for wwx to come back!!! that really really breaks my heart. and then all the things before like his fucked up childhood, mum dying, dad dying, cloud recesses burning, getting his leg broken, pinning after someone, and having the love of your life DIE!!!! wtf 😭😭😭😭😭😭 it hurts me so much.

oooo other fandoms - so i never really contribute to any of the fandoms i’ve been in. i just sit back and observe ❤️ and i’m normally into one fandom at a time. for some weird reason hannibal doesn’t count 💀 i will always be laughing at that show HAHAH.

but before mdzs tbh i was honestly just waiting for another fandom to take me 😭 so i watched avatar the last air bender and the legend of korra in june/july this year and ahhh it was so good!! and i read heaps of fic and my other blog basically became an avatar blog ahaha. then before that the september-december period of 2019 was my it chapter 2 era bc i saw the movie at the cinema and the whole reddie thing - having the love of your life die before telling them that you love them 💔 (whoops spoilers lol). and before that i honestly can’t remeber??? i think my fandom blog was more of a multi fandom blog with posts from everywhere - rather than just super focused on one thing like it is now HAHA. no regrets ❤️

i think this will be more on an indicator - my top fandoms in my AO3 bookmarks are:

mdzs captain america 💀 lol this is why i’ve relapsed with the sambucky show les miserables avatar game of thrones hannibal inception yuri on ice

hahaha that’s so funny - that basically sums up the last 5 years of my life 💀

what about you - who do you think deserved better? and what other fandoms are you into/active in?

oops my phone is about to die 😳 so i’m gonna post this asap HAHAH

thank you for the questions haha ❤️

(heres the link to the google drive folder https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oXnp5Y2OD70i78utu4BcQ3xgAlygypd0?usp=sharing)

(and this is the link to the specific document that is a character places and terms primer https://docs.google.com/document/d/12ZoYuvSPNaYpGFFnR6gnGjUKFS8EW1-T3IFkk6D4wR4/edit?usp=sharing)

[fuckyeahseanmcloughlin]

Hello, Jacksepticeye community! :)

So, the name’s Jacky, pleased to meet you. I’m the new kid! I’ve been lurking in this community/fandom for quite some time now without ever being active and/or contributing anything, but since I’ve been on a major Jacksepticeye kick lately, I’ve decided to change that. So here I am ready to go with a freshly made blog dedicated to this and infected (heh.) by enthusiasm for creating, sharing, interacting and so on! PSA tho, the actual blog is still a WIP, so if it ever glitches out, I’m probably just working on my theme because I can never seem to be satisfied with those, haha. Anyway. This is offically my first post as part of this fandom - or community - kinda...? So I thought I might as well kick it off with a little something I’ve been working on lately --

whoops, my fingers slipped and I did a thing. And tbh- I could really need a kick in my arse to recover the motiviation to actuallly finish this. :/ And maybe even ink it or something like I originally intended to considering it’s Oct- uh I mean Inktober aaand tour is coming up. And FAST. So yeah. Thanks a bunch for even reading this! Really looking forward to people maybe sending some asks (if you have some?? I’m down!), messages, replies or whatever, just talking and interacting really -- and yes, also looking forward to motivational arse kicking. Imma go to bed now tho because I’m running on way too little sleep and way too much caffeine. Fun fact, that’s a constant thing so don’t you worry haha. New kid signing off! -- Jacky

[kingofthewilderwest]

Yo dude your fma liveblogs are entertaining as hell and your analysis posts are👌👌👌 I love both versions of fma. However, I watched ‘03 first, so it holds a special place in my heart. I appreciate you for not bashing it and for giving it a chance. You bring up many good points in regards to both series and their flaws. I respect that. Hope your cosplay turned out great/turns out great! I haven’t finished reading your liveblogs, so I’m not sure if you’ve finished it yet. Goodnight!

Ahhhh yay thanks!!!

Sadly, despite the fact that I watched and finished 2003 / COS about 7 months ago, I still haven’t completed that Envy cosplay I was working on. Isn’t that pathetic??? I need to finish that thing. A friend of mine who was also working on an FMAB cosplay just wore the finished product New Year’s Eve. So since he got HIS end of the deal done, I need to… get my buttocks onto finishing my project. Haha whoops.

I am thankful and honestly sort of relieved to hear you appreciate my thoughts on the 2003. Thanks for telling me and sending me this encouraging message (and connecting with me over FMA!!!!) I know that, unlike many people, I’m not coming into 2003 with the same nostalgia they feel. It’s very different watching a show as it’s premiering, and before another anime is created following the manga timeline… than it is watching a show 15 years after it debuted, and with the foreknowledge/experience of the full manga/later show.

Honestly, I was worried I would sound too unintentionally irreverent or something. Truth is I adore the experiences large franchises bring. It’s FUN to get infinitely more characters, more story, more adventures, more memories, more media. We can choose how we participate in large franchises - we can stick with main materials, or, if we want, we have the opportunity to excitedly fish through EVERYTHING we can find. And I’m a fisher! I want all the factoids, all the amusing moments, all the incidences, in the fictional worlds I love. For me, it’s far more enjoyable to be able to appreciate the good in all and ANY part of a franchise… looking for tidbits to enjoy and supplementing my love of the world… never entering anything with unrealistic expectations… and not getting caught up in negative stigma.

And even if I do end up feeling negative about something in a franchise, for whatever reason… ngl I keep that to myself in main public circles. Occasionally I’ll post constructive criticism from a more objective analytical light, but I hate the idea of me being negative on main. I really avoid posting negativity publicly online because I don’t like the idea of contributing negatively to a community that’s here to have fun about fiction. I’m not perfect. I’m a sucky fallible human. I’ve broken my own rule. Heh. But I truly prefer my experiences in fandom to be connecting with positive things. So I wouldn’t want to enter a culture of talking negatively about ANYTHING.

The FMA franchise is something I, for the most part, embrace as a whole with happiness. The ridiculousness in Prince of the Dawn and Daughter of the Dusk I find endearing. I have affection for the Live Action in all its ups and downs. The books are fun, the guidebooks are fun, the art books are fun, the OVAs are fun… and honestly, I’m sort of jealous you can enter the 2003 show with that affection, too. ^.^ It’s fun to feel that way about shows and 2003 has lots to offer.

Confession: every other part of the FMA franchise I can embrace for what it is, but 2003 trips me up because I spent almost ten years of my life hearing “2003 vs 2009″ fandom battles. I can’t experience it apart from that competitive and negatively-spun paratext. It’s ingrained now. I can’t help but feel odd thinking about the 2003 because FMAB is my dear, dear child and 2003 feels like its “competition” or “threat.” Usually that isn’t a problem and I embrace everything in a franchise… but in the world of FMA… I have difficulties emotionally accepting 2003 and it leaves me with mixed thoughts. I hope that doesn’t hurt anyone to hear I feel this way - because I would much rather not have those mixed feelings about 2003. I’d be happier without them. I’m just trying to say: I respect you for not having that baggage!

I’ve noticed that when I talk about FMA 2003 as itself, without any comparison, I have a fun time. Doesn’t matter if I talk constructive analytics or happy-go-nothings, looking at *JUST* 2003 on *ITS OWN* is fun. I’ll talk with people about the ridiculous shenanigans Team Mustang get into, the cool disguises characters wear, the emotional tragedy of Alphonse Heiderich, the deep social commentary in the Ishvalan plot arc, and how hot Roy is with an eyepatch. There’s no sense of “threat” to FMAB that way.

But as soon as I hear comparisons between the two shows, I get edgy and uncomfortable and feel weird. I know some of it is that I place FMAB on a pedestal of reverence and don’t want to hear comparisons that might not mark it “perfect.” But I know some of my discomfort with FMA 2003 vs 2009 conversations is from my experiences with fandom culture. Unfortunately I’ve run into far too many instances of 2003 lovers shitting and speaking critically of FMAB (and vice versa), and I don’t like that climate at all. I don’t want to be involved in that climate of compare, contrast, compete, and Judge (with a capital J). I don’t like people speaking ill of something I love when I’m here on tumblr to have recreation. It’s not that I can’t engage with different perspectives, but this is a place where I’m here to have fun about shows and be a fan of them - not to hear critical negativity. I don’t enjoy that part of fandom culture.

I’m sorry that you’ve probably been in experiences where you’ve seen 2003 bashed because that’s such a damper on a mood, seeing people speak poorly of a thing that’s special to your heart. I sympathize for the negativity culture you might have been exposed to, too. If you need, let’s make a happy bubble here! If you or anyone want to talk happily with me about 2003, or talk about 2003 on its own in any analytical way, I’m up for it, yo! :D Or ANY part of the FMA franchise! 

I hope that this long ramble didn’t sound too much like me talking about myself or my experiences… the point is… I love that you feel happy about the 2003 and FMAB and are a fellow FMA fan, and I’d love to experience positivity with you and others who feel that way too!

Just, all I ask, is that no one ask me to get involved in that comparison culture of “which show is better and why”! XD

Take care and have an awesome day, too!

[mlb-lovesquare]

Yes indeed! This blog hit 1,000 followers in just a few weeks! Whooooa haha!

Thank you so much guys! It means a lot! :D

I made this blog back in June thinking I wasn’t gonna do much with it. But I’ve been lurking in this fandom for a little over two years and I’ve always wanted to contribute somehow. Sadly my art and writing skills are no good lol.

Soooo I just settled with making gifs! I used to make gifs all the time for my other blogs but I ended up taking a break from that, so it feels refreshing to make some stuff again. I’m glad you guys seem to enjoy them by the way!

Also, I just realized I haven’t properly introduced myself on this blog. Whoops. Heh, well! I’m Janelle, I’m 24 (and turning 25 next month.. meep), I love animation, editing videos, aaaaand… I’ve been on this website for way too long lol. My main blog is @starrattlerofprydain, so if you see likes or replies from that blog, it’s just me!

And feel free to send me messages whenever! Messages are cool. My ask is always open for requests, if you guys want me to gif a specific scene, or multiple scenes, or really anything! I’ll try my best to do that! Or if you just wanna send a message to say hi, that’s cool too :D

Anyways! Thank you all once again for getting this blog to this milestone! You guys are simply the best! <3

[shiyumi-neruka]

When you get this you have to answer with 5 things you like about yourself, publicly. Then, send this ask to 10 of your favourite followers (Non-negotiable, positivity is cool!)💖💖💖

Aaaah thank you so much, I got super happy when I read this! :DD You’ve made my day!!

1. I generally don’t give up easily once I’ve become really dedicated to something

2. I like making friends

3. Whenever I get ideas I want to express/things I want to write or draw, I’ve managed to muster the effort to make them come to life and have the courage to post them haha (I’m happy that I’ve contributed to fandoms and amuse people/make them smile+ posting stuff has helped me make new friends :D)

4. My willingness to give things a go (My application to write for a zine was accepted recently, so that made me really happy!! c:)

5. Continuing to write even though it might not get me a job (I know you don’t have to monetise your hobbies, but considering my schedule, I’m happy I still write and post stuff! I love giving people feels and tbh writing is really fulfilling- to all writers, don’t give up! Whenever I get comments I’m happy I shared my writing instead of keeping it to myself. Plus, posting is so worth it when I can feel people’s happiness through their comments!)

This got really long, whoops! Excuse me for getting carried away :’D

[nyxi-styx]

It’s hard joining a new fandom sometimes

I’m just going to take a minute to vent a little bit of my feelings and I honestly don’t care if anyone reads this.

At 25 years old (24 when I started getting dragged into it all), I thought I was “too old” to be a YouTube fan. It was, after all, rather after my time. Established in 2005, I didn’t really experience anything on YouTube until about 2007-2008. Back then it was meme-y BS like Shoop-da-Whoop, “Shoes”, Charlie the Unicorn, and Potter Puppet Pals. As I grew older, YouTube seemed like something better left to teens. Maybe use it to look up a music video or something instructional and then fall down a Slow-Mo Guys or choreography rabbit hole. Still not a fandom. The closest I came to such was binge-watching Rob Dyke’s WWYPTOTI series and Twisted Tens series.

At Indy PopCon 2016, I was there with friends to see a guest (and caught glimpses of a passing Kevin Smith as I was so that was badass). Two of my friends were already in the YouTube culture world and fans of Markiplier and Dan & Phil. While we were having a snack and playing a card game, they spotted Wade (THE LordMinion777) taking some photos with fans int eh same food court area. I went over and took the photo of them with him, having no idea who this dude was. Less than a month later, (I’d say about 2 weeks) one of those two friends finally introduced me to Markiplier. I don’t remember the reasoning, but she showed me I Am Bread first. It was funny. I liked it. I didn’t think I’d get as into it as she did. However, curiosity had the better of me and I went to my room that night and watched him play ALL of OctoDad: Dadliest Catch. I laughed so hard I cried and that sold it for me. I fell in love. Of course, I had known a little about him due to gratuitous gifs and photos all over this godforsaken hellsite and I always thought he seemed like a nice, genuine person. Overtime, I just kept watching. I got to know about Bob and Wade and Team Edge. I fell in love with Chica. I just really enjoyed myself. Of course, I knew a little bit about JackSepticEye too, but I though being a Markiplier fan was about as deep into YouTube fandom as I was going to get.

About February, I saw a recommended playlist of JSE videos on an unrelated site. At this point, the post with the playlist was about 4 months old. I decided to go ahead and watch it, just to try something new. Naturally, I fell in love. I loved Jack more than I love Mark soon enough, not through any fault of Mark or anything. He’s still a wonderful person. I just loved that Jack was jsut unabashedly, fully, enjoying himself and nerding out and THEN doing the “professional” thing and reviewing the game whereas Mark would try to review while playing and get distracted by his own emotions and reactions. Not that that is a bad thing. That doesn’t mean Jack is better than Mark. I love them both SO much, but I find it easier to connect with Jack that way because that’s how I am too. I think that’s how most of us are. Once again, I thought this was as deep into YouTube fandom as I was going to get. I caught up with most of their videos (both Mark and Jack). The ones that interested me anyway. And then I would go back and forth and catch up on their latest. So, naturally, I got to know Tyler and Ethan too.

Unfortunately- and I feel like dirt admitting this, like I feel so fucking guilty and that’s why I’m venting here- I paid a lot of attention to Tyler and Mark and not a whole lot to Ethan. I didn’t have anything against him at all. He was funny and adorable. I just... *shrug*. But eventually, his self-deprecating jokes about “my channel is dying” started echoing in my head. And I found myself going “Why?” I knew they would tease him about his opening (which I think is a little unfair since it happens to be joked about more than Mark’s or Jack though there’s are targeted too) and that was about it. So, I finally went and I hit that subscribe button and waited until I had a little bit of time to really check out the content.

I finally sat down and opened the Crank Gameplays channel and started saving playlists of content that I found interesting. I don’t remember where exactly I started but I was kind of like “Okay. Cool. Cool. I mean there’s a lot of similarities between YouTube gamers, so how much can you really do?” But then I saw the video of Ethan and his brother singing “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” and I was like “Wow! He can sing! He’s got a really nice voice! It’s kind of that rugged jazzy, folks-y type voice. He kinda reminds me of like... Train or Matt Nathanson. Neato.” But then in ‘recommended’ came a video (I assume a clip from a livestream) of Ethan playing ukulele and covering “Can’t Help Falling In Love”. If there’s one thing I’m a sucker for, it’s Elvis songs.

I watched that video and fell. in. LOVE. Instant stan. I don’t know what it was but I just... couldn’t help falling in love. Haha.

Like I do, I instantly tried to find out a lot about him as if to play catch up. I was surprised to find out he’s a bit younger than me. But he’s got the same birthday as my dad (three days before mine and 3 days after my favourite actor) so of course I thought that was pretty freaking cool.

Maybe it’s because I always root for the underdog and the secondary characters... maybe it’s because blue is my favourite colour... maybe it’s because I am a sucker for hazel eyes... maybe it’s because I always fall for the biggest dork... I don’t know. I can’t pinpoint it, but Ethan is so wildly different from Mark and Jack. They’re all super nice, super genuine guys, but something about Ethan tugs at my heartstrings way more.

Whatever it is, I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to watch him grow and succeed in the next year. And I’m SO excited to have the chance to meet him at Indy PopCon 2018.

The thing is, though... I feel... like I don’t belong here. In Mark’s fandom, I really am just a number. Nobody notices. Nobody cares. In Jack’s fandom... well, the Overnight Watch was my first foray into community interaction and I was so surprised and overwhelmed by how welcome I was. Like it didn’t matter how long I had been a fan, what mattered was that I was a fan and I was happy to be interacting. And it’s nice to be a part of a fandom in which there’s little to no toxicity and drama and hatred amongst fans. It’s nice to be completely accepted.

In Ethan’s fandom... well, I’ve been here all of about a week... and I feel like I’m trying too hard. Like I shouldn’t be in this community because everyone else has been here longer. Everyone else understands more. Everyone else is better than me. I don’t matter.

This is why it’s nice to have @markidarkimoo as a friend. She stans with me no matter who or what.

The worst of it all in these three fandoms is that I can’t make fanart. I am shit at mood/aesthetic boards. I CAN make video edits, but my current laptop will not support my preferred software and I can’t afford a better laptop for a while. I am shit at photo edits.

I just... I can’t do anything worthwhile. I see all this other amazing work that all of the rest of you put out and I just... feel so insignificant.

Being part of a “big box” fandom like Supernatural or Marvel or Sherlock is easy for me because they’re all fictional characters and people eat up fanfic like they’re starving to death. Doesn’t matter if I can’t fan art. I can contribute to the fandom and show my love by making stories.

YouTube is different. It’s not based on fictional characters (Jack’s Egos and Darkiplier aside), it’s based all on real people. I can’t fanfic that unless it’s reader insert and that’s not something for the creators to see (*if they ever do, please kill me*) and enjoy.

I don’t know... I just feel pretty useless. These fandoms are smaller than the “big box” fandoms so I feel like I have to contribute something in order to properly show my love and appreciation and gratitude. But I can’t. I’m just useless. I’m just a blip.

[artsy-alice]

TREMONTAINE Season 3, Episode 2 Reaction + Review

Episode 2 gives us a new outlook on Riverside and its denizens, seen through the interesting perspectives of two very different characters. There’s a siege - and what a fitting word, because this episode did succeed in delivering the feel of tension and confinement, while still having a very emotional focus.

Oh, and the Duchess continues to be delightfully cunning in her side of things, of course. 

Tremontaine S3 E2 is out NOW in the Serial Box website! New to the series? The pilot episode is available online for free!

I’m adjusting to extra hours at work and commute so my TremonTEAM stuff got delayed :\ Will finish up on this week’s challenge soon!

Rest of the reaction/review under the cut - spoilers abound.

BOY. You guys know I’m a sucker for found families, right? So daaaamn this episode made me feel for Riverside and its sense of community hard. And then on top of that, Reza. Reza is making me cry. Maybe I cried. A bit. Sssshhhh.

Okay, let’s get to it. Woo boy. This is just gonna be a long vent about my feels for Reza though???

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REZA, the crazy rich dramatic magical unicorn long-haired swordsman prince boyfriend of ur dreams the Ambassador from Chartil.

So, okay, Reza spent this episode alternating between mourning-ex-boyfriend and murder-avenger. Because apparently some people??? Kill other people??? To cope??? (jfc is this my contribution to this fandom. memes?)

But man, memes aside, I wanted to bundle him up and tell him it’s fine, Vincent just decided to fake his death and run off to God-knows-where. Vincent is fine. Vincent is being... Vincent, just without a sword and so he’s probably a lot more broody, away from Riverside. Dammit, Vincent.

Reza’s grief and anguish really set the tone for the episode. Here was this man, who basically admitted he followed his old lover in this foreign land. He just lost that lover, and was told that the way the man died wasn’t even the way he must have wanted to go.

He chose to die, over me. He chose to die. Why hadn’t Vincent come to Ambassador House? Why hadn’t he come for a real doctor, or just for help and succor? Why hadn’t he— 

The thing is though, Vincent chose to ‘die’ because he lost his sword arm. Tess was the one who called the shots then, to have the arm removed so he could survive the blood poison. But like the others said when it was happening, Vincent would rather have died than live without his sword arm. Yes, maybe Vincent didn’t have a choice in the matter to even consider going to Ambassador house for help, but really - this is Vincent - if he had a choice then, would he have gone to Reza or at least instructed Tess and the others to bring him there for aid? I doubt it.

And then he started walking around Riverside and thought of the what-if’s.

He had never been free to join at Vincent’s side, not in Chartil. [...] Here, in the fiery night, men and women in every configuration of couple and trio danced together, shared wine and cakes, and ducked into alleys to kiss and make merry. If Vincent were alive, would Reza have been brave enough to do the same with him, in Riverside?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Vincent/Reza is my ship, okay. The first time I read about these two I already thought “Don’t get attached, they’ll end in tragedy and you know it” and whoops there it is there’s my heart on the floor broken and shattered haha. Leave me alone with my painful feels.

Okay, venting aside, I loved his interactions with the rest of the characters, namely Tess and the Riversiders. Gosh, I didn’t realize how interesting he and Tess together could be until it happened. The guy is properly moping around the place but still trailed after Tess and the other ladies like a big sad bodyguard.

He saw that they were indeed in trouble, and then decided he should do something, or at least stay and help, in this place Vincent called home. Him going back to military commander mode might do him some good after all. His suggestions might have been pointless so far but it’s good to keep occupied, right?

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TESS, my queen + The Riversiders

AFJLAHASFGKA TESS THE HAND !!!!! TESSIE!!! BABY QUEEN!

The image of fierce Tess the Hand, “fat and beautiful” walking through the streets with purpose, drawing a knife from her thigh as she approached a corner? YES. ALL THE YESES. We need a movie or a series just so I can see this visualized because I loved that little scene so much.

She found Reza, was unfazed by the fact that she arrived to a murder scene, took him in, and her heart broke to keep the truth from him. She hates that Vincent was making her keep up with the lie, but she refused to break a promise. I love her.

Tess has properly risen to be somewhat like a leader figure in this community this season. Of course, Riverside claims it has no leader, but they do have people who are looked up to and respected more than the others, I guess.

And in this invasion of her home, Tess is simply unyielding. No, they are not giving up one of their own, no matter how much they might hate him too. No, they are not going to surrender. What should they do? SIEGE PARTY. They should fucking party and show those City folks that Riverside doesn’t give a fuck.

“But bring us together. Remind Riverside what we are. Show them bastards they can’t put us down. We’ll fire up all the hearts, play music in the streets, drink what we like. Screw them.”

YES, MADELINE. TELL ‘EM.

According to Reza’s analysis, they should give a fuck real soon, but not right now, the ladies said. Party first, apparently.

Reza asked that they explain how Riverside functioned, if there was no leader; the women stared at him. Did Riverside have no mayor or representative to the City?

No, Riverside did not.

It was anarchy, Reza had realized with dawning horror. 

Haha, oh Reza. Yes it is anarchy. But there’s some semblance of order there, I promise. Riverside is still a community and they didn’t even need a leader to organize the siege party. It’s one woman’s idea, a few others agreed, and they were able to get the word out and everyone contributed and they had their own little festival in the island. Instant potluck.

Riverside might be a dangerous, dreary place but damn the people know how to party.

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DIANE and ESHA

*fans self* Can they. Stop this. Flirting. Oh gosh. I can’t.

Actually no, I can. Please proceed. Keep it up. These interactions are giving me life, clearing my skin, paying my bills, watering my crops, etc.

This episode, Diane gave Esha a little warning about Davenant possibly being on the hunt for her. Diane asked if she could protect herself, and Esha assured that yes, she does.

So-

PLEASE TELL ME WE’LL GET MORE ESHA+SWORDS???? If there is an Esha ship I love more than Dianesha, it’s Swordsesha.

PLEASE.

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GREGORY, LORD DAVENANT

I only have this to say:

I want Diane to fuck him up.

Well. We all want Diane to fuck him up... and we all know Diane will fuck him up so. *shrugs* I’ll just wait. Let’s believe. #TeamDuchess is ride or die, guys.

Oh yeah, there’s also Florian and Rafe. Florian is really upset. Like, ‘I will fuck Rafe Fenton in all corners and surfaces of the City to forget my ex’ type of upset. Let’s see where he goes this season, I guess? Hey, at least my boy Rafe is getting some quality time for the meantime. I’m still more invested in the Rafe-and-The-School thing than with the Florian thing for now.

Up Next: Diane has a new paramour

OHHHH YEEEEAAAAAH GET IT GIRL

[yuseirra]

(1/2) Hello! I saw your question about animation and thought maybe I could contribute haha ;; It really depends on the animation program you have; I used Adobe Flash a lot before it died on me, and it is capable of doing the things that you asked about like moving a specific object in various directions while the background remains untouched, it's called motion tweening and it's really useful for simple movements. You can also input text and animate it the same way as pictures!

Aside from just moving objects, other simple things like objects and text fading in and out can also be done, though if you’re looking for special effects, Flash can’t quite do that, not in my experience anyway haha ;;; Adobe After Effects is specialized for such things and can also do animation, but aside from it being kinda expensive (All Adobe products are like that unfortunately ;;) it’s also really not user-friendly even if you have experience in Flash.

(3/2 whoops) Youtube is usually a good place to start if you’re looking for tutorials, but the official Adobe website also has tutorial pages for their products. Unfortunately there are very little animation software out there that are easy to use, let alone are cheap or free; however I do remember some news a long time ago that the program that Studio Ghibli uses, OpenToonz, was made available for free! I have no idea how that works though, so you’ll have to go tutorial hunting for that one ;;;

KEEPING THESE AS REFERENCE YOU’RE SO SWEET;; thank you and you’ve been supporting me for a long time too uM I HAD TO, go peep your blog to see what you like because

I didn’t want you to leave you empty-handed?? I could see from just your icon that you like the shinshin it’s been really long since I last drew him and her but I hope you like the shinaya ;v;// I just recalled about how the kagepro fandom was so warm and nice to me and felt a bit melancholic I hope the people I’ve met there are all doing well

I’ll look into these programs!! I have gotten recommendations for adobe after effects and photoshop cs4 and above, I think those two programs are the ones a lot of people use to include cool effects and the ones that I’d like to try using in the future because they seem to have the effects that I want (probably). Flash sounds pretty nice too according to the way to describe it!! Thank you for the very long and dedicated ask, I’M SO SORRY I took a whole lot of time to reply this was somehow pretty deep down in the list of asks and I missed it while it was a very helpful message 

Yep, I looked up the costs for some of these programs and they are really expensive hh;; It was so highly priced it sort of made me want to give up/just make the best use of the programs I already have, but I’m going to keep looking if there’s a way if I could use these programs in a way that’s not so illegal haha;; opentoonz are free? I should look into that too.. 

thanks for being helpful!!!// it’s cool how we have all these technologies with us that people in the past could only imagine right.. if we were born just twenty years early then we might have not come across these things as fast! Although I’m so bad with tech guess I’ll attempt on more things little by little//