There's an editing error at 17:55 or so, an image missing that should have been there. Dammit :(

You know, since Fiddlesticks can only say the final words of someone or recite some traumatic event, it implies that someone's last words before dying were fiddlesticks. Hate to be that guy

what Fiddlesticks says when he sees Skyen: *wHAt'S... tHE... DEaL......... mUSt... MakE....... nEw cHamPiONs.......*

Fun Fact: The voice actor for Fiddlesticks also voiced Funtime Freddy from FNAF Sister Location and Music Man from Ultimate Custom Night

Is fiddlesticks one of the first 40 champs? Then that would mean that he was literally made in the "first screams of creation"

I disagree with the "too well designed" argument. Fiddlesticks has always been, which means he has had thousands, millions, billions of years to "learn" what is most efficient when it comes to being scary, the same way that a tree has "learned" how to spread its leaves to catch more sunlight. Nature has really efficient designs and we often take inspiration from it to build our own creations.

“An old Targonian legend speaks of how a child of twilight stole the only joy from a ragged, whispering horror” Surprise Party Fiddlesticks, speaking to the childlike Zoe, Aspect of TWILIGHT; “Nice key ya got there, twilight. Didn’t steal it from anyone…DANGEROUS, did ya?”

I feel like the lack of in-universe skins for Fiddlesticks is a huge missed opportunity. If the scarecrow is canonically only the body it uses in the Demacian Hinterlands then what does its Noxian body look like? What about its Bilgewater body made from broken oars and tatter sails? Where's the Ionian body made from the charred and twisted remains of one of the magic trees those people are always on about? Can you even imagine what Fiddlesticks would have to do to be The Scariest Thing Around in a place as inherently dark and scary as Zaun?!

Normal Fiddlesticks dance: A metaphor of the lore relationship between the puppet and Fiddlesticks itself Surprise Party Fiddlesticks dance: “Music makes you lose control. Music makes you lose control”

Lore fiddlesticks: Demonic creature that will kill on sight Fiddlesitcks in game: *get's slapped once and exploades*

I’d argue that fiddlesticks’ design came from trial and error (in the lore at least). Fiddlesticks tried things out until they worked and he just went on with them. Kinda like how evolution doesn’t know what features to create, but when a feature works , it stays.

The thing I absolutely LOVE about the Demonic Manuscript is that after months of back and forth discourse and dozens of videos by people trying to figure out what it means, Yone gets released and the entire community slaps their forehead and collectively shouts "WE WERE READING IT UPSIDE DOWN????"

One thing I think you overlooked when talking about how he looks "too well designed" is that Fiddle isn't quite mindless. I think animalistic would better describe it. It CAN understand things about the world, it just doesn't YET. What it does probably know is that it needs to scare people as much as possible, while not being so terrifying that nothing will get close to it. It needs to look somewhat human. That's why it looks somewhat humanoid, while also being ragged at the same time.

I think it would be cool for future skins of Fiddle to be his other forms he took on in different societies, not just farmland. It would better justify his lore.

the voice actor made an entire video on how he did the voice of Fiddle sticks if anybody wants to do it as well

Skyen : Finally I am catching up to speed, it's just Fiddlesticks and Volibear. Riot: Are you sure about that ? "Throws 2 new champions "

"For a demon with no theory of mind..." *Fiddlesticks, reclined in an easy chair perusing a psychology textbook with a pair of spectacles: Raises what might be a middle finger before returning to its self-education*

I wonder if Riot is just going to flat out reboot Nocturne into something totally different when his rework arrives since Fiddlesticks seems to just be better than him in the "scary" department...

You said it's mouth seemed like a sadistically designed bear trap. Soooo, remember Kled, and how he throws a bear trap on a rope to fight enemies. Yeah, I think I know where he got his mouth. It even has the same skinny-ish design. And now I'm just imagining the hilarity of Kled, the yordle who fears nothing, meeting fiddlesticks, the fear demon. Like, imagine fiddlesticks being attracted to fear like sharks are to blood, and when he meets Kled, he just tries to constantly attack Skarll, but since he's an Immortal yet perpetually afraid lizard, fiddlesticks keeps attacking and failing to kill it while Kled is chasing fiddlesticks demanding him to "get off mah property". That would be hilarious to see

I'd love an ultimate fiddlesticks skin which changes to one of the various fiddlesticks variants in the lore every time you respawn.

Fun fact about fiddlesticks, he’s the only champion with a non-integer value for his health.

This has to of been one of the most empassioned and chilling readings of this colour story I've ever heard. Thank you for doing justice to the stories that are done right.

13:00 this is a really great point. The thing that we call "Fiddlesticks" isn't a character, from a storytelling perspective, because a character wants something, and they can want something different from what they used to want. But he doesn't have to be. Fiddlesticks presents interesting possibilities for storytelling, but they're not his stories. And that's okay.

I love the way Fiddlesticks elongates during some animations, like certain melees and the dance. To me that's not that the puppet is compressed in some way, but I think that's Fiddlesticks using its shadows to give the puppet extra length. In the game it just looks like the model stretches, but what I think is really going on is that the puppet actually breaks, and instead of pulling it back together Fiddlesticks is stretching itself to make sure it can still complete whatever action it's trying to do. Then it recedes and the puppet resumes its normal shape. Also, I really love that Fiddlestick's ult is more than an expression of power; it's just him dropping the act. Instead of upholding the image of something scary, Fiddlesticks literally breaks free of his own puppet and you see him for what he really is: pure, absolute fear. Nothing can be more terrifying than watching this primal, ancient Demon unleash itself in the most feral way possible with the sole intention of ripping you and everyone around you apart, and there is nothing you can do to stop it.

He reminded me lot of the mechanical monstrosity that is antagonist of "9." That thing was terrifying and the similarities too that and Fidelsticks are so strong there is no doubt that creature clearly inspired he resigned. Even Fidelstick's ultimate is similar to how the monster moves at the end of the movie.

"I would be fascinated to see fiddlesticks going up against garen or sylas and take on what terrible deep dark fears they have within them." He kinda does. After all fiddlesticks mimicks the sounds of his victims and past encounters and uses this to invoke the image his victims fear the most. Sylas, someone who wants to protect mages by all cost, once went up against a Magehunter named Vannis while protecting a young mage and her father. By accident, Sylas ends up killing ... the Father and the young mage. A memory that hunts him to this day. When Fiddlesticks encounters Sylas, he says: "Vannis... Don't hurt her..." Garen, a symbol of Demacia and everything demacia stands for, including their despite for mages. How terrifying would it be, if his own family had begotten a mage ... like his sister? What if Lux ... was a mage ... Not just any mage, but the mage responsible for Sylas breaking out of prison. When fiddlesticks encounters Garen, he says: "Garen... Brother... Please don't hate me..."

It sounds super dorky, but I remember talking fan character shop with a friend and I brought up reworked Fiddlesticks and kinda wondered aloud "Wonder what it'd say to our characters?" and that lead to a fun discussion. You learn a lot about characters when you face them with what they most fear!

He did not stutter at the word "rural" in the narrated inrto, I am so proud!!!

Looking at his death animation, it doesn't feel like it dies. It feels like it renders the puppet forfeit, and forces it to rip the rib cage open so that it can escape.

That moment when you realized that they might be setting up the ultimate event of a lifetime, and it started with the civil war and Fiddlesticks’ rework. Imagine an event where players have to choose a side to this war, and as they play, it adds points to the sides. It seems like a normal event and nothing really as new, but then after a couple of weeks to months, they change it to the end of the world event, where because everyone was focused in the war event, no one noticed the world around Runeterra as Fiddlesticks has grown in power and locating his key from the child of Twilight, Zoe, and now the event changes slightly, everyone is still in their side of the war, but now the actual event is trying to stop Fiddlesticks while fighting the opposite side (and players themselves can choose to not fight each other and focus on Fiddle) before he enacts his plan (which can be either releasing all 9 of his other skins or releasing all 9 of his siblings).

I think giving Fiddlesticks a personality so that he can become more of a "character" will kind of defeat the "fear of the unknown" vibe to him/it. I think giving him characterization won't add all that much and will be very unnecessary, especially since he's already so perfect imo.

I play Fiddlesticks quite often now, and a small detail that I just noticed in the ultimate's animation while watching this is how the cage opens up as Fiddlesticks dives forward. Almost like a second, larger mouth ready to clamp down on whoever it's diving at, while the demon soul looks and acts sort of like an eyeball in the last few frames before the crow storm is summoned. I love watching your videos because they give me new things to appreciate about the characters, both story and personality-wise. They've actually helped me connect more to the ones that I pick as my mains for each role.

27:15 It's also worth to mention that his jaws don't move always like that. Especially in the Scarecrow form, where he makes this "scream" move. If you see that on the edge of your vision, you will most likely snap back and look at it, only to see a perfectly standing still scarecrow, questioning your sanity on what you just imagined. But what will you be? Terrified.

Oh yeah, i almost forgot that Skyen never got to do a "Whats the deal" with Fiddlesticks and Volibear. Hope you have time to breathe with all the content this month Skyen, including the weekly Dark Souls that you have to edit.

I'd think the pointy, hinged jaw was simply an animal trap. Completely normal object to find on a farm.

In my opinion, I like the new lore for Fiddlesticks better personally. It actually sounds like an old folklore creature that makes you uncomfortable. Especially with how Sky read it in this video, that made the article so much more... *shudders* gross and scary.

When are we getting a "What's the deal with Rats" video, where you review the superb design of rats

I love how the puppet "Tongue" is not actually one and is just the tentacle/arm of the demon re-adjusting the head for any animation it takes. Like the Joke or his ult. Fucking love my homeboy fiddle.

I don’t play League (and probably never will) but Fiddlesticks is by far my favourite character in every aspect; from design, to voice, and lore.

Random Trivia: Back in the ye olde lore, the Tempest Flats were an area located at the foothills between the Shuriman Desert and Mount Gargnatua (what Targon used to be called), so the story of the Witch that created the wicked Scarecrow could be translated into the modern lore as a Targonian folk tale, with the Scarecrow being Fiddlesticks (of course), and the Witch being Zoe (or maybe a previous host for the Aspect of Twilight), considering that she's ancient, tied to Targon, a Lunari (thus hated by the ruling Solari) and is responsible for stealing one of Fiddle's keys.

Ok but this might be common knowledge now but the demonology is a reference to what each of the "demons" in league stand for. Kench is greed, Evelyn is lust, fiddlesticks is fear, raum is secrets(raum is the demon swain uses) etc. The "azakana" on the bottom are a group of demons that yone (who wasn't out at the time) always talks about who're demons that feed on emotions as a whole like anxiety, doubt, anger etc.

The introduction was the beeeeeeest. But best part is demonology

TB: " And I will not play riots sick games any longer-" Video: Ad Break

Imagine if Fiddlesticks decided to go on a binge and did that by ending the world. I would imagine it can do so, ancient characters in League tend to be stronger the older they are. Hell, it probably might start feeding on the Watchers' fear of light.

oh my god skyne the intro was fantastic! im not even all the way through the video but oh my god its so good! Amazing job man :D

30:00 for those who don't know what he's talking about is a phenomenon called uncanny valley. It's one of the most important parts of both animation and visual effects. What it is is when something has passed the realm of being cartoonish and is trying to be accurate to real life but doesn't quite accomplish it. When this happens the human mind almost always notices because we've spent our whole lives looking at reality so the moment we see something that doesn't quite look real it sets off triggers in our mind saying essentially this isn't what you think it is. One place interestingly enough where you can see this phenomenon in effect is in poor wirework in low budget action movies.

I freaking loved your video, nice amout of serious and well-explained lore with some adequate jokes and humor, 37mins and 51 secs and I was totally into everything for every sec of it

They should take nocturne in the direction of a different kind of fear Rather than primal fear the more paranoia of fear He could become invisible on the trail of darkness you leave behind for example You know he is there but you cant see him His ult is the perfect example of what defines nocturne The moment his ult goes off everyone is afraid, not just for their lives but for their teammates as well and the total uncertainty it brings People who are together huddle together People flee to their tower regardless of whether nocturne is nearby Because they dont know what will happen

I'm not a LoL player but I love these character breakdowns. the design and animation analysis are wonderful to watch

Excellent work on that introduction.

Warwick and Fiddlesticks are the two best reworks riot has done. With them both being horror like champs, cause can argue that Warwick isn't I guess, I have high hopes for Nocture.

During the ult, the tendrils dont cast any shadows, which add to the unease for it.

Fiddlesticks: an ancient primal force of FEAR Tahm Kench: that stupid voice in your head tempting you to go for more Evelynn: post nut clarity

What I love about the new fiddlesticks is that he vaguely embodies Noxian tech. Something not understood but very well feared by Demacian farmers. And it gets this look with a bear trap for a mouth, a saw as a shoulder, a scythe, etc. All things famers know. Fiddle is the image of a Noxian tech monster as imagined by a farmer. He is several levels deep with his design and I thought I couldn't love his rework more than I did already.

I love how you describe the windup animation for his ultimate ability at 31:35. It just sounded so funny

On the "too-well-designed" point: Does a honey bee mimic know what it is impersonating? What about moths? Do they know the motivs on their wings look like big eyes to predators? Or does it even know that, if it sits perfectly still, it won't get eaten?

fiddlesticks is generally regarded to having the best rework so far from riot. and before him was warwick which many say was incredible as well so its nice to see that they still make great reworks

I feel like it's worth noting that fiddlesticks took a very humanoid form because it can also hit that uncanny Valley that fills you with dread. And then terror when the vaguely human thing runs at you in a very non human way.

Honestly, seeing my OG main get the rework he deserved was so satisfying. Also, on a note about Nocturne: Nocturne is a Demon of Nightmares. It is the terror that strikes when you are sleeping, and can only very rarely affect you when you are awake. Whereas Fiddlesticks is the embodiment of the fear of the world, all the things that do exist and can very much hurt you, Nocturne is the fear of the impossible made tangible. I'd love to see them rework him to incorporate the 'Impossible' aspect. His Ult already does a decent job, seeing as it could be interpreted as the nightmare following you into the waking hour, though it definitely needs a visual update to represent it.

Btw, that animation effect with the dangling jaw is called a "jigglebone." Or at least that's what it's called in the Source engine. Not sure if it's industry-wide terminology.

I don't play LoL but I like their style. I love the "primordial demon" concept Fiddlesticks has going on. And the First of Ten line is really chilling. I hope the other 10 are equally ambiguous as it, because if the other 10 are like Tahm Kench and Evelyn then Fiddlesticks would be like the "dumb one" of the bunch because he does not understand things. What other things as old as the emotion of fear I wonder.

I like talking with a freind about character designs adn, when we talked about Nocturne and Fiddlesticks, we talked about the fear they are suppoused to evoke. My conclusion is that, while fear is one of the mightiest emotions, Fiddle and Nocturne deliver different flavors of it. Nocturne is the classic fear of the night and darkness. The sensation of being alone, or rather, not beign alone in the middle on the night. Fiddlestick is the "Bump in the Night" fear. More characteristic of rural settlements, it is the fear that evoke being in the middle of the wilderness. Picture this: Living in a small town in the middle of the usa, at 20 miles minimum from the next civilized spot and surrounded by wilderness: Forests, Swamps, Mountains, Lakes... Every piece looming over the small town as if saying "you are just one landslide from oblivion" and, in the middle on the night, you hear it: a noise. An unnatural noise for something to do, then, you have a quick question to answer: "Do I go check out that noise?" Will you step out of the comfort of the bed, or rather, the illusion of safety of that small room to face your fears? Will you shed the light upon the darkness not fully prepared for what you might encounter? Will you stand upon the Bump in the Night? No, you just soothe yourself to sleep, coming with the less live-threatening explanation, while praying for that thing to let you live to see the light of dawn once more.

there is something I love about fiddle's dance animation is that you can see that it's the demon who controls the puppet, the rib cage is empty

I think this is the video that made me want to subscribe. I don’t know why, but it helped me realize how fascinating Fiddlesticks is and hearing Skyen gush over the animation just fills me with joy. Why? I have no idea. I guess since I get very excited and enthusiastic about stuff that I enjoy, I appreciate seeing other people being enthusiastic about stuff that they like. Also, thanks for getting me into LOL lore Skyen.

Gets teleported to Runeterra, walking a lone road I quickly find myself surrounded by bandits as all hope is lost. I look down as I realize my end, In my last moments I realize. "My fate may be sealed, but I can make yours a lot worse." Looking up at the bandits and muttering under my breath "Fiddlesticks."

I picture Fiddlesticks as a sort of monster/force that hunts its prey by making it fear, and at the peak, it feasts. It's animalistic from its core, simple in a way, but you won't be able to make sense of it

I actually started playing a creepy scarecrow based Warforged in DND 5e. After 10 mins of playing him somebody said: "Do you play League?" I have never played League. He then told me i had basically made Fiddlesticks. Yes, yes i had.

The more I listen to this voice, the more nostalgic it becomes for me... I remember as a child, listening to a “bob the builder” tale on my CD player, that told the story of how two characters from bob the builder got shut in, and lost in a mine. As a child, that story was absolutely terrifying, and as a soon to be adult, this voice makes me remember that terrifying feeling. It really adds to the experience!

I have to say the first part sounded like a audiobook I would listen to, and the jumpscare at the end of the reading almost got me keep up the good work

Fiddlesticks was voiced by the same guy that said, “No Gregory, I am not ok… Dumbass”

You should review the Sisterhood series from Lol. It's interesting

I feel like the intentional raggedness of Fiddlestick's puppet/form, that it's _really_ convenient it has all these attributes and traits that just so happen to freak people the hell out, just brings the whole thing into uncanny valley territory really fast. You start wondering if this thing is actually just a mindless demonic-ish creature with little to no brain... Or if it has some kind of _sentience_ and that it knows *exactly* what it's doing. You tell me which is the most terrifying.

The time has come again to dig up that delightful animatic! Skyen's nemesis is back xD

Ok and next the short of yone OMG

"fun" fact: things like shaking or sudden movements are connected with demons are, at least in part, because demons were blamed for things like epileptic attacks.

That transition into the voice at the end of the opening segment was actually terrifying

Fiddlesticks might have taken on his current form after some time. Perhaps the demon, feeding on fear, rearranged itself over and over until it found what squeezes the most fear out of his prey. A shambling mess of scrap and cloth, built like a malformed human, familiar enough to mistake in your periphery, but alien enough that the sight of this jagged metal monstrosity is enough to traumatize someone for the rest of their life, however short that may be.

That was a really fuckin good transition into the jumpscare, good job man

Fiddle sticks would turn into that one little girl that Silas accidentally killed trying to save her if it went up against him.

I think Fiddlesticks design is like evolution, I think it just pieces everything together and replicates what worked best in the past. Almost like a mimic.

thanks for the warning about the jumps care I'm subbing because that's very kind if nothing else for people who dislike them a lot. Fiddles little diddy mentioning he's first of ten is pretty compelling lore wise. Like what's he the harbinger of? There must be some kind of primal ancient beings who Runeterra can only describe as demons but defy all the rules of them and more are on the way. Or I really hope they are, like god knows if Riot will pay that off but hey LoR is gonna need Fiddles themed monsters if they make him in game so maybe they will there.

Beautifully redesigned, downright Lovecraftian.

When I heard "rural", I had an involuntary chuckle. Good job pronuncing it.

That intor was sickass. Kinda reminds me of The Magnus Archives in some moments. Great voice acting.

this has been a VERY good video for skyen's funny voices

I've lost track if how many dozens of times I've watched this for the intro alone.

I love your storytime voice, Skyen! You're a great storyteller!

Yes yes yes! The video I’ve been waiting for since forever thank you so much TB for doing these it really means a lot to people like myself who need something to break the monotony of COVID!

I think fiddlesticks design doesnt undermine its lore because from the lore itself its said that it can feel everyones fear and make it bigger and bigger meaning it has some understanding available to it from the minds of his victims, like it says lines to tragic characters that struggle with their pasts (annie yasuo etc) making it plausible that it did make that form itself and isnt just a mistake in the designers part, even if this isnt fully correct simple trial and error would make it work just like khazix evolves to his surroundings an ancient demon with access to its victims thoughts should be able to do so too even while lacking the understanding of what its doing

I love that you talk for so long about him not having to prepare for movement, and then you perfectly show the 8 frames of him preparing for the movement. perfect

15:56 I didn’t realize up until now that Fiddlesticks has a literal ribcage and shoulder-blade.

The way you tell the story in the beginning is perfect for Halloween night.

Yeah, I had Fiddle a while ago in my series of lore readthroughs (in German though). His story was really, really good.

to make it simple fiddle sticks is a mirror of your fear :) his taunt interaction to other character proof that

The part where you talked about his Ultimate and were like: I wanna go there I wanna go there, thats where I thought: "Damn, you would be amazing as the voice of some greedy evil entity."

This narration by you taught me something more about showing the emotions of the story itself. I'll definitely improve my storytelling just from hearing this.

I was told by some of my friends that most of the skins he has are actually forms he takes on depending on witch part of runeterra and if you look at his skins you can match almost all of the to place in a runeterra that also connects with his story

13:57 the one frame of fiddlesticks is real

Not sure who but someone said that fiddlestick's skins are different puppets for different regions of runeterra. If riot confirmed this fiddle will have the most amount of canon skins

Fidelstick for me is a great use of lovecraftian horror he's everywhere he's everything and not understanded by humanity in runaterra he is just him and thats why he is the best character for me