#dosomethingaboutmedi

[michaelscorneroftheinternet]

In case y'all don't know in the latest SMG4 episode the two kids Mario had been protecting and caring for were recolors for Mario x Meggy fankids. And was confirmed by the person responsible for this.

This is unacceptable.

And Luke has stated they hate this ship. Yet they have someone on their team doing this and have done nothing about it and now it's crossed a line.

If you support MxM and follow me I ask you to unfollow me immediately.

#DoSomethingAboutMedi

[midnight1nk]

‼️IMPORTANT NEWS

PLEASE READ: The following is a full report in regards of the Medi situation, the episode “The Lil’ Fellas” and everything else you need to know. This is intended for informative purposes, as I already stated my personal thoughts about the situation. Transcripts will be provided for most of the photos’ descriptions. Content warnings include: proshipping/darkshipping, whitewashing. View at your own discretion.

MediExcalibur2012 (also known as “Medi” or Paul) has been working with the SMG4 Team for around five years as an editor, machinima artist, and voice actor—most notably recognized as the voice of SMG1. He has also contributed as a writer for several past episodes. In addition to his work on the show, and like others on the team, he runs his own channel under the same name, where he uploads personal content not affiliated with the show or its canon.

A few days after the release of the episode “SMG4: The Lil’ Fellas”, several viewers observed that the two children, Hat Kid and Bow Kid, were strangely recolored to resemble Mario and Meggy. At the time, they admittedly dismissed it as speculation, feeling it was just a coincidence. However, some of this speculation went as far as claiming that this was intentional.

A video uploaded by youtuber SZH4 theorizes that the kids are Meggy and Mario’s biological children, based on the fact that their colors align with the MxM fankids Megan and Maggie Jr. found on the Steam Workshop. As he interprets it, the Team's (supposedly) alluding to the idea that Mario x Meggy could be canon. In the final section of the video, SZH4 addresses a message to “haters” of the MxM ship, stating that the theory was made for fun and expressing confusion about how certain moments between the characters are seen as merely platonic. He states, “[Those moments] prove that they’re more than just siblings. Just look closely at the signs and don’t tell me that ‘oh, siblings love each other like that’. I think it’s a different level of love.” [x]

The situation took a drastic turn when, on his discord server, Medi responded to the viewer speculation with the following message:

According to his confirmation, these kids were intended to reference the models. Though he didn’t say it outright in this message, he was clearly aware that they were MxM fankids, as it was explicitly stated in the model names, and he had used a color picker tool on the texture files. This was when everything started to go downhill.

A few people from Medi’s server shared this message on Twitter from late May 4th to early May 5th. Responses from many sides soon overwhelmed the community feeds. Many expressed anger, this being the last straw of Medi’s previous actions, and are urging the Team to take action. Others, including MxM shippers, defended Medi with the claim that it was just an “Easter egg” and shouldn’t be taken seriously. That is not to say all of them are shippers, but do believe this situation was taken too seriously. The creator of one MxM fankid, for instance, released a statement regarding it, quote:

The problem isn’t that a reference was included in the episode, but rather the intentions behind them—the MxM ship. From the Team’s side, Luke himself made it clear before that he was uncomfortable with this particular pairing, canonically Meggy and Mario seeing each other as siblings. None of the Team had overstepped the boundaries he set in production—until now. Not only has Medi disrespected Luke’s wishes, but he also betrayed the rest of the Team, who had no role in what he did. He twisted the trust and intentions of the others, supposedly all for a “reference.” Medi responded to those who brought this point up to him in defense; the following screenshots were provided by Twitter user WickerDan, quote:

(Yes, you did see it right. He edited the message and I’m unable to find the OG message). For the sake of readability in the next screenshot, I’ll leave the transcript here:

“Oh they know about the video and are fine that it exists. I remember I was at the pub one time with all of Glitch and Luke and I were joking with each other about that video and having a good laugh with each other. If they really had an issue with that video or even the ship itself, I would've been fired a long time ago.” — Medi

(BTW that thin screenshot was sent in February, not exactly related to the last episode). This, of course, was sent by Medi himself so take it with a grain of salt. It isn’t usual for these reports to have an unreliable source, but it was brought up for 2 reasons:

The “would’ve been fired a long time ago” was the same excuse he gave in the behind-the-scenes videos in his channel. While those moments were ambiguous in interpretation, as it was for any of the other ships, the scene he’s twisted in the last episode was obvious.

This unfortunately started to spark some doubt on Luke’s OG stance on the ship. Again, these statements from Medi can’t be trusted, and he provided no proof that this exchange happened in the first place.

Some viewers began to notice another issue: Bow Kid, that was meant to be a black character from the OG game, was recolored to have a lighter skin tone to match the fankid’s. This is undeniably whitewashing. User AnEyeArtist, on the other hand, proposed that the lighter skin was done because of a lighting issue and not of Medi’s doing, screenshots also provided by WickerDan:

Though it likely isn’t the case since it is a drastic change with having pictures side by side. For those who say that the kids are simply recolors, it’s the intent behind them that truly matters.

As for the rest of the Team, they weren’t aware of Medi’s intentions until early May 5th. Medi’s actions had managed to slip through the cracks during production, and the Team clearly had no idea until now. As mentioned before, many viewers have been urging them to take action regarding the situation. One proposed solution was to give Medi a warning; others want him to be fired. At the time this report is being written, there has not been an official statement from anyone on the Team.

One thing is certain: what Medi has done to the last episode can’t be undone, and we may not see the episode the same way again. Just because it is “fiction” doesn’t make it right or harmless. MxM is a proship—it always will be, regardless of whichever “version” is being discussed. The intent is what matters. As mentioned at the start, this report is meant to be informative and prevent any misconceptions within the community. While I’ve put my personal feelings aside for this, there are still some things left to establish:

Please do not harass the rest of the Team. This was solely Medi’s doing; they had nothing to do with this. “But they knew how Medi was.” Not like this, never like this. Medi managed to ruin the episode for everyone, regardless of which side they were on, and the team’s hard work on what was once a great episode is now ruined. An absolute betrayal. This must be hard for them to learn about, and I can only extend my apologies for what happened.

No matter the side, we can agree that something has to be done, and Medi must face consequences. I mentioned the possibility of him being fired or receiving a warning, and some of you already know where I stand. From what I've observed across all platforms, this would certainly be a difficult decision to make. On one hand, firing him would lead a portion of the viewers to claim it was too harsh. On the other hand, giving him a warning would be seen as not strict enough. Either option would only escalate the situation, with the possibility that the Tari VA controversy could be brought into the mix. The best possible course of action would be to not assign Medi any scenes related to Meggy and Mario and restrict him to exactly what the script intends. Though not everyone will agree, this approach should be enough to calm the waters, and it's likely the Team would handle it this way based on previous instances. It’s not a guarantee that this would happen exactly, but it is something.

Regardless, we must do our best within our community to stay informed and spread awareness, not letting it go silent so quickly. This show means something to us, in one form or another. Understandably, a lot has happened over the last few days. If you need a moment to breathe, take it. Treat yourselves with other media, get a snack, and allow some time to take your mind off things. Prioritize your mental health. But if you can, join the voice of our community.

Greater in numbers, we can fight for it with all we have, take it back from his doing. Even something as simple as using the hashtag #DoSomethingAboutMedi to spread the word would help. Any update that comes our way will be posted, as always. In the meantime, take care.

[deltaruinedcoco37]

"wow, that smg4 episode was really fun and I loved it (I'm just gonna look away from the MxM and it's pretty good)!"

and then I find out about. everything and wtf like I haven't enjoyed Medi's contributions to the smg4 community much before now but...

?!?!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!? can humans be normal

[funkii4-blog]

Seeing all sorts of excuses being made in Medi’s favor in regards to the current situation and it’s pmo

“The skin lightening on bow kid isn’t as bad as it looks it’s just the lighting” whether that’s true or not there shouldn’t have been any lightening of her skin done in the first place, end of story.

“But other members of the team openly like ships too” and the difference is the ships the other team members like aren’t problematic, and they don’t frequently try to slip in hints of them like Medi does. And Luke has expressed a major distaste for mxm in the past, unlike the other ships the team openly like.

“They’re just recolors” it’s not the isolated fact that they’re recolors that’s the problem (aside from the lightening thing), it’s the intended inspiration for these recolors that’s the problem. You should not be sneaking references to fankids into a media, let alone ones for such a problematic ship.

“It’s not like it’s gonna be canon” well no shit, but he shouldn’t be slipping these moments in for his own pleasure anyway, he’s the only animator on the team that does this (and pretty regularly at that).

I’m still on team “I want Medi to be fired”, but even if he’s not, I certainly hope this would be grounds for some sort of other consequence because y i k e s

[midnight1nk]

I know I have some asks coming in, particularly about taking our minds off things from... that. While I understand the intentions behind them, it's not within me. This is a serious situation that we can not let slide.

"It makes me uncomfortable though." Good, as it should. It isn't an easy pill to swallow, and that's how it's supposed to be. Averting our gaze from the truth isn't going to solve anything. It's going to continue to hurt the innocent people involved and let the culprit get away with it.

"Just give him a warning." Look, I work in production, and this is not how it works. A warning is a one-time thing done privately; coming out publicly with an apology is their choice, but this has crossed the line in so many ways. No excuses now. That's why I stand by firing him, I don't care what anyone says.

Regardless, we have to set things right, whatever we can.

[midnight1nk]

so much has happened in the last week, we could use a good episode tomorrow. Hopefully, it could be. It's truly our silly little meme show.

The good part is that even now, a lot of people have been able to see my full news report and become aware of the discourse that has been going on. Please, if you can, do continue to spread the word!!

Either way, I hope yall are able to take care of yourselves. Reminder to drink water, get some food, take your meds if you haven't already, take a nap, etc. 💙

[funkii4-blog]

This is gonna sound absurd but I don’t like how quiet the fandom has been today compared to yesterday about the situation with Medi. I know people hate drama and just want it to be over, but imo we need to keep talking about what he did until we know action has been taken. We cannot let this slide under the rug and be forgotten, he seriously crossed a line.

[libbys-braincell-loss]

Hi again, this is the last time ill bring up any drama cuz anything drama related makes me uncomfortable :)

i am no mxm shipper, the way i view it is so specific that it could be interpreted very wrong and id have rocks thrown at me from either side of the discourse, so to not attract the wrong crowd, i shall say that I Am Not A Shipper Of MxM and leave it at that

dont proship, dont harrass anyone, projecting very personal headcanons into a show you work on is very very sketchy, dont whitewash models, yeah

Hi everybody what happened here

[hi-imlooneybirdie]

I dont hate MxM because I dont mind any ships

But this is going too far, esp since Luke has stated that he does not support it at all

In case y'all don't know in the latest SMG4 episode the two kids Mario had been protecting and caring for were recolors for Mario x Meggy fankids. And was confirmed by the person responsible for this.

This is unacceptable.

And Luke has stated they hate this ship. Yet they have someone on their team doing this and have done nothing about it and now it's crossed a line.

If you support MxM and follow me I ask you to unfollow me immediately.

#DoSomethingAboutMedi

[nintengirl101]

Super sad this episode had to be tainted like this. Spread the word!

In case y'all don't know in the latest SMG4 episode the two kids Mario had been protecting and caring for were recolors for Mario x Meggy fankids. And was confirmed by the person responsible for this.

This is unacceptable.

And Luke has stated they hate this ship. Yet they have someone on their team doing this and have done nothing about it and now it's crossed a line.

If you support MxM and follow me I ask you to unfollow me immediately.

#DoSomethingAboutMedi