#in hindsight i'm considering this may be a fandom work but it may be not

[hoshiko2000]

So with production for Good Omens Season 3 officially halted, it does look like cancellation may be on the horizon. Because yeah, I really don't think Amazon would 'pause' production on a show this lucrative if there wasn't serious discussions currently going on about 'if' and 'how' it should continue. A production shuffle-up - ie. Neil Gaiman getting booted and new staff being put in charge - is certainly a possibility. But it is important to remember that this will still be a show that is written by him and very intrinsically linked to his brand. And whether fans or studios will still have an appetite for it considering this fact is something that has to be seriously considered.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that as disappointing as it would be, cancelling Good Omens season 3 may be the hard but right decision. And, frankly, if season 2 is anything to go by, we may not be missing out on too much to be honest.

But on a serious note, I do want to use this news as an opportunity to share my own thoughts on the situation, which I will do under the cut (and as is probably obvious, there are trigger warnings for references to SA).

Despite Neil Gaiman's works being a massive part of my content here on this tumblr - and yes, that is something I am very aware of- I've not posted about the sexual assault allegations up until now for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I'm a working adult in my 30s; tumblr is very much a place I come to chill, I'm far too old (and frankly, tired) to get involved in discourse or heated fandom debates (not that those are the correct terms to use to refer to rape allegations but you catch my drift). But the other reason is that these revelations have honestly devasted me, in a way that I'm still processing and doesn't feel like an exaggeration to describe as grief, a feeling I'm sure is echoed by many other people.

Neil Gaiman's works have been a massive part of my adult life, and while I know it sounds like a cliche, they have gotten me through some incredibly difficult times. Coming to terms with the fact that such beautiful, thoughtful, empathetic novels and series have been written by a rapist has been incredibly difficult.

What has also been incredibly difficult to come to terms with is the fact that the incredible queer representation that has drawn so many of us to his television works in recent years was, in hindsight, indisputably a grooming tactic. And yes, grooming is the right word.

The grooming of communities is not something that is often discussed but is absolutely a thing. Predators groom victims to gain access to them, and they groom the people around both the victim and themselves to make it seem unbelievable when the victim later comes forward. And this can happen parasocially too. In the case of Neil Gaiman, he groomed his fanbase by constructing a calculated image as vocal a LGBT ally, drawing in queer fans and creating a smokescreen of apparent empathy and kindness to cast doubt on the future allegations he likely knew would inevitably catch up with him.

I really want to stress - particularly for younger fans - that no one is stupid or somehow culpable for having been fooled by Gaiman, for having supported his works previously, and for continuing to support his works now. I myself have no intention to leave the fandoms I am already a part of, and I genuinely do not believe anyone is under any sort of pressure or obligation to do so. The separation of the art from the artist is a very tricky subject and not something that can ever be done entirely. And if I'm honest I'm not really sure how to navigate this myself, or what this is going to mean for me in the future.

But to get back to the subject of my blog, yes I am planning to continue reposting content related to Good Omens and Dead Boy Detectives. However the latter differs drastically in that the series was not actually written by Neil Gaiman and is effectively an author-approved spin-off of one of his works. Good Omens on the other hand I have more complicated feelings towards, and at this point I am not sure how I feel about future series being made, with or without Gaiman's involvement.

I'm sorry if this post is a rambling mess, it has taken me a lot of time to build up to being able to share my thoughts, and while there is a lot more I could say I will stop here. But on a closing note, let's just be kind to each other. This situation is awful, lets not make it any worse. Give space for the victims, give space for the fans, and give space to people to continue to enjoy fandom spaces without making assumptions about where they stand on these allegations. It is a hard time, but things will get better, and these fandom spaces will continue to be a positive place for people to exist online. Lets keep it that way.

[arirovi]

A reflection...

I knew BnHA in 2016. The first season was finished and the second season was expected. I was in the University and still working for my degree. Mi personal life and the world in general was so much different...

There was no sign of a pandemic coming, Tumblr was still not undergoing a content purge, and the anime community was much less widespread than today. Then i walked trough the fandom path, to put it more simply, as an observer rather than an active participant.

And just by watching, one learns many things.

In particular, I want to refer to the expectations with which we all approach a series, a story. And also how these change over the years, how they are built on the emotions that certain parts of the plot provoke in us.

First off all, I want to cover expectations for the bnha plot in general.

I've seen various parts of the fandom enjoy BnHA from different points, because it's those parts that resonate with them the most. Some from Izuku's mentor-protege relationship with All Might, others from the focus of pure and simple Heroism, some from the tragedy that is the villains' past and others from the trauma and abuse represented by the Todoroki.

We have all done it from a valid point of view and, naturally, we all build expectations.

Some lucky ones are lucky enough that what they expected to happen happens in the end (and I am happy for you from my own experience), but when those expectations are not met by the original material, it hurts a lot. More than one of us may have seen it happen again and again, experienced it firsthand.

Because at the end of the day, it doesn't matter which part of the story we are most engaged in, we all reach, in some way, a point where our expectations are either not met (if we are unlucky) or forgotten or not allowed (if we consider it a representative injustice). But in the end what counts is that as fans we all experience this phenomenon at the same time (to a lesser or greater extent) and in its own way it is a type of social bond that is not forgotten.

(And I'm not saying that it's something merely negative or positive, it can be both at the same time AND it's just a fact, something that is happening to all of us who follow BnHA no matter how long we have been in the fandom)

So, now that the end is approaching and I am faced with different opinions about it, it is like living in a loop of collective emotional repetitions and it is such an incredible phenomenon that in itself, it makes me want to share my thoughts when I didn't before.

Which brings me to the other point I wanted to talk about: shipping expectations and Bakudeku

At that time (2015 onwards) the concept of "queerbaiting" was quite popular, while at the same time, so was the idea that your queer ship could become canon. In fact, it was strong enough to cross the borders of fandom.

But even with this in the mainstream, we BakuDeku seemed to remain on our side of the fandom, always in defense mode. The most vocal on social media represented a group of followers who didn't care how toxic the mere idea of ​​this Ship was to others. The only thing that we cared about was that we liked their interactions, the intensity and the paradoxes between Kacchan and Deku.

In 2016 it was not popular to be a BakuDeku, much less accepted by the general public. And even among fans of the characters, being a specific DekuBaku was a rarity.

And so time went by.

As you can see and in hindsight, expectations for the Ship were very low from my perspective. What we expected from the story was so little that the minimal interactions between Izuku and Kacchan seemed to be assimilated quite carefully and mainly in spaces dedicated only to the ship.

Furthermore, the sparking discussion about whether "bakudekus were apologists for abusers" attracted so many antis and haters that the whole thing became horrible. At one point, blocking them was no longer enough to be safe from hate. And being part of the fandom required so much energy that even I, who was just a shadow who liked or reblogged content in the fandom, needed to control my exposure time to social media.

And what happened next, to reach the expectations that the fandom has now?

The pandemic of 2020 and Bakugo Katsuki: Rising.

That chapter, added to the new influx of fans brought by the pandemic and its quarantines, diverted the path that we believed was set for Kacchan and Izuku as a group. Suddenly, many things that we thought only belonged to the realm of fanfic became accessible through canon.

To begin with, no one imagined that kind of sacrifice on Kacchan's part in the manga. Nobody believed the hospital scene was possible, nor that it was possible for him to ask Izuku for forgiveness or to cry for the loss of his quirk (and what that meant for both of their lives).

How could expectations not rise in the collective because of this, both old and new fans? How to avoid it for those of us who live through its darkest times as fans? How to control the hope of those who feel vindicated by the narrative?

In the end, the nature of expectations is fluctuating over time, unpredictable if we do not pay attention to them, and I am not here to tell anyone, not even myself, that having high expectations about something is bad. Or that having hope about something that helps you be happy is dangerous in the long term. Even if my past in other fandoms resulted in a painful and impossible to forget ending, I can't do that.

No one has the right to comment on the emotions of others and how they live them, how they express them. However, after eight years here, I have learned to use caution as a weapon of battle.

And how I do it? Taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture.

It's been a long road for all of us who were here from the beginning. We had ups and downs and we will continue to have them without a doubt.

Personally, I hold my expectations with a comfortable, soft and practical harness, to bring them closer, caress them from time to time and let them be. But at other times, I hold them tight so they don't get out of control.

The final idea of ​​this, and what I have learned over time, is that you should not assert yourself at any extreme. Mental, emotional and physical health is in balance, it has been proven many times.

I have hope, but I glimpse it in moderation and if we are lucky and our expectations are fulfilled, I will celebrate with joy. But if in the end these are not fulfilled, I will remember the good as well as the disappointment, although without pressure. After all, everything returns to a better place in its own time.

[chumpovodir]

i don't have it in me at the moment to make a long, detailed rant about this but r/castlevania's insistence that games!Isaac is a lesser character for being a "self-harm obsessed, shallow BDSM playboy that only serves as an inciting incident" compared to N!Isaac?

first of all, i think y'all are letting anime stereotypes from the early 2000s massively color your opinion and it's really obvious you didn't bother looking at his character any deeper than that. edit: i'm putting this under a cut because it was actually, in hindsight, a pretty long post lmao

"BDSM playboy"? my man was sitting in the ruins of his home for 3 goddamn years letting the clothes rot off his back, in no condition to care about his appearance and with precious little materials to forge something new. you could also argue that his skimpy look is a mark of his arrogance (already well-established by his fight with Hector previously, and feeling so cocksure he sends his Devil away and even arms Hector with a sword, confident he could easily take him in a fair fight), going into battle barely clothed as a show of faith in his own skill after playing Hector like a fiddle. or even as a radical show of his devotion, the Devil Forgemasters crest embedded in his skin for the world to see; the fact that the physical marks of his position may fade away, but it goes so much deeper than that - it's seared into his very flesh, and will only die when he and his corporeal form finally leave this earth. also, it just speaks to a really shallow understanding of BDSM in general to associate "skimpy strappy outfit = kinky"

"self-harm obsessed"? first of all, where is ANYONE getting this notion from the game itself?? (considering there's a very low chance these people even know about the mangas) there is literally no scene in-game where he self-harms - further proof people are grafting a grab bag of stereotyped character traits onto him when the canon doesn't support it. if this is about his tattoos, i consider this a bit of a reach, but then i don't regularly associate tattoos with masochism.

there is of course this one, singular panel from Prelude to Revenge where we see him slitting his wrists:

but the context here makes it clear: 1) he's doing this as a morbid way to mark the passage of time and 2) most likely in response to the sheer contrast between him and Hector's respective situations - how would you feel seeing the guy who was at least partially responsible for your predicament living a happy life, while you're forced to live in the abandoned ruins of your home, constantly surrounded by all that you've lost? this is an act being shown when he's at his very lowest.

and this is the only instance we actually see - there is no other official material that implies this is something he does on the regular, although it's a popular headcanon considering the general fandom consensus that he most likely had a very rough start to life.

shitting on him for being "merely an inciting incident"? i don't even know what to say to this - do you understand how characters and stories work...? the narrative lives and dies on the push and pull of characters taking actions and other characters responding!

but it sure is curious (read: hypocritical) that this is a negative in these people's eyes when you point out the similarities between Lisa's and Rosaly's deaths.

sure, there is a bigger story about the cruelty of humanity as a whole that Lisa was executed, unprompted while Rosaly's execution was deliberately manipulated by Isaac - but that also adds to Isaac's character, the fact that both he and his younger sister were persecuted for being bonafide magic practitioners, and the sheer hypocrisy of and underhandedness of knowing that pain firsthand, and choosing to inflict it on an innocent woman anyway. it really shows how much his morals, if he ever had any, has truly eroded to the point he only cares about causing maximum damage.

i don't even want to waste my words on the ways N!Isaac is a worse character, comparatively, if you actually take into account the themes of the Devil Forgemasters' respective stories as presented in the games. but it does chap my asshole that, from this angle, both N!Isaac and N!Hector end up for the worse since now their stories are completely decoupled and it ruins the symbolism and duality that their game counterparts had.

[gunsli-01]

Hey, personal life update.

Yeah so I started to get to know this person from a fandom if you follow my sideblog you know which one. Ultimately this person and their significant others consistent mistreatment of me made me hate myself talking about milgram or doing anything. I was consistently stressed and anxious around them and in a state of hypervigilence/anxiety for several months. It wasn't just due to these two though. I also had issues in real life before getting involved with this fandom.

That friends know about already and can be picked up on from the ways I discuss media generally. Along with my general concerns when it comes to fandom. However, these people's just overall hopeless and ableist dsposition really only made my situation worse. As one would weaponize or site everyones diagnoses as reasons for their inability to do anything right. In a way that implied to me that nothing could be done about it because, well, you've got x, so it's better to not even try.

Came off as really just accept you're not capable of x because you're y. The other was just a conflict avoidant individual who ghosted me multiple times and left their significant other to speak on their behalf. Who told me and Star to just not talk to them. So that's what Star and I decided to do earlier this week. So why am I saying this. I'm not one to really regret my behavior and in hindsight considering all the personal shit I was going through I can understand why I was being so defensive and antsy about talking about or even doing anything I enjoyed.

Because it wasn't just fandom stuff, I really wasn't enjoying doing anything. Because I didn't know when or how this person would pop up or if things were fine when they'd just go to being shitty again. I do want to note this as a reminder to myself as what not to do in the future. While working out what caused it.

Honestly, the environment was bad, and the only thing I could do was try to get through it. I had no motivation to continue personal projects or share them. This impacted the idea to make videos out of theories, and I generally had no interest in doing anything. Plus, I was very actively suicidal for all those months. However, since having a more open discussion with Star and her looking over the ways these individuals treated me then going oh yeah that's fucking abusive block them.

I really felt unwelcome and at times downright harrassed in the fandom I was involved with. I was incredibly isolated, and whenever I wrote something on the thing, I was made to feel like I was committing a crime. These two didn't say things that made me feel like that, but their actions did things that made me feel worse. So, just noting as a fully grown adult with a good support system how fucking harmful, isolating, and demeaning people online can be. Along with the longterm and unseen impact it can have on a person.

Along with her helping me go through the process of cutting them off. I've been feeling optimistic about talking with others about the things I love and setting boundaries or stating how I would like to be treated. Something I was anxious about doing for a time because when I would state those things, it'd either go ignored or they'd seemingly actively do what I asked them not to in order to test my feelings for them.

I recognize this may just be how I feel about this or perceived it to be. Which is fine they could have a completely different perception. Yet it doesn't change the fact that their actions hurt me regardless of their intent. And I don't need an apology because the best apology to myself is not constantly feeling on edge, waiting for the next shoe to drop or to hear what I did wrong this time. And instead like talk about shit I like with people who don't treat me like trash because they don't know how to not do that.

But yeah, this treatment impacted how I responded to certain events in fandom and my lack of patience with others exhibiting the same behavior in a space I was trying to relax in. Honestly, I did my best in the circumstances I was in, which was under consistent immense stress. So, I'm proud of myself there. I guess I'm just disappointed that people really can just say I love you and treat you like shit. Actively watch how their behavior impacts you and basically celebrate that you're hurting because at least you're hurting together.

Some people really are just assholes to themselves and then perpetuate that treatment on anyone else they happen to run into. Sucks but I'm feeling better.

[drdtfuitgumies]

season 1 summary: may 2024

i've hit 30 situations! this summary is mainly for my personal documentation (i like documenting stuff), but i thought i'd post this in the blog too just in case anyone else was interested!

STATISTICS

to the surprise of absolutely no one, whit got first place, appearing eight times throughout may 2024! however, his first place is because of a technicality, since i counted the pinned post for this season. otherwise he'd tie with second place and our recently crowned "invasive species", arei, who appeared seven times. i know i encouraged you people to let her commit crimes, but it appears i have underestimated the fandom because there's STILL people telling her to steal even MORE stuff in the inbox. third place is charles, appearing five times, three of which happened in the span of five days. bullying him (and making arei and whit bully him) is really fun though!

also, i think now is a good time to talk about how i "plan" out the situations. i try to draw at least one situation a day as a "warmup" before i draw... Other Stuff, and i try to stock up at least a week's worth of doodles, just in case i become unavailable for whatever reason. i also try my Absolute Best to ensure that everyone* appears at least twice a month, whether by picking requests wildly out of order or taking matters to my own hands through the original situations, though a bias for whit really can't be avoided...

*mai and monotv are excluded from this "rule", though i bring out monotv often when i need a casualty. take arei and whit stacking things and arei and j playing mario kart, for example!

PERSONAL FAVORITES (in chronological order)

1) Motivational words from Min

I still consider this one of my greatest creations in my mortal life. maybe i should reblog this on main everytime i procrastinate on something. i'm sure there will be always someone who needs the encouragement

2) Charles holds Eden's yuri manga hostage

this headcanon sucker punched me on what was a normal afternoon, but i'm glad i realized it to this world... even though i barely read new stuff in the first place, let alone yuri. maybe one day i'll find something that caters to my oddly specific tastes, but for now i'll enjoy the yaoi vs yuri memes from afar and let those more qualified than me to verify how true himejoshi eden and himedanshi charles are

3) A regular "PMD Club" meeting

i am an autotroph and need to create one oddly specific self-indulgent situation per month to sustain myself and the joy i have for drawing. i promise this Will happen again. i might even outright sneak in some of my aus, out of context...!

4) Arei steals Charles' goggles

it really says a lot about me as a person that my personal favorites are mostly unserious shitposts, but i've been meaning to draw arei bullying charles with the nerd emoji since... a few months ago, i think? some of the situations are prompts i've always wanted to draw, but am too lazy to do in my "proper" style

THE POWER OF HINDSIGHT

sometimes i think of adding punchlines in the situations, or fix errors after i've put them in the queue, but forget to actually. do them.

after arei stole david's hairclips, emovid's debut would've been something along the lines of arei freeing him from his stage persona by taking away his hairclips. but i forgor.

monotv's body had the wrong colors this one time, but i have since decided that arei got paid by the real monotv to murder a bootleg / defect monotv

as i've mentioned in the tags, teruko on a llama at the machu picchu was supposed to be posted in ace yaps and levi listens' place, but i did an Oopsie and forgot to adjust the queue properly. out of the ~10 posts i had queued up that time, i got insanely lucky that the teruko doodle was the one that got delayed, since i forgot to draw her bandage. ultimate lucky student moment

also as i've mentioned in the tags, if my wii was still working i would've attempted to recreate an actual screenshot of j and arei playing mario kart wii

arei would've have had more time to steal even more things before i put her in jail, but i decided to give her a break this month. i assure you, she will return with a Vengeance.

OTHER REMARKS

i've gotten so, so used to drawing whit and arei. i haven't quite gotten the hang of everyone else yet, though i can draw xander, eden, and charles pretty consistently. hardest to draw is hu, but that's mainly because i can't draw straight hair

i kinda wanna add a subtle pattern to the background…? even just a grid would be fine. also thinking of changing the background color every now and then

i'd like to make an animation one day. it's definitely going to be a shitpost and a very unserious situation, but i'd like to make an animation one day

i expected struggling to catch up with requests, but i genuinely didn't expect about two new requests a day?? i really thought i had to pad out the days with more of my original situations, but i'm actually glad i have such a big selection of requests with a decent variety. Aside from arei's many, many crimes.

if you're still here... thank you so, so much! for reading until the end and entertaining my side project! i've never been a particularly "active" artist and tend to lurk more often than not, but seeing the same people regularly come and leave little comments in their reblogs does something to my heart that i didn't think could ever happen. even seeing new people excites me, because i think this is the smallest fandom i've ever been in? i hope i can keep this blog going…!

[imthepunchlord]

Hey, I'm sorry. I know you're not part of the miraculous fandom anymore, but I've wanted to ask this question for a really long time. Were there ever moments when designing your own miracle box, kwamis, or powers did you ever feel the urge to just throw out the idea of the miraculous being tied to a specific culture and just having them be generic fantasy? Or just throw out the idea of the guardians and miracle boxes in general and just have the kwamis be free roamers that pick their own holders based on their personalities? (There is also the idea of just throwing out the idea of the kwamis embodying concept and just being beings of magic)

Oh plenty of times.

In hindsight, and in the grand scheme of things, that's honestly how they should've handled the Miraculous, not tie them to any one specific culture or region. Just let them be open to the world. Let them be magical.

It would've opened them up to work with a variety of myths and cultures or pick what they want to work with power wise instead of just tying it to one specific region. It would've allowed them to be flexible with what animals could appear and they didn't have to limit themselves to iconic groups of animals of that region or bring in a huge number like the freak Chinese Zodiac that they clearly couldn't handle or scale evenly.

I can't say for others cause it just may be me, but I definitely wouldn't be raising a brow or be put off at some of the choices made with powers and some of the clear inspirations for the Miraculous and kwamis. Like, Rabbit I would've only be bothered by the time traveling power and not just it also being tied to a European novel when it's supposed to be tied to China (and the Moon Rabbit IS RIGHT THERE but I guess we can't have a 2nd healing Miraculous to help shoulder the burden for LB but we can have multiple that generate items).

I also wouldn't be so bothered about how Tikki and Plagg are portrayed and their very European/Christian inspirations (especially them becoming those over designed biblical angels, if anyone knows for sure please do correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think those have a place in Taoism and to me just screams they should've been Europe based, especially as Thomas still works off the European good and bad luck themes more than creation and destruction (like there was a whole series of tweets from Thomas insisting that Cataclysm doesn't DESTROY but causes bad things to happen), even though this is a power from what should be Destruction... and they're the most iconic animal symbols for good and bad luck in Europe specifically).

Honestly, the only issue that could've arose if they let them loose in origins is the two that's very European/Christian based being established as "most powerful", and you don't really want that, but if you just remove the idea of tiers and just roll with that some have an edge over others (like Ladybug always has an edge over Butterfly), then that fixes that.

But, in doing so, that does lead down a path of changes and questions to consider: Miraculous wise what should exist, what should be cut, how do Miraculous work off each other, what's the system of control in the face of misuse, should Ladybug and Cat be the ONLY wish granting duo, should there be others, if so how is Ladybug and Cat more desirable than any other wish granting duo, could it be that every pair can grant a unique sort of wish, or could it be that by a specific year a specific duo grants the wish and it's the year of LB and Cat, ect..

I admit that it's all probably over complicating things, but it's questions like those that come to mind when I think of tossing away Miraculous tied to a specific region and culture, and it's just apart of the ongoing issue of trying to think of how to fix the show cause it's just endless possibilities and potential to pick from and consider. Like, take Adrien as an example, his character could have roughly 10 possible paths to take as a character. If they wanted to do something with him, the options are there. Could done him as a starting hero who starts it for freedom and fun and then becomes serious later. Could do him learning friendship lessons. Could do him learning that he can find happiness outside the need for romantic love. If not as a starting hero, could've given the Ladyblog to him to run and he wants to expose his crush and just not consider what that could mean for her and not everyone likes that public attention that he's used to (and for angst, Gabriel is supportive of Adrien doing this), heck, if you wanted sentiAdrien, could do him growing into his own, becoming his own person and breaking free of Gabriel's control.

Another big factor is that you change so much of ML's set up and the little lore that's given, well, it becomes less ML and more your take on the concept, and at that point, maybe it's best just to do your own thing cause it's not ML anymore.

Either way, for Guardians, the Order, and the Miracle Box, I honestly don't mind them existing, but they were mishandled. If Miraculous popped up enough, then there will be a good number of people who will know about them, and there will be people who will think it's a good idea to make an organization designed to work with them, secure they don't fall into wrong hands, and handle any big crisis that arises. And I like the idea that the Miracle Box was designed to house the jewelry, but also offered kwamis their own safe pocket dimension, which could open up to more so they can have their own rooms but also a core space for all to hang out in. The big issue of the Order is that what we get is just incredibly incompetent that they shouldn't have bothered. And the big shame is that they could've been an antagonistic force or the next villains to face post HM, cause hey, it is human nature to be controlling and have a say in how things should be and it could it started with good intentions and turned south, could've done humans could look down on kwamis and their views and think they know better, or it could be that kwamis can't be fully trusted in their views. It just could've been complex and interesting.

And lastly concepts, I go back and forth on that, cause on one hand, that can be limiting in terms of powers, cause animals can be so much more than one theme. Like, time does work well for snakes, but they're also tied to dragons, water, healing, death, duality, cunning/intelligence, ect.. But if you're doing a single power or a few, that can give you some idea on what to work with, especially if you can have a single power that is just right. If Dog was the Miraculous of Recollection, and you expanded upon what Fetch could Fetch, it's a perfect match, you could recollect a lost object or person (can work off search and rescue dogs), you could recollect a recently passed soul and revive someone who recently passed (works off hellhounds and guarding the underworld), it could even be done to bring forth a memory or be used as a means to bring forth the truth when it's denied (which is another term of recollection).

Gosh this became such a long rant, but yeah, I have thought of those things when I was trying to figure out how to rework stuff. I do think in the grand scheme of it all, it'd be better if Miraculous weren't tied to China and just allowed to dabble in a variety of cultures and be very traveled, especially as they clearly didn't want to really represent that culture and just used it because foreign = exotic and magical. Not to say there wouldn't be any issues but there'd be less to raise a brow at, and it would've given them more flexibility in powers and what Miraculous could appear. Now the Order and concepts, that's a give or take depending on how they're handled and what's done, but I'd say with the current show they're not worth the inclusion.

[nevermindirah]

fic writer interview! thanks @energievie for tagging me as part of your lovely annual tradition! tagging @sindirimba @gaal-dornick @laviejaguardia @sweetwithheatwriting @mongoose-bite @what-alchemy if any of y'all feel like it <3

How many works do you have on AO3?

40

What’s your total AO3 word count?

268,965

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

problem solved it's dissolved (my first BoN fic! my first ever smut!) My Bags Are Packed (I'm Not Ready to Go) (my first Nile & Booker fic!) I See Your Eyes Seek a Distant Shore (my 65k BoN epic with like another 10k+ in footnotes) Imagine Your Dessert Platter (cute lil SamSteve au! ahhhhh I love this fic it's aging so well) Seneca Falls Selma and Stonewall (MCU ensemble / stucky, spiritual predecessor to ISYESADS but full of things that in hindsight I would've written very differently)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

always! I love the back-and-forth of comments, on my fics and others'. what a lovely way to get to know people and talk more about our blorbos and learn things about writing. and as much as I love to get wordy in comments, I also treasure the keysmashes and emojis and respond in heartfelt kind.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

yeah I don't really do angst

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

any ending where our main characters are in love and getting a good night's rest

Do you write crossovers?

sometimes! I have several crossovers among my wips but I don't seem to have finished any… yet

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

many many years ago on what in retrospect was an undertagged and poorly considered mess of a Spuffy fic

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Sure do >:))))))))))))

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

no thank you!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

no but that would be so cool!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

yeah! a few times now!

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Book of Nile <3333333333333

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Eartha Grit 😭😭😭😭 drag queen Sam Wilson!!! will the planets ever align so that I can finish this? 😭

What are your writing strengths?

I have them! can't think of specific ones right now

What are your writing weaknesses?

various writing skills etc etc but above all EXECUTIVE FUNCTION DEFICIT MY BELOATHED

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I have a thousand-word essay in me about this which I may sit down to write and post eventually. short version, the role of "other" languages in my own day to day speech is significantly different from how most characters in fics would experience "switching" languages, and my thoughts on this in fic are changing as I think more about that and where the line is between that and Gratuitous Foreign Language TM

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Buffy

What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

a certain crossover that has been in my wips for TWO YEARS now! it would be not only my first time writing this ship but the first time anyone has posted this ship to ao3! unless of course someone beats me to it, in which case I will be very enthusiastically 👀 about theirs while continuing to work on my own.

what ship might this be? Meeka/Vincent from Coming 2 America and Disorder respectively >:)

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written

Not a Gentle Laughter continues to be the fic I go back to for comfort. off the charts Jewish Booker feels with a happy ending because BoN are both in love and in political solidarity, so of course it is, you can't get more me than that.

[fonulyn]

May I have a fic rec, please?

I would like to do a full Fon re-read but, and you may not be aware of this, you have A LOT of fics.

In your expert opinion, where should I start?

... when you say "a fic rec" do you mean just one fic or? :'D because c'mon these are my children and there's over 200 of them how am i supposed to pick just one! :'D

so i'm gonna just. take this as an opportunity to list some of my personal favorites and you can ...idk use a random number generator to pick one? :'D (or start with 5 it's a good start)

reach the point of no return; Chris/Leon; Chris proposes and the timing is questionable. (idk it still makes me laugh :'D it's one of the very first fics I wrote in this fandom (like the third? I think) and it still makes me happy so I think it's worth mentioning lol)

survival is secondary (to having it all again with you); Chris/Leon; Leon tries to sort through the traumatic aftermath of being kidnapped and tortured, and watching Ada die because of him. (this was my attempt at touching the complicated ...whatever it is between Ada and Leon, and idk I do enjoy rereading it occasionally)

and I don't want to know how slow the time must flow; Chris/Leon; They fight their way out of a BOW infested castle while going from idiots to lovers. (very self-indulgent Leon-gets-impaled (and not in the sexy way lmao) fic :'D)

from the gates of longing; Chris/Leon;  Chris volunteers to take Leon home, but ends up getting a lot more than he bargained for. (I just loved writing the re4-ish Leon. considering how much i love that version of him i write him very rarely lol)

so I confide in you (for nothing compares to you); Piers/Leon; Leon saves the president's son from a cult, but that isn't the end of their story, it's only the beginning. (one of my personal top faves negl, I loved getting to include re4 and Vendetta and my fave otp in one fic :'D in hindsight I wish I'd somehow worked Damnation in too lol but I'm still happy with this)

all the things you are; Jake/Piers; At first, Piers isn't happy the guy he's been hooking up with turns out to be a damn mercenary. Then, his emotions get more and more complicated. (their dynamic is just so fun to write, and this fic is something that rattled in my brain for a good while demanding to be written lol)

maybe he's born with it; Piers/Leon; There's a bet going within the BSAA whether Leon is a natural blond or not. Piers is not amused. (it makes me laugh :'D that's reason enough)

without hope, without fear; Jason/Leon (past Krauser/Leon); Jason tries to convince Leon of his cause, and when it fails, he takes of Leon what he can. (I am still so bummed that the obvious Krauser-Jason parallels were so uniformly ignored by fandom 😩 there's so much potential. also the monsterfucking was fun to write lol. I'm still happy with this one and I hope one day i can write more Jason)

can't help but follow in spite of going insane; Krauser/Leon; Krauser takes too long to kill Leon and Saddler intervenes. (negl I had tons of fun with this and i love the complicated mess of feelings between Leon and Krauser. I'm both really happy with the ambiguous ending and sad that I couldn't figure out how to make this fic longer :'D)

will you be by me?; Piers/Leon; After getting infected in China, Piers doesn't regain all of his memories. Leon has to deal with both almost losing Piers and losing their entire relationship. (I'm honestly so happy with how the sad stuff in this turned out. it makes me cry :'D so I feel accomplished)

never too much to ask for; Piers/Leon; Leon's journey to learn that he is allowed to have nice things. (I love love love Leon learning to enjoy hugs and closeness, and even more importantly, learning that he deserves them and can have as many as he wants!)

nothing else remains; Piers/Leon; So Leon might've known he had a bit of a praise kink but the intensity of it still takes him by surprise. Or maybe it's Piers, who is making everything even more intense with his mere presence. (what can I say, I think Leon is desperate for praise and deserves every bit of it ;D srsly, i'm way pleased with this one)

and love shall heal the scars; Chris/Leon/Piers; Leon is missing and presumed dead, but in reality he's in captivity being tortured, while Chris and Piers desperately try to find him. (not sure what it says about me but i loved writing this :'D)

winter lovin' (there's snow one like you); Piers/Leon; They get a winter vacation. (things don't get much more self-indulgent than this tbh I just want all the fun good things for them! and them being in Finland is just a plus :'D)

only the courage to continue counts; Piers/Leon; Leon is sent to Spain with a new partner to save the president's daughter. (i worked so hard on this and my love for re4 knows no bounds)

heal the scars and change the stars; Piers/Leon; Piers and Leon are stuck together with civilians and surrounded by zombies waiting for rescue. What makes it harder is the fact that they've broken up, even though they still love each other. (I still remember the dream that inspired this so vividly. and what can i say, they're a love story for the ages :'D am happy with how this turned out)

last chance garage; Chris/Leon/Piers; Chris and Leon retire and start a garage together, before ending up getting together. Yet somehow something is still missing. Until Piers. (i never intended to write 8k of this lol but in hindsight i'm glad i did because i think it turned out great. altho i'm still a little bummed no one else enjoyed my fave scene in it :'D)

honorable mentions to the re2 Piers/Leon time travel au, the Piers/Leon choose your own ending (with varying degrees of death), the Piers/Leon woke up as girls for a day smuttage, the Chris accidentally breaks Leon's heart but Piers puts it back together fic, the Piers/Leon where Leon has a bit of a competency kink, the little nose kisses Piers/Leon fluff, and the tiny soft moment Piers/Leon.

and as separate mentions, a couple of series;

the pinnacle of self-indulgence; Piers/Leon; it's obviously very long and obviously very self-indulgent but I just can't not mention it because it's important to me. and I'm hoping to get the next part done soonish.

the Krauser's back trilogy; Krauser/Leon; i'm genuinely proud of how it turned out. i am more of a fluff person so writing something more complicated always feels like an accomplishment :'D

hey, it's free (mutant) baby!; Piers/Leon; ok this series only has one fic rn but i'm halfway through writing the second part and have plans for like... five parts, so maybe i'll one day get them written.

[invertedfate]

You seemed to imply that Chara has developed a crush on Frisk. Does Frisk reciprocate, or is this a spoiler question?

Frisk is about as subtle as an explosion amplified by surround sound and a megaphone and bass boosted. :P So yeah, I can see it being a mutual sorta thing. That being said... romance arcs aren't really a big focus of Inverted Fate, and especially with Charisk a) being initially unplanned, and b) such a divisive pair in the fandom due to the fact that a lotta folks see 'em as family and c) pretty much accidental subtext that I got too gosh darn attached to, and then my brain went 'brrr, this is a wholesome thing for you now.' The curse of hyperfixations manifesting on their own. ._.; Like I said, tho, they don't have a sibling bond in IF, and especially since Frisk isn't being adopted by Asgore, that hopefully makes for less awkward overlap. And I don't like Charisk in any fanworks that do have them as fam- it's pretty much just here where it got me going "dangit, this is so sweet." Tho I may go in and edit a few earlier chapters to make the transition from Frisk's impulsive "you can be dad plz?" to "...y'know, I really don't know him that well, and in hindsight I kinda got ahead of myself" a bit smoother. Chapter 10's remaster reworded some things already, but I really do wanna do what I can to make sure that the gradual realization doesn't come outta nowhere. I figure the more consistently I can have Frisk start to consider this, the fewer crossed wires there'll be, y'know? Funnily, this direction has been on my mind for years- Asgore not being endgame guardian for Frisk, as the more I worked on Inverted Fate, the more I realized how little time they actually spent with each other and how much stronger Frisk's bonds were with Papyrus, Mettaton, and Sans. That and I started to just get more interested in other outcomes with Frisk as I realized people really slept on places to go and got frustrated with how people acted like it wasn't a valid direction for fanworks/headcanons. I gotta do some other re-edits still at some point for things folks had pointed out to me a while back, and the Sans date desperately needs some dialogue tweaks to make it less uncomfortable. It was always just meant to be an elaborate shitpost, but some of Papyrus' lines are just... not great in terms of how he handled it? So I'll 100% be addressing it when I can.

(As always, if there is anything specific you think might be worth touching up in the remasters- e.g. accidentally hurtful implications or undertones- I'm always happy to look into and tweak within reason.)

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

The Hypocrisy of Andrew Dobson #23.5: “Don't criticize me-- I mean Thomas Astruc! I'm-- I mean, he's doing my-- I mean, his best!”

If you've read my post on “Animaestro”, I mentioned my main inspiration for starting this blog was @hypocrisyofandrewdobson​, and I briefly mentioned some stuff about him, and that I think he's far worse than Astruc will ever be.

I encourage you to check out The Hypocrisy of Andrew Dobson or @soyouareandrewdobson​ to learn more about this man, because today's post is sort of a spiritual addition to their roster.

It all started when someone asked a user on Tumblr about why Astruc is so unpopular among the fandom.

The user here makes some good points that highlight just how the fandom turned on Astruc, and how it's a little unjustified, and some of that I get.

It's Dobson's response that is laughable. Andrew Dobson, someone who is known for taking criticism poorly, is defending Astruc for taking criticism poorly. And it's not like he's stepping in to defend the man from haters. He's really doing this to justify his own behavior because of how poorly he handles negative feedback.

A few months ago, I had made a post criticizing Astruc's political views, all while hypocritically advocating for free speech. It was a dumb post, I didn't think it through, and after I realized I had alienated some of my followers, I recklessly deleted it. In hindsight, I should have left it up, if only as a monument to my failure. I still have the post explaining that I deleted it, and that's staying up.

What does this have to do with Dobson's argument? That whole debacle showed me that sometimes, you have to consider the feedback you get from your audience, and if it's negative, take that as an incentive to learn how to not do something like that again in your work. Whatever you do, don't ignore your screw-ups and sweep them under the rug like I tried to do.

Instead, Dobson is claiming that criticism is meaningless because the thing being criticized is already out, and Astruc is working on the next season without even thinking about what people didn't like about Season 3. I mean, when I work on an essay in school, I turn in a rough draft before the actual assignment is due, and the professor tells me how to improve my work. I don't say that I can't fix it because I'm already thinking about my next essay.

It's also very hypocritical when you find out that Dobson himself has slandered certain shows and creators with little room for argument. Like the time he called Batman a Mary Sue...

The time he got angry at Rey and Kylo Ren hooking up in The Rise of Skywalker because he views Kylo Ren as a metaphor for all the “toxic” Star Wars fans...

The time he complained about Nintendo supposedly changing the lore of their franchises to ignore the DIC cartoons he views as canon (Yes, that version of Link is his favorite)...

And that time when he rambled on social media about how sexist the character Quiet from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was without even playing the game and made up stuff about her.

Whether you agree with these points is irrelevant, because the point is he isn't above viciously criticizing others like what he supposedly hates people do with Astruc. Yes, he has a point that making a TV show is a collaborative effort, and other writers may add in stuff Astruc won't like, but Astruc still holds a fair share of the power among his writing team given how he's only gotten more involved recently with the show's writing and directing.

And here's the biggest reason why I think Dobson made this post: He's also terrible at taking criticism.

How exactly is it okay for Dobson to criticize other pieces of media when he hates them, but as soon as he or someone he likes gets criticized, he'll rush in to defend himself or the person he likes?

With how he talked about criticism earlier, it almost sounds like Dobson isn't actually defending Astruc from criticism, but more like he's defending himself from criticism. I guess you could he’s being very... hypocritical.

[tedturneriscrazy]

Here's Eclipse Lake, an episode that has been highly anticipated! Will it top Knock, Knock, Knockin' On Hooty's Door?

I'll skip the pretense: No. It won't.

You'll see under the cut.

Hmm, that list of ingredients for the Grimwalker...I'll let other people theorize about this (like @sepublic ), but it sure looks like a thing

Guess the mysterious green goo won't cut it, huh?

Belos face reveal already?! Huh, didn't expect it so soon.

Oh, no, he's hot! (And I'm mad about it)

Still an ass, though

Now we know why Hunter was wearing a different outfit (because people fixated on that for some reason)

Amity with the clipboard gives me strong Dipper vibes

GHOST! My beloved!

I need a moment because CAT!

(Also, someone pointed out earlier that Ghost was based on Dana's cat, and that's super obvious in hindsight)

Raine?! Oh, wait, you mean rain. Sigh.

Eda gets training tips from DBZ confirmed

(Also Amity's face when reacting to Eda's explanation is priceless)

Oh God Eda's a weeb I need another moment

Damn, Amity just straight up calling Eda old

Oh, loopy Luz

(The abomination holding the tissue box is adorable for many reasons)

Yeah, don't want Luz to eat the McGuffin

I have several questions about those Tamagotchis that I'll refrain from listing here

Amity your Odalia is showing

Girlfriend counter: 1

(Yes I am introducing a counting gag, deal with it)

Was wondering if they were ever gonna reference the dissection incident. We've come a long way, baby!

Oh, so that's what everyone was looking at

Luz honey your enthusiasm is admirable but no

Luz burrito is quite cute, though

Girlfriend counter: 2

(Damn, still wild to think that that's the case)

Just occurred to me that "Boots" is probably shortened from "Bossyboots" from earlier

Guess the Luz hiss compilation needs to be updated again

Those tunnels ain't the only thing around here that's unstable, amirite?

Oops, guess Kiki was justified, after all

Maybe don't talk so loudly about your plans, dude

That is her son, get it right!

Serves you right for having that stupid strand of hair sticking out like that

Is this just the episode where everyone dunks on White Boy? Because I can totally get behind that.

Already mentioned this, but I am loving the parallels between Katara and Amity with that bottle of abomination goo. Insert obligatory "Two Nickels" meme here about Mae Whitman.

We really are just dunking on the white boy and I am living for it

Hooty had to get it from somewhere, I suppose

Nothing says mother-son bonding like shooting things at each other (see also: Separate Tides)

I'm sure the magic bouncing off the veins won't come into play later at all

Oh well, at least the echolocation looked cool

At this point Amity would kill Hunter for a Klondike bar

Wait why does Hooty need a chair

Willow with the galaxy brain ideas

"A bad but sad boy" Luz is a genius at succinctly summing people up

Kikimora continues to be unhinged. Ironically she's not wrong about Hunter.

Motherfucker stop acting like you know what that says

(Also, projecting much?)

Girlfriend counter: 3

Friendly reminder that Hunter is still an antagonist

Uh oh

UH OH

I know someone mentioned Willow having the brain cell, but honestly it seemed like Luz had it this whole time. And that's not good.

WHY IS FOOL'S BLOOD EVEN A THING

Aaaaand cue the getting screwed over

Further reminder that he's still an antagonist (Apparently there's a vocal segment who's Really Mad at him that seem to forget this fact)

You unhand Ghost right now!! And Amity too, I guess.

(I kid, she's literally my second favorite character)

For what she did to Raine it warms my heart to know Kiki has had zero peace of mind

Wait, the Abomatons are Transformers?! Okay, that's kind of awesome, actually. Alador might be a shit dad but he is a brilliant inventor.

Chucking kids off cliffs is a surpisingly common pastime in the Boiling Isles

Owlbert no!

Eda did spend literal decades fighting the Owl Beast within, so I guess she can't be blamed for not thinking to talk to it

Also hurry up guys I'm very concerned about Owlbert

Fuck yeah Harpy Milf!

Yay Ghost returns!

She's glad they're okay (I didn't need to take this, I just thought it was cute. Also this is surprisingly high quality considering I just took a photo of my TV screen)

Oh, so they do have video games in the Demon Realm. That or Luz introduced them.

Trailer shot!

Oh dear, we about to have a fight over the key

Wow, being so high ranking under Belos is really bad for mental health

Jesus Christ Belos what have you been putting in this poor kid's head?

Leave it to King to give radical recontextualizations

Amity, I'm glad you remembered/realized this about Luz, please don't let the sad white boy play you like that again

Also, I appreciate the gesture you're making, and it's a wonderful summary of your character development, but goddamnit he's gonna go for that key because he's STILL AN ANTAGONIST

"Being nice usually works for Luz!" A) Not always, and B) Amity I love you but Luz you are not. A valiant attempt nonetheless.

Ooh, cool fight scene!

Always lovely to see such superb animation

I was privately griping about not seeing Amity use magic for so long, and now I am fed

Don't think I didn't hear the glass breaking

Appreciate your ass from a hole in the ground, Golden Boy!

(jk I don't actually feel that strongly about him still. That kind of threat still isn't cool, though)

Oh so that's why it's the Common Mold!

It's kinda cute, actually. Or maybe it's just because it's Luz.

TIL Hooty is heat resistant

Apparently Owl Beast just wanted a snack

Girlfriend counter: 4

Also love how calling Amity her awesome girlfriend is literally the first thing Luz says to her upon returning.

Yesssss return the hug! You deserve it!

(I know there are higher quality versions of this screenshot, I just didn't feel like looking around)

King demands huggies, too! (And gets 'em)

Reminder that Amity is smart as hell. I knew that glass breaking indicated something!

So once again I've been had. I let the fandom trick me into thinking this episode would be way more intense. Guess that one screenshot was from the next episode.

Overall this was...fine. Some nice Lumity moments, Harpy Eda strutting her stuff, that gorgeously animated fight sequence; those were all lovely.

I do wish Willow and Gus had a bit more to do. And I'm still rather unenthusiastic about Hunter, to be honest. I've seen his type several times before, and the path they have for him is rather obvious. I may never share the fandom's love for him, and I guess I'll have to deal with that.

Anybody who says this was better than KKKOHD is a damn fool.

Mid season finale next week! I think Yesterday's Lie will finally bring the pain!

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Okay. I passed Y6CHR45, and... I want to say that this is very bad. I mean, that... This plot twist with Merula is very illogical and obvious. I'm not a fan of Merula, but. First, why it's obvious. Because in the storyline, Merula is our rival, not our friend. How many nasty things did she do MC, etc. Well, it's too obvious that in the future they will try to make her our enemy. Second, why it's illogical. Merula has very different goals. Don't be the same as your parents, take revenge on Rakepick and kill her, become stronger and more powerful. There is not a single point in being with 'R'. Why would she want to work with someone she wants to kill? I think it would be logical if Merula joined the Death Eaters. She and her aunt had been threatened by the Death Eaters. This is what Merula said in Y5CHR28. And Andre was talking about the mark on Merula's hand in year six, when Bill taught us the Barrier Spell. Still, I think Merula was framed by someone. Merula was still ready to drink the Truth Serum. And one more thing. Won't the MC say anything about it? Not to the professors, not to Ben, not to Jacob, not to anyone about what they saw in Knockturn Alley? Hey, JC, we have a Muggle Studies class on Y7, and there will be Merula. MC will just forget about it or what? It's just stupid. I apologize, I have nobody to express this misunderstanding of the JC logic. 🤨 And one more thing. I don't think Merula is a mole. In fact, I think the mole is Penny. Because it's very logical! 'R' could have threatening and blackmailed her, like... They could steal Beatrice, or threaten to kill her, if Penny didn't follow their instructions. Penny, in her fifth year, said she would work with anyone to save Beatrice. And if you add it up in this form... I mean, Penny is the most logical option. She's the most popular girl at Hogwarts. She knows every rumor, she knows the secrets of many students. No one will even think about it! How can you think of one who is very kind, helps everyone, understands Potions, etc? This is my theory, and honestly, I still stick to it. Knowing the character of penny, for the sake of Beatrice she would betray even MC.

I don’t know, I don’t think of it as being that illogical. I suppose it was rather obvious, but in a sense, those two ideas are in conflict with each other. If a plot twist is logical, it can be predicted. If it’s not, then it won’t be, but that’s a whole different problem. In any case, this got very long, so I’m putting it under a cut.

Was it obvious?

She has been our enemy from the start, but her character arc seemed to suggest that was changing. In a way, this actually made her a less obvious suspect. At least to me. She was the primary antagonist of Year 1, but we quickly got used to her nonsense. Stopped taking her seriously. Meanwhile, the story gave her depth. Many players grew to care for her, many pitied her, but even the ones who didn’t no longer saw her as a serious threat. At the same time, the scale was gradually increasing. By Year 5, Merula wasn’t the antagonist anymore, not just because she had been deconstructed, but because the story was darkening, and the times of a school bully being the villain were long over. Hell, by Year 2 we knew about R, and by Year 4 we had Rakepick to wonder about. Year 5 not only brought Merula’s character arc to the point where she became more of a friend (but no less prickly and combative) it also fleshed out the game’s Big Bad to the point where it became clear that this was much bigger than MC, or anyone in their year. Year 5 also exonerated Ben, and later unceremoniously killed the “Rowan is R” theory by having Rowan be imperius’d like Ben was. 

No one took Merula seriously anymore, people felt sorry for her, and we felt as though we understood her completely. That nothing she did could surprise us. This was capped off by the betrayal of Rakepick, compounded with her using the Cruciatus Curse on Merula. Because MC was betrayed, but not by any of the students. But by their mentor, who was always shady in the first place. Merula was put in a horrible position where even her greatest Antis surely felt a twinge of pity for her. Anyone left who suspected her probably wouldn’t have after that night. What’s more, it played into the idea that we understood Merula perfectly. Because she reacted exactly as one would expect her to. She regressed. Year 6 depicted her as someone firmly on our side, but predictably not someone who would be nice about it. From her jabs about Rowan, to her fawning over Jacob, people were annoyed with her, but no one suspected her. The game practically taunts the player, in hindsight, with the veritaserum scene. Because that’s just it - no one thought she would betray MC. They were worried she would go rogue, but no one doubted her loyalty. 

Why did she do it?

As for the logic of her decision, I likewise disagree. I believe Merula had every reason to join R. I don’t think that the Cabal and the Death Eaters are so different that one would make sense for her to join, and not the other, if that makes sense. She could have gone either way, but at a guess, Merula doesn’t think very highly of the Death Eaters. She refers to Voldemort by his name without a care in the world. If they really were threatening her, I feel like she wouldn’t want to cave in, but she might be attracted to joining a rival faction that could provide her (and her aunt?) with protection. If there’s one thing we know about R - it’s that they have a history of making enticing offers to children, provoking them to “prove” themselves to be accepted into the Cabal’s ranks. The description of them being her new “family” gives me cult vibes, and it really sheds some light on why Merula might have been drawn to them. She was lonely, she was angry, she wanted power...and R came along to offer her everything she wanted at the time. Whether she wants to leave now is uncertain, but if we assume that she’s been the mole since the very beginning, it’s probably way too late for her to just walk away. R would not allow that.

As to the sequence of Rakepick torturing her, we don’t yet know what was going on in that scene. Though I am feeling somewhat vindicated in the knowledge that there was more to that scene that meets the eye, just like I was sure there had to be. Perhaps Rakepick and Merula planned that whole thing, perhaps it was staged. Which would mean that Rakepick faked the spell, and Merula pretended to be tortured, and that her entire vendetta against Rakepick has been a facade. Or maybe the curse was real, but Merula agreed to it beforehand. Or maybe she knew the betrayal was coming, but Rakepick went off-script by turning her wand on Merula. Either way, if Merula’s vendetta was real, I don’t think it’s out of character for her to want revenge. Who cares if it’s someone on her side? This is Merula we’re talking about - I don’t think that would stop her. Now, if we assume she was not yet an R mole at the time (I think she was, but for the sake of argument)  then perhaps R reached out to Merula, apologized for Rakepick’s torture and promised that they did not authorize it. Promised that there would be consequences, and Merula could be the one to inflict them, if she agreed to join them. It’s a longshot, but I guess it’s possible. 

The Future.

The existence of this twist doesn’t really create any holes, I don’t think, and while it may put the writers in a tricky position moving forward, that’s not the same thing as them screwing up the continuity of the past. They’ll have to find a way to make this work, and until we see the ramifications, I’m willing to wait on judging how this arc plays out. MC will have a choice to make, certainly, in how they handle this. I can’t wait to see the dialogue. What they do next remains to be seen. Do they confront Merula? Turn her in? Or...if we want to be really sneaky, what we should do, in my opinion...is act as though nothing’s changed. Spread the word to people like Moody and Ben, but...do not let Merula catch on that we know. The way to salvage this situation, from a purely tactical perspective, is to let R believe they still have a spy at Hogwarts...but begin to feed her misinformation. Lead them astray. This is quite literally a war tactic, because hey...this is a war. Now, the issue with that is that Merula will likely face punishment once R figures out that she’s being misled...but hopefully we can save Merula before that point, and to the players who despise her - or even feel like she’d deserve it for her treachery...they probably wouldn’t care anyway.

I don’t think we can really judge based on the Muggles Studies classes, or anything that we know about Year 7. I also don’t expect Jam City to consider what we “know” and in all fairness...I mean, they don’t have to. That is unreleased content. Nothing in the data-mines is, strictly speaking, canon, or part the continuity. With the way that scene ended, it suggests that Merula won’t be returning for Year 7. Maybe. The data-mines contradict this, but data-mines don’t provide the full context. They aren’t released content, and anything could change. There were once data-mines that confirmed Skye as being in MC’s year, as well as suggesting that Murphy felt embittered about his disability. Both of these things were cut. So they’re not canon. In general, I think Jam City has a terrible approach to dealing with hackers, but one thing I will say in their defense is that they aren’t required to write their scenes based on what the fandom has discovered in the data-mines. If we’re confused, well, that’s kind of our own fault. But I’m sure everything will become clear eventually. I hope.

Penny. 

For meta reasons, I don’t see them pulling a double twist and revealing a second character to be the “real” mole, but it’s not impossible. And I’ve said all along that the Year 1 characters were the real suspects. MC unknowingly being the mole was my theory, mostly because Moody is shady as all hell. But Ben is shady too, it’s just that he had a rock-solid alibi in the form of Rakepick trying to kill him, since she couldn’t have known that Rowan would intervene. Setting aside Merula, since I’ve also said from the start that she isn’t a good liar...that leaves Penny. I really don’t think Penny is shady. I’ve never thought that. I’ll admit that she does essentially approach MC out of the blue to befriend them, but I mean...so does Ben. This happens on a much larger scale later on with Alanza. I can believe Penny would go to the ends of the earth to protect Beatrice, and maybe when she was imprisoned in the Portrait, R contacted Penny and strong-armed her into this deal. The issue is, Beatrice is safe and sound as of sixth year. The Black Lake incident is still a bit spotty, and perhaps that was R going after her again...but I just don’t think there are enough hints for me to believe it, personally. If this were true, why was Ben the character who insisted on coming to the Portrait Vault instead of Penny? She could have demanded to come along too, and no one would have blamed her. Everyone would have understood. Not to mention, Penny has severe tells when she’s stressed. She does not act like herself. She’s mostly back to normal in Year 6, and her behavior reflects that Beatrice is safe now, just pulling away. If Beatrice was still on the hot-seat, I feel like Penny would not be keeping it together. Finally, that raises the question of how much Beatrice is aware of all this. Does she know about this deal? Because I find it hard to believe she wouldn’t tell anyone.

[makeste]

Do you think Bakugou is unusually divisive for a shounen rival? I haven't actually been an active member of a shounen fandom before, so I'm just trying to get some context. It seems like the rival tends to be a pretty popular character, and the popularity polls show that to be true for Bakugou as well, but there are a lot of people out there who flat out hate him. Is that just par for the course when it comes to these types of characters?

interesting question, anon! I would say no, surprisingly, because the very first character that came to mind was Sasuke, and let me tell you, he was divisive as fuck. he was also unfailingly the most popular character in every. single. poll, but he was loathed after he left Konoha, and I have vivid memories of heated debates over whether or not he would ever be redeemed, or deserved to be, etc.

and while it’s not actually an anime, Avatar: The Last Airbender had a show structure and fanbase virtually identical to your typical shounen anime, and I can also tell you that back in the day, Zuko was also as divisive as they come. particularly after the season 2 finale. people were calling for his head. even a lot of the people who were previously rooting for him felt betrayed after that episode, and were not afraid to let the world know it, lol. it was fairly evident that he was still going to be redeemed (more obvious than in Sasuke’s case for sure), but there were a lot of people saying that he shouldn’t be, that he had his chance and blew it, that they’d quit the show if it happened, etc.

so having experienced both of these fandoms in their heyday, I would say that Bakugou, while certainly a divisive character, isn’t unusually so. in fact if anything, he’s probably a lot more liked (or at least tolerated) than either of these characters were during their fandoms’ more turbulent days.

Bakugou is a bit of a different case though in that, unlike Sasuke or Zuko, he doesn’t start out neutral or fairly likable and then have a Crucial Moment of Dickishness later down the line that turns the fandom against him. instead, Bakugou reaches his Crowning Moment of Asshole in the very first chapter, and it’s all uphill from there. but the issue is that his Peak Asshole moment just so happens to be really bad. bullying the defenseless main character for no reason and then telling him to kill himself! yeahhhhh. and this is our introduction to him. we don’t get anything beforehand to establish his character as anything other than a selfish, cruel person. we don’t see him save a cat from being hit by a car, or be nice to literally anyone, or see any type of conflicted emotion in him when he does these terrible things. it’s just, “here’s Bakugou! oh, by the way, he’s a dick.” and only much later on does Horikoshi actually start to give us any insights into his motivations, and even then, he never actually gives us any justification for what he did in the first chapter. because there is no way to justify it. Horikoshi wrote it that way; he was deliberately trying to make him as unlikable as possible, and has said as much in interviews and omakes. so yeah, for the people that don’t like him, I can’t really say you’re doing it wrong, because if anything, that’s the exact response the author intended you to have.

but he is my favorite! and many people’s favorite! and I can’t speak for anyone other than myself, but for me I think it’s the fact that when I see a character like that, my immediate instinct is to go “okay but why” and to try to find the humanity in that character, the vulnerability. and there is something painfully vulnerable about Bakugou’s character, something confused and insecure and rough and raw and struggling. he’s still very young still, and for all of his projected confidence, he has far less of a real grip on things than the protagonist. Deku knows how to be a hero, even if he doesn’t yet have the tools to become one. Bakugou, by contrast, has all the tools, but lacks the heart, at least at the start of things. and so he spends a good chunk of the first part of the series learning lesson after painful lesson and having reality hand his ass back to him. and it is rough, and it is not pretty. but it absolutely is human, and for me I empathize with him so much and want him to do better and can’t help but root for him. even when he’s an asshole. because it’s a process, and he is getting better. and this is redemption arcs 101, and redemption arcs always have and always will have a broad appeal, and so while Horikoshi may have been surprised by Bakugou’s popularity, in hindsight it’s not really all that unexpected.

so I think what it boils down to is How Weak You Are To Redemption Arcs, VS How Hard Of A Line You Draw When It Comes To People Telling Other People To Jump Off A Roof. because the latter is definitely something that a lot of people consider unforgivable and adopt a hardline nope-you’re-dead-to-me-now stance, which I can’t say I don’t understand. and then on top of that, even with all the growth he’s had since then, he’s still an asshole! it’s just that now he’s an asshole who cares, and tries to do the right thing, and whose good qualities have been brought to light and expanded on. he probably isn’t someone you’d want to know in real life. but in the story, for all of his flaws, he’s also intelligent and resourceful and perceptive and hard-working and exceptionally brave, and extraordinarily determined.

anyways, so this post got away from me somewhat, as Kacchan posts tend to do. but yeah, so I’d say that the fandom split on Bakugou is roughly par for the course as far as shounen rivals go. and who knows, it may well be that by the time the series ends, he’ll be as beloved as Zuko is now. or he could be as hated as Sasuke, lol. or somewhere in the middle still. like Vegeta. who knows?

[yujachachacha]

About the subbing. Please go ahead and take your time, I'm sure a lot of us are genuinely happy you're doing this for us fans and for free as well :)

Thanks - I appreciate the kind words! Though, AFAIK all fansubbers work for free - even groups that ask for donations are usually using the funds for basic needs like server costs rather than profit. I’m just doing my part to help~

Like what @kuuxkat said in his reply to my earlier post (which in hindsight I’m feeling slightly guilty about for sounding a bit too salty), translators are just regular ol’ fans. We just happen to love the series so much that we made the decision to learn a skill (or two, or three…) and invest time into making more content accessible for the fandom. It’s precisely because we’re fans who are motivated by passion rather than money that we do our best on these projects.

[Uhhh…I accidentally ended up hijacking your ask to ramble about the TL/fansub process, so I’m putting the rest under a cut.]

I’m especially in awe of how much effort is put into some of these translation projects. I’ve seen absolutely stunning subtitles and beautiful typesets done by some content creators out there (including within Team ONIBE - I particularly admire Eter’s hard work on the ONIBE call guides and Yunii’s amazing Aegisub effects). But in the end, whether they’re dazzling subs done by a veteran or a simple text translation done by a first-timer, I’m grateful to anyone out there who decides to help out.

Going back to the previous paragraph, translators do understand what it’s like to despair over the lack of translations. We get why someone asks us to sub something - you just love the series so much that you’re hungry for more content. Trust me, I feel the same way. The difference is that fan translators just get so impatient about it that they decide to do the TLs themselves, haha.

Honestly, it reminds me a lot of how fanart and fanfics work. Some fan has an innate talent (artistic skill, eloquence with words; in the case of a TLer, knowledge of a second language) or some free time on their hands to learn a new skill (it’s not hard to learn the basics of Aegisub; if I was doing just plain text subs then I’d probably finish within a day or two lol), and notices a lack of content. They love the series so much that they decide to do away with this injustice by making something on their own.

With this, you might start to understand why some TLers don’t like getting pestered about doing translations. Apart from the annoyance of having the same question being asked of them over and over again, some may point out, “If you want the TLs so badly, be like me and put in the effort to do them yourself. Don’t ask me this question unless you know what that’s like.”

It’s not like requesting someone for subs is a completely forbidden topic. Sometimes, TLers don’t know what’s been translated or not, so they’ll ask people to let them know what they want to see subbed next. I’ve received plenty of polite queries from people, and I’m always happy to answer them. I was only that ticked off earlier because I specifically said not to ask me about subbing the full niconama. I didn’t make that request because I don’t have any plans to - I said that because I might actually consider it, and I want to be able to make the decision on my own.

Think back to LLS S1E4, when Hanamaru expressed doubt about whether someone like her could be a school idol. Chika tells her:

It’s not whether you can or can’t. It’s whether you want to or not!

What Chika says is, in essence, the battle cry of all content creators. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Aside from when you literally can’t dedicate the time to do something due to school/work/etc., the “can/can’t” part is the easier barrier to overcome. I don’t ask myself, “Can I figure out how to make Arisha’s words bounce cutely to reflect how adorable her Korean is? Can I translate this JP slang term?” Instead, I ask, “How much effort do I want to put into this video? Do I want to spend extra time figuring this out?”

Another example is the Yousoroad at the Seoul fan meeting. IIRC the Korean organizer once mentioned that the big question wasn’t, “Can we do this? Is this even possible?” The more important thought was, “I’ve dreamed about this since ‘Snow halation’. I want to try.” Above all, wanting to do something is the #1 motivating factor behind fan projects, and that’s a very personal decision.

That’s why there’s a very real danger of burnout in fansubbing. It’s extremely rare to see an independent fansubber consistently upload videos over a long period of time (KuuRin has my deep and undying respect for being one of the exceptions in this fandom). They start out pouring all of their passion into a project, and then find that it’s incredibly difficult to keep up the same levels of energy as time goes on.

TLers know themselves best, so let them work at their own pace. They’re already stressed out enough as it is - they don’t need the added pressure of people asking them when they’re going to finish a project. I know that 99% of the time, the “subs when?” question isn’t a serious one (for example, a fellow Team ONIBE member and I jokingly asked each other “full subs where?” on Twitter earlier), but aside from it being used as a meme/joke, it’s not a question that TLers like seeing. If you do feel the need to seriously ask it, please be try to be mindful and courteous to the person you’re asking.

tl;dr: If someone specifically tells you not to bother them about TL requests, don’t. Respect their autonomy and let them decide for themselves if they have the time and motivation for it. Otherwise, it’s usually fine if you ask, but at least try to be nice about it because it’s a heavier question than you think it is.