Temporal Bystander

I'm just an ordinary boy with an ordinary life. Well, as ordinary as life can be in Paris. Now I share a blog with others misplaced in one way or another. Mun: 18+ He/him Multi-OC blog.

[temporalbystander]

All the OC's you can ask questions about. Info set up as follows.

Name - Origin

Bio

Faybon Tules - Miraculous Ladybug

An orphan and main focus of this blog. All posted work of him available here.

Felix - Kingdom Hearts

The earliest known Nobody, created by Xehanort unknowingly which then inspired organisation XIII. Strangely fond of Namine.

(Start of story here.)

Arthur - Winx

Childhood friend of Bloom's who was recruited by the specialists after they saw him fighting one of the monsters days before Stella and Bloom met. Left the academy after the reveal of Sky's lie.

Caleb Talont- Harry Potter

Born into a family known to be protectors of great wizards Caleb would go against the goddesses of Time and Fate to ensure Harry had a happy life, binding his soul as the Elemental of darkness he relived life again and again trying desperately to give Harry his best chance.

(start of story here.)

Tamotsu Tsume - Naruto

Born with none of the chakra necessary to live his mother sought out the many tailed beast (who would later name herself Sakuya) who was losing the ability to hold her form. He would not meet Naruto until just before the great ninja war but soon became friends, as Naruto lay dying and the reborn Madara seemed to have won, Sakuya and Kurama would combine their powers to send them back into their younger bodies.

(start of story here. Forgive me it's terrible.)

Mark-U5 - Sonic 06 future

Discovered in the ruins of a Gun laboratory by Silver and Blaze and named Marcus he was made by combining the DNA of Shadow, Maria and Chaos. His production of chaos energy burns him from the inside if not expended. (Full story here.)

[temporalbystander]

Okay... okayokayokay.... *Deep breaths.* So... okay. for those that DONT KNOW FF7 part 3 was announced. And for those that don't give a damn about my blog, I mentioned writing an FF7 isekai a while back. So now .... Well I decided to boot up the first game on my steam deck so I can start working through it to prepare for when the third comes out. High quality on a steam deck? it's gonna be garbage right? FUCKING NOPE! I JUST got to the first time Cloud talks and... *shivers* Sorry Faybon, just when I was considering starting your story again but now? Sorry but I NEED to write out how fucking beautiful this game is. I need to describe everything that's happening, how Id be freaking the fuck out thinking I'm dreaming and so on about this because of my GOD! I knew this game was good, but having it in your hands? so good.

[temporalbystander]

A few more days had passed since Faybon spoke with Tamotsu and he was still just as confused as ever about what the rough and tough guy had been trying to tell him. and, of course, Tamotsu hadn't been willing to elaborate no matter how many times he'd been asked to.

Further thoughts were interrupted by the rustling of a coat and a voice as gentle as the sea breeze. "So, Tammy tells me you're almost about ready to leave us?"

Faybon didn't bother turning around, out of the three people he lived here with, Felix still was the most confusing to him, and not just because of how hard it was to reconcile that two wildly different people shared a name.

Speaking of names though. "So are you ever going to tell me your real name?" Faybon asked calmly.

Felix paused before settling into place next to Faybon on the balcony, looking out into the night sky. "Ah, I guess the others filled you in on the whole Nobody thing huh?" He asked with a gentle chuckle. "I mean, I've had the name Felix for a long time now but..." the rustling of fabric indicated a shrug. "Tell you what, you tell me what your decision is and I'll tell you my actual name."

Faybon huffed. "But I haven't come to a decision."

"Our resident ninja seems to think you have." The tone was gentle, prompting, trying to guide without being contradictory.

Faybon rolled his eyes. "All I got from my conversation with him is a chance to vent." He said, waving his hand dismissively. Felix didn't say anything, just waited. After a moment, and another sigh, Felix continued. "I'm not a protector, I'm not a guardian, I'm not a hero in my world in any of the timelines I saw." He slumped into the balcony, eyes downcast instead of focusing on the stars above. "Bunnyx brought me here to avoid me being erased, now though I'm starting to think she just wanted me out of the way, she always was stubborn."

"And why would you think that?" Felix asked gently after it became clear Faybon wasn't going to continue. "Surely her not wanting you to be erased is a sign she cares, right?" It wasn't a rebuttal just another gentle question.

Another sigh. "That's it though, I've been erased countless times. Bunnyx has had to reset things to an earlier point so often now that, even if I don't remember any if my previous decisions or impacts, I'm very familiar with her randomly appearing and telling me what not to do."

"I see. And you believe this time is different because?"

Faybon rolled his eyes. "Well for starters, how could she possibly have known this place existed? None of you had any idea what a Miraculous was before I arrived and Caleb is the only one familiar with Paris."

Felix's lips twitched upwards ever so slightly and there was a slight sparkle in his eyes before he returned to the gentle look Faybon was familiar with, and unsettled by. "True, a time traveler like her should have no knowledge of this place as it exists outside her world. But, regardless, that's still not a reason for why you think she wanted you out of the way."

Faybon turned, resting his back against the railing of the balcony in a way that felt both familiar and strange at the same time. He took a moment, looking over the inside of this building he'd been living in, perfectly normal aside from the purpose of it's existence. "For her to want me to escape erasure, she must have given up on trying to keep me in line. Or, if she does actually care, then it must mean that something was about to happen that would undo her efforts. She plucked me from the future and set me in the past so I could meet my mother. However that interferes with her own timeline, I'm a paradox." I shrug. "Of course I don't know if anything that could reset a whole... universe..." His eyes widened as his voice trailed off, realisation settling over his face. Spinning around he slammed his hands on the railing, the ringing of metal sounding loudly in the still night. "That LYING BITCH!" He called out angrily. "She TOLD me that Hawkmoth failed. she SWORE that, once present her got the miraculous, I wouldn't have to worry." Hands tightening around the railing he shook it as best he could. "She made me PROMISE that I wouldn't forget the version of her that never met me, because after the Alix I know gets Fluff that'd be the only Bunnyx needed!"

"But?" Felix prompted.

"But the entire GODDAMNED TIME she KNEW that a wish would undo it! She KNEW they'd all forget me the moment the universe reset!" His breathing grew harsher as he felt the blood pounding in his ears. "This whole past year I've been doing as she said, grateful I got to meet and hang out with the heroes, that I got to have them as my friends, all for it to mean NOTHING because the bad guy wins?"

there was a moment of silence, broken only by Faybons panting, before the rustle of fabric drew his attention back to Felix. "C'est la vie. Sometimes the bad guys win."

"Oh don't give me that!" Faybon shot back angrily. "You don't get to use a french expression to... to..." His voice trailed off again. "You know french?" He said, folding his arms, eyebrows furled. "How do you know French?"

Felix grinned. "I mean, I'd say it's a common enough expression even among those who speak English."

"Well yeah but you must've known how..." Before Faybon could finish Felix cut him off.

"Anyway, now that you realise that, what's your decision?"

Faybon frowned but the words came easily. "She lied to me. She brought me here so I wouldn't realise what's about to happen. I don't know WHY she picked me instead of the version that would be erased by the wish, my timeline would need resetting before then anyway with what I was doing before being brought here." He shrugged and shook his head before continuing. "But either way, if I could? I'd fight. Regardless of it being just a year spent with them, regardless of the fact that I owe my life in that time period to her? it is still MY life. And I'll be damned if I'll let it vanish because that bastard Hawkmoth gets his wish."

There was silence, the weight of his resolve hanging in the air before it was broken. "See, Tammy was right. You did make a decision." Felix continued before Faybon could say anything. "My name is l'fei."

Faybon paused and turned to look at the adult next to him as everything clicked into place. "You're kidding... so that whole conversation when I arrived about languages?"

"Complete lie on my part." They answered with a smile. "Caleb and Tamotsu may be technically older but their maturity is still lacking don't you think?"

Faybon laughed. "And of course, you travel between worlds all the time."

"Is a bit confusing hearing the others refer to their worlds as singular while my home is just one amongst many." Their smile was bright, eyes glittering with mirth.

Faybon shook his head. "Oh I know someone who would love you." He said before pausing. "Wait, so then why are you...?" He hesitated, gesturing at the other man's cloaked form.

They shrugged. "When a Nobody is born there are quite a few things that can influence it's appearance." Was the calm start of the explanation. "All depending on whether the original body is fully consumed by darkness and any close connections with other hearts that may influence it further." Faybon watched as the smile faded. " Technically speaking my story didn't end in the way Caleb and Tamotsu got their ending. Mine ended as Felix, so he's how I stay."

"Oh..." Faybon didn't know how to respond to that so he just sat silent for a moment. "So I guess this is..."

"Oh it doesn't matter. You spend a few decades under a name and you get used to responding to it." L'fei/Felix responded. "I'm just a Nobody after all." They added with a joking smile.

"Actually... not what I was gonna say." At Faybon's hesitation then 'Nobody' turned to look at him fully, only to see Faybon staring at his arm as it began to fade. "I was gonna say 'guess this is goodbye' since..." Faybon waved his arm and it phased through the balcony railing.

"See, I told you you'd made a decision." Felix/l'fei said gently, reaching out to wrap an arm around the young teen. "Now you get to continue your story."

Faybon leaned into the warm embrace, the black coat no longer feeling like leather but instead a soft silk dress. Faybon smiled, transported back to when he clung to Miss Talia as a child. It was the first time he felt the comfort of a mother figure and it's what would lead to the choices he'd make in his life, long before he ever learned the truth about their actual relationship thanks to Bunnyx and her time travelling. That thought made him pause and pull away.

"Wait..." He started slowly. "My timeline was about to be reset. Even if I made the decision to fight, going back now wouldn't change anything. What could I actually do?"

The other chuckled, a soft and melodic sound before they gently ran their fingers through his hair. "Trust me Faybon, I may not be a time traveller but that doesn't mean I'm not aware of how complex it can be." An even gentler smile followed as they crouched down to place a kiss on his forehead. "Your timeline may be gone, but your heart will remember. Keep your determination burning bright and I promise you, though the world you know may fade? That strength will carry on, giving the new you the push he needs."

Faybon smiled, wiped a tear from his eye before embracing them in a hug. "Thanks L'fei." He muttered softly. "I'm glad there's at least one adult here to help everyone who comes after." Stepping back Faybon's entire body had become see through. "I've made my choice... I'll continue my story and this time, I'll make sure it's mine." He smiled before frowning. "But I think you should consider leaving too, at least for a moment."

"Oh?" L'Fei answered curiously, folding her arms and tilting her head as her raven coloured locks fell from her hood and passed her shoulders. "Why's that?"

Faybon smiled sadly. "Because from what little I know of your story? I can only imagine the pain Kairi feels once Xion and Namine spoke to her." As the last of him faded his words lingered in the air. "A child never stops needing their mother."

Standing alone on the balcony now L'fei gave a soft smile. "Sweet kid." She muttered. "Not at all like the rest of the protectors we've gotten." Straightening up she could feel her body shift, hair receding and muscles firming as she became Felix once more. "Maybe I should pay them a visit." Came the much more masculine muttering. "But not until both of us can go." With that they walked back inside.

Faybon Tules will return in....

Doomsday

An Actual Reset

(Final note for those curious. L'Fei does identify as female but, due to shenanigans I won't explain here, her Nobody looked like her husband instead. As she was already found and named Felix, and all she remembered was being a parent to Kairi? She assumed she was the father and spent the next decade believing that. Since she was so certain about the wrong things her memories of her real name, her husband's name and what happened the night she died never returned. Think Cloud from FF7)

[temporalbystander]

Alright, here we go, another edition of late night random thoughts (that aren't always restricted to late night.)

How to make a Harry Potter/Hogwarts RPG that gives the people what they want. Or how a mobile game succeeds where Hogwarts Legacy failed.

Step one. You HAVE to go through all 7 years. first bit of magic to your N.E.W.Ts 11 years to 17. This is easy enough to do, have one or two lessons in each subject that are your main "learn this spell/potion" for the year. One would be for dueling and the other would be environmental.

Step 2. You need to have each house feel unique enough to the traits described. If you're a Hufflepuff maybe you get more fetch quests. A Ravenclaw would end up getting asked more study questions. A gryffindor would end up helping with more personal issues and Slytherin's would be doing "favours". Sure itd all basically end up leading you to the same "repeatable side quest grind that doesn't mean much of anything." But it feels like it has a place in your journey through hogwarts.

Step 3. Exploration. Hogwarts Legacy nailed this with you being able to basically go anywhere right from the start but for THIS type of game you would simply change what places can you walk into and what places do you need to sneak into? and each year your attention would be drawn to areas that have changed and why so you know what's worth revisiting.

Step 4. classes. Like I said earlier each class would have one or two main spells to teach you throughout the year but in-between those you'd have classes that are simple tests, puzzles, mini games or whatever else and, once you hit the quota for each class you can then take on the quest thats basically "hey we need to make sure we have (thing) for (different time of the year)"

Step 5: other students. (not the friend group, that's next). Hogwarts needs to be filled with other students. Those you'll only meet once because you're only sharing the school for the year, and those you get to know a bit longer. Older students will help you master what you've learned and you then get to help younger students. You're essentially doing the same puzzles twice but the reasoning would be different. (or you could just skip it and miss out on nothing of game breaking importance)

Step 6. The absolute most important thing to get right. Character relationships. To make this easy to understand I'll use Harry Potter characters. you will be John, or Jane, Hogwarts. You will make friends from all of the four houses and each friend has there own defined role that, depending on what house you're in? you can dive deeper into.

Each house should have three characters in your year that get focused on. A character who fills the role of the best friend if you end up in that house, a character who is the potential love interest for that house and the in-house rival.

There are 9 characters with their own personalities that you'll get to know. There's the rival that's basically just the negative traits of whatever you get as your house, the Cormac's and the Zacharias Smiths.

theres one who is there for the fun adventures and games. Basically the Ron's and the Justin's, theyre the friendly laugh it off ones.

There's the Luna character. The one who may seem a bit silly but sees the magic (poetic) in the magic (spells.)

There's the studious one who is also a part of several clubs. Always wants to be learning and doing more with magic.

There's the shy introverted one who is so happy just to be included even if they don't have much to say and there's also the anxious one who worries everytime a rule needs to be broken but can't handle leaving their friends alone.

Theirs the quidditch player who is also a member of several game and dueling clubs, who puts just as much stock on physical ability as magical. The confidant one.

Then finally there's the cold and distant one. The one who keeps their guard up, is snarky and claims that they're only along to bug you and that they don't believe whatever the crazy plot point is so they're sticking around to prove you wrong.

All these characters could be male or female or from any house. Heck, you REALLY want to make it feel unique to each person's perspective? have each person have a "main" house, the house which, if you end up in, you can do their side quests. Then roll a dice for the other six to see if they're a Slytherin or a Hufflepuff in this universe, their houses don't have to have an impact beyond a few generic lines. example Random Student "I can't believe anyone from (our house) would be friends with someone who (your house or whatever earlier plot point you dealt with that is contrary to their house beliefs.)" add a few lines from teachers that say they're so happy to see the houses getting along whenever your entire group is together and that's basically all you need.

*frowns* although, thinking about it that may cause issues if you pick a romantic partner from a different house only to see that the story is more generic than if you picked the one from your house.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on what a perfect harry potter based game would look like. Let me know your thoughts.

[temporalbystander]

So, just got done reading the latest translation of the one piece manga. Now, I won't spoil it exactly but...

How the hell is it that I was literally JUST thinking "Why do almost ALL of the straws have shitty childhoods? All we're missing is Brook and Jinbei."

Like, yeah it was a month or so ago but SERIOUSLY? What are the chances we ACTUALLY get a second run through of Brook backstory? just... I was kidding Oda. You're not seriously going to do Jinbei as well are you? or Zoro or Franky so we can find out just WHY they were alone? Come on, give us some more heartbreak why don't you.

[temporalbystander]

Okay I don't normally do this but I'm VERY curious about something.

So, before I post the final OC meetup where Felix and Faybon have their talk. I want people to go back and reread the first post (this one) and keep two things in mind.

One. Felix is a Nobody, and all that entails.

Two. Though not brought up in the post, because I deemed it unimportant to my initial direction, Faybon does explain to the others about his world only to find that there have been no "protectors" who have ever mentioned a miraculous existing. (this is because Faybon was made long after I actually got a grip on writing OC's instead of the multiple "this would be cool" thoughts I had with other things.) So yes Caleb has met other wizards from Hogwarts, Tamotsu has met other ninjas and Felix has met the MOST people he's familiar with since he knows everything Disney/Square. But they've never heard of a Miraculous.

[temporalbystander]

Once again Faybon was on his own. And once again he was bored out of his mind. Caleb had conjured a ball for him to bounce against the wall to stop him going too crazy when he needed to get away from the others.

"Alright lazy bones." Came the slightly odd sounding voice of the ninja Tamotsu. "Caleb said you were having issues. What're you crying about now?"

Faybon just sighed. "You're not really a people person are you?"

"I've been training to kill since I was a child." the Japanese (?) teen said blandly. "Ive got a higher body count then there are people in your hometown."

"So then why do you care?"

"Because," Tamotsu started as he sat down next to him with a heavy thud. "As sad and pathetic as I find Caleb's emotional way of handling people, he was right about one thing. The three of us stayed to help."

Faybon couldn't help but roll his eyes. "you really don't give off the whole helper vibe, you know that right?"

Tamotsu just waved his hand. "Some people need some sense shaken into them, the others can be sensitive and supportive all they like. I do the tough live approach."

"Uhuh." The doubt was clear in every part of Faybon's demeanor. "Out of curiosity, how many of the people who came through here were actually helped by your tough love stance?"

The other teen folded his arms. "Are you going to share what's got you down or not?" He asks instead, clearly annoyed at how long this was taking.

Rolling his eyes, and seeing no harm in actually venting, Faybon spoke up. "I don't know why I'm here." He quickly hurried on when Tamotsu scoffed. "I know why Bunnyx brought me here but that's exactly the problem. She did this so I wouldn't be erased, so I could talk to people who might understand me but... then what? I'm not a protector, the most I did to help the main cast," he did air quotes around the words that he'd heard the others use countless times to try and explain things, "was covering for them when their lies were too stupid and keeping their secrets that I shouldn't know." With one harsh throw the ball ricocheted and flew off out of reach. "If I did somehow overcome my block, as Caleb puts it, and somehow return Is just end up in a timeline to be erased. But if I stayed? what could I even offer? I'm the youngest here by far and in my world the whole magic adventure thing only really started up last year. I'm the least experienced, least knowledgeable and therefore the least helpful to teach someone else about why, specifically they ended up here."

Tamotsu raised an eyebrow. "What would you prefer to have happened to you then."

Faybon groaned. "I've thought about this time and time again. I've seen multiple timelines where I helped but screwed up future events or interfered and made everything worse." He sighed. "Honestly? as much as love the family I made thanks to Bunnyx, and how grateful I am for the brief moments of friendship..." he let out a deep weary sigh. "I wish she hadn't gotten involved. I wish I could have lived my own life and faced the consequences of my actions rather than having to stick a set script for an entire year."

"Even if it means you being erased?"

Faybon just chuckled mirthlessly. "better to have died living my own life then survive by someone else's schedule."

With a smirk Tamotsu stood up, patted the younger teen on the shoulder and turned to leave. "Good talk."

The bitterness was replaced by confusion. "Wait, that's it, no more tough love? What was this conversation even for?" He asked, quickly scrambling to his feet. "I explained you to tell me to toughen up, something at least."

"Nah, we're good here." He didn't even look back and just walked off down the hall.

Confused as all hell Faybon sat back down, just in time to avoid the ball that had been tossed much harder than necessary back at him from where Tamotsu had gone. Left on his own Faybon slumped on his back, tossing the ball into the air and catching it.

[temporalbystander]

Okay so.... before I get to deleting everything I've gotta ask. We all know that Chloe almost had Mayura beat, one quick venom instead of taunting her and Nathalie's identity would've been revealed.

I don't hold the missed opportunity against queen bee btw, it's completely possible she would've timed out before getting back to Ladybug with no way to refuel Pollen.

No, my question is this, what would Chloe have done? Would she have let Nathalie explain herself? Would she have put together who Hawkmoth is? and, of course, what would she have done next? Her desire to be recognised by Ladybug would be at war with her relationship with Adrien. And then what happens when she finds out the REASON they want the wish is to bring Adrien's mother back?

Just something that occurred to me prior to my reset, I'd be interested in anyone's thoughts.

[temporalbystander]

Okay so, I wrote a post a while ago about "why do I still read ML salt posts" and in it I thought I was healing.

Here to say I have backslid and the more I think about how I intended my post season 5 fic to end the more unyielding rage I felt.

Like seriously, I was in the middle of cooking dinner and a thought popped into my head. Following that thought came an avalanche of EVERY. SINGLE. THING I hated about Miraculous, even things I was CERTAIN I'd settled. Even things I'd forgotten I had a problem with until right that moment.

I wrote a post a while ago about why I dislike stories where characters suffer in ways they didn't in cannon. Now though? I think I need to scrap everything I have with Miraculous. Clear out my blogs, wipe the slate clean as it were. I created an OC to fit into the world of Miraculous Ladybug but I did it so early on in the show that I had to jump through insane hoops to keep him from impacting the timeline.

Unfortunately, despite how much I like what Faybon could have been? I think I need to erase everything he was first before I can move on. Starting tomorrow (if I can be bothered) I will delete every post with Faybon's story tagged. I'll delete my AO3 stories and then, maybe, once I decide how I'll rewrite him, I can deal with all this anger I caused myself by making Faybon the one to notice these things.

People may not like fix-it fics, and I may not like stories where OC's basically becomes the main male/female side of a story. But if I ever want to write again, or make a blog that I'm proud of? I'll have to do this.

[temporalbystander]

Public health and safety announcement.

If there is something online that ticks you off, do NOT imagine yourself trying to explain WHY it upsets you to someone who actually believes it.

I don't know why I thought about it but after trying to do the above I now feel like half my brain has exploded against the right side of my skull and wish to sleep forever.

[temporalbystander]

Gonna do my utter best to avoid spoilers here but I need to talk about this. Chapter 1181 is out and I just finished it and...

being as vague as possible here.....

"What's the difference?"

THAT'S IT??? ALL this time spent trying to figure out what this guys powers are, what his deal is, why he's so full of himself and... THATS ALL IT IS? He just.... doesn't see the difference between what he CLEARLY IS and what he CLAIMS to be??? Like.... oh my GOD that is INSANE! It's like Z Broly levels of motivation. I mean, the explanation of his powers were neat and he does seem powerful but... I mean we never took any of their beliefs seriously, We all thought they were stupid for how entitled they were but.... oh sweet merciful crap it's like saying there's no difference between a pirate and a marine..... which is actually pretty damn accurate to some marines now that I think about it.

[temporalbystander]

Item: Headphones Rarity: ⏶ Common

Name a video game song you still have stuck in your head.

Feed your dashboard by answering my question, blogger.

oh wow playing snake actually did something... hmm... I mean, when it comes to game songs that get stuck in your head, not just tracks but songs? I feel like there's only two real options you can go with. "Still alive" from Portal and "Simple and clean" from Kingdom Hearts 2. There may be others but for me it's always got to be Simple and clean.

[temporalbystander]

was gonna make this a whole story, been meaning to write a lot of little things recently but just haven't gotten the drive, so I'll make this a short little post.

I read a LOT of Naruto fanfiction growing up. time loops, betrayal, adult and so on. Quite a few tackling the insanity that is the Hyuuga clan, specifically dealing with Neji and removing the stick.

You know what I have NEVER seen anyone address though? Hiashi and Hanabi. Sure there are stories where Hiashi is trying to do the right thing with Hinata (and failing) and that it's the clan elders who are responsible for wanting to make Hanabi the main branch member and so on.

But you know what's never addressed? We know Hanabi looks like her mother. We know Hinata acts like their mother. And yet not a single person has written Hiashi getting looked in the eye, after praising Hanabi, and being told "congratulations, the spitting image of the woman you love is cruel and heartless. You must be so proud of yourself for turning her into you."

Or, another favourite alternative, "I'm sure your wife would be so proud of what you've turned her daughter's into."

I mean seriously, was I the only one who got a little suspect hearing that Hiashi doted on Hanabi because he looked like his wife, yet seemed disgusted by Hinata who acted like her instead? Keeping in mind that she was a girl who was kidnapped and traumatised as a child, then blamed for needing to sacrifice her uncle because the Hogake was too much of a coward to tell the Cloud to piss off? Seriously.

"You killed our diplomat who was trying to steal the Byakugan. We demand the Byakugan clan leader as compensation."

And Hiruzen said yes! Had Hiashi not been a twin they would've had to hand him over! But no, sure, let's blame the little girl for NOT being more obvious about being kidnapped. Literally every bloodline/clan in Konoha is toxic and you can't convince me otherwise.

[temporalbystander]

adding on to my last post and a little side note/writing tip.

You don't have to keep your characters acting like they do in canon, however, speaking from just my own personal taste, don't change things just for the sake of a ship. Using Miraculous as an example, don't have Marinette lose her feelings of responsibility as a guardian, lose Adrien, just so you can ship her with Lila. It's forced, it's bland and quite frankly it is the absolute worst way to wrote a story. I'm disgusted whenever I find an au and see people go "it's my au I can do what I want" when it's obvious the reason for the au is just the excuse to mash two dolls together like they're kissing.

Likewise, don't change something just because you don't like it. I reblogged a post saying something similar a while ago. Basically, you can't make Simba a vegan just because you work for PETA, that's not how the character works. You can't write an au where all Lions get by on grass (well you can but nobody is going to engage with it).

In summary. You don't have to have your characters act like they do in canon. but they at least need an *in character* reason for WHY they aren't acting in character. Marinette is no longer scheduling every single thing in minute detail? She heard Chloe used to do the same thing and is fighting herself so she doesn't have anything in common with her.

Ron Weasley isn't eating enough for 10 people and isn't hungry at all because of it? He just found out the Chudley cannons lost a game and is too depressed to eat. By the time he recovers he's gotten used to his smaller meals.

Your batman wouldn't comfort a kid? The kid is either a chibi joker or he's talking about himself.

But hopefully that's enough to get my point across. Tes urs your story and you can do whatever the hell you want with it. But the REASONING needs to legitimate. and consistent.

[temporalbystander]

hey all, was gonna make a comment on YouTube but thought this would be better here. So enjoy another rant you don't care about.

Today's ramble is about crossovers. Whether it's Spiderman in Gotham or The Addams family going to Hogwarts, they can be fun and amazing pieces if writing. I've read my fair share of crossovers. Some that even jumped the shark with what they included and I have nothing against them.

But guys, I beg of you, can we PLEASE not treat fanfiction crossovers as if they were required canon events needed to understand and be a part of the fandom? Like, for example back on fanfiction dot net I'd come across SO many different types of crossovers and id read the reviews to see what people thought and... dear god the amount of people in them that went on and on like it was an insult to the original character that Hermione didn't end up with... whoever the buff brooding guy of the other crossover story was. Or stories that would basically just take A character and go "it was time for them to stop hiding who they really were" and turn them into Mia blackheart, famed assassin.

..... The hell was I saying? Oh right. Crossovers. Umm.... TLDR STOP TREATING CROSSOVERS LIKE THERE'S A CANONICAL RESULT!

Stop saying character a is obviously in love with character b. Or that character C does annoying shot because it gets on character D's nerves. Like, it's fine in the typical headcanon way but please don't do it in the "Danny Phantom would never treat Bloom like that, he'd sooner give up his powers". Like, mother fucker this isn't your story, (and for the sake of my sanity do NOT include your OC's in that statement!)

Other: But hey, didn't you used to do that? Plenty of others do that to?

Me: Yes but the DIFFERENCE is that I, and the people I've seen, have their OC's react. Like a group RP. Not "Thered never be a blood feud, Johnson Everfuy would never allow it, he's quite well liked by both groups you know?"

Basically, just don't talk about your OCs or other fanfiction as if it's the commonly accepted scenario. People may not even know CANON details, let alone what a niche crossover you liked involved.

[temporalbystander]

Hey all, haven't posted in a while, been in my own head trying to deal with things. I may or may not be doing blog things in the future (stories, character interactions and so on) but I needed to talk about something in the latest Poppy Playtime chapter that, to this point, I've seen NOBODY talk about. There will be spoilers but it's unavoidable because of what I need to explain. So, under the cut? the "subject" of Sweet street.

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So, what am I talking about? Well I'm assuming you've all played, or seen someone play, chapter 5 and know about the area called Sweet Street. As of this moment the purpose of Sweet Street is.... unknown. It's built like some kind of theme park ride but it's SO far underground that there's no way in hell that's what it was used for. my best guess is that it's used to acclimate toys to the setting of a theme park before transferring them. That way kids can wonder around and watch the toys living their daily lives....

Not gonna lie but that is a GENIUS idea. "Hey kids, do you want to visit sweet street and see what all your favourite characters get up to when they're not having adventures?" I mean... if it weren't for all the inhumane experiments on children and insane brainwashing to convince them they're a character? it'd be really cool. A place where fantasy and reality overlap, where the toys you love aren't just people in a suit earning a paycheck but the real deal.

Anyway, Sweet Street is where we meet the secondary antagonist of the chapter, Lily Lovebraids, who brings you to this giant doll house. After some exploring and errands you find rooms where people can look in without being noticed and in one of these you find a note labelled "observations: conditioning".

This report is written by Jessica Newman, a doctor that's been a big part of the experiments and args so far, detailing how things go regarding an unnamed "subject." Cliffnotes? They put someone in the dollhouse who didn't like it but, after a couple of months, began to see it as home and humans as friends as long as they were in costume.

Now, here's the thing, when you first find this note your immediate response is to assume it's about Lily Lovebraids, after all she is the toy you encounter here and the note does mention "friends" as if it a role to be filled like how Lily is playing make-believe with toys (which I've only just realised is incredibly weird to say given that she is a toy herself.) It makes sense for a toy that's suddenly lost all her friends (the humans in costumes) with no explanation to want to fill that roll.... except Lily didn't exist prior to the hour of Joy.

Lily Lovebraids is, or was, a playtime employee by the name of Gracie Green, also known as Miss Gracie. She was responsible for all the conditioning videos you see this chapter to convince the kids to want to be a toy and then convince the tots that they've always been toys. It's messed up.

Anyway, you learn this via several audiotapes during the chapter and the id card next to the body in Lily's room, the key point though is that Gracie was turned into a bigger body by the prototype and that, while Lily Lovebraids may exist as a toyline, the bits and pieces that playtime co were planning to use for the bigger body were only brought in a couple of days before the hour of joy took place.

In summary, the subject Jessica was talking about can't have been Lily Lovebraids, both because of the person that was turned into Lily and the fact that it was one of, if not the, last experiment ideas the company came up with.

This leads to the first question I have with this note that nobody's talking about. Who is this subject? Why put them in a dollhouse? why put them in sweet street with humans in costumes and not among other toys like every other experiment we've seen so far? It wouldn't be an issue if the note didn't call out that the subject didn't "recognise the house as their habitat and kept trying to leave". First of all the entire side of the house opens up, there's a front door and a whole lot of windows that should be no problem for a toy. Getting out should be easy.

Secondly, framing it as the subjects habitat implies that it was built with the subject in mind, or at the very least wouldn't be difficult to adapt to. This is especially weird to me because... I mean look at the place. Yeah it's a doll house but everything inside is perfectly functional and like a normal house. There's not a single other bigger body we've seen so far who wouldn't be too big for this place. Lily is literally the only toy that makes sense for the scale of the place but, like I said multiple times, Jessica can't possibly have been referring to her. this feels like such a huge deal but nobody is talking about it.

that's not the only thing off about the note though. Something else I find interesting is how Jessica finishes her observation. She questions whether the lives lost because of sweet street, likely because of toys killing humans out of costume (doesn't that sound familiar), are worth it if the illusion is so fragile. I find this interesting for two reasons, the first because it's attached to the observations on the subject finally accepting the house and friends, thereby implying that either the subject was doing the killing or that there have been prior subjects who have killed the humans and that whatever the company is trying to achieve clearly isn't working.

The second, and biggest, weird thing is that it's Jessica who is saying this. Jessica has basically been the face of the experiments so far, the observations, questioning the toys and so on. But, what some of you may not know, is that she was also a major part of the arg prior to the release of this chapter. In it, we learn several key things. One, she REALLY doesn't seem to care about the crap they put the toys not even thinking about it and just trying to focus on the progress. two, she was raised in play are and then joined the team. three, she has no other family and four. she survived for a while after the hour of joy.

it's this fourth thing I want to focus on because we get to see how she acts after it goes down. After all the toys have escaped, after all the doors shut, after hundreds of people are killed, what does she say? "It'll have to be a big cleanup crew they send. Then we'll be back to work making sure this never happens again."

like..... Seriously??? there's been mass murder of parents and employees, she has no idea what happened to the children and all she's thinking is when will she get back to work? and apparently THIS is the person who wonders if what they're doing on sweet street is worth it? Miss "you signed up for the torture if children and didn't think setting them free would end badly" Newman doesn't see what she's doing as worth it? Seriously, what the HELL were they trying to do with Sweet Street if THIS staunch supporter didnt see the point???

[temporalbystander]

Just woke up, feeling like crap, everything hurts because I slept wrong, and just decided to scroll through Tumblr when the weirdest thought hit me.

"Why do I continue to look at posts tagged ML salt when I actually like Miraculous? It doesn't make me feel better."

I mean, of course, I've got issues with it but that's why I had pages of writing on how to change things.

So.... took a while but I guess I may be recovering from my burnout/ loathing of writing?