I really do think it would be very, very beneficial for people in fandom to spend some time looking into how long it takes to create their favorite media, because oh my god I am so tired of seeing people say "[Thing] is taking so long to come out!!!" and then I look at how long they've been waiting for [Thing] to come out and it's like, 1/3 of the average time it takes to produce that form of media.
I am not an expert on all forms of media, but just to talk about the ones I'm familiar with:
Fiction podcasts are usually in production for at least a year before they start releasing episodes. Nonfiction podcasts can be anywhere from 3-12+ months IME. For a seasonal fiction pod, you'll probably need at least a year of production time per season.
Novels often take 2-3+ years to write. Keep in mind that "writing a novel" is more than just "typing out the words". Writing a novel is plotting, outlining, building a world, developing characters, creating multiple unique storylines that all somehow tie together into one coherent whole, and so much damn editing. It gets even more finicky once you bring traditional publishing into play, which has so many of its own weird, messy things to deal with (@xiranjayzhao has been talking about this a lot, and I really recommend checking out everything they have to say about it. Also, pre-order Heavenly Tyrant.)
I've never worked on a TV show or full-length movie before, though I have worked on the sets of short films before. I once acted in a 2-3 minute short film that required months of planning, a 14-hour filming day, and then a few more months of editing. And again, this was to produce less than five minutes of film!
If you're upset because the new season of your favorite TV show hasn't come out six months after the last one ended, or because it's taking a few years for the next book in your favorite series to come out: I am begging of you to understand that art takes time to make. Good art takes even more time. Good art made by artists who are being treated well takes more time still. The artists behind the art you love are people. Please remember to treat them like they are.
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teru & socialization
i've posted about this before but something ive been thinking about a LOT is mp100's themes of loneliness (and eventual connections). i think this is an aspect of teru's character (in particular) that gets left out because it's not as explicit but i've been wanting to do a deep dive on it for a while and i finally sat down to do it. just a warning, this post is gonna be LONG.
these two panels are from chapter 16 of the manga (which i'm using for my evidence because i. dont want to scrub through the anime LOL). initial sentiment: teru uses his powers to cheat having friends/a good social life and wouldn't have that if he tried earnestly. this is a fair interpretation of the scene. with what we know, at this point of time (as in within the teru-mob fight) teru would not be able to connect with other people earnestly, due to his mindset. which i think is a fair interpretation, HOWEVER:
(from chapter 17 ^^) the first panel shows teru's expression to be strained and the second is visibly unhappy. this puts the first set of panels into a different context, that maybe underneath all of this, teru doesn't WANT any of this life that he's built. keep in mind that i'm analyzing this with teru's possible autistic tendencies in mind & you dont have to believe he's autistic, im not your dad, but i do find this a pretty meaningful indication of masking if he were
(note: yes, the strain can definitely be read as comp-het, and i would agree but that's not relevant so go read this post on that instead)
even if the rest of these panels show teru content with his life, i think these expressions are pretty vital to how we read his life especially because we know so little of it. think about it, if you were a kid desperate for affection because you couldn't get it anywhere else, especially not in a way that would come off as "mature" or "unaffected", wouldn't you also look for validation in your popularity? even if it aligned you with people who you consider fundamentally different to you? my point here is that teru can't not stand out-- it's in his nature-- and we are shown how he tries to blend in & receive attention in the only way possible to him; which is to say that he molds himself into something that is palatable, likeable, and superior to other people. if he's nothing, like mob, he has spent his entire life covering up for it. if he fails socially, like mob, he has to be good at everything (even if he cheats to do so) so that everyone else can look past it.
(side note for my teru angst enjoyers: this is a panel of his mom. the mom who he hasn't seen in years. doesn't it make sense that, if he hasn't heard his mom say he's proud of him for literal years, that he would overachieve in response? not related to the autism thing i just have the teru bug. also don't be misogynistic in my notes both his parents suck we just get a singular mention of his mom)
so if teru couldn't meaningfully have friends before mob, that could very easily be because of his past mindset, right?
...except, we don't.. really... see him make other friends afterwards.
but, the awakening lab, right?
(ok i lied to you sorry there is one anime screenshot and thats because it stood out to me while i rewatched it earlier this month. sorry.) id like to bring attention to this screenshot during the cultural festival because the awakening lab can definitely be seen as a direct contradiction of this and i'd like to point out a couple things:
1) in this scene the shiratori brothers are in another room
2) them and the other three are friends with ritsu (or at least close enough acquaintances to want to see him).
considering this is one of the only times they appear together for Fun i am more inclined to believe this is an encounter where they went together because they all would've gone separately anyway. this isn't to discount the possible bond that these characters might have, but thats the thing. we... aren't really shown that they're friends and enjoy spending time together outside of this screenshot, where two out of six of the members are not even present. not to mention that teru is still placing himself in a role separate from his peers. despite stripping the superiority away, teru is still the awakening lab's mentor, not friend. teru still views himself as fundamentally different in a context where his psychic powers don't make him that way.
...except with mob. i bring this placement of power up because where he is the awakening lab's mentor, teru declares mob to be his rival, or, in other words, teru is just like him. he is accepting that mob and him are the same. (and if we view mob from an autistic lens... so on and so forth)
as if to hammer in that point even further-- in the summer vacation omake, teru explicitly states that "summer break is just a super long, super boring stretch of alone time." i'm not sure of the timeline here, but guessing from the hair, we're at least post season 1. which gives us explicit confirmation here that teru is spending the break alone despite his relationship to the awakening lab. his connection to mob is a lifeline here because mob is one of the only people who can intuitively understand teru's isolation without judgment
(also, on that point of teru's autistic tendencies: teru does and says a LOT of things that would raise other peoples eyebrows and doesn't seem to notice.
here we get teru actively admitting to his home life, right in front of reigen, WHO COULD CALL CHILD SERVICES ON HIM? this genuinely made me rethink this character entirely. teru's filter is... minimal. he isn't constantly volunteering information and generally minds his own business, but if you ask? Well.
teru is a social person, but to say he is proficient in understanding social situations seems... wrong. teru views his loneliness as boring because, despite being fairly open, does not actually allow himself to think about his own feelings and how they affect him. this loneliness is boring because he doesn't have enough of a reference to realize its not
if we are taking pre-mob teru to be a version of himself who is masking, or at the very least someone who is faking a lot of stuff in a less autistic sense, the fight with mob changes teru to the point where he no longer hides himself. in the same way that mob was able to shake teru's fragile superiority complex i think the change in appearance marks the end of the self teru had built up. from this point on we see him become a lot more... Him. his appearance and his fashion choices are, presumably, completely normal to him and we get no indication that he believes otherwise despite the reactions it gets-- which is... well, i wouldn't be writing this post if i thought it was one of his most neurotypical traits.
in fact, he seems... pretty oblivious to what other people think of him. which is an interesting distinction to make considering the intelligence we Know he possesses (which is not to say that you are unintelligent if you don't pick up on social cues, just that its common for media to depict it that way.) these traits are made pointedly, even if unintentionally, separate, ESPECIALLY when you note the amount of characters who Do ruminate on or stare at teru's appearance.
some examples. i don't even think this is all of it-- case in point.)
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#83
“[Hero],” the villain opens with smoothness they haven’t shown the hero in a long time. “I have made a terrible, terrible mistake.”
Ah. Seduction for a favour. Of course. “Well don’t keep me in suspense, [Villain]. I could use a good laugh.”
The villain pulls a face, distantly offended. Their lips twitch uncertainly. “[Supervillain]’s lab is… made for [Supervillain].”
“Who’d have thought. You’ve been in there?”
Another twitch. “Yes,” the villain says shortly. “Yes, I was in there. [Supervillain] doesn’t label anything either. Their little concoctions could be anything—and I… drank one.”
The hero snorts. The villain scowls. “You drank an unlabelled liquid?” the hero asks from behind a laugh.
“Yes.”
“Intentionally?”
The villain’s scowl somehow deepens. “Yes.”
“What, are your hours numbered? Are you hoping I hold a secret cure?”
“No.”
“What was it, then?”
Another twitch. The villain doesn’t seem to want to answer at all. “It was a truth serum.”
Oh. Now that is interesting. “Truth serum? So you can’t lie?”
“Yes.” The villain smirks, and suddenly the seductive hopefulness is back full force. “Go on, test me. Ask a question.”
The hero stares into the distance as they think. It’s a lot of opportunity dumped on them with no warning. The villain slinks across the room towards them, curious, tantalising. “Do you actually enjoy being a villain?”
“Yes.” The villain’s smirk upturns even more. “I wouldn’t even have to lie for that. Ask something I wouldn’t usually answer, dumbass.”
The villain closes the space between them. The hero gives them a suspicious squint. “Where’s your evil lair?”
“In the basement of the old school downtown,” the villain says immediately. They groan disappointedly as soon as the words are out. “God, of course you’d go for something about work. What, is looking for us getting boring?”
The hero can feel the villain’s breath on their face now. They look away to avoid the heat rising to their face. “You want me to ask something… personal?”
The villain smirks. Their arms snake up to sit on the hero’s shoulders, their fingers brushing idly through their hair. “Sure.”
Thinking isn’t the hero’s strong suit right now. They know they should push the villain away, but something’s stopping them. It almost feels real. It’s a little too comfortable. They can feel every bit of the villain's body against theirs. “I, uh… are you… seeing anyone?”
“No,” the villain whispers with a cocky grin. “Not yet.”
And the villain presses their lips to the hero’s.
Something of a surprised squeak tumbles from the hero’s mouth and straight into the villain’s. The villain hums a laugh, their fingers tightening in the other’s hair. The hero is caught up in the shock of it for a moment, but once their brain kicks in and screams its victory they remember to actually kiss them back.
The villain’s mouth is soft, gentle, their lips moving against the hero’s with a novel carefulness. The hero lets their arms slide around the other’s waist, pulling them in a little more, almost lightheaded with the exhilarated buzz. They can feel the villain smile against them as they deepen the kiss. The villain’s lips are almost salty, crisp, moreish. The hero doesn’t think they could ever get enough of their taste on their tongue.
The villain pulls away after a moment, much to the hero’s dismay, though their arms stay locked possessively around their neck. They throw a smirk at the hero again, entirely too proud of what they just pulled. “How many heroes are on the roster right now?”
The hero’s mouth is forming words before they can even register the question. “Twelve.”
“Damn.” The villain’s eyebrows shoot upwards, and the hero suddenly realises what’s happening. This bastard. “That’s not a lot. We have more than that.”
“How many?”
“Thirty-six.” The hero’s eyes widen slightly in horror, and the villain scowls at them. They still haven’t let go. “Fuck you.”
“What is—”
“Are you seeing anyone?”
“No.” Damnnit. The villain’s smirk turns playful at the hero's answer. “What’s—”
“Do you like me?”
“Yes.” The hero’s feelings aren’t stopping the rising desire to strangle the villain for making them do this. “You asshole.”
The villain’s smirk turns into a grin. “Aww. See, you can be—”
“Do you like me?”
“Yes.” The villain’s smile is gone in a second. “Oh, who’s the asshole now, huh?”
“This is so stupid,” the hero points out with a scowl. “How long does this stuff last?”
“I don’t know.” The villain grins again, entirely too knowing. “Why don’t we find out? We have all day.”
The hero frowns in faint annoyance, but the villain easily wipes it off their face with another taste of truth serum.
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