#anti-ismelda murk
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Okay, all...I promised an essay about this quest, so here it is!
In this TED talk, I will explain why this quest -- in direct opposition to what Jam City clearly intended -- actually has made me feel less sympathy for Ismelda Murk as a character, rather than more.
Before we get started, though, a disclaimer -- if you like Ismelda as a character, then that’s cool! She’s just personally my least favorite character in the game Hogwarts Mystery, largely because of the ways I think the game’s writers have tried and failed to soften her, to my personal satisfaction. (This sidequest included.) I will try very hard to keep this analysis reasonable and not needlessly “bash-y,” but just be aware going in that this is going to be very Ismelda-critical.
So for those of you who don’t know the set-up for this quest, basically Ismelda’s obnoxious and self-absorbed older sister Annalena is tasked by the Ministry of Magic to help organize a festival in Hogsmeade showcasing booths from the various businesses like the Three Broomsticks and Zonko’s. Ismelda -- out of a long-held resentment toward her “perfect” sister -- sabotages the festival and then tries to frame Annalena for the damage when MC does their own investigation into the matter.
MC, of course, figures out the truth when they come across a letter from Annalena to Ismelda confirming that they’re sisters and that Ismelda knew she was hosting the festival, which Ismelda accidentally left on one of the long tables in the Great Hall. Then MC confronts Ismelda at the Hog’s Head.
For the record, Ismelda, it’s only opening a letter addressed to someone else that’s considered a crime. If the letter is already open, which this letter was, then there’s really nothing saying you can’t read it. And even in cases where you open a letter by accident (which you could try to apply to the whole “Aparecium” thing -- though really, you could also compare it to emails, which actually aren’t protected under the law in the same way: you can read other people’s emails), you’re protected from criminal prosecution. It might be a bit rude for MC to have read your letter, but considering you left that letter behind and it was written on official Ministry letterhead when a Ministry witch was getting accused of destroying people’s property, there’s a perfectly innocent explanation about why someone would read it.
But yes, on that note -- Annalena Gleam (nee Murk) was accused of destroying other people’s property. Something that instead was done by Ismelda, all in an attempt to tear down her sister.
Here’s the thing, though. Being mad at your sister? Fair. Resenting that she got all your parents’ attention when you were growing up? Justified. Wanting to get back at your sister for how badly she’s treated you? Understandable.
But here’s the problem -- THIS is how you went about it, Ismelda.
You destroyed other people’s property.
The festival wasn’t just your sister’s thing -- it involved the entire community of Hogsmeade. All of the businesses in the area invested time and money into the event, both of which they now have to invest twice over, because you destroyed their wares and stalls. If you want to pay your sister back for treating you badly, fine, but by sabotaging the festival, you roped innocent people who had done NOTHING to you into this stupid feud you have with Annalena, punishing them for absolutely no reason at all.
Fortunately Ismelda does work to clean up the damage she’s done, but only AFTER being threatened by MC that they’ll tell Dumbledore if she doesn’t. This pretty much proves that Ismelda truly doesn’t care how much trouble she caused everyone else -- how unsettled and possibly scared the residents of Hogsmeade would be by someone trashing their festival grounds, how much money the business owners would’ve lost, how many people would be disappointed that the festival couldn’t go on...none of that mattered to Ismelda. All that she saw or cared about was that it would give her the chance to make Annalena look bad. Sure, it might ruin her whole career and endanger her financial livelihood, but hey, at least you got to take some petty revenge for your sister being a b*tch when you were kids, right, Ismelda?
I’ll be fair, though -- Annalena is a pretty awful sister. She literally claimed she was an only child around her peers, just to try to be better liked.
Even that “attempt” to mend fences in her letter to Ismelda really came across as very condescending and self-absorbed.
I frankly wouldn’t blame Ismelda at all for not wanting to make amends with Annalena. One doesn’t even really have to make up with one’s family members, if they don’t want to. Sometimes relationships truly can’t be saved or shouldn’t be saved, regardless of how we might feel about it. But regardless of whether or not the Murk sisters can come together, that’s THEIR business. They should not be involving innocent bystanders in their drama. MC admittedly does tend to get involved in a lot of stuff that really isn’t their business purely due to the game’s plot, but that’s not what happened here. Ismelda roped innocent people into her feud with Annalena, and that’s just not acceptable. So forgive me if I see Ismelda trying to avoid apologizing at first by pulling crap like this --
-- and have to bury my face in my pillow and scream because “SHE DIDN’T MAKE YOU DO A DAMN THING, ISMELDA -- TAKE SOME GODDAMN RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS, YOU SELFISH TWIT.”
Ugh!! 😣
Look -- as I said, I do truly feel for Ismelda to the extent that Annalena should not have treated her that way, when they were young. But if Ismelda truly wanted to get proper revenge on Annalena, then the best approach would be to succeed in her own way: to outshine Annalena on her own merits, and also go “screw my sister” and cut her out of your life if she’s really such a toxic influence. Because let’s be honest, in the end, Ismelda’s plan was never going to work. No Ministry official or professor would’ve believed Ismelda’s version of events over Annalena’s, especially since those people would know Annalena and Ismelda were sisters. Her lies only worked with MC and crew until they confirmed that fact. And yeah, Ismelda, clearly when your plan was revealed, it would only serve to make you look even worse, victimizing your own sister as well as everyone else in Hogsmeade. So yeah -- way to just make things even harder for yourself.
In conclusion, Ismelda Murk sadly remains a character I just cannot sympathize with, regardless of how Jam City has tried to soften me to her.
We see she has a crush on Barnaby and doesn’t think he’ll ever like her. ...Then she decides to try to take away all chance for him to give consent by almost drugging him with a Love Potion.
We see she’s one of the few who actually reacts excitedly to what she sees in the Mirror of Erised. ...Then we find out her greatest desire is telling people what to do and them doing it without question.
We see her sister Annalena was objectively pretty awful to her as a kid and she resents that she’s always been stuck in her shadow. ...Then she almost ruins everything for everyone else in an ill-conceived, thoroughly selfish attempt to hurt Annalena’s career and Annalena by extension.
Sorry, Jam City -- but maybe the next time you want to try to give me a reason to sympathize with Ismelda, you could do it by finishing up that awesome development you laid out for her through her relationship with Beatrice (and by extension Penny), rather than just prove once again that this girl upholds the selfish, callous, mean-spirited Slytherin stereotype that we’re all sick of at this point? We know Ismelda can care about people other than herself -- let’s show more of that, please.
#hphm#hogwarts mystery#ismelda murk#anti-ismelda murk#opinion#analysis#gameplay#now you see why i have the tag 'oh boy here i go' on my home blog#annalena gleam#annalena murk
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What do you think of Merula and Tulip's behavior of locking Jacob's room so MC must get help from them? And do Ismelda and Barnaby know this?
I mean, I wouldn’t say they did it “so MC must get help from them”. Merula and Tulip found Jacob’s room to overtake MC to the Cursed Vaults. Then, they locked the room because of their fight, so neither of them could use it anymore. There was nothing suggesting that either of the girls wanted MC to know about the room at all. We had that one scene with Merula in Y2Ch5:
If you choose the option about vaults, Marula says:
She also adds in all options:
She probably talks about finding Jacob’s room and working with Tulip. Still, that’s all we got for her. She never again even hinted what kind of advantage she had over us, proving she can be very secretive if she wants.
At the end of the day, MC learnt about Jacob’s room kind of by a coincidence. First, we heard about it from the Mysterious Voice in the Vault of Ice. Then, Hagrid told us that Jacob was spending a lot of time at the Three Broomsticks, we went there, Madam Rosmerta told us about the Black Quill, it turned out that the Black Quill was really Jacob’s notebook, and it was that notebook which gave us the location of the room. Neither Merula nor Tulip had anything to do with that.
That being said, hiding Jacob’s room from MC was a dick move either way. They had no right to keep in secret our BROTHER’S private room, especially that it could have answers about finding him (and especially considering that we were worried that Jacob might be dead). Seriously, this is one of the main reasons why I’ll never get along with Merula. Tulip at least redeemed herself later by helping us a lot with the next vaults, and it seems that she understood that MC does everything purely for Jacob’s sake. But Merula? Merula still had the audacity to make her distasteful comments.
Y4Ch6:
Y5Ch15:
Oh, yeah. And she possibly STOLE something from that room.
As for Ismelda and Barnaby, I really doubt they knew about Jacob’s room. It was pretty clear to me in Y3 that Merula didn’t think too highly about either of them, so I don’t see her telling them about such important information. In fact, her comment from Y5 I mentioned above suggests that there was a time when even Tulip didn’t know about Jacob’s room - which is pretty interesting, if you ask me…
#hogwarts mystery#hphm#hphm mc#merula snyde#anti merula#tulip karasu#ismelda murk#barnaby lee#analysis post#ask#anonymous
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She had 2 friends, one went to the MC, the other she regularly insulted and put in danger
Merula is such a good friend
#hphm#harry potter#hp#harry potter hogwarts mystery#harry potter hogwarts game#jam city#hogwarts#hogwarts mystery#merula snyde#anti merula snyde#barnaby lee#ismelda murk
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you make some characters out to be worse than they really are but don’t do it for the characters who are actually meant to be bad 😕
You’re probably right, but who do you mean? If we’re talking about her, then trust me, I despise her. I just think she was wasted as a character and could have been so much more than just the terrible person she was. Don’t think of that as loyalty to her, think of it as a wish for the story to be more complex and interesting. Of the tropes I like showing themselves.
If this is about Merula or Ismelda, then I can likewise acknowledge the terrible things they’ve done. I feel more sympathy for them and root for their redemption because they are still children after all, and it’s only fair that they be given that chance. They’ve been made sympathetic enough that I do care about them and feel like they could be better people. This also applies to Skye Parkin.
I’m not sure who I’ve made out to be worse than they really are, the only examples of characters I’ve routinely bashed, that occur to me in this moment, are Moody and Dumbledore. And listen, if Moody winds up being completely innocent, I’ll be happy to admit that I was wrong. I’m just saying that he’s acting suspicious. And Dumbledore? Eh...no, no he’s a monster and I stand by that.
#Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery#Merula Snyde#Ismelda Murk#Patricia Rakepick#Albus Dumbledore#Mad-Eye Moody#Anti-Dumbledore
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I do ship my MC with Merula, but if I’m being honest, I kind of regret choosing her. The way she's been acting in Year 6, the tournament TLSQ and her past behavior just reminds me of James and Draco a little. She’s tried to kill MC, get MC expelled and get him to lose house points. Emotionally manipulate MC to get what she wanted in the Frog Choir TLSQ. Bullied MC and friends. Prejudiced. Insults Hagrid. Constantly mocked MC about Jacob being a Death Eater or dead despite knowing what it’s like to lose a loved one and then goes around admitting she crushes on the brother she’s been insulting for years while also possibly dating his younger brother. I honestly wouldn’t be having these regrets if she just apologized and showed remorse for her past actions, rejected her past beliefs, her parents and Voldemort, and actually shows that she wants to change as a person and JC stopped being flip-floppy with Merula and actually gave her consistent writing. Don’t get me wrong, I like Merula as a character and I still plan on keep dating Merula, but if Tulip or Ismelda were not removed as dating choices or if Chiara, Skye or Rath were choices, I would for sure choose them over Merula if I could.
#Hogwarts Mystery#Anti Merula#Anti Merula Snyde#Merula Snyde#Tulip Karasu#Ismelda Murk#Chiara Lobosca#Skye Parkin#MC x Merula#MC x Tulip#MC x Skye#MC x Chiara#MC x Skye Parkin
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In the midst of the Crushed subplot, and...okay, I think this storyline was supposed to make us look on Ismelda more kindly, and although I personally can sort of see why, I don’t think it’s doing a great job of it, and I think it’s only made Carewyn-muse dislike her more. I say this because the event that I suppose must be the climax of the thing involves this:
All right, so...as a meta observer, I can presume that since Ismelda likely grew up in a very unloving home, she doesn’t understand love as well as most people do and so is more willing to accept a pale substitute. One could very easily draw a parallel to Merope Gaunt in this situation. But I still wouldn’t condone that kind of behavior -- which, let’s be frank, is basically the magical equivalent of date rape -- out of a real person, let alone one I knew. And as for Carewyn, considering how “Mama-Bear-level” protective she’s become of Barnaby over the last two years and how she only ever agreed to help Ismelda on the off-chance Barnaby felt the same way and Ismelda could make him happy, Ismelda coming to the decision to completely invalidate Barnaby’s ability to choose whether to be with her or not...?
Yeah. She is NOT happy. The game could only have her respond like this --
...but in actuality, Carewyn was a lot harsher.
“Unbelievable. So just because you’ve gotten your heart broken, you think you’re in the place to take away Barnaby’s ability to choose?”
“It’s the only way! He’d never choose me, otherwise...”
“How dare you claim to care about Barnaby! How dare you claim to have any feelings for him, if you don’t even care about what he thinks or feels! I don’t care how much pain you’re in -- love can be painful sometimes! You think loving my brother has been easy for me?”
“That’s not the same thing!”
“Of course it is! Because love is sacrifice! All love is about putting someone else’s needs first. That’s why love potions only create fake love. Real love is kind and giving, and it can last forever. Love potions are selfish and cruel, and they never last. No matter how hard you try, you’ll never achieve happiness that way. You shouldn’t, if you’re willing to just settle for something fake, rather than actually fight for the real thing! I’m warning you, Ismelda -- if that sandwich ends up anywhere near Barnaby’s mouth, I’ll make you regret it.”
Fortunately even without this admonishment, Ismelda realized her mistake, but it certainly didn’t become less uncomfortable when Barnaby showed up after overhearing most of the conversation. Barnaby was grateful to Carewyn for standing up for him, but...well...
Oh dear. Oh, my poor Carewyn-muse, I’m sorry you have to go through this emotional journey as I have...
Okay, so I adore Barnaby as a character, but I’m smart enough to know that any romantic relationship between him and Carewyn would be very lopsided in its power dynamic. Carewyn is very protective of Barnaby and is happy to be whatever he needs from an emotional standpoint, but the two have developed more of a mother/son dynamic than a balanced “romantic partners” one. (Basically think the relationship between Tohru and Yuki in the Fruits Basket manga.) In game Carewyn is dating Andre due to their shared interests and how intellectual their conversations can get (and I personally love shipping Carewyn with Chiara in the long term due to how much the two deeply admire, respect, and contrast one other and unconditionally support each other in their dreams), but Carewyn and Barnaby as a couple I fear wouldn’t last long for the same reason Carewyn’s parents’ marriage became strained. Lane Cromwell and her ex-husband Evan Bach started to drift apart when Evan decided to relinquish the reins of child-rearing completely to Lane and sort of took a back-seat in his children’s lives. Although I don’t see Barnaby being the type to drop out from an emotional perspective like Evan did, I could see him being the type to take on a more submissive, pacifying role in a relationship. And for Carewyn, I think she needs someone who could match her step for step. Andre can be the cool, level head to calm her sensitive emotions, while Chiara can be the stubborn, yet patient ray of sunshine to lighten up Carewyn’s ridiculously serious, single-minded attitude. As for Barnaby, he’s one of her best friends -- a strong, loyal, softhearted guy who she misjudged so badly at first and who taught her so much about giving people a chance. He’s her first choice of partner when it comes to dealing with magical creatures or physical confrontation, and she’s so unbelievably proud of how much he’s grown as a person upon breaking free of Merula’s influence and joining their friend group.
That being said, though, I still couldn’t help but feel a touch of amusement at this --
*snort* Sorry, Ismelda, I may not ship Barnaby/Carewyn romantically, but Carewyn still loves Barnaby more than you do, and Barnaby can see that.
#carewyn cromwell#jacob's sibling#ismelda murk#anti-ismelda#I'm kind of sad I have to use this tag but...better safe than sorry#hogwarts mystery#hphm#barnaby lee#harry potter
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See, this is why I vastly prefer Ismelda to Merula.
Merula spreads the story about the note, taunts you to your face, and refuses to stop making fun of MC for having a crush in the first place. And then when she finds out that MC is planning to ask their crush out, she immediately defaults to tearing them down. Yes I've heard that it's because ‘she's worried she's not your crush’ but imo that just that makes it worse. She’s being possessive over a person she has no claim to, and rather than do anything to try and bolster her own chances of being asked out (like being nice for a change) she’s decided that if she can’t have MC then no one can and actively tries to tear them down so they won’t ask anyone out. That’s not cute, that’s toxic as hell, and it doesn’t bode well for how a relationship with Merula would go.
Ismelda on the other hand hears the story and, rather than join Merula in mocking MC, she does the compassionate thing; she decides to help MC. She knows what it’s like to have something you’ve written for your crush read out in front of everyone without your consent, and knows how awful and humiliating it is, so she offers to scare off the people who might be mocking MC for their crush. She’s willing to stand up for them, even if she may not necessarily consider them her friend. She’s being a genuinely good person here, and I really appreciate the fact she took the time to extend her offer of help to MC.
#hphm#ismelda murk#anti merula#merula critical#anyway when is ismelda getting added to the friends list?#it's what she deserves
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Hi! I love David and Penny as a couple, but who do you think he would be with if he weren't with Penny?
Finally, you lost your shyness ^_^(i often see that you put likes on my things and i’m happy to see you interacting with me ^_^) (btw @cynicaljapanophile also asked me a similar question, so i’m gonna answer like i answered her ^_^)
Please enjoy! (and feel free to comment or express anything, i love to interact with people of any kind with every kind of opinions)
David doesn’t have a typo or an ideal girl, before Penny he was sure to be unlovable(thanks to David’s biological father) because his “flaws”(like being cruel to his enemies or being overly passionate and having problem to suppress his own anger, but he never hit a friend or family, aside when there is a duel involved, and even then he does the bare minimum to help them to learn from the duel ^_^)
So after this premise(i hate parenthesis and yet i use them a lot), I’ll make a list of all the girls actually in Hogwarts and explain if they’re a suitable candidate for dating David:
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Merula:
Short Version: Just No.
You can’t try to kill(and after that abuse) a person and expecting to be loved from your victim. By saying that, i just explain the whole character arc of her relationship with David (and MC in general in my opinion). I’ve heard that chapter 13 of year six may involve Merula canonically expressing love to David(but this rumour was born in 4chan and brought to the discord server i’m in…so i don’t trust it until i see it) and even then i will refuse her(if possible) because in 6 years she didn’t change much, still abusive, still ungrateful, disrespectful, racist and arrogant. For an extra explanation click here.
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Tonks:
They may be a good duo, for a while Tonks was the funny friend that David needed when he was in a bad mood and in need to laugh but due recent events and how poorly JC managed her(along with Tulip) David and Tonks are losing touch, let’s just say that her entire character arc is like 5 full years of “Everything can be solved by going to Zonko’s” David by the end of Fifth year is done with Zonko’s (partially because those pranks for Peeves were extremely brutal and dangerous even for his standards). Also, i headcanon that by the end of HPHM, something controversial will happen and most of the canon-characters(and part of the other characters of HPHM) of the book, either forget David or simply refuse to admit to knowing him, like they’ve disowned him.
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Tulip:
Like Tonks but without the part of “If David is sad goes to her”, and like Tonks, her character arc is “I’ll give you this important clue about the Vaults(that they almost killed me once in year fourth) if you buy me something from Zonko���s or agree to help me with a prank”. Like we don’t see much of her serious not-pranking side…so in general, i don’t know enough to actually consider her a candidate.
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Ismelda:
Goth-girl, if she was actually a tsundere and goth, or have a passion for music(like rock or power-metal like the Powerwolf band or the disturbed) she would have been the best party-material of the lot…but she still is a racist, she is not bad in the sixth year but i feel like i need her more present. The amortensia side-quest was nice that’s why i revaluated her a little.
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Badea:
David’s foster-sister, her mother basically takes care of David, she didn’t plan for them to be married or a couple(they’re not blood-related not even remotely) and she finds them cute together, they both agree: they’re brother and sister, they don’t feel nothing else for each other. Badea is like the perfect sister-material, David doesn’t expect or want anything more from her, they complement each other as a family(like the classic hyperactive brother and the quiet sister).
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Chiara:
She is like Penny but with an even more tragic past, and an outcast like David, someone may think they’re perfect for each other, David is quite a fighter and he knows how to deal with werewolves and beasts in general. Chiara wants to be a healer so like Penny she’ll be specialized in healing spells(or potions) but Chiara doesn’t seem quite adventurous like Penny(but I’ve heard of a side-quest where Chiara is the main character/the main person in need of MC’s help).
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Lizard:
Another one who can actually relate to David, they both love creatures and magical beasts but we don’t see her enough to even consider her material for a date but they’re friends and while David takes care of the biggest(and most dangerous) creatures at the Reserve for Magical Creatures, Lizard(along with Barnaby who thanks to his body can help both of them) takes care of the others.
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Skye: Same year, same house, similar interests(Quidditch and probably proving a point to someone), i’m not gonna lie, SkyexDavid feels exactly like Hinny(and i love Hinny as much i love Romione). She is a very good candidate for a relationship at least during HPHM(for after-hphm, there may be some work to do because in my AUs David after-hphm needs some time by himself, unchained/unbonded). I like the idea that they go to some Quidditch-party like after a match(either they won or not) they talk about the match very seriously and then start to cheer themselves up(if they have lost) or celebrate, in a sort of “exclusive party only for quidditch player and close-friends“, it would be a very good relationship that would help David to not think about the Vaults, R, his brother and his friends’dramas and with that David would be less stressed and way less annoyed by the dramas around him. (In the Aurors!AU she would be exactly like Adult!Hinny, it’s what i feel)
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Aurelie:
Both young alchemist, both interested in what the Alchemy’s teacher has to offer but Aurelie during the second year is obsessed with his brother, the philosopher’s stone and Nicholas Flamel, meanwhile during that Side-quest David(with his headcanons) has to deal with his grandfather, an alchemist/druid who works on the borderlines of Scotland’s magic community who just discovered that his nephew attempted a human transmutation(tried to resurrect his mother) and got a looooooong lecture about Nicholas Flamel being the biggest criminal ever used alchemy(because the Stone is made with alive Humans like in FMA) so the things between the two(David and Aurelie) are quite complicated and when David will actually discover the secret about the Stone(during the summer after year fourth) he will agree with his grandfather and be even more strict about spreading the secret.
So in the end, who are the candidates? Chiara, Skye and Ismelda(if i close an eye or two about her behaviour)
And all of them may be a chain/leash to David’s thirst for adventures after HPHM(i think he will become a curse breaker, a travelling Magizoologist or very busy Auror) and while Penny has an adventurous spirit and thirst for learning(about potions and medications). Skye would work in Aurors!AU, Penny in Cursebreakers!AU, Chiara maybe in “Magizoologist!AU” and Ismelda meh...it wouldn’t work(at least based on what we know about her)...
#zincgirl#hphm#MC#David Jager Denneth#Possible HPHM Dates#chiara lobosca#anti-merula Snyde#Merula Snyde#Badea Alì#Tulip Karasu#nymphadora tonks#Lizard Tuttle#Aurelie DuMont#Ismelda Murk#Penny Haywood
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The Forgotten Heir
read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/2P9ibD0
by Rainbow (MsRainbow)
Not all Slytherins think they are racially superior but all those who do are from Slytherin. Which path will this young witch follow. Will she grow up to be the stereotype that her parents want her to be or will she decide to forge her own path? Will she learn to follow her own goals or will she stay a puppet following her parents orders her whole life? Will she be the heir that this family wants or will she be the change that it needs. All these question remain unanswered, no one really knows what the future holds, her fate lays in her hands, with countless possibilities and it’s up to her in which direction she will go. Light or dark, red or green, there is no in between. Or is there? Follow the story of Jacqueline Gaunt, the witch that has the heart of a lion ruled by the mind of a serpent. A combination that proves to be problematic.
Words: 2536, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English
Fandoms: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Video Game)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Categories: F/F, Multi
Characters: Player Character (Hogwarts Mystery), Jacob (Hogwarts Mystery), Gaunt Family, Ben Copper (Hogwarts Mystery), Merula Snyde, Penny Haywood, Rowan Khanna, Barnaby Lee, Ismelda Murk, Nymphadora Tonks, Talbott Winger, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Tulip Karasu, Andre Egwu, Rubeus Hagrid, Albus Dumbledore, Original Gaunt Family Characters (Harry Potter), Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, Merope Gaunt, Mrs Norris (Harry Potter), Argus Filch, Original Characters, Patricia Rakepick, Slytherin Students
Relationships: Merula Snyde/Original Character(s), Player Character/Merula Snyde, Merula Snyde/Original Female Character(s), Merula Snyde & Original Female Character(s), Player Character & Merula Snyde
Additional Tags: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Attempt at Humor, Serious, Fights, Female Player Character (Hogwarts Mystery), Slytherin Pride, Purebloods (Harry Potter), Female Protagonist, Anti-Hero, i mean kinda anti but you’ll see, Underage - Freeform, Unpredictable
read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2P9ibD0
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Hey. Hey, Jam City. I have a bone to pick with you, about this new Pumpkin Johnny quest and your so-called “lesson” we’re supposed to learn from it.
Namely -- that it’s absolute rubbish.
Look -- I truly, truly do see what Jam City is trying to say here: two wrongs don’t make a right, blah blah blah, treat your enemies better than they’d treat you, sure. But here’s the thing -- the story of Pumpkin Johnny? No way in Hell is that its moral. Hagrid tells the story thusly --
This isn’t a story about the wrongness of hurting people, regardless of who they are -- it’s a cautionary tale against bullying! It’s a tale reminding people that having a laugh at someone’s expense can have real consequences! Hell, the ending warning involves Johnny coming back to “take revenge” on whomever calls him with that insulting nickname that so upset him. This ghost is trying to teach me a lesson about letting bygones be bygones?? This ghost is trying to teach me that I should forgive the people bullying me because hey, somebody’s gotta be the better person??
Hell, even Hagrid HIMSELF admits that the reason he told his story was to make a point about the wrongness of bullying and making fun of people. He told the story all because Merula was picking on Ben!
So the “lesson” we should take away from Pumpkin Johnny is to not make fun of people. To not bully people. A lesson that Merula clearly did not take to heart, since she immediately pulled this crap.
Right. She takes this story that is supposed to be about the wrongness of bullying...and uses it to terrorize her fellow classmates, just for a laugh. And yet at the end of the story, we’re supposed to feel guilty when we give that no-good bully a taste of her own medicine by giving her and Ismelda a fright? (By just standing in front of them, by the way -- MC prevented Tonks from truly taking revenge by hexing Merula and Ismelda’s heads into pumpkins.) Even if Ismelda twisted her ankle, which is objectively not good, that’s easy enough to fix with magic...and considering that Penny fainted and Barnaby hit his head pretty bad when Ismelda/Merula attacked them with infinitely more mean-spirited intentions, they’re really in no place to give us grief for that. And yet at the end of the quest, who is the one who is supposed to have learned a lesson here?
The person who tried to stop the bully terrorizing the school by dressing up as a ghost who literally came about because of bullying. The person who -- if you look at the story Hagrid told objectively -- took a leaf out of Pumpkin Johnny’s own playbook, by scaring the bullies who had made his school career so miserable.
Excuse me?! I damn well hope you’re asking Merula this same question, Pumpkin Johnny -- oh -- oh, wait, though, you don’t have to -- because if you actually dare to hold Merula accountable for her actions and tell Dumbledore what she did regardless of what punishment you might get assigned yourself, this is how she reacts!!
Once again, Jam City refuses to let Merula learn a bloody lesson or accept some bloody consequences for her actions, ADS;FHIUGWISG;GNUQGVIQ
I will at least give credit that Merula didn’t shatter Hagrid’s pumpkins (which definitely influenced Carewyn’s decision to turn her in -- you do NOT destroy other people’s property, especially property belonging to Carewyn’s friends, did you learn nothing from last time, Ismelda?), but she still basically took advantage of other people’s misfortune and fear just to try to “get one over” on people who had done absolutely nothing to deserve it. And her actions ended up scaring not just the original targets of her bullying, but the rest of the students and even the teachers. So yeah -- again -- I don’t feel any regret whatsoever for Carewyn not “cutting a deal” with someone who objectively did something mean-spirited and wrong and didn’t even feel the least bit sorry for it.
The only way to stop bullying is to stand up to it. If Merula decides to take vengeance out on us, then she’ll meet even more consequences, which will be just as much her own fault as this is. And then, yeah, it’ll be crystal clear she didn’t learn the true lesson of Pumpkin Johnny -- that bullying is wrong, and the memory of the people you hurt can come back to haunt you for the wrongs you’ve committed against them.
#hphm#hogwarts mystery#gameplay#pumpkin johnny#halloween#anti-merula snyde#tagging just in case#merula snyde#ismelda murk#carewyn cromwell#ben copper
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What is your opinion on all the different trios throughout the game? I’m not sure if I remember all of them. Before Penny & Bill, it was mainly MC, Rowan, & Ben in Year 1. Merula had her own trio with Barnaby & Ismelda in year 3. Year 5 had Ratepick create a trio with MC, Merula, & Bill. The original golden trio came together after they fought a troll and year 6 tried to do a darker version of that where MC, Merula, & Ben came together because they all lost and shared an awful experience.
Ah, yes. Jam City seems to enjoy trinities, don’t they? Almost like Rowling herself. All right, let’s start from the beginning.
The Original Trio: MC, Rowan, Ben
I love them, and the fact that we didn’t get more content with them – both in the earlier years and when they were going through all the changes – is a true crime. I’d argue that even when Penny appeared, it was mostly about those three, simply because of how much in common they really have. They’re just three outcasts brought together: MC with Jacob’s reputation, Rowan with their social awkwardness, and Ben with his belief that he doesn’t belong to the wizarding world. But they also have their unique strengths, and they just… make it work. This is such a good basis to build a story. If the writers didn’t neglect it, the current events would be more meaningful, too.
The Slytherin Trio: Merula, Barnaby, Ismelda
I’d say that it’s kind of the opposite situation to the Original Trio. MC befriended Rowan and Ben because they were outcasts, and they ended up benefiting from each other’s powers, while with Merula, it seems like it’s a benefit which brought them together (Barnaby is one of the strongest wizards at school, and say what you want, but I believe that Ismelda is pretty powerful as well). I also know that quite a lot of people want to know more about their history and whatnot, but honestly… I don’t care much. We saw that Merula treated both Barnaby and Ismelda like rubbish (she kind of still does), and I don’t really need to learn more about that. The only thing I want when it comes to that trio is to actually see Merula acting decently towards the other two.
You know, the dynamic that interests me more is Tulip’s relationship with Barnaby and Ismelda when she was still hanging out with them. I remember that when the Animagus TLSQ started with Tulip and Barnaby, I had almost an epiphany moment: “Oh, right. They kind of were friends even before, weren’t they?”. Tell me that story. What about Ismelda? Their relation wasn’t addressed at all, either as positive or negative.
Rakepick’s Apprentices: MC, Bill, Merula
Hm, now that I think about it, I have to say… I don’t exactly see them as a unit, not really. I mean, the formation of this group was one of the first things that happened in Y5, but then, it was kind of… forgotten? Usually, Rakepick was meeting with MC one on one. Then, with Knockturn Alley, Jae was temporarily added to the group. The trio got more attention by the end of the year, but we still had one additional person going with us to the Vault (plus Ben). Overall, I feel like we didn’t spend enough time with them to even notice clear relationships forming between them, especially when it comes to Bill and Merula. They tried to give Bill a mediator role during our meeting at the Three Broomstick, but that’s also where it ended if you ask me. In most of the later interactions, Merula was quite disrespectful towards Bill, but he was sort of ignoring that.
The “Ones Who Saw Rowan Die”: MC, Ben, Merula
I really don’t like it. First of all, I kind of hate it that it’s totally ignored that Merula destroyed any confidence that Ben could’ve had otherwise, from the moment they were at the Hogwarts express. She fixated him on the fact that he doesn’t belong to the wizarding world because of his blood status, and nothing else could reach to him. And now, it’s just being swept under the carpet because “trauma and revenge”. It doesn’t help that both Ben and Merula are being written sloppily. I love Ben’s arc in years 1-5, and I do want to love New Ben because I think it could’ve been a very interesting plot. But the execution of it is becoming worse and worse.
Also, I think that their relationship is not healthy for anyone in this trio. There’s no balance or even benefits. Both Ben and Merula are currently very narrow-minded which is a problem for MC’s plan of working together. The whole thing is an emotional disaster as well. Ben and Merula need therapy which is NOT MC’s responsibility. MC, on the other hand, needs support and reassurance, and they won’t get any of that from those two. Merula straight up put the blame on MC in the recent chapter, and Ben is just an additional reason to worry with his guilt.
I can think of two more trios I’d like to address here.
The Forgotten Trio: Jacob, Duncan, Olivia
Even though we know extremely little about them, I think they’re very intriguing. It’s more territory of theories and speculations, but this ask reminded me about another post I made over a year ago where I compared this trio with Rakepick’s Apprentices. I feel like it’s still pretty relevant, so you might be interested in reading it: here.
The Cursed Trio: MC, Jacob, Rakepick
I called them “Cursed” mostly because I do believe that the siblings are cursed for real due to their connection with the Cursed Vaults. I don’t necessarily think that Rakepick is also cursed, at least not in the same way, but frankly – who knows. Either way, this is the most fascinating trio, in my opinion, and the main thing that keeps me playing the game. The comparisons made between them are scattered throughout the story, but they were never explained properly. And I’m dying to know the truth. Also, I committed once yet another post I can recommend in this place: here.
#hogwarts mystery#hphm#hphm spoilers#hphm mc#jacob's sibling#rowan khanna#ben copper#merula snyde#anti merula#barnaby lee#ismelda murk#tulip karasu#hphm jacob#duncan ashe#olivia green#patricia rakepick#about characters#marta ranks#ask#anonymous
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*laughs in crack!ship* Caerewyn and Ismelda?
...Now why would you do that? Like -- why would you put Carewyn with literally the ONLY person in her year that she still actively doesn’t like? It’s not like she’s the sort of person to find Ismelda sexually attractive. Even Merula makes more sense, and even that one’s a stretch. *shudders*
Ship Opinions!
#I don't mean to insult you ismelda fans#but I honestly see NOTHING attractive about her from a romantic sense#like -- AT ALL#even non-romantically I feel jam city could've developed her into something more sympathetic I'm sorry#*cringes*#ismelda murk#anti-ismelda#tagging just to be safe#shipping opinions#carewyn cromwell
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Ismelda :D lol trust me I like Ismelda too! My goth girl lolol
Mmmm...
“...Ismelda and I...have mended fences. I don’t think either of us would say we’re anything friendly...but there’s nothing actively hostile either.”
At least for now. She’s just lucky she didn’t try giving Barnaby that Love Potion, or else I would’ve kicked her bloody --
“It was kind of neat to find out she liked History of Magic -- I almost thought of recommending she get in touch with my mum, since she’s a Magical Historian, but...well, I don’t know if Mum would be as into all the gory details as Ismelda is.”
///////
OOC: XD;;; Oh boy. Um. So Ismelda...is the one HPHM character that I know people like...that kind of leaves me cold.
*dodges knives*
I’m sorry -- I’m not a hater or anything! I just can’t warm up to her character at all. And I was part of the Goth subculture in high school, so I really wish I could!! I wish that Ismelda and Carewyn could have been the sorts to bond over History of Magic together and I could enjoy Ismelda’s darker fashion aesthetic compared to Carewyn’s objectively more preppy one. But personally, I just don’t find Ismelda that likable, partially thanks to her almost drugging Barnaby (my personal favorite HPHM character) with a Love Potion, and partially thanks to her apparent enjoyment of other people’s pain. I understand being cynical -- I understand liking the macabre -- I even understand seeing the beauty in the dark and sinister -- I’m one of those people! But there’s a difference between that and Ismelda enjoying the thought of other people being hurt. One interpretation you can draw is that it’s partially due to her seeking attention, but I guess I just don’t find that a very sympathetic motivation, at least for me. Ismelda’s family is objectively terrible, and I feel sorry for her because of that -- but at the same time, I don’t think that entirely mitigates how much she clearly enjoys other people’s misery. There are ways to act out that don’t come across so sadistically. Even Merula, who I have some issues with, comes across as a more interesting character to me because of her potential to grow. I want to see more growth or potential for growth in Ismelda through the game, maybe in her relationship with Beatrice, or just with how she interacts with the Circle of Khanna. Then maybe I might enjoy her interactions with the other characters a bit more -- because at present, her only real relationships are with Beatrice and Merula, which don’t really challenge her to open up or develop better ways to cope with her personal issues. Even if Ismelda and Barnaby got some more screen time together depicted as good friends, where Barnaby’s positive influence starts to rub off on Ismelda, that could be nice. But right now, she’s not that unlike how she was upon first meeting, and when her first impression wasn’t much to endear her to me, that’s a little disappointing. It’s the thing I love most about Barnaby -- that the first impression he gave off was so wrong, and that he has developed so much since becoming friends with MC. Even Merula has changed somewhat through the school years, though she’s backtracked quite a bit post-year 5. I just would love to see the same sort of evolution in Ismelda.
Again, I don’t hate Ismelda -- I do think there are some very interesting parallels one could draw from her to both Merope Gaunt and Severus Snape, and it’s cool that despite those parallels, Ismelda is her own person and she does actually get the opportunity to interact with more positive influences, even if as I said, I personally would like to see her interact with those positive influences more and grow from her experiences with them. For me, at least, the game just hasn’t given me enough to really get me in her corner...at least not yet! Hopefully that’ll change.
Send Carewyn and me a HPHM character!
#ask carewyn#ismelda murk#anti-ismelda#geez do i *really* need this tag??#I really don't hate her honest#hphm#hogwarts mystery#carewyn cromwell#jacob's sibling#roleplaying#opinion
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Who the hell asked about your opinion? Do you really want me to comment on your happy memory?
I’m so done that even in the game they try to tell me that Merula “pushes people away”. She doesn’t. She actively attacks people, and she knows exactly how to hurt them personally. Does it have anything to do with her past? Probably. But it’s still not justified.
You know who pushes people away though? Ismelda. She tries all the time to build that dark unapproachable persona, but her “threats” are generic, and since we’ve never really seen her doing any of this, I doubt anyone takes it seriously anymore. Diminishing memories of one’s brother who is missing for years now is always hurtful.
#hogwarts mystery#hphm#hphm mc#jacob's sibling#merula snyde#anti merula#ismelda murk#about characters#patronus tlsq#playing hphm
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Merula’s “tsundere” never existed. She's just toxic. Talbott IS tsundere. Merula is just a bully toxic person who gaslight MC. If JC thinks Meurla's behavior is tsundere (and people who likes her thin she is), they clearly haven't seen a tsundere before.
I mean, I can’t say I disagree with you. That’s kind of why I put it in a quotation.
Now, I’m no expert when it comes to tsundere characters but always thought that other than Talbott, also Ismelda actually fits that category pretty well – or at least Ismelda from before Jam City totally forgot about her development from Y5. Of course, I’m talking here about the “Crushed” SQ (and about her dynamic with MC there – NOT with Barnaby!), but the O.W.L.s is a pretty great example of that as well, in my opinion. You know, when she was like: “Ugh, how can you not know such basic history facts?” and then dedicated her time to mentor Badeea and MC. I really loved that moment because Ismelda is very much into the History of Magic, meaning that she probably wanted to do her best at her O.W.L.s in that subject. Which also means that it’d probably be more productive for her to focus on details of various events etc. But no, she went through the most basic information with her classmates she allegedly doesn’t even like, just so they could pass. Oh, and that’s when Ismelda warned MC that Tofty was spying on us!
Anyway, I digressed. But yeah. I just want to make it clear that I never meant to imply that Merula is NOT toxic – she is.
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