#looking forward to reading your metas Anon!

[linkspooky]

Spooky, I'm so tired of seeing people say that "Megumi has no development/is badly written/sucks", especially on reddit, and now I almost started to cry because you started your last answer-meta about Megumi with "Megumi's actually the most complicated and well-written character in the manga", and let me tell you that's a lot coming from someone who writes such great metas!

Then I continue reading and you describe him in the same way that I perceive him but it's also like I'm seeing Megumi for the first time? it's difficult to express this but it always happens to me ... Megumi is so complicated that every time I read an analysis/meta about him this happens and I love it.

Sorry, I'm terrible at expressing myself and everything I wrote might be confusing but I needed to tell you, and also, Thank you for writing and sharing your metas! 🖤

Thank you for sending the ask, anon! I'm just happy you're a fan of Megumi and enjoy his character as much as I do. My friend @theanimepsychologist did a much better post than I did, explaining why exactly the complexity of Megumi's character is hard to miss. I wish I could just copy paste that whole post here and steal it, but I have some brief thoughts on why Megumi is oftentimes overlooked and it has to do with the fact that his development throughout the entire manga is hidden in the shadows.

I say Megumi's development is hidden in shadows, because in typical shonen manga tradition his character development goes hand in hand with him learning to use the Ten Shadows ability. It's outlined for him twice by both Gojo and Sukuna that Megumi should really be a lot more powerful than he is right now.

Megumi is your typical genius kid who everything comes so naturally to him he never learns to study, and therefore when moving up from high school to college begins to fall apart because he didn't learn the skills that would lead to his further development.

If you look at Megumi's situation, he should really be more powerful than he is. Megumi has the ten shadows, which is the strongest technique in the Zen'in, and apparently even capable of defeating a limitless user with the six eyes. Not only that, but he was handpicked and tutored by Gojo Satoru since he was a child, and he's clearly the student that Gojo takes the most interest in teaching.

Gojo and Yuta who have similiar natural talent are already at the level of special class at Megumi's age, and Yuta himself has only been a sorcerer for a year, but Megumi lingers at grade two. Gojo and Megumi himself are frustrated by his own lack of progression and neither of them can understand why.

In typical Gojo fashion, Gojo who only understands the world through the lens of sorcery, just suggests that Megumi get stronger at developing his ten shadows technique and everything else will work out. However, the reason Megumi can't advance isn't because he's not strong enough or not working hard enough, but because he's emotionally weak.

He falls apart mentally rather than physically, and we learn the reason why in his flashbacks to Tsumiki.

Megumi has no emotional reason to want to be a sorcerer, he doesn't even feel an obligation to save people does the way Yuji does, he was just groomed into it by Gojo. However, the loss of Tsumiki at middle school age makes Megumi falter, because the one reason he had for going forward is that he could possibly make Tsumiki safe because doing his job as a sorcerer gave them money to live... but then Tsumiki is out of the picture and Megumi is trapped in a life he doesn't want for no reason.

The difference between Megumi and Gojo that Gojo fails to notice, is that Gojo has an incredibly strong sense of self, and Megumi has no sense of self (which further inhabits his development). He's never once doing things for himself, despite calling himself selfish and espousing a much more selfish philosophy that Yuji does, his goals all focus around providing some kind of service or protection to others.

This is where Megumi's development starts becoming difficult to keep track of, because Megumi is a character who both changes a lot throughout the manga, and doesn't actually change at all. Which is a statement that makes no sense but let me explain: Megumi develops his ten shadows technique and on the outside is developing into a stronger sorcerer, but he never does the internal work and self reflection required to become emotionally strong.

Once again, Gojo in his great genius can only offer this advice to Megumi: Become strong, become a better sorcerer. This is because Gojo misses out that emotional issues are what is holding Megumi back. Megumi's first two major fights in the manga are losses, he's not strong enough to kill the curse on his own in the first chapter so Yuji eats the finger to help, he's not strong enough to stop Sukuna's rampage in Yuji's body, so Yuji dies in front of him.

It's two situations where Megumi reflects, "If I was strong enough, I would have been able to do X, Y, and Z, therefore it's my fault that this bad thing happened."

So we see Megumi throughout the arcs, continually developing his ten shadows technique to be stronger, while at the same time avoiding personal development. The biggest moment of this is origin of obedience, where he unlocks his partial domain expansion and then a few chapters later just avoids an emotionally difficult conversation with Yuji because he's scared to talk with him.

Megumi's desire is to feel free and grow into a better version of himself, but he stops at every opportunity to develop emotionally because that's harder. Gojo suggests that Megumi just pursue strength, so Megumi just starts finding himself in violence. Which is why the progression we do see in his character is him getting stronger and better at using his technique, coupled with him being more openly violent and more like his father the shadow of violence who is always chasing after him. This is what turns Megumi into Mr. "I'll totally kill people in the Culling Games if I need to."

Would Megumi at the beginning of the manga been okay with slaughtering normal people to get points in a game, maybe yes maybe no but he does advocate for just leaving a prisoner to die to curses because they committed a crime once. If anything his development post shibuya is just exaggerating a side to him that was already there. Megumi in times of crisis falls back on violence for survival because that's what Gojo taught him.

Megumi grows more confident with his abilities, he uses them in more creative ways, he even starts demonstrating himself as a leader among the group basically coming up with the strategy for the culling games. He's also more emotionally open with Yuji than he was in the past. There's definite emotional progression.

Beginning of the manga Megumi is lacking in confidence -> Yuji dies in front of him, he realizes his need to get stronger and starts applying himself -> In the Kyoto battle arc despite training with the second years he still falls short in the battle against Hanami -> Gojo reveals to megumi part of the reason he has a mental block against getting stronger is because he's downplaying himself for the sake of others, and afterwards Megumi starts imagining a better version of himself for the first time -> Megumi shows his strength at cooperating in Shibuya, fighting with Yuji, and then later Maki and the rest against Dagon -> Megumi is the one who convinces Yuji to keep fighting showing his emotional development and comes up with the strength for the culling games -> Megumi uses his domain expansion again but much more confidently than he did in origin of obedience.

There's clear progression here on Megumi's part that I can even give a general summary and map out, but at the same time the fundamental problem has not been solved, that Megumi doesn't have a thoroughly developed sense of self and self destructs. Gojo even says as much that part of the reason he's so limited in using his abilities is because he thinks he has Mahoraga to fall back on.

He tries to use Mahoraga in the fight against Sukuna, tries to use it against Todo of all people, tries to use it against the special grade spirit in origin of obedience and this time stops himself (making progress) only to once again default to using Mahoraga in Shibuya when he's cornered. Megumi doesn't try to personally develop himself because he considers his own life worthless and that behavior never stops. It keeps persisting until we get all the way to Sukuna taking over his body, which happened because Megumi ignored every warning from Yuji that Sukuna was planning for something. Because in that case he just assumed Sukuna would kill him and Megumi doesn't care about that because he doesn't value his own life.

Which is where we get the great paradox that is Megumi, he's the most developed character in the manga with a great deal of the manga focused on both his slow progression as a character, but also revealing more parts of his personality that the audience would not notice at first. People who saw Megumi advocate for leaving prisoners behind to die in the first arc of the manga, probably wouldn't assume he'd go so far as killing people in the culling games to get point, because it's quicker that way and he can justify killing bad people, but that's the natural extreme of that behavior to begin with.

We see more and more of Megumi's repressed anger, and his abandonment issues with his sister and his parents, so his character is moving, but we also don't see a lot of progression on those issues because Megumi's not focusing on trying to be a better person just being a better sorcerer.

In typical shonen manga fashion, the focus is put on Megumi getting stronger and learning to develop his technique ore. In atypical shonen manga fashion, Megumi is actually punished by the narrative for only caring about getting stronger. Sukuna's possession of him, and his loss of Tsumiki are both things caused by Megumi being ignorant until the last moment and keeping himself hidden in the shadows too, if he'd valued himself more he'd have steered clear of Sukuna and Yuji because of the danger, if he'd paid more attention to his sister he'd notice Yorozu in his body.

Which is what makes Megumi so unique, but also a little hard to understand because he is in so many ways a typical shonen jump character, and in other ways he's nothing like them because he's just Megumi.

[artemisia-black]

Something I've been musing about lately: Do you think Sirius is someone who cries a lot/ugly cries when upset or someone who would never let himself break down like that? Somewhere in between? Only lets himself cry around a handful of people? Only a handful of topics can reduce him to tears? Has Azkaban changed his capacity of emotional regulation? TL;DR: Baby boy has so many reasons to cry, but does he ever do it?

(Looking forward to reading your metas! I also have just started my annual HP reread!!)

That’s such an interesting question, Anon.

So we see him cry twice in the book; once in the Shrieking Shack and then in the scene in Dumbledore’s office in GoF.

“Black had already retrieved Snape’s wand from the bed. He approached Lupin and the struggling rat, and his wet eyes suddenly seemed to be burning in his face.” PoA

At this moment, he’s ok to show his tears as his primary emotion is anger (Sirius is quite traditionally masculine in how he displays his emotions- as discussed in my OG meta ).

Interestingly when he is simply crying and not able to be aggressive, he covers his face with his hands:

“his face hidden in one shaking hand..” PoA

“He looked around at Sirius and saw that he had his face in his hands.” GoF

And this desire to hide his emotions is also demonstrated when he withdraws to Buckbeaks/Walburga’s room in OoTP.

To answer your question:

In both instances, it’s grief for James that makes him cry, so I think he only cries under extreme duress, and in both instances, he attempts to hide it and appear stoic.

I do think he cries when he's alone and that is why he withdraws alot during OoTP.

Under normal circumstances, I can see him allowing a select few people to see him cry, but he will then brush it of or mask it by being angry at the thing that is hurting him.

[gaypiratebrainrot]

Hey, sorry I hope you don’t mind me messaging you again (prev anon) but I can’t stop thinking about wfu after reading earlier in the week.

So on my second read I actually found myself getting quite cross with Stede and the way he is generally the one escalating the situation in terms of physical contact and then placing the blame for that escalation on Ed? yes, i know Ed is the one who waits for him by the trailer after shooting the kissing scene, but it’s Stede who comes back and actually kisses him? And then Ed’s acceptance of that guilt smacks of someone with self esteem issues allowing someone else to place blame on them where it doesn’t belong.

Like, without Stede driving things forward, the physical intimacy would never have happened imho.

Ed clearly wants that intimacy, so I didn’t find myself too troubled by worries about consent, but I do find myself troubled by Stede being the driving force behind things and then Ed being the one left with that guilt. And god, Ed just seemed so lonely, that really got me.

Sorry, I’m not very good at meta analysis stuff, I tend to react to stories through character/emotions so those are my takeaways.

Anyway it’s been a bit of an emotional double whammy reading your fic and then getting cancellation news this week so I’m off to do a bit more crying (jk, except not really)

Thanks again for your story x

thank you so much for this ask!!! i do not mind at all--in fact, i am quite happy to think about this instead of the many other stressful things in my life right now.

your thoughts are so interesting to me, in that you are not the first person to have this perspective on stede's actions in wfu (in a good way!). in fact, my friend @chaotic-neutral-knitter left very similar thoughts in a wfu comment on their recent re-read, and i've seen the sentiment echoed elsewhere in various responses. and it's such a fascinating take to me because it is different from my own perspective, both as i was writing it, and in the year+ since. i am a staunch believer that my interpretation of the text is equally valid as any reader interpretation--that is, i don't think i have any special authority on a "correct" read as the person who wrote it, so big grain of salt with my thoughts.

i think it's interesting how many readers put the responsibility for that parking lot kiss on stede, when i've always maintained that moment as the moment when ed opens the door to what will eventually unfold between them. it's ed who leans in first to kiss stede in the parking lot. in the kissing scene on set, in the moment after the kiss, ed reads so much into the look on stede's face--that "pretend pretend" paragraph, to me, is ed looking at stede and believing that stede understands ed's desire to be genuine and not acting, and that stede, on some level, is accepting/welcoming of that desire. but i think, in that moment, ed reads stede wrong. i think the idea that ed has genuine desire for stede is an impossible idea for stede right up until the moment when ed leans in to kiss him in the parking lot. and then stede doing his little back and forth after initially saying no there, that's stede wrestling with this brand new conception that ed might actually want him, that ed's desire isn't pretend, or a joke.

to consider stede's pov--this is a man twenty years deep in a heterosexual, monogamous marriage, who, for the first time in his entire life, is realizing he might have these extremely repressed sexual desires, for men generally, and for ed specifically. but ed is, and always has been, his hotter, sexier, more successful, more highly regarded friend, inaccessible to stede as an object of desire beyond stede's repressed sexuality. stede has never had to grapple with his desire for ed in large part because never in a million years did stede think ed would be a sexually or romantically attainable person for him. and then, because of the show, stede gets to find out what it would be like for ed to want him, for ed to kiss him like he wants him, but still, still, for stede it's under the guise of pretend. until the moment in the parking lot when ed leans in. and i think that opens a door for stede that he never, ever thought would be open, and so has absolutely no idea how to not walk through it.

there's no question to me that stede is trying to evade responsibility for his actions, especially in the second half, and him showing up at ed's house in the middle of the night and refusing to leave (even while pretending he has the intention of leaving) is pretty blatantly on him. but i also think there's something to his line about "it's not fair for you to want me back"--in the sense that, ed's beauty and sexual charisma and fame and success and status and the fact that he's technically stede's boss and employer does give ed a certain amount of power over stede, a power ed is not responsible with when he goes for the kiss in the parking lot, and when he makes a pass at him a second time after the party at stede's house. ed is offering something to stede in those moments that he should not offer him if he understands and respects the importance of stede's monogamous marriage, which he textually does. ed knows why he should not come on to stede, and he does it anyway, twice. and i think if ed had never come on to stede, stede would never in a million years have even thought it would be possible for ed to want him the way he does, and would never have taken the actions he does once ed opens the door.

all that being said, yeah, i think stede is a real dick about it and tries to place as much of the blame on ed as possible when stede is quite blatantly the aggressor beginning with the moment he decides to walk to ed's house in the middle of the night without his phone or wedding ring. imo, stede is doing some olympic level denial about what he actually wants, and that's making it extremely difficult for him to be accountable for his actions, and to accept responsibility for his choices. whereas ed is at least somewhat consciously aware that he is choosing to do something he shouldn't when he waits outside stede's trailer for the possible opportunity to kiss stede again, instead of going in and talking it thru, and so he's more readily accountable, and it's easier for him to take the blame.

phew, this was a whole essay lol, but i just happened to have been thinking about it a lot still (and am still stuck in covid quarantine). my condolences that you are having wfu feels at the same time as cancellation feels--but at least our fandom is fighting the good fight to not let the show go without a major push back! thank you again for this ask!!! <3 <3 <3

[grayson10yearslater]

📚 Monthly Mod Meta 

Every month, the mods are preparing a meta post for you. Here is what we’ve got planned:

How Dick Became a Super Spy (June)

Up already! 

All Appearances of Agent 37 (July)

A list of appearances so you can follow along.

Grayson Act I – Minos, Tell Me Who I Am (August)

We’re discussing Nightwing #30 and Grayson #1 to #8 and Annual #1!

Grayson Act II – The Spy War (September)

It’s time for Grayson #9 to #14, #16 to #20 and Annual #2! 

Grayson One-Shots: Origins, Lies and Futures End (October)

Grayson: Futures End, Secret Origins #8, Annual #3 and the Special can't be forgotten either.

Grayson Tie-Ins: Agent 37 in the DC Universe (November)

What does Agent 37 do in Midnighter, Starfire and Batman/Superman?

Grayson Tie-Ins: Agent 37 in the Batbooks (December)

Holy Bats! That's a lot. We're taking a look at Batman, Tec, Robin War, and Batman and Robin Eternal!

Grayson After-Grayson (January)

Where has Grayson appeared after the comic ended?

Character Sheets (February)

Who's who in the Grayson Universe?

Respect Agent 37 (March)

Dick’s Feats in Respect Thread Style because he deserves it.

Grayson: A Financial and Critical Success? (April)

How successful was Grayson really?

Grayson (2014) in Fandom (May)

Responses of Fandom were intense! Let's go down the rabbit hole.

Grayson in Context: Dick on Earth-2 (June)

The two comics were published concurrently. Parallels were drawn. It’s the battle of the Graysons!

Especially during the first months, we hope you read along with us! And always feel free to share your opinions in the comments or through reblogs.

📚 Meta and Opinion Pieces

We hope to hear from you too! Write opinion pieces and other meta posts about Grayson (2014).

You are welcome to participate in the Mission and Investigation Challenge with meta. Your word count will be integrated into the Investigation Challenge and, who knows, maybe a target prompt from the Mission Challenge fits the meta you have in mind.

Don't worry about any particular size of the text. It can just be a smol text too, especially if you only want to analyze a certain scene or aspect of Grayson.  

If you’d like to write about a topic from the Monthly Mod Meta, please tell us. Maybe you can take over as a guest or you have another approach that will add to our analysis as a separate text! 

Make sure to tell us your preferences by filling out the Interest Check.

Thank you to everyone who has already done so. It's great to see you're excited for this event. We're looking forward to your analysis. The Monthly Mod Meta will provide overviews, while you so far want to focus on more detailed questions. A bit of overlap will only aid us, not be to anyone's detriment! 😊

To coordinate the opinion pieces a little, we want to make a group chat with you all.

Sadly, Tumblr still doesn't offer the option, therefore we have chosen Discord. You can make a new account if you wish to stay anonymous among participants but please share your Discord handle with us per an off anon ask. We won't post the asks publicly.

[psalmsofpsychosis]

(still the same anon from all those Batman/Joker asks)

Be ready with those empty walls, pal, I'm on my way!! I've already thrown my suitcase in the car and filled up the gas-

You blew every expectation I had with that answer of yours and I don't know if I'll ever recover. I will absolutely respond to your answer but first I need to put my brain back together from being rearranged like a jigzaw puzzle. I'm definitely looking forward to reading that Jesus/side wound meta whenever you post it.

Until then I have a different question. I don't remember who said it but it was along these lines: "There are only three people in the world who find the Joker funny. Joker himself, sometimes Harley and lastly Bruce. And he feels so fucking guilty for it."

They pointed out how Batman does a lot of bad puns, same as the Joker, except he does it with a straight face and serious tone. For example: Bat-terry, Bat-bucket, Bat-arang, saying "hang in there Alfred" while Alfred is dangling off a metal beam. (Those are my rushed examples, not something the original poster brought up, so if they're unaccurate, that's my fault). Bruce will also just say the craziest shit and nobody is sure if he's serious or not. (Happens all the time)

I have a vague suspicion who it was but I'm not sure enough to @ them.

Joker and Batman's sense of humour and how they are somewhat opposed but still similar will drive me into an early grave I swear. Like that post that's still circulating somwhere that mentions how Bruce "lives and dies by the fact that nobody can ever tell when he's pulling their chain" and how Joker "craves to have his comedic genius acknowledged [but he's just not funny]".

I don't know about Joker wanting to be acknowledged as funny because I don't think he considers himself to be in the clown business. He definitely ranted about this to a captured Damian in a comic once. But he does make a lot of bad jokes. Maybe he doesn't think himself funny, either?

Any thoughts?

(Btw I'm not done pestering you yet, be ready to receive an ask about the Batman: I Am Suicide comic and about Martha and Thomas Wayne in the next few days. I still have to gather my thoughts though.)

(Can I just say that every single one of your answers has made my brain release a huge amount of serotonin? Or is that too much? Eh, whatever, it's the truth anyway. You've brightened my week considerably, thank you so much!!)

❤️❤️ hi friend, i adore receiving your asks and getting to exchange interpretations with you, and i can only hope that my superturbonexus unhinged answers have brought half as much joy to you as your questions have brought me 🥰

I kinda took my time with this ask (sorry!) because it's a rather big bite out of an intricate can of bat worms for me, can included. I also found and reread this particular post by @distort-opia , which put more a dozen more interesting worms in my metaphorical can— i'm not sure though if it was the post you were initially referring to.

So! The concept of jokes and generally being a funnyman is a subjective talk, and my personal preferences regarding where Joker and Batman place on the funnyman scale deviate considerably from what the general consensus in batman fandom seems to be (or the lot i have seen of it), so i guess i'll just take this opportunity to do personal talk, probably more than usual 😂 take it all with a grain of salt! (an ingradient that you'll find this answer contains a fair bit of actually—)

I dont think Joker is funny one bit, and i dont think he's particularly trying to be in the general sense of the word; to imply that he's "funny" both in-world and on a meta level would mean that being funny is his core motivation and the heart of his actions, that it's the foundational component, and to me it's not. A bit more a matter of personal taste on my part, but i actually feel lowkey irritated with Joker portrayals that lean too heavily on the "HE MAKES JOKES HE'S SO FUNNY!!!!!" act at the expect of every other significant characteristic he has, because like, funny is not who he is, it's just one of the 500 things he does. Sure he started as a fun character meant to bring in a dash of psychopathic delight to the early Batman works, but he has evolved to become so much more than that, which i like better than the more simplistic "he's a funny fun guy!!!!" characterizations. To me Joker is not funny, he is not supposed to be the way you pour salt on your dish but it's not supposed to taste salty, it's supposed to taste /right/. His jokes aren't the main dish, they're an added flavour meant to bring home a certain act: the performance. He's a showman, he's here to put on a good show, and that show doesn't have the end goal of being "fun", it has the goal of being iconoclastic and real and raw. But he can't exactly do raw, raw and sincere scares him, in a way he's a slave to his fear and tries to cage it and tame it and understand it the way Batman is scared of bats and everything they represent and he made them his very persona. Joker tries to be true and geniune and sincere but he can't, so he infuses his actions with jokes to soften the blow, shift the taste a bit. He also has the genius' disease; he wants to be seen through, interpreted, understood and reimagined, mirrored, and it's an itch only a certain fellow fucked up intellectual can scratch for him.

Batman deeply understands the value of a good performance and a viciously planned persona, he is a performer both as Bruce Wayne and as Batman after all. And he has the expertise to dissect and bring out all the nuance in Joker's performance, it's probably why he finds him funny. He understands the theatre piece, both when it's executed in a stellar fashion and when it falls flat on its face. noone else can bring this level of discernment to interpreting Joker like Batman does because what other villains do is actually less performance and more.... outright insanity. I think this is also the reason why Batman enjoys saying the most insane shit and making weird jokes at weird times and have everyone be confused by him, it's part of the performance. There are these little almost invisible acts that Batman and Joker catch of each other, that they want to catch of each other, "i'm shaking the persona a bit", like when an actor improvises a moment to keep the role fresh, but only the people in on the script catch it, to others it feels in accordance, not off enough to catch attention. It's one of their core points of connection and similarity actually, they both have their performances and they both wiggle in its frame, sometimes threatening to break through the confines.

[writtenbythe-stars]

Hi! If I'm able to request a reading for Nicholas Galitzine. Just his general personality and upcoming future endeavours for him. Thank you! ❤️❤️

thanks for your request, anon! since this was pretty vague, i did a pretty general past/present/future spread. it's not as detailed as a lot of my other spreads, just because it's hard to be too detailed without a more specific focus (and it seems like he keeps his personal life pretty under wraps - which makes so much sense given all the scorpio energy in his birth chart), but i hope you enjoy!

nicholas galitzine, 11.20.24

significator: knight of cups

so, starting with the significator, i chose the knight of cups. no chart i could find had his rising sign, and his sun is in libra (an air sign), but his moon is in cancer (a water sign, and also its area of rulership) and the rest of his chart is full of scorpio and cancer, so all of that water energy made the knight of cups feel like a good fit here.

past: VI of cups

first, we look at the past, and i pulled the vi of cups. so, the sixes all touch on themes of communication, transition, balance - related to the Lovers in the major arcana. in the cups, moving out of the grief we see in the v of cups, in the vi the primary theme is nostalgia, sweet memories. there's a sense that things in the past were good, feeling warm and fuzzy about the past, possibly tied up in some sort of caregiver or mentor figure - on the card we see a taller figure giving a cup full of flowers - connection, emotion, wisdom, security - to a smaller figure. so, generally a positive card - especially when we can use this warmth and security from the past to serve as a foundation to move forward, this secure feeling giving us the strength to confront our current problems. but there’s also another angle on this, illustrating the essential cups/water problem with action - we can get stuck in the past, and in our emotions, dwelling on the past and thinking about how great things were back then, which hinders us from confronting the present and future. so, in a way this card really illustrates the struggles of transition between past and future, both positive and negative.

so, i think there are a few interpretive threads here, likely tied together but they are subtly different. so, in the position of the past, i think this card strongly speaks to the past as a time that’s looked back on fondly, a sense of satisfaction and happiness with the past. one point of ambiguity lies in that security versus stuck-ness point i raised earlier - does this positive attitude about the past give him faith in the future, a secure foundation for moving ahead? or does he just keep looking back on this happy past instead, hindering him from looking ahead? or, they’re not mutually exclusive. people contain multitudes - if you had a great high school experience, that can both set you up for a great time at college but also mean that sometimes when that transition is tough you find yourself just obsessing over missing how things used to be. another point of ambiguity specific to this card in this position - this could be speaking kind of directly to how nicholas sees the past from his current vantage point, or it could be a little meta - in the past, he saw the (further) past (or some particular important time in the past) in ways exemplified by this card. so, it’s a very general reading, and we have a lot of potential threads in this card, so we really look to the rest of the reading for more specificity.

present: The Star

next, we look at the present, and I pulled The Star. the Star comes directly after the Tower and represents a period of healing after a difficult time. where in the Tower we see this disaster that destroys old situations, clearing the way for something new, in the Star we find the calm after the storm, we’re getting to this place of healing and acceptance as we learn the lessons of the Tower, but very much a card of stillness, or calm. and i think i’ve mentioned this before, but these two cards are so strongly tied that pulling one often implies the other (or, i actually often pull them together in a reading, like i did in this one).

so, i think this card is very interesting in this position and especially in connection to the vi of cups. on the most basic level, i think this card suggests that he’s in a peaceful, healing period of time right now, heavily implied that it came after some period of tribulation. i can see a few different interpretive threads i’ll get into. so, the most straightforward is that this is after some disaster or difficulty that isn’t apparent to us, as observers of his public life, and given that this is just a more general reading we don’t have a lot of other clues as to what this could be. another that really struck me when looking at the Tower is that the type of times the Tower describes - great upheaval, violence, disaster - can obviously have specific meaning in our individual lives, but can also speak to what’s going on in the world more broadly, especially now. we do live in the world and are affected by it, celebrities too. so maybe he is coming to terms with this period of upheaval more generally. and in connection to the vi of cups, this could mean that now he’s looking back on this time of upheaval with more clarity and acceptance, he feels like he’s in a place to have accepted its lessons and now he sees the good parts. alternately, going with the more meta interpretation i mentioned, this Tower moment has maybe changed the way he sees something about the past, and whereas in the past he saw it in those warm and fuzzy vi of cups ways, now it’s like, the rose-colored glasses are off, with the peace and clarity of the Star.

internal: IV of swords

still in the present, now we look at how that’s being expressed internally and externally. starting off internally or unconsciously, i pulled the iv of swords. so, i’ve talked below about how the fours represent this stabilizing influence, and in swords, the suit of air, communication, thought, that leads us to this idea of retreat inward. we see depicted this figure lying still, almost like in a casket, with swords above them. air is like water - it flows - so the four halts this flow, means we don’t communicate with others, giving rise to this sense of isolation and retreat. but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. this retreat can also bring to mind a meditation retreat - time to be alone and get your thoughts in order, especially after a difficult time. so, if it’s done deliberately, or if the person is really engaged in this kind of exercise of stabilizing thoughts, getting yourself together, this can be a very healing and rejuvenating experience, but it does often mean we need some outside force to come wake us and pull us back into the real world - like in fairy tales, someone needs to come and give the sleeping princess a jolt, a kiss, to call her back to waking.

so, i went into a lot of the interpretation of this card because i think we can see a lot of resonance with the position and the other cards as well. so, this period of healing and calm from the Star card is being internally expressed as a kind of retreat and isolation, with an emphasis on a mental withdrawal to work through his thoughts. this really vibes with the calm, stillness, acceptance of lessons we see in the Star, and also the position of how we work through something internally. so, i think whatever’s going on externally, whatever he’s doing, his inner self is focused on this meditation retreat kind of energy, putting his energy into being alone and thinking through whatever the lessons of the Tower experience and the Star were. and the healing/rejuvenating energy of the iv of swords again really resonates with the Star’s sense of healing after the difficulties of the Tower, again suggesting that whatever pain that brought up for him, he’s working through with this isolation and thoughtfulness.

external: II of pentacles reversed

and now we turn to how this is being expressed externally/consciously, where I pulled the ii of pentacles reversed. i’ve discussed this card upright a few places before, so i’ll be a little more brief here. the ii of pentacles upright has this juggling energy - which is what the figure depicted on it is doing. there’s a sense of having multiple things going - multiple priorities, multiple projects - and keeping all of them in this precarious balance with this light, fun energy. reversed, waite’s formula is ‘simulated enjoyment’. the lightness that makes the upright balance work is gone, and now the figure on the card is just pretending to take things lightly, but is actually really bothered by it, is really struggling.

so, this suggests to me that all of the turmoil suggested by the Tower and the working through it suggested by the Star and the iv of swords is having this effect of pulling nicholas’ energy and attention inward, making it harder for him to keep juggling what he has going on internally - there’s no joy or lightness in it anymore. and that makes sense to me - even though the Star is a card of healing and calm, I wouldn’t call its energy light by any means, and there’s a disconnect between the stillness of the Star and the juggling / motion of the ii of pentacles. so, either as a result of the experiences and lessons learned through the Tower and Star that he’s sorting through in the iv of swords he can no longer see things as lightly as he did previously, or maybe just his energy and his focus is inward, he feels like he needs time alone to think through these more important things and so he his heart isn't really in it, but either way there’s a sense of faking it, pretending like things are fine and fun but internally he’s no longer enjoying himself.

future: X of wands

finally, we look to the future, and we see the x of wands. tens all represent the end of cycles, the culmination of the energy / story of their suit. in wands, we see a figure stumbling under the weight of ten wands on their back, overwhelmed and overburdened (but still functioning, in contrast to the reversed card). the wands figure has chased after wand after wand, fought for project after project and pursued new idea after new idea, only in the end to realize that they’re weighed down by the actual responsibility of all of these things.

straightforwardly, this suggests in the future that nicholas will be / feel overwhelmed by all of these projects or responsibilities. I think this feels like a very natural extension of the ii of pentacles reversed, and the general tension between this desire for stillness, calm, retreat we see in the Star and iv of swords and the external demands seen in the ii of pentacles reversed, especially in the external position. this also tends to make me lean towards the second, meta interpretation of the vi of cups - so, not necessarily either a fond past setting him up well for the future or getting stuck in the past, but rather a rethinking of some past experience in connection with this Tower energy and the processing of it all, which potentially contributes to the sense of being overburdened in the future.

shadow card: The Tower

I won’t spend much time on this card, since I discussed it pretty extensively in talking about the Star and throughout this reading, but I did think it was worth noting that when I checked the shadow card for this reading I saw the Tower, tied to the Star. that just reiterates to me that what’s going on under the surface here is working through this Tower energy. the presence of the Star in the position of the present suggests that he is healing, he’s found this place of calm and acceptance, but the process of really working through the emotions and the lessons of that Tower moment is still very much ongoing.

[hillerskalibrary]

YR week 2023 - FAQ

General

What is Young Royals week? A fandom event where all YR content creators are invited to create new content for the YR fandom. Each day of the week, there is a new prompt to inspire creators to come up with a short fic, a quick doodle, or something else entirely. The end result will be a sort of potluck of new content to read, admire, enjoy, share and discuss!

When does it take place? YR week 2023 takes place from April 24th to April 30th.

What pairings/characters are allowed? All of them. Whether it's about our beloved wilmon or that one extra with 5 seconds of screen time you fell in love with - as long as the main focus is on one or more YR characters, you're good to go.

What type of content is allowed? Fic, playlists, meta, headcanons, gifsets, collages, picrews, cosplay, drawings, ... if you can make a post about it, we can reblog it.

Participation

How do I sign up? Because we want to encourage as many people as possible to participate, there are no formal sign ups. If you wanna join, you can, simple as that!

What are the prompts? You can find the prompts here.

I'm not sure how to interpret X prompt. However you want, really! E.g. for the "fairytale" prompt you could rewrite a fairytale with your favorite pairing, or have a character reading a fairytale to his/her (future) children, or a superfluffy scene in which a character mentions "feeling like they're living a fairytale", or ... The prompts are there to inspire you, not limit you - so use them as you see fit!

I don’t have time to create something for each day / I don't feel inspired by the day X prompt. You are under no obligation at all to create something for each prompt. So whether you create something for one day or all days, or even three things for one day and none for the others - we're looking forward to see it!

I’m not much of a content creator / don't have time to create anything. Can I still participate? Yes, you abolutely can! After all, sharing is caring, and that goes double for fandom content. So like, kudo, reblog or comment, send your favorite author a sweet ask or reblog your favorite artist's entire portfolio - there are plenty of ways to show the YR week content creators how much we appreciate them!

Posting

Where/How do I post what I created? Make a new tumblr post* that either contains what you created, or contains a link to the content on a different platform (e.g. a post with your artwork, a link to a fic on ao3, ...) and tag it with #yr week 2023. We will then reblog it to the hillerskalibrary for more visibility!

*remember that only new posts show up in the tags, so if you reblog a post and tag it, we probably will not see it! if you do prefer to reblog rather than make a new post, make sure to mention (@) hillerskalibrary on the post itself.

When should I post? We will post each prompt at 10am GMT+1, which will signal the start of that day's posting. However, if you are to the East of us and it's easier for you to post early in your morning (so before the prompt post has gone out), OR if you're to the West and you post late (so when the GMT+1 day is already over) - that is just fine.

It's Wednesday and I only now finished the Monday prompt :(. What, you think people are gonna be mad they're getting more content? Just post it, you're fine!

I'm not on Tumblr - how can I share my content? Just submit it directly to hillerskalibrary, and we will post it for you, no problem!

Is there an AO3 collection for fic? Thanks to a thoughtful anon who reminded me - yes there is!

[istumpysk]

O' great and Wise Stumpy, I come here in the hopes that you can help me! So here is the thing, a long time ago I read a meta about Sansa and how she does some sort of magic (blood magic?) where she will pray/hope for someone's downfall and it will inevitably happen. But I just can't find the meta to read it again. Do you have any idea of what I am talking about and do you know who came up with it? Also if you know it, do you have any thoughts on this theory?

O' grand and insightful anon, I regret to inform you that I am unfamiliar with this meta.

Maybe @esther-dot can help us?

My thoughts are Sansa has no connection to blood magic, and never will. However, she does possess the gift of clairvoyance, and you could probably make a solid prediction or two taking that into consideration.

"Look at that upjumped oaf," Joff hooted, loud enough for half the yard to hear. Morros, a mere squire and a new-made squire at that, was having difficulty managing lance and shield. The lance was a knight's weapon, Sansa knew, the Slynts lowborn. Lord Janos had been no more than commander of the City Watch before Joffrey had raised him to Harrenhal and the council. I hope he falls and shames himself, she thought bitterly. I hope Ser Balon kills him. When Joffrey proclaimed her father's death, it had been Janos Slynt who seized Lord Eddard's severed head by the hair and raised it on high for king and crowd to behold, while Sansa wept and screamed. Morros wore a checkered black-and-gold cloak over black armor inlaid with golden scrollwork. On his shield was the bloody spear his father had chosen as the sigil of their new-made house. But he did not seem to know what to do with the shield as he urged his horse forward, and Ser Balon's point struck the blazon square. Morros dropped his lance, fought for balance, and lost. One foot caught in a stirrup as he fell, and the runaway charger dragged the youth to the end of the lists, head bouncing against the ground. Joff hooted derision. Sansa was appalled, wondering if the gods had heard her vengeful prayer. But when they disentangled Morros Slynt from his horse, they found him bloodied but alive. - Sansa I, ACOK

x

A lady's armor is her courtesy. Alayne could feel the blood rushing to her face. No tears, she prayed. Please, please, I must not cry. "As you wish, ser. And now if you will excuse me, Littlefinger's bastard must find her lord father and let him know that you have come, so we can begin the tourney on the morrow." And may your horse stumble, Harry the Heir, so you fall on your stupid head in your first tilt. She showed the Waynwoods a stone face as they blurted out awkward apologies for their companion. When they were done she turned and fled. Near the keep, she ran headlong into Ser Lothor Brune and almost knocked him off his feet. "Harry the Heir? Harry the Arse, I say. He's just some upjumped squire." - Alayne I, TWOW

[matan4il]

Another amazing meta. 💙❤️ Every time I feel doubt creeping in on whether buddie will go canon, I head to your meta to remind myself that it'll be a crime not to follow through.

And this week's was... wow. So much happened in only a handful of scenes. That "solid ground" line from Bobby. The second I saw the GIFs for it I instantly thought there's another Buddie/Bathena parallel.

But the moment that really got me was Eddie return to the couch with beers only to find Buck asleep. It reminded me of the trope where the couple who haven't seen each other for a while, are all set to get jiggy, one goes to the bathroom and comes back to their partner sparko on the bed and sighs. So when you said it's the most naked they could be without removing their clothes, I understood you completely.

I honestly looking forward to the rest of the season, especially their date night. ☺️

Hello, my darling! Thank you SO MUCH for the kind words about my 612 meta! :D I'm so happy that you liked it. And honestly, every aspect of Bathena in this ep (though that "solid ground" line was probably the highlight) screamed that they're paralleled with Buddie. It was stunning!

YES! Hon, that is exactly it. Because whenever that trope happens, we're not meant to read it as "these two aren't interested in each other," we're meant to understand that they have reached THOSE levels of domesticity, of comfort. And that's what we see with Buddie in this ep.

I'm very much looking forward to their date night as well! I still can't believe no one else posted this spoilers pic of their poker night before I did. I was so sure I couldn't be the first one, it's why I phrased it as a question... But it makes me so happy the entire fandom went crazy over it, 'coz yeah, same! That poker game scene is gonna DELIVER. I just know it.

If it's okay, since you sent me a second ask and I'm falling behind, I might answer it here too, if it's alright with you?

Omg that anon just made me realize that it's not just the couch Buck hasn't really picked. So he was living with friends (frat house as the anon called it), then Abby's apartment, and then he chose the loft with Ally, obviously expecting it to be there home (and I may be misremembering but wasn't it her choice). I can't believe I never realized that.

I don't hate the loft either, and your right, it fits his bachelor lifestyle. It definitely feels like a bachelor pad, but now I can't get over the fact he didn't choose it alone, for himself.

This is in continuation to the anon asking about the loft. You're both absolutely right! From the way Buck and Ali interact with the sales lady, it's clear that Ali HAS a lot of say, and that she saw Buck's loft as the place that would be her other home. Did she have the final say? We don't know. But at the end of the day, the way he presents it is that this would be the first place he gets on his own.

So IDK, I'm still mostly positive about the loft. Did he choose alone? No. 'Coz he did have a gf he was committed to, and even if they weren't at the stage of fully living together, they were on the road there (a bit similar to how we saw Taylor in his loft in 5a, TBH. And yes, that very much strengthens the similarity to how he didn't choose the couch). But he was so enthused about being "an adult" who supports himself and is paying for his place on his own. I can't overlook that. And much like the whole idea of how a journey through the wrong r/s is needed in order to find the right one, that's how I kind of feel about the loft. It's not Buck's ultimate destination (that's Eddie's house), but it is an important step on the way there...

Thank you, darling! Hope you have a beautiful day! As always, here's my ask tag. xoxox

[this-acuteneurosis]

Okay, 2 things I really, really love about your writing and DLB (be prepared for praise)

1. Your commentary and meta on the Force. Reading through your post on how western (Christianity) theology ruined the prequels— yes! I have been saying this for years but I never knew how to put it in words or explain why the force felt so different in the PT vs the OT, and why I always preferred the force in the OT more than the PT (you hit the nail on the head). And I appreciate that this is the route you’ve taken in your writing, and I have to say since I’m writing my own SW fic I have been reading through that post and applying it to how I write about the force in my own story, and looking at things with a more critical eye and being mindful of what the force is and how it does/doesn’t work.

2. Your characterization of Anakin. I think yours is the best characterization of him I’ve ever read in a fic (I mean it). When I read DLB, I feel like I’m actually reading an Anakin from the PT. I think when it comes to a lot of fics about Anakin, I think authors tend to write him more like he is in the TCW, which is totally fine (I love the TCW) but DLB is just refreshing to me, and I know it’s because you’re sticking mostly to the movies with added bits from the TCW. For me, TCW Anakin feels a lot different from PT Anakin (sometimes it feels like they’re two different people), and Ive always preferred the Anakin in the movies (which is why I LOVE DLB). And it’s not just Anakin, but all of the characters are just written extremely well and true to their portrayals in the movies: shmi, padme, obi-wan, the list goes on.

3. (I know I only said 2, but I feel like being a Rebel). I think you’re one of the first authors of a SW time travel to bring up the very poignant point that just because it’s a time travel fic does not mean that we’re owed a big reveal. I mean, honestly, if I was Leia and I was dropped into that situation, I would do the exact same thing. My mouth would be wired shut, you’d have to tickle/torture me to get that out of me. Leia doesn’t owe anyone that part of herself and it’s not super relevant either, so why bring it up just to bring it up. If it does end up being relevant to the plot then I would very much enjoy a reveal, but you’re such a good writer that no matter where the cards fall I know I will not be disappointed either way— I am all here for how you write it. But the way you’ve written so far feels realistic and authentic to how a real person would react in that situation

I’ll end it here, but yeah! I appreciate you and DLB and I look forward to seeing where you take things.

I am blushing like crazy, you're so kind.

1) I know my rejection of an even semi-sentient Force isn't popular and doesn't mesh with current canon, but I prefer and stand by it. I'm glad that it resonates with someone else!

2) I agree that Anakin characterization is So Hard because he's not really consistent between the OT, PT, and TCW. I find my interpretation strongly influenced by TPM Anakin specifically (another Anakin!). That bright, kind little boy who was too smart and too talented for his own good! I love him and I want to protect him!

3) Be a Rebel! :) The "reveal" issue is something I think about a lot. I get lots of comments--ever increasing as the story goes on and the silence holds--about how excited or anxious people are for a reveal. What they think people's reactions will be. Why it must happen at some point. I can understand the underlying tension issue, and how people are probably on the edge of their seat. But I agree with you anon, Leia doesn't owe her past to anyone. There have been, are, and will be consequences to her silence. If and when she chooses to break it, it will be a Big Deal for whoever she trusts with the truth.

But for now, get comfy folks. Leia isn't going to break so easily.

[burst-of-iridescent]

zutara christmas positivity tag

merry christmas zutara fam! to celebrate this festive period i thought it would be nice to do a positivity tag and celebrate our wonderful little community <33

rules: tag 10 zutara blogs (blogs that aren’t for zutara alone but ship zutara are fine!) and tell them something you love about them or their blog!

of course, i’ll start us off:

1. @stars-and-darkness-main ella my beloved your posts are always a slay. i love all the cool tidbits of information i get from your blog and of course, your taste in ships is *chef’s kiss*

2. @theotterpenguin bestie your metas are so well thought out and eloquent that i honestly don’t even need to read them to know they’re an instant reblog. if you’re not following el then... what are you even doing with your life? 

3. @kaligraphy my sweet child i adore your lovely headcanons. you singlehandedly made me a kuzaang and rozin shipper, and we all know atla would be so much better if you were in charge of it. 

4. @night-heron-writes as much as you slander me, darling lea, i love how incredibly knowledgeable you are (as your many AUs will prove) and for being the calm, level headed rock of the cillana family! 

5. @ilovegirlsgeneration dear jehona, thank you for your amazingly unique blend of chaos, and your talent at memes. even when i shake my head in concern, i can’t help but laugh at your antics. 

6. @thevictorianghost i love how much we share in common, and the wide array of media and topics we can chat about! i always look forward to seeing your messages in my DMs <3

7. @solborealis darling sol, where would we be without your cool headcanons and your heartwrenching angst (let alone setting up our wonderful server)? zk fandom truly has so much to thank you for. 

8. @katara-stan-club air, your blog just has everything a person could need. whether it’s zutara fanart, important information, or telling terfs to fuck off, i know i’ll always love your posts! 

9. @wingchunwaterbender i always look forward to your tags on my posts! the zutara content you post slaps every time, and i also love how much you discuss issues of social justice and use your platform for good. 

and of course, saving the best for last: 

10. @tiny-katara my beloved wife, i can’t even list just one thing i love about you and your blog because i love it all. from the way you slay anons to your wonderful taylor swift series that began our friendship to your excellent metas, your blog has everything a zutara stan could ever want. if anyone isn’t following cilla yet, do it rn because trust me, you’ll never regret it <333

edit: lmao i’m fucking stupid and forgot to actually tag anyone but i’m tagging everyone mentioned in the post and anyone else who wants to do it!

[lutawolf]

hi luta, i just want so slide by and say thank you

for bringing kind metas (posts) on lita/prapaisky , and mame's a bit too. i am forever grateful.

--

im a tumblr user for bl stuff in 2020, followed some huge blogs & learned a lot about bl cuz im fairly new. i had forgotten about it until i rejoined a couple months ago for prapaisky' lita -- expecting to share the same excitement / reading wonderful metas / learning things again

i ... im pretty perplexed to read the blogs i used to read for info / metas im looking forward to ... expressed mean, mean, things.

i felt nauseous. i didnt realize the people whose metas i used to love can be so. cruel. i had hoped i can find some articulation of what I felt, as a shared feelings, but not only i didnt find it, i, felt ashamed to even had my feelings from the first place. i had to dived in the tag rabbit hole and finally found blogs that expressed the opposites, and thank god i did. thank god i did.

(followed them right away, n unfollow thw prev blogs that i now, see, as ... no)

this tho, had me actually ignored the whole tag whlist it airs, and put notif on for the ones i now value, yours included. it got me thru the whole journey of ep11-13, especially, Especially, 12. the special ep tho, the special ep got me branched out again towards the tag and see people bashing it again undermining it as the sex ep. and kinkshaming rain. is it so bad to have a happy, mutual, consent sexual relationship? i thought we dont kinkshame now

i . i dont know what to think. i am sorry to barging in like this. i just. all these upsetting experience piled up and i just. had to. express my gratitude that u at least shown me the kind side of this perspective.

i apologize for the incoherency, english is not my first language, i wish this isnt too rude..

no need to answer this if u dont want to, i just, had to say it to you. all the love, anon.

Hey Hey lil 🐇,

First, let me say welcome back to Tumblr! I'm actually pretty new. I reached a year anniversary this month. Though I am not new to bl at all. I'm OG there.

Negative reviews are a part of life. However, there is a difference between being hateful and writing a neg review. There is a difference between cancel culture and I don't watch this or participate in this type of art. I think that people are failing to see the differences. Life is not white and black.

There will always be kink shaming. It's not from men though. It's from women. These same women that are talking shit, reading romance on their kindle when no one is looking and wouldn't think twice about their boyfriend asking them to wear a French maid costume. As an amazing friend once told me, this is your room and you cultivate it the way you need to. He blocks people left and right, creating the atmosphere that he wants on Tumblr. I've learned to do the same. I may end up in a bubble but it's a tiny community of people I truly enjoy and love.

Never apologize for English being your second language. Being bilingual is an accomplishment that should only get love not judgement. You guys will never and I mean NEVER see me criticize the way someone writes, from spelling to commas, to anything. I'll never do it. I might ask for clarification but there will never be criticism. We are all here to learn and better ourselves and that is not accomplished by sitting in judgement.

I really appreciate that you read my blog and enjoy it. It means the world to me that you guys reach out to me. All the love. Wishing you the best. Thank you, 💜💜💜

[starseneyes]

Loving your Chenford meta! I100% agree with you on the awkwardness of the fake confession! I was wondering if you would consider doing a meta that might be of Chenford scenes that are important, but in episodes that might not warrant a full review? I just finished re-watching ep 17 from s2 and it has the great scene of Lucy telling Tim that Caleb wasn't either of their faults but not much else. Looking forward to future reviews on whatever frequency works for you (and glad you're feeling better!

Hey, Anon! Thanks for the message.

I'm working on how to get through those. I'm actually doing a batch of episodes from Season 3, now, with micro-attention on scenes that I think really stand out as important for each of them, and then on their Chenford journey, as well.

So, yeah, I'm going to try to find a way to work in those bite-sized bits, too! And, thank you. We're actually having a "Clean the House" day to catch up on how much it kind fell apart with a laid-up Mama.

In our house, that means dance breaks in the kitchen, kids teaching each other sign language in the middle of the hallway, and realizing I really need to move the sofa more often.

Thanks, again, for reading! And I really DO want to get back to some of those other episodes with micro-moments. Working on it!

May your weekend treat you well.

[imelht]

You already know who it is 💪

Anyways, how did meta knight become a vampire?

Hello again, anon. It is a pleasure to see you!

So. This ask covers a bit of spoiler territory. (Really just background stuff, that would have been revealed anyways, just later in the plot.)

So, with that said, please read at your own risk!

Okay, so. If you are reading this, I just want to say that this bout of text below contains some of my personal headcanons regarding Meta Knight’s past, and backstory.

I like to think that he was not created by Nightmare, but rather, altered by him. According to my own lore, he was taken from his village when he was just a tiny baby, even tinier than Kirby when he arrived on Popstar. Nightmare took him away from his parents, and left the village at the mercy of his demon beasts (which we know are not merciful, whatsoever.)

Afterwards, Nightmare preformed a series of tests on him, to alter him. He was looking to create the perfect puffball so that he may utilize it for destructive reasons (but Meta is a stubborn puff, we even see his reluctance to work for another villain in the plot, but that is spoilers for now…) (Meta Knight was never really good at taking orders from people, even Dedede for a long period of time. It took a very long time for Meta to actually do what Dedede wanted, to the exact, instead of rolling in his own agenda.)

Anyways. These tests altered his physical traits (hence the origins of his wings and claws.) And he was kept there for a long time before he finally found an escape… (so Meta never really lived a genuinely normal mortal life in actuality, which comes up in one of Meta Knight and Dedede’s conversations.)

Fast-forwarding to one particular night… in an alleyway. Meta Knight was out alone, on duty, as the knight of Dreamland. He was always out, slaying monsters, but tonight was different. A particular villain (who I’ll keep unnamed for the sake of the plot) caught him and ended up turning him. Meta then fell unconscious for three days in that dark alley, until he woke up on the third night and had the horrible realization of what happened those nights ago… (and this is before he ever became close to Dedede, so it was easier for him to cover it up, (and essentially go through the learning process of being a vampire) and nobody really worried about him anyways, he pushed through it mainly by himself, (until later in the plot he revealed the truth to Dedede and Kirby.))

[antiquity1111]

hi !! i will be very biased right now: i love when you do metas about toga (and twice !!), since they are my favorites from the lov as well as their relationship. their sibling bond is everything to me <3

so thank you for the translation-meta you have been made about them (and the others members of lov !!). i'm not much an enjoyer of them (they're cool but not exactly my type of characters with two exceptions i guess ?) but is kinda refreshing to see your posts. you work very hard and i really enjoy reading them 😊

— 🦦

Hi Anon! I’m glad you’re enjoying my translation-meta. The League of Villains (Tomura, Touya, Himiko, Jin, Spinner, Atsuhiro) are my favorite characters, so I tend to think and write more about them than I do other characters. They always seem to find a way to creep into even posts that aren’t about them! I guess that’s what some fans call “brain rot”? 😂 I love translating for them and analyzing their dynamics, arcs, and roles in the story, so you can look forward to seeing more posts about the LoV in the future! The Touya-Jin-Himiko connection is one I find especially interesting. The symbolism is so rich and complex. I don’t know how much is intentional on Horikoshi’s part, but I might just enjoy BNHA’s symbolism more than I do the actual story. 😅 Thanks for reaching out and for your support!

[disniq]

Heya, I was wondering if I could get a quick comic book rec. I've read RHaTO Vol. 1 up to issue... 27 I think it was? (Basically the first 4 volumes) ans RHaTO Vol. 2 up to issue 18 (end of Vol. 3)

Are volumes 6 & 7 of RHaTO vol.1, Red Hood & Arsenal, volume 4 of RHaTO vol.2, and Red Hood: Outlaw, worth a read?

Hi Anon! I apologise in advance because I was very verbose in answering this yes or no question lmao.

Disclaimer first, because RHATOs is always gonna be written by Scott Lobdell, so it's always gonna be at least vaguely misogynistic and full of heavy handed abuse apologia because Lobdell is a misogynistic abuser. That said, if you can stomach that, there's usually *some* merit to most of them.

(and, just to be clear, I am certainly not recommending you *pay* for any of them 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️)

So, RHATO vol. 1.

Volume 5 is actually one of the better ones imo, it finishes up the story from volume 4, and then has a few self-contained stories focusing on Roy and Kori individually (so depending on your opinions of nu52 characterisation ymmv). Bonus points for this adorable panel;

Volume 6 and 7 are a really weird mishmash of main plot about Kori doing space-drugs (which is unsurprisingly lacking in any nuance, making it especially frustrating when the book also features a recovering addict and a guy who grew up surrounded by drug users), their nu52 origin stories (which are retconned again in Rebirth anyway), then there's the bizarre little Christmas issue (which I don't hate), and the weird flash forward issue (which I *do*) that is also retconned out with the Red Hood/Arsenal run so. These two are entirely skippable for me.

Red Hood/Arsenal

There are only two volumes of this, and if you managed rhato vol. 1 then this is fine. It's a lot lighter in tone, even if I'm not a big fan of the Joker's Daughter plot in volume 2. Personally, I think this run is worth it just for the jayroy dynamic - genuinely don't know what Lobdell was going for but he accidentally wrote a gay sitcom. I mean seriously, look at this break up scene;

RHATO Vol 2.

I canNOT believe I'm saying this, but you should probably read through this one. #25 (MY BELOATHED) is actually the conclusion to the Bruce and Jason trust arc of early rhato rebirth, and as much as I hate the direction they went with it, it does fit with the general state of Jason and Bruce's relationship in rebirth. It also seems to be the jumping off point they've used for more recent interactions (Cheer and TFZ).

Red Hood: Outlaw

Volume 1: Requiem for an Archer. So, this is the start of Lobdell's shameless projection onto Willis Todd, and naturally they skip right over any consequences of Bruce beating the shit out of his kid AGAIN, but I actually quite like this one. It's nice to see Jason work competently alone, and I think it does a good job of letting Jason's grief breathe, after the chaos of everything in the previous volume. Also, this is where he meets Dog and she's a good girl.

Volume 2: Prince of Gotham. I like this one too, actually. Jason gets to wear his fancy little suit and be clever and calculating, he gets to actually use his criminal links for once, and it's the biggest fuck you to Bruce since utrh imo. I hate the random ass non-plot point of Jason suddenly having a public civillian ID again, but that nonsense is worth it for this scene alone;

Volume 3: Generation Outlaw. This one... I like in theory lol. Jason gets to be a teacher, I think putting himself between Lex Luther and a bunch of impressionable young metas is something he would do, and one of the kids is a non-binary entity (it's a little ham-fisted, but I never say no to more enby characters!) HOWEVER. The writing takes a turn again here, and where Jason was clever in the last one he's now a bit of a bumbling idiot being outsmarted by a bunch of kids. The Artemis and Bizarro plotline is weird and a but pointless, but they are back by the end of this volume, and it contains the one jaytemis kiss that I like (because they both hate it lmao. wlw mlm solidarity).

Volume 4: Unspoken Truths. This is just out and out bad. The writing goes from bad to worse, Isabel is dragged back for absolutely no reason other than Lobdell wanting his blorbo JT to be surrounded by women he's slept with at all times, the art is terrible. There's a single Joker War crossover issue which is meaningless without context, and also drags Joker's Daughter back up AGAIN, and it ends with the Outlaws breaking up again because Jason isn't allowed to keep any friends ever.

ANYWAY. All of that was a complete non-answer because it really does depend on what you like and don't, but I hope my rambling at least helps a little!