#//But feel free to DM if you want to chat

[itz-pandora]

Random and out of nowhere, but

If you want to give me prompts for my characters/AUs, I might draw it

If you want to interact with my characters, I'll absolutely have a blast with it

On the same note

If anyone says they find any of my characters/designs attractive, I will draw them more.

If you want to ship your characters with mine/my aus then I'm chill w it, I think it's fun.

I allow anyone to make their own interpretation of one of my AUs (just credit me if you make stuff w it and @ me with it because I wanna see!!)

Basically, I love it when ppl interact with my characters

[karmaajr]

HEYO Y'ALL!!!! I got bored and decided my last intro post was WAY too unorganised (even by my standards frfr 😔😔🙏) so i made a new one!!! hopefully this ones a bit better or else ima light somebody on fire 🥰🥰

anyways dms n asks r ALWAYS open and if ur new to my person-being-blog-whatevs and wanna get to know me or smth then FEEL FREE TO SLIDE IN GIRLYPOPS!!! I'M ALWAYS BORED SOO 😭😭🙏 (might take like, a billion years to reply tho mbmb >:3)

and thus again, without any further ado, MY INTRO POST 😍

🎶 try to strike a chord but it's probably A MINOR 🎶 -> ✨️im under 18✨️ idm nsfw convos tho bcuz theyre funny :D

sooo tbh you can call me whatever you want? like ppl call me different things (eg senka calls me kam, bea calls me keke/kekere bcuz shes 🎶a meanie, a big meanie🎶 my irl bestie westie pookie poo calls me jeena CUZ HES A LIL BITCH) but MHM!!! CALL ME WHATEVER U WANNA <33 (as long as it dont feel masc bcuz my dumbass got issues w feeling masc for some RANDOM STUPID REASON 💀) (like im literally a cis girl why do i got problems w this....... but YAAAA 😭) (she/her btw!!! if that wasnt obvious!! ^^)

✨️i am cringe but i am free✨️

I SOMETIMES USE GENDERED TERMS LIKE GIRLY/BRO/DUDE/ETC BUT I DON'T MEAN IT GENDERED SO IF YOU FEEL IFFY THEN DONT HESITATE TO HMU N TELL ME TO FIX UP MY SHIT

btw im a tad bit of train wreck but if u enjoy the chaos then we'll get along js fine i think pooks 😋😋

anyways it came to my shitty little attention span one day when i was just being a silly lil girly that some of yall think im white when i say im british....... CHAT NOOO IM BORN N RAISED IN THIS TEA RIDDEN COUNTRY BUT ETHNICITY WISE IM BANGLADESHI!??!?! YALL IM LITERALLY A BROWNIE OMFDS 🤧

also a lot of this blog is a bunch of reblogs of shit im interested in BUT I DO HAVE OG STUFFFFFF, THEY'RE JUST IN THEIR OWN TAGS U GET ME??? anyways some of the tags!!!

karmaajr rambles -> for everything i post besides answers to asks :3

karmaajr answers ig :D -> answers to asks ^^

important thing for me to tag bcuz yes -> random thing i really wanna save (also im bad at tagging so sometimes thing has an "s" or tag has an "s" lmfao, ITS A RLLY USELESS TAG TO TRY SCROLL THRU ICL.... RLLY DRY AS WELL)

karmas mum mentions :3 -> i like to think this one explains itself yall 😘

daddy's unhinged -> anything about my sweet ol' pops (who totes cares abt me yall) 🥰

my sister and I -> anything my sister is involved in that i actually remember to tag LMFAO

NOT MY ASS MENTIONING PANIK -> me wanting to save things that r to do w my gf 🫶

BTW HIS @ IS @panikbutt0n AND SHE'S MY MAPLE SYRUP CHUGGING 4LIFER AND LITERALLY THE BEST THING SINCE RIPPED BREAD AND I LOVE HER SO SO SO MUCH SO ACC HIT HER UP PLZ 🙏🙏🙏🙏

btw yall, ur homegirl aint no gatekeeper so the group matching pfp thingy is from @tuturthecarvroom 's blog (n they very skibidi sbg art btw so i do reccomend frfr) and mY HEADER IS OFF GOOGLE SEARCH 😍😍

ALSO I AM CURRENTLY MATCHING WITH THE SILLIEST GROUP EVER FRFR, GONNA TRY @ THEM ALL BUT IT'S HARDDD (my memory is the shittiest thing since That One Time my friend shit his trousers on call w me 💪💪💪)

@lee1504 -> BRAINROTTED KING 🙏🙏

@d011zk1ll -> both kind af and somewhat unhinged??? like both "do a good deed to make somebody else's life easier ☺️" AND "im gonna eat a bicycle :p"

@sketchingwithlyn -> JUST THE CHILLEST GUY EVERRRR!!!!

@rot-decay-erosion -> gramps 🧓🏻 (also known as the desendant of our king garfield 😙✨️)

@afrogwhocantdraw -> RESIDENT BENLOR POOKIE

@low-senka -> the brokest senior citezen youve ever met 💔💔💔💔 (yall need to donate to my guy 🥺🥺🥺)

(also the thing below had me stuck looking at it for literally AGES so hehehehehhehehe GET TRAPPED IDIOT!!!!!! >:3!!!!!)

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(dots r fun)

anyways i have no clue what else to write!!! which is weird bcuz im a yapper frfr :D

ANYWAYS LOVE Y'ALL ✨️✨️✨️

WAIT

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THEY 👥 DONT🙅🏼‍♀️ LOVE 😘 YOU 🫵🏼 LIKE I 👀 LOVE 🥰 YOU 🫵🏼🫵🏼🫵🏼

[h-sleepingirl]

Hi!

I've been participating in the hypnosis world for about a year only as a subject, with somebody's audio files I've grown to enjoy. Being relatively... intelligent? (ADHD former "gifted kid" stereotype,) I've loved the way it can be so calming to my head which often has thoughts racing left and right with no end.

Your latest post about being a wizard with tomes piqued my interest and I would love to learn more and be one myself, especially in regards to Erickson who I had no knowledge of prior to today. Where would you recommend I start...? I would love to DM you and chat if the response would otherwise be too vague and long to be a reply to anon :)

Excellent to hear! I’ll give you some recommended reading and info. (And thanks for asking in my inbox, because this may help others!)

Milton Erickson was a hypnotherapist active in the 1900s who helped shape the form of modern hypnosis. There are many mythology-type stories about him. He really pioneered non-authoritative hypnosis (like, not “You will go into trance now!”), and hypnosis where he considered each client individually in order to figure out the best hypnotic method for them (this is the most critical thing and we still need to learn from it IMO). He’s known for some distinct techniques including storytelling and indirect language, although how those work and what they are depends on who you ask. He was a major inspiration for Neuro-Linguistic Programming, which takes inspiration from him but really changes a lot.

If you are just starting to learn how to hypnotize another person, I would not recommend STARTING with Erickson’s direct works (I mean feel free to read about the guy, just don't try to fight through his writing yet) -- but I don’t think you have to wait too long, especially if you have some experience as a subject. I would highly recommend reading a VARIETY of “intro to erotic hypnosis” guides -- there are a bunch, and as you’ll see, everyone teaches them differently. That’s because there are MANY ways of looking at how to do hypnosis and what it even is. Keep that in mind as you explore. I would like to offer my own guide: https://www.learnhypnokink.com/ in which I do try to teach a more overarching perspective that should be useful for learning other perspectives, and especially useful for progressing past beginner level.

Reading is great and if you only ever want to read that is fine, but a lot comes from experience, too. I don’t have recommendations for finding people to play with -- just remember that as a hypnotist, you have boundaries too, and you do not have to let yourself be used as a “trance vending machine” by eager subjects.

In terms of Erickson, take a look at his Wikipedia page or articles about him to get the gist of his character and history -- fascinating stories about him. And then when you want to try, read “Hypnotic Realities”, by him and his student Ernst Rossi. This is THE definitive Erickson book. I would not recommend reading books ABOUT "Ericksonian hypnosis" first -- anything talking ABOUT Erickson really tends to transform the meat of what he's trying to communicate IMO. Read from the source first. “Hypnotic Realities” is the greatest book on hypnosis of all time in my opinion, but it’s dense and challenging. It’s also beautifully subtle and you should plan to reread it ever so often because you will get new things out of it at different places along your journey.

Good luck! I hope this helps you and anyone else curious!

[deepfriedpaddymayne]

ok, I finished it! some stuff I really liked, some stuff outright irritated me, some things I have kinda mixed feelings about that i am gonna have to rewatch to properly think through. some super quick thoughts for now:

(with a couple of caveats) I really liked Bill Stirling! very competent guy who's really stressed out. I like how he became actually friends with Paddy in the end, it was unexpected and I was very charmed.

Steven Knight be normaler about women I am fucking begging you

I thought it was kinda funny that they clearly wanted to show that Fraser was struggling but this season they wanted to focus more on Reg (probably because Fraser's lowest point will be in France), so their compromise was to just. have several shots of Fraser staring into the void and clearly seeing The Horrors and just. not addressing it lmao

EOIN MCGONIGAL..........

generally quite like how we got to see a little bit more of everyone in the SAS! I love those boys <3

endlessly amused by how every season of SAS Rogue Heroes so far is actually just about Eve Mansour talking to several different British military leaders and going "PLEAAAASE LISTEN TO ME AND TAKE THESE FUCKING SOLDIERS PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD"

and on that note

Augustin Jordan I miss you forever

(ps if anyone has thoughts and wants to chat, feel free to DM me or send me an ask! it will help me get my brain into gear about this season)

[thekittyokat]

you ever just have a lot, a LOT of feelings all at once about a character and not even remotely enough words or brainpower to FORM the words to describe everything you're feeling. so it feels like you may explode. yeah

[snowalwayslandsontop]

Coriolanus instantly regretted the suggestion the moment the words left his mouth. He could see the mirth in her eyes, as though she was considering laughing at his mention of marriage. Any woman in the Capitol should be salivating at the chance for him to put a ring on their finger. He had been moving on and up with the government. Moving through the ranks of Game Maker and now Head Game Maker and Head of the War Department. The next obvious step was running for President when the time was right.

But the Capitol was old fashioned and he knew he needed a pretty little Capitol bride on his arm. The citizens would want to see him settled down with a wife and maybe a child or two to ensure they would accept him. His popularity was growing but being a 'bachelor' made them uncomfortable. He needed a family and he wasn't above creating one he didn't want or even like to get the position he had been working for since he was 7 years old.

Livia was pretty enough. She came from an old guard family. A powerful family since her mother owned the Bank of Panem. It was the primary deciding factor in considering her as his wife. Livia was an only child so upon her parents passing, the bank would go to Livia and as her husband, he would easily be able to pull strings behind the scenes. In the event of Livias death, the bank would be left to him as care taker until their children were of age and capable of running it. He would have complete control the money across Panem. A delicious thought indeed.

Still, he couldn't stand Livia. She was an uppity little thing with a sharp tongue. He would never love her. If anything, he loathed her already. But she would be a useful tool to him and he couldn't deny that. If she caused him too many problems, she could always tragically die of the flu once he had what he wanted from her.

"Don't make it sound like I'm pulling teeth Livia.' If she was expecting him to woo her, she was sadly mistaken. They'd gone on some dates, given the newspapers their 'blossoming romance' to gossip about. But this was little more than a business transaction. "You certainly have plenty of demands and yet you seem to think I won't have any of my own?"

"A public proposal is unbecoming of a lady of your station. You can choose the ring or I'll do it for you. We can announce the engagement and you can plan the most over the top engagement party and then wedding you want." He would have preferred something quite, refined, dignified. But if it satisfied Livias need for attention and opulence, he would allow it. The Capitol would enjoy it and it would in the newspapers for weeks. Flickerman would jump at the chance to cover their engagement and wedding. He had the news anchor wrapped around his little finger.

open to coriolanus snow / muse : livia cardew mutuals & non-mutuals

livia should have laughed in his face when coriolanus snow brought up marriage. she almost did, yet she found herself strangely wanting to accept. he had money as well as a promising future. she'd be insane to let some other woman marry him and steal all of the glory. all her life livia knew she'd never marry for love, that was just a given for most women in the capitol. plus, he wasn't unattractive by any means, so it wasn't like she'd be stuck with somebody that wasn't visually pleasing. shallow as it seemed, livia was not going to marry somebody hideous.

❛ i'll do it, but i expect a spectacle, A PUBLIC PROPOSAL that will make persephone price's proposal seem like a PUBLIC EXECUTION. i also want a big wedding. one that will be the envy of every woman in the capitol. ❜ it was the least he could do for asking her in this manner. livia deserved the biggest and best----- she would get it one way or another.

growing up, livia may have teased coriolanus for being an orphan, but it wasn't HER fault that it was true. plus, she was young. who could fault her on that ? still, in the end, he'd clearly come to his senses and chose a SENSIBLE woman to be his bride, rather than some low-life district girl who didn't deserve his time of day. it had worried livia ----- well not really, but she feigned concern to others ----- when she'd heard rumor that he'd gone soft for a girl from the districts. she couldn't even remember her name, but she knew it wasn't something sophisticated enough for a future first lady of panem.

[plounce]

i wish i was not as forgetful as i am. i don't like how it makes me unintentionally thoughtlessly unkind.

[twig-tea]

A Balloon's Landing (2024)

This film dropped on Netflix worldwide today (Nov 9) so I gave it a shot, in spite of the negative responses when it came out in May. The feedback from the summer was that despite the promotional materials (example above), this film was not actually a queer romance. I love Fandy Fan, and I love Taiwanese roadtrip movies, so I went in with expectations tempered. Below will include some high-level spoilers but no details.

This movie is visually gorgeous, as I knew it would be, and was not a bad way to spend an hour and a half. I don't think it does everything it set out to do, and I've seen better treatment of the subject of suicidality, which is actually the main core of the story, but against all odds and all of my expectations, there is a happy ending. So I was glad I watched it.

The thing is, this movie really does feel like a gay romance. The only reason why it doesn't actually qualify comes down to timing; one of the characters is severely depressed through the film, so it makes sense that he's not interested for most of the film anyway, and by the time the romance should be happening there is what I will call a significant disruption so as to avoid spoilers. It still feels like a bit of a cop-out, though, but I'm actually less mad about the gay-baiting than I was going in.

Other than the part where it feels a little like it chickened out of queerness, I think this movie falls into a couple of pitfalls that stop it from being great. The usual 'poor character suffers so that the rich character can have character growth and find fulfillment in their privileged life' is the main one; the other is that it doesn't entirely hold up if you think through the full timeline and cause-and-effect.

TL;DR: There's enough in this film for fanfic, but it's not as gay as it feels like it should be, and the rest of the film isn't good enough to make up for that fact. Still, it's pretty.

Warnings for suicidal ideation, child abuse, severe beating, depictions of trauma, character death.

[sotvtaughtmehowtofeel]

let's talk tags

There are lots of posts out there about why reblogging is so important to tumblr and it is. Reblogging without tags still helps more people see the post, so I'm certainly not saying add tags or stop reblogging. Sometimes you don't have the spoons, sometimes you don't have anything to add, sometimes you're in a rush. It happens! Tagless reblogs are still reblogs and every reblog is a win for tumblr. But I know empty reblogs are super common now and I'm wondering if people (esp people coming from other platforms) don't quite understand the tagging system/culture?? so let's talk about it

1. When you post something, the tags are how other people find it. Your followers will see something you post even without tags on their dash, but other people only find them when they're looking in a tag (like a fandom or character tag). Tags are also important for people who want to filter a certain tag (to avoid spoilers or because they just don't like the content). Importantly (and I semi-recently learned this myself), tags on reblogs don't help anyone else find the posts. Reblogging helps other people see it, but tags on a reblog don't add anything beyond that. Adding fandom or character tags on a post is for your own organization.

2. Tags can help you find things on your own blog. Do you like things to find them later? Do you get frustrated trying to find things again in your likes? If you reblog something and tag it, you can search the tag on your own blog to find it later. tumblr is a little bit of a garbage site (but it's OUR garbage site), so tags don't always work lol but you have a much better chance of finding it again this way than you do scrolling through hundreds of liked posts.

3. Tags are for reactions! This is what I refer to as "tag culture". A decade ago, everyone on the fandom side of tumblr was screaming in the tags. It's fun. It's fun for creators to see your reactions to things we make, it's fun for your followers to read your thoughts on things, it's fun for mutuals to talk back and forth in tags. Tags are how you get to know the personalities of other people on tumblr. Tags are why it's not boring to scroll past the same gifset 6 times because you get to see 6 different takes on it. Tags are how you can react to what other people are saying about a post while keeping the post in circulation so more people can see it and react to it.

Scream in tags. Be a little unhinged. Join the fun.

[ziptie-bouquet]

I had been wondering for a huge while why V1 looks so much like an angel. I think the new lore about Earthmovers answers this question.

Humans played God when they started creating their own form of life with machines. Earthmovers are both the horsemen of the apocalypse and humanity's Tower of Babel.

Earthmovers were conquest, war, famine and death all at once. They were so tall they could almost touch heaven. They almost led to humanity's total downfall. That's where V1 comes in.

V1 is designed to look like an angel and act as humanity's saving grace. Much like how Gabriel single-handedly ended wars and slayed King Minos, whose husk ended up being the only other enemy as tall as Earthmovers in game. V1 models would have done the same.

Machines and Angels are very similar in the sense that they both share a dependency to their creators. The blood and the holy light work the same way. Machines follow orders through code and Angels are bound to the Lord's Will. In a way, they're both just vessels for their creators, weapons.

Gabriel is so conflicted about his fights with V1 because he sees himself in a machine. Humans went almost extinct during the war because they tried to defy God.

[mckinlily]

Um, okay this is a loaded question, and if you want to play it safe, you can answer me in DMs, but...I personally feel that there's something wrong about how VLD placed Keith in the lead. In a way, I can see him becoming Black Paladin, but Shiro...it feels more natural to me, it feels right that Shiro is Black Paladin. I'm not into VLD beyond Shiro, Keith's parents, and the Lions personally, but I know someone who loves it and makes good points about Keith as a leader, but something just isn't aligning for me. Maybe it's because Shiro and Keith are two radically different archetypes, and they got swapped when they shouldn't have, I don't know.

I came here because I saw one of your post S2 rewrites, and I appreciated it. So, again, feel free to answer me in DMs (if you have problems DM-ing me, let me know and I'll fix it for you) if you don't mind discussing this with me.

As a final note, I'm not trying to hate any particular character. They're all fine on their own, and I don't want to treat one as worse than the other. I just want to figure out this problem I'm having with Shiro and Keith.

Thank you for reading this, and take care.

You came to the right blog! Because I adore Keith and believe he certainly has qualities that could make him a good leader—and absolutely hate him as the Black Paladin.

The thing I never understood about Voltron fandom debates about who should be the Black Paladin is that they always seem based in the idea that because Shiro is a leader and the Black Paladin, that means the Black Paladin is the ONLY leader on the team.

It is worth noting that that premise was disproven in episode one. It was Allura who made the final call on whether the paladins should run or stay and fight Sendak, and Shiro explicitly bowed to her authority. From then on, Shiro and Allura both lead Team Voltron until the show decided to destroy their characters, accepting influence and trading responsibilities depending on which one of them fit the situation at hand. Typically, Allura functions more in a commander and diplomat role and Shiro is more of a field officer, but they both pick up the lead where needed.

I know you didn't bring up Allura, but I think it is vital she is included in any conversation about leadership in Voltron. She is introduced as THE princess of an entire planet, she has more knowledge and experience of the intergalactic landscape than any of the other characters, she's been set up to be a leader since birth, and she IS the leader of Team Voltron for two whole seasons. Shiro makes it VERY clear he considers her to outrank him.

So the question you have to ask any time you consider replacing Shiro as Black Paladin: why NOT Allura? If the Black Paladin is the "best leader", why are you skipping over the one character already established and thriving in a leadership role? (And then you have to ask yourself if that character being a Black woman has anything do with that.)

Now I do think there are ways narratively you could answer that question. For instance, if you keep the Lions as sentient beings, that means they can make choices—including wrong ones. For instance, for a time when I believed anything might be salvaged after season 3, my head canon for Black choosing Keith was that Keith was the one missing Shiro as intensely and desperately as Black in that moment. Therefore, the choice was not about Keith being "better" but rather them being at the same place emotionally and that allowing the bond. The major problem with the Lion swap in canon is that we're given NO reason for Keith to be Black Paladin besides "plot device said so". Especially when we have Allura right there. It's just bad writing.

(By the way, you don't have to be pro-Black Paladin Allura. There's nuance to be had, and I personally am actually more One True Black Paladin!Shiro. But you can't just dismiss her--a capable and proven leader--from the conversation. Erasing her character is not the answer.)

ANYWAY. Back to Keith. Or rather, leadership on Team Voltron. Thing is, there are many different WAYS to be a leader. We already touched on the differences between Allura and Shiro. Keith does a good job of making split second decisions in battle or calling shots if Shiro is incapacitated or somehow separated. If you're in the middle of a fight, the plan has gone to shit, and the team just got separated, Keith is great at telling people what to do and mobilizing because something needs to get done NOW.

But that's not the only way to lead. Keith, for instance, is terrible at pep talks. He misses a lot of the nuances going on between him and his teammates off the battlefield. He doesn't plan ahead, like, ever. Sure he's great at making up stuff on the fly, but sometimes you need a plan.

But it's not just Keith. For instance, when Shiro, Lance, and Pidge go on the mission to rescue Slav, it's Pidge who calls all the shots. Is that not leadership? Pidge is often the one telling people what they need to do to solve technical problems. She's a center for information, typically the one collecting it, organizing and interrupting it, and then instruction others based on her conclusions. We see her take point on a mission, give orders to her teammates, coordinate efforts, problem solve in real time and relay a new plan in order to navigate unexpected challenges. Why not argue PIDGE should be the leader?

And there's when they freed the Balmera and Hunk took the lead. That mission was more challenging, but I'd argue in that arc, Hunk's leadership mattered less in terms of orders and more in terms of determining what type of team they'd be. Hunk was ADAMANT they free the Balmerans and set a tone for the team where they didn't leave suffering people behind. Hunk set up a moral imperative for the team that they'd be lesser without.

And Lance! There's actually lots to say about Lance and his strengths and types of leadership. But it's easy to point out that Lance is the one initiating fun and team bonding outside of battle. And when you're operating a giant robot held together by emotion connection, that's pretty dang important!

Point is, they're ALL leaders. They all have the capability to take point when needed. We SEE them all take charge at different points of the show.

So what's the Black Paladin then? If Shiro's The Leader then what does that mean? And this is the cool part! Because you know what Shiro is really really good? Know who else to put in charge. He's the one who first acknowledges Allura as an authority because he sees she has knowledge and experience he and the others do not. He selects which paladins to go together on which missions based on their strengths and the situations. He steps back and lets Pidge or Lance or Hunk call the shots if they're in an area of their expertise. Shiro's job isn't to tell people what to do. It's to decide who to put in charge of what and place them in best position for success.

There's another aspect of Shiro's leadership that is supporting his teammates, offering comfort, teaching, and giving the kids something solid they can believe in so they don't have to care the full weight of the war. But like letting others take charge where they shine, Shiro's leadership is all about enabling those he leads. One of my favorite Shiro lines is "It's too dangerous—I'm coming with you." Shiro's goal is never control. He is support. He leads the paladins because he sees the best in them and helps them reach it.

Narratively, also, Shiro is just set up to be the Black Paladin. The parallels between himself and the Black Lion are too obvious. From both being controlled and abused by Zarkon to Shiro's missing arm and Black's mission bayard. It's a kid's show. The symbolism isn't all that subtle. And if that weren't enough, we literally get an entire episode A plot in Space Mall about it where Shiro literally fist fights Zarkon for the Black Lion and in the end, he wins because he makes it clear it's the Black Lion's choice and trust.

Remember when I said the problem with Keith in the Black Lion in canon is that we're never given an explanation beyond "because I said so"? We're shown repeatedly why the Black Lion chooses Shiro. Even before we meet most the Lions, the other paladins themselves choose Shiro as their leader when Lance asks him if they should go through the wormhole. We repeatedly see Shiro seek to understand the Black Lion better, and Black responding. We see the similarities between their situations and backstories. We see them bond.

And I think this is really important because when Shiro is in the Black Lion, it's not about him being "in charge." It's about his relationship with the Black Lion. Yeah, of course, the other paladins are leaders! And they should be! But none of them have Shiro's relationship with the Black Lion. In this narrative, the Black Lion isn't a prize to be won but a relationship to nurture, and Shiro has put in the work for that relationship.

Which is really important because it means the Lions aren't a hierarchy. The Black Paladin is one role, an important role in Voltron, but no more important than any of the others. "The Leader" is not the most important person in the room. Instead, Shiro is a facilitator who enables all the others to perform their roles better.

Also can I just remind everyone just how well the Red Lion fits Keith? The paladin who keeps throwing himself out airlocks get the Lion most likely to go AWOL and fly off to save him. Keith defends his friends and team by attacking first and asking questions later, and Red started destroying a planetary body to get to Keith. The kid with abandonment issues gets the Lion who doesn't hesitate a second to go after him. And even the way they're shown to bond—that it's so physical and based in action rather than words—it's so Keith. I freaking love Keith as the Red Paladin. He gets to be as chaotic and free as he was always meant to be and gets a Lion who meets him every step of the way.

But if you say, no, Keith should be the Black Paladin. Well. What about Red wasn't working? Why was that role not one Keith fit in? Because from my reading of canon, Keith was thriving in Red. He got a secure attachment to his favorite person in the world, he gets the freedom to fly while also being part of something bigger, and he's making friends. It's still in its beginning stages, but he's figuring out how to bond with Lance, Hunk, and Pidge and you get the sense these are a kind of friendships he's never experienced before. But you know what could kill that really fast? Making him The Leader, a position that inherently sets him apart from the rest.

This is actually a problem twice over for Keith because unlike Shiro, who is shown to be given his role voluntarily by everyone around him and repeatedly shows he's earned that trust and respect, Keith is basically thrown into the Plot Device Machine and gets a t-shirt that says YOU'RE THE LEADER NOW. And we never get a reason beyond that.

This is actually my biggest problem season 3 and the Lion Swap. Because as soon as they made that choice, the Lions became a hierarchy. But what other explanation do we have? Keith won Favorite Character status got "prompted" to Black Paladin. But as soon as Black Paladin is a promotion, that makes the other paladin roles inferior. Red becomes the "second in command". So Lance get prompted but can never be equal to Keith. Allura gets the "Training Wheels" Lion/Blue, and they didn't have to write that as a massive demotion, but they sure did anyway. Hunk and Pidge are no longer leaders because they aren't in the "Leader" Lions.

It makes me so mad. One of the things I loved first about Voltron was the message of equality and servant leadership. The idea that a leader (represented by Shiro) is someone who elevates and enables everyone else. A recognition for the more "feminine" types of leadership—nurturing, compassion, emotional support. Which support roles are seen as vital and just as if not more important than being the "boss."

But we only got two seasons of that before they pulled the rug out and said, "Nope. We're returning back to patriarchy." Suddenly the Lions were in a strict chain of command, one character was the boss and the rest were his subordinates. There was a top position and a bottom position, and the characters were all fighting over each other. Perhaps most damningly, the Lion lost all personality and agency and become trophies to symbolize a character's power. And I'm not saying they're an accidental representation of how women are treated in Western media but I MEAN. It's right there.

My response when anyone says "[X] character should be the Black Paladin!" is—Why? Is their connection with the Black Lion deeper than Shiro's? Do they have more in common with Black than Shiro does? What could they achieve or obtain as the Black Paladin that they couldn't where they currently are?

And, though I don't think most of us realize it, the answer to that last one is power. Because we're soaked in patriarchy and a certain portrayal of "leadership (derogatory)" that many fans automatically assumed the Black Paladin HAD to be in control of and have power over the other paladins. So of course you want your favorite character to be the Black Paladin! You don't want your self-insert to be inferior!

But that's all the patriarchy talking. The other paladins are NOT inferior. There is NOT a hierarchy of types of people. Keith doesn't have to have Shiro's role because he's already equal as Keith.

Keiths look different from Shiros, but they're all equal and valuable as they are. Same goes for Lances, Hunks, Pidges, and Alluras. The whole point is they're stronger together. Their differences make them BETTER.

So yeah. Of course, Keith has some good leadership qualities. There's plenty of situations where it only makes sense for him to take the lead. But why on earth does he need to be the Black Paladin to do that? He's already Keith!

[euclydya]

... if you. are a mutual of ours. and you use. simply plural. you can. add us. if you want. just. send an ask. and we'll. give you our username.

[lizardlycrimes]

I just read your tags on your reblog (of the thing I stole your tags for 😅) and - you know the moment in the cartoon where Kash says "we were hoping Earth Wind and Fire here could assist" and everybody looks at Keyleth and Keyleth looks the other way first like "...oh you mean me??" That was 100% me ^^' I am HIGH KEY flattered, but also I'm very much "??!???!?" at the thought of anyone fangirling over me, of all people! whyyy (for real, though, really!?)

(also always SO SO GOOD to find someone else who fucking loves Scanlan 'Patented Disaster' Shorthalt, warts and all 💜)

I don't think I've gotten an ask before!!! This is exciting!!!

Also I love that scene in TLOVM so much I get what you mean by the whole "oh you mean me thing" sjshdjdn I'd probably be a lil shocked too but I'm genuinely am like. A big fan. Getting even this ask got me fangirling all over again!! I love your art so much and you have such an accurate way of portraying Scanlan it drives me nuts!! Both your design and characterization in comics and such just ahh!! Being able to say that's my boy!!! Is so exciting to me!!

It's so hard to find people who are decent about Scanlan it's insane though!! I've seen Scanlan be put through such hellish miss characterization and exclusion. Often times treated more like a thing than a person in my opinion. (Sam's characters as a whole I think are very slept on. Like even with big character reveals the only time I've seen fcg really be posted a LOT about was in relation to romance) on the rare occasion where I see someone who clearly appreciates Scanlan's complexities they basically get immediately engrained into my brain just like you have. Though with how much you've posted of him I think you're past simply engrained and just are part of my brain now.

Also warts and all is a funny way to put it while also being very accurate ajshsjsn but if I dive into that this post though I'd end out discovering what's the word limit on Tumblr 😅

[sherlockgracie]

The Wizard Spite

(The Wizard, The Witch, And The Wild One Original Character)

The Wizard Spite, an illusionist of The Citadel. When he chose his name cloak, it was not due to his feelings towards the world around him in the current, but more so to how he wanted to feel eventually. An illusionist of the Citadel has little use outside of psychological warfare. But at the core of an illusion is creativity. If you can't imagine what you want to create, then your illusions have no substance. A Minor Illusion is the most basic of cantrips, and really only used to clean up minor details that you don't need to bother with. But only an illusionists would include shading The Wizard Spite showed immense aptitude for learning and memorization. Being able to look at a page of incantations and see it clearly in his mind caused him to get noticed quickly. Passing the required tests, he began tracks to become a wizard. Though it was often noted that he would take notes on the Faunaloges more than the magic theory. His notebooks contained writings and minor sketches of people and objects. Their movements and idiosyncrasies, the clothes and light. Spite assumed he had to be a wizard. It's something people of Citadel aspired to, and what his parents recommended to him. If he is able to, then he should. He didn't know what else he wanted to be either. So becoming a Wizard felt right. When it came time for him to pick a specialization and track, he tried for Conjuration. He hoped that conjuring things would allow him to gain a better understanding of the mechanics of physiology. Though the magical theory around Conjuration ended up not being for him, and he was transferred over to an Illusionist track, one not sought out by many.

An illusionist has two goals when they are casting their spells. 1) To Deceive, Distract, and/or Entertain their target(s). 2) To Study, Analyze, and Observe their Target(s). An illusion's effectiveness increases with knowledge of the target.

Spite knew how to watch people, when he was with his friends he found his mind wandering to how their mouths moved as they spoke, or how eyes move. Those subtle differences in how people react to things is what Spite was best at. In the year he would get his Name Cloak, he initially was going to become The Wizard Scrutinize. Though he then found out exactly what Illusionist do in and outside the Citadel. Fear is a powerful tool, and is held in the Empire's hand. Not often are they called upon to do so, but sometimes a Wizard that has stepped to far out of line needs to have zipped lips. Enchanters and their abilities to Modify memories can only last so long. But the image of their world burning around them lasts forever. He accidentally found this information out, though he wasn't as shaken as he might've thought he would be. After all, this is what he has been trained to do so far, and more yet to come. He knew this was right, wizards are defined by their secrets. If the Citadel let all Wizards and Soldiers speak so freely, then how quickly might everything crumble? When he stood their and chose Spite as his Name Cloak, the meaning was not directed at the world around him, but at the person he would become. Hatred directed towards his future self for what he will do for his Empire. The Wizard Spite lives alone, a man known for his bitterness more than anything else. Once a great artist and entertainer in his 20's, now a drained and bleak individual in his 50's.

[haruchiyos]

Man I used to be in a discord with you like,,, three something years ago. Crazy as shit I just found your blog again. We were cool, I remember liking you and your vibes. Hope you’re doing well, man.

Hi hello hun, thank you for stopping by. Life has been good, graduated with my degree and been working in my industry for a bit now. Post-college life is different but not in a bad way.

I hope you’re well yourself. Much love

[backslashdelta]

me: I should create and run a brand new fandom discord server that would be so much fun!!!

also me: running fandom things feels like a job rn I need a break