#the author speaks

[girls-to-men]

I looked at myself in the mirror tonight and saw something handsome. I turned my face to look at my profile, see the hair halfway down my cheek, dark. The persistent thin mustache. A copse of stray hairs under my chin that keep coming back in thin, singular strands. How my eyebrows sit on my face, pointed and wild, I smooth them back and smile. My lashes are long, my hair is short. I look good. I’m turning into a man, and it is undeniable the more I look at myself. I grow, and my hair with me.

[drbarty]

(I don't know about the rest of the plaguecore community, but I am very against AI art posing as normal art. I will not be sharing or promoting it, and I do see people posting it here.)

[lilflowerpot]

You probably already know about this, but i was reading an old post where you said how weird it is that Lotor and Keith are perfect narrative foils and I just wondered if you knew there was actually a reason for that? I think (as we can only speculate from what the people involved in the show said) that was by design. However as Shiro was a fan favourite and had unexpected popularity he was written back into the show earlier, despite the fact they had already storyboarded/written at least parts of s4 so they kind of replaced Keith with Shiro in s4 and sent Keith to the BOM. I feel like re-inserting keith back into the narrative though makes so much more sense in some scenes as it explains why some parts felt so *not* lead-up to and out of character and why a lot of loose ends weren’t tied off (Naxzela fallout, Keith being a hybrid never really developed, why the paladins never really mention Keith leaving to the BOM much, Shiro trusting Lotor after very little lead up and giving him the bayard which seems like a much more keith-ey instinctive thing to do, Keith & Lotor’s narrative foils and potential friendship as well as being a perfect way to get the audience to trust and like Lotor even more before his betrayal, Shiro being written suddenly as hot-headed and using Keith’s mannerisms, like his wall leaning thing etc)

There’s an interesting video that explains it a lot better here if you are interested: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iiFiVFxR_Q8

(Also to be clear absolutely no hate to anyone who made the show, it was still great.)

Also thanks so much for writing little blade! Your attention to detail in world building is amazing and really gives an extra depth to the story and makes it so engrossing.

As you say, we can only really speculate the ins and outs of why certain decisions were made and narrative directions taken, and honestly the fact that there's so much that we as fans simply don't know makes it really hard to comment, but ultimately, whatever the writer's reasoning for doing what they did,,, they messed up.

I'm not even saying this as someone who, obviously, loves Lotor blindly, but to use him as an example, his character arc didn't make sense; I can accept absolutely everything (alteans being used as batteries included) as a valid and narratively-supported exploration of his character up until his declaration that he wanted to commit genocide and wipe out the entire galra race,,, because that went against literally everything his character had been built upon. It wasn't a "twist" that served to prove he'd been pulling a long con, it was just... bad writing, plain and simple. Lotor, who'd been actively working to undermine everything his father had become, is ~revealed~ to want to commit the same atrocity that Zarkon did, just in reverse?? Lotor who begged on his knees for the lives of Ven'tar and her people- Lotor who was so gentle when talking to Allura about everything he'd lost in the past and everything he wished to build in the future- Lotor who was trying to create a second Voltron not as a weapon but rather as a means of supplying an endless source of clean energy for the Empire so that it would no longer have cause to devastate and destroy entire planets... that Lotor?

And look, here's the thing, so they'd planned to kill Shiro off only to be surprised that he was popular and so bring him back, fine, they had enough time to do that and do it well... but did they? Because frankly, Kuron got more dedicated screen time than "resurrected" Shiro, and all they really succeeded in doing was shove an obsolete character into a narrative that no longer had room for him, which was d e e p l y unsatisfying no matter how you slice it. I say this as someone who //adores// Shiro, and wanted nothing more than for him to be alive, but from an authorial perspective it felt deeply disingenuous and like an obvious after-thought. Not to mention, as that video says, "team voltron" didn't feel like a team at all, by the end—they barely knew each other let alone liked one another. Keith's ousting from the squad had so much potential from a "Kuron is a double-agent actively working to destabilise voltron" sort of way, but if they wanted that to work then there needed to be some recognition of what happened? Some apologies from the other paladins for never really fighting for Keith at all? Never understanding he was grieving not only Shiro but Regris too (sans, of everyone, Allura, who was the only person to actually recognise & acknowledge that Keith was in pain)?

Speaking of Allura, she's another character who suffered from what I can only assume was the writers repeatedly changing their minds on the direction of the story and simply shoving her into whatever box best fit. She & Keith at first seemed to be building something important, and while I'm not especially a kallura shipper, god, at least they had an actual foundation for a relationship (in whatever form) hard-won,,, having her throw herself at Lance, who she'd shown ZERO interest in before that point, immediately after her former lover (1) reveals he has a secret colony of her people that he's been using as living batteries, and (2) dIES RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER...? She should have been grieving, and //slowly// healing, but instead she jumps straight into a new relationship that the narrative treats as if it's some sort of epic yet tragically doomed romance rather than an ill-thought rebound?

It just.. it wasn't even a good plot, let alone a satisfying one.

Hunk was originally implied to be the beating heart of the group, except they gave him next to no screen-time only to realise in those last couple of seasons "shit, people are supposed to care about him, errr have a tragic family rescue mission". Lance was treated as a joke from day one, despite being set up to (I personally suspect) become Keith's right hand and emotional support in more than just battle. Keith himself was repeatedly given all the foundations for genuinely solid and satisfying plots only to never quite follow through in the end (learning to let down his walls, to trust, to love- until the entire team casts him out never to apologise for it and only takes him back when they lose their replacement once more / becoming a confident leader and Shiro's successor only for it to be undermined and then thrown back together again when convenient / finding and building a relationship with his mother, except they speed-ran it in one montage and had Krolia leave again soon after).

Truthfully, Pidge is probably the only core character who managed to come out at the end with what felt like a properly concluded arc.

[zoestorm]

Hey just for the record

I don't mind if my readers lend my books to other people.

Uploading them to websites or file sharing stuff where anyone can download them is obviously a Big No-No, but if you talk to a friend or family member and say, "Hey I just read this neat book, check it out!" and give them the epub or pdf... well that's pretty much the equivalent of them borrowing the paperback. And I don't mind that at all.

Just so y'all know 😘

[bienmoreau]

CATALINA!!

[inkwell-intrigues]

Sneak Peek:

Chapter One

(Opening Image) The story begins 6+ months after the Cup Brothers defeat the Devil. We open with an unsettling description of the empty Devil’s Casino and begin the Devil’s character arc.

Currently, the Devil is mentally unstable after months of ceaselessly plotting revenge on the Cup Brothers, but now it’s almost time for him to “return to the spotlight.”

(Setup) We cut to Elder Kettle’s cottage where the trio listens to Dirk Dangerous while Elder Kettle is making dinner. The family is characterized as content and healthy.

(Theme Stated) During dinner, the trio discuss the radio show and inadvertently foreshadow their own character arcs and their character flaws.

The family finishes dinner and is about to clean up when Chalice announces that she has a surprise, darting out to the back and telling the family she’ll be back soon.

While the brothers wait, they hear odd rustling outside and Elder Kettle complains about the uptick in “rats”. Cuphead and Mugman decide to take care of said rats.

Meanwhile, Chalice sneaks out to the dock by the cottage and grabs a cake made by Chef Saltbaker she’d ordered as a gift. Reminiscing on the past, she walks back.

(Catalyst) Cuphead and Mugman step outside to deal with the “rats” and find themselves ambushed by the Devil’s imps!

Elder Kettle tries to help but gets knocked down, flung back into the house, and the door is slammed shut. He tries to get up but is in incredible pain.

Oblivious, Chalice strolls along until she hears the faint sound of a commotion. She phases through the house and finds Elder Kettle, but is unable to get to the brothers.

It seems that the imps have cast a barrier spell that blocks off Chalice, she tries to dispel it but cannot harness the magic she once was an expert at.

Trapped, Elder Kettle and Chalice can only listen in horror until the sounds of fighting stop and the magic barrier disappears.

Assuming Cuphead and Mugman were victorious, Chalice hurries out, only to find an empty yard. She screams, calling out to the brothers, but there is no answer.

[lydia-luvs-horror]

hi? i’m lydia, she/her, and as my name implies, i love horror! my favorite genres are slashers and monster movies, but most of the other ones hold a special place in my heart. my favorite movie is A Nightmare On Elm Street. my fashion taste scews pretty goth or at least as goth as i can get with my schools uniform and dress code. my musical taste is also mostly goth, with some nu-metal (ice nine kills my beloved) and industrial thrown in for good measure. i’m also transgender and pan. there are also some..other mental health issues i have. i don’t want to talk about it.

(OOC) everyone meet Lydia Wallace! she is my favorite oc so i decided it’s only right she’s the first rp blog i make. all lydia posts will be tagged with #lydia shut up because my girl is ✨self loathing✨. all ooc posts will be tagged #the author speaks. my mains @drew-dopamine . not a lot of rules for interactions, don’t be a bigot, don’t be a jerk, don’t be overly sexual, just basic stuff. Lydia’s 16/17, don’t be gross.

[azaleaforrest]

The #IndieApril sale has begun!

I'm so excited to look through all these books. 🥰🤩

WITCH IN THE LIGHTHOUSE is included in this sale for .99c! Grab a copy while you can!

[ro-presents-under-the-nola-stars]

PAUSE FOR THE CAUSE

i jus wanna take a moment to celebrate the birthday of the actress who made me fall in love w acting, an artist w an allure that makes any character she plays impossible to ignore. she plays her characters w such a raw authenticity that even if u have never met anyone like that, u feel like u know them. she makes every character real and tangible; she's completely mastered the art of subtlety & realism in her acting choices. not only is she an incomparable talent, she is my first major n my truly lifelong crush. when i was choosing a faceclaim for Jasira Boudreaux, i couldn't really imagine anyone else. Happy Birthday, Ms. Nicole Beharie!!!

[razputin-vodello-au-archive]

I just love how we, as a fandom, took one look at Frazie and Norma and went (points) "Lesbians!", doesn't matter whether you ship them together or not.

[girls-to-men]

"my gf tells me everything" your gf is jacking off to forcemasc on tumblr !!

you claim your gf tells you everything but has your gf told you about how he jerks off his strapon while laying down in bed and looks at it imagining its his cock and he clutches his shirt in his teeth and whimpers and mumbles to himself that he's a good boy? has he told you about that yet?

[drbarty]

little peek at the size of the beast- over 450 pages!

[lilflowerpot]

did I really just add in a whole passage dedicated to Keith thirsting after Lotor’s forearms? why yes, yes I did.

[devastator1775]

I like to think for the interns, babysitting raz was one of their first missions.

Sasha and milla say on paper it's to teach them responsibility, keeping people of interest within their sights among other spy reasons but the interns try to read through it as wanting a free babysitter

While there is some level of truth to that, it's moreso that they acknowledge raz can't rely on Lillie as his only friend at the motherlobe. Plus a psychic child with little to do outside of homework is going to get restless.

The interns get to test themselves with their abilities chasing raz and he gets to play

Razputin certainly didn't make it easy for them. He certainly made some memorable moments with them. Like him and Lizzie drawing tattoos on each other with permanent marker. Convincing Gisu to let him stay up late way past his bedtime. The kitchen incident with Sam. Things like that.

I can certainly agree that Milla would see the benefit of having some older kids in his circle of friends. They all taught him some things. Lizzie helped him with standing up for himself. Gisu helped him with balancing tricks whenever he had a basophobia panic attack. Adam showed him responsibility and leadership. Sam made him realize that being weird isn't a bad thing. Morris and him have a shared love for music. And with Norma he learned d how to be a little brother.

But, Milla also considered the other way around. Like you said: learning responsibility and safety. But she knew that certain Interns could benefit from Raz as well, by being a little brother to the group and having a friendship with him.

Like Norma, who's past personalty and behavior caused her to have a low self image and a small bit of self-hatred. Being a sister to Raz helped her heal and accept herself, becoming the warm, loving person she is in my AU.

I could write pages on how Raz and the Interns' mutual relationship helped each other, but most of that is in the blog already.

[i-write-sometimes-blog]

After a whole year, my thesis is finally done. It's about fanfiction and its relationship with literature.

Just wanted to share. Lol

I may go back to actually writing fanfics after this shit's done.

[inkwell-intrigues]

Hey Miss.

I'd like to say that I love your work. Can I use one of your pics as tatoo? I was thinking of use the one of Cuphead shooting with his finger up alongside Mugman's blue eyes

Oh my gosh OF COURSE!!! Please send me a picture of it after it’s tattooed!!! I’d literally cry!