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whyqueerbaitingisbad · 4 years

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movies & shows

cracks knuckles* alright this is going to be more of a rant than an analysis because i’m basing this on both my research, but also how it felt to personally be baited by these shows. there are obviously more pieces of bad (almost every horror movie) and good ones but these are the ones i’ve watched.

please keep in mind that i am but one queer and everyone has different opinions.

Supernatural (CW) 2005

This show is 15 years old and just ended. From season 5 till 15, there has been tension between two of the lead characters. They were constantly shipped together and not only did the entire fandom know about this ship but so did almost all of Tumblr. On top of that, the actors and show runners knew about it as well. Which is why it makes it ridiculous that it was constantly pushed aside while the romantic coding kept happening, even after show runners dismissed it as being intentional. The Destiel (Dean x Cas) case has been going on for years, and as the show came to its end, many fans had hope. But N O P E. Instead, we got a love confession from Cas where Dean looked like he was near constipated and the Cas was killed and sent into a fiery place that was not hell but s u p e r h e l l.

… w hy.

Sherlock (BBC) 2010

Just like Supernatural, this show was renown on Tumblr for not only how good it was, but its hinting at a potential relationship between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. But again, like Supernatural, the intentional tension between the two characters was denied by producers. This caused an uproar within the fandom, and even left some people believing that, after the last season aired, it had been a joke and the producers were hiding a “secret, unaired season” because they had felt so robbed by this show that had implied something and denied it.

The 100 (CW) 2014

We got lesbians. We got background gays. We were happy. Then, all of a sudden, one of them is killed for no reason. Did it advance the plot? No. Was she fighting and died in battle? lol no. She was doing literally nothing and got shot and died. And then the producers kept bringing her back once a season in the form of a ghost or illusion because why? Because she was a fan favourite queer character. ✨bury your gays and sparingly bring them back for profit anyone?✨

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Netflix) 2016

*deep breathe* This one is a special disaster. Not only was there romantic tension and romantically coded scenes for 7 seasons, but producers, voice actors and artists working on the show repeatedly said “don’t worry klance (Keith x Lance) shippers, you’ll be happy”

. … w h e r e??? You code one of their scenes with a sunset in the background while they talk about love and then one of them goes on a date with someone who has declined his advances for 7 seasons but now in season 8 decides to do a full 180. Not only that, but you announce at a Comic Con (a convention) that a character is gay and has a fiancé, only to kill off the fiancé and never make it explicit in the show except at the last second of the last episode where he marries a no name character.

Personally, i’d like to say a big fuck you to the show that strung me along for 2 years and never stopped saying we’d be happy to then pull the rug out from under us and call us crazy for thinking anything from the past 8 seasons was intentional.

Scooby-Doo (2002)

While not being outwardly queerbaiting, this movie’s filmmaker has just revealed some shocking news, which wasn’t at all shocking to the gays who had watched this movie over the years. In July of 2020, James Gunn, the filmmaker of Scooby-Doo, revealed in a podcast that, initially, Velma was explicitly gay in his script, but then the studio watered it down until it became nothing. This isn’t an example of baiting as much as it is changing a character’s initial design to “better fit an audience”. The worst part of all this is that with Velma’s character having been written with a l i t t l e queer subtext, people had been theorizing about if since the movie came out, but were always yelled at by the internet for “imagining something that isn’t there”. But now, even with it being said that the initial point was for her to be gay, people have no objections to still refusing to accept it. Why?? So we can’t get the subtext gays OR the confirmed gays?? Make it make sense.

Brooklyn 99 (NBC) 2013

To have the queer characters firstly introduced without mentioning their sexualities and have it brought up naturally was so goddamn nice to see, because no one does a big deal about it unless they ask for that. This show is amazing in general but the way they show their queer characters is *chefs kiss*.

She-ra and the Princesses of Power (Netflix) 2018

This. Show. My heart SOARS. It's just a remake of an old show so absolutely nothing was ever expected, but then it was sprinkled in and ENDED WITH A BANG. And it was so beautiful and real to see the struggle of two friends who care for each other and want to be together but have different visions of the world fall in love. And they also had characters with disabilities, a non-binary character and jUST SUCH A GOOD SHOW.

Kipo and The Age of Wonderbeasts (Netflix) 2020

This is a case where you go into it not expecting anything and are BLOWN AWAY by the bare minimum. And not because it’s bad!! It's mind blowing because this is the simple representation we need!! Not something over the top, but an every day relationship. It’s just two boys falling in love and going on dates and being nervous around each other, yet i was so stunned. Because it’s not shown enough. I should not be this excited over something that should be this normal. 10/10 though this show is so good for all kinds of representation.

Steven Universe (Cartoon Network) 2013

This show did so much for queer representation with its general message of loving everyone and loving who you want. Especially since it was aired on Cartoon Network, a channel for kids, it was able to help normalize something so looked down upon in some circles. It made it easy to watch for s o m e people because it's a cartoon but it's so beautiful to see these ladies so in love with each other, both platonically and romantically and we see them have a family dynamic that isn’t a “nuclear family”. Rebecca Sugar (creator) really said “lemme just break all stereotypes real quick”.

Adventure Time (Cartoon Network) 2010

It's the “knowing a fanbase shipped something so hard that the creators made it canon” for me. This relationship had been theorized by fans for years, but it had never been explicit in the show. When the finale episode came out and the two shared a kiss, it was a moment of celebration. The producer of the show said that it had not really been planned but when the episode was being made, the choice of what happened was given to one of the artists (bless your soul Hanna K. Nyströmthe). And as the show releases little bonus episodes, its latest was centered around Marceline and Bubblegum and their relationship. AND WE LOVE TO SEE OUR DOMESTIC LESBIANS BEING HAPPY AND IN LOVE.

Yuri on Ice!!! (anime) 2016

The fact that an A N I M E gave us a love story between two men is mind boggling and it makes me so happy!! Especially because it's a Japanese show and they’re very conservative about these things just makes it more emotional. The creators said they wanted to make the anime take place in a world where gay/straight isn’t a thing, it’s just love (ladies, you’re going to make me cry). So as the weekly episodes came out and fans start speculating, THEY GAVE US THE LAST FEW EPISODES FULL OF ROMANCE AND EMOTIONAL SCENES BETWEEN THE TWO AND THEN THEY GET R I N GS?!???!! You watch for the figure skating, you stay for the figure skaters that are in love.

Shadowhunters (Freeform) 2016

*insert me being frustrated that the actors are straight so we can move on from that disappointment*

This show really said “let’s name a whole episode after this couple because they deserve it”. But seriously, they gave us two characters whose entire plot does not center around their sexualities while still showing us the differences in a relationship between someone experienced and someone new at this. They were both powerful and amazing characters apart from each other, with their own story lines and goals but they loved each other so much omgs. SO MUCH.

It was so great to watch.

Love, Simon (2018)

There’s a lot of disagreement on whether this movie is good representation or not. However, we need to take into consideration that this was Hollywood’s first movie with a main character that was gay, where the story’s focus was on Simon’s love story. The biggest problem, for me at least, was that the actor playing Simon is a straight man and not queer. My problem is not with him, but the fact that there are other actors that are gay and that could have played Simon just as well. (the love interested was however played by a queer actor so ✨progress✨)

All in all, this movie does represent what a lot of queer kids have to go through: being outed at school, how they then come out, the bullying and doubt they go through.

The book is also really good.

Call Me By Your Name (2018)

This movie is so aesthetically pleasing and was able to capture the confusion and heartbreak felt by a boy who’s struggling with his own feelings towards a man. His inner conflict and joy and l o v e he feels but doesn’t know how to deal with is so well communicated through the screen and just breaks your heart because it feels so real.

But again, they could’ve gotten gay actors to play gay characters…

through having this list here, i want to show you that it’s not hard for creators to give good queer representation. the LGBTQ+ community isn’t asking for much, we just want to be well represented on screen as just a regular character, not some token queer kid there for the diversity points. having been exposed to so much queerbaiting and just not seeing any representation on screen, i always get over-excited when i see a queer character, and that’s not how it should be. it should be a normal thing, something you can find in most pieces of media, just like there’s a straight white cisgender person in everything.

and they seriously need to start casting queer actors for queer characters...

57 notes · View notes

tempestaurora · 4 years

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FANDOMS: Marvel, Voltron: Legendary Defender, The 100, Harry Potter, The Raven Cycle, Community, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Umbrella Academy

NOTES:

i tagged every tumblr i could reasonably find. if you have more than one fic on this list, i have tagged you more than once. some people may be tagged like five times. i’m not sorry.

where relevant, fandoms have been split into general (platonic) centric fics, and romantic/slash fics. this is just because it’s easier than splitting it up into specific relationships.

at the end of every fic title/author line is a list of core relationships; fics are split between gen and romance depending on what relationship is considered centric. otherwise, fics are in no particular order. All fics are completed unless otherwise specified.

i added a read more because there’s over 100 fics listed here.

anyway, enjoy, thanks for the 3k followers

M A R V E L

gen centric fics

SHORT (0 - 5K)

K.I.D. by blondsak @blondsak | Tony&Peter

summary: “Hi K.I.D. Glad you’re awake. Do you know your primary objective?”

“To always look for ways to remind Mister Stark - that’s you! - that Kindness Isn’t Dead.”

“That’s right, K.I.D. Good job.”

forty miles by peter_stank @peter-stank

summary: the one where Morgan is sick and Tony is in way over his head, so he calls his spiderson for a little bit of help. Tony&Peter

from now on by peterparkr @peterparkrr | Tony&Peter

summary: Peter’s sure that Tony and Pepper’s wedding will change everything.

Machine Wash Hot; Tumble Dry Low by alice_in_ink | Tony&Peter

summary: Do you ever fall into sewers and then need your billionaire mentor to wash your super-suit? Peter Parker does too.

Captain That by maddo | Tony&Peter

summary: Just a bunch of little anecdotes regarding our favourite spider and his Instagram account, feat. a meme-tastic Tony Stark.

Here's to all the new beginnings by Gruoch @groo-ock | Tony&Peter

summary: Peter gets a job. Tony is less than pleased.

to know, to protecc, and to fuck with by peterstank and floweryfran @peter-stank @floweryfran | Tony&Peter, Natasha&Peter, Sam/May

summary: peter parker convinces the responsible adults in his life to join him on the world’s stupidest stake-out.

MEDIUM (5 - 20K)

i used to have nothing and then by dirgewithoutmusic @ink-splotch | Clint&Natasha

summary: “Clint,” Natasha said. “You’ve got to let me go.”

“Clint,” she said, and he let her go.

the hearth by sagemb | Tony&Peter

summary: What to Do When Your Wife Is Out of the Country: A Guide by Tony Stark

1) Gain partial custody of a child 2) Sleep on the couch 3) Have the child gain partial custody of you.

Love in Ones and Zeroes by forensicleaf @forensicleaf | Tony&Peter

summary: a boy, a bot, and a bond through the years. Tony&DUM-E

call you home SERIES by Madelinedear | May&Tony, Tony&Peter

summary: sometimes family is who you're born with. and sometimes family is a spider boy, a rich not-dad, and a kickass aunt. (or; tony, may, and peter find a place in each other's lives)

Not-Uncle Tony by Jen27ny @jen27ny | Tony&Peter, Happy&Peter

summary: Happy is Peter's biological father, and Tony is there for the entire ride.

Between how it is and how it should be by frostysunflowers @frostysunflowers | Peter&Bucky, Tony&Peter, Steve&Bucky

summary: ''Doesn’t Captain Rogers ever…wonder,'' Peter winced as he fumbled for the right word, ''where you are?''

Bucky smirked. ''Steve’s a regular mother hen. Used to be me that worried about him.'' He gave Peter a pointed look. ''Better question is, isn’t Stark wondering where you are?''

The Unfortune Teller by peterparkr @peterparkrr | Tony&Peter

summary: A woman in a carnival booth predicts Peter's death.

all the things yet to come (are the things that have passed) by peterparkr @peterparkrr | Peter&Morgan, Tony&Peter

summary: The first time Peter sees Morgan is at the funeral.

tony and peggy’s big day out! by floweryfran @floweryfran | Tony&Peggy

summary: “What’s happened this time?”

“Just a bombing,” says Peggy.

“At three in the afternoon?” says Jarvis. “Frankly, how rude.”

Blips on the Record by ambivalentangst @ambivalentmarvel | Flash&Peter, Tony&Peter

summary: Flash Thompson’s story is not simple, Peter Parker can always use someone else in his corner, and secrets are had and protected by all.

aiding and abetting: a peter parker saga by floweryfran and peterstank @floweryfran @peter-stank | Peter&Avengers

summary: 5 times peter parker runs into the rogues separately + the 1 time they work together as a team.

Tennessee Outreach for Spider-Man (and friends) by ciaconnaa @ciaconnaa | Harley&Peter, Harley&Tony

summary: in an attempt to help Harley beef up his college apps, Tony offers Harley a remote Stark Industries internship to help Spider-Man. It easily becomes his worst nightmare.

Allston Christmas by Gruoch @groo-ock | Tony&Peter, Tony&Peter&Rhodey

summary: “You guys didn’t have to do this,” Peter says from where he sits squeezed into the middle seat of the U-Haul, sweat running down his back. The air-conditioning in the truck they’ve rented is broken, and even with the windows rolled down it’s hellishly hot inside.

“We wanted to,” Tony replies as he blasts the horn at a minivan with a “Harvard Mom” bumper sticker that is attempting to cut into his lane.

so happy together by floweryfran @floweryfran | Tony&Ben

summary: ben parker calling tony stark a twink for 13k words

LONG (20K+)

An Unofficial Introduction to the Avengers SERIES by Isnt_it_pretty_to_think_so @isnt-it-pretty-to-think-so-tr | Tony&Peter

summary: The Avengers meet Spiderman via the online world, and then meet Peter Parker in Stark's living room. It takes them longer than it should to put two-and-two together.

what is and will be (is you and me) by momentofmemory @momentofmemory | May&Peter

summary: 5 times May was there for Peter, +1 time he was there for her.

dear mr. fantasy by iron_spider @iron--spider | Tony&Peter

summary: He grits his teeth and turns around, and before he can even begin to trudge over towards Peter’s room, he’s stopped in his tracks. By a door. In the middle. Of the living room.

“Well that’s new,” he says, still rooted to the spot.

timshel SERIES by justanotherblond @blondieewritess | Bucky&Peter, Steve/Bucky

summary: The soldier doesn’t remember his son’s birth or how he came to be. He doesn’t remember bedding a woman and watching her belly swell, but they said the boy was his. He does know that he will protect and teach the boy within the confines of their cell walls. Even when the handlers berate him. Even when the good guys take him away.

odd couple buddies SERIES by bysine | Peter&Bucky, Sam&Thor, Tony&Peter

summary: "You know you're not supposed to call him the Winter Soldier any more, right?" Peter says, while they handcuff him to a pipe. A pipe. "Also this whole thing is kind of messing up my schedule. My two overdue papers won't exactly write themselves."

i understand (i’m a liability) by floweryfran @floweryfran | Harley&Tony, Harley&Peter

summary: “I… am not being challenged in the right ways here,” Harley says slowly, carefully.

“Then move here,” Tony says, and Harley’s heart drops straight into his feet.

Roundabout by Gruoch @groo-ock | Tony&Peter

summary: In which Peter attempts to survive long enough to graduate, Tony moonlights as a semi-professional party planner, and absolutely nothing goes according to plan.

Uncle Steve's Fix-it Freelance Gig (and friends) SERIES by whowhotellsyourstory | Steve&Morgan, Tony&Steve, Bucky&Peter

summary: "You ever need help, and I'm not there-""Why wouldn't you be there?""You call Uncle Steve."

notes: probably my favourite post endgame fix it fic/series in existence

Dumpster Fires Verse SERIES by deniigiq @deniigi | Peter&Wade&Matt

summary: A collection of Team Red stories because they are all hot messes. Except Peter. Two-Thirds of them are hot messes.

Impression, Sunrise by ciaconnaa @ciaconnaa | Peter&Morgan

summary: In Peter Parker's eyes, Morgan Stark is a lot of things: a terrible pancake chef, a top notch negotiator, the world's cutest six-year old. But above all, she is his family. He hopes he's enough.

The Room Where It Happens by notapartytrick @notaparty-trick | Tony&Peter

summary: At 7:36 pm on the 12th of May 2016, Tony Stark is put in the Room.

A twelve-by-twelve-foot shed, soundproofed, double locked. It becomes his home. It has to be, because there’s nowhere else.

At 4:22 pm on the 15th of June 2017, Peter Parker is put in the Room.

They make a living under duress, fearing at every moment the entry of their captor. Confinement halts their lives in their tracks, changes them both for good: breaks them and brings them together simultaneously.

“If someone has everything they need, but nobody, do they have everything? Or nothing?”

romance centric fics

SHORT (0 - 5K)

written in the star(war)s by ciaconnaa @ciaconnaa | Peter/Michelle

summary: Michelle looks at the nurse one more time, and despite the evidence, asks, “Are you sure it’s twins?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” the nurse points them out again. “One boy, and one girl. Due...May 4th.”

It only takes Michelle 2.3 seconds to realize the horror of that sentence.

Steve Rogers is (Not) A Good Influence by stevergrsno @stevergrsno | Steve/Bucky, Steve&Peter

summary: Steve Rogers' American Tour Of Waiting For His Brainwashed Boyfriend To Come Back And Blowing Up Hydra is interrupted when Tony Stark dumps Peter Parker into his lap.

Captain ‘Socialist Rage Muffin’ America by mybrotherharry @baffledkingcomposinghallelujah | Steve/Tony, Steve/Tony/Bucky

summary: It takes three months of dating Steve Rogers for Tony to understand why Aunt Peggy once shot at him in sheer frustration.Alternately titled, Honey, I committed treason again.

Soft Spot for the Hell Raisin' Boy by ifeelbetter @ifeelbetterer | Steve/Bucky

summary: The Winter Soldier takes an interest in Sam Wilson. Bucky Barnes wants to tell him how to be Steve Rogers's best friend.

Cat’s Cradle by Traincat @traincat | Peter/Felicia

summary: The test was positive.

Felicia tilted it idly this way and that, sitting on the bathroom floor with her back against the cupboard. The floors and the counter tops were marble, and the shower door was glass. Every one of Felicia’s moves seemed to echo in the large room, even though she knew that she was making no sound.

The test was positive. She didn’t bother to check the box to make sure she’d gotten the little symbols right. She’d known before she took it.

“Well,” she breathed out, tilting her head back to inspect the ceiling. “Damn, Spider.”

MEDIUM (5 - 20K)

cross this river to the other side by defcontwo | Steve/Bucky

summary: In 1943, the Howling Commandos wrote goodbye letters to be given to their loved ones in the event of their deaths.In 2014, Sharon Carter finds those letters in a tin can in an abandoned HYDRA base.

Tony Stark Googled The Thing by mybrotherharry @baffledkingcomposinghallelujah | Tony/Pepper, Tony&Peter

summary: When Morgan is six months old, Pepper goes back to work and Tony takes over as stay-at-home dad. Discovering the mommyblogosphere is the inevitable next step.

Winter Soldier Program by NocturneByChopin | Steve/Bucky

summary: Here’s the thing: he’s got a bit of a secret. It involves a boy that went and became famous when Steve wasn’t looking.

i was found and now i don't roam these streets by hipsterchrist | Steve/Bucky

summary: Bucky relearns himself and how to be on a team, the rest of the Avengers try to get answers, and everyone watches too much Criminal Minds.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place by ciaconnaa @ciaconnaa | Michelle/Peter, Michelle&Happy, Tony&Peter

summary: Ever since her mother died a few years back, Michelle's relationship with her father became strained in their grief. One night, after she's forced to show up at Peter's covered in bruises and in need of stitches, she remembers that even the most unsuspecting dormant volcanoes can erupt.

Brooklyn by togina @toli-a | Steve/Bucky

summary: "Captain America, what's your stance on gay marriage?"

Everyone knows that, by now. Everyone but Bucky.

Steve Rogers at 100: Celebrating Captain America on Film by eleveninches, febricant, hellotailor, M_Leigh, neenya, tigrrmilk | Steve/Bucky

summary: Steve and Bucky find out Hollywood has been busy since they went away. A historical survey, including but not limited to: one set of exploded genitals, a brief interlude in France, Mel Gibson and other masterworks of casting, eight Academy awards, several dinosaurs, and something Tony Stark has ominously dubbed “the masterpiece.” Art included.

Project: Get Bucky Barnes a Dog by ruxian | Steve/Bucky

summary: Bucky Barnes does not have a dog. Bucky Barnes does not want a dog. Sam thinks that should change. Bucky does not agree.

On My Radar by sprinkle_of_cinnamon | Steve/Bucky

summary: The Winter Soldier first noticed it when he was on the helicarrier.

The blonde’s shoulders were broad, incredibly broad.

They stretched the blue uniform in a wide span, drawing down to a narrow waist. It was a distinctly triangular silhouette. It was entirely improbable. And somehow it was strangely familiar.

The Winter Soldier raised his gun and fired. He didn’t have time for distractions, or Steve Rogers’ shoulders.

LONG (20k+)

despite the threatening sky and shuddering earth (they remained) by praximeter @praximeter | Steve/Bucky

summary: “Those are pins,” Steve realized. He looked over at Hill. “The mask—it’s nailed to his face.”

notes: may i say a massive fucking HOLY SHIT??????????? incredible. iconic. life-changing.

United States v. Barnes, 617 F. Supp. 2d 143 (D.D.C. 2015) by fallingvoices and radialarch | Steve/Bucky

summary: The Associated Press @AP Winter Soldier set to stand trial for Washington D.C. massacre and treason apne.ws/1og6SWE

Bucky Barnes: Former Disney Channel Star SERIES by mambo @whtaft | Steve/Bucky

summary: "The question the entertainment world is asking themselves today is... Who is Steve? Hollywood superstar Bucky Barnes was spotted at a wrap-party last night, serenading someone named Steve onstage.”

Not Easy Conquered SERIES by dropdeaddream and WhatAre Fears | Steve/Bucky

summary: In 1945, Steve Rogers jumps from a nosediving plane and swims through miles of Arctic Ocean to a frozen shore.

In 1947, Steve Rogers marries Peggy Carter.

In 1966, the New York Times finds the lost letters of Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes.

notes: if you’ve read stucky, you’ve read this series. i know this. just like i know that its the most GODDAMN BEAUTIFUL series ever written. no topping it. it’s number 1.

Strays by snarklyboojum @snarklyboojum | Steve/Bucky

summary: After finding himself alone for the first time in decades, the Winter Soldier learns how to be a person again. Mostly through caring for an orphaned kitten, countless rounds of YouTube roulette, and stalking Captain America.

hold me until we crumble by queenklu @queenklu | Steve/Bucky

summary: “Sam told me you were watching Antiques Roadshow,” Natasha says, shaking out her hair. “I assumed it was a national emergency.”

notes: one of my favourite standalone fics i’ve ever read

half awake in a fake empire SERIES by idrilka | Steve/Bucky

summary: In the aftermath of Steve's return to the world of the living and the battle of New York, the academia and the Internet react.

by the river potomac i sat down and wept by peterstank @peter-stank | Steve/Bucky

summary: bucky barnes atones.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell SERIES by AnnaFugazzi | Steve/Bucky

summary: Captain America and Bucky Barnes were like brothers. Everyone knew that.

Out of the Dead Land by orphaned account | Steve/Bucky

summary: Someone is building machines that look and act like people.

Meanwhile, the Winter Soldier tries to be Bucky Barnes.

V O L T R O N: L E G E N D A R Y D E F E N D E R

romance centric fics

MEDIUM (5 - 20K)

called out your name (but it was too late) by arahir @arahir | James/Keith, Shiro/Keith

summary: An old classmate watches Keith fall in love with someone else.

so much for the after party by arahir @arahir | Shiro/Keith

summary: Shiro gets his groove back.

i breathe disaster by arahir @arahir | Shiro/Keith

summary: After the wedding, Keith leaves Earth in search of something he can keep.

notes: what doES THIS M E AN?!!!??!!?!?! i cried over this ending. i cr i e d. actual real tears. it was so upsetting somehow. and i am so confused. and i went and found the author’s imagined ending in the comments to help understand the open one and it just made me SADDER. i think this is one of those fics that tries to teach me to read the tags and back away at the word “angst”. anyway, excellent, everything i’ve read from this author was incredible

LONG (20K+)

Alien Sex Fiend by Glossolalia | Shiro/Keith | WIP

summary: It started at a drive-in in the 1980s. Unfortunately, this is a love story; a love story about the frontman of Quantum Queef, a punk band, and a boy who rides a red motorcycle. Also, they fight aliens.

notes: i’m OBSESSED with this fic. i have read it many times. shiro as a punk singer of a band called Quantum Queef????????? and the fact that it’s the only fic on this account???? absolute POWER MOVE.

T H E 1 0 0

romance centric fics

SHORT (0 - 5K)

golden gunned girls by littlearrows | Bellamy/Clarke

summary: They’re not good girls. They have no reason to be.

notes: i think about this fic approximately twice a week despite reading it five years ago. there’s a song called gold gun girls by metric that makes me absolutely feral and would be the dream theme song for the intro sequence of the girl gang tv show of my dreams

and then my soul saw you by synchronicities | Bellamy/Clarke

summary: Lexa tells Clarke that love within the cluster is the worst kind of narcissism. Bellamy begs to differ. Sense8 AU.

givers prove unkind by emullz | Bellamy/Clarke

summary: a modern au in which bellamy is in a band, he writes an album about clarke, and she is his ophelia. also, marriage.

she sounds like sex on the radio by lecornergirl | Bellamy/Clarke

summary: “Wait, hold on,” Clarke says. “Are you suggesting I—in the booth?” But her tone is a lot sterner than she feels. Against her better judgement, she’s into it.

notes: idk what to tell you. i have only bookmarked like three smut fics in my life. it deserves it ok.

the kids aren’t alright by opensummer | Multiple Relationships

summary: The Pacific Rim fusion seven ways.

notes: probably???? my favourite? pacific rim au? i’ve ever read??? does so much with so little

Haven’t You Heard? The World is Coming To An End by Jenye @likcoln-blog | Bellamy/Clarke

summary: So where would you rather die? Here or in Jaeger? Pacific Rim AU.

MEDIUM (5 - 20K)

three points (where two lines meet) SERIES by PinkCanary | Bellamy/Clarke/Raven

summary: Clarke wears the two names on her skin like a badge of honour.

Icarus Lives by karusarchive @cluelesskaru | Bellamy/Clarke

summary: No one could ever have predicted the kaiju were coming. Clarke Griffin was in need of a new Co-Pilot. Bellamy Blake had just graduated. You can guess how that goes.

notes: if anyone knows me at all, they know i’m a MASSIVE pacific rim fan. like, own all the books and graphic novels and have multiple pacrim t-shirts kind of fan. THIS FIC was my first experience with that franchise. my first ever. i watched the movie BECAUSE of this fic.

Pony Regrets SERIES by Chash @ponyregrets | Bellamy/Clarke

summary: Octavia drags Bellamy to a My Little Pony tournament. Bellamy is deeply upset about the whole thing, but then the girl running the tournament is really cute.

The Internet Is Forever SERIES by Chash @ponyregrets | Bellamy/Clarke

summary: Apparently, the internet has been shipping Bellamy Blake (of Team Arkade) and Clarke Griffin (of Craven Cosplay). No one told Bellamy about it.

Nothing Like Old Times by LayALioness @filmnoirsbian | Bellamy/Clarke

summary: “Clarke killed some guy and stuffed him in the trunk,” Jasper says delightedly. “Your cousin’s dark, dude.”

“Yeah,” Bellamy nods, trying to backtrack. Sometimes he wishes she was actually better at making things up. “She’s a…closeted Goth.” Terminator AU.

the feel-good hit of the summer by disco_vendetta @errorofyourways | Bellamy/Clarke

summary: Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake are sleeping together. (aka ROCK BAND AU)

notes: i think about this fic an OBSCENE amount. it’s been five years since i first read it.

LONG (20K+)

Your Mess Is Mine by monroeslittle @argyledpenguin | Bellamy/Clarke

summary: modern AU, Clarke grows up with Octavia, and Octavia's brother.

notes: the fic that got me into fan fic in the first place. top tier. 42k.

Love Will Come Through by monroeslittle @argyledpenguin | Bellamy/Clarke

summary: AU. Clarke winds up in an arranged marriage with Bellamy.

Neeeeeeeeeerds by Chash @ponyregrets | Bellamy/Clarke

summary: Clarke joins the Junior Classical League for two reasons: to appease her mother and to annoy Bellamy Blake.

Our Time Now SERIES by TazmainianDevil | Bellamy/Clarke

summary: The Ark may have been short on all resources vital to sustaining life but one thing they never ran out of was guns.On an Ark that has always been defined by violence, Jake Griffin manages to save his daughter's life and Clarke joins a gang to change the world.

Disney Channel You by Chash @ponyregrets | Bellamy/Clarke

summary: Bellamy only goes to the open casting for Clarke Griffin's new Disney Channel show because Octavia begs him. He never thought he'd actually get the stupid part.

And You Understand Now Why They Lost Their Minds and Fought the Wars by marauders_groupie @marauders-groupie | Bellamy/Clarke

summary: Clarke doesn’t understand why they say that soulmates are one soul in two bodies. Her soul has five other bodies and she would give her life for any of them. Sense8 AU.

notes: probably my favourite sense8 AU i’ve ever read?? and i have read Many

build this fire higher, higher toward the sky SERIES by adelicatepeach | Bellamy/Clarke

summary: Clarke's jaeger goes down on a Thursday. Pacific Rim AU.

H A R R Y P O T T E R

gen centric fic

LONG (20K+)

yer a wizard, dudley by dirgewithoutmusic @ink-splotch | Dudley&A Lot of People

summary: Minerva fished in her pocket without looking, because the only things allowed in her pockets were only ever exactly what she needed. “I've come to deliver this,” she said, “because Hogwarts by-laws require a professor to hand-deliver acceptance letters to Muggleborn families for their explanation and comfort."

notes: i have only ever cared about two harry potter fics in my life. this is one of them.

the family evans by dirgewithoutmusic @ink-splotch | Petunia&A Lot of People

summary: What if, when Petunia Dursley found a little boy on her front doorstep, she took him in? Not into the cupboard under the stairs, not into a twisted childhood of tarnished worth and neglect—what if she took him in?

notes: this is the other one

T H E R A V E N C Y C L E

gen centric fic

MEDIUM (5 - 20K)

Helter Skelter by Anonymous | Ronan&Blue

summary: In hindsight, a road trip with your step-brother and his best friends in Gansey's dying Pig is not an ideal way to start summer break. Sargent-Lynch siblings AU.

meet hennessy by izzylizardborn @gaybluesargent | Hennessy&Jordan

summary: Hennessy had seen movies. She knew how this went. When it came to clones, there was always a good one and an evil one. She didn’t need to wonder which was which.

life is not a movie, maybe by coyotesuspect | Ronan&Blue

summary: Ronan gets kicked out of Aglionby and enrolls at Mountain View High for his senior year. The only problem is, no one remembers to tell Blue.

Honeymoon by vexmybones | Ronan&Blue

summary: Blue and Ronan living together, no buffers, no bullshit, this is how they cope.

the bugs and alphabet by Pi @rhea314 | Ronan&Blue

summary: In which Blue babysits Chainsaw, Ronan & Blue make angry art projects, and some conversations are almost had.

romance centric fic

SHORT (0 - 5K)

Pretty Good, Right? by suddensingularity | Ronan/Blue

summary: Blue wants to have sex before her true love dies. Ronan helps out. Ronan/Blue

notes: yeah ok this is one of the three smut fics i’ve bookmarked its fun ok

MEDIUM (5 - 20K)

It Had To Be You by shinealightonme @toast-the-unknowing | Ronan/Adam

summary: Ronan hates basically everything about their business, or that's what he tells Blue, but the worst part is that he's constantly meeting cute guys and none of them are single.

darling, don’t make such a drama by shinealightonme @toast-the-unknowing | Ronan/Adam, Ronan&Henry, Ronan&Declan

summary: "Straight answers are boring," Cheng says, "and yes I do mean that for all values of straight. I do not need Ronan to share his tragic backstory, I would much rather deduce it on my own."

"Who says I have a tragic backstory?"

"With your fearsome glower and troubled good looks? If you did not have a tragic backstory it would be a waste."

C O M M U N I T Y

romance centric fic

LONG (20k+)

Playing House by itsactuallycorrine @itsactuallycorrine | Jeff&Annie

summary: Six years ago, Jeff let Annie go. She never returned to Greendale, and he moved on. Now, he's a single dad to a one-year-old and he needs her help.

A V A T A R: T H E L A S T A I R B E N D E R

gen centric fic

SHORT (0 - 5K)

call it dreaming by ciaconnaa @ciaconnaa | Toph&Gaang

After the war, Toph has nightmares. The screeching of metal, Sokka and Suki's screams, the snap of Sokka's leg as it broke from their fall. It's usually his confession that they aren't going to make it that makes her wake up in a cold sweat. She's anxious all the time now, unable to find peaceful sleep.

The cure is apparently to try and hold all of her friends hands for all hours of the days and hope that they're cool with it.

what’s in a name by ciaconnaa @ciaconnaa | Toph&Sokka

summary: At her request, Sokka teaches Toph to write her name.

He learns a thing or two about the weight his own name holds in the process.

MEDIUM (5 - 20K)

the beginning of a new and brighter birth by aloneintherain @captainkirkk | Zuko&Gaang

summary: “I’m so proud of you, my nephew.” Uncle cups Zuko’s face in his lined hand. The gesture is so tender, his palm so warm, that Zuko has to take a fortifying breath against the sudden swell of emotion in his chest.

“I want to be a good leader, Uncle,” Zuko says. “I want to look after my people.”

“You will,” Uncle says. “You are, nephew.”

In a new era of peace, Zuko works to be a very different Fire Lord than his forefathers.

the scope of blindness series by littlelionlady @thelittlelionlady | Toph&Gaang

summary: There are just some things that Toph's feet can't see.

Her hands can though.

Or, Toph learns what her friends look like by tracing their faces.

notes: geniunely how goddamn beautiful is this. like. i cried. this is so soft and so cute and it made me feel SO MANY things

All The Gentle Creatures by Haircrescendo @sword-and-stars | Iroh&Zuko

It’s said that you can tell a lot about a person by how they treat animals. Zuko may be loud and stubborn and sharp but all the woodland creatures love him.

LONG (20K+)

The Family You Choose by TunaFishChris | Zuko&Gaang

summary: Some people are born with soulmarks. Zuko has them, but his grandfather burned them off because they "make you weak."

Team Avatar has a few things to say about that.

such selfish prayers by andromeda3116 @andromeda3116 | Katara&The Fire Nation, Katara/Zuko

Katara's ambition, so long set aside for the good of others, breaks free and sets fire to her soul. Or, Katara has a vision of her canon future, casts it aside, and becomes a world-changing politician instead.

and love will be your teacher SERIES by Ford_Ye_Fiji @ford-ye-fiji | Iroh&Zuko

summary: "And you will know the pain of losing a firstborn son." Ozai loses Zuko. Iroh gains a son. And the future changes.

notes: excellent excellent excellent excellent makes me very happy indeed

romance centric fic

SHORT (0 - 5K)

on commitment by jdphoenix | Zuko/Katara

summary: “Just explain it to me again.”

“There is no way you can pass as my brother and we are way too conspicuous as two unrelated people, from different nations, traveling together. So we’re pretending to be married.”

we hold our hearts in silence by psychedelic_aya | Zuko/Katara

summary: Seventy years later, Korra tries to figure out Zuko and Katara.

oracle bones by orphaned account | Zuko/Katara

summary: The foreign, pictorial characters that bracelet Zuko's left wrist have never been covered in any of his lessons. He cannot read them. And then he turns thirteen, and his father burns his wrist along with his face.

MEDIUM (5 - 20K)

late nights/early mornings SERIES by shmulia @shmuliawrites | Zuko/Katara

summary: Whoever set off the fire alarm at 2 in the morning is on Katara’s shit list. Even if he is hot and shirtless.

the thing about dancing by anodymalion | Sokka/Zuko

summary: The first time a attendant spills Zuko’s tea and doesn’t immediately fall to her knees, begging the Fire Lord’s forgiveness, it is not anger but a resounding warmth that fills his chest.

LONG (20K+)

Fate Deferred by catie_writes_things @catie-does-things | Zuko/Katara | WIP

summary: Aang remains in the iceberg ten years longer. He awakens to a very different world.

The Sparrowkeet SERIES by audreyii_fic | Zuko/Katara

summary: Ba Sing Se has fallen and Katara has been captured by the Fire Nation; a more adult take on the potential progression of S3. AU series of interconnected one-shots.

notes: i would die for this series, particularly the last instalment. i enjoyed every single fic and it was just such a GOOD STORY.

T H E U M B R E L L A A C A D E M Y

gen centric fic

SHORT (0 - 5K)

you from yesterday by questors (sieges) @softpunks | Five&Siblings

summary: The difference between who his siblings once were versus who they are now.

Ghost Math by pinstripedJackalope | Five&Klaus

summary: Number Five needs a new hobby now that the apocalypse is off. He decides to help Klaus--and in turn maybe he'll help himself.

Then There Was Two by AnneKatherine | Five&Vanya

summary: Reginald Hargeeves finally decides to allow Grace to name the Academy. Unfortunately, he's only willing to let her name the Academy, which Seven is unfortunately not a part of.

[or how Five gave away his name]

(he definitely didn't want one anyway)

i tiresias (have foresuffered all) by ThatWeirdGuyInTheBushes | Five&Siblings, Five/Delores

summary: Five misses sharing his birthday, but Five has missed a lot of things.alternatively; number five, coffee, and the art of taking back.

MEDIUM (5 - 20K)

The Five Vetting Process by jaz_hop | Five&Siblings

summary: In which Five is incredibly invested in the love lives of his siblings, because they're obviously too stupid to choose anyone worthy enough to be their partner. Otherwise known as Five being stupidly over-protective, and incredibly invasive in the hopes of keeping his siblings safe and happy... even if he is being a stalker and a dick about it.

LONG (20K+)

You and I Together Forever SERIES by Ace_of_Spades_400 @ace-of-spades-400 | Vanya&Siblings

summary: What if it hadn't only been Five, what if it hadn't been Five at all?

A series of stories about what would have happened if Vanya had chosen a different sibling.

Sometimes the choice isn't hers.

Timeliness 1-2.1 SERIES by dgalerab | Hargreeves Siblings

summary: As the world ends, Five takes his siblings back into their child bodies on the day he originally left. With the knowledge of how the world ends fresh in their minds, the Hargreeves siblings do what they can to leave clues for their past selves on how to grow up a little less fucked up before returning to the present.

A present where they all have different lives they can't remember, there's a fun new apocalypse on the way, and Reginald Hargreeves remembers the day where all his children suddenly and inexplicably lost their minds and all respect for him at once a little too well.

Rare Birds SERIES by Cryptix23 | Hargreeves Siblings

summary: An alternate 2019 brings with it new problems and new dangers.

The two sets of Hargreeves children mix like water on a greasefire. It's hard to tell which group is unhappier about the situation -- the Sparrows, trying to navigate the minefield of their new siblings' many traumas, or the Umbrellas, trying to carve their place back into a world that forgot them.

Plus the whole saving-the-world thing hanging over them all.

Whether they like it or not, they're going to have to learn to work together.

Partners, Parents, or None of the Above by DarkFairytale | Diego&Klaus

summary: Kenny's mom assuming that Diego and Klaus were A) a couple and B) Number Five’s parents was both bemusing and amusing at the time. But that was because it was the only time it had ever happened. Now though? Now they just can't understand why these misunderstandings keep happening.

#marvel #tua #atla #hp #the 100

119 notes · View notes

porchwood · 5 years

Note

Hi just so I understand cause i keep waiting for it and it doesnt seem likely to happen have you kind of fallen out of love with wtm? and everlark in general tbh? cause ive been following you for a while now and you always had lil quotes and pictures and things that reminded you inspired you whatever it was about katniss and wtm and now alllll it is is gadge i followed you because personally i love what you did with everlark and im just wondering if thats gone and not foreseeable any time soon?

I’ve been thinking a lot about how to answer this… It’s afair question - to a point. If you’re more of a drop-in person (like me) thanlive-on-the-dash, coming back to find my blog awash in Gadge might have beenquite upsetting. There are several reasons for the current state of things:

1. Life has been driving me into the ground since December26, 2013. (Yes, going on six straight years.) If you were a WtM reader from thebeginning, you may recall that I was pretty energetic and prolific in 2012-2013.Oh, there were tough times, but nothing like what started on the aforementioneddate (a car accident where I was in the “bystander” vehicle and it still got totaled)and has continued relentlessly ever since. Sometimes adversity leads to greatcreativity and sometimes it turns you into a depressed, exhausted, reclusivelump, and the past 5+ years have seen periods of both from me. These past 18months have been exceptionally awful (and expensive), resulting in very littlewriting at all, about any pairing.

2. Writing WtM takes a lot out of me. I don’t know whether thisis common knowledge or not, but it’s the gospel truth. I love that world, Ilove that version of Everlark, but every chapter requires so much hard work, itmakes me tired just to think of it. Not to mention, over the past couple of chaptersEverlark have been pushing for more intimacy than the plot/timeline allows, andso I’ve been struggling with how I want to handle that. Do I fight them andstick to the plan? (I can’t advance the timeline for several reasons.) Do I tryto figure out a cheat for them? They’ve got minds of their own and have changedmy plans multiple times, but this is something they genuinely can’t have, and Ihave to fight them on it. ☹ Which is sad, frustrating, and exhausting.

3. I’m a multi-pairing shipper, and have been from about 3chapters into WtM. Which means that my Everlark fics almost always feature asecondary pairing (or more than one), and sometimes I’ll get a plot bunny for afic about a pairing other than Everlark. Most writers in the THG fandom exclusivelywrite their OTP, whatever the plot bunny, but I find that some plot bunnies don’tfit Everlark as well as they do another pairing. (This is why I’ll never write aBeauty and the Beast Everlark fic unless Katniss is the “Beast,” if you will.)

4. The Everlark fandom is…tricky. I’ve never fit in there. Idon’t write Everlark the way the majority of fans see them (except for Peetabeing “sweet,” I guess), I hated the movies (I refuse to see MJ 1 or 2), and I’vemanaged to really rub some people the wrong way over the years –unintentionally, and for a variety of reasons – all of which leaves me feeling kinda down about Everlark in general. Don’t misunderstand me: I love Everlarkand WtM, but it’s really isolating to be this sad little island of unpopularopinions and unwelcome side-ships. That’s the part I really wish I could makeyou understand. For six years I’ve had Christopher Plummer in my head saying, “You’llnever be one of them,” and he’s so, cruelly, right. I want to cry every time Ithink of Embracing the Season (my E-rated Everlark modern AU oneshot for Lovein Panem - lots of daring for me!) because I poured heart and soul into that andit still wasn’t the Everlark that people wanted.

5. About a year and a half ago (when Strawberry Time reallytook off of its own accord) I participated in Gadge Day 2017, working my buttoff to find and schedule (and tag) over 100 carefully chosen Gale/Madge/Gadge aestheticposts, and for lack of a better way to say it: it turned on my Gadge-dar. After that, thosekinds of posts just leapt out at me whenever I had a chance to scroll, and forseveral months I wasn’t sure what to do with that. With a little encouragementfrom @ghtlovesthg, I came up with #march madgeness – wherein I turned my Tumblrinto Madge/Gadge-land for one month, and it was a blast. (Side-stepping Gadgefor a moment: Madge is a highly underappreciated and underused character,especially in fic/on Tumblr and I love splashing the dash with Madge-love.) Thenext month I launched a run of pent-up Everlark posts (i.e., regularprogramming), but I missed my Madge, so I instituted #madge monday – one day aweek when I could splash the dash with Madge/Gadge. At every juncture I gavepeople tags to block if they didn’t want to see this content (though I stillget unfollows every time I post, alas). I participated in last summer’s THG Reread– on the fringe of it, but my posts (reblogs and meta) were strongly Everlark-focusedagain during that time. So there’s definitely still been Everlark on my blog,but if you’re just dropping in (or for that matter, glancing at my archive), you’regoing to see a majority of Madge/Gadge.

6. Frankly, Gadge is fun. It’s a completely different dynamicthan Everlark, with less pressure to create something transcendent, and whenthe chips are down, I’m more likely to work on something that isn’t my six-years-runningopus. This spring, in the midst of lots of awfulness, I finally wrote a piecethat I’ve had in my head for years – The Best Part of Waking Up – with a differentpairing featured in each drabble “chapter,” including Gadge, Luka/Johanna (whoI’ve been wanting to put out there for AGES) and Jack/Raisa. I haven’t beenable to write quickly in years, and I think I finished those three “chapters”in about two days, maybe three. I completed the Raisa drabble in a couple ofhours and I consider it one of the best things I’ve ever written. (Honestly, ifa pairing was going to topple Everlark in my heart, it would be Jack/Raisa, i.e.,Mr. Everdeen/Mrs. Mellark. I love them to distraction.) Once upon a time I could drabble/sprint Everlark too – notoften, but I could manage it. Maybe it’ll happen again someday, but for thetime being, when I write in quick eager bursts, it’s usually about aside-pairing.

7. Because I just need to say it: about a year ago, I set up a secondary Tumblr for almost all my side-interests and ships outside of THG. When I first joined Tumblr, porchwood was just a fun page where I posted whatever struck my fancy (pretty things, funny things, whatever I liked), and over the next few years, I honed it into a pretty “writer’s notebook” for WtM and my other THG fics (related quotes, aesthetic posts, writing check-ins, etc.). When Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out, I shared a handful of posts pertaining to a new ship (not a new direction for my blog or writing, just sharing my excitement) and it was made very clear to me that people didn’t want to see that content on my page. So when I started watching Voltron: Legendary Defender, I had a sneaking suspicion people wouldn’t want to hear about those ships either. So I started an entirely new Tumblr for that content, and every so often I accidentally post something to the wrong page, which I immediately correct in horror, but people still unfollow. Point being: this blog is THG (and a few personal life updates) ONLY, with a pretty consistent aesthetic. I hide literally everything else that I’m interested in so you don’t have to be bothered by it. Is it really so unacceptable for me to have side-ships (complementary to the main pairing, not threatening to them) in the same universe??

8. Believe it or not, I’ve been working on WtM all along,just not making any massive strides. I tried to chip away at the current chapterduring Camp Nanowrimo last July, and it was a disaster. I thought joining awriting group would be helpful, but I didn’t realize that Camp Nano is basicallya lot of writing sprints in which you try to churn out as many words aspossible, which you then report to your “cabin” – and that’s the onlyinteraction with your fellow writers. I can’t write like that anymore (seeabove) and especially not when it comes to WtM, so I got discouraged veryquickly and sort of drifted away. I reattempted Nano on my own in April and wrotealmost 15K words, but in that instance I was really just using the Nano platform toset and reach a goal (which I didn’t ☹ ); I wasn’t in a cabin and didn’t interact with anyother writers, except my friend @ghtlovesthg, who read the finished portion.

9. I want to finish this dang chapter so much, and frankly, theonly way that’s going to happen is if life gets a little better and I holemyself up with my laptop for hours on end for weeks at a time – and somemagical being comes to support/cheer/comfort me while I do so. It’s currentlysitting at about 25K and I anticipate it will need to be at least double that,which is beyond ridiculous, but that’s the nature of WtM. The chapters are asmany words as it takes.

TL, DR: I still love Everlark and I’m still working on WtM, but my life has been extremely difficult for a very long time and I don’t have a great Everlark lifeline. Gadge and all my other ships are fun, and most of the Gadge you see on my Tumblr is aesthetic stuff for themed days/months/occasions. Anything non-THG goes on my sideblog.

#queued #i'm sorry to be snappy #i understand the confusion #and i'm not happy that i'm not finishing wtm either #ask #gade #side-ships #anon

57 notes · View notes

franeridart · 5 years

Note

Merry Christmas!! I hope you are happy, and have a good New Year! 😁

Thank you!!! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and will have a wonderful New Year too!!

Anon said:aaaaawwwnnn the good ol' platonic (or not, depending on the interpretation) bak*deku

I’m not anti anything anon, so you never gotta worry about that! I have ships I like and ships I don’t and ships I’m indifferent about, but I’m a firm believer in the ship and let ship principle~ sadly bkdk is strictly platonic for me (I see them too much as sibs for it to work in a romantic way, at this point), but I do adore their relationship and the way Horikoshi is writing it TT^TT it’s def one of my favorite Bakugou relationships, such a wonderfully complex story 💕

Anon said:Have you ever thought about drawing Bakushima as different ships? Like, from different shows. Put them in their outfits and such? I thought that wouls be pretty cool. Sorry if someone has already suggested this! I thought maybe Black Butler style ? Fruits basket, Death note, ect. ❤

I have in the past drawn them in AUs inspired by characters from other fandoms, if that’s what you’re asking! At the top of my head I can remember drawing them as Black⭐Star and Tsubaki from Soul Eater, Doumeki and Watanuki from xxxHolic and Jacuzzi and Nice from Baccano!, but I’m sure those are not the only ones... I’m never against that sort of AUs, if you have anything you’d like to see ask and I’ll see if I know the fandom you’re thinking about! :D

Anon said://squints// did your.... Did your lineart imPROVE??? holy maples Fran ur killing me with ur art I wanna survive my last 7 months of high school--

If you think so, then I’m seriously happy and glad to hear it! Thank you so much!! I feel like I’ve been getting sloppier actually, ngl, but I have been trying new tools for the line, so maybe that’s the difference you’re seeing!

Anon said:Gonna say anonymously caz' i'm too embarrassed to reveal myself for now, but I love your blog and art so damn much!!! Been following you for two years and you really inspired me to draw and really to stay in touch with bnha. Again, love you so much and hope you a merry Christmas!!!

Ahhhhh anon thank you so much!!! I’m happy I can make you keep up with bnha, ngl!! And I hope you’ve had a wonderful amazing christmas too!!!

Anon said:Sero with the long hair can murder me

He wouldn’t!

Anon said:what do you think of bakukamijirou 👀

I don’t ship it, sorry :( as far as shipping Bakugou goes, I only ship him around if Kirishima is involved - I do have a few Baku ships I like just for the aesthetics (like with Jirou, or Todoroki!) but I wouldn’t really call it “shipping”, I just like to see them next to each other cause their designs work well together haha

Anon said:Hello? Yes. Hi. Dave I love. Thank you.

I’m so happy to hear that!!! TT^TT thank you so much!!!

Anon said:Kamijirou cures my depression :3

WELL IF THAT ISN’T A MOOD!!

Anon said:Have you every considered a voltron au for your ocs? I know youve made a voltron au befores so i was wondering if you ever did it for anything else (i really love all your art have a lovely day

I’ve never, actually :thinking: the vld fandom is very scary to me so I try to keep away from it, ngl! I’ve also not watched past the first season of the cartoon itself so by now I don’t think I have the necessary information to make AUs based on that fandom, but the concept of my kids in space or piloting mechas is a wonderful one nonetheless haha

Anon said:Ah man I love dav so much. It makes me so happy when you post your sweet green haired boy. Day: brightened.

:sob: thank you SO MUCH!!!! TT^TT it makes me so happy to hear you like my boy!!

Anon said:I love and appreciate every variety of your ocs

THANK YOU!!!💕💕

Anon said:You: This is my boy. | Me: I love him so much and his hair and his shirt- 👌

Thank you so much!! His hair and clothes make less sense every time I draw him, but I have fun with it so I’m glad you like them anyway hahaha

Anon said:Hey! Who is he? He looks cool

Thank you so muuuccchhhh!!! His name is Dave!! He doesn’t really have much of a story, but he’s a uni student and likes music, philosophy and cats! He has a bunch of friends I draw him with now and again, and they mostly spend their time avoiding studying and being generally ridiculous :D

Anon said:Just wanted to let you know your art style is GORGEOUS. You're one of the few people on this site whose art always makes me excited to see it. I'm a huge Bakushima fan to begin with but your Bakugou is just...oof. lol I don't know if it's the hooded eyes or the undercut but you make him HAVE it!

That’s such high praise oh my god! TTOTT I’m glad you like how I draw my boy, he makes me so happy to doodle !!!!! 💞💞💞

Anon said:The two art post with "An unexpected sappy thought" and "Bunch of stuff from yesterday I finally managed to finish" were both flagged. i tried to send them to u, but couldn't. Just thought you should know if you haven't been notified yet! sorry that i cant be much help. (also the protest starts in like 10 min for me, so youre probably off already if youre doing it) sorry for bothering!

Anon said:hey your post (a colored fanart) of kirishima and bakugou cuddling w/ song lyrics as the caption got flagged, just thought i’d let you know if you didn’t see it :( stupid tumblr

These are pretty old asks at this point but I wanted to thank you for the heads up anyway! I have gone through my posts twice already and new flagged things always pop up, so the fact that you took the time to let me know was seriously huge help! Thank you so much!!

Anon said:hi i just saw your year summery-thingy and i just realized that i have followed you for more than a year now and i just want to say thank you for all the beutiful art i have seen !! you are truly one of my favorite artist i hope that you are well

Ah man thank you so much!!! I’m so so happy to hear you’ve been following me that long, it’s incredible to me!! I hope I’ll manage to get out of the slump I’ve fallen into soon enough orz meanwhile thank you for sticking around!! 💕

Anon said:Seeing your art summary makes my soul feel the urge to have your beautiful kiribaku art in a book. Have you ever thought about making a little zine with some of your illustrations? Or selling prints ;___; You're absolutely amazing!

Oh heck thank you so much for being interested in something like that! I’ve actually thought about something of the like, but if I ever did it would be a small zine with pieces made specifically for it! I have to research the whole thing a bit more, but in case I’ll reach a point where it’s a concrete possibility I’d first post something to check the actual interest in it between everyone! ;^;

Anon said:... Why BakuJiro tho?

Why not! They are good friends, have a nice dynamic, and their styles match together well! And Jirou’s so tiny next to him, I like the idea of Baku hugging her a whole lot as it might have become obvious by this point haha

Anon said:7w7r I see you there

I dunno what this is about but !!! neat!!

Anon said:Soooo,,, DabiHawks or Hawks single? I have curious for how would a drawing of them be made by you

I’ve said this a couple of times before, but I’m really only interested in dabihawks if Dabi is Touya at this point! I might change my mind if Hori develops their relationship more, but right now that’s how it is... and until I have more concrete proofs of Touya and Dabi being the same person I don’t wanna get too involved with the ship, in case I end up disappointed haha

Anon said:Fran, have you ever posted a selfie before? For some reason, I imagine you looking a little more like Kuroo from Haikyuu!! Haha.

I haven’t! I prefer being behind the camera instead of before it hahaha a couple years ago you would have been right! By now I have too much hair for it, tho lol also, I wear glasses and have a bunch of piercings and earrings that Kuroo doesn’t have (but should have, cause it’d be hot 👀👀👀)

#fran answers #i wanted to post something colored today but my health said no #*sad*#instead i finally got around to answering the asks #a lil bit of productivity is always better than none at all haha #anonymous

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pauper-planes · 5 years

Text

Yet Another Throne of Eldraine Review

I’m sure by now you’ve read a bunch of articles about the impact of Throne of Eldraine on pauper. Well, I’d be remiss if I didn’t add my voice to the mix. This isn’t necessarily a top X list of cards I think will break into the format, rather some cards that caught my interest that I’d like to talk about.

Let's start off by looking at the new mechanics.

Adamant

Adamant rewards you for paying 3 mana of the same colour on a spell. By necessity, this means that all of the Adamant spells will cost at least 3 mana. Pauper isn’t short on mono-coloured decks, so it’s possible that there are some cards that provide useful effects.

Adventure

Adventure is a mechanic that can be found on creatures. These cards will have a unique book-like text box. On one side is the normal creature text and abilities, the other side is the adventure. The adventure is either an instant or sorcery and you can cast the adventure at any time you could cast the spell. If you cast the creature’s adventure, you put the creature into exile. You can then cast the creature from exile later. Alternatively, you can just cast the creature. Most of the adventure payoffs in Throne of Eldraine are at uncommon, so we’ll just be looking at whether the combination of spell and creature make them worth it.

Food Tokens

The final mechanic is Food Tokens. Many cards in the set will instruct you to create a food token. Food tokens are artifacts, you can pay 2 generic mana, tap and sacrifice the food to gain 3 life. As with Adventures most of the food token payoffs are at uncommon so we’ll just be looking at the value of the food token in its own right. The immediate comparison is to Clues from Shadows Over Innistrad. A Clue Token is also an artifact, you pay 2 generic mana and sacrifice it to draw a card. Drawing a card is definitely a more powerful effect than gaining 3 life, but food tokens seem to be a little easier to create. It’s entirely possible that decks such as Mono-Block that typically lack lifegain and often spend a lot of life to draw cards would like to have a few of these lying around. However, given the current prevalence of Snow lands and Arcum’s Astrolabe, a lot of decks are simply splashing green in the sideboard for Weather The Storm. However, these end up working out, I’ve definitely got my eye on a couple of cards to experiment with and that’s half the fun.

Right. Now that’s done, onto the cards!

Mystic Sanctuary

Let’s start with the card that I think is the most likely to see play in the format. Mystic Sanctuary is an easy include in mono-blue decks and provides another way to recur instants and sorceries from the graveyard. The Island subtype is also very useful as it still counts for the affinity cost on Spire Golem. At the moment Mono-Blue strategies have waned since the banning of Gush, Daze and Gitaxian Probe, but this could be a useful tool for them going forward.

Idyllic Grange

Idyllic Grange is the other land from this cycle that I’m interested in trying out. I think this could be a useful one or two of in Mono-White Heroic. In that deck, this entering tapped on early turns is a huge downside, but late in the game that +1/+1 counter could really matter. It’s important to note that Heroic only triggers off spells and not abilities, but a free +1/+1 counter from a land drop could be worth the include.

Faerie Guidemother

Faerie Guidemother is another possible include for Mono-White Heroic. The adventure is essentially a Mighty Leap, which doesn’t see play in the deck, but the possibility of being able to cast a 1/1 flyer later in the game to rebuild your board could actually sway the card into useful territory. Well worth an experiment.

Flutterfox

When I first saw this card I immediately thought of some sort of White-based artifacts deck. Ancient Den helps cast this as well as granting it flying. But in comparison to Glint Hawk and Kor Skyfisher this ends up being on the low end of the power spectrum. It’s a curious card and if nothing else I’m excited to try to brew some sort of terrible deck around this just to see how good it might be.

Mantle of Tides

Mantle of Tides intrigues me. Blue decks are not short on card draw, so getting the free equip should be relatively easy. Imagine on your opponent’s turn, letting them declare attackers and casting Brainstorm in response to move the Mantle onto your blocker and set up a profitable block. That being said, I don’t see exactly where it fits, but again I want to try to experiment with this

Queen of Ice

In Limited I keep being amazed that this card is common. The adventure is a good rate to lock down a creature, and the body that you get the following turn is also very useful. The ability to tap down a creature she does damage to is also pretty relevant. It makes attacks awkward for your opponent. That being said, this is a constructed format, but I still think there’s a possibility that Elsa here could be a real role player. When you finally cash her in as a chump blocker she stops that creature attacking next turn too.

Tome Raider

As a 1/1 flyer for 3 that draws a card Tome raider is below rate, even with the faerie subtype to power up your Spellstutter Sprites. My main reason for including it in this list is just to call out the amazing card name.

Witching Well

Witching Well is another potential blue card draw engine, it’s cheap to play and the scry 2 early in the game is very valuable. Being able to cash it in for cards later is also very powerful. Again this is another card that looks like it has real potential, but I just can’t see where it currently fits in the format.

Foreboding Fruit

I love playing Mono-Black Control. It’s a fantastic deck that is filled with similar cards to this. The immediate comparison is to Sign in Blood which costs 1 mana less. However, in Mono-Black you’re always going to be triggering Adamant, so the extra mana could be worth it for the food token. It allows you to regain the life lost to the card draw at some point in the future when you have the spare mana. This is something that black decks could find really useful especially in match-ups against aggressive or burn decks where hurting yourself to draw cards just accelerates their clock.

Lost Legion

Lost Legion might not be playable in the format, but as a 2/3 for 3 this is a decent body. The ability to Scry 2 on entering the battlefield seems like a nice bonus. I’m definitely going to be keeping this in mind in the future

Reaper of Night

I think Reaper of Night is too over costed for its own good. On face value a 4/5 sometimes flyer seems like it might be a good finisher, but 7 mana is a lot. The adventure could be impressive, turn 4 is when your opponent starts to have fewer options for discard so making them discard 2 could give you a small edge, but with so much card draw from blue decks, it might not even matter. I wanted this to be good, but I just don’t think it’s going to get there.

Smitten Swordmaster

This card might be what enables a new tribal deck. With the new cards from Throne of Eldraine, there are almost enough good Knights at common to enable a deck, making the adventure on Smitten Swordmaster a very good prospect, the 2/1 lifelink body also provides good value. This is probably going to be my first new brew for the set because I’m excited to see what’s possible.

Merchant of the Vale

We refer to Merchant of the Vale’s ability as rummage. It’s not as good as looting (draw then discard), but in an aggressive red deck if you’re flooding out, being able to spend some mana to ditch excess lands in your hand for new cards could be useful. It doesn’t have an obvious home, but there are decks that might be eyeing this up as a way to dig to your finishers.

Seven Dwarves

I don’t think a Seven Dwarves deck is playable, However, it is almost certainly going to get built as a meme deck but at least a few deck builders, so keep an eye on the League results that Wizards publish in case a list ever makes it to a magical 5-0.

Rosethorn Halberd

Mono-Green Stompy is currently a top tier deck, and in the current configuration, it doesn’t run any humans. If this ever becomes unattached it’s unlikely that you’re going to have the spare mana to equip it to a new creature, but a 1-mana way to give a creature a permanent +2/+1 buff is something that the deck could be interested in. Sadly this buff has to happen at sorcery speed which means you can’t use it as a combat trick. I’m currently struggling to figure out if the downsides outweigh the benefits. I want to start by trying at least two in a stompy build to see how it performs.

Gingerbrute

When I first saw this I fell in love with the flavour of the card. Then I started looking at how many haste creatures are in the format. I started trying to brew some sort of Voltron deck that let Gingerbrute get really big and attack freely. But then I remembered just how much artifact hate is currently running around in the format thanks to Astrolabe and my dreams of attacking with a giant Gingerbrute fell apart. Nevertheless, I wanted to mention it just for the sweet sweet flavour.

Summary

So there you have it, these are the cards from Throne of Eldraine that caught my eye. On a first pass I didn’t spot anything that jumped out as a must-play, but to be honest it tends to be supplemental products like Modern Masters or Modern Horizons that add the most cards to our format. But it’s nice to see that Wizards are continuing their new strategy of allowing commons to have a little more complexity and power than previous sets.

Something I’m hoping to do is to come back to this set in 6-months time and see what did or didn’t make it into the format.

Did I miss a card you’re excited for in the format? Did I get too excited for one of the cards on this list? Let me know either here on Tumblr or on twitter at http://twitter.com/PauperPlanes

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sunset-spring · 5 years

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Hey, I'm kind of scared to ask you this, but I wanted to know what you thought of the epilogue in Season 8. I'm terrified of what you'll say, but you seem to be a very logical and clear-headed thinker, so I am kind of curious. If the answer isn't good, then please respond privately. Thank you.

It’s ok, I’m not gonna lie I’m nervous about a lot of questions related to season 8 just because so many people have such hard line stances and opinions on it. I have a lot of the same fear talking about it for the same reasons I’m sure you were scared of even asking. Whether you like or dislike s8 or like it, it’s not a big deal to me - no judgement either way. Opinions are varied and everyone has their own reasons for either.

On to the actual epilogue, some context I wanna give is that I had seen spoilers for the season even though I couldn’t watch it til a few days later. I had a prior family thing and I was stressed and I went to tumblr on my phone to look at some art to keep me calm. So I saw a lot of reactions to the season as a whole, but I couldn’t tell what reactions were genuine problems or what were over dramatized hate when I didn’t have full context.

So when I watched the season, the expectations I went in with were “there might be some things that I’m not going to enjoy, and some that are overblown.” And when I watched it… that was pretty much what I got. There were definitely some problems, but there was also a lot that I think was made out to be way worse than I personally found them to be.

The epilogue itself gets a lot of weight and importance put on it. And personally I wonder if it’s in part because it was leaked before the season aired. When I watched it, I felt very neutral to it. No super strong feelings either way, mostly just “oh, that makes sense for this character, but this doesn’t work very well and is not a great fit.”

Which I guess is a segue to talk about the individual bits in detail. This is going to be long and I’ll do my best to organize it for ease of reading, but I want to go into all my thoughts and logic as best I can and that might result in a bit of a lengthy read, so if it gets a bit ramble-y and confusing, I apologize:

Pidge and Hunk ended up in a place that I felt was very natural for both of them.

Pidge using her passion for technology to help defend the universe alongside her family was something that felt like it was true to her personality and something that’s a very good world-building aspect for what would happen after the story took place. The concept was something I interested in all the way back in season 3, and is part of what inspired my cadet squad AU initially. So seeing that happen didn’t feel out of place to me.

Hunk as well had always had his passion for cooking as a big part of his character. Seeing him become a chef and using that passion in a way to bring cultures together is a really good and is very in line with his character. We’ve seen him using that skill in other meetings, such as in season 3, and the way he uses cooking to bring people together is a big thing in the final season, as well as for his character overall. Space Mall is another good example, because while it’s mostly for fun and antics it also showed Hunk connecting and changing Sal for the better.

Keith, Acxa, Ezor and Zethrid slowly turning the Blade into a humanitarian organization is something I’m a bit neutral on. On the one hand, seeing them come together to change a rebellion group that was no longer necessarily needed into an organization to help others has logic to it, and is a very good thing for them to do. But I’m not sure how I feel about it based on their characters and arcs:

We didn’t get a lot of time to get in depth with Acxa, Ezor and Zethrid, so the grounding for them is a bit iffy. I can sort of see it since they were in a sort of similar position as Lotor’s generals as that Blade of Marmora is in terms of role: a rebel group that is based on taking down the old empire. And due to what we know of their backgrounds, they were people who were in an “us vs them” mentality based on how they were treated. The conflict of Ezor and Zethrid as warlords vs Acxa who chose to go on a separate path was supposed to show how the damage of that mindset could escalate into something harmful, even with people who had genuine reason to have it - I think that could even be applied to Lotor at least to some degree with how he broke down in season 6.

I personally think Ezor is probably the best example of this based on her personality, specifically in season 7. We see the fear she has over being hurt and tracked down by others, and then we see her taking joy in the concept of hurting others who she has power over. Because of that fear, whenever she has security and power, she uses it in a very sadistic and spiteful way. That trait is a very natural thing that can occur in situations like her own, and is very understandable. But it’s also very damaging to herself and others.

So having them shift from a mindset of hurting others in order to protect themselves to helping others on a personal level isn’t a bad road to take; in fact it’s one that I think works really well. But because we didn’t get a lot of time to explore their characters more in depth and get to see that transition, I don’t think it works for just a single shot epilogue sequence. It would’ve worked better as it’s own plotline, but with how much already going on and a limited number of episodes to work with I have no idea where they’d fit it.

Meanwhile for Keith, while he has a basis for being in the Blade already, I don’t really see a strong foundation outside of that. And I think for me, the reason it didn’t have that grounding was because we didn’t get as much with Keith outside of his familial arc with discovering his heritage and mother. That was his sole character focus outside of becoming a leader and Black Paladin, and his arc with becoming a leader was sadly sidelined in season 4 for the other. Which I can understand from a character perspective too - his heritage was an important thing he needed to connect to and understand. But as a result the other sadly didn’t have as much to go on.

And I think that’s why this was his spot, because had he gotten more development in terms of leadership, I think he would’ve been in that Galactic Coalition leader spot with Krolia and Kolivan. Because with the scene of him with the two of them prior to the feast in the final episode, I feel like that’s where the story wanted him to be, but they also knew that they couldn’t get him there and make it seem earned. So him being the leader of the Blades as a new humanitarian organization feels like a compromise of that. He’s in a leadership position, but not on as big of a scale as the coalition. Which isn’t necessarily that bad, it’s working with what they had to try to get a good medium of what they wanted and what could be done. But it leaves it feeling a bit lacking in terms of personal motivation for Keith. It doesn’t scream “this is Keith making a choice and committing to a cause,” it feels much more like a structured narrative decision rather than an in universe motive for the character.

The final two are the ones I’m most nervous about talking about, because they get the most strong reactions from others. But I’m going to do my best to explain my thoughts.

I can see some of the logic in Lance’s end, but I ultimately think it didn’t convey the message they wanted with his arc very well and as a result ended up with some bad implications.

One of the things with Lance’s arc is that he starts off being a character who talks himself up a lot. He plays himself off as someone really awesome and cool, is very flirtatious, etc. As he continued to progress, we started seeing some of his insecurities. Season 2 introduced the fact that he was worried about not contributing to the team in a way that was substantial, and in season 6 while Pidge and Hunk did their tech and Lotor and Allura were working on the Sincline ship, he was left with little to nothing to do.

Even with those insecurities, though, the way he responded to them was to actively take steps to improve himself. He doesn’t feel like he has a thing? He trains himself in a specific skill: Sharpshooting. Upset that Allura has chosen to be with another guy? He talks himself through it using the mice as a way to communicate what he’s feeling.

And I want to draw attention to what I feel are some of his biggest defining character development moments. In season 3, when he accepts Keith as the leader, when he talks to him on Thayserix, and when he talks up Allura in season 4 as the heart of Voltron. Moments where he builds others up. And Allura multiple times has talked about those moments with Lance. And her talking about him drove what I believe is his actual character arc, based on those insecurities and the way he plays himself up.

He is enough as who he is. He isn’t contributing any less by not having a niche like Pidge or Hunk, he isn’t supposed to be a grand hero who gets all the glory. He’s Lance, and he’s enough as he is. It’s that simple.

But the way they choose to show that simplicity in the epilogue is… not the best. They set it up a little with the farm scene in season 4, but overall the choice to make his simple life be living as a farmer has a lot of bad implications based on stereotypes. Which is why so many people have such negative feelings towards it, which is totally understandable and completely valid.

The idea of him settling in a more simple lifestyle isn’t something I’m apposed to, but I believe that choosing that instead of another type of occupation or lifestyle is a very poor choice, and as a result doesn’t convey his arc well or in a positive light. Which is unfortunate, because I really think that arc is good otherwise.

As for Shiro’s, there’s a lot going on with it and a lot of factors that play into it, which makes it difficult to talk about.

The marriage is, I believe, a small step in terms of representation, as it’s the first time in western cartoons that a mlm wedding has appeared. But I also admit that because of it being such a small scene with no build up and no relationship to build it up, that it is very flawed. Others have talked about their distaste for it and I understand why, and I also understand those who enjoy it for being there at all. There are also aspects like his retirement that people aren’t fond of, and that’s understandable too, but that’s where I have my own feelings to talk about personally.

The events of season 7 with Shiro and Adam upset a lot of people, and I myself wasn’t that fond of it. I didn’t feel as strongly as others, but the trope of “Bury Your Gays” is something that has been in media for a long time with a long history. So being upset by it is absolutely valid. The reason I personally didn’t feel as strongly as others was because Shiro, a main character who has fought and survived through the show, was still there, and still a gay man on screen whether he was in a relationship or not.

The on screen break up I personally didn’t have a problem with either due to the fact that I have personally seen a lot of framing of relationships with abuse and unhealthy dynamics as “straight culture” and gay relationships as inherently free of those types of scenarios. I personally identify as asexual or questioning, but know I’m at least not straight from my own self reflection. And seeing this kind of mentality is very harmful and something I wish would stop because it pushes people within the community to stay in relationships that might potentially be dangerous based on pressure that such dynamics are impossible to occur within a wlw/mlm relationship. There’s also a factor of validity of orientations being erased due to relationship status, such as many people who identify as bisexual having their identity erased by others while being in a m/f relationship, which is also harmful. While having a healthy and thriving mlm relationship on screen would have been great and a very good thing, I don’t believe the break up itself is a terrible choice because it shows that relationship status take away from someone’s identity.

Not only that, but Adam was not the only character within the show to die on screen, so it was not as if the fact that he was gay was a deliberate target on his back in context. Ulaz, Thace, and many other characters have had on screen deaths from seasons 2-7 before Adam. But as I said, the history behind the trope of “Bury Your Gays” does make Adam’s death sting in a much more personal way for a lot of people, which again is a very valid feeling that I don’t want to brush off.

So with all that in mind, when the epilogue came and showed Shiro marrying Curtis, that leads to some flaws. Namely the fact that the relationship with Curtis is non-existent, and Curtis himself doesn’t really have much of a character to speak of. The marriage itself is good in the sense that it showed a gay marriage on screen, thus opening the door for other shows to do the same.

But in the context of showing a relationship, there was no relationship to be shown. And if Shiro and Curtis had developed a relationship over the course of the season, it would have been much better for both the story and characters, as well as for showing representation for the LGBT community. Without that, it feels like a last minute addition, which it admittedly was, instead of a genuine show of love and wanting to include a mlm couple. Which in the end, while good intended, it leaves it heavily flawed. Which no hate to anyone who enjoyed it for what it was either. I can genuinely see reasons on both sides why someone would dislike or enjoy it. Personally, the flaws outweighed some of the good for me and keeps me from enjoying it.

As for his retirement, this is where I get far more subjective and into how I personally relate to Shiro, which I know others may disagree with because this is very personal to me specifically I admit.

When I first started watching Voltron, Shiro was my favorite character. He’s still up there among my faves even with Lotor swooping in after season 3. I loved Shiro’s personality; strong willed leader, open and still fun with the other paladins while still stern when he needed to be. The reason the fan name of Space Dad stuck was very obvious. He was put through hell, continued fighting and came out of it still kicking. And he still had that fun and supportive nature for others as he continued to keep going.

A lot of people focus on him as mlm representation now, but he’s also representation for those with PTSD. And that’s where I started with him.

The reason I like Shiro so much is because he reminds me - to an uncanny degree - of my older brother.

He’s helped raise me my whole life, he taught me how to draw, and he still does so much to support me to this day. And in order to get help paying his student loans, he went into the military and was stationed in Iraq for a short time. He’s back now, and he’s totally fine! And I know many people have opinions on such wars and military, and I agree, trust me.

And that’s why I don’t have a problem with Shiro’s retirement. After everything he’s been through, while him being a hero is great, I also feel like him stepping back, even if it’s in like a Miyazaki back-in-a-few-years way, is a good thing to show as healthy. Him retiring doesn’t mean he’s not allowed to be a hero, because in the context of the story in hindsight, he has always been gay and has always been a hero. And retiring doesn’t mean he never was, or has stopped being a hero.

At least to me, but again, this is a very personal opinion and I absolutely understand why people would disagree. But these are just my feelings on the matter.

That was a very, very, VERY long explanation of my feelings on the epilogue as a whole. I’m pretty sure this is the longest post I’ve ever written.

But hopefully this has done a good job of explaining my feelings on the epilogue. I’m not really sure how I’d compress it all into a tl;dr, just because there was so much to talk about, so apologies for those who can’t sit and read it all at once. But overall, I was very neutral to it all things considered.

But thank you @thenorthernphoenix for asking this! I’ve been sitting with these thoughts for a while in my head being nervous about putting them out there, but this helped me really collect them all and hopefully articulate it in a good way.

And again, if you liked the epilogue, more power to you, and if you didn’t more power to you. Everybody’s different with their own feelings on the matter.

#voltron #voltron legendary defender #vld spoilers #vld s8 #vld epilogue #long post #read more #thenorthernphoenix #answered asks #Q&A Fridays

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sage-nebula · 5 years

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27, 26, 21, 13 (the generals), 10, 5, 4, 2, and 1 for Voltron? For The salty meme thing? (Also apologies if these were answered previously)

I’m just glad that you said what meme this was for, because this was long enough ago that I completely forgot, haha.

27.) Least shippable character?

Answered.

26.) Most shippable character?

I honestly have no idea. Maybe characters like Regris or Matt, since they have barely any personality and thus could be paired up with almost anyone if written well.

21.) What are your thoughts on crack ships?

They’re fine, and have been around in every fandom for the dawn of time. I strongly disapprove of anyone attacking anyone for whatever fictional ships they have no matter the reason, because as squicky as you might find someone else’s ships, that’s absolutely NO justification for sending death and/or rape threats, doxing, or otherwise harassing and engaging in nasty behavior. But that said, the idea of people doing this just because someone ships two characters who have never met before is especially ludicrous. It’s unacceptable in general, but when people come down on the ideas of someone writing an AU where two characters who didn’t meet in canon meet and fall in love, it’s pretty obvious that the only reason why they take issue is because this is “competition” for their ship, a concept which is especially asinine when you remember that fanworks have no bearing on canon, and as such ships can’t really be in competition anyway.

So my thoughts are: Everyone needs to stay in their own lanes. No one has to like every ship out there—god knows I have some NOTPs of my own—but that’s no excuse for harassing, attacking, threatening, and otherwise being nasty to others. Tumblr Savior and the block feature exist for a reason. What other people ship doesn’t affect me, and the same goes for everyone else.

13.) Unpopular opinion about the generals?

Acxa: While I personally only ship Acxa and Keith platonically and do not read or write romance into their relationship at all, I don’t think it would have been horrible or the end of the world had she and Keith ended up as endgame. I do think that more work should have gone into their relationship if that was to be the case, but I think that the vitriol and hatred that was spewed Acxa’s way for “getting in the way” of other potential relationship options for Keith was pretty gross and misogynistic. Acxa deserved better, full stop.

Narti: Literally the only reason why the majority of the fandom cared that she died was so that they could use her death as a reason to vilify and demonize Lotor. They never actually cared about her, and it makes me angry whenever I see her name leave any of their fingers. They don’t deserve to talk about her, tbqh.

Ezor: She’s as cruel as she is bubbly and energetic. She’s kind and loving toward those she likes, yes, but she was the one smirking when Lotor commanded Throk to be sent to rot with the ice worms, and she had no problem tossing helpless village leaders around and getting threatening when one of them disrespected Lotor. Ezor is genuinely outgoing, but she also purposefully allows people to underestimate her and let their guards down around her so she can make them pay for it later. In some ways this makes her crueler than even Zethrid.

Zethrid: According to galra beauty standards, Zethrid is widely considered the hottest and most attractive of the group. Additionally, while she has no qualms about smashing skulls and actually does like explosions and fighting, she’s also protective of those close to her and does her best to look out for them. She’s the most group-oriented member of the team.

10.) Most disliked arc? Why?

Seasons five and six. Season six in particular was so bad that it’s what caused me to drop the show. If I list out all the reasons why I hated these seasons we’ll be here all day, but suffice to say that season five did a good job of making me despise pretty much every member of Team Voltron (and the protagonist-centered morality of the show became unbearable), and season six pushed the idea that a child abuse survivor without a good parental figure will end up evil like their parents. As a child abuse survivor myself, I didn’t take kindly to that.

5.) Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?

I never shipped them romantically, but I stopped being able to enjoy Keith and Shiro’s platonic, familial relationship due to all of the wank and nastiness in the fandom. It’s sad, because when I first started watching their familial relationship was my favorite relationship in the show, but between the Shiro stans who bashed Keith because they felt he only had value when he was an accessory to prop Shiro up, to the antis who used Shiro and Keith’s platonic relationship to further their romantic ship(s) of choice, it just got to the point where I couldn’t enjoy it anymore and no longer wanted anything to do with it. It’s sad, but what can you do.

Oh, and while I never shipped Keith/Lance, fandom antis made me go from neutral on that one to full on cringing whenever I see it. So there’s that, too.

4.) Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?

Romantic Keith/Shiro has always squicked me out, because I always saw Shiro as an older brother, promoted-to-parent figure for Keith, like Guy to Luke in Tales of the Abyss, or Nani to Lilo in Lilo and Stitch, et cetera. That was the vibe I always got from their relationship in canon as early as season two, and while I tried to see where the shippers were coming from in rewatches (I really, really tried), it just squicked me whenever I thought of them romantically because of how Shiro acted like a guardian figure for Keith. Given that season six confirmed that Shiro did in fact play a part in raising Keith and that Shiro and Keith met when Shiro was an adult and Keith was a foster orphan, I can at least say that my feelings were right on the money with that one. In any case, this is one of the fandom juggernaut ships and it’s a NOTP for me, so yeah.

That said, Keith/Lance is also a NOTP for me. Aside from never seeing any chemistry in canon because Lance would barely allow Keith to even be his teammate, much less his friend (much less his boyfriend), the fandom ruined it for me as mentioned before. It’s unfair to those who ship it without being nasty, I know, but Keith/Lance became the flagship for a group of people in fandom who behaved very nastily even to people who weren’t in the fandom at all. It’s the biggest ship in the fandom and I also can’t stand it, so. There’s that.

2.) Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?

Shiro and Keith, but as mentioned the fandom ruined it for me after all the Shiro stans I saw bashing Keith, and all the antis that made platonic content only to turn around and either a.) use it to further their ship (usually Keith/Lance), or b.) behave atrociously toward other fans / voice actors / staff members / etc. Like I’d want to go look at platonic Shiro and Keith content and have a nice time, but I’d have to worry that OP was a terrible person the entire time I did, and it was just … no fictional relationship is worth that kind of stress. So yes, I’d still see them as a brotp, but it’s not one I can have fun with anymore.

Acxa and Ezor is another one, though mainly as I write them in Paradigm Shift. Here’s another cup of unpopular tea: Acxa and Ezor’s canon dynamic is basically Keith and Lance but with girls. The only reason it became as popular as it did is because both Acxa and Ezor are pretty by our human beauty standards (although I guess the personality dynamic of “Keith and Lance but as girls” didn’t hurt among the antis). That said, while I keep their differences and the way they grate on each other in my writing (in that Acxa sees Ezor as immature, Ezor sees Acxa as a nag), they have an older sister - younger sister dynamic going on. They really do love each other, it’s just beneath a lot of arguing because one is so responsible (Acxa) and the other is … not (Ezor).

1.) What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?

If it’s a popular ship in the Voltron fandom, you can pretty much bet I don’t ship it, lmao. Romantic Keith/Shiro, Keith/Lance, Allura/Lance, Acxa/Ezor … if it’s big, odds are I don’t like it. Only rare pairs are shipped in this house.

Note to Everyone: DO NOT reblog this to start discourse or wank or so help me god, I will block you immediately, no warnings and no regrets. Thank you.

#anonymous #salty ask meme #let me know if this needs other tags #like negativity tags and such

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blayzez · 5 years

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I'm sorry, I know I don't usually post discourse on my blog. I'm just... really hurt right now.

At the age of 24, after spending my entire childhood forcing myself to believe I was straight because that's what my family and religion said I was supposed to be, I finally acknowledged that I was bisexual. Even then, I was still second-guessing myself: What if I only think I'm bisexual because the internet/social media makes it seem like the "In" thing? What if my sexuality is just a mask and not who I really am? What if, what if, what if. It was hard.

Then I saw Voltron. Lance seemed to have a bisexuality arc laid out for him, and it was obvious that he didn't quite know he was bi and/or wasn't emotionally ready to acknowledge it.

That was just so validating. It made me happy to know that being confused about your sexuality -- not being sure if you're the sexuality you think you might be -- was common enough to include it in a kid's show and it made me feel so much better! I was so happy, and with Lance's help (and the help of my friends and therapist), I was able to finally accept my sexuality for what it was. And I'm an adult. Think about how many kids his arc could have helped! Kids who were questioning, kids who were unsure, kids that might not being surrounded by a good support system and have to hide who they are. Lance was shaping up to be someone kids could really look up, admire, and in turn accept themselves for they are because of him.

And now that's washed down the drain. It meant so much to me, perhaps meant so much to a lot of kids that needed that role model, but it clearly meant nothing to the writers and that is just so disheartening.

This isn't even about shipping. I love K/ance with all my heart, but I would be okay with any endgame ship so long as it was written well. This includes keeping the characters in-character and allowing the romance to help in their character development. Keith was the most likely candidate -- he really did make Lance a better person and vice versa -- but if someone else filled that role and filled it well, I would have been perfectly fine with that! But that's not what we got. Instead, the boy who has been insecure ALL SERIES has to spend his only romance building up his partner and have that not be reciprocated. That most-likely-candidate boosted him up more than Lance's actual romantic partner, and that is just bad writing. That's not a good relationship. Relationships are two-way streets; you can't have only one of the partners be supportive -- they have to be EQUALLY supportive. And A//urance was not that. A//urance was rushed, did not help the characters develop in the slightest, and took away TWO great role models.

I don't like Allura. I think I've made this clear before, but I really don't like her. I was neutral to her in s1, then the whole Not-All-Galra arc happened in s2 and my opinion of her started going down at that point.

But she didn't deserve the hand she was dealt. She was the only woman of color in the main cast, and they KILL HER??? WHY????? I may not have liked her, but that doesn't mean she was a bad character! On the contrary, she was a great role model and I'm sure many girls of color looked up to her. And then they just kill her? First they take away the great role model Lance could have been as a confused bisexual character, and then they take away the only woman of color on the main cast. WHAT. THE. FUCK. You can't just do that! I feel so horrible for the kids who looked up to those characters only to have it all ripped out from under their feet.

Oh, but there was a random gay wedding at the end, so that makes it alllllllll better~

Except it doesn't. Adding in a gay wedding/kiss with little-to-no build-up is more likely to cause confusion than anything else. And it doesn't erase how dirty they did Lance and Allura. Both characters deserved better.

On the topic of shipping, yes, it was queerbait. I refused to believe the showrunners were doing that -- I absolutely refused because I trusted the showrunners completely. Surely they wouldn't have ALL OF THESE ROMANTIC PARALLELS between K/L with other canon romantic couples for nothing. Surely they wouldn't have developed K/L's relationship more than any other relationship unless there was a really good reason for it. SURELY THEY WOULDN'T BE OKAY WITH VAGUING ABOUT THE SHIP MULTIPLE TIMES AND BEING OKAY WITH DW USING K/L FOR MARKETING PURPOSES IF IT WASN'T GOING TO HAPPEN.

But nope. All of the media techniques to subtly hint at a romance used specifically for K/L meant nothing. It was just bros being bros nothing gay here.

And that is BULLSHIT.

Honestly, the whole season just screams, "SHOCK VALUE," to me. They wanted to shock people, but I don't think they really considered the repercussions of how they were doing it. I get shock value, bringing up the interest and encouraging audiences to rewatch the series to understand why the shock was actually built-up from the beginning, but there's right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. Voltron took the wrong way and screwed it up royally.

To be clear, I am not against straight ships. Far from it, some of my favorite ships are heterosexual. Nor do I fetishize mlm relationships -- K/L is only the second mlm relationship I've come to really love (the first being Hau and Gladion from Pokemon Sun & Moon). It's just that K/L really struck a chord with me and with so many other people, and to take that away for the sake of a straight ship and some shitty shock value? Dirty thing to do to the show's audience. Don't build up proper LGBT+ rep UNLESS YOU ACTUALLY FUCKING HAVE IT. The only rep? Shiro, and a hastily-added Zethrid/Ezor ship. Blaytz, too, but that was glossed over tbh and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the audience (not on tumblr because we analyze everything to death lol) completely forgot about Blaytz's interaction with that make Galra. That's not proper rep. That's throwing it in and thinking, "It exists so our job is done."

Media in general has being doing LGBT+ rep dirty for SO LONG. Even when we had positive LGBT+ characters in media, they were still characters based off of gay stereotypes. They were good positive characters, but were still perpetuating a certain bias against LGBT+ by displaying these stereotypes as fact. Times are supposed to be different now. We're supposed to be progressing, making it BETTER. I really thought Voltron was going to be part of that progress, that it would give us a well-written, well-developed, well-loved LGBT+ representation for kids of this generation to look up to and admire and learn acceptance -- about themselves and about others -- from. Instead, the showrunners three half-assed, tacked on LGBT+ reps and called it a day.

THAT'S NOT COOL.

This isn't about ships. This is about proper media representation for the LGBT+ community -- something that is really scarce, even now -- and how it affects the LGBT+ community when it's done badly. This also goes for racial rep. You can take two misrepresented groups and treat them horribly and then call it good rep. IT ISN'T. The poor representation of the LGBT+ community has proved to be detrimental in society's view of them. THIS DOESN'T HELP.

*sigh*

Off the topic of that, can we talk about how shit the writing was? Because it was really shit.

I'll admit that while I like s7, it wasn't written amazingly-well. Still, it wasn't bad and did have plenty of interesting episodes. Even with all of the asspulls we got in the last episode, it was still awesome because we got to see Shiro back in his element after losing almost everything in prior seasons. It was a mix of good writing and bad writing, but the good writing made up for the bad.

The seasons previous to that were well-done. Maybe not s4, but the other seasons were well-written and really enjoyable! There's a reason the show took off; the plot maybe standard, but the characters, character dynamics, and relationships were fantastic and were the true driving force behind the series and its success.

So why was s8 so all over the place? Why were plot threads that had been hinted at or outright confirmed left hanging or tied together hastily? So many things were alluded to in previous seasons only to lead to NOTHING. WHY???

Why did everyone BUT Lance get an arc?

What was the point of Lance getting a sword if it was never going to be brought up again?

Why was Keith's arc suddenly thrown to the wayside?

Why did Allura have to DIE for her arc to reach its conclusion?

WHY?

So many people complained about bad writing in Voltron, but I had always believed that the writing in Voltron was relatively good. Sure, it had its problems (like the entirety of s4, and the MFEs being boring as shit), but it was mostly a well-rounded show with well-rounded characters.

And s8... just threw all of that away.

All of that potential, all of those good arcs -- wasted.

The writing went downhill SO fast, and it's just such a shame. Something that meant so much to me has dissolved into the mess s8 was. It's disheartening.

I also want to apologize to all of my followers who followed me because my K/L optimism and metas. I'm sorry if I got your hopes up; I really thought K/L was the logical conclusion -- everything was building up to it, right from the first episode and even continuing in s7 (hell, even s8 added to it) -- and I truly thought the writers were going to follow through with all of the logical conclusions the previous seasons built up. I had faith in them, but I was wrong. For that, I apologize. I know it's just a cartoon show, but I also know how influential and meaningful media can be -- especially for marginalized groups -- so if my hype bringing you up made your fall harder when s8 was released, I am so sorry. You didn't deserve that; nobody in the fandom did.

I'm so jaded and disillusioned right now. Voltron has been a major inspiration for me; I originally decided to be a cartoonist to bring LGBT+ representation to children's media because of Steven Universe, but it was Voltron that really motivated me to reach that goal. I looked up to Voltron -- it was my muse, my main inspiration. I've learned so much about writing -- writing character arcs, relationships, etc. -- from Voltron and all of the analyzing people did. Seeing it devolve into what it did is upsetting. Something I loved so much has let me down, and I'm hurt and disappointed.

But more than ever, I want to create cartoons that don't do this; cartoons that tie up its loose ends, follow through with obvious character relationships, puts the main characters through complete arcs, and give proper development to them all. Cartoons that have proper LGBT+ and racial representation -- with LGBT+/characters of color that can be admired, that won't fall flat, that will teach the children of the generation about acceptance of others and acceptance of yourself regardless of sexuality, skin color, gender identity, etc. Voltron failed in that aspect; it was a compelling show that failed in everything it needed to succeed in. I refuse to make that same mistake.

With that, let's all look ahead to future and enjoy the fanworks that do these wonderful characters justice. Let Voltron's failure inspire you to create and make something better, something that will be much more impactful, much more meaningful.

Don't let it get you down; let it bring you up.

#voltron #voltron s8 spoilers #discourse #negative #im sorry to have this on my blog #but i needed to let this out #my post #reika rants

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nibscribs · 5 years

Photo

So uhhhh I drew a lot of RWBY this year... only two of these are non RWBY and tbh I could have just as easily put something RWBY for June Template

Retrospective under the cut bc it’s LONG

RETROSPECTIVE January: First piece of the year! I still like this piece and I think it shows how much I improved from the original version of it. Also I just like looking at it bc it's soft content of my rare pair. I do think I made the rose look photorealistic which looks... bad esp with all the other more stylized flowers, and I got lazy with the bleeding hearts by just drawing one set and flipping them. Emerald's hair also could look better. February: I made this around GNG week, which was a fun, good time, long before the server imploded on itself. I got really lazy with the backgrounds, obviously, but I do like the poses in this one, tho it helped that I based it off of screenshots from Young Justice. I also just really like how Merc looks in this one. March: March wasn't a very prolific month for art, I don't think I produced much besides this and one comic piece for GNG week. I'm not sure why exactly, I can't find any specific reason why I would be unproductive that month. I'm gonna just assume I was drained from work all the time and didn't have the energy to put out good art, and also I was getting into a slump bc all my art was starting to look same-y. This piece isn't very good, but I chose it because I did it without a reference, and at this point that was going out of my comfort zone. It's obviously not super dynamic, but at the very least you can tell I intended there to be motion to it. April: This also wasn't a very prolific month for art, not as bad as March, but for the same reasons. I was also really starting to feel burnout from the RWBY fandom, specifically wasps and conflict within the GNG server. This was also when the Art vs the Artist meme was popular, and I realized I didn't want to do that meme because my art was too similar and boring, which also brought me down a peg. Though I put out a few good chibis in April, I chose my Mercury redesign bc I was really proud of it. I could never get the Emerald redesign to mesh quite right, but I can say I'm really proud of how Mercury's came out. May: May had me bounce out of my art slump and in full force trying to expand my skills! Specifically exploring painting. Although May was about as prolific as April, what I did create I put a lot into. It was difficult to pick between this and my app of Edison, because I'm really proud of both, but in the end I went with this commission of Mercury because I pushed myself to try and use an interesting perspective for the piece instead of my usual stand still and face the camera pose. Because I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, this was one of the best things I made all year, and may be my favorite piece of the year. June: TIME TO STRESS OUT ABOUT CONNECTICON! So if you follow me on twitter, you might have noticed I made a lot of posts at the beginning of the year low key throwing shade at myself for drawing my oc's instead of more "important" art. Well, that important art that I was procrastinating was con merch, and con was the second week of July, so I really had to get my ass in gear to finish merch on time (spoiler, I didn't finish a lot of it on time). This piece and July's piece are both posters I made for Connecticon, and while I like July's much better, that doesn't mean I find this piece bad. I really should have known that no one at con would realize it was a goonies reference tho -_-; I also lost a lot of love for this piece after season 6 of Voltron, which I watched while I was about 60% of the way through this piece, so I had to force myself to finish it. July: I love this piece!!!! Don't get me wrong, I know it has flaws, but look at it! The lines are so crisp, the colors look good, Roman and Merc's expressions are mwuah chefs kiss, and I just love all of them!!! ... except for Neo. I really didn't do her justice in this piece, her hair is too fluffy, her head is way to oversized to the point that she looks like a bobblehead, and her eyes are too close together. Really if you take out Neo's head that whole problem goes away. I also love all the tiny details I put in this one, from emerald's chaps to roman's rose to Neo's lace parasol. You can tell I was way more passionate about this piece than I was about the Voltron piece. August: pretty sure this is when I quit my job cashiering, and thank god bc customers suck. If I was going off of sheer popularity, Chibi Pyrrha would have taken this slot no contest, and while I love chibi Pyrrha, I don't think it was the best of the month. I chose this little princess and the pauper au doodle because I tried a year ago to draw these two dancing, and it looked like dog shit. It was flat and ugly. But this has motion to it, and even looking at it now makes me feel warm and happy inside. It's just a good cute drawing of my otp. September: My piece for the RWBY tarot project! I have a lot of mixed emotions about this one. on the one hand, I love how mercury looks, his expression, the lighting, the visceral gore from his legs (ESPECIALLY THE VISCERAL GORE ON HIS LEGS) and the hands of the undead, all look stunning and I don't think I could be more happy with how they turned out. And then we get to the background. The caduceus isn't the worst thing ever, but it's severely lacking in quality compared to the rendering on mercury in front of it, and a lot of it is clearly pixellated from me trying to stretch and squash it just right. And the fire is a hot (no pun intended) mess. It's flat, incoherent, and doesn't lead the eye anywhere. It's a shame too because I wanted to do more with it, but I a) didn't have enough time or patience to figure out what I needed to do to fix it and b) didn't want to go outside of my comfort level, so I gave up and decided to be satisfied with what I had. October: October was another good month for art, I made a turnaround sheet for Moss, painted a full body (and slightly lewd) Rudy, and made a decent attempt at inktober. Ok, so I got like 2 days in, but I improved a lot on inking from last year! Fun fact! this piece was originally going to be fan art of Lindsay Jones, but after I did some thumbnails to figure out a pose, I thought it would suit White Diamond better, and I could also sell it as merch. I love this piece. I think I captured the sinister mood well, and conveyed the story I wanted to without any dialogue (at least the notes on Tumblr make me assume I did a decent job, lotta people really wigged out lol) I really worked hard to get the lighting right on this one, and I think it shows. My absolutely favorite thing about this piece funnily enough, is Amethyst. I think I just did a great job drawing her and I'm proud of myself ok. Stevens bubble and my trouble figuring out how to get WD's leg just right are the only things that I dislike about this piece, but I might go back and fix those. November: IM SO PROUD OF THIS COMMISSION!!!!!! I worked so god damn hard on this chef's kiss poifect, and it really shows. I started using a new brush at this point, the Ojing series on Clip Studio Paint, which I recommend and have been using a lot since. I've also been using this shading technique since drawing this. I love how it sort of fades out but it's still really crisp. I also love all the little details that give this piece character, like her shoes and the stripes on her jacket. This piece really takes a lot of the stuff I learned over the year and combines it into one piece, and I could not be prouder of it. I have absolutely no problems with this one, though I do find the weapon a bit plain, but it's what the client described. December: AND NOW IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!!! I had been working on this piece since August, going back to it every now and then and getting frustrated. I'm really glad I came back to it and finally finished it, since I love this pair and I put a lot of effort into it back in August. However, I'm also really glad I completely overhauled a lot of it, specifically the flowers. Though I'm not 100% happy with the mums in this one, they look a thousand times better than the mums I had originally sketched back in August, and were part of the reason I had such a hard time finishing this for months. I also thought it would be nice to end the year on the same note it started; with a flower couple. I've definitely learned a lot since January, and I hope to continue growing in 2019! 2019 GOALS!

Work on backgrounds for the love of god

Draw more stuff that isn't RWBY

Perspective

Make more speed paints and post more to youtube in general

#2018 summary of art #2018 retrospective #art progress #year in review #not art

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voltronurlsarehard · 5 years

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Voltron Season 8

I just finished it and HOLY MOTHER OF PEARLS

This is my list of thoughts and reflection on the last season and the series as a whole. Enjoy my brain fart of thoughts

1. ALLURA I’M SO SORRY GIRL THE WRITERS DID YOU SO WRONG. Like seriously? Have Allura sacrifice herself, and for what? I see no reason for it. She deserves to become Queen of New Altea with Romelle and Coran living with her in a new castle ruling over the new Alteans.

2. Allurance. I never shipped it before, but guess who is joining the bandwagon! This season made their ship go from something I never saw happening to something I wish did. I never had anything against Allurance before, so I was fine with it, but I never shipped it. Now I do. Hell yeah, I do. Also, I wish it had more development than teasing in season 7 to a rushed relationship in season 8. Lance also developing Altean markings when she kissed him is something i want explained.

3. Shiro’s new husband. Shiro got a new husband, and while I literally screamed with joy when I saw that scene, it has some flaws. Number 1: I didn’t know that character’s name until I looked through the Voltron Tumblr Tag. Apparently, his name is Curtis, and I never realized we saw him before until, again, when I looked through the tags. Number 2: I’m like, 80% sure that Curtis marrying Shiro is just to calm the fire that was Adam dying before Shiro met him again. I mean, Shiro never interacted with Curtis in the show until they got married on screen. Apparently, they dated they dated off screen for only a year and then got married on screen. I mean, that’s a little fast. I wish they just mentioned Adam once.

4. Adam. When the show showed the wall of fallen heroes, they didn’t show Adam, even though they had plenty of time to show both him and the woman who betrayed the team for the greater good (idk her name. I don’t care honestly) That was a HUGE missed opportunity.

5. Lotor. I used to hate Lotor, and thinking he came back mad me mad, but I understand him and like his character more. He was such a cute kid and before he went crazy and broke Allura’s heart, etc, he was someone I wished never went bad. I supported him and understood why he did everything. He cared about others, something he was repeatedly told not to do, and paid the price for it. Allura even said that he had good intentions.

6. This season did Shiro’s love life dirty, Allura in general dirty, and I just wish they explained everything without creating a whole new plot for the new season. Season 8, to me, should have been about wrapping up loose ends. The second to last episode should have been the boss battle with Hornerva, and then the last episode should have been everyone achieving their dreams. Lance and Allura date, Shiro gets a boyfriend (not a husband, I want a nicely paced relationship where he DATES ON SCREEN), Pidge, Hunk, and Lance live with their families, Romelle and Coran help out Allura with ruling New Altea, etc. Like, the ending felt rushed. I loved it, but it has so many questions.

7. Coran. Is he in charge of New Altea? Is he the king? I hope so, he’s absolutely qualified. He’s building a new castle, and he deserves it. i’m happy for him.

8. I don’t always want an explanation for simple details that show day to day life, but why is Pidge making Chip? Is she bored? It seems important, but I’m fine with it if Chip is just a side project. Her working on him with Matt makes me smile. Also, who let that boy cut his hair to that? it looked horrible. Also, on the subject of Hair, why hasn’t Pidge’s hairstyle changed at all during the series. Even in the '1 year later’ part. Keith’s hair grew, a lot. Hunk got a new hairstyle, Shiro grew a beard, why hasn’t Pidge grown her hair out. This has been a question I’ve had for a while.

9. Hornerva. Like, I love her character. After finding her mind again all she wants is to recreate her family in the only way she thinks she can. I love her character.

10. Season 8 wasn’t that bad, it just gave me more questions in the end than answers. I wish it was better, but I wished that for season 7 as well, and we all know that debocle.

#voltron season 8 #I may come back to edit or reblog this with more #but these are my thoughts on season 8 #voltron #allurance #shiro #keith #pidge #hunk #vld #klance #coran #hornerva #lotor #matthew holt #holt siblings #shada #adashi

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hushman · 5 years

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2018 Fic Reflections

As suggested by @rueitae . I don’t have quite that many fics to reflect on but it’s still good to do. For mine I’m including my fleshed head canon posts as fics since otherwise my list would be even more pitiful

Stats:

Fics Posted (Gen):

VLD secret service/bodyguard AU: AU Head canon post

Fics Posted (Plance):

Mundane Plance head canons : Head canon post

Collaborations:

Mandalorian Plance AU: A head canon fic done in conjunction with art created by @meldy-arts

Voltron Team Fortress 2 AU: A brief head canon post done in conjunction with art created by @meldy-arts.

Voltron Star Trek AU: A short fic based in the AU created by @vivalachocolate

Multiple fics in the Altean Plance AU: @altean-plance-au is a universe amongst @honestlyprettychill, @rueitae, @pidge-suggestions and my self. Here is the master post https://altean-plance-au.tumblr.com/post/172738280569/altean-plance-content-page-so-considering-that-so

Ship/Character breakdown:

Ship breakdown:

The only real shipping I did story wise would be Lance and Pidge. It’s not the only ship I support but it has been where I got most of my inspiration in 2018.

Character breakdown:

Again, Lance and Pidge got a lot of my attention. I like the characters and I love the chemistry you can build between them in almost any setting.

Characters that had the main focus:

Again it was Lance and Pidge. I do hope to expand to other characters at some point but right now I’m having too much fun with them.

Specifics:

Best/worst title?

Best title: Most of the titles were serviceable but none felt particularly amazing, still if I was to go for best I’d say “Loose Ends” (Altean Plance AU). It’s simple but carries so much meaning in the greater story.

Worst title: Basically every time I didn’t have a title and just called in something along the lines of Voltron _____ AU. It is serviceable but still felt like I could do better.

General questions:

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

I held no real expectations so in this since I succeeded my expectations. Still I would have like to do more full fics rather than head canon posts. I still enjoy them but I’d like to take those ideas further towards creating something more complete.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

I honestly did not expect to become so invested in Plance as I did this year.

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

My favourite would probably be The Wedding (Altean Plance AU). It was such a delight to write and is such a feel good story that I still enjoy.

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

I think the whole

@altean-plance-au

has been the most successful thing I’ve been a part of but ignoring that my most popular piece has been Mandalorian Plance AU.

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

Space Birthday. It may have been a bit of a mess since it was my very first VLD fic, but it has everything I love. Hunk bonding with an ‘enemy’ over cooking, Team Punk, Plance in distress, Hunk saves the day thanks to mechanics. Also heartfelt stuff with Keith. And he’s the only Paladin besides Lance to get an actual birthday themed fic from me.

Story that could have been better?

Voltron Team Fortress 2 AU: I really love this idea and I love the art that @meldy-arts created for it. I just wish I had taking the time to do more with the idea. There’s still time I guess so I may come back to it.

Sexiest story?

Honestly nothing I’ve written this year qualifies. Definitely a category to work on for the 2019 reflection.

Saddest story?

None of my stories really count as sad.

Most fun?

Pillow Fort (Altean Plance AU). It a small piece of fluffy and I loved it so much.

Story with single sweetest moment? The Wedding

“The union two souls is a moment great joy and celebration. It is with great pleasure that I now ask you two take these vows.”

“Lance, do you take Katie as your wife? To love and cherish for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

“Katie, do you take Lance as your husband? To love and cherish for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

“Then it is my honour, as ruler of Altea, to now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

As Lance and Pidge kissed, the audience erupted in applause.

Hardest story to write?

Secret (Altean Plance AU). It was harder than I thought it would be to get a reason for Lance keeping his abilities a secret as well as making a reason for Pidge agreeing to keep it a secret with out it feeling contrived.

Easiest/most fun story to write?

Baking Cookies (Plance AU). Those Pidge/Hunk interactions practically wrote themselves

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

Not really, my opinions on characters and situations have shifted over time but nothing specific that really change my view of a character.

Most overdue story?

Honestly I have a few stories churning round in my brain that I definitely need to work on getting out there.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

Biggest risk I took was collaborations as well as helping to create a tumblr based on an AU. It helped me in working with others in the creative process and with looking at my own work .

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

Mainly just to get more full fics done in 2019. Possibly exploring some of the other fandoms I’m into.

#reflections #2018 #it was a fun year #but looking forward to even better things this year.

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hunterguyveriv · 6 years

Text

An Old Voltron Fan’s rant

A Voltron-Old Timer’s unapologetic rant on certain factions of fans:

So it has been a week since Season-7 dropped and as a fan of the original Voltron since that fateful day in September, I have grown to love anything Voltron that is made and grow sad to see it’s inevitable end looming on the horizon. That being said some factions new fandom members have gotten really tiresome and annoying to the point that they need to grow up. Somethings you all may not agree with, but this is my view of the fandom.

I normally don't do anything like this but seeing nasty posts, posted to voice actors *referencing a particular Klance fan*, and to @bext-k and anyone else associated with Voltron: Legendary Defender who may be on Tumblr, I want to apologize for that part of the fanbase, you should not be hassled or have to write a letter apologizing for “apparent queerbaiting.” but I have to speak my mind, on the whole, the issue. As an old-time Voltron Fan, that person and his friends/supporters DO NOT speak for me! And if you are one of those who does happen to be in the LGBT Community and still loved everything about the season or disliked it but didn’t go to such extremes like some have, then this need not apply to and for that, sorry you have to see such ugliness from this post.

Over the seasons I have heard of the nastiness fans have had about certain things “needing to appear in “Voltron: Legendary Defender,” but then I saw it after Season first hand from a fan who proudly posted his nasty posts to a Voice Actress of the show. To that person and people like him, who the hell do you think you are? I understand that you are “UPSET” about many things reading through your childish “look at me” posts.

First let us take a look at the definition of “Queerbaiting:”

Queerbaiting, according to a definition I found is: “the practice to hint at, but then to not actually depict, a same-sex romantic relationship between characters in a work of fiction, mainly in film or television. The potential romance may be ignored, explicitly rejected or made fun of.”

Besides Shiro's flashbacks where else are these hints in the series? Can you list each and every instance which hinted to 2 male characters or 2 female characters hooking up? So a male character hugs a male character repeatedly so what? So male characters smile at one another, or hug, or cradle an injured person in their arms. We as humans do that in general because we are an affectionate race. That has nothing to do with "queerbaiting." Some may source “well Keith and Lance are always paired together on missions.” Yes, it’s to get them to quit getting at each other’s throats an congeal as team members both in and out of combat. Those are instances and occurrences that does not certain characters are or will be gay.

So you didn't get what you and so many others wanted, that doesn't mean you have to be a little child about it and be nasty about it! I wanted Keith to be Native American, even civilly requested it, because my people need more representation in the media, but you know what? It would be nice, even though it doesn't seem like it will happen, I still enjoy the series. Which by the way, speaking representation, did the LGBT community request or demand representation for the Native American community? How about the mentally handicapped, Jewish, Muslim, or countless others? When is too much representation too much that it damages the show?!

If you want all the representation or headcanons you want in the world start writing your own fan fiction and post it on websites like Archive of Our Own, Fanfiction.net, or even DeviantArt. Just don't act like a pathetic little child and throw a hissy fit because you didn't get what you want. It’s called life, you don't get what you always want.

I admit I was a bit perturbed that they, the showrunners, first revealed that they made Shiro gay. Mainly because it seemed like the LGBT representation was being forced down everyone's throats just to appease those who “ship” him with male characters. But you know what I for one am glad we got what we got from Shiro & Adam. And I know some of you are going to and have said before “But we deserved to see Shiro and Adam reunite!” NO WE DON’T!

1, Shiro and Adam were broken up, because Shiro went on a mission that he needed to prove to himself that he can do. Adam even said so himself!

2, Adam dying is something that happens in war, especially war where a less prepared race goes up against a more advanced civilization. And if you take issue because him dying because he was involved with a primary character then you might as well stop watching a bunch of series, because it happens ALL THE TIME!

3. It showed that Shiro even though they were broken up was regretful and still had to focus on liberating Earth from the Galra. He had no true time to mourn yes, but in times of War, you generally don't have that luxury to do so. You have to continue the fight until it is over.

4. As some have even suggested, his death helped focus Shiro during a time he himself wasn't sure about himself.

Another thing, yes representation of Native Americans would be nice, but what would it have to do with the story before and after the reveal of a Native American character? NOTHING! What does Shiro/Adam or even Zethrid/Ezor have to do with the story from the 6 previous seasons and anything made after Season 7? NOTHING! What would having a Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, mentally handicapped character have to do with the story before and after the reveal? Once again NOTHING!

The whole drive of the show is “War is Hell.” Hell on those oppressed, hell on those fighting it, and hell for those left behind, and hell for those who survive. Sure some budding romances will result from it which I am about to go into, but this, in a cartoon about a giant robot beating the shit out of monsters, other robots, and evil alien ships, should be the ONLY representation that should be focused on. Not ones to make you feel all hunky dory on the inside or accepted. The showrunners know what they are doing, but if you think you can do better then please, by all means, purchase the rights to Voltron and make your own version. War is not a sugar coated thing where everyone lives happily ever after if you want to continue believing that then go back to watching your anime shows made for kids like Pokemon, Dragon Ball/Z/Super and leave the more thoughtful series to the adults. ANd if there are some fellow old timers here with me, they are more than likely to agree.

And if you think I am being homophobic I’m not. I have been questioned my own sexuality since 1992 but had to keep under-wraps because of family or where I live. I am happy they - the LGBT community, got their representation for what it was, but I am just fed up with the whole issue being forced down our throats.

Now onto the couples thing… pairings/couples/ships WHATEVER!

Now this whole “ship/shipping” thing... it's nice/new/bizarre/and downright stupid to me. Back in my time, we didn't call potential couples “ships” or went batshit crazy over something that looked like a character was crushing on another when there is nothing there. The fan fiction and fan art is spectacular and in most cases breathtaking, but in recent seasons it has really gotten out of hand with Voltron. The whole Sheith issue, only “shipping Keith with other male characters, praising pairings while condemning others.

Speaking of which, why is it okay to “ship” Lotor and Allura together even though he used her, but it's not okay to ship Keith and Acxa together or Keith and Romelle together? And don’t you dare say its because “Keith is clearly gay/bi” or that “shipping him with anyone else besides Character X is toxic” excuse - because those excuses have gotten stupid, old, and annoying. But I’ll wait for you to give me one nice solid instance...

So he smiled at Lance after they captured Sendak and Lance said: “We make a good team” that doesn't mean anything, so he smiled at Rolo that could very well be a reference to The Walking Dead because both VAs at the time were from TWD, so he hugs Shiro... So what! Speaking from experience Brother-Friends do this. He and James looked at each other when he returned to Garrison Base - and your point is? They never really liked each other to begin with. “He hasn’t shown much interest in the opposite sex,” um excuse me have you watched Season 1 episode 3? He was always smiling towards Allura. Plus have you ever took into consideration that maybe because he was secretly struggling with inner demons, demons Shiro only knew about, that maybe he just didn't want to get involved with anyone until he feels ready too or that maybe those he knows just doesn't interest him?

For all, we know Acxa maybe that one character that interests him over Allura, Romelle, Pidge, Nyma, Olia, or any other character with the exclusion of Krolia for obvious reasons. Let's state the obvious, she is the first person he meets face to face (eventually) who is a Galra-Hybrid, someone like him who he has the potential to connect with better than his Galra Mother, the Blade, or even the Paladins. And believe me, being a mixed blood myself sometimes it is a lot easier for us in this situation to connect more, we know things that those who aren't in the situation feel. They seem to be looking out for each other, regardless of whether it goes against their current allegiances at the time. And I for one support the idea of him hooking up with Acxa or even Romelle for the sake of argument over the Paladins for my own reasons. And yes that is coming from an old-timer who used to believe “If it is ANYTHING Voltron then it has to be Keith and Allura. That is the way of it, the way it has been, and should always be” up until Season 2.

Now really address the whole claim “Keith isn't interested in women, so he is gay" or “when confronted by the former general taunts he says ‘Can’t we just fight!’ means he is gay” posts when taunted: Have you ever considered that during an intergalactic war, that maybe if he were interested in someone like Acxa, he wouldn't want the enemy to know? Best way to cripple your foe is to target and exploit his or her weakness, and there is no greater weakness to someone than those who hold their heart. Whether it is lovers, parents, siblings, and so forth. Season 6 is a great example of Haggar exploiting it because Keith loved Shiro as a brother. Zethrid and Ezor knew Acxa had a thing for the flippity hair paladin and tried to exploit it and nearly succeeded.

Exposing your enemy’s one true weakness is one thing that is a constant in shows like this, you all should know this and shouldn't have someone point it out. Guyver-I and Mizuki Segawa, Batou and Motoko Kusanagi - since he clearly has a thing for her, Raphael and Mona Lisa of 2012 TMNT series, Superman and Lois Lane, Shiro Amada and Aina Sahalin, Krolia and both her mate & baby Keith, Swamp Thing and Abby Arcane, and so many others! Even Sonic the Hedgehog’s weakness prior to all the Sonic Adventure tie-in comics was Sally Acorn. Each of their enemies has tried to and have exploited this weakness in an attempt to achieve victory. So just because someone doesn't react to taunts like “Oh it must be true love” the way others may have, DOES NOT mean they are gay. Especially if they are part of a warrior class, they may exhibit some feelings for one another out in public or with friends but when they are alone they are free to be themselves.

Now I am not saying you can't “ship” characters with who you want, but if you see things you don't like just don't post things against it. Dial it back a bit for crying out loud. I don't like the idea of Sheith, Klance, or LoKei, Huneith but you don't see me bashing it or saying “Keith is obviously Heterosexual” or some shit like that. I scroll past it. To my understanding from scrolling through Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook - before admins started to crack down on them, making a post like that is just as bad as posting hateful comments on posts supporting a particular pairing.

And to say things like “Well if Ship-X or Ship-Y becomes canon I am done with the series!” Well, you know what I say to that or those who think they are entitled to something? There’s the Voltron Door, don’t let it hit you on your way out! The series has lasted 30 plus years and will continue to do so without your entitled ass. Sure there are things that were done that I didn't like, but it is not worth sending blackmail/death threats to those involved or being nasty to those involved that it prompts the showrunners to issue an apology letter just to make you feel good about your nastiness.

In my opinion they, the showrunners, should never have apologized in the first place for all your hurt little feelings. The one thing THEY SHOULD apologize for, in my own opinion is ending the series (WHICH WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE AFTER EVERYTHING NEGATIVE THAT HAS HAPPENED) so soon if indeed Season 8 turns out to be the final one! I’d have like to see it go for another 5 more seasons while bringing in the Vehicle Voltron now that Earth has literally become part of the “Galaxy Alliance,” and is now a prime target with Voltron there. Yes, I say Galaxy Alliance because Earth and the Galaxy Garrison are now part of the Voltron Alliance/Coalition.

Anyway, sure I had my frustrations and joys with Legendary Defender as an Old-Time Voltron fan but I still enjoyed it immensely. And regardless of what happens in the next season (whether it continues or not) and after I look forward to anything Voltron. And for those who keep in mind: there is ALWAYS the next series! 2011’s Voltron-Force was well received for a time but faded into the distance for Voltron: Legendary Defender. But with the nastiness of certain fans, we ALL must prove we deserve any more seasons, a newer series 5 to 10 years down the line, or an animated or live-action movie.

Well this is the end of my rant, like don’t like, applaud or get offended by it I don't care, this is how I see the actions of a certain few of this fandom effecting the rest of us who enjoy the series for what it is and not what we want it to be.

#Voltron #voltron legendary defender #shiro #keith #lance #pidge #hunk #allura #coran #mentions of lotor #mentions of kacxa #mentions of komelle #romelle

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theprodigypenguin · 6 years

Text

Make Peace: Part 2/4

Ratings: violence, blood, angst, mention of death, fan headcanons, fluff

Pairings: James Griffin/Keith Kogane (slight sheith)

Notes: part 2, again a repost because I suck at using tumblr, enjoy

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4(final)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He used to be small, really small. All the clothes he would wear hung on him, as if they weren't his, and his eyes always looked... faded, like a graying sunset that used to be purple. They were always lowered, he never looked anyone in the eye, and if he did, it was with a glare of distrust. James never really understood the kid, but back then he didn't really care. Keith was just that extra child in the background who never looked at the camera during class photos, he was the one who didn't exist until he accidentally walked past the wrong people; and James used to be one of those people.

There were times he'd overhear the teachers talking in hushed voices about Keith, but when he was younger none of what they talked about made any sense to him. He wasn't able to comprehend the looks of pity, the way one would set a hand on their chest and sigh in somewhat exaggerated sadness.

"Such a shame, such a good man."

"Just an idiot if you ask me."

"What a selfish, selfish man."

"He left such an unruly child behind, how are we supposed to deal with his attitude?"

"Maybe it's just a phase."

Even when his sister picked him up after school that one day, smiling when she spotted James but frowning when Keith left the school at a slower pace, "Oh, that's him," James remembered her muttering, hand near her lips, "What a cute kid, he... looks so sad."

James just pouted as he stared at her before smiling, "Only cuz he's got no friends!"

His sister hadn't looked very happy about that statement, hands planting on her hips as she looked down at him, "Well someone needs to change that. Everyone needs friends. Can't you imagine how lonely he is?"

James just looked over at where Keith sat on the bottom of the steps leading to the school, noting the way he scooted to the side as a group of kids rushed out of the doors.

"Hey, maybe I'm pushing you a bit," James looked back as his sister crouched, a brilliant smile on her lips as she reached out to tussle the cowlick at the front of his hair, "If you were lonely, wouldn't you want friends?"

"I have friends though."

She sighed, "I guess you're still too little to understand then. That's okay. Just one thing," she framed his face with both hands, squeezing his cheeks, "You never know what someone is going through, so be kind. That boy," she looked over at Keith, so did James, "he's a kid and already understands suffering."

"Why...?"

"You'll figure it out one day," she stood up then, fixing the front of the uniform she wore, grinning down at him, "Let's go home."

Was this what she meant when she said Keith already understood suffering? It didn't really make sense. Even now. This guy... he was the best pilot in class, he excelled in everything, he even had the approval of Takashi Shirogane, maybe the greatest pilot of the century. James remembered his sister idolized him, and James ended up following in her footsteps. Meeting Shiro at school that day, showing up to test possibly Garrison recruits, all James could think of was that he could fly with his sister.

He was good on the simulator. Then Keith just had to take a seat and blow everyone away with no effort at all. It... wasn't fair. James managed to get a spot as a cadet, but he was still bitter about it. Stupidly bitter, he realized that now. He just wanted to make his sister proud, but this short ass mullet was getting in the way. She would rave about the cadets of course, including James, but he also tasted something bitter when she brought up Keith.

Keith was the only cadet in class that met the standards of a perfect pilot aside from James. Maybe it was more of a one sided rivalry. Back then Keith didn't seem to care about a damn thing. He yawned during lectures and slept through class, while still getting perfect scores, as if he taught himself through the night because he didn't like the teachers. There were only two classes he didn't sleep through and actually seemed to care about, both classes they shared as they were both classed as candidates for future fighter pilots.

The first class was directly based about the fighter class, taught by the best fighter pilot the Garrison had produced in years. The second, of course, had been a course taught by Shiro. Keith always paid attention in Shiro's class. He was on his way to becoming the next best pilot of the Garrison, the teachers all called him the best pilot of his generation, and it made James... so fucking mad, because he'd gotten this title without even trying.

Then the prick had to go and get himself expelled like an idiot, disappearing for seven years at least, and when he comes back? He's the leader of Voltron, pilots one of the most miraculous war ships James had ever come across, battle hardened and much more level headed than he used to be. Now this, throwing himself in front of James as a human shield during a mission that was supposed to last less than half the day.

Why? Was it some stupid Paladin quirk to sacrifice themselves for no reason?

James could hardly see the oddly skinned Galra standing across the street, holding what had to be some kind of hand canon that shot the same ion blasts as their cruisers. Just from feeling the force beating against the air around him, he knew the blue shield Keith held wasn't going to last, and when it shattered all James knew was that Keith was going to get hit and there was nothing he could do to help.

He grabbed the Paladin when he staggered back and started to fall, catching him around the shoulders before he could hit the ground and crouching down to get a better grip with his right arm as his left hand hovered. Keith seemed to lose consciousness instantaneously from the hit, the left side of the black shirt he wore beneath his red accented armor was torn, the edges charred, showing a deep gaping wound that poured blood. The gauntlet he'd been using on his left arm had been destroyed, the glove burned off and leaving bits melted to Keith's skin, the sleeve torn at his elbow.

"Oh man," James breathed out, head turning abruptly when he heard footsteps, gaping with teeth clenched as the Galra paced into the street.

"What's this, a Paladin of Voltron? Must be my lucky day," he lifted a hand, heavily bandaged, and it was the sight of those bandages that had James thinking the alien had been here since the last fight with Sendak.

He'd probably crashed here and had been stuck for the past few months.

"Who the hell are you?" James asked, reaching back for his gun and aiming it towards the Galra, "What do you want? Are you the one powering the robots?"

"With a limited power source, I'm afraid," the alien answered, "My fighter was damaged in the crash, and the range of my distress signal can only reach so far. I'm lucky, you humans haven't replaced those primitive satellites yet. Makes it easier to not get caught."

"That's why we can't contact the Garrison here," James murmured to himself, raising his voice to add, "Your signal interferes with our comms!"

"Took you a bit. I've been stuck here for months, trying to get a message to any cruiser close-by, but I don't have the power!" he held his hands up, grinning widely, yellow eyes glinting, "But if I could re-purpose the Altean tech in that Paladin's suit... not only could I return to the Fire of Purification, but I would be promoted the instant I drop his mangled body at Sendak's feet!"

"Sendak is dead!" James yelled, "You've been out of touch with the war for a while, because it's been over for months!"

The Galra's smile was gone now, replaced by a wild expression James couldn't really pick out through the pure yellow of his eyes.

"And one more newsflash, you're not getting close enough for the Altean tech," James added the final part on impulse, lifting his gun higher and shooting towards one of the buildings the Galra was standing beside.

It was already tilting on axis, with a single shot, it started to crumble, and the Galra turned sharply with a gasp. Thankfully distracted, James swung his gun onto his back where it hung by the strap across his chest, snatching both the broken gauntlet and Keith's helmet before dragging Keith to his feet. Still unconscious, the most James could do was drag him across the street as the hostile creature behind him screamed in frustration, doing his best to avoid the collapsing building.

James managed to drag Keith behind a building before it started to get difficult to simply drag him, and he stopped so he could swing the gun off his back, shuffling around and struggling until he'd dragged Keith onto his back instead, the Paladin's arms hanging limply over his shoulders and head cushioned against the back of his neck. It took a bit of maneuvering to get a hold of the busted Paladin armor as well as his gun, but when he had everything, and a good hold on Keith, James started to walk again.

"Can't contact anyone, can't get to the MFE's," James narrated to himself, eyes panning the area quickly for something, anything that could be useful to them, gasping a little in relief when he caught sight of a building in the distance.

It was tall, maybe the tallest in the town, and looked to be in good shape, amazingly. James started to walk faster, running as much as he could manage, which wasn't easy while giving someone a piggyback ride.

"Damn you weigh a ton," James panted, skirting around the perimeter of the building to search for a way inside, "Hang on a bit more, fat-ass, I'll check your wounds when we're somewhere more secure.

It took longer than James wanted to find a way inside, and he had to put Keith down in order to kick the door down, dragging the still unconscious pilot into the building before setting the door back up and shoving a table in front of it for some sort of extra security. He didn't stop or even start to calm down until he'd walked almost ten flights of stairs, his legs aching under the extra weight.

When he was certain they weren't being tracked or followed, he found the closest room and pushed it open with a foot, shuffling inside and looking around to make sure it was decent before stepping inside, closing the door with a click and immediately setting Keith onto his feet, turning to hold him around the shoulders so he wouldn't just fall on his face and dragging him towards the window before lying him down.

"Can't believe this," James leaned forward on his hands once he;d gotten Keith settled, taking a moment to catch his breath with closed eyes, "This was an utter failure of a mission. It was supposed to be easy, why'd I get stuck with this kind of bullshit end game?"

He leaned back and sat on his heels, head tilting so he could look down at Keith, then looked down to check his own clothes, cringing when he noticed the large stain of blood on the left side of his suit.

"Right," he breathed, unzipping the front of the jumpsuit and tying it around his waist to keep it from falling off, leaving him in just a white t-shirt and the bottom half of his MFE suit, then began searching his pockets for anything he could use to help stem Keith's heavy bleeding.

Not finding anything, he stood up, stepping over Keith and rummaging through the room for supplies. It must have been a business building of some sort, the most James was able to find were some old shirts and a janitors uniform, but there was nothing else in the room. Unfortunately, James didn't think it was a good idea to leave Keith lying there as he went exploring, so he settled for what little he'd found and hurried back over.

A dusty cushion from a broken armchair was the best James could do to pillow Keith's head, taking a confusing moment to pull off the confusing armor covering Keith's chest and shoulders and setting it aside before folding up the old uniform and pressing it down against the wound in his stomach.

"Okay, you've trained for situation's like this," James muttered to himself, pulling the cloth away for a moment to check the wound before tearing at the fabric around it to widen the gap and see the wound better, cringing, "Step one, regulate and stabilize condition of the wounded. Check over supplies, test communications, get my bearings. This is no big deal, not the first time I've been in a sticky situation."

He pressed the cloth back against the ugly wound, lips evening into a tight line when Keith flinched unconsciously with a broken whine, "Haven't been stuck with a moron before, but no big deal."

It took a while to clean the wound. They had limited supplies, very little water, only a few protein bars for food, and the shirts James had found weren't exactly the cleanest most sanitary bandages, but he made do as he carefully got a tiny corner of the cloth wet so he could clean the blood from around the wound, then pressed the folded shirt against Keith's side before tying it in place with a second shirt that he tore into strips.

Keith's arm wasn't as bad as his side was, maybe because he'd had the gauntlet protecting most of him, but there were deep splotches of third degree burns covering the back of his hand and arm, and they couldn't have felt pleasant. Cold water would probably feel fantastic on the burns, but they couldn't afford to lose that much, so James settled on simply wrapping Keith's arm with torn strips of old shirt.

James was rummaging in one of the pouches on his suit when Keith began to stir, cringing as his head lolled to the side, a confused mumble on his lips as his indigo eyes peeled open, the pupil incredibly small and almost cat-like. James almost freaked out, but they changed so quickly that he sat there for a moment wondering if he was going insane.

"You conscious?" James asked, watching the way Keith was staring blearily across the room at the wall, blinking at the sudden question and rolling his head to make it easier to stare up at James.

He looked sleepily confused, eyes wavering away from James' face so he could stare up at the ceiling. James could see the wheels turning in his head, trying to remember what happened, before his eyes snapped wider and he bolted upright with a gasp that caught on a painful choke, hand flexing and grabbing at his side as he curled forward in on himself.

"Hey, easy, lie back down," James grabbed his shoulders, pulling his lip between his teeth upon feeling the shudder of Keith's entire body beneath his fingers, "Okay, take it slow, lie back."

Keith didn't protest much as James pushed him back, eyes pinched closed and teeth grit as his head fell back a little, and James curled his hand to the back of his neck to keep it up as he eased Keith back down to lie against the cushion. Keith still trembled, and James took another look at the sloppy bandaging he'd done.

The shirt had been soaked through with blood already, and they didn't have much in the ways of bandages. There was really nothing else to be done, so James reached over to brush aside Keith's hand, using his own to put pressure against his side. Keith protested that with a grunt, jolting against the ground and clawing the back of James' hand weakly.

"I said take it easy already, you're still bleeding, I'm trying to help."

"What... happened?" Keith asked in a cracking voice, and James exhaled heavily through his nose.

"There was an actual Galra here, he was the one powering the sentries and drones," Keith closed his eyes, free hand running over his face with a curse on his lips, "I think he's using his broken fighter to power sentries as a safety firewall. We were so distracted by the bots we didn't notice-."

"I noticed," Keith croaked, "I should have realized sooner. Quiznak... I should have pulled us after the first wave, Shiro and I should have realized. Damn it, damn it."

"Calm down, there's no way we could have predicted this."

"Yes there is."

"Okay fine, well you were the one too one distracted tracing blast marks in the sides of buildings to pay attention then!" James snapped, and Keith stared blankly at the ceiling like he was trying to remember when that happened, "Look, I think that freak beat you up enough for the both of you, so quit whining and try to fix it."

Keith's brow furrowed and he moved to sit up, only for James to push him back, "Not now, you idiot! Are you trying to kill yourself?!"

"What am I supposed to do then?"

"Let me handle it while you rest," James ordered sharply as Keith settled back, looking frustrated, "I pulled us out of the street and into this abandoned building, so far they haven't been able to find us. It's been quiet."

"Helmet," Keith rolled his head one side, then the other, cringing as he reached out for his red helmet, "I... need to contact Shiro, tell him what happened."

"Couldn't you call your space war ship... thing?"

Keith dragged his helmet over with a grunt, "My head... I can't think clearly. If we're lucky it'll just show up, but I can't... concentrate. I need Shiro."

James sighed and picked up the helmet to bring it closer to Keith, who attempted to push himself up again, wincing as he propped himself against the wall, taking the armor and pulling it over his head before lifting his left arm, cringing at the bandages and using the gauntlet on his right arm instead.

Keith managed to activate the visor over his eyes, which automatically scanned the room, zeroing in on James who was kneeling close to his side. Stats popped up automatically and Keith looked over them on instinct. Bruised ribs, likely from being thrown into a newspaper stand, but other than that no notable injuries. Keith was silently grateful for that bit of luck and turned his attention to activating the comm line in his helmet.

"Contacting the Galaxy Garrison, or Atlas, this is the MFE Aries Alpha team calling in. The mission's taken a wrong turn and backup is requested along with an extraction," white noise answered Keith, and he grit his teeth together, "Shiro, are you there? Lance? Pidge? Guys?"

More white noise, and Keith tugged the helmet off, dropping it before lying back down, running both hands over his face and into the fringe of his hair, "Damn it..."

"The canon blast probably interfered with the tech in your suit," James guessed, picking the helmet up again, "Your left gauntlet is shattered too. It's still working it looks like, but there's just not enough range because of the interference from the Galra distress signal. Our comms, and his, are cancelling each other out."

"So what do we do, brainiac?" Keith asked, eyes shut, and James seemed to consider it before his shoulders sagged.

"... I don't know. I'm a fighter, not a nerd. Numbers aren't really my forte. Maybe I can think of something given enough time to actually consider all our options, but right now we're sitting ducks," he set the helmet down and turned to lean against the wall next to Keith, pulling his knees close and crossing his arms over them, staring at the blotches of blood staining his fingers from his attempt at helping the Black Paladin.

"Fine...," Keith said softly, seemingly losing energy, and James glanced down at him, fingers curling towards his palms, to see his eyes drooping, "If you can't think of anything to get us out... we still have to finish the mission."

"What, how do you plan on doing that?"

"I might be able to trigger something in my suit to set off the tech," Keith mumbled, and James knitted his brow.

"You're gonna blow yourself up?"

Keith just shut his eyes, "I don't have the energy to get myself to the MFE out of town."

"I'll carry you."

"Sure, for how long?" he sighed, head rolling away from James, "It's fine, not like I haven't been in this kind of position before."

"A position where the only option is to be a martyr?" James demanded, and Keith's eyes slid open.

"I've been in a lot of shitty situations... some of my training up there, taught me that sometimes... the good of the mission is a lot more important than my own well-being."

"Bullshit, who the fuck trained you?!"

Keith laughed at the question. He had no intention of answering of course. Till now he and the others had managed to keep Keith's heritage a secret from the rest of the Garrison, and the world. If they were to learn that he shared blood with the aliens that took so much, killed so many... he'd only just found common ground with Allura again. The idea of his own home world turning on him made him feel sick.

James settled back when it was clear the Paladin was done talking, lying his head back against the wall and staring at the cracks in the ceiling, wires sticking out from broken light fixtures that had long since stopped sparking.

"Be as rebellious as you want, that's not how I do my job," he decided, "I'm not leaving anyone behind, ever," Keith just chuckled at that, and James turned to glare down at him.

Keith looked horrible. His face was pale, pasty, almost tinted purple and yellow, and there were dark rings under his eyes, lips chapped. He was just... just lying there, his hand against the bandages on his side, his breath uneven and probably painful. James just watched him, tensing when his eyes snapped closed and he started to cough.

"Hold on a second," James turned onto his knees and picked the small canteen of water from where he'd set it, curling his other hand to the back of Keith's head to help prop him up as he bit the top off the bottle, "Easy, drink slowly."

Keith's eyes were mostly closed, and he turned his head a tiny bit as if he wanted to protest any of the water, though in the end he accepted it, one hand lifting up and fingers curling weakly around James' wrist, releasing him when he pulled the water away.

"Better?"

"... yea..."

"You should try and get some sleep," James said, lying Keith back down, "I'll keep thinking of ways to get out of this, and I mean ways we both get out of this. We can try to contact the Garrison again a little later."

"Right." Keith agreed softly, eyes closing, "Thank you."

James stayed in place for a moment, hovering over Keith, until his breathing had evened out a bit, which relaxed him enough to sit back against the wall in the same position as before, arms crossed over his lifted knees and eyes on the ceiling. He felt helpless, the blood on his hands was heavy, and even though Keith didn't exactly sleep long, or peacefully, it was agonizing to sit there in silence, unsure of what to do.

Keith slept for maybe an hour, his breathing even but ragged, until he started to flinch and groan, eyes snapping open and jolting up like he'd done before, eyes wild as the bayard formed into his hand, startling James into falling sideways as the Paladin swung the weapon.

"Whoa! Hey!" James hurried over to grab Keith by the wrist, holding his shoulder, "Calm down, you're okay!"

Keith blinked rapidly, lifting his other hand to rub his eyes before squinting at the area in front of him, bayard fading after a moment and sagging back so James had to wrap his arm around his shoulders.

"... sorry..."

"It's... fine," James said, though he wasn't really sure if it was fine at all, lying Keith back down, "How are you feeling?"

Keith seemed to consider the question, hand slipping over to feel the make-shift bandages wrapped around him, eyes narrowing a bit and lips evening into a tight line, "I'm fine," he lied, and it was so obviously a lie, but James just rolled his eyes and sat back against the wall.

"Sure you are," he huffed, arms folded as he stared up through the window beside them, at the graying sky and silver lined clouds, "It'll be night soon, go back to sleep."

"Can't."

"Why not?"

"Bad dreams."

James blinked and tore his gaze away from the sky to gape down at Keith, who looked even worse off than he had an hour ago. Even the tone of his voice sounded strange, and James reached out to feel his forehead, cringing as Keith rolled his eyes closed.

"You're burning up..."

"Sorry."

"What- don't apologize," James snapped, pulling his hand away, "Damn it all. We can't stay here much longer, not with you like this," he looked out the window, "Maybe we can make a run for it, I'll carry you back to the MFE-."

"No good," Keith breathed, "Too far away, there are still sentries, I can't help in a fight. We'll never make it."

"So you want to just lie here and die then?" Keith was silent as if he was actually considering the benefits of dying there, and James turned fully to glare at him, "For the last fucking time, I do not leave people behind. I don't care what it is you Paladin's do when one of you us hurt, I will never leave someone from my team behind."

"Course we help," Keith mumbled, eyes glassy, "Don't be stupid."

"You're the one who wants to die here! Who's stupid now?!"

"Loud."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" James touched Keith's burning temple again, "Christ. At least you aren't being a total prick right now. Though I think I prefer that."

He reached for the water canteen, pulling the top off and setting it aside before propping Keith's head up so he could pour the water into his mouth, "Drink."

Keith reached a hand up to block the canteen, "How much water do we have? What supplies do we have?"

"Don't worry about that and drink."

"What about you?"

"I have some for myself," James lied, but Keith bought it, lowering his hand and staring blankly across the darkening room as he drank.

James didn't need water. He had food, that was enough, Keith was the one who needed the extra attention. At this point he was worried about letting Keith so much as sleep, worried that he might not wake up, so even if he wanted the idiot to rest, he'd have to try and keep him conscious, for a bit at least.

What was there to talk about though? James and Keith had never been friends, he was pretty sure they didn't even have much in common. What right did he have anyway? He blew Keith off just that morning when he was trying to start a conversation, and now he was the one wanting to talk? What a hypocrite.

"What's it like up there?" James asked, still kneeling, holding the canteen, one hand lingering against Keith's forehead, "In space I mean."

Keith opened his eyes, almost impossible to see through the dimming light, but James didn't want to risk trying to light the room in case that Galra was searching for them. The accents of Keith's armor glowed a dim blue, which gave light enough to still see his face, so that was good enough.

"It's... not like I expected it to be," Keith answered, "Lonely... big... but really... beautiful."

"Lonely, but weren't you with the other cadets, and those aliens?"

"For a bit," Keith sighed, "There were... complications. I wasn't always the Black Paladin."

"... explain."

"In the beginning, when we first came across the Blue Lion and found Allura and Coran, I was chosen to be the Red Paladin and fly the Red Lion. That's... the one Lance has now."

"I know what colors are, Keith. Why'd you change lions?"

Keith winced at the question, swallowing, "We lost Shiro."

"... what?"

"He... chose me to lead if anything were to happen to him. He disappeared, after a bad fight. We found him again, but by then I had already taken over for him as the Black Paladin. Allura was the Blue Paladin, Lance red... but... I wasn't ready to be a leader. I almost killed everyone because of how reckless I was. So I... left. I forced Shiro to rekindle his bond with the Black Lion, and when he'd taken his place again, I left to... train with some of our allies," James was stunned to say the least, even more surprised when Keith lifted a hand to cover his eyes, lips twisted up, "I didn't want to leave. I was lonely, but I didn't want anyone... to leave because of me. I didn't want to hurt anyone. It was better that way. I wasn't a leader, I wasn't what Shiro wanted, so I left."

"Keith..."

"After... I came back, and... I took over again, because this time I was ready... Shiro... stuff happened... almost lost him again. I'd rather die... and I was prepared to die, with him, but my bond with the Black Lion saved us. Somehow we managed to help Shiro, but he didn't even make a move to take over again. He seemed happy to just sit back, and I didn't want him pushing himself anymore as it was, so... I became the Paladin I am now, so he wouldn't have to push himself and hurt more."

"Keith... what happened up there?"

Keith was silent before pulling his hand down, revealing wet cheeks and un-shed tears rimming tired eyes, "Chaos. I'm not who I used to be."

"No, but... I mean, the new you doesn't suck as much as the old you. Old Keith would recklessly fuck around and get in trouble, cause problems for shits and giggles. New Keith, Black Paladin Keith, seems a lot more level headed."

Keith frowned at that, "Thanks."

James sighed, "Look, this situation sucks, but it's an excuse to... apologize to you, before I forget," Keith rolled his head to look at James, who sat back against the wall again, arms crossed over his knees, "Back then, I was kind of a mess, when we were kids I mean. There was a lot going on in my life that affected how I acted towards other people, and since I was just a dumb kid I couldn't even begin to comprehend the damage my words could have, or the consequences of how I acted, especially towards you. My older sister tried to get the message across to me more times than I can count, that I was acting like a prick, but I really didn't get it. I was a complete moron back then.

"It's just... lashing out seemed so normalized to me. My parents, they weren't exactly doting. Most of my life my sister was the one who raised me. My parents argued when they weren't ignoring each other, a few times my mom would lash out at my dad, my dad just completely neglected me... all I had was my sister. I figure since I grew up in that kind of environment, things like arguing and targeting people had become daily occurrences to me, necessary actions, which is even worse. Plus, I'll admit, I was threatened by you. That probably seems stupid, but...

"My sister, she was part of the Garrison. She was a fighter pilot, recruited straight from school like you and I were. It was her only chance to get away from our parents, and when she realized I might be able to get away and join her, she encouraged me to take the opportunity. I was just a kid so I didn't realize why she wanted me in the Garrison so badly, I just wanted to make her proud, but when you came along with this innate talent for flight, I panicked. I thought I'd never have a chance because of you, I'd never see my sister again, and when I was accepted into the Garrison I was honestly stunned.

"I was in, but I still lashed out at you, I said hurtful things, started fights with you, and it took me years to really comprehend the negativity of what I was doing. I realized how damaging my parents were as I got older, realized how my sister was trying to protect me from them, realized just how much of a monster I'd been towards you, and I regretted it. I've regretted it for a while, but you just had to get yourself kicked out of the Garrison before disappearing for four fucking years, so I lost the will to apologize at all."

James paused in his story, turning his hands up and rubbing a thumb over his right palm, "My sister... she was one of the best fighter pilots at the Garrison. When the Galra cruisers first showed up, Admiral Sanda sent out the fighters, including my sister... none of them made it back," Keith's eyes widened and James folded his arms across his knees, leaning forward, "I'm pretty sure my parents died sometime during the invasion, but I don't know, and frankly I don't care. I know... none of this excuses my actions, especially... what I said to you regarding your parents, but-."

"It's okay," Keith interrupted, and James glanced down to see he was staring at the ceiling, "My dad... he was, um... he was a fireman," the MFE pilot sat straighter, somewhat surprised, "He died in a fire, the roof collapsed on him... I had nowhere else to go so I ended up in a home, um... but it's really okay. I mean... before the Garrison, I didn't really think I was good at anything. My dad, he would always tell me I was special, that I was meant for great things, but when he died I stopped believing that. I thought I'd end up going down a road that would make him sad, that would disappoint him, but then Shiro came around, he... believed in me, gave me a second chance, and it's because of him that I'm the Black Paladin, that I'm not dead in a ditch somewhere. The Garrison... wasn't as much an escape for me as it was a haven. I wasn't running from something or hiding, I was searching... chasing something... chasing Shiro.

"I gave up... when he disappeared during the Kerberos mission. I fell back to how I used to be, acted out even more and got myself booted from the program. Shiro... when he came back and we reunited, he never asked about it, and he hasn't confronted me about getting expelled the way I had, but... I'm sure a part of him is disappointed in me. He stuck his neck out to get me a place in the Garrison after all, risked his own career to give me a chance at a future, and I just had to fuck it up."

"Man, you didn't fuck anything up," James argued, "So you weren't cut out for the Garrison's way of life and training, so what? Even without graduating, without full course training, despite getting expelled, look where you ended up."

Keith lifted his left hand to look at the thick blood staining his fingers, "Bleeding to death on the tenth floor of an abandoned building in the middle of nowhere with only my childhood bully for comfort?"

"No, punk ass, don't make me hit you. I meant in general. You're a good pilot, Keith, you're the best of our generation, you were always the best in our classes, you're a hundred times more skilled than I'll ever be... your dad was right. You were born for amazing things, and you're fulfilling a destiny beyond any normal human comprehension by piloting the Black Lion and leading Voltron. You're not just the savior of Earth, you're the defender of the universe, of all universes. You saved so many lives, you continue to save lives every day, and you call that a fuck up?!" Keith continued to stare blankly at the ceiling, though the tears that had been rimming his eyes had begun to flow over.

Making him cry was the last thing James wanted to do, frankly it was the last thing he ever expected to accomplish, and it certainly didn't feel like much of an accomplishment. Keith was probably feeling sensitive enough because of his injuries, his blood loss and especially his fever, it's likely whatever James said now would just make him cry more, but he had more to say, he couldn't just let it go unspoken. This, especially.

"Your father would be proud of you," James said, "and Shiro... he's definitely proud of you. All those years ago, he brought some rebellious kid into the Garrison out of pure assumption that it would work out, and you turned out to be a hero he probably could only dream about. You've got to be a million times what he ever guessed you could be. You met his expectations and more, Keith. That's not a fuck up."

Keith shut his eyes, "Why are you even talking like that?"

"I'm a leader," James answered, "It's my job to reassure the people on my team. You're a leader too, remember, shouldn't you already know that?"

That brought a short, painful laugh from Keith, which ended in a dry cough that had him cringing, "I'm still getting used to the whole... leadership concept."

James reached over without looking, setting a hand against Keith's forehead, thumb caressing across his temple, "You'll have plenty of time to really get used to it as soon as we get back to the Garrison. Till then, close your eyes again, rest. You'll need your strength. I'll keep thinking of how to contact the Garrison, but if I can't come up with anything by tomorrow, we're making a break for the MFE, and no, leaving you behind to go suicidal on the world is not an option."

Keith exhaled slowly, shutting his eyes as he seemed to relax even more into the cushion beneath his head, "I'll take your word for it. I've been through worse than this, so I guess it would be pretty embarrassing to just die here."

"Worse than this," James sighed, "You'll have to tell me a story or two when we get home."

"Depends on how long I'm going to be stuck in the infirmary ward at the Garrison. You might find it weird coming to visit me, considering our passionate rivalry against each other. People might think you're trying to kill you, and just a warning, my team can be protective," he chuckled gently, speaking next in a slow whisper, "Wait till you meet my mom."

James lifted his head and glanced down at Keith, who'd fallen asleep almost instantly, and just... stared at him. As far as he'd always understood, Keith was an orphan through and through. To even mention his mom, especially after describing his father's death? It... made James a bit suspicious, but at the same time he felt some kind of... electricity in his chest. Like pride.

He turned his head away, choosing to let the topic slide for now and simply let Keith rest, for as long as he could. Later, when he was on the road to recovery, back at the Garrison, then James could bring that whole "mom" thing up again, because he'd be lying if he said he wasn't ridiculously curious. Even if Keith had only brought it up because of pained delusion from his fever, James wasn't going to let it slide. Especially since it brought such a soft smile to the loners face.

"Rest. Try not to have nightmares. We'll be home soon, you have my word."

#jeith #jaith #james griffin #keith kogane #takashi shirogane #sheith #james/keith #shiro/keith #voltron legendary defender #fanfiction #i dont know why the keep reading option isnt showing up im mad #is it because its too long cuz im still mad

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marinsawakening · 6 years

Note

2 3 4 and 7 for ur meme >:3 let the salt come forth

2: Most amatonormative ship?

UHHHHH of all time??? or just in FMA??? oh shit should’ve probably thought this one through before making the ask meme lmao

okay so I’ll do in FMA first because it’s the easiest and uh. that’d be alm/ei. there’s literally no reason for either al or mei to have a love interest, its clearly used as a gag in canon, it was pretty much 100% onesided in canon, but for some godforsaken reason the fandom just?? loves it???? and considers it canon that they’d get married later in life?????? I mean I’m not gonna say that Arakawa wouldn’t agree with that but. she and everyone else is would be wrong. Al is aro and Mei is lithro and they try a relationship post canon but it doesn’t work out bc they’re arospec babe so they decide to be good friends instead and its a relief for everyone involved and that’s the truth.

Of all time…. that’s tough. I’m gonna go with Ca/leo (calypso/leo from the heroes of olympus franchise) even though I’m sure there’s worse things out there because I remember being FUCKED UP MAD when good ol’ uncle rick decided to pair off literally the only character from the original series that didn’t get a love interest because that was LITERALLY HER ENTIRE POINT and then decided to pair of leo because amatonormativity I guess AND THEN decided that they wouldn’t actually work as a couple so he just fucking. changed calypso’s entire personality. and I don’t mind that change much bc I like her better in HOO but YOU CAN’T JUST CHANGE CHARACTERS YOUR NOT HAPPY WITH RICK ESPECIALLY NOT FOR A ROMANCE THATS NOT HOW IT WORKS. anyway im still salty about HOO can you tell.

3. Most amatonormative ship fic trope?

*slams my fist on table* HANAHAKI DISEASE. yes I know that the aro community as a whole is really Done with soulmates and I totally understand and respect that (even if my own feelings are a lot more complicated) bc they’re amatonormative as heckie and much more widespread but like. the entire concept of hanahaki disease is ‘if someone doesn’t love you back you will get TERMINALLY ILL” and I mean??? who the fuck???? thought this was cute????? seriously what the fuck.

4. What popular ship has the least chemistry?

Well I already used alm/ei so and I’m disqualifying ro/yed on grounds of wanting to make this fun so…. pissing people off lets go with edw/in. it sucks. its bad for winry’s character development and completely superfluous to the story. we gain absolutely nothing by having ed and winry be romantically involved. they work way better and are way cuter as friends, and we would lose no story beats whatsoever except for the proposal at the end which was awkward as fuck in my opinion. like if your ship contains canon dialogue like “were his shoulders always so broad” (or something either way it was winry busing about Ed’s shoulders which…. is that a thing? that I missed?) and “wait at home and bake me an apple pie” (again, something among those lines), that’s…. not great chemistry. sorry you guys i just don’t see it.

7. Which ship discourse is the funniest?

*pulls out my time in the VLD fandom* LET ME TELL YOU A THING

(under the cut because this shit is too fucking long)

okay so for the most part the VLD fandom wasn’t actually…. that bad. I mean it was childish and volatile as fuck and everyone was really hostile to each other don’t get me wrong, but honestly, it’s not the worst fandom experience I’ve ever had, and once I managed to carve out a little niche for myself it was pretty enjoyable (also a lot of the fans were autistic which. neat).

but there was one event in that fandom that just fucking. killed me. and I’m still not over it.

so once every three months or so (on average, sometimes it’d happen multiple times a month and sometimes it’d say quiet for months on end) we had some Major Bullshit happen that got on top of the regular ship wars. sometimes it was something a cast member (Pidge’s voice actress, usually) had said or reblogged, sometimes it was new age ‘confirmation’ that just added wood to the fire of the regular discourse, sometimes it was a new Hot Take™ on the show that everyone loved for a while until someone inevitably pointed out that it was ooc/problematic/etc. and then everyone hated it, etc. etc. pretty standard volatile fandom stuff, all things considered, with the vast majority of the discourse having valid points but being taken way out of proportion because of the sheer size of the fandom.

the shaladin discourse is definitely a good example of that. the main point of the anti side in that discourse is ‘hey don’t ship shiro with the other paladins he is an adult and they are teenagers’ and the point of the anti anti side is ‘don’t tell me what to do you pearl clutching purists’ which. i mean im clearly biased here. but the discourse was blown so far out of proportion, primarily because, again, this fandom is too fucking big, but also because a lot of people involved in the discourse were kids themselves. you basically had a bunch of 14/15-year-olds who by and large haven’t quite mastered critical thinking yet yelling at each other in debates that got very emotional very easily. (not saying this to be condescending, lord knows we should all be happy that I wasn’t into fandom when I was fifteen or I would’ve 100% been the person going ‘well actually it’s called ephebophilia get your terms right’ so we all dodged a bullet there. but im just saying that, historically, young teenagers don’t have the best trackrecord for rational, calm discussions, and it really showed.)

so, why am I taking the time to tell you all of this? so that you have proper context to how stupidly ridiculous this discourse was on a regular basis. many (most) of the people in this fandom seemed to totally forget that, while telling people not to ship pedophilia or stuff like that is generally pretty important, it’s ultimately still fandom bullshit and doesn’t really, actually matter that much in the grand scheme of things. it very quickly became a very strong ‘us vs. them’ mentality on both sides that resulted in actually pretty seriously toxic behaviour like death threats (although the anti side definitely had more of a tendency to go witch hunting after people, shaladins were absolutely not exempt from Bullshit, as you’ll see below). like i shit you not we were all genuinely waiting for the time someone would get stabbed irl over it or something, it was so tense.

and at some point, at what I consider the height of this stupid discourse, came Operation Shalanonymous.

I might be getting the name wrong, but they genuinely called it something like that, with a serious graphic behind it. I shit you not. This whole thing was so, so surreal.

Operation Shalanonymous was literally a spyop. A 15-year-old shaladin (and maybe some others, I don’t remember) who at the time went by the url ‘theblackguardianofsheith’ or something similar (they deleted, to my knowledge, and I hope they’re living their best life) pretended to be an anti and went ‘undercover’ in an anti discord server, with the purpose of ‘exposing’ the antis for what they really were. they gathered a bunch of screenshots and such, and then released them all as ‘damning evidence’ onto Tumblr, claiming that they showed evidence of sexual harrassment and hypocrisy, among other things.

I can’t remember all of the accusations, but some were pretty serious, so I took the time to go through the screenshots and found… very little. there were some distasteful remarks here and there in the form of ‘i wanna kill [insert shaladin]’ that the mods shouldn’t have let slide, and a childish, kinda sexualizing derogatory nickname for the shaladin in question in the form of ‘hunty’, but those two things were really the worst of it. yes, this behaviour was bad and the mods shouldn’t have let it slide or participated in it, but all in all? not worth an entire spyop. if anything, what I found much more damning was that the shaladin (who, as a reminder, was 15 as well) had written a couple of little notes on the screenshots drawing attention to some particular messages of a then 13-year-old anti who said they had a crush on shiro. the notes themselves would’ve been nothing more than childish IF that same 13-year-old hadn’t just come out of a massive dogpiling attack where they were repeatedly misgendered and accused of wanting to have sex with adults themself despite them being a csa survivor. so attempting to throw back to that discourse to ‘prove’ some kind of hypocrisy was distasteful at best and honestly, it did not make them look very good.

so yeah. as you can imagine, the discord members and mods took that very well, and just. for a while, Operation Shalanonymous was this actual Thing, where shaladins were crying that the antis were finally exposed and the antis were accusing the spying shaladin of sending graphic rape porn into the chat to shock users, which the 15-year-old shaladin refuted by saying that they were attempting to get them to do something about it (apparently they were trying to get it taken down or something, but I genuinely have no clue why they thought the antis could help with that, but then again, this whole situation was so far-fetched and there was little evidence provided that this was actually ‘graphic rape porn meant to scar csa survivors’, like the antis claimed either, so like. i don’t fucking know), and accusations went back and forth for a while. it was a mess.

and this, this right fucking here, is hands down the most childish, most distasteful, most useless ship discourse that I’ve ever encountered. not only did someone actually take the time and energy to pretend to be an anti for quite some time in order to ‘spy’ on antis, they also decided to, in all seriousness, release the screenshots under the actual fucking name ‘Operation Shalanonymous’, dropping them like they were the fucking panema papers. like guys??? you know this is the fucking voltron fandom, not goddamn wikileaks, right???? these are not state secrets you’re releasing. they’re screenshots from a fandom chat. it. doesn’t. matter. that. much.

there were some genuinely horrifying things that went down during this whole debacle, and I probably shouldn’t find it as funny as I do, since this really was a prime example of how toxic people can get when they think they’re in the right, especially when the person in question is a teenager (who, again, don’t have the best track record for emotional regulation and foresight). but I just fucking can’t take this shit serious. you gotta remember that a 15-year-old was mostly heading this thing, and it really shows; the whole entire set-up and pay-off was just overwhelmingly childish, and it makes me so, so glad that I wasn’t into fandom at that age, because who knows what shit I would’ve pulled. and I just can’t stop imagining what everyone involved will think of this shit when they’re in their twenties or thirties. because god. ship discourse does not matter this much, guys. it really, really doesn’t, and this whole debacle was nothing but an embarrassment for everyone involved.

so anyway that was hands down the most ridiculous ship discourse I’ve ever witnessed, thanks for coming to my history lesson.

#Anonymous #aro stuff #diskhorse #i see i have some other asks in my askbox as well and i'll answer those tomorrow its too goddamn late here #my posts

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everythinginslowmotion · 5 years

Text

Voltron Season 8 Rewrite- Ch 1: Launch Date

Found here on archive |x|

Partial rewrite of Voltron Season 8.

The story of Voltron starts to come to a close as the paladins go into space one last time to defeat a force greater than any they have ever seen before. With Honerva out in the universe, trying to get back her son and a reality that she wishes were true, the paladins and the coalition team must figure out how to stop her before all realities get destroyed in her conquest for a new life. Essentially, vld 8 but not so bad, fixing things like keeping Allura, Lotor and Adam alive, turning allurance into klance, redeeming Lotor's character, and a variety of other things that were wrong with the original season.

So, obviously season 8 was an absolute disaster that nobody wanted. Through this rewrite I am trying to keep the good aspects that season 8 had- though it wasn't many- and then change the things that really needed to be fixed. So while reading this, a lot of the parts may seem extremely similar to what happened in the show and that is because they simply just are. In no way am I trying to take credit for the scenes that I decide to keep from the season. Obviously those and all of the dialogue or the basic story line all belong to DreamWorks and the Voltron creators. However, there are parts that I have changed that are mine. The first chapter for instance, isn't much changed from the original episode 1, but more things will be changed later on based on what I did do differently in this chapter (so please do not get worried about the date scene at the end). I promise to do my best to fix the problems that season 8 had and to make it not dissapointing. For the most part I have all of the chapters planned out and will write them as soon as possible, but there will be no schedule in updating due to school and other commitments that need to come first. But if you have any questions about what major plot points are going to be changed so that you don't get disappointed in the end, feel free to comment and I will try to answer, or you can message me here.

Shout out to my girlfriend for beta reading this, her tumblr and archive will be linked after the partial preview.

I hope you all enjoy and thank you for reading!

~Allura~

The hallway seemed darker than it had been the past several times she had stood outside of this window. From the outside, she could hear the sounds of the monitors and screens hooked up to the Altean girl that lay unconscious on the bed. It all seemed very surreal, the knowledge that her and Coran weren’t the only Alteans left in the universe was still so shocking. So surreal in fact, that it felt like a dream every time she stood behind the glass that separated her and the red headed Altean that seemed as if she would never wake up.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway behind her as they approached her side. Romelle. It was always Romelle. Coran joined her on occasion as she waited outside the patient's room, but she thinks that as more Alteans started showing up in their lives, it began to remind him of a better time. A time when this war wasn’t looming over their heads, determining their very being. So she didn’t ask him to come often.

Romelle, however, became Allura’s most recurring company. All of the paladins were off with their families or in meetings or just enjoying their time that they have left on Earth in general. Romelle didn’t have that. Romelle had lost just as much as Allura had, and now they both were experiencing that loss all over again as one of their own laid stone cold only just out of reach.

“You know, back on the colony, Luca and I didn’t always get along. But despite that, I had always respected her. She had strength and desire that few had. But it was never malicious in intent. She wanted good and fairness among our people. I don’t know what would ever drive her to turn against an innocent planet, especially after what happened to her own home planet.”

Allura remained quiet for a moment, continuing to stare through the glass. She knew all about the strength and determination that ran through Altean veins. She grew up with it. Found it within herself when she was thrown into the war so suddenly. She saw it every day in Coran as she had in her father before he had passed. And even in Lotor, who had a different sort of stubborn determination driving his very life, she felt it within him. He was the only one though that she had ever seen that determination turn into something that worked against itself. That quickly changed into a harmful path that got put above anything else that he may have believed in.

“Desire for something greater than yourself can be dangerous. If she was so desperate for something to believe in, she may have been susceptible to being easily manipulated.”

She didn’t need to say who. She was so sure that he had disappeared for good now, but he was always capable of much more than she had ever imagined.

She was so sure that this desire for a greater good could only stem from the one person who had control over the former colony.

Lotor.

~Lance~

The table was cool against his hands as they rested on the top. He stared down at them as Hunk had gone off to help his family and Sal make a few special request food items before they took off tomorrow. He heard them speaking in the background but their words came and went through his mind like white noise. He couldn’t pay attention to them. He couldn’t pay attention to much of anything really lately. He looked up at Hunk and his parents as they gave him two boxes. Hunk lifted the lid of one releasing the smell of freshly baked banana cake into the room, taking Lance back to the days when he would stay the night at Hunk’s house and his mom would make it for them to eat after dinner. They would always sneak down to the kitchen in the early hours of the morning and get themselves more slices to take back up to Hunk’s room as they talked about anything that their minds could conjure up.

Hunks parents left the room with a simple “I love you” before Hunk turned and made his way back towards the table where Lance had been sitting the entire time.

“Big day tomorrow, isn’t it. It seems like almost forever ago when we found the Blue lion and piled in just to blasted out into space. Man, we had no idea what we were getting into! And now look at us, defenders of the universe.”

Lance didn’t look up at him, and he certainly didn’t meet his enthusiasm with his simple reply of “Yeah”.

“We are veterans now. We’ve seen it all, man. Going back into battle for the last time. Or hopefully the last time, I guess we could all fail miserably and die horrible deaths out in space. But here we go, back out into the unknown. Guess that makes us real heroes or something, doesn’t it?”

“Hm, yep.”

“Heroes enough that they made a show about us! Already! Can you believe it? Have you seen it yet? It’s not like the Voltron Show that we did to promote the coalition either. It’s like with real characters based on us. None of us really fit though, but it’s still cool. Coran is all serious and Allura isn’t really like Allura. Pidge can do cool flips and stuff but kind of sounds like a gremlin. They mixed up me and Keith pretty bad too! I’m all tough and mean and Keith is friendly! Can you believe it? Keith beling happy all of the time?” Lance had seen it. Everyone had seen it. They had to do some interviews with the writers about themselves. Hunk was right, they had gotten it all wrong. Lance just didn’t bother to stop his friends rambling though. “It’s weird though. I don’t know where they got it from, but I think they are even hinting at a romance between him and Allura.”

Lance’s head snapped up, drawing his attention from his fidgeting hands that had now been slammed down on the table to his friends shocked expression. He hadn’t meant to react like that- so abruptly. But it was reflex. Somehow this conversation went from being about absolutely nothing to everything that he had been thinking about since they were on that dumb space game show.

“What?! Allura and Keith . Nonononono, that’s not how it’s supposed to be!”

“Woah, a love triangle forming. I like where you are taking that.”

“Wh- what? A long triangle? What do you mean a love triangle… that would imply…”

“Well it would be perfect for that story. Obviously Keith has no real interest in Allura and you clearly do so it would work with you guys’ whole dynamic of going against each other and all.”

Lance looked down. So that was what he meant. Not about him…

“Oh wait dude, you said you were going to ask Allura on a date! Oh no, she didn’t say no did she buddy? Oh, oh man. I’m so sorry. That’s rough, I shouldn’t have said any…”

“She didn’t say no, Hunk. I just… I haven't gotten around to asking her yet, I guess. I’ve just had a lot on my mind about some stuff and she has been really busy with the new Altean girl that I don’t know if I should anymore. Maybe it just isn’t the right time.” He sat back down in his seat completely and folded his hands again, staring down at his fingers as they rubbed nervously together.

“No, Lance. It’s the only time. We leave tomorrow. It’s now or never dude, literally,” his brows furrowed as he put on his serious face. It was a face that Lance didn’t see often from his friend, mainly from when he was giving orders in the kitchen or protecting the ones he loved. Lance knew that Hunk figured out something was wrong. It isn’t like Lance was really trying to hide it. But he didn’t think Hunk knew the real reason why… Lancedidn’t even know completely why. “You are asking her tonight, and thats final,” he completed as he hit his palm gently on the table.

Lance didn’t say anything in protest.

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