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maychorian · 7 years

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Weekly Voltron Fic Recs #29

That’s almost a hundred.

Rules: You can find past weekly rec lists here, and non-list recs in my general fic rec tag. This is stuff I like, and I have a huge bias toward Lance, hurt/comfort, and general fluff, in that order. Gen unless otherwise noted. Please comment on the fics if you read and enjoy them!

The Times They Remembered Pidge Was a Girl by MagmaWrites Words: 1,639 (WIP 1/?) Author’s Summary: The stuff you have to deal with while being a girl doesn't change just because you're up in space. At least you have four guys, five lions, and two aliens on your side. My Comments: Super cute space family being super cute.

Reach out for you (break these walls) by Utsukushin (UserFromPluto) Words: 9,139 Author’s Summary: Keith is trying to make himself smaller, to bury his head deeper in his knees, and Lance’s heart freezes in his chest. Anger dissipating like an exploded firework, Lance lets his hand fall limply to his side, mind blurring with static. When he tries to speak, nothing comes out but a choked noise, so he tries again.“Keith,” he breathes. “Keith I’m not going to hurt you.” (Keith has an abusive past, but with time and care Lance helps him become accustomed to positive touch.) My Comments: Klance, but reads mostly platonic. Lance just cares a whole, whole lot, and he’s very gentle and very careful and sweet, and the way Keith just sort of BLOSSOMS under the sunlight of his regard is beautiful to watch.

Garrison Days by castlestormed Words: 4,093 Author’s Summary: Snippets of the kids' Galaxy Garrison days: Hunk keeps things together, Pidge plods on with a purpose, and Lance tears through life with the audacity of a trainwreck. Fic 1: We were only talking. (Lance) Fic 2: Are you done ranting? (Pidge) Fic 3: We had a reason that day. (Hunk) My Comments: Great interpretation of my favorite trio. Just a joy to read.

The Machinations of Perception by HapaxLegomenon Words: 11,518 (WIP 5/23) Author’s Summary: Matt Holt has been a Galran captive for... he doesn't remember how long. He's starting to lose hope of ever escaping, and is well past the starting point of losing his sanity. My Comments: This one is intense and brutal. The rating is deserved, though it’s delicately handled. Take care if you have psychological triggers. That said, I’m very compelled by this version of Matt and his struggles to hold himself together so he can TRY to take care of his new cellmate.

Tell Me Something, Anything by wingedflower Words: 1,875 Author’s Summary: Shiro wakes up from a nightmare with his Galra arm hurting like hell. He is ready to handle this alone, like always, but this time comfort comes from an unexpected source. My Comments: I love it when Lance is out of his depth but still tries really, really hard, because he just cares so much and he can’t not try. He does succeed in helping in the end, and Shiro is grateful.

Ache by Zurela Words: 3,790 Author’s Summary: Lance's knee gets dislocated during a fight with a new robeast. He decides to ignore that for the sake of protecting his teammates, but Shiro doesn't seem to agree with that idea. My Comments: Here, have some more Lance whump. I never really get tired of it.

A Bright Light by Bandity Words: 9,412 Author’s Summary: Lance gets injured on a mission gone wrong, but that was really only the beginning of his problems. My Comments: Possibly my new favorite fic of all time, definitely my favorite of this list. Lance just deteriorates so FAST, and the scenario is so creative and cool, and the support of everyone else as they try to figure out the problem and fix it and help Lance through it is wonderfully steady and strong. Great Hunk, great Shiro, great everyone, and there are several images in this story that are gonna stick with me for a long time. Powerful stuff.

Everything You Are by Bandity Words: 5,508 (WIP 1/2) Author’s Summary: Follow up to Disappear Completely. Spoilers for Season 2. Lance was getting better, he really was. But when faced with losing another team member, he might just end up back where he was before. My Comments: Sequel to my PREVIOUS favorite fic of the list, and this one is so good, too. I loved the levity in parts and the way Lance at the end draws Keith into his world. But in the middle is a whole lot of pain and grief from missing Shiro. Absolutely heartwrenching.

let my roots take flight by BathosBardess Words: 3,362 Author’s Summary: “Katie, you're fourteen.” “Pidge Gunderson is seventeen. He has no family. He graduated with a 3.8 GPA. I'll be fine, Mom.” // Katie Holt never meant to be a problem child. My Comments: Great Pidge backstory with some really powerful language and touching scenes.

For The Love of Quiznak, Just Let Us Take Care of You by inkbadger Words: 2,876 Author’s Summary: Shiro gets sick. Of course, he doesn't realize that he's sick until it hits him like a truck.Or: Space Dad gets taken care of by his worried kids.Who sometimes want to throttle him for not sharing these things. My Comments: Super cute space family being super cute, this time featuring sick Shiro.

Heirlooms by mackerelmademedoit Words: 6,333 Author’s Summary: Something is wrong with Red and Keith just can't figure it out. As her consciousness bounces backwards and forwards through time, Keith does a little time travelling of his own and remembers his father. My Comments: Great Keith backstory, but I also love this one for the Keith and Coran interaction.

Deep Breath by Vialana Words: 1,164 Author’s Summary: Envy is an ugly emotion. Lance hates it. Shooting things helps him deal with it. My Comments: Really lovely Lance and Blue. I love them so much.

Constellation by WildWolf25 Words: 4,109 Author’s Summary: Each of them are like stars in the vast, cold, darkness of space. But when they come together, they form a constellation, and suddenly the world doesn't seem quite so dark anymore. My Comments: Paladin cuddle pile! Always good.

Disturbance by buttered_onions Words: 18,915 Author’s Summary: Shiro is missing. Lance is determined to find him, but first he has to figure out how to work with Keith.Direct sequel to First Steps. My Comments: HOLY CRAP YOU GUYS MORE OF ONIONS’S STAR WARS FUSION. It’s so so so so so good, ahhh, SO GOOD. I love the way the Force is practically a character, communicating with and connecting the others. I love how Pidge is introduced. I love Hunk and Coran. I love Lance’s perspective and how he tries to mend fences with prickly, hurting Keith. I love all the premonitions of much more dangerous and weighty events in the future. I love the internal journeys, GOLLY, I love internal mindscape journeys so much, used to write them al the time. ANYWAY, it is a good fic, you should read it, and everything else in the series so far.

Why do You Always Flirt with Me? by xSomedayxSoonx Words: 5,279 Author’s Summary: The Voltron team is learning how to get along with each other in the Castle of Lions, but Allura can't figure out why a certain paladin won't stop flirting with her. She doesn't mean to snap at him, but Lance stopping his flirtatious behavior affects the whole team. My Comments: Oh man, I love fics where Allura and Lance become friends. I love how this one is more about cultural misunderstandings than anything else. Good stuff.

Midnight Sneaks by windscryer Words: 2,809 Author’s Summary: Hunk and Lance just happen to be awake when Pidge wanders into the kitchen at oh-dark-thirty. And they have delicious mousse and freshly whipped cream.If she weren't so tired, she'd have definitely caught onto their plot sooner. My Comments: I love love love Hunk and Lance teaming up to take care of Pidge, even against her will.

The Stars Are Underground by lady_ymmik Words: 2,452 Author’s Summary: A short drabble in which Lance misses home and rambles about Space a lot. My Comments: Sweet emotional h/c featuring Lance and Shiro. What’s not to love?

All the things I can't change by WonderBoy Words: 1,186 Author’s Summary: voicemail (n): 1. a system in which callers can record and leave a digitized voice message 2. a message left using this system 3. a reminder My Comments: This one hurts a lot.

Previously Recced Fics That Updated:

As Color Fades Away by IcyPanther A Dream Away by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) Stardust, Silk and Steel by CalicoTomcat Truce by kyanve Shifting Sands by Cardigan_Quincy Someplace Like Home by squirenonny Secret of the Blood by exclamation Masks by TiedyedTrickster The Garden of Heaven by Genesister (papirini) Lost in the Stars by WingedChickadee Coming Undone by Emerald_Ashes Playing Catch-Up by 5557 Love and Other Questions by squirenonny The Color Of Our Planet From Far Far Away by LonelyGirlInSpace

#voltron legendary defender #fic recs #weekly voltron fic recs #it's been 84 years #i wonder how many fics i've recced now #i know its in the hundreds but how many hundreds #and i've read and not recced probably just as many more #why is this my life #vldgen

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ladyvialana · 9 months

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Good Omens 2. Holy fuck. That ending. I'm gonna need 6000 years just to recover.

So fucking glad I wasn't spoiled, so I'm gonna keep my reaction to it as vague as possible. All I want to say is that the set up and build up is perfect and the payoff takes you out at the knees. The goddamn layers to it all!

Just ... amazing. I'm gonna watch it over again as many times as possible this weekend.

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens spoilers #good omens 2 spoilers #not really spoilers but like the vibe is spoilery #text #vialana's ramblings

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ladyvialana · 10 months

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Nimona was so fucking good! Super fucking metal, I could also describe it as. The animation, the story adaptation, the music (the soundtrack bangs!), the queerness ... everything! 5000/10, would definitely re-watch again.

#nimona #nimona film #vialana's ramblings

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ladyvialana · 2 years

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lol. going through my ff.net fics to import them over to ao3 and i just ... some of these are almost 20 years old. part of me wonders if i should try and refurbish them a little. but another part of me is like ... you clicked on the 20 year old fic. if you didn’t want a crash course on fic style for anime slash fandoms in the early 2000′s then that’s on you. gomen, but gomen ja nai.

#vialana's ramblings #fic writing #the early 2002's anime fandoms were certainly a time #bastardised japanese everywhere #like there's cringe #and then there's wtf #at least i was having fun #and being very prolific

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ladyvialana · 3 days

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Very much enjoyed the first season of The Dead Boy Detectives.

It was fun, with great characters, interesting storylines, good pacing, and a fantastic ability to balance light-hearted storytelling with some pretty fucked up content at times.

Episode 1 was a little clunky and exposition heavy, but it's only really in that first episode (unlike fucking Wednesday!) and it's pretty easy to look past once they get into the main story. The rest of the episodes are much smoother.

Character interactions are great and all of the characters feel rounded with an actual backstory that influences their interactions and distinct personalities and traits that affect their actions. They're not just plot devices or vehicles for narrative.

Before going into any more detail, I'll just say I really enjoyed it. It's probably not as sophisticated or polished writing or style-wise as The Sandman, but it's still a really good spin off. I'd almost put it in the same vein, tone-wise, as The Umbrella Academy, though perhaps not as irreverent. Much better than similar Netflix teen supernatural dramas like Wednesday or Sabrina (and probably more mature and sophisticated, storytelling-wise than those shows).

I really enjoyed it, am looking forward to/hoping for a second season, and will definitely be watching again.

More detailed spoilers under the cut for those interested in my opinions about a few specific storylines/characters/episodes:

SPOILERS:

I am honestly surprised we don't have more people hitting on Charles. He is genuinely charming and charismatic as well as kind of open and sincere. Like, Edwin's a standoffish Edwardian public school boy with weird interests and zero people skills. I adore him. But he has negative charisma, especially compared to Charles' eyeliner and grin. Like, why is everyone chasing after Edwin? It's a role reversal I can definitely get behind, but no one is trying to get up into Charles' personal space aside from Crystal? Really??? And even she probably wouldn't have gone for it if he hadn't made it obvious he was interested in her first. Like, I really do get what the writers were trying to go with here, but it's one of those choices that kind of stretch narrative believability a little.

In saying all of that, I'm kind of a sucker for queer pining arcs that could go either way. So the not-so-subtle reveal of Edwin's feelings was both beautiful and painful in the best ways.

Episode 7 was a highlight for me. I'd been waiting for the pay-off from Edwin's backstory and the hellfire sword hanging over his head. But the flashback to Charles' death was probably my favourite scene in the series. Everything about that episode was fantastic, from the tension to the individual mini character arcs in the episodes (Nico coming in clutch with her reading comprehension skills! Crystal finally kicking David's ass!), to the beautiful release of the confession in Hell. I loved all of the insight we got into all of the main characters, knowing the truth of the kind of people they are. Knowing that, yeah, these are all good people who would do anything to help, and who love fiercely. But also, that doing what you can for the people you love sometimes involves meat cleavers and Molotov cocktails.

#dead boy detectives #dead boy detectives spoilers #text #vialana's rambling

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ladyvialana · 3 years

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Gotta wonder if its time to dig around to find those ... *checks watch* shit ... decades old tim/bernard fics that I never managed to finish

... I have so many unfinished DC fics I basically rage quit on when canon really started to piss me off. Now I’m in more of a place where I can laugh at canon, so maybe I’ll consider refurbishing some for posting.

#vialana's ramblings #text #tim drake #dcu #fics #writing

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ladyvialana · 3 years

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So ... 3.0+1.0 was ... a thing. That happened. That I decided to watch at like 2am for some reason.

Not to be one of those people, but the OG anime really is way better. Not that the Rebuild movies don’t have moments I love (hell, the first half of this last movie is great) but the main failing of the remake is that, not only does it lack narrative coherence and breaks suspension of disbelief every time they try to explain anything about the metaphysics of the world (this is one of the few times where less of an explanation of the magic system would have served the story better), but it also lacks a coherent thematic throughline (or worse, unintentionally contradicts or undercuts what little thematic narrative there is).

You know what, it’s like these movies keep trying to call back to the OG anime and completely missing the point or the emotional resonance behind the scenes they call back to. It feels superficial even as it’s trying to philosophise. This feels like just another nostalgia-grab that completely missed the point of why we loved this series in the first place.

Anyway, this wasn’t supposed to be a long post, but I guess I had a few more thoughts spinning around in my head than just :/

TL;DR: every single character deserved better, this film wishes it was really that deep, and, despite how it seems, this is not a happy ending. OG NGE > Rebuild Eva

#nge #nge spoilers #nge rebuild #nge rebuild spoilers #text #vialana's ramblings

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ladyvialana · 3 years

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a few thoughts on FFXIV...

So, this game has basically taken over what spare time I have in my life and I have very few regrets (most of those regrets are early-game decisions that I can still work on, so in general no regrets). I was surprised to find myself enjoying the game as much as I did since I tend to prefer single player RPGs to MMORPGs, but it is Final Fantasy, so ...

Anyway, since this game has basically been living in my head for months now and I’m finally caught up to the main storyline (just waiting on the latest patch to download), I figured I would jot down a few fun thoughts and headcanons that I may or may not play with later in fic format.

General stuff:

- playing as a Xaela Au Ra is so much fun

- Dragoon kicks ass, as does Gunbreaker (my 2 mains)

- I am very much a melee/non-magical player but it has never been so evident as it has in this game and, as much as I want to try all of the roles, I fear I will suck so hard at Black Mage and any type of Healer (I will try them all, I’m just going to have to get used to positioning and spell speed restrictions)

- I really like the gathering and crafting side quests and jobs

- part of me still wants to get a house, but I already have an apartment and it’s fine? like I don’t think I need any more space, also it’s cheaper and much less hassle and I hardly spend any time there anyway, so whatever - unless houses allow you more inventory storage space, in which case I need a shitton more gil

- like all of the npcs are great? and there are some really fun character moments/storylines/developments with the scions that I really enjoy

- the way the lore/backstory with the ascians has unfolded is fantastic, they’re much more compelling as antagonists now than upon their initial introduction, like the stakes make sense as do their motives, and they’re sympathetic but you still can’t root for them even though you actually kind of agree with them, I genuinely did not expect to want to know more about them since they just seemed like such generic ‘dark/bad/destruction/chaos’ villains, but they’re great and I want to see how things turn out

Headcanons/NPC stuff:

- G’raha Tia is absolutely worth all the hype and I love him, why is there no romance option in this game???

- the older scions are such dorks and I love them so much (like, that scene where they get their new clothes and weapons back is amazing, they look like kids playing dress-up ... and when Urianger is trying to walk on water and Thancred has to jump in after him, more of those scenes please, I love them)

- the twins are babies and should always be protected (jk, they will totally kick your ass, but they’re still super precious and I would die for them) and I love how they tease each other but they’re super protective of each other, adorable

- Thancred/Urianger is absolutely a thing!!! mostly bc of shadowbringers banter, but it’s there and it’s fantastic and I was not expecting this ship to hit me like this

- Alphinaud gets crushes on nearly everyone he meets, like not super serious or anything, but he’ll just follow them around with heart-eyes and posturing like he’s trying to impress them and it’s absolutely darling and hilarious (he totally had crushes on Estinien and Ysale during Heavensward and kinda had one on WoL during ARR but that faded away into super friendship ... he’s absolutely still got a crush on Estinien though and everyone notices and teases him)

- Alisaie likes to pretend she’s above all of that sort of nonsense but she’s just way better at hiding it than her brother, and she probably is better at rationalising her crushes but she definitely has them (WoL and Lyse, especially) and maybe hers are a little more serious/she gets crushes on close friends that build up over time ... the last one was Tesleen though, so no one really teases her about that like they do Alphinaud and his crushes (also because she doesn’t act way over the top like he does when he’s trying to impress someone)

- I would not trust Y’shtola with small children, they need at least a basic ability to take care of themselves before she should be put in charge of them for any reason, like she shouldn’t even be left in charge of herself if there’s work to be done/mysteries to investigate (Runar was always feeding her for a reason, not just because his feelings for her were adorable)

- I absolutely would trust Urianger with small children, as would everyone else, I would also trust Thancred, though other people would be wary of his reputation (but they’re both such softies for children, total dads, I love them)

- Of the older scions, Thancred is the only one actually any good at cleaning regularly, mostly because he just doesn’t own any stuff and he gets super paranoid about germs and dust whenever Ryne so much as sneezes, so he goes on a cleaning binge (she’s fine, he’s just an overprotective dad), Urianger and Y’shtola get partway through then find a book they’ve been looking for and just stop in the middle of cleaning to read it (that’s if Y’shtola even does her own cleaning, she just enchants brooms to go her work but they’re just not detail-oriented enough to satisfy Thancred’s standards of cleanliness)

- (possibly controversial, I don’t know the fandom well enough) Ryne > Minfillia, also Ryne deserves the world and all of the friends ever and there needs to be a way that she can keep in regular contact with the scions (esp Thancred who cries the next time he sees her in person and doesn’t bother hiding it)

- Tataru Taru=secret ruler of the world??? (Maybe Lalafell just give off that vibe)

- I am still heartbroken about Hauchefaunt and likely forever will be

- The Xaela clans and the Steppe are the best, I will not be accepting any criticism of this opinion (aside from the fact that Au Ra women should have more bodily variety than ‘petite’ :/)

- I was not expecting Gauis to return and definitely not expecting him to return like that (or look like that, like damn, get it Estinien)

Stuff I may write fic about:

- than/uri fluff???

- scions just hanging out

- twins being adorable terrors and dragging poor naive g’raha along and long-suffering WoL having to bail them out

- these are basically (mostly) canon anyway? I just need more

TL:DR

FFXIV is fun and I like the story and the characters and even the villains (who are not as one-dimensional as they seem) and it’s basically like a single player RPG in MMO format. Also there is an option to play as a giant purple dragon-man riding a chocobo, so it is clearly one of the most superior games of recent times (that or I’m just a sucker for squeenix)

#vialana's ramblings #ffxiv #ffxiv spoilers #kinda #gaming #text

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ladyvialana · 3 years

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So, it’s been over a year since I’ve written any fanfic. This is part due to my creative focus shifting more to original works, part due to waning or oscillating interest in some fandoms, but mostly due to real life stuff that got even more complicated due to 2020 being 2020.

So, of course I’m up at 2am with a near complete fic that I am considering continuing further (real life allowing) and of course it’s a Supernatural fic. Because what else is it going to be right now.

But, I am hoping that this will get me back into the writing groove and help me finish some of my outstanding works in other fandoms.

Fingers crossed that the inspiration keeps flowing.

#vialana's ramblings #text

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ladyvialana · 3 years

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Okay, but like, what's with so much media I enjoy having such shit endings... Just the absolute worst. How do you keep fucking up this bad? I'm not even wanting brilliance, just vaguely satisfying, coherent and logical would be nice at this point.

Seriously, what the actual fuck? And there's just been so many bad endings recently? Is there a new writing trend I don't know about?

#yes this is about spn #and vld #and star wars #and [insert any number of recent series here]#not all of them can be fully attributed to executive interference either #>:/#urgh #i hate being annoyed by this #but its so tiring given how much i love media and literature and writing #cutting my rant off here because i don't want to dwell any more #i just needed to vent some feelings #vialana's ramblings #text

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ladyvialana · 3 years

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... and now I hear the Mass Effect trilogy is getting a HD remaster release for next (northern hemisphere) spring.

can I stay suspended in this state of emotions for a while, pls?

#what a week #vialana's ramblings

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ladyvialana · 4 years

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4am thoughts after 2 days with FFVIIR, still not finished but i need to ramble - spoiler free

... I just came here to see a HD Cloud brood and get teased by his friends and dance in a cute dress and now I’m a mess about how much I love Avalanche and Marlene and Barrett. Plus, Aerith and Tifa keep being perfect and cute and kickass together and I need to see them kiss.

I was not prepared for all these emotions and a new OTP from a game I already know the plot for.

It’s just so pretty and the gameplay is fun and I love the music and I’m sure I’ll have some more coherent and critical (not necessarily negative) thoughts once I’m finished and can go back but for now I am smiling.

Also: Sephiroth is still sexy and mysterious ... but now everyone else is too.

Serioulsy though, areti came for my life and I am thankful.

#ffviir #ffviir spoilers #kinda. not really. just in case for blacklisting #text #vialana's rambling

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ladyvialana · 6 years

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VLD s7 & 8 wishlist

So, while working on my Allura vid (that I hope to have up in the next day or two) I noticed a few things while going through clips that I hope the last two seasons might improve on:

1. More Coran scenes, especially scenes with him and Allura bonding. I love these scenes.

2. Allura and Pidge have very little interaction (by themselves or in a group less than 4) outside of info-dumps that usually happen over vid screen. This really needs to be rectified. I know it’s well-established that they don’t have that much in common personally, but that just means there’s even more interesting plot shenanigans they can get up to with their differing personalities (I’m surprised this hasn’t been done already since for all that they don’t have in common, they are both very forthright, action-oriented, and stubbourn -- think of the possibilities!)

3. Allura and Hunk? Also a relationship that needs more focus. They’re going to be on Earth soon, can these two pal around and poke their noses into things or just chill, or hang out with the mice, or something?

4. Can we just have an episode where the A-plot is Hunk and Pidge trying to corral the ever inquisitive Allura and over enthusiastic Coran being the worst sort of tourists and instead of making them behave they end up dragging them into even more ridiculous scenarios instead? Voltron’s actually quite good at these type of “fish out of water” comedy episodes/b-plots, especially when they’re in what should be familiar environments that are just slightly skewed.

5. Also on the subject of episode plots, if we don’t get a beach episode, can we get a spa episode instead with Allura and Romelle and Lance (maybe Hunk too, he’d enjoy it I reckon --- oh, and Shiro, who is way too focused on trying to relax in the proper way the spa suggests that he utterly fails at relaxing) being pampered and gossiping about stuff and just chilling. (Meanwhile, Keith and Pidge accidentally almost cause a major diplomatic incident but manage to smooth things over and swear to never tell the others what happened.) (Also, Krolia and Coran use their downtime to get into a drinking contest. The space wolf ends up having to teleport them back to their residence, but teleporting is kinda rough when you’re too drunk to stand properly and they both rush for the only bathroom at the same time to the hilarity of everyone else who are back home and chatting about their day off.)

... that got a little off topic, but yeah.

Just a few things I noticed and really want to see in season 7 or 8 (as well as a few ridiculous plots). I mean, there’s more I could add that I would love to see but these are what stood out to me most.

Hunk just needs more screen time in general and please continue having him and Pidge team up and be awesome.

Guess we’ll see how things go in a few days!

#vld #allura #coran #pidge #hunk #text #vialana's rambling

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ladyvialana · 6 years

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Mood ...

Some days you’re perfectly fine going about your life, finding new stories, rereading old faves, dealing with your usual life problems and routines like most other days in life.

And then some days you’re reminded that you will never truly be over all those unfinished CLAMP manga storylines, no matter how much you do love some of the anime adaptations and cute universe tie-in stuff. It’s just not the same.

aka: I reread some xxxholic today. Thank god it wasn’t x/1999.

#random ramblings #vialana's rambling #CLAMP

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ladyvialana · 7 years

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Down the Wormhole: Paladin Character Arcs post-Season 4

Welcome to the second of my posts about season 4 of Voltron. Unlike the first more general post, this one is specifically about characters and how season 4 gives more of an insight into character development and arcs than at first glance. I’ll be discussing the paladin characters only in this post. I wanted to talk character arcs over the whole series and how season 4 might give an indication as to how things could play out in the future. Potentially. Maybe. I hope. (I make zero promises here, this is all pure speculation based on my personal analysis.)

Also, there will be a third post that deals with some more speculative inter-related character analysis that I initially wanted to put at the end of this post but both sections got far too long for that. (This post is like 4k long! I’m so sorry again!)

So look out for my third post also soon.

Let’s get started!

I want to talk about the individual major character arcs for each paladin (so far) over the series and what may lie in store for them in the future.

Again, no promises: this is just what makes sense to me after watching the whole series.

Hunk

Okay, so, Hunk’s character is pretty stable and very unlikely to change significantly. I definitely think there will be development (as I will discuss in a moment) but no major character change. Mostly because his first major character arc happened in season 1 with the Balmera arc. What’s really important to note about that arc, and Hunk’s role in particular, is that it signified a huge change in team Voltron (and the plot) as a whole.

Hunk’s initial character arc revolved around accepting his role as a paladin and his desire to help people in need. After meeting Shay, he is fully committed to the cause of taking down the Galra Empire and liberating planets. This is something that carries through the rest of the series. The result of this arc is a power-up for Voltron, their first liberated “planet” and gaining their first allies in the rebellion.

What’s really cool to note is that from this point on, Hunk is present at every important “first contact” meeting from that point on:

Mermaid planet

Olkarion

Taujeer

The space mall

Meeting Acxa in the Weblum

Poeig

The diplomatic meeting with Coalition leaders

Alternate reality Alteans

The refugees on Olkarion

The Voltron Shows (even if we and he sometimes wished he weren’t)

He was also present at the first meeting with the Arusians back before meeting Shay

Even if he didn’t always play a major role, he was always present at these first contact meetings.

Now, I don’t really like to refer to comments by creators/writers/PR for ongoing shows because a lot of the time the information released is either limited, exaggerated, or outright false because the aim of many of these press releases and convention circuits is to build suspense and intrigue, not answer any real questions. The show itself should answer your questions about major plot and character development. The creators don’t actually want spoilers out in the open as the could potentially reduce viewership.

However, there is more than enough evidence in the show so far to see that a major part of Hunk’s future role on the team (and the probable basis for future Hunk-centric plot arcs) will likely revolve around meeting/saving/understanding alien races and getting them as allies. So the PR comments made about how Hunk will likely be a diplomat for team Voltron isn’t so much a spoiler as a confirmation of his projected storyline.

In short: Hunk is the go-to guy for actually building the rebellion in terms of numbers. He’ll make sure everyone’s needs are heard and that everyone feels important to the movement. He is the solid foundation on which all of Voltron stands and losing him would be devastating on so many levels. Future arcs will probably revolve around similar sort of scenarios where is is in contact with alien races and doing what he can to help them. He will only become more confident in himself and in understanding how he fits into the universe.

(Watch me secretly hoping in the dark part of my heart for an arc that deals with them being separated again and having to realise, with him gone, how much stability Hunk actually brings to the team. Then he manages to save them all through the power of friendship and armoured beat downs.)

Pidge

Season 4 saw the conclusion of Pidge’s major character arc. Yes, she still needs to find her dad, but Matt was always the symbolic representation of her goal and, with him safe and allied with team Voltron, finding her father feels like a smaller plot-arc in the future the links back to her main arc. Emotionally, this arc has concluded, she succeeded in her goal and she’s more solidified in her role. Pidge’s arc has been about information gathering and investigating. And while that has mostly been for the sake of finding her family, it still resulted in very positive intel and activities for team Voltron.

Similar to Hunk, she’s been linked to aspects of the development of the team/alliance as a whole. She’s the one more directly connected to the rebels than anyone else on the team (Shiro is also connected but often, when he was linked to prison breaks and other rebel activities, Pidge was there too - aside from his second escape from the Galra in season 3).

With her major goal realised, the intensity and determination she showed in trying to find her family can be fully committed to the future of the coalition. And that is going to be amazing to see - look at the way she and Matt basically revolutionised how they track Galra troop movements. They’ve essentially hacked into one of the most important strategic tools the Galra have and their enemy is basically unaware of how badly they’ve been compromised.

Pidge, her intel, her smarts, and, perhaps most importantly, her heart are going to be vital to the success of the Coalition. I think finding her father is going to be another plot-arc she will see in the future and it will likely involve Matt (and possibly the rebels - and maybe Shiro too). I think she’ll also have more to do with the rebellion and connecting with them. And of course she’ll always have some awesome character moments saving team Voltron with her wits alone, as she always has.

(I’m also kind of hoping for her to maybe play a role in setting up/becoming the centre of a centralised intelligence ring for the Coalition. Pidge as an Oracle-like character. I think that would be really cool to see.)

Allura

I genuinely believe that Allura has/will have the strongest arc throughout the whole series and her arc is what will ultimately tie into the main plot of Voltron. She is the centre of the whole show and (as Lance was quite adamant and correct to insist) the heart of Voltron. Allura’s arc is about potential: her potential for magic, per potential as a paladin, her potential as a leader, her potential for bringing about healing and change. She represents the future and hope. (I will go into this a bit more in my third post.)

Externally, I believe we will see the development of her “magic”/connection to quintessence come into play now that it has been addressed again. We’ve already seen Allura be the one to formally create and guide the Coalition. We’ve seen her inspire the Balmerans to rise up and literally give her life force for the Balmera’s continued survival and future growth.

What’s interesting about Allura’s magic is that she is the only one, so far, who seems to be using it to effect positive change. Haggar and her corruption is a dark foil for Allura and, as I mentioned in my first post about season 4, I believe Haggar is going to be a huge part of the end game challenge that Voltron will face. On an individual level, Allura is the only one who has, so far, actually been able to stand toe-to-toe with Haggar, and I think that is going to be one of the big final show downs for the series. (Even if it doesn’t happen in the finale/final season, it will still have a huge impact on the plot of the whole show.)

I believe much of Allura’s character arc is about becoming a leader - the leader, in fact. While I hate speculating so specifically about something so far in the future, I believe the series will end with Allura as the leader for the freed people of the former Galra Empire. Not a ruler, but a leader and guiding light for the many leaders of the coalition who come together as equals.

I genuinely cannot wait to see how Allura continues to develop and shine ever more brightly as the series continues.

Shiro

I have to reiterate my comments from after season 3 and say that I am very worried for Shiro. Also, regardless of whether the clone theory is true or not doesn’t matter to Shiro’s character arc because it will still play out the same either way. For now, I will address this discussion as though it really is Shiro (since, considering if he is a clone, he also has all of Shiro’s memories and is essentially indistinguishable from Shiro anyway). This discussion does get a little speculative, so I don’t believe it will completely play out in canon entirely as I posit.

Shiro’s character arc is so interesting to me because it’s essentially all about dealing with the trauma of what the Galra did to him. And Shiro … is kind of not doing that? I mean, you could argue that his character arc has to do with developing as the leader of Voltron and gaining the trust of the Black Lion, but that’s not really an arc in the same way that, say, Allura’s development as a leader and her developing self-confidence is. He’s already the leader and actually doesn’t really change individually that much in the role; Voltron as a team changes, but not Shiro (unlike Hunk, whose character growth and action on the Balmera helped bring about change within the team, same with Pidge and getting her brother back).

Shiro’s arc is the only one of the paladins’ that is passive. Everyone else acts to bring about their goals/growth, but things are done to Shiro. Shiro is captured, Zarkon severs his link to the Black Lion, Ulaz saves him, he watches Keith gain the Blade’s trust, he’s removed again from Black, captured again by the Galra and experimented on, dumped on a planet, Black rejects him. Shiro is not active at all in many things about his character arc and the few times where he is forced to act he does so, not for his own sake, but for the team: he severs Zarkon’s link to Black and builds trust with the Black Lion because Zarkon is tracking them; he regains the Black bayard while fighting in Voltron to take down Zarkon for the sake of the universe; he steps back into the role as Black Paladin because Keith is not there and no one else can do it.

While all of this external action is happening to him, we still get flashbacks and implications that Shiro is not dealing with his trauma in order to heal. He’s ignoring his PTSD and pushing his feelings aside, on the surface, for the sake of the team. But I believe he’s also doing it because it’s too painful and he hates feeling weak. Again, that moment in 3x06 when he’s in bed and Keith tells him the team needs him is heartbreaking just because Shiro looks completely dead inside. Yet next scene he’s smiling and acting like he’s perfectly fine.

In season 4, Shiro is kind of cold. Yes, he’s supportive and involved, but he lacks the same humour he was starting to develop in season 1 & 2 and also the more personal bonds with members of the team. I think if he hadn’t disappeared after season 2 he could have started healing naturally with the rest of the team aiding in that process. But right now, he’s refusing to even look at his wounds, and it’s going to come to a messy head in a future season.

(Just a quick theory on a future plot arc - if project Kuron and the clone theory are correct, then this is a much longer con than expected and the end result will be devastating. Like, I’m talking the fact that Shiro may not recover from it and - possibly, everyone on team Voltron will be irrevocably changed. Schrodinger's Shiro is like a sword of Damocles for Voltron and I can’t wait to see if it falls. And then I will likely cry my eyes out in response.)

Keith

Keith’s character arc is one of the strongest on the show and one of the easiest to identify with: his search for his identity. Like Allura, this is likely to be a series long arc (though he may reach the emotional end of it before the final season) and, like Pidge and Hunk, involves working with allies (the Blade of Marmora) to strengthen team Voltron as a whole. It also ties into other character arcs - like Allura’s and Shiro’s (and possibly Lance’s) - which makes it all the more important to the overall series. (I will also address this in my next post.)

The wonderful thing about Keith’s character is that he’s always striving for more, always reaching. He doesn’t give up and will do everything he can to find a solution. He’s not always optimistic, but he does his best. He just doesn’t always know what the best way to go about things is because he doesn’t completely trust himself. He trusts others for these decisions, because they know themselves in a way that he doesn’t. Yet.

Keith in season 4 is still searching for his place. In season 2 he declared that he knows who he is and connected to a part of himself (awakened his Marmora blade) and gained a sense of confidence in his identity. And then Shiro disappeared and shattered all of that confidence and character growth. In season 3, he was thrust into the role of leader - which he didn’t want - and his confidence and sense of self took even more of a beating, even as he did his best to fulfil the role he was given. And finally in season 4 he gave up that role to try and rediscover who he was at his core and regain some stability, so he turned to the Blade again for answers.

Unfortunately for him, they did not have all the answers he needed this time.

At the end of season 4, all of his choices seem to lead to one conclusion: the best way for the war to be won (and his team - family!) to be saved is to sacrifice himself for the sake of the mission. So, while many of his actions may have been positive and reaching for a better solution for the sake of the team throughout the series so far, emotionally as an individual, Keith has been sliding ever since Shiro’s disappearance in season 2. He has basically given up on his sense of identity for the sake of the roles he plays - that scene where Lance comes to him for advice because Keith is the leader really stings in retrospect because Keith was, at that point, really struggling with figuring out who he actually was. And in Lance’s (the team’s) eyes, he was just the leader, not Keith, the individual.

The Blade of Marmora may have offered Keith some part of who he was but it cannot be the final destination for his search for identity. By the very nature of their society, he cannot exist as an individual. Every Marmora member wears the exact same uniform and mask. All of them are replaceable. And while there may be some comfort for Keith in that sort of uncaring uniformity, if it results in him subsuming his individuality to the point that he is willing to kill himself, it cannot be that this is where his true identity lies. If this was his endpoint, then his suicide mission would have succeeded.

It’s a running (sort-of) gag that Keith is the lone wolf of the group, but that’s not a real identity and Keith has proven over and over that it’s not an identity he is happy with. He was the first to commit himself completely to team Voltron and the fight against Zarkon, questioning how anyone could think about returning to Earth in the face of such tyranny. Part of that is probably the sense of camaraderie within the group that he, likely, had never really felt to that extent. Keith craves being a part of something and I am certain his search for his identity will culminate in the realization that he wants a family - this rag-tag family - to be a part of defining who he is. He might just need a little more time and space to figure that out.

(Still, there is no way he’s not getting more teary hugs after that stupid stunt. And, after all the build up about his need to take down Lotor and Lotor having been the one to save him, there is definitely going to be some major action going down on the castle ship next season.)

Lance

So, I saved the most speculative and complicated character arc for last. You would think simply saying that Lance’s arc has to do with dealing with his insecurities and self-worth would be straightforward. But, unlike all the others, because of the nature of Lance’s character arc, it has to be more speculative than the others. Lance’s arc relies far more on subtext than the other characters and, though I will present a theory based on textual and subtextual analysis, I am not as confident in this analysis linking to future canon (even less so than with my Shiro analysis, which is still pretty textually ambiguous).

With that warning about getting hopes up out of the way, let’s dig into our self-proclaimed seventh-wheel.

First of all, the really interesting thing about Lance’s arc is that, had certain plot points not happened after Shiro’s disappearance, his arc could have been wrapped up at the end of season 2. When Lance verbally aired his insecurities about his abilities and place on team Voltron in 2x10, it was a textual affirmation of something that had been subtextually implied since the pilot episode about Lance’s feelings of self-worth. When he took the shot at the end of the episode and Shiro reassured him of not only his place on the team but that he is worthwhile by calling him a sharpshooter, Lance’s self-worth arc could have emotionally concluded. From there he could have grown in confidence as a crack-shot and the paladin of the Blue Lion in the same way that Hunk’s initial hesitation and lack of confidence as a paladin was resolved by the Balmera arc and now his character growth is about him further gaining confidence and just developing as a person and paladin.

But then Shiro vanished, Keith became the Black Paladin, and Blue rejected Lance and all of that tenuous healing of his self-worth was destroyed. Again, we get a textual affirmation of how Lance doesn’t value himself while speaking to Allura about Blue’s rejection. That fact that Red chose him is not as much of a soothing balm to his wounds as might be implied. Later we get the scene in 3x06 where, after Shiro returns, Lance essentially confesses to Keith that he believes he is the most replaceable member of the team and Keith basically brushes his worries off.

I mentioned before that Shiro’s arc is the only one of the paladins’ that is a passive one, that things are done to him and he doesn’t act for change/growth the same way the other paladins so. While it seems on the surface that Lance’s arc is the same (with the only really active part he takes is in trying to express his insecurities to others in season 3 and the final shot he takes to save Slav on Beta Traz) Lance differs from Shiro in that he is actively doing something: he’s actively denying that this is a problem he has to deal with.

I talk about this a bit further in my next post, but Lance is actually very skilled at acting. Hell, the entirety of episode 4 was amazing and devastating to watch in regards to Lance and the Voltron propaganda shows just because the outright confirmation that he has not just the inclination but the skill to present himself exactly as people need him to. If all he supposedly cares about is flirting and being the best pilot for the glory of it, then no one will suspect that his obvious exaggeration to hide how he fails at getting the girl and, while very skilled, is not the best pilot is also a distraction from his genuine belief that (while everyone else thinks he believes in his own self-worth and think’s he’s important in spite of the obnoxious bagging) he’s not even good enough to be on the team. It’s like watching a stage magician: Lance is all distraction and smoke and mirrors so you can’t tell what’s actually true about how he thinks about himself.

This isn’t to say everything about how Lance presents himself is false. In fact, Lance uses his own personality traits and actions as part of his show. Lance is loud and sometimes obnoxious and he does enjoy flirting and is actually a good pilot. It makes the exaggeration that much more sinister to be based on truth and the feelings he’s hiding that much more potent because no one else knows that they need to find them.

See what I mean about this part being way more speculative than the rest? Lance could very well be much more true to how he presents himself than I am suggesting. The writers may not want to make his storylines and characterisation that complex (it is, admittedly, a very twisty-turny kind of way to think about him).

Regardless of how complex the nature of Lance’s ability to hide his insecurities, the fact is that he will have to deal with them at some point. And that means that he needs to be confronted about the fact that his self-worth is completely shot by someone who has the ability and authority/presence to inspire some sort of change. This will probably take some time. I don’t expect Lance’s issues to be addressed and dealt with in a single episode and, like with Shiro, the plot is bound to interfere with any sort of healing/progress.

...

Okay! Whew, that was a really long one.

Like I mentioned previously, I will have another post up soon that deals with something really specific and way more speculative regarding some of the relationships on the team and how they are presented narratively and linked together to affect each other. Unlike these first two posts, it is much more subjective - though, hopefully, still interesting for some people. So, if you want to, check it out when it’s posted!

I hope you enjoyed reading this (even if it was ridiculously long for a discussion post).

#voltron meta #voltron spoilers #voltron season 4 #voltron #vld #meta #text #vialana's rambling

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