#Voltron discourse

[dynared]

Well, Bex Taylor Klaus wants to do a tell all on Voltron Legendary Defender. Thought she or another soul would want to save this for a milestone like the show being removed from Netflix (Apparently it’s leaving the platform forever December 14, 2024) or Amazon Studios/MGM casting their live-action Voltron movie. I guess there’s the fact that the Filipino GMA network managed to release a live-action Voltes V and announce a live action Tosho Daimos before a live action Voltron movie because of how badly Legendary Defender hurt the brand.

Anyway, considering Bex was ALLEGEDLY one of the behind the scenes voices pushing for representation and the altering of scenes in Season 8, this oughta be quite the crapstorm. Let’s see if she can explain why the giant robot show that should have been the easiest thing to market got a fandom that was so brutally insane and creatives that hated giant robots.

[clickabletale]

People who hate on Lance because of shipping and call him a misogynist/misogynistic. I’ll say it, y’all are just fucking weird.

[luciferspit]

I can't believe I had to read "Klance was the textbook definition of queerbaiting" with my own two eyes in 2023.

[animentality]

[swordblade]

Rip

[iota-in-space]

I do think Voltron happened in a weird time period where, during the writing process there wasn’t really much queer representation in children’s media. (As well as, how much of that rep was deep and complex and focused heavily on the relationship between the m/m or f/f ships? Vs just an implication that two characters got together?) So Execs would be hesitant to make that big step to have a queer relationship, there’s a market of homophobic viewers (and straight up countries) they’d loss. It’s too risky.

Then as Voltron came out representation was getting a bit better, both in cartoons and just in society in general (rainbow capitalism and stuff, they’re profiting from us but at least they’re including us ya know.) So maybe Execs could live with a character being implied to possibly be gay in some kind of way. And there was groundwork for Shiro to be revealed as gay rep, if they ever decided to go that route. It could be a possibility.

And the fans wanted queer representation. And eventually the higher ups were ok with a male character saying to another gay man “You’re like a brother to me. I love you.” In the most gut wrenching voice that made the actual VA cry while recording. A younger generation didn’t grow up with the necessity to add subtext to queer relationships. In more recent years characters were just queer. So they’ve got no idea of the “no homo bro” trope. Why would they need to? Ironically enough the “You’re like a brother to me” line was probably meant to add deniability to the gay allegations to keep a broader audience. But the people who were the most loud about championing Queer Representation saw that and went No They Are Not Gay.

[starthem]

“We need more mean women characters!” Bitch, you couldn’t even handle her!

[profic-robloxian]

on labels, scope, goalposts, and bait

when pro-ship wasn't cutting it, pro-fic was a good step in the right direction to better convey the scope of the position, but i think the scope is part of the problem. Antis have blown the scale of the disagreement so far out of proportion, that to them it has little to do with *fandom* and more to do with (who they perceive to be) *real-life predators.* In a hurry to defend ourselves we've fallen into their trap by chasing the shifting goalposts.

We shouldn't be discussing things like propaganda, grooming, cults, laws, child abuse, paraphiles, and the ethics of incest each and every goddamn day. Sure, those things deserve to be discussed, but *it should have stayed outside the scope of the original problem.* None of those topics had any relevance to the central dogma of pro-ship.

It was ship and let ship. It was not starting witchhunts over fanworks. It was not calling fans criminals for liking icky stuff.

When antis badger you about things beyond the scope of pro-fiction, resist the temptation to argue any points. Don't bother. Be adamant that you will not engage.

I'm sure this kind of provocative tactic has a name, but it escapes me. It is designed to be unwinnable. Be prepared for them to try to exploit your refusal to answer. They *will* ask you shit like "Are you a pedophile?" and then run around screaming "you're not denying it!! look everyone you're a pedo!! just say no are you afraid or something you pedo!!" when you respond with silence. Block, mute, delete replies, report, do everything in your power to silence them.

[imaginesangie]

It’s so weird to me to see modern ZADR fans who are no older than like 15 whining about shipping. Like, hate to burst your bubble, but the vast majority of people don’t care about “proship” or whatever the fuck. It’s not a real issue (your personal disgust and trauma doesn’t mean that content isn’t allowed to exist) and I’m tired of people hyper focusing on it like it is.

Your feelings towards taboo or “disgusting” art are completely valid, but you have no right to treat people poorly or dish out abusive behavior over it. You certainly have no right to tell those people you wished they died, either.

It’s not the “proshippers” who ruin a fandom, it’s the fandom newbies who are obsessed with purity culture and fake progressive ideas that spread hate and abuse without hesitation.

Stop trying to tell yourself that it’s okay to be bigots and abusive towards the “right people” for the “right reasons”. You make fandom spaces, places that are meant to be fun and chill, highly stressful. Nobody should have to constantly walk on eggshells because you can’t control your temper.

No, I don’t deserve to die. No, I don’t deserve to be harassed. No, I don’t deserve threats. No, I don’t deserve abuse.

Break out of these abusive behaviors, stop bullying and harassing (abusing) people over things that don’t matter or exist. Sincerely, I hope the teens that think this way grow out of that shit. You’re better than this.

I’m not a “proshipper” as I don’t subscribe to such terminally online bullshit, but since you terminally online netizens will call me that anyway, let me break down “proship”.

The word “pro” means you are for something, like being Pro-abortion means you’re for abortion rights. Proshipping just means you believe ships have a right to exist regardless of your own feelings.

Ship and let ship. That was the norm not even a decade ago. Let’s bring back that norm instead of making abuse the new norm.

[evi-anxiety]

Genuine question, but why did so many people want Lance to be the black paladin?

Like yeah, he grew a lot as a character and as a paladin, but that does NOT mean he was black paladin material. I honestly don't see those leadership qualities in him so idk why so much of the fandom wanted him to be the leader

[clearancecreedwatersurvival]

Characters are not people they are storytelling tools.

Characters are not people they are storytelling tools.

That character is not x years old or y sexuality or whatever else because they, and this is crucial, are. not. real. They are a facsimile representing a person, but they are no more a person than a child’s doll is an actual infant.

If you’re mad enough about how someone writes or draws or interprets a fictional character that you are threatening harm against or otherwise dehumanizing an actual living breathing person, you have lost the fucking plot.

[whatisgrass]

lance, at starbucks: can i get a venti vanilla latte with um, seven expresso shots

keith, next to him: oh my god, just do cocaine.

[coolnonsenseworld]

This is kind of an answer to this ask

I think fiction is here to make us emotional and dramatic. But also, to be honest, I am a very bitter person and feel sour about VLD too. But in my experience - not the show disappointed me but the fandom.

Though, I think I simply didn't have expectations for the show to be honest, maybe because I was older watching it? I saw it as a story made up by a group of adults, it's not a divine scripture, my thoughts on it were separate from the story evolving, and when I am re-watching it now I'm having sometimes even more fun, re-learning details and setting them apart. So I can't compare myself to this experience.

My grandmother has a massive collection of books. I asked her once "Have you read all of them?" Mostly, she answered. "Are they all good?" And she sighed, took a pause and told me "All books are good, because even the disappointing ones teach you what you don't like."

As a youngster, she also took a bus to a paper, because she wanted to look a man who wrote an article about how amazing Pan Tadeusz is in the eye, but you know. She read Pad Tadeusz and had to decide what she thinks about it and was willing to have a conversation.

That conversation about it, the fandom, for me, was disappointing and I am happy I met a lot of friends I could talk with in private, and had my own resolutions about it, and despite feeling like some fandoms are not for me - characters I love always will be. Always will receive care from me, I will always draw them compassionate and hugging and laughing together.

It might sound arrogant, but I divide canon from fanon - these characters can have as many lives as you will write them. Even the original autor always shuffles through a few options, backtracks, revives their sherlock, you know. Writers will make decisions that won't make readers happy. I am personally against forcing a change in canon if I am not asked about the opinion. They wrote their perspective, they wrote what they saw in the world. It's a statement like any other, not an attack on my narrative.

This show had a lot of amazing people working on it - talented artists behind it - stunning backgrounds, creative mecha, captivating animation, epic fights, giving us sooooo many fun moments and emotions. It brought forward ridiculous amounts of fans who loved these characters, took what's best in them. Losing respect to all of it, because I didn't like the ending seems counter-productive.

So yes - being kind to a fictional character will be for me like being kind to yourself. I don't care who else wrote them and how, as long as I make them happy in my hands.

In fact, a closing thought - I don't think I would be drawing as much Klance if they were canon. I think their conflict makes me even more invested trying to figure out how to make them fit together, trying to figure out what comfort I saw in them.

I can't grieve klance, when their safety remains in my hands.

[alohaasaloevera]

WARNING!! MENTIONS OF VLD DISCOURSE PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION!!

yo I need y’all’s opinion on the Sheith vs Klantis (or just Klance) discourse way back then??? I personally think Shiro and Keith’s relationship is platonic but I would actually like to hear other people’s view points of Sheith whether they shipped Klance or Sheith or none.

I’m relatively new to this fandom (I started consuming vld media in late 2022), and god even I know the fandom way back then was crazy.. people definitely took it too far.

Also Sheith isn’t incest??? Maybe it’s weird for some people (including me) but c’mon they aren’t even related 😭😭😭

WTF…. People thought Plance was pedophilia?1!1?!1?11! Pidge was like 15 and Lance 17 at the start of the show and the law in the us says an 18 yr old and a 16 yr old can date, just no hopping on the vegetables….

Yooo klantis were crazyyyyy…. Now I understand why klance gives people PTSD

Anyways… just tell me about how you interpret shiro and Keith’s relationship and why

(Also I haven’t watched VLD past season 3 so I don’t know a lot of the lore..)

[uglynavel]

Sitting on Punkflower fanart and waiting for Hobie's official age to confirmed because I will NOT be embarrassed if it turns out he's 19/20

[thowawayuntilfurthernotice]

Amazing how 99% of discourse surrounding animated shows is just “This show sucks because my ship didn’t become canon!”