#because the romance aspect was so obviously and permanently 'not my problem or focus'

[squirrelwrangler]

Happy Discount Chocolate Eve

[breakthedawn]

On Voltron Season 8 & Klance

The fact that the first time I’m posting on this tumblr is about Voltron just shows how trash I am for this show lol.

But on a much more serious note, I thought I would break my own silence on the way I feel about the show and the final season. Just as a cathartic sort of venting. I’d like to let it be known that while I’m being critical of the show, I do not intend to bash it or it’s team in any way. These are just my honest thoughts on one particular facet of this show, and to be honest, it’s not even the biggest part of the show, which I generally is better than most will admit. It is a huge part of the fandom though, for better or for worse. I’d also like to point out that this is just me working through some thoughts and feelings. I have no problem with shipping or people who ship or any ships in the show, but this particular ship is trending a lot lately, so I thought I’d add my two cents, because I’m shameless Lance trash, and I, like many, wanted better for him. And I’m honestly not sure that Klance being canon would have been the way to go, given we what we have. It’s quite long lol, so more under the cut.

A please keep in mind, Klance is one small part of the show, but one large part of the fandom. I have thoughts on Shiro, Allura, Coran, Lotor, and Hunk and Pidge...and everything, but this is where I’ve chosen to start for now.

Ok. Full disclosure. I don't like Klance.

Which in hindsight is fascinating, considering I got into the show through Klance shortly after season one all that time ago. I supported Klance, I enjoyed it, I even went through the entire Klance tag on AO3 back then, to the point where I literally had to go searching for new and engaging explorations of their dynamic.

Half-way through the my getting into Klance, I watched the actual show. I didn't actually see the chemistry of a romance there, but I definitely saw an engaging basis for a strong friendship. Didn't stop me from shipping it, but it did provide perspective. I personally saw the subtext as friendship, or maybe a one-sided crush on Lance's part at most, but I could see where the shipping roots lay...

And then the Lion Swap.

To this day, I maintain that the Lion Swap was the true downfall of Lance's potential. And not the fact that they swapped Lions, but the fact that it was permanent. Because to be honest, Lance has never had much of a character in the show. All we're presented with in Canon are surface level character traits that definitely imply a deeper and more complex story. But the show never follows through on them. What most of the fandom accepts to be Lance's character is actually derived from the fandom itself, in my humble opinion. Just enough is shown for us for us draw reasonable conclusions, and that's what we as fans have ran with up until now.

In reality, once the Lion Swap occurs in the show, Lance begins to be defined not by his own actions or traits, but by the other characters. Namely Keith and Allura and later Clone Shiro. What most seem to see in Klance as far as season 3 and onwards is as such; Lance supports Keith and has his back, and is there for him. Keith recognizes and appreciates Lance in a way that the others just don't. And I see this too. And I hate it.

Not Keith and Lance's dynamic, which is sweet but honestly a bit out of nowhere? (Like, where in the show did we see the moment where Lance made the active decision to put aside his one-sided rivalry? From what we saw, with the whole argument with Shiro about the Blade of Mamora mission, Lance should have resented Keith even more. Because that wasn't an imagined little competition between them in which Lance felt the need to prove himself, that was someone active denying Lance the chance to prove himself in favor of Keith for no good reason other than a personal bias. If we'd been shown Lance having a serious conversation with Keith about Lance still supporting and trusting him despite the Galra genes, I could believe that Lance would unabashedly support and comfort Keith over the Black Lion's choice, but we didn't get that. )But the fact that this is now the only aspect of Lance's character that seems to matter to the plot, other than his feelings for Allura. His insecurities only matter when Keith notices and tries to comfort him. His dedication to the team only matters when he's acting as Keith's impulse control. He has no real weight to the plot other than being a support for Keith. His friendship with Hunk and Pidge takes a back seat, his relationship with Coran amounts to nothing special. His interactions with Allura are reduced to his obviously one-sided feelings for her, and no one on the team even takes his feelings seriously!

And then we get this build up with Clone Shiro and Lance starting to butt heads and the Clone confiding in Lance as though Lance is actually going to be an integral part in bring real Shiro back (that astral plane scene?), and then he ends up having nothing to do with it in the end! It's so frustrating to think that there was so much potential here and it was literally wasted to keep the focus on Keith and Shiro as the main characters.

But what aches the most is that at this point (season 5-7), they still have the opportunity to something great with Lance. Him dying to save Allura? The way Keith treats him when he comes back? The way Hunk and Pidge treat him? The fact that Allura seems to be treating him like a rebound all of a sudden? If they would have addressed these things in Canon, we could have gotten such a fulfilling and amazing character arc!

They should have returned him back to Blue.

They should have focused on the traits that made Blue choose him in the first place. His loyalty, his love for his team, his compassion, his tendency for self-sacrifice. If they were only going to make him a supporting character for the other main players and have that define his character, then they should have gone all the way and acknowledged that as being his character. Let him be the one who has everyone's backs. Let him be the emotional crutch of the team. Let him flow like water into whatever role is needed of him because he's a team player at heart. Let him be a support character but have the rest of the team fucking acknowledge him as their support character. Have them notice how much he's done for them, have them notice how much they take him for granted, have them notice how much of his self-esteem is tied to how he can help them and have them act on it! Have Keith realize that he's treated the person who helped make him into the leader that he is like shit and have him apologize and try to make up for it! Have Hunk and Pidge realize that they've been cruel about their friend's feelings in a way he's never been about theirs and have them make up for it! Have Shiro realize that Lance probably hates himself for not saving him and make them talk it out! Have Allura realize that she's started to use Lance for comfort and make her own up to that! Have them acknowledge that Lance would literally die for them and make them work to show how much they appreciate him! Have them realize that Lance embodies the ideals of Blue through and through and let him take up the role as Blue Paladin again! Allura was better suited for Red anyway!

This is what would get us to the subdued and gentle Lance that we see in season 8. This is what would make his connection with Blue in the first season have true weight to it. This is what would make me want Klance to be canon. Because as it is now? Lance is not a character with and arc and a resolution and a true role in the story. He's a plot device used to facilitate other characters growth and and just one half of two ships that weren't treated with care and respect in the show.

Because all those moments the fandom points to for Klance? Keith hasn't earned them, in my honest opinion. He hasn't earned the right to be Lance's love interest. He's certainly earned the title of best friend or trusted ally. I believe Lance was a huge part of Keith's growth and redevelopment, and his admittance to trusting and relying on Lance is an amazing milestone and conclusion for his character, but it feels like a disservice to Lance's character for that to be the only evidence that Klance should be canon. Because Lance has been treated horribly by the story, and at times the characters, including Keith, and the fact the this is never acknowledged makes me hate Klance a little bit. Because what is Lance without Keith?

So yes, I'm disappointed with how the last season turned out, but it's not because of Klance. It's not even because of the plot. In general, I tend to think the show is better than people give it credit for, and that the fandom expects far too much from this team. However, the wasted potential of Lance's character is just too much for me to hold my tongue. And even though I didn't buy Allurance for one second, the fact that they put them together only to kill her off is just so frustrating to me. I don't understand how we got here, but this is where we are. Nevertheless, I thank the cast and crew from the bottom of my heart for all their hard work, and I will continue to be active in the fandom despite how I feel about the show's conclusion.

[lostinthewinterwood]

Id Pro Quo 2021

Hey there!

It seems we share some aspects of id, my friend, so let the letter go forward :3

(also, if anyone is curious—would be delighted at art treats, though I haven’t requested any art)

Here’s the order of things:

-        DNWs

-        Likes

-        Tags I may or may not have requested that would go great with anything (as additions, not instead of requested tags, lol)

-        Mother of Learning

-        Revolutionary Arc

-        Original Work

 General DNW

non-con/dub-con;

explicit sexual content;

incest (incl. adoptive/chosen family);

a/b/o;

mpreg;

non-canonical permanent major character death;

complete downer endings;

hurt no comfort;

heavy angst;

on-page deliberate self-harm*;

on-page suicide;

gore;

graphic physical trauma;

character bashing;

cringe comedy;

fic-as-writer-soapbox;

fic that’s all about real-world bigotries or real-world politics;

canon-typical 2020;

unrequested full-setting AUs;

marginalized identities as focus of fic;

unrequested romance as the main plot.

*I don’t include things like, say, punching a wall in a fit of emotion under this. However, something like cutting would not be appreciated.

 General Likes

– I really like plotty fics

– Secret identity and disguise shenanigans, the more layers to them and more absurdity the better.

– Casual genderfuckery - guys in skirts and girls in suits, and nobody cares. Not necessarily any deep rumination on gender, just comfort in playing with it.

– Time travel and time loops are always fun

– A focus on family and/or friendship, especially characters realizing they’re not nearly as alone as they think they are, and just generally characters who like each other and enjoy spending time together

– Found family; families of choice

– Character studies

– Worldbuilding

– Canon-divergence AUs and missing scenes; things set pre- or post-canon; wriggling into canon and poking at it to see what it spits back at you, if that description makes any sense at all.

 Tags that go great with literally any of these (unless contradicted by DNWs) as optional additions, if appropriate:

 after worst day      of A’s life A pretends to fall asleep on B to get tenderness without      having to talk

 all the diaspora      feelings

 Alternate      Universe - Canon Divergence

 Alternate      Universe - Daemons

 Alternate      Universe - Fairy Tale

 Alternate      Universe - High Fantasy

 Alternate      Universe - Modern with Magic

 Alternate      Universe - Regency-Inspired Fantasy

 Alternate      Universe - Space Setting with Magic

 Alternate      Universe - Traveling Circus/Carnival

 Badass in      Distress

 Ballroom Dancing

 Bonding over      music

 Catching injured      character as they faint or lose balance

 Character A lost      character B's trust; trying desperately to get it back

 Character      confesses traumatic events to sympathetic friend

 Character Ignores      Their Trauma; Their Friends Try to Help After They Can No Longer Deny It

 Character is      rescued and comforted

 Character tries      to hide their problems but friends are determined to help

 Character who      isn't used to being protected gets protected

 character(s) get      the therapy they so desperately need

 Characters That      Don't Like Each Other Nonetheless Find Comfort In Parallel Traumas

 characters      undercover as whatever seems interesting to you

 characters      understand each other so well they barely need to speak in times of crisis

 Class Differences

 Coming to terms      with the permanent effects of significant injuries

 Conversations In      Liminal Spaces On The Border Of One World And Another

 Conversations in      Mundane Liminal Spaces

 Cuddling &      Snuggling

 Drawing &      Painting

 Emotionally      Repressed Characters Have to Work Through Having Emotions

 Families - Found      Family

 Finding Someone      Sleeping and Putting a Blanket or Coat Over Them

 Fire-forged      Friends

 Forgiveness

 Gratuitous      descriptions of hugging

 Gratuitous      Descriptions of Winter

 Grooming - hair      brushing

 Hair Braiding

 Hair Stuff - A is      unexpectedly very good at styling hair; styles B's ornately; B wears it      all day

 Hair Stuff - A      looks up how to do fancy hairstyles so they can do B's hair

 Hair Stuff -      character cuts another character's hair

 Hair Washing

 A has baggage;      doesn’t trust others & (less obviously) doesn’t trust themself/has      guilt

 Holding Hands

 Hurt/Comfort -      Character Doesn't Expect Tenderness But Gets It Anyway

 Hurt/Comfort -      comfort after a nightmare

 Hurt/Comfort -      comfort focusing on little hurt because the big hurt is massive and      unapproachable

 Hurt/Comfort -      Loneliness

 The Inexplicable      Peace That Comes from Stargazing

 Intelligent      Characters Enthusing Over Learning New Things (Especially From Each      Other)

 Learning a New      Language

 Learning to Dance

 Loneliness

 Platonic Life      Partners

 Protectiveness -      Character A drapes their jacket over B's shoulders

 Protectiveness -      Character being protected isn't used to being cared about

 A rescues B from      trouble B knowingly walked into (B thought they could handle it on their      own)

 Scars - Exchanging      stories about scars

 Scenery Porn

 Snow and Ice

 Teamwork

 that fic genre w/      long lowercase title (&parenthetical) that’s sexy moody      multilayered & complicated

 Thing character      has built a large chunk of their life around comes to an end; finding a      new path

 Touch-Starved Character      gets their hair stroked & gets other kind gentle touches &      cuddles

 two people really      want Found Family but are too emotionally stunted to admit it

 Uncovering a      major secret by gradually putting the pieces together

 Worldbuilding

 Worldbuilding -      Magic Spells & Rituals

 Young      character(s) solving problems in surprisingly mature ways considering      their age(s)

  Mother of Learning - nobody103  

-        Solo: Kirielle Kazinski (Mother of Learning - nobody103)

-        Kirielle Kazinski & Zorian Kazinski (Mother of Learning - nobody103)

-         

-        Mother of Learning - Controller Kirielle Kazinski

-        Mother of Learning - Deaf Kirielle Kazinski

-        Mother of Learning - Time Looper Kirielle Kazinski

fandom-specific dnw: romantic and/or sexual Zach/Zorian; physical parental abuse within the Kazinski family; significant exaggeration of canonical emotional neglect/abuse/general family dysfunction; explicit permanent erasure of time traveler characters in your fic who weren't erased in canon

 Look, I just love Kirielle a lot, okay.  And there are two basic concepts that will not leave my brain when it comes to her, so I’ve requested both here—if not this exchange, when else?  Also, they’d definitely work great together, if you feel so inclined.

Anyway, concept 1—time traveler Kirielle.  I think it would be really interesting to explore how she dealt with all of it—she’s nine, not fifteen, so she’d be growing up while looking like a child, and she’d have to trick her way around people a lot more to get them to take her seriously. It would be different, also, depending on if she were a hanger-on or the Controller; ironically she’d probably have more support in her learning and growing if she were a hanger-on, since there’d be at least one other person looping with her then.  She’d also look like a lot less of a threat to anyone looking for those—physically, she’s nine years old, no matter how long she lives, and children are a lot less threatening than teenagers.

As for concept 2—I really should’ve mentioned this in my sign-up, but it slipped my mind at the time—I really, really don’t want to see fics that infantilize disabled characters—if Kiri’s deaf, she’s still gonna be herself, you know? Not exactly self-sufficient or anything, she is nine after all, but not a helpless little kid who can’t do anything on her own either.  And please don’t cure her—magic (or mundane) adaptive tech is fine, but please no outright cure.

That being said, I’m using “deaf” here in the looser sense, so do what you will with that piece of knowledge.

Anyway.  I’m fascinated by this idea, I think, because it would both fundamentally change Kirielle’s circumstances and be a big opportunity for worldbuilding—all we really know about disability in Eldemar is that modern disability theory is not a thing which is familiar to giant spiders or to fifteen-year-old boys.  But like—if she’s deaf, then that means that she can’t be the perfect little girl Cikan quite clearly wants her to be; I’d be very surprised if they didn’t raise her oral, didn’t try to hide her disability or at least make it as invisible as possible to everyone else.  And I’d imagine that there isn’t much of a Deaf community in Cirin of all places—maybe that makes her want to go to Cyoria even more, find a community there, learn a sign language so she can communicate in a way that’s easier for her.

Actually, I think it really would be interesting to combine these two—I know I already said they go great together, but like, it would just give her more time to find a community and a language and what it means to be a Deaf merchant family’s daughter in Eldemar, when you aren’t restricted to a tiny little village with parents who care too much about appearances.

  Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88 (fanfic)  

-        Solo: Pansy Parkinson | Pandora Parkinson (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Solo: Arcturus Rigel "Archie" Black (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Solo: Adriana "Addy" Potter (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Arcturus Rigel "Archie" Black/Hermione Granger (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Francesca Lam/Aldon Rosier (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Harriet Potter | Rigel Black & Pansy Parkinson (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Hannah Abbott/Blaise Zabini (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Ginny Weasley & Ron Weasley (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Caelum Lestrange & Pansy Parkinson (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-        Caelum Lestrange & Harriet Potter | Rigel Black (Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88)

-         

-        can't go back to school because you're critical to putting your country back together post-civil-war

-        Characters That Don't Like Each Other Nonetheless Find Comfort In Parallel Traumas

-        dissonance of normal college life and the secret civil war you fought overseas as a teenager

-        finally getting a chance to sit down and process all the things you had to do to maintain your cover

-        Fix-it - Last-minute rescue for character who died in canon before they die

-        going back to school after fighting a yearlong civil war against the new dictator of your country

-        going home after the war (but you can't go home again)

-        Post-canon - characters slowly recover from trauma caused by canon

-        A was too young to remember the war but every adult they know was involved in it

-        we both have massive trust issues; it seems like we’re the only reasonable people in the world

-        World-weary broken people find comfort and understanding in each other

 Don’t have any fandom-specific dnws here.

For Rev Arc, what I’m looking for is essentially consequences and fallout; canon is nice! Canon is very nice! But we don’t see a whole lot of what happens afterwards—all these kids who came of age during the war, who have to or can’t go back to school, who have to live with the world that exists after.  The new generation, who are in a lot of ways more akin in circumstance to canon HP’s characters than Rev Arc or RBC characters ever were. There was a war; the war’s been won. What now?

If you happened to be looking at the fix-it tag, I didn’t have any canonically dead characters in my requests, but I was definitely thinking of Draco when I requested it—you wouldn’t even really need to change much else, I don’t think, since he’s injured badly enough by the time Harry and Leo show up to put him out of commission for the rest of the war.  Also, I formatted Pansy’s tag the way I did because I was thinking of her reconciling herself after it all, if that makes sense.

  Original Work  

Mentor angle

-        Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl & His Older Female Mentor

-         

-        Abused Child Grows To Trust New Authority Figures/Guardians

-        Bonding over music

-        Catching injured character as they faint or lose balance

-        Character Discovers a Horrible Political Secret

-        Character who isn't used to being protected gets protected

-        Drawing & Painting

-        Families - Found Family

-        Finding Someone Sleeping and Putting a Blanket or Coat Over Them

-        Gratuitous Descriptions of Winter

-        Grooming - hair brushing

-        Hair Braiding

-        Hurt/Comfort - Character A discovers Character B's biggest secret

-        Hurt/Comfort - Character expects to be punished but is comforted instead

-        The Inexplicable Peace That Comes from Stargazing

-        Learning to Dance

-        A rescues B from trouble B knowingly walked into (B thought they could handle it on their own)

-        song of the lioness style gender disguise plot

-        teaching moments while rescues are taking place

-        Thing character has built a large chunk of their life around comes to an end; finding a new path

-        Uncovering a major secret by gradually putting the pieces together

Gen angle

-        Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl & Male Student Warrior

-        Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl & Female Student Warrior Disguised as a Boy

-        Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl & Female Fellow Student Mage

-         

-        Character tries to hide their problems but friends are determined to help

-        characters understand each other so well they barely need to speak in times of crisis

-        Epic Friendship Slowburn

-        Finding Someone Sleeping and Putting a Blanket or Coat Over Them

-        Fire-forged Friends

-        Found Family - characters come to unspoken acknowledgement that that's what they are

-        going back to school after fighting a yearlong civil war against the new dictator of your country

-        Hair Stuff - A is unexpectedly very good at styling hair; styles B's ornately; B wears it all day

-        A has baggage; doesn’t trust others & (less obviously) doesn’t trust themself/has guilt

-        Hurt/Comfort - Being comforted by someone character distrusts

-        Hurt/Comfort - Character A discovers Character B's biggest secret

-        Hurt/Comfort - Character overuses magic/powers/etc. to protect a loved one

-        I would do anything to save you from yourself (including physically fight you if it comes to it)

-        Intelligent Characters Enthusing Over Learning New Things (Especially From Each Other)

-        Learning a New Language

-        A rescues B from trouble B knowingly walked into (B thought they could handle it on their own)

-        song of the lioness style gender disguise plot

-        Uncovering a major secret by gradually putting the pieces together

-        Villain undercover as a good guy; grows to care about good guys leading to heel-face turn

-        X tells Y the (outlandish) truth; Y thinks it’s a joke until something proves X’s truthfulness

Ship angle

-        Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl/Male Student Warrior

-        Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl/Female Student Warrior Disguised as a Boy

-        Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl/Female Fellow Student Mage

-         

-        A Admires B's Fighting Skills

-        all the diaspora feelings

-        Ballroom Dancing

-        Character sees color for the first time upon meeting soulmate; it's a highly inconvenient time

-        Characters Didn't Realise The Relationship Was Secret; They Thought It Was Obvious

-        characters understand each other so well they barely need to speak in times of crisis

-        Fake Dating Leads to Feelings Despite Characters' Best Attempts

-        Hair Stuff - A is unexpectedly very good at styling hair; styles B's ornately; B wears it all day

-        Hurt/Comfort - Character A discovers Character B's biggest secret

-        I would do anything to save you from yourself (including physically fight you if it comes to it)

-        Intelligent Characters Enthusing Over Learning New Things (Especially From Each Other)

-        Language of Flowers

-        A rescues B from trouble B knowingly walked into (B thought they could handle it on their own)

-        song of the lioness style gender disguise plot

-        Soulmates - Scars appear on each other's skin

-        Soulmates- Name on the wrist is not the one character goes by

-        Uncovering a major secret by gradually putting the pieces together

-        Undercover - Masquerade Party

-        Villain undercover as a good guy; grows to care about good guys leading to heel-face turn

-        X tells Y the (outlandish) truth; Y thinks it’s a joke until something proves X’s truthfulness

fandom-specific dnw: age gaps in ships of more than 3 or so years when one character is underage; predatory manipulation between characters in the relationship in service of the relationship; transphobia directed at cisgender characters; crossdressing as fetish. I’d also rather not see any kind of serious relationship with at least one character disguising their gender pre-reveal of that disguise–flirting, starting to date a little is okay but if it’s going further please have them reveal it. Please don’t play into the idea of gender-disguised character as “trap”. If actual trans characters are present, then some transphobia isn’t a hard dnw—my gift in Heart Attack didn’t bother me at all.

also dnw characters requested as gender-disguised to be written as trans or to be written as absolutely loathing their disguise. other characters are fair game. if writing trans characters, dnw them to be explicitly nondysphoric (but not addressing it is fine).

 So, uh, I’m sure you can see the… theme in all these requests.  For these ones especially, the freeforms aren’t the really iddy part; I just picked the ones I liked best and thought I suited the relationships best. It’s the ship tags that are the iddy part.

Look, I fell in love with Song of the Lioness as a kid, then I grew up and realized there was a tragic dearth of gender-flipped versions, and now I’m fishing for them in exchanges.

So give me this boy and the people in his life! Tell me a story—what is this world, that this is necessary?  How does he handle various aspects of it?  Or just let them go on an adventure or have a nice quiet day tbh, those would both be rad too.