#hell yeah I’m gonna draw a dozen mechs

[kingycrow]

This will be a staple bound riso printed zine, I’ll add pictures once I print it :))

[rawmerobotman]

Can I request a scenario with Whirl, please? Like the human reader finally gets to see him in proper battle for the first time and is SO impressed and SO turned-on by whirl being his violent unstoppable self; they have to fuck like, STAT

When you had confessed to Whirl that you weren’t expecting to see much action during your time with the Lost Light, he had been personally offended. It was peacetime, you’d said, how much fighting could there possible be?

That didn’t stop him from blowing it way out of proportion and teasing you loud enough that people were being attracted to the commotion. You were three seconds away from pushing his drink from the table when he finally relented and frantically moved to catch the glass.

Despite the argument he had kicked up over recent events regarding phase sixers and spark eaters, Whirl had taken it up as a pet project to enlighten you. When word had gotten around the Lost Light that they would be taking on a covert Decepticon facility, Ultra Magnus had gone to great lengths to ensure that Whirl hadn’t taken you off ship to join him as an understudy.

This is how you find yourself quickly shuffling through the colossus corridors of the starship, trying to return to your habsuite before the squirmish begins. The halls are vacant in a way that almost feels stifling- with the ship’s population decreased by 85%, those who aren’t heading planetside are either secluded to the main deck or busy prepping the med bay. You might have enjoyed the peace and quiet if it hadn’t felt so eerie walking the empty corridors.

Whirl keeps you company, making idle chatter with you since they’d left for the compound. It isn’t hard to tell that he’s restless, being confined to the small transport. But he remains in high spirits, pestering you and just about everyone near him. You’ve had to dissuade him from bothering Tailgate twice now- though the minibot puts on a brave face and seems eager to prove himself, you can still see just how anxious he is. And so does Whirl, which is the problem. No matter how much he thinks he’s helping trying to get under the smaller bot’s plating in an attempt to distract him, it’s only bothering him further. You enjoyed having the opportunity to talk to the small mech, though.

You haven’t had much opportunity to see Autobots in action before, but between the two video feeds you’re patched into, you’re looking forward to what you might witness. Originally it had been Rewind who offered to give you access to what he would be recording until Whirl had also insisted on giving you a feed to his own visuals as well. There’s some remarks regarding just how lucky you are to be able to watch him in action that you can’t quite disclaim. It’s certainly something you’re looking forward to, though you don’t quite tell him yet. 

In the meantime, you flip between the feeds, keeping an eye on what your associates are up to while they’re shipped off to their scheduled brawl. 

You’re all curled up by the time they’re ready to drop.

A dozen mechs huddled against a loading bay door looks absolutely ridiculous. Some are trying to shove their way to the front, and you’re pretty sure Whirl just smacked someone in the face with his turrets as he pushed past them. When the alarm sounds and the doors finally open, Whirl rushes the door, taking two mechs with him.

It’s free fall from there.

When they land, they land hard. About halfway through the fall you notice an unfortunate Decepticon meandering about beneath them, and you watch with a mix between dawning horror and excitement when you realize what’s about to happen. It’s Whirl who gets to him first, and you wince as you watch the poor mech be crushed underfoot of Whirl.

“Sit back and enjoy, sweetheart! We’re only just getting started.”

And enjoy you did. Within the first minute, you’re rendered speechless. This is nothing you had expected it to be. There’s no way you would have been able to anticipate your reaction- watching Whirl, annihilate, just about everyone in his path with extreme prejudice was nothing you were prepared for. You watch transfixed, growing more uncomfortable as a knowing heat rises in you.

You’re tempted to touch yourself. You’re real tempted. The only thing stopping you is the fact Whirl’s still on the line and you honestly can’t look away even if you wanted to.

It’s sometime after when the battle’s started to dwindle does he finally address you proper. “You’ve gone awfully quiet- everything you’d hoped for when you enlisted for awesome space adventures?”

“Yeah…” It’s weaker than you wanted, and for a moment you’re afraid it’s a little too telling.

It’s enough to draw a laugh from him. “You sound like you’re the one who just mopped up a Decepticon outpost. Is there something you’re not telling me?”

The words are out before you can really think about what you’re saying. “How about you come find me and find out.”

Now that earns you a deafening silence. 

For a second you fear you’ve gone too far; the only response you can glean is an odd clicking sound coming from the mech. In which you hope it’s contemplation and not revulsion. 

“Whirl…?”

“Oh, don’t worry- I’m coming.”

He doesn’t make you wait long.  

You can practically hear him coming. There’s a faint sound of someone hauling ass through the corridors, colliding hard into the wall somewhere in your vicinity. You’re off your feet and ready to meet him at the door before the ruckus has ended.

Whirl standing silent and foreboding as hell outside your habsuite door does not faze you. You think he might actually be quite charmed by it- your unbothered demeanor. It’s not everyday you are faced with a hulking mass that looms over you like a bad omen.

His frame is littered with scruff marks and chipped paint, and part of his antenna is certainly missing a good portion of itself. It’s easy to tell he hasn’t bothered to visit the med bay before coming here.

You’re not ashamed that your first thought isn’t having him looked after. You’re completely capable of taking care of him yourself.

He’s tense and disheveled; when he reaches out for you, it’s in a stiff manner that almost seems as though his joints are straining against the motion. He halts briefly and you can see the inner turmoil he goes through before he re-adjusts to grab you in a way he knows won’t hurt you more than he initially intended. You move to meet him, eager to clamber into his servo to allow him to lift you up. His claw nearly locks up as it circles your waist in a tight grip.

“Hoo-ly shit, you really need to relieve some of that stress.” It’s a terrible understatement.

The tip of a claw edges its way underneath your shirt, dragging sharp against the skin and revealing more of yourself to him. “You gonna help me with that?”

“Oh, you fucking know it.”

[smilingformoney]

Endless Summer 3 Diamond Scene: Receive the Endless’s Memories

A brilliant flash heralds the beginning of a vision. You find yourself in deep woods. From nearby, you hear laughter and splashing. You follow the sound, pushing aside foliage… 

Sean: No way! That was totally out! Quinn: If it hits the water, it counts! Your friends are playing volleyball in The Celestial pool, sending a colourful beach ball back and forth over the net. And among them, you see… You: Yes! That’s another point! You stagger, dazed at the sight. Looking down at your hands, you see that one is gloved in red, and the other is skeletal steel. The Endless: I’m… the Endless. Your heart is racing, but the sight of your friends laughing and playing somehow puts you at ease. The Endless: I don’t remember this. It must be from another timeline. 

Just then, Sean spikes the beach ball too hard, and it bounces over to the edge of the jungle, nearly at your feet. Sean: My bad. I’ll get it. 

Sean jogs over, a smile on his face. As he picks up the ball, he sees you among the trees. Sean: Who are you? The Endless: Sean. It’s me. Sean: …[Name]? You take a step toward him… but as you do, reality shimmers and ripples… 

Suddenly, you’re standing on a snowswept mountainside. The Endless: Huh? Where did-- A bellowing roar shakes the pine trees! Nearby, you see yourself and Grace skiing down the slope, with Furball perched on your shoulder! Furball: Mreep! You: Come on! She’s gaining! Grace: Oh god, oh god! The Yeti bursts through the treeline, thundering after them! Yeti: RAAAAUUGGHHH! 

Next, you’re watching Michelle barely keeping balance as she tiptoes across a narrow catwalk. Michelle: Almost… there… With a groan, the metal platform bends toward the blazing magma! Michelle: Ahhhh! The Endless: Michelle! Fiddler: I’ve got you! Out of nowhere, Fiddler dives toward Michelle, tackling her to safety. Michelle: Jeanine… you saved me! Fiddler: Yeah, well, we’re even now. So don’t expect it to happen again. 

Uqzhaal: It is a joyous day, brothers and sisters. We finally have a new Clockmaker! Uqzhaal kneels in front of the chair at the center of the workshop. A dozen Anachronists follow suit. Uqzhaal: We are yours to command, Zahra. Zahra: Dope. 

Clang! Fencing sabers clash as Rourke and Aleister square off at the edge of a burning building. Rourke: Not bad at all! Perhaps I underestimated you. Aleister: Your observations regarding me have been summarily wrong, Father… Aleister: But I’ll afford you no time to regret your errors! En garde! 

At the base of Elyys’tel’s mighty tree, a battle rages. Arachnid soldiers struggle to defend the city from a horde of Vaanti. Ximaedra: To me, warriors! Let us slay the Hydra and Spider and reclaim our home! The Omega Mech strides across the beach, charging its weapons. Estela glares out from the cockpit. Estela: Let’s do this… 

High above the fray, Tetra tosses Rourke’s lifeless body from the branches. Tetra: … He strides back toward the audience hall. 

Tetra: They’re getting close, boss. A cigar smolders, lighting the face of the man on the throne. Lundgren: Let ‘em come. Lundgren: And when they do, we’ll burn this damned tree to the ground with them inside it. 

You see your friends in Rourke’s cloning lab. Strapped to the surgical table in steel restraints is… Gurgi: Help! You must help Gurgi! Raj: Come on, there’s gotta be a way to-- Iris: I’m sorry, Raj. I can’t let you do that. Raj: Whoa! Who the hell are you? The Endless: This must be a timeline where we never found Iris. 

Quinn: Taari, where’d you get that necklace? The Vaani child shows off the golden key hanging from his neck. Taari: I found it! Do you like it? Quinn kneels down to get a closer look… and sees a rune shaped like a dolphin engraved into the side. 

Lila: I hate to tamper with private property… but I have a job to do. Lila sets the trail of gasoline alight, and soon the fire engulfs Jake’s plane. Lila: There. That should keep them from leaving. 

Estela: Come on… where is it?! In a ballroom, Estela flips open a pocket knife and slashes the painting of a sailboat, reaching behind the canvas. Estela: Found you. She takes out a folded note and reads it. Estela: This handwriting. It’s… Note: L, There’s a second Omega Specimen. Whatever it takes, we have to make sure Rourke doesn’t get his hands on her/him. - O Clipped to the note is a photo of you. Estela: He won’t, Mom. I promise. 

A rusty taco truck rumbles down ruined jungle roads with Jake at the wheel! Jake: I’ve got it… I’ve got it! Mike: You’re gonna get us killed! Again! Jake: We’ll be fine. Ain’t that right, Sebastian? King Crab: Shk-snk! 

You: Hold on. You’re telling me that-- Aleister: For the love of… [Name], we’ve discussed this protractedly. I’m Aleister. You: And you’re-- Michelle: Michelle. Can you please just get us out of this nightmare?! Grace: What surprises me most is that Rourke literally labelled this machine ‘Freaky Friday Device.’ Aleister: It’s his favourite movie. 

Raj: Uh, guys… Raj: Why is Furball purple?! Furball: Mrrp? 

Sean: How did he even get up there? Diego: Is he gonna be okay? Yvonne: Ugh, just like Malatesta… The fool never understand when it’s time to let go! You watch as Cetus breaches the sea’s surface again… with Malatesta somehow riding atop his head! Malatesta: Will one of you bloody fools do something?! Cetus: HRRRAAAAK! 

A figure levitates over the cracking ice, blazing with time energy. Tetra: Run! That freak’s gonna kill us all! Craig: Chyeah-heh-heh boi! 

Lundgren: I knew you’d come around eventually. Lundgren: Welcome back… Wolf. Wolf: What can I do for you, Commander? 

Aleister walks in, carrying Grace’s body. Aleister: This is your fault… Quinn: Aleister, I’m so sorry… it was an accident. Diego: Poor Grace. Aleister: His blood is on all of you, and now your own will be too! Aleister sets down Grace’s body and draws a snake-hilted knife. 

Varyyn sits alone on the shore, weeping as he cradles a fluorescent-coloured seashell to his ear. Varyyn: … A voice echoes faintly in the shell, a voice from long ago. Diego: I’ll always love you, Varyyn… I’ll always love you, Varyyn… I’ll always love… Soon, the echo is gone forever. 

Craig dangles over the side of a sheer cliff, hanging on to Sean’s hand. Sean: I’ve got you! I can pull you up! Craig: Bro… I’ll just pull you over with me. Sean: Craig, no! Craig: Face it, Sean. I’ve been dragging you down my whole life. I’m done. Craig releases his grasp and plummets hundreds of feet to the ground. Sean: NOOOOOO! 

Rourke cuts a thick slice of juicy steak and twirls it on his fork. Rourke: I must say, it’s lovely to finally have a family dinner together. Across the table, Estela sits perfectly still her eyes blank. At her temple, an electric device pulses with light. Rourke: Wouldn’t you agree, my dear? Estela: Yes, Father.

Taari runs up and hugs Aleister around the legs. Taari: I love you, Uncle Al! Aleister: I, er-- Aleister: I love you too, Taari. 

An arcade machine flashes ‘High Score’ while Craig hosts Diego onto his shoulders and carries him around! Craig: Ha ha! My boy Diego just crushed the all-time leaderboard! Zahra: Aw, yes. Billy Mitchell who? Diego: Couldn’t have done it without you guys! 

Grace sniffs, and a tear rolls down her cheek. Michelle, sitting by her side, wipes it away. Michelle: I don’t think you’re timid at all. In fact, you’re probably the bravest person I’ve ever met. Grace: Sniff… Really? Michelle: Really. 

Jake pulls the slide on a pistol. Jake: You seriously think I’d let you go it alone? I told you. I’ve got your back for life. Sean: I know, Jake. And you know I’ve got yours. Sean and Jake embrace, clapping each other. Jake: But if you tell anybody I said that, I’ll kill you myself. 

You watch yourself raise a glass, surrounded by your friends. You: So this toast… is to all of you. You: You’re like family to me, and more than that, you’re the best family I could ever hope for. 

-If you’re married to Sean

Michelle walks barefoot on the beach, her fingers laced with Craig’s. Michelle: I can’t believe that, all this time, the love of my life was right in front of me. Craig: That’s where I’ll always be, Meech. They kiss, framed by the sunset. 

-If you’re not married to Sean

Sean lifts Michelle in his arms and spins her around. Sean: I can’t believe I ever let you slip away. Michelle: I can’t believe I ever watched you go. Sean: Never again. I’m yours, Michelle. And you’re mine. They kiss, framed by the sunset. 

-If you’re not married to Jake

Jake suns himself on the deck of the Dorado. Suddenly, a shadow blocks the light. Jake lifts his sunglasses to look. Jake: I was wondering where you’d been. Yvonne: You missed me, chere? Jake: Always. Yvonne straddles Jake, leaning down to kiss him. 

-If you’re married to Estela

Lila: I didn’t realise it until now. But you’re everything I wanted your father to be. Aleister: Lila… what are you saying? Lila: I’m saying… I’m saying… In an instant, she collapses into Aleister, her lips pressed to his. Aleister freezes in shock. Then, gradually, he lets his eyes close and his arms wrap around her. 

-If you’re not married to Estela

Estela sits up in bed, her mind racing. Estela: … She starts to get up, when a hand takes hers and pulls her back. Zahra: Where do you think you’re going? Estela: Just… got stuff on my mind. Zahra: Then talk to me about it. I’m here for you. Estela: I know. Estela falls back into bed, holding Zahra in her arms. 

-If you’re not married to Quinn

Quinn: Like this? Quinn frets a chord on Kele’s guitar. Kele: You’re a natural. Kele: So what makes you wanna learn guitar anyway? Quinn: Well, because… I want to write a song for you! Kele smiles and leans toward Quinn. Their lips meet. 

And then, amid the chaos and the possibility, the million different choices… one moment happens over and over…

-If you’re not married to anyone

Diego: I love being your best friend… I never want to lose you.

Diego: I love being your best friend… I never want to lose you.

Diego: I love being your best friend… I never want to lose you. You: You’re not going to lose me, Diego. That’s a promise.

Tears fill your eyes as, in the space of a single moment, you watch yourself befriend Diego a thousand times.

-If you’re married to Estela

Estela: I, uh… I love you.

Estela: I, uh… I love you.

Estela: I, uh… I love you.

Estela: I, uh… I love you.

Estela: I, uh… I love you. You: And I love you, Estela.

Tears fill your eyes as, in the space of a single moment, you watch yourself fall in love with Estela a thousand times.

-If you’re married to Sean

Sean: I am always gonna love you.

Sean: I am always gonna love you.

Sean: I am always gonna love you.

Sean: I am always gonna love you.

Sean: …I am always gonna love you. You: And I’m always going to love you, Sean.

Tears fill your eyes as, in the space of a single moment, you watch yourself fall in love with Sean a thousand times.

-If you’re married to Jake

Jake: I love you, [Name].

Jake: I love you, [Name].

Jake: I love you, [Name].

Jake: I love you, [Name].

Jake: …I love you, [Name]. You: And I love you, Jake.

Tears fill your eyes as, in the space of a single moment, you watch yourself fall in love with Jake a thousand times.

-If you’re married to Quinn

Quinn: I think I love you, [Name].

Quinn: I think I love you, [Name].

Quinn: I think I love you, [Name].

Quinn: I think I love you, [Name].

Quinn: …I think I love you, [Name]. You: I know I love you, Quinn.

Tears fill your eyes as, in the space of a single moment, you watch yourself fall in love with Quinn a thousand times.

The light fades. You’re back in the cavern with the Endless’s hand on your forehead. You feel yourself sobbing. The Endless: Are you… sad? You: No… I’ve just… I’ve never been so happy. The Endless: You’ve seen everything now, [Name]. You know everything you can know… but this is where my sight ends. You nod, wiping away the tears. You: I know what I have to do.

[velkynkarma]

Okay. So. I’ve had some time to come down off the mind-is-screaming-internally S2 high and think about a lot of stuff that I saw on my first playthrough. I still intend to go through and re-watch more closely for details. And I have NOT hit that level of ‘instantly knowing when and where scenes and tiny minuscule important details happen’ yet like I have for S1, so some thoughts might be jumbled or more explainable on a second pass. But for now, my reactions, my pros, my cons, my thoughts, and whether or not I’ll still be writing for this series.

Buckle up ‘cause like everything else I write this is gonna get long.

So as I mentioned last night, there were things I liked about this season, and there were things I didn’t. Let’s start with those. PROS:

Everyone gets a moment of sheer badassery. Everyone. Both in their Lion and on their own. Shiro’s combat scenes, Keith’s fights, Lance’s sharpshooting, Allura’s staff fight, I mean the list goes on.

One of my favorites was Hunk when mind controlled, though. Because holy crap—did you see how brutal he was when he had no inhibitions holding him back? He went to town and he messed Lance up pretty good. This says quite a lot about his character that I thought was really interesting. Hunk has has a lot of combat ability and potential, but he holds himself back, partly out of anxiety or that he doesn’t really believe he can do it, and partly because he doesn’t prefer the fighting method when there are other options. Hunk can absolutely fuck you up if he really wants to. He chooses not to. That’s big.

In general, just...absolutely gorgeous fight scenes. The choreography and movement of the characters was superb. As someone who studied animation I was blown away. Beautiful work.

All the Lions got an upgrade of some kind, some kind of special weapon. It kind of bothered me in S1 when the Red Lion got its giant super-gun at the last minute because it felt kind of deus ex machina, but I am glad at least that it’s become more established this is a thing all the Lions can do as long as you connect with them enough.

The Black Bayard has been recovered. Hell. Fucking. Yes.

There were just so many great character interactions and bonding moments. I love that we had a variety of different team-ups to see how different characters interacted with each other, especially in cases where they hadn’t previously. Hunk and Keith, Lance and Pidge, Lance and Shiro, Keith and Shiro, Lance and Hunk...just a lot of great interactions

There were so many “what the actual fuck am I watching” moments for me but I was laughing through all of them, so no complaints there. (Space mall. Just. Space. Mall).

Lots of moments when I laughed out loud or grinned wildly

Shiro losing his fucking cool because he’s human, yeah, I like seeing that haha

Slav. I just. As a person with obsessive compulsive disorder I related with this guy on a fundamental level. I’m not quite as bad as Slav is but man do I get what it’s like to have to do really stupid shit to just progress on a day to day level. (Also, he’s funny).

Zarkon and Haggar’s relationship was explored a lot more, which I really found interesting. In S1 they were a well-oiled machine and worked together perfectly. They also clearly trusted each other. S2 changed that up with Zarkon’s Lion obsession and Haggar wanting to focus on the internal spy and finishing off Allura. I’m curious to see where this will go and if it will form a rift.

Also: Haggar can be tricked. Her magic is not infallible. I suspect the Blade of Marmora has a technique or something to resist druid magic, otherwise they’d have been hardcore fucked centuries ago, but I find this intriguing all the same.

Blade of Marmora: “Come unarmed.” Haha but okay unless you literally disarm Shiro you can’t disarm Shiro and they know that so I’m genuinely surprised they didn’t throw more of a hissy fit over this one.

Not gonna lie I actually really liked the design of Zarkon’s armor-mech. Almost more than Voltron. Dem wings, man. Dem wings. Also, on that note, why the heck does he even need Voltron or the black lion when he’s got his own single-person mech that he can control without having to recruit four other people to work with him?

They basically confirmed false memories are entirely possible for Shiro since Hunk gives us a breakdown of how that arm actually works a little better. The Blade of Marmora may have been real but there is still so much fic potential here I’m foaming at the mouth over it.

CONS:

I’ve got a few cons, but well, let’s get the big one out of the way first. Galra Keith. (And since I know this can be a controversial topic and my feelings on this one are complicated, let me first preface this with an assurance that I have zero shade towards anyone who liked the Galra!Keith theory in S1 or likes the canonization of it in S2. This is just my opinion and in no way does it invalidate yours).

Okay, unpopular opinion time: I’ve never really been on board with the Galra!Keith theory (which I guess is no longer a theory, but yeah). I’ve never really made a big deal of it though because frankly it’s not my place to lecture others on what they want to like or not. I mean, hey, it’s fandom. Like what you like, just don’t cram it in my face. I was content to ignore Galra!Keith tags and go about my business. But the reason I was never really fond of the theory is I could never make it work, with the details presented in S1. And lord knows I tried, anyone who knows me at this point knows I love theorizing and analyzing this stuff. But it just felt so circumstantial. Most of the “evidence” people would point out in S1 could have supported a dozen different kinds of theories. The only real unexplained piece was Keith’s inexplicable draw to the Blue Lion at the beginning, but even then, I didn’t consider this an immediate indication of Galra blood per se. The show also has magic in it, after all; he could have also had some kind of sixth sense or other ability. It just wasn’t enough to go on. And above all I simply could not reconcile any kind of Galra presence on Earth when in S1 they were fully presented as devourers and conquerors. There was no way Zarkon could have known about Earth, especially if the Blue Lion was also on his radar, and not shown up to just take what he wanted and blast it out of orbit. Zarkon takes. He doesn’t have patience for stealth and subtlety when he owns half of the known universe, and I couldn’t see him having a single soldier on Earth without immediately taking advantage of it. Whether that was Keith, or some parent/ancestor of his, didn’t really matter. It just didn’t mesh with Zarkon.

S2 drops a few new details that flesh this out a little better. The existence of a stealth-oriented resistance certainly would justify how some Galra individuals could theoretically have been to Earth without immediately summoning a full fleet to blow it out of space. If they knew the Blue Lion was there they might even have a reason to target Earth specifically, if only to keep it hidden for as long as possible. I am mollified by this, at least, since it does provide some possible answers to the big plot hole issue I had with this theory. But I don’t know. Galra!Keith still feels too…contrived. Too convenient. It just doesn’t feel natural to me, in a series and plot that has otherwise put a lot of focus on naturally developing story as it goes. Each episode drops details that lead to the next episode, smoothly and subtly, but something about Galra Keith just feels very ham-handed. I’m having a little trouble coming to grips with it. Maybe they’ll drop more information in season 3 that will smooth this out more, but right now I’m just…really not a fan of this piece. On the plus side, while I am not really a fan of Keith having Galra heritage, I do kinda like that most people on the ship are just like ‘oh okay you’re part alien whatever.’ Like it isn’t drawn out into a huge drama spectacle. When it’s first officially revealed only Shiro is actually present and I half expected Keith to beg Shiro not to tell anyone because he’s scared of their reactions, just because they’d want to play up the reveal drama for a few episodes, but there wasn’t any. Everyone just knew. Learned off screen even, other than for Shiro, because there is no scene when Keith comes forward and says ‘hey so yeah, turns out I’m part Galra?’ to the team. And with the exception of Allura, nobody really reacted. Hell, there wasn’t a “reaction episode” like you would have expected with a theme like this. It almost felt underplayed. Or, treated as not-really-that-weird-a-thing, like in Keith and Hunk’s episode together, in which Hunk continually draws attention to the Galra heritage but not really in a hateful way. And I kind of liked that, because while Galra!Keith feels a little on the cliche side, at least that kind of response shook that up a little. And, not gonna lie, on a completely aesthetic reaction, I am just super fucking glad that Keith didn’t like…hulk out Galra style. I’m not a fan of Galra designs in general, I’m glad Keith didn’t just magically turn purple and all that. (Though this really does beg the question of how much his biology is affected by that Galra heritage. We know it’s affected his sixth sense at least somewhat since he appears able to sense and interact with all the Lions, and we know it lets him interact with Galra tech which is…weirdly convenient…but otherwise he looks perfectly human). Anyway. That’s my thoughts on Galra Keith, which was the biggest con for me. The rest are less controversial. OTHER CONS:

Pidge and Lance didn’t get to use their bayards to create new solo weaponry for Voltron. This makes me sad as I really wanted to see Voltron get a badass sniper rifle or a chain-whip thing like Zarkon had. I did like that everyone got to work together to make the super huge-ass sword, but I would’ve liked seeing some new weaponry too.

Thace. I just wasn’t feeling it with this guy. I know we’re supposed to feel sad when he dies, but honestly? They didn’t give us any chance to bond with this character or establish anything to really connect to him with. We see him resisting the Galra and tricking Haggar which is cool and all, but it just kinda felt like he was there. There was no emotion there, no connection. When he makes his heroic sacrifice I didn’t feel any kind of heartache because it was just like ‘oh...that NPC died. Eh, that sucks.’

We only got 1 Shiro flashback. Granted it was a big one, but like Shiro said, I still have so many fucking questions.

Hunk and Lance kinda got a little flanderized. I get that Hunk likes food, and I get that Lance is kind of the obnoxious-hormonal-teenager trope, but I think it got pushed a little too far in some scenes. They also got less development this season than the others, which wouldn’t really bother me as much if it had been fairly even across the board, except it wasn’t. Half the story was about Keith. Look, writers, I know we asked for more character development for Keith because he needed it pretty bad, but whipping it to the other extreme end of the spectrum wasn’t quite the solution?

The Red Lion’s abrupt change in attitude just seems…strange to me. I’m not sure how I feel about it. This is a Lion that you really have to work to get to like you and it’s ‘very unstable.’ It’s rather abrupt about face to the point when it just randomly keeps rescuing Keith was…well. The first time was awesome, but after a while it kinda felt overused. *flat sarcastic voice* “Oh boy. Keith is in trouble. I wonder how he’ll get out of this one.” On the other hand, I almost wonder if this is in part a reaction to Keith piloting the Black Lion, if only for a short while. I wonder if Red is trying to do the same thing right back—prove itself to its partner? I don’t know. I’m conflicted on this one. But to me it lacked subtlety in the same vein as Keith’s story.

That cliffhanger. Just. That cliffhanger.

RANDOM THOUGHTS, QUESTIONS, AND WISHLIST ITEMS

Okay. The final plan. Cool and all, but like...the fuck didn’t they just wormhole Zarkon’s ship into a sun or black hole? Like. C’mon. Even corrupted-Alfor-thoughts thought of that plan. They didn’t even have to re-imagine it. They had precedence. They were ultimately planning to destroy the ship anyway, and at the time they made their plan they hadn’t even considered trying to recover the black bayard, which were the only things they’d lose. They could have saved so much hassle. (The answer is of course that there wouldn’t be much of a show after that, but still).

As stated I’m not really a huge fan of Galra Keith but man, if I am being asked to accept this as canon, I fucking demand that he gets to dual-wield his Blade of Marmora with the Red Bayard. Because we already know he’s ambidextrous in with his sword. And that would be too fucking cool.

Okay so Matt’s not a prisoner anymore. He got rescued by rebels or something. Cool. Uh. Where’s the love for Sam Holt though? Where the fuck is Pidge’s dad? Please tell me somebody rescued him too? The man just wanted to find existence of life outside Earth he didn’t sign up to be a fucking war prisoner give the guy a break.

Also I kind of laughed when Shiro was all “hey Pidge don’t worry it’s okay Matt’s a survivor like you” because this is literally the same guy who was like “yeah Matt you gonna die unless I fight this guy for you since you have zero combat survival capability and both of us know you’ll be dead in like ten seconds.” And now he’s with rebels. Escaping. In a violent situation. I wonder how that’ll work.  

They were really pushing Multiverse theory in this season and I find that very intriguing. I wonder if anything will come of that.

Okay but the presence of a human-themed shop on a random space mall really both intrigues and puzzles me. ‘Cause this means there are regular visitors to Earth, or at least people know about it outside our solar system, when previously it sounded like we were in the space boonies and no one had ever heard of us (which is why it was a great place to hide a Lion). Earth obviously did not have robust inter-planetary trading since the Kerberos mission was all about discovering life outside Earth, and Lance thinks Pidge is crazy for believing in aliens waaaay back in S1Ep1. So. What gives? How?

The insane animation style change happened again for Shiro using his bayard and then everyone screaming. I guess they have a 1-pivotal-moment-per-season rule with that.

So we knew Altean Haggar was coming, that one just seemed kinda obvious. What I actually find more intriguing is that Haggar’s hair is white. Now granted we only have a few Alteans to work off of (Alfor, Allura, Coran, and now Haggar), but Coran has repeatedly implied Allura has extra abilities and has referred to her (or other Alteans who did the Balmera ceremony) as “sacred Alteans.” Presumably, this is something linked to the royal line, and so far every royal Altean we’ve seen has had white hair. I’m wondering if Haggar is a relative. Of course, this is all circumstantial evidence and pure conjecture. It’s also possible that hair color can be shapeshifted, or white hair isn’t associated with the royal line, or a dozen other things. I’m not holding my breath, but I am curious how Haggar fits into the planet destruction.

Overall I did like the theme they were going for this season, which is that your blood does not define you or decide what “side” you’re on. We had some good Galra (or just neutral ones, like the restaurant owner, or ones that just did not fit the ‘cull the weak, be the best warrior’ mentality we were largely led to believe the Galra were in S1). And we have Bad Alteans, although honestly I’m sure everyone saw that coming already.

I feel like there were a LOT of subtle nods to or jabs at the fandom in S2 too. Lots of theories came true of course, but there was also a lot of dialogue that seemed to deliberately poke fun at some theories or fan favorites. Sometimes it was funny and sometimes it felt kind of insulting or trollish. But this is hardly a surprise, I guess, considering how much they played with us right before S2 dropped.

ON WRITING:

So am I still planning on writing for Voltron? Well. I’d like to. I liked the majority of this season, it was fun, my heart was pounding through most of it, and it left my mind a screaming wreck by the end. It was intense. But it was mostly good. I enjoyed it. There are a few problems I need to figure out though.

Galra Keith is probably the biggest wrench in my fic-writing plans at the moment. I’m not…really sure how to process this. Characterization is the most important part to me when I write, and I always try to stay as true to the characters as possible based off the canon material we’re given. To me it is absolutely vital to do that character justice. I feel that is what a responsible writer should do. So even if I write stuff that isn’t centric to his heritage, or even to Keith, it’s now still a core part of his character that needs to be considered when determining his actions, thoughts, goals and motivations, especially considering some of his actions in S2 as a direct result of that. It’s something I need to keep in mind when I write him, but it’s also not really a theme I’m a fan of. I am certainly not petty enough to write it out of existence because I don’t like it—that’s not fair to the character either, and I detest that kind of blatant disregard for a character’s core traits, it’s not responsible writing. It’s leaving me a bit puzzled as to how to proceed. I’ll need some time to think on it. I need to figure out how to get on board with Galra!Keith in a way that still leaves me comfortable writing it.

(Plus, not gonna lie, it totally tanked an idea I had in mind where I was intending to use Keith as the main POV. Okay, I may be a tad bitter about that. I liked this idea. Oh well). That cliffie is another issue. At least we can work with the S1 cliffhanger. What do you do when a character has disappeared? Are we gonna have to establish they got him back every time? Or set it at an indeterminable point somewhere between all the action? Except there wasn’t really any point during which they slowed down. Just. Gonna need to think on that one. And as previously mentioned in this post, I’ve got a nasty case of the obsessive compulsive disorder, mixed with being an insane perfectionist, and it’s driving me bonkers now that some of my fics are canon inaccurate. I’ll get over it but man. It bothers the hell out of me.

ANYWAY. There’s my thoughts. In one long, super post. If you read through all that, congrats.