#vld ramble

[has-brain-rot]

I finally began watching voltron

OKAY SO at the recommendation of a super cool person (@imperfection-you-will-find (sorry if you don’t want to be tagged) ) I got into watching Voltron: Legendary Defenders and I just finished the first season AND IT IS A REALLY COOL SHOW. I know I’m like 5 years late to the party but the animation! Characters! World building! All very interesting!! Love how smoothly they blend those 3D models into the show, it’s barely noticeable

Here’s a few thoughts (before I go binge the next season)

- first off it is BOLD that the first episode is an hour+ long. like damn they didn’t have to do that but they did and the pacing is surprisingly good for what they had to do, though I lowkey wish there was more adventuring-to-find-the-rest-of-the-lions because that part was pretty interesting, especially when they talked about having to form a bond with the lions first

- Hunk is a cool guy and I really like how he develops and ends up being one of the more serious characters (when, unfortunately, he isn’t the but of the joke. He’s neat but they make fun of his weight a fair bit and that’s not fun). Love how he has a good sus-detector, also he was SLAYING when he saved people during the season 1 finale

- Pidge is REALLY COOL and I personally (so far at least) headcanon them as enby. they also give off transman vibes and honestly that’s what I thought they were going to do with the character until the reveal. It’s cool how they handled it, and I love that the show didn’t go for an all-boy cast because that’d be disappointing.

- Lance is kinda annoying but he’s growing on me. I’m not the biggest fan but I like how he’s developing. Blue colour scheme is cool, but damn he really put everyone and an entire planet in danger just because he crushed briefly on a girl. Shame.

- Shiro is COOL. We don’t know much about him and the portrayal of his trauma is a really good thing to add. I do find it mildly funny (in a dark way? funny might not be the right word) that like. Lance and Hunk are there because vibes, Pidge is there for vibes but also they were on a mission of their own, Keith right now is very mysterious and gives off many vibes, but Shiro’s backstory is that he was tortured for a year, forced to fight, there’s the implication that his body was forcefully modified as he was trained to be a weapon, and also he’s probably killed quite a few people and he’s trying to deal with that and everything while like, they’re vibing

- Keith is COOL. Red lion swag. Love his somewhat morally ambiguous vibes, also I feel like he’s going to be a big projection character. They haven’t really covered his background other than he dropped out, but I bet there’s a lot more going on. I can DEFINITELY see he is liked. ALSO I feel like the whole “you fight like a Galra soldier” is more than just a one off line. I sense it. Plus the whole “you have to earn the trust of the red lion, you can’t just befriend it right away” gives off big flags of “HEY PAY ATTENTION”. I could write so much about this but I wanna go binge the second season xD

- THE CLIFFHANGER OF A FINAL EPISODE. There is so much I could talk about (the character development, the battle scenes, everything is so cool. It’s like seeing all the things I wish we could’ve seen in steven universe and also I think belos would be proud of the general genocide even if it isn’t religion based). I’ll keep it short and just say that DAMN SO MUCH HAPPENS AND IT IS VERY COOL

I’m going in spoiler free and it’s quite fun! Thanks for the recommendation @imperfection-you-will-find, can’t wait to watch more so I can fully appreciate your super cool edits and posts xD

[dj-crack]

Is it just me or…?

[gaykeithbilance]

Your tags on the fem guys post… you’re so right. Shout it from the rooftops kind of right

thank you! it's very hard for me, being one of the few correct people on this fandom (slash joke)

i've never understood art or fic that makes either of them very fem or masc. i'm still bitter about the fandom on mass deciding to make keith a muscular and masculine man who sweeps lance off his feet after he had the growth spurt in season 6. i'm sorry but that's a twink. keith is perfectly in the middle with gender presentation and will always stay that way. lance in voltron canon dresses more masc-ish than keith, but that's 17 year old lance. he's still coming to terms with his bisexuality and he's still unlearning society's ideals. a theoretical slightly older lance who is more comfortable with himself could be a bit gnc (and look hot doing it). crop tops, well fitting jeans, cool jewelry etc. but he's not a skirts and dresses guy. keith isn't either. you know who is? coran

[lolabearwrites]

Random things I would have loved for Voltron

-Keith never leaves w/ the BOM and stays the leader of Voltron (I have no problem with him being a blade, I actually enjoyed watching it, but I just didn't like him choosing them over Voltron)

-also! I wished we actually saw the "Galra Keith reveal" w/ the team. Such a missed opportunity.

-More of Lance being Keith's second in command. I feel like we didn't get a lot of that.

-Shiro stays dead. Look I love the man. One of my favorite characters. But after S2 it always feels like he just doesn't quite fit into the story like he used to.

-Very biased. But. Klance romance. Not the "will they won't they" shit. No. A actual relationship development. If it was written well I could see it happening maybe in s4/s5?

-Lotor and Keith friendship! Bonding over being mixed race and not fitting in.

-Keith learning Galra culture! Maybe through Lotor? Or BOM?

-Lotura. Pls. They were so cute.

-Oh, should have said this before the other three, but a Lotor redemption arc.

-A Keith and Lance ep. Because in eight seasons they never had an episode centered around them like they did for other characters. Klance had moments. But not eps.

-A Pidge arc !! She had a motivation (save her family) but not really an arc. The same could be said for Hunk.

-follow through with Lance's character development. Writers...you already set him up for it, you just had to follow through with it and actually do something with it.

-more found family fluff throughout the seasons. Because I felt like they never actually got to the level of "found family" if that makes sense

-change the armor color to match the lions. Mostly because I feel Keith wearing Shiro's armor for the first time when he takes over would also have an emotional impact.

- Coran being fleshed out. I know he's a comic relief. But I really love Coran! And I'd love to know more about him.

- I wish the team all had their own little quirks or interests, just something that didn't really have big significance to the story but made them feel more real, you know.

-okay, but It would have been amazing if team Voltron came to a planet that had no idea there was life outside their planet. Just like earth. Idk I feel like it would be funny XD

Anyway, that's my food for thought, feel free to add to this post :)

[vldsideblog]

Okay so I was talking with my dad about Voltron, (which I do everyday because I have problems)

And I was wondering out loud how Keith had gotten the bombs at the beginning of the first season (ya know, the ones he uses to distract the garrison while he sneaks in to get shiro) and my dad said he got them at those fireworks stands that are everywhere in the country (counter point. Is that just a Texas thing? I’m curious)

This somehow devolved into a conversation of ‘what the hell did Keith eat while he was in the desert’ my dad says lizards. Which coming from a man who has eaten a lizard, makes sense.

[garden-of-athena]

early seasons keith was pining for shiro and s7-s8 shiro was pining for keith

keith sending shiro longing looks when they were at the castle of lions. keith ignoring every red flag he sees after the clone arrived because he was just relieved that shiro was back. keith helping shiro with his flashbacks the best he can. keith protecting shiro every time.

shiro falling for keith when he sees him with his head held up high leading voltron. shiro sending keith longing looks across the room in meetings. shiro looking at keith with an impossible sort of softness and love. shiro seeking keith out for comfort. keith being shiros lifeboat in the middle of the vast ocean. shiro surviving just to see keith again

them being so devoted to each other that they would follow the other to the end of the universe.

keith falling first and shiro falling harder.

[alohaasaloevera]

Lance from Voltron is something else man… like yes I want to do face masks with you but I also want to witness you literally wrecking people. That can be interpreted in different ways.

Like his boyfriend, he’s so babygirl and zaddy at the same time. Except he isn’t really zaddy… he’s like… sir. Do you get this???

Like he’s too babygirl to be zaddy, but not enough babygirl to be a babygirl… so, we have sir.

He’s so skrunkly… so awhbwhbwyg!!!hehe. So dorky and adorable. Adorkable. But when he gets serious oh no my airflow is suddenly getting constricted I’m gasping hollering for hair help me haha I’m so fine (I’m really not), you know? Like you want him to grab you or something (replace you with Keith)

Maybe sir isn’t the right word… he’s like dude bro… but hot????

Idk really, but when you think about it, just think about post canon Lance.

Of course, he’s still very babygirl wifey with the most snatched waist known to man kind, but…. He’s actually kinda zaddy material.

I’d like to think he teaches at the Garrison while helping on the farm like on weekends or something?? Just a mix of both but he does work on the farm more in the summer

So his skin is like a few tones darker than before, he gains muscle and strength because of the frequent manual labor, he (probably) starts eating a healthier diet from just food goo and the occasional dish Hunk will cook up. Combine that with other things Lance would totally do (morning walks, swimming frequently, etc.), you get a guy literally straight men would drool over. Also, malewife potential. Don’t ask me why. Just. Malewife.

So, in conclusion, Lance is an adorkable little skrunkly which Keith could get on his knees for and call him sir.

( I don’t even know if that post-canon part is canon-compliant I just needed to get this out of my system)

(I am rereading this. What was I on??? Probably pure desire.)

[sheep-kiwi-collector]

About that sunset scene

It still feels surreal that it exists amidst the entire reason why this scene was even happening like..

you'd think Lance would seek out Hunk for advice because his bestie more or less has an ADORABLE, HEALTHY thing going on with Shay so if anything, Hunk's insight would be hella helpful..

..and you can argue that Lance did find Hunk first and ask his opinion on whatever. that should be enough right? RIGHT? Hunk would know what to tell Lance, theyve been friends for a long time. I would rarely look for a second opinion if I trust my bestie that much.

AND YET. my boy went out of his way wearing sausages around his neck to look for THIS GUY-

...no matter how long it took to find him (and the fact that he had inklings on where to look and ended up here ok then) to ask for advice. Keith used to be (or kinda still) emotionally constipated so he wouldn't be on S1 Lance's list on who to ask if he's struggling with conflicting emotions about a date.

Keith even called him "annoying, stupid, (earth version of you <3).." and we know Lance hates being called stupid; but he's close enough with Keith now to know this one was said without offense, the same way you call your besties dumb af. Lance even chuckles at it.

also.. i mean.. guys.. i dont look at my besties like this after laying down all their amazing qualities and i love them A LOT but... LOOK AT THEM.

Cant believe this whole thing was less than a minute and things STILL ended up how they were.. like how the heckie *IMPLODES*

If i had a moment like this while having doubts about the person I'm about to go out with, I'd probably still meet with the 3rd party, but I'd be considering A LOT of things afterwards........

.......like if it's wrong to wanna give my bestie a lil smooch or something IDK -toots potential bisexual horn-

anyways that is all thanks for coming to my Talk.

Special thanks to Mr Keith "you deserve to be loved as much as the love you give" Kogane for crushing so intensely it's hard to WATCH.

EDIT: OKAY SO I NEVER REALLY WATCHED S8 bec why would i bother BUT THEY HAD THE SUNSET SCENE LITERALLY BEFORE THE DATE THING? AINT NO WAY

[ocdeeznut]

In rewatching s8 i have some thoughts. Why it didn’t work as an ending, and what i think could have been changed.

WARNING THIS POST IS LONG AS FUCK, so strap in if you’re interested.

- The feel of the writing is distinctly off. Not bad, but it doesn’t feel like you’re watching Voltron anymore. It feels grittier and more like a high stakes adult animation than the other seasons. Which, again, isn’t necessarily bad, but the shift is too quick and it could have been executed better if they spent more time digging into the individual characters and their growth during s6/7.

- The issue of ‘there’s always a bigger enemy’ starts to make the plot feel stale. You get bored of a bigger robot, higher stakes, more to lose. They start killing people and planets for a cheap audience reaction when we weren’t all that invested in the first place. It felt like a split second decision by the writers to destroy Olkarion. Something like that needs to be pencilled in from the beginning. There were too many attacks on Olkarion, and as a consequence we got too used to seeing it’s people in peril. There should’ve been a distinct shift where we, as the audience, realised Voltron wasn’t going to be there to save them this time. Whether that’s a writing, animation or atmospheric issue i’m unsure. Maybe it’s just a me thing.

- The Atlas should never have been able to transform. That for me was the biggest investment turn off. Why do we need Voltron anymore if there’s a bigger, stronger robot on their side? If they were going to replace the castle, they should have made it clear and stuck with the intention. That’s not a support ship anymore, that’s something else entirely. I’d gladly watch a show JUST about the Atlas, with Shiro at the helm, but it’s not Voltron.

- Too many things happen at once, and it’s massively convoluted. 13 episodes is not enough time to: introduce a romance, have me actually care about that romance, kill off a main character, form a new version of voltron, redeem three main antagonists, AND cutely tie up all the glaring plot holes of the show. S8 needed to be two seasons at least. If things were spread out and more passion was pumped into the writing, it could’ve worked.

- Allura’s character was ruined. She became a nagging, reckless, martyred love interest. I love her dearly, i have from S1, but they did her SO dirty. Lance, too. They both deserved better.

- I think, personally, that Sendak should’ve been the final villain. Not Honerva. Her arc was rushed and her CORE motivation made little sense. They used the flimsy excuse of her corruption to redeem her love for Lotor, and his name was literally raked through hell and back for a very mediocre payoff. If that was the plan from the start, it needed to be hinted at more.

- There was too much, as i call it, flip-flopping. The alteans are alive, now they’re evil, now they’re not. We can’t get into Oriande, but now we can! Personally, i need explanations, and strict universal rules. If those rules are to be broken for whatever reason - it has to be a show stopping exception and a main event. Everything is excused and explained away when it doesn’t make any sense.

- Now, i actually really likes the subtle art style and animation adjustments in the season, visually it was spectacular so i have no critiques there. If only the plot could have done its outer shell some justice.

AND GET LANCE OFF THAT DAMN FARM.

[has-brain-rot]

FINISHED SEASON 4: my takes time

SO I actually finished season 4 (after this I’m going to go binge season 5) and most of my notes are in the last post BUT the rest of my thoughts shall be below

LOTOR MY MAN you can’t just kill your friend/loyal coworker just because you think they’re a spy. Especially like. idk just saying that you had 3 other people (plus the cat) and you went for the blind person. seems odd :/

LOTOR ALSO BECOMING A CRIMINAL. Trying to sneak over onto the voltron side and you know what I’m down for that. The drama we’ll see. Will he be accepted? not?

They really just got rid of keith for the whole season and re-introduced him by having him just kinda in the background before he does some things. It’s especially odd since there was so much focus on keith in the last season?

Keith was out there doing epic adventure stuff where he could have died a ton while the rest of the voltron team were doing performance shows. hmm.

Shiro whyyyyyyyyyyy do you not get help. please this man needs help. Yeah sure he didn’t nearly die or go through something horrific this season but still there has been NOTHING about his trauma so far. In season 1 and 2 they touched upon the impacts of trauma and how it can mess with your mind but now that Shiro has another year’s worth of captivity testing and general horror, he doesn’t have any symptoms? HMM

also they completely dropped whatever plot was going on with Shiro in the last season. That’s odd right?

Can’t wait for Lotor and Keith to meet PURELY because I think it’d be neat if Lotor like, reforms some and becomes a mentor like figure to Keith. Teach him the half-galran ways without judgement. They can bond over poor childhoods and being broody. I think it could work.

WAIT maybe Keith gets the scar by Lotor switching on them and trying to kill Keith? That’d be dark but is a possibility? All I know is Keith gets the scar at some point but I still have no clue when aelrkgm

Slay Pidge, Slay Hunk <- I enjoy these characters. they deserve good things. They haven’t really gone through any development anymore though :/

Lance’s personality is a pendulum. who is this man. why is he there. why is he sometimes a silly guy and sometimes the only one that can give advice and pep talks. I find myself in the most hilarious position of being confused by his presence but finding him an otherwise meh character. idk my brain keeps going to him and being like “hey.. why are you here”

It’s cool to see them all get used to their lions again, but I’m kind of disappointed that they broke the character-lion symbolism. Red was passionate and ran with instincts first which matched keith. Hunk’s is grounded and tough, Pidge’s is lithe and connected to nature (which as the show said means the green lion is more connected to the base knowledge of the world, aka smarts) and the black lion is leadership and trust issues. With the shuffle they kind of lose all that.

I vote they should change the colours of their uniforms to match their lions. That’s what they did at first so why not now? /lh

BLADES OF MARMORA LETS GOO!!

Haggar exists and that’s chill. Love how she wants to kill her kid that’s very girlboss of her <- do not do this IRL. it is very bad and very NOT girlboss

Overall the season feels more similar to season 1 and 2 in terms of plotlines and general vibes. The comedy moments are good and funny but sometimes feel like they take away from the story? The story is at least more intact than the previous season but it doesn’t have the same level of building-towards-the-climax as the first two seasons. It’s good, plus it has Lotor and he’s cool.

LOTOR!!! Lotor would be an interesting person to go out and get ice cream with and ask him about his thoughts of the world and interests. NOT a date, I just want to study him like a scientist does a particularly funky octopus and I want to know what sort of ice cream he’d eat. Plus learn his hair care routine lmaoo

OKAY SO I know that Shiro gets married to a man at some point but I don’t know all the details. My theory is that it’ll be Matt. Matt and Shiro already have known each other for a while and after living together on the ship and fighting for the cause together they destroy the previous boundaries they had in the previous field of work and get closer. Plus they’re the only adult characters i think??? So it’d make sense. And then Pidge gets a cool older brother

Reason why the above won’t happen: Matt is straight I think -_- Shame on him /j

I NEED TO MENTION MY FAVOURITE SCENE. THE CLIP WHERE VOLTRON IS DESCENDING ONTO THE PLANET IN THE FOG AND SLOWLY GETS REVEALED. THE HORROR THE MYSTERY THE SUSPENSE. I AM IN LOVE WITH THAT SCENE I LOVE IT SO MUCH. It twists the version of Voltron we’ve come to know and show that HERE IS HOW THE ENEMIES SEE VOLTRON. I love that scene so much I went feral seeing it :3

TIME FOR SEASON 5 LETS GOOO. I’ve officially watched half the show and it’s really cool, I absolutely adore every single artist and animator that worked on it. They did an incredibly job, especially after learning they didn’t have much time to do it all

[linipik]

In an attempt to preserve my comics, fandom art, and such and the love, effort, and fun I had while creating it, I've been uploading these digital collections for anyone to download ... because I don't see the point of having them buried in my PC catching virtual dust or subject to the nonsense-of-the-week that social media has going more often each time.

And so, I upload them to my Ko-fi shop for free/or on a pay-what-you-want basis.

What I create is for people, not for training software or giving random companies money. I firmly believe that art is only completed when it has a public and that you, dear reader, have an active role in completing a story by experiencing it. So these are for all the fans too, y'all make this house a home.

And if you ask yourself "Why get the PDF? " I have a couple of reasons:

I put a lot of effort into making some panels and details better, and the comics have fewer typos than the version I posted.

With the way social media deletes things randomly, I really don’t want these comics to disappear into the internet void… This is the best way I have to preserve them and for you all to enjoy them without having to print them.

Extra content! Since I develop ideas for YEARS, I like curating and organizing my ideas/drawings so the whole project feels cohesive, has some behind-the-scenes process, and looks rad af.

I don't like putting fanart behind a paywall but I'm not gonna lie, sometimes getting paid for a bit of hard work is rewarding and any tip means a lot to me. That's why these are up in a pay-what-you-want

I still have so much art to create,  organize, and share with you all! keep an eye on my ko-fi for more <3

[ethereance]

Au where Keith gets a few more future flashes in the quantum abyss than he did in canon. Now armed with the knowledge of many future plot points, he sets out to make things right.

Or at least. He tries.

[lolabearwrites]

Coran, Coran, the gorgeous man, was the one thing that across the 8 seasons never dipped in quality

[dj-crack]

Do you guys see my vision?

[vldsideblog]

Thinking about Keith being a martyr again. Most of his life he relied completely on himself, and when he found people that cared about him he lost them. With Shiro he found a brother, but Shiro kept disappearing, and then he came back different. Almost like a different person.

Keith was alone in the Blade, he thought Voltron didn’t need him. And if no one needed him no one could possibly want him around. He’s a tool in his own mind. A defender, a fighter. He does what he needs to in order to keep the war efforts alive, and doesn’t regard himself as anything more than a piece on a chessboard.

So he risks his life when he doesn’t have to. He trains excessively. He doesn’t try to make friends, cause to him this isn’t something that’s going to last. If any of them survive he’s just going to go back to his shack, maybe spend some time with Shiro or Adam if they all live through this. But ultimately, Keith doesn’t think he’s going to survive the war, and he can’t think of a brighter future than dying on the battlefield.

Naxzela should’ve been a wake up call, something to remind him that he is still alive. But no one ever brought it up.

He’s been a martyr since the beginning. And I think about that a lot

[garden-of-athena]

sheith haters on tiktok are so funny like

“keith was 11-12/in middle school when they met” the galaxy garrison is a MILITARY school so i doubt theyd let anyone that young enrol no matter how good they are, thats like common sense but okay. also stop infantilising keith he was 18 in the beginning and 21-22 in s8.

“they are brothers” brothers in arms maybe but they’re absolutely not blood related theres literally a direct parallel to shiros ex-boyfriend giving up on shiro the first chance he gets and keith literally never giving up on him, even if it means he dies.

“they are adoptive brothers” ??????no???????? show me the adoption papers???????? tell me where it said that????????????

also not related to sheith but i absolutely loathe black paladin lance keith deserved to be the leader he was the most fit for it lance was never a leader. can someone who actually liked it explain how it makes sense to me. because to me it doesnt.