To be clear, I'm not watching Voltron right now because of lack of interest. I'm watching anime like My Hero Academia S3 and Welcome to the Ballroom and playing games like P4DAN, the P2 duology, and PokeUSUM.
I said that I'm not going to watch it until it's completed. Since it's going to be completed in two seasons anyway... I'll watch it damn it. Two seasons and that's all, returning to the 13 episode format.
Voltron wasn't my favorite show or even among in the whole world in the western animation side of things. If you saw my blog, Avatar The Last Airbender, Samurai Jack, Gravity Falls, and Over The Garden Wall topped the list. And that's in no particular order because I long since deleted any numbers on my list and just put them on equal standings.
I still say the writers for the VLD team did not make it easy for the potential to come through. Their writing still had issues that I hoped they solved in later projects. The writers are all over the place and not consistent. Not to say that Steven Universe is any better since the powers were oft-forgotten and writing is drawn on way too long than necessary. Keep to a plan, crewniverse. I'm thinking that your plot and the needless filler is not approached well enough. To the credit of the VLD writers, at least they were able to write when necessary like tension and character. The writing wasn't stellar neither is SU's. I honestly wished the writing is written to its fullest potential.
I can accept criticism but not needless hate. I really dislike the attitudes in Tumblr that I made my mission to avoid tags, only following blogs at this point.
On a side note, thank fuck the show was ending. The VLD fandom was probably one of the worst fandoms I ever saw as a result of modern trends coming together in the worst possible way. The fanwank was now called discourse...probably to make it sound more mature than it really was because the arguments in fandom were just silly. I've been in fandom for years and only in recent years had I learned the term discourse was switched from wank. Just put wank back where it belongs, Tumblr, social media! Honestly, whenever I see an argument blow up, I call it wank despite people calling it discourse. The reason why I had to put up the word discourse was to catch up with the time. Sides of the arguments are simply more vicious and emotional to the point that I just scoff at their stupidity.
For example, the idiotic lion switch argument started up again. I hate it, I hate any argument in the VLD fandom or any argument in any fandom. This time, though, it's drama for drama's sake. It's all Black Paladin Lance this and that and Red Paladin Keith this and that. I HATE THIS!!!!!!!
Do you know anything about narrative comprehension?! There was no way they would do another lion switch this far and repeat the same plot point! Do you really want to destroy Shiro and Keith's character development and also Lance's for your so-called favorite character?! All parts of Voltron were damn important, not just the head. The head may be the leader but that does not mean that you want to prioritize Lance over everybody else including Keith and Lance. This was not the Lance show! All the Paladins are leader-types, can take the charge when given the chance. They did not necessarily have the Black Lion to be a leader! That was limiting! This fandom failed to appreciate Red Paladin Lance and it's annoying since he's doing great at it but no...Black Paladin Lance was the way to go apparently when it should not be.
Lance would only pilot Black for a single moment and that's THAT!
I hate this fandom so much, so much...
Ships don't need to be fucking healthy! This is not activism! Shipping was supposed to be fun, not a contest of healthy couplings and maturity! I know shipping wars was a nigh-inevitability when it comes to canon, but the way people would fight despite the obvious lack of need to. They can simply enjoy their ship in their own space... Yet for all of this, they did not need canon to validate their couple. NOT AT ALL. Canon may look like it might help....according to shipping goggles. Remember that not anybody would have the same opinion on the coupling.
Look at me. I'm personally not drawn to Maya X Tatsuya but I am drawn to Maya X Katsuya and Tatsuya X Jun. I'm drawn to Celty X Shinra, Namie X Vorona, and Shizaya but I'm not drawn to Shizuo X Vorona and Shizuo X Tom.
Nobody gets hurt because shipping is not supposed to hurt anybody. People should not hold themselves up as someone that 'upheld' the healthiest of ships.
I don't see the Free! fandom which has surprisingly little drama in it. While they do fight about how the story was written at times, there are little shipping wars. This fandom has so many goddamn ships and I do ship in Free! However, I never actually saw anybody bashing anyone else in the fandom.
Why can't every fandom be like the Free! fandom!? One Piece? Pokeani? Detective Conan?
It's pretty rare to find fandoms that somehow don't have dramas. Dramas in the same line as SU and VLD.
I'd rather have someone who had the kinkiest ships and 'sins' who actually respected another's opinion than have someone who had the healthiest ships and headcanons who disrespected another person simply for shipping something they don't.
The fandom would cool down...hopefully...
Listen, fandom, what's done is done. And all you have in your actual hands was to create fanfiction and other fanworks if canon did not appease you in any way. If the endgames did not appeal to you (believe me when I say that I know that NaruSaku was the original endgame for Naruto, not NaruHina), then write the heck out of fanfiction. Do you see the Naruto fandom now? NaruSaku and NaruSasu were still ongoing in their fandoms just as much as NaruHina and SasuSaku.
Despite popular opinion, you had no actual hands on the product. It affected but not in the way you think. Just thinking of VLD's high horse gives me a headache.
When the Naruto fandom was looking normal in comparison, then you should do the same, you fucking fandom.
If you think fiction was way too much for you like way too much investment to the point of harassing other people, step back and think. Find other ways to relax. You don't have to participate in fandoms and in those wanks. Just step back, breathe, and relax.
So...
Let's just get the pink elephant out of the room first.
Shiro was confirmed to be LGBTQ+ and had an ex-SO named Adam. Apparently, Adam was his ex-fiance, broken up after an argument about Kerberos.
For the record, Adam had a valid reason for his argument. Get out of your head saying that Shadam was toxic this very instant. Adam had a valid reason for wanting to spend the remaining time with Shiro just as Shiro had the reason for wanting to spend time on his dreams.
Admittedly, it was a surprise but a good surprise. I mean we got an LGBTQ+ disabled chronically ill POC main character...
Let's just hope he's not the only one. Because having simply one couple or individual and pat oneself on the back is something that does happen in media and that is depressing. We need to get out of that mindset. I wish shows made more explicit about sexualities/whatever and examine them crucially, especially when it's important to plot and/or character.
Remember we cannot have the 'straight until proven gay' thing. We need to get out of the mindset. This was is the mindset I wanted to get out of, regardless of the media. I really wanted the Gay Option in the Persona series soon because it's been a while since we had any male love interests. I seriously wanted it as one of my tops alongside having other people in the other spectrum and of course please don't have a female idol/performer/model as the Lovers, please.
It seemed far out of left field but remember that LM had teased about LGBT for a while now. There had been headcanons that Shiro was demi/ace/whatever you can think but I'm betting that nobody thought they were getting this. While it was not confirmed what on the spectrum Shiro belonged in, he's a confirmed LGBTQ+ individual.
Now that's out of the way. Since we're going to meet Adam - a character I'm most excited to meet - we need to - I hope to see how they are going to write this representation.
Garrison was now playing a role again which definitely includes Adam and other higher-ups. Civilians will be casualties, probably even Lance's family.
The show was unpredictable...and when I say unpredictable, the writers are not good at elevating emotional moments to its fullest potential.
So I guess I'll be watching it by the tenth.
America was still transitioning into LGBT representation. We're still new into the said representation in general media. People who were inclusive are well-intentioned and made mistakes. Bring it to their attention and why it is not good to do and say this and that. People might disagree but if the show actually made an effort to show what is happening.
There is something called Death of the Author. I don't have to listen to everything Rowling or Linkara or Hartman or anybody as gospel. DEATH OF THE AUTHOR, PEOPLE!
VLD, much like YOI, is shaky in its presentation - Shiro died and gone through much. Remember VLD had been accused of queerbaiting when the LGBT rep was not obvious.
Like it's great the Shiro is LGBTQ+, but we were not perfect of all representations or reached the pinnacle. America is still struggling to represent the marginalized.
It's great to be inclusive but we are still walking the path. It won't be an immediate success at rep.
For better or worse, we are in history. I want to get off the ride...while also wanting to watch everything burn with Belgium and Swiss chocolates in hand. Probably both because I seriously want to eat my favorite foreign chocolates. Better than American chocolates anyhow. I've been craving octopus for a while now
America still got a long way to go until we reached the level that showed that they walked the walk.
LGBT representation had to ease into the current sensibilities, for the better or worse. That meant that for now, certain experiences won't be shown unless it was explicit and examine its implications.
This is totally different from ships. Like people can ship their problematic/unhealthy/whatever ships they can like.
But when it comes to rep, it's hard. People especially the community would scrutinize and argue whether or not it's fine and so on.
In the current state of affairs I guess, people can only take the surface level at best. Because in the current climate, better what they are given than having the worst.
 |
| It's good to be inclusive. If have any criticism towards implications, please say it to the creators and writers where they had to know. If they did not listen, best to just move away from them and create your own. What's done is done and all you had in your hands is to create your own, not to rely on others to create it for you. |
I have to point out the creators are trolls and cannot reveal important information. However, on that same note, they did lie and also reveal necessary stuff. They did reveal stuff - Keith is now permanently the Black Lion's Paladin while Shiro retired, for example - and said stuff that would leave people guessing - a slow burn romance ala Korrasami.
I saw this fandom bashed LM for so goddamn long. I have a question: why bash her specifically? Instead of taking the logical route of understanding her, you took the road of cowardice, bullying someone out of your damn pleasure.
I know the show had been on a downward spiral from the fandom's side of things. Some people were reluctant to continue to watch it due to its writing alone. I am, but mostly due to the writers' sliding scale of quality. While better scripted and storyboarded than SU, I would rather watch VLD than SU and that's because SU is increasingly exasperating me and SU is now switched with VLD for a show I won't watch for the time being until the show itself ended. The fandom, again, is one of the most vitriol ever and I have seen the Naruto and Steven Universe fandom.
Now, all we need was Lance's thing in LGBTQ+ and would fulfill what was needed.
There's a slow burn romance and only Lance would be involved, given his emphasis on finding the perfect person just for him.
It could only be Lance.
And his only endgame had two candidates: Keith and Allura.
And that's all I will say in that matter.
So now it's Sheith shippers' problems. They would rather make Adam a villain than appreciate Shiro had a boyfriend at all.
Nope, all they care about is their ship.
Listen, Sheith in canon is shot dead. In the first episode of the seventh season, it once again pushed that the two are brothers and nothing else. The show could not afford to write a gay teacher/student relationship in America's transitioning into LGBT representation.
I don't care about Sheith because I'm not drawn to it. If you ship it, go forth! Don't worry about canon because you don't need canon for your ship. Canon may help but again, canon literally meant nothing in shipping.
Shipping is supposed to be fun, not a contest of maturity! Nor is it activism!
For a long-ass time, I never seen ships held on a pedestal as some activism symbol, not even Holmes X Watson or Spirk! And those two are some of the oldest slash ships to date! Do not use your ship as some kind of activism for LGBT!
That is until the advent of blogs. The 'purity' of fandoms is increasingly one of my berserk buttons in this fandom.
Just that Shiro being a disabled former leader, compassionate and great, chronically ill - formerly now that the Galra healed him - and LGBTQ+ on top of that. That was great and it would be great to have solidarity in-story if we see him interact with Lance. That was a good representation.
Having the contest of maturity in shipping is just stupid. I don't see Eruri fans paint themselves as more mature for shipping two adult men together or even Victuuri fans.
I will not control any shipper on what they should ship or not. Arguing amongst themselves about whose ship was healthier was just grating because again, it's one of the modern trends - having a canon healthy ship when there was no need to.
Literally, I saw brothers shipped with each other, fathers with sons, mothers with sons, sisters, and so on.
Did I care about those ships then? No, I don't. They can ship whatever they want as long as they don't hurt others for having kinks and/or shipping something they don't.
And the current modern trends in fandom should die in a fire. It's making fandom looking less inviting than it usually was. And what usually was what fandom was before the advent of blogs and such.
I've been on the internet and reading stuff in FFN since I was thirteen. I saw tags in FFN that says rape and other tags that outright say don't like the summary, don't read it.
Shippers in the Voltron fandom, Sheithers, Klancers, Allurancers, Kalluras, Shancers, anybody in that fandom who insists their ship will be canon, don't twist canon for your ship. It will be harmful to your ship. Just ship and have your own bubbles in your own goddamn lanes.
Do I twist canon for my Shizaya needs? No, I don't. It certainly does not help that canon was willing to tease it, even when Izaya left Ikebukuro leaving Shizuo bored and restless.
But do you see me pushing Shizaya as the canon couple in DRRR? Do you see anybody pushing Ereri or Eruri as the couple to ship and should be the only couple you ship in the entire fandom? Disregarding the entire fandom's varied opinions?
I don't ship Shizorona but rather Namirona. And I don't see anybody pushing it down my throat that I should ship Shizuorona as the better couple.
In the same fandom where Celty X Shinra was the most recognized ship, there is still Shinzaya for Godoka's sake and that ship is popular. Even when Shizaya was the most recognized ship alongside Celty x Shinra, nobody was trying to deny shippers the fun, not even Narita.
How about Hetalia? It had a big ship war and yet at its core, nobody parades themselves as the more mature one for shipping something that has mature/unhealthy/whatever implications. For all its problems in their shipping wars, at least I can see that the ship wars there looked comparably normal to VLD which looked more like a war zone every passing day.
Sheithers, don't see Adam as an enemy to your ship. Ship Sheith in your heart's content. What's done is done in canon. You can still create fanworks for your Sheith needs.
Do I have to point you to your so-called worst enemy, Klance? The ship had taken blows in the couple recent seasons but the entire Klance shipping fandom is still going.
The Shizaya fandom had taken a blow at the Ketsu ending/Final Curtain arc but do you see Shizaya dying down anytime soon? If you see AO3, you see that there are fics updated often just as Klance is.
This might be your first 'obstacle' to your Sheith but does it have to bother you to the point you'd rather have someone else be the villain when there shouldn't be the need to?
I don't see Shatt fans acting this way, but the Sheithers are. So get out of your disgusting mindset, Sheithers.
Sheithers, don't paint Adam as the villain. Appreciate that Shiro and he were boyfriends, to begin with, not to usher your ship as so-called healthier of the two ships.
Ship whatever the fuck you want. Don't let canon decide what you want when you can write fanfiction and create other fanworks. You guys, canon does not even matter when it comes to shipping. Yes, it would be great to have IC fanworks which are the point when fanon interpretation gets out of whack - looks at the VLD fandom's interpretations of Keith witheringly. However, when it comes to shipping, canon does not matter. Don't view Adam as a so-called obstacle for the so-called canon of your ship. Appreciate Adam existed and that Shiro is LGBTQ+.
Do not let your ship be your pervading thought in everything in Voltron.
Let others enjoy their ships, let them enjoy the show, and don't parade yourself as the mature one for shipping something that others don't. Enjoy the representation VLD even has than your own petty meaningless ship. Despite my opinion on the writing on VLD, I was willing to stick to the end so I can give it my entire judgment.
You don't need to validate anything nor do you have to 'prove' yourself as a bigger person. You seriously don't in your shipping. If you ship Sheith just fine, go ahead and ship. Don't harass other people for simply shipping something you don't.
Do I bother Shizorona fans or Eruri shippers for shipping something I don't? No. Why should I?
Does the Pokeshippers bother Advanceshippers or Pearlshippers? No, they don't. Why should they?
Do Zosan shippers bother Sanami fans or ZoLu fans? No, they don't. Why should they?
But in the VLD fandom, the shippers bothered each other to the point of toxicity.
As for the Shadam/Adashi shippers, go forth and create whatever you desire! Do not care about others had to say about your ship including insults! Create!
I've been watching this. I still need adjustment to their long necks.
Unison Square Garden was still great.
Please, be known that the list below was only the VLD equivalent.
Character - Arcana
Shiro - Death
Keith - Chariot -> Fool
Lance - Chariot -> Magician
Pidge - Wheel of Fortune
Hunk - Temperance
Allura - Judgment
Coran - Hierophant
Romelle - Hanged Man
Krolia - Empress
Lotor - Judgment
Haggar - Tower
Zarkon - Devil
Shay - Sun
Shay - Sun
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