#keith was GAY and the writers did us so dirty

[sadsycamoretree]

[deanky]

Total - Writer’s Q&A

Total TV: Do you collaboratively write the scripts together?

Pete: No, typically no.

Andy: We wrote this original script. But typically, no.

Pete: Typically it's been a script from some outside source, or one of us, and then everyone just sort of rewrites it, working together.

Total TV: Do you ever find yourself relying too often on the power bands as an out?

Andy: We have blasted a lot of people this year.

Pete: It's been a banner year for blasting.

Andy: It's always good to have somebody get hurt or killed. [laughs] No.

Pete: That's kind of our pie in the face.

Chip: That's an SAT question, I think.

Do you each of you play sort of a different kind of role in this?

Pete: I'm the daddy.

By virtue of sheer age or other qualities?

Pete: I'm the father of all creative kind of people.

So that episode where all the characters get pregnant and people might think Space Ghost was the father--that was actually you?

Pete: [laughs]

Dave: We all have very different personalities, but I'm not sure if we play different roles.

Andy: We all have different senses of humor.

Do you each identify more with a particular character? Does someone tend to come up with more Zorak lines, say?

Andy: That kind of used to be the case. We used to have a writer on the original shows who really identified with Zorak. He could write really funny evil lines. But I think it's changed quite a bit. We all pretty much have a feel for the characters and have developed them more to the point where they're more diverse.

Chip: I tend to be kind of drier and smaller than, say, Pete. Which sometimes translates as not funny at all. Pete's a lot goofier.

Pete: Andy and I work on Cartoon Planet together, which is a whole different sensibility. And we bring a little of that in.

And Brak even occasionally comes in--is Brak going to be doing any pop-up appearances in the new Coast to Coast episodes?

Andy: A little. Nothing big. Lokar's got a big role in one episode. [in Brak voice] Yeth, that would be a wonnn-derful thing. [in Andy voice] I forgot what I was gonna say.

Are you always the keeper of the Power Book, Andy?

Andy: No. That's what I was gonna say. We try and take turns. But I get frustrated if I'm just sitting there. I don't mind doing the keyboard thing but Dave likes to do it, too.

Pete: I don't like to do it at all.

So you're no good for online chats?

Pete: Not at all.

Andy: I just feel like I have a harder time expressing . . .

Dave: It's like you've said, you have the attention span of a four-year-old.

Andy: I do. And it keeps my mind focused. To have it in my lap makes me think about it. Plus, I express myself better just straight from my head than I do from my heart. [laughs] 'Cause I [Brakishly] lub you all. I don't know. Maybe I'm just making that up.

What about you, Dave? You haven't characterized your sense of humor.

Dave: Usually masturbation jokes. [laughs] That get cut out.

Andy: But we're saving them all.

Chip: For the Christmas show.

Andy: Dave's always working blue.

And he's wearing blue. Actually, one thing I find really charming about both Space Ghost and Cartoon Planet is that, much as I love a good dirty joke, I love the fact this is so subversive without ever crossing those kinds of lines. Which is one reason why it's great to watch with your kids.

Andy: Yeah. It's good that anybody can watch the show. But there are sometimes that we think, man, I wish we could say that.

Like what in particular? What's your favorite blue scene that had to be cut?

Andy: It's not really blue.

Pete: I don't think we want to go on record with that.

Dave: It's hard to make the characters believable people without being able to use a wide array of words.

Andy: We can't use the word crap any more.

Really? You can say that even on CNN, I think.

Chip: We can use it around here. In the room.

Pete: You can't get around the fact that yeah, a lot of people like cartoons, but a lot of those people are children. We just have to be more careful.

Dave: We actually just indulged ourselves about two weeks ago with about two pages of material on the script for Beck that we just knew right off . . . we were just writing it for ourselves.

Andy: And we handed it in too, didn't we?

Pete: Yes we did.

Who do you hand it to? Is there like a network censor?

Chip: Yes. But they're the last ones to see the show.

Pete: By the time it gets to them, we've probably taken everything out.

Dave: We show the scripts to Mike [Lazzo] and Keith [Crofford].

What are you working on right now?

Pete: We haven't named it yet. But it's Erik Estrada.

That should be a great one, cause it's CHiPs! Moltar must be having an orgasm! Oh, I can't say that.

Dave: We cut that scene out. The famous lava scene.

Andy: You came in when we were rewriting the cold opening. We have Moltar writing lyrics to the CHiPs theme and singing it for Erik Estrada.

Can you give me a little preview of that?

Pete: C'mon, Andy.

Andy [picks up ukele and plucks two notes]: No. I don't know them really.

Oh, c'mon.

Andy: OK, here was go. [sings in tuneless, leaden Moltar voice] Poncherello! California Highway Patrolman! Poncherello! He is a really good cop, and that is no lie. Poncherello! He's always scoring the hot babes down at the disco. He sets the dance floor on fire, dancing with them, yeah. [laughs]

Pete: And Erik's getting makeup, preparing.

Andy: And when Moltar sings about him dancing, we found a sound bite where he gets all excited and says, "That's him! That's Poncherello! That's the way he is!"

So when you're fitting a script around an interview, do you start by cutting the interview up? Or does it vary?

Andy: We watched that Erik Estrada interview like all week last week.

Together?

Pete: Yeah. We watched the interview, everybody picked highlights that they liked.

Andy: We've got transcripts of the interviews so the original writer will get most of his lines from the transcript and also look at the videotape. If it's a really good interview, it really helps in the writing process. You can use those questions and responses by the interviewee and just kind of write around it and Space Ghost it up.

Dave: The interview's sort of inspirational because it gives you direction. But in another sense it's very limiting because you're limited by how they inflect it. Something on the page will look completely right, but if they're saying it questioningly, or if they're yelling or whatever. . . .

And that you're stuck with? You can't really tweak that around?

Andy: Yeah. Plus we'll never take their words and make them the negative. We'll never take out of the transcript where the celebrity is saying "yes" and then ask them a question like "are you gay?"

OK. But certainly you do take some of the responses out of context, or recontextualize them.

Well, yeah, we do. [laughs] But not so far out that it's insulting to the guest.

Oh, c'mon! I've seen you guys do that!

Andy: Sometimes we do try to make the guest look stupid.

Dave: I think the temptation, especially in the beginning, was to take out little sound bites and paste them in. But I think we've all kind of learned the lesson that a lot of times that doesn't work as well as it does on the page. A lot of times it's more interesting when it develops as a conversation between these characters.

Pete: Yeah, a lot of things happen in these interviews when you watch the raw interviews.

Andy: It's good to watch the tape for little faces they might make, or different laughs.

Dave: Like Mark Hamill did this laugh [Andy ho-ho-hos] and we kept doing it over and over and it just annoyed Space Ghost.

How far along are you in the process now? How many episodes have you scripted?

Dave: Five are in the can, two will be completed in the next two weeks.

Chip: There's several that are very close, and we're just waiting on animation.

Do you work on several scripts simultaneously?

Dave: We try to write one at a time.

Paul: We currently have three scripts on the table that we're working on.

What about the new episodes you already have in the can? Any previews?

Andy: One who's never spoken before will speak.

Dave: And one will die.

Pete: We don't have a death.

Chip: Sure we do. Sort of.

Pete: Oh, yeah. That is true. One will die.

I don't want too many hints or too many details. 'Cause I'm also a fan.

Pete: We may have a musical.

Andy: May.

Oooh.

[Cartoon Network publicist Paul Seifken sticks his head in the door]

Paul: Uh, Mike asked me to see if the writers could get back to writing.

[blayzez]

I'm sorry, I know I don't usually post discourse on my blog. I'm just... really hurt right now.

At the age of 24, after spending my entire childhood forcing myself to believe I was straight because that's what my family and religion said I was supposed to be, I finally acknowledged that I was bisexual. Even then, I was still second-guessing myself: What if I only think I'm bisexual because the internet/social media makes it seem like the "In" thing? What if my sexuality is just a mask and not who I really am? What if, what if, what if. It was hard.

Then I saw Voltron. Lance seemed to have a bisexuality arc laid out for him, and it was obvious that he didn't quite know he was bi and/or wasn't emotionally ready to acknowledge it.

That was just so validating. It made me happy to know that being confused about your sexuality -- not being sure if you're the sexuality you think you might be -- was common enough to include it in a kid's show and it made me feel so much better! I was so happy, and with Lance's help (and the help of my friends and therapist), I was able to finally accept my sexuality for what it was. And I'm an adult. Think about how many kids his arc could have helped! Kids who were questioning, kids who were unsure, kids that might not being surrounded by a good support system and have to hide who they are. Lance was shaping up to be someone kids could really look up, admire, and in turn accept themselves for they are because of him.

And now that's washed down the drain. It meant so much to me, perhaps meant so much to a lot of kids that needed that role model, but it clearly meant nothing to the writers and that is just so disheartening.

This isn't even about shipping. I love K/ance with all my heart, but I would be okay with any endgame ship so long as it was written well. This includes keeping the characters in-character and allowing the romance to help in their character development. Keith was the most likely candidate -- he really did make Lance a better person and vice versa -- but if someone else filled that role and filled it well, I would have been perfectly fine with that! But that's not what we got. Instead, the boy who has been insecure ALL SERIES has to spend his only romance building up his partner and have that not be reciprocated. That most-likely-candidate boosted him up more than Lance's actual romantic partner, and that is just bad writing. That's not a good relationship. Relationships are two-way streets; you can't have only one of the partners be supportive -- they have to be EQUALLY supportive. And A//urance was not that. A//urance was rushed, did not help the characters develop in the slightest, and took away TWO great role models.

I don't like Allura. I think I've made this clear before, but I really don't like her. I was neutral to her in s1, then the whole Not-All-Galra arc happened in s2 and my opinion of her started going down at that point.

But she didn't deserve the hand she was dealt. She was the only woman of color in the main cast, and they KILL HER??? WHY????? I may not have liked her, but that doesn't mean she was a bad character! On the contrary, she was a great role model and I'm sure many girls of color looked up to her. And then they just kill her? First they take away the great role model Lance could have been as a confused bisexual character, and then they take away the only woman of color on the main cast. WHAT. THE. FUCK. You can't just do that! I feel so horrible for the kids who looked up to those characters only to have it all ripped out from under their feet.

Oh, but there was a random gay wedding at the end, so that makes it alllllllll better~

Except it doesn't. Adding in a gay wedding/kiss with little-to-no build-up is more likely to cause confusion than anything else. And it doesn't erase how dirty they did Lance and Allura. Both characters deserved better.

On the topic of shipping, yes, it was queerbait. I refused to believe the showrunners were doing that -- I absolutely refused because I trusted the showrunners completely. Surely they wouldn't have ALL OF THESE ROMANTIC PARALLELS between K/L with other canon romantic couples for nothing. Surely they wouldn't have developed K/L's relationship more than any other relationship unless there was a really good reason for it. SURELY THEY WOULDN'T BE OKAY WITH VAGUING ABOUT THE SHIP MULTIPLE TIMES AND BEING OKAY WITH DW USING K/L FOR MARKETING PURPOSES IF IT WASN'T GOING TO HAPPEN.

But nope. All of the media techniques to subtly hint at a romance used specifically for K/L meant nothing. It was just bros being bros nothing gay here.

And that is BULLSHIT.

Honestly, the whole season just screams, "SHOCK VALUE," to me. They wanted to shock people, but I don't think they really considered the repercussions of how they were doing it. I get shock value, bringing up the interest and encouraging audiences to rewatch the series to understand why the shock was actually built-up from the beginning, but there's right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. Voltron took the wrong way and screwed it up royally.

To be clear, I am not against straight ships. Far from it, some of my favorite ships are heterosexual. Nor do I fetishize mlm relationships -- K/L is only the second mlm relationship I've come to really love (the first being Hau and Gladion from Pokemon Sun & Moon). It's just that K/L really struck a chord with me and with so many other people, and to take that away for the sake of a straight ship and some shitty shock value? Dirty thing to do to the show's audience. Don't build up proper LGBT+ rep UNLESS YOU ACTUALLY FUCKING HAVE IT. The only rep? Shiro, and a hastily-added Zethrid/Ezor ship. Blaytz, too, but that was glossed over tbh and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the audience (not on tumblr because we analyze everything to death lol) completely forgot about Blaytz's interaction with that make Galra. That's not proper rep. That's throwing it in and thinking, "It exists so our job is done."

Media in general has being doing LGBT+ rep dirty for SO LONG. Even when we had positive LGBT+ characters in media, they were still characters based off of gay stereotypes. They were good positive characters, but were still perpetuating a certain bias against LGBT+ by displaying these stereotypes as fact. Times are supposed to be different now. We're supposed to be progressing, making it BETTER. I really thought Voltron was going to be part of that progress, that it would give us a well-written, well-developed, well-loved LGBT+ representation for kids of this generation to look up to and admire and learn acceptance -- about themselves and about others -- from. Instead, the showrunners three half-assed, tacked on LGBT+ reps and called it a day.

THAT'S NOT COOL.

This isn't about ships. This is about proper media representation for the LGBT+ community -- something that is really scarce, even now -- and how it affects the LGBT+ community when it's done badly. This also goes for racial rep. You can take two misrepresented groups and treat them horribly and then call it good rep. IT ISN'T. The poor representation of the LGBT+ community has proved to be detrimental in society's view of them. THIS DOESN'T HELP.

*sigh*

Off the topic of that, can we talk about how shit the writing was? Because it was really shit.

I'll admit that while I like s7, it wasn't written amazingly-well. Still, it wasn't bad and did have plenty of interesting episodes. Even with all of the asspulls we got in the last episode, it was still awesome because we got to see Shiro back in his element after losing almost everything in prior seasons. It was a mix of good writing and bad writing, but the good writing made up for the bad.

The seasons previous to that were well-done. Maybe not s4, but the other seasons were well-written and really enjoyable! There's a reason the show took off; the plot maybe standard, but the characters, character dynamics, and relationships were fantastic and were the true driving force behind the series and its success.

So why was s8 so all over the place? Why were plot threads that had been hinted at or outright confirmed left hanging or tied together hastily? So many things were alluded to in previous seasons only to lead to NOTHING. WHY???

Why did everyone BUT Lance get an arc?

What was the point of Lance getting a sword if it was never going to be brought up again?

Why was Keith's arc suddenly thrown to the wayside?

Why did Allura have to DIE for her arc to reach its conclusion?

WHY?

So many people complained about bad writing in Voltron, but I had always believed that the writing in Voltron was relatively good. Sure, it had its problems (like the entirety of s4, and the MFEs being boring as shit), but it was mostly a well-rounded show with well-rounded characters.

And s8... just threw all of that away.

All of that potential, all of those good arcs -- wasted.

The writing went downhill SO fast, and it's just such a shame. Something that meant so much to me has dissolved into the mess s8 was. It's disheartening.

I also want to apologize to all of my followers who followed me because my K/L optimism and metas. I'm sorry if I got your hopes up; I really thought K/L was the logical conclusion -- everything was building up to it, right from the first episode and even continuing in s7 (hell, even s8 added to it) -- and I truly thought the writers were going to follow through with all of the logical conclusions the previous seasons built up. I had faith in them, but I was wrong. For that, I apologize. I know it's just a cartoon show, but I also know how influential and meaningful media can be -- especially for marginalized groups -- so if my hype bringing you up made your fall harder when s8 was released, I am so sorry. You didn't deserve that; nobody in the fandom did.

I'm so jaded and disillusioned right now. Voltron has been a major inspiration for me; I originally decided to be a cartoonist to bring LGBT+ representation to children's media because of Steven Universe, but it was Voltron that really motivated me to reach that goal. I looked up to Voltron -- it was my muse, my main inspiration. I've learned so much about writing -- writing character arcs, relationships, etc. -- from Voltron and all of the analyzing people did. Seeing it devolve into what it did is upsetting. Something I loved so much has let me down, and I'm hurt and disappointed.

But more than ever, I want to create cartoons that don't do this; cartoons that tie up its loose ends, follow through with obvious character relationships, puts the main characters through complete arcs, and give proper development to them all. Cartoons that have proper LGBT+ and racial representation -- with LGBT+/characters of color that can be admired, that won't fall flat, that will teach the children of the generation about acceptance of others and acceptance of yourself regardless of sexuality, skin color, gender identity, etc. Voltron failed in that aspect; it was a compelling show that failed in everything it needed to succeed in. I refuse to make that same mistake.

With that, let's all look ahead to future and enjoy the fanworks that do these wonderful characters justice. Let Voltron's failure inspire you to create and make something better, something that will be much more impactful, much more meaningful.

Don't let it get you down; let it bring you up.

[daliakefir]

VLD S7

Kallura fans, it’s been an honor to enjoy kallura moments with you. But sadly we have to admit that we lost. No, we still can ship this amazing couple, but.. we’ve lost...  there is all*r*nce in the charge and I feel it’s Keith\Acxa about to come. I just can’t believe they lied to us. To all of us. They told us “Lance won’t get what he wants but what he needs”. AND WHERE IS IT???? DREAMWORKS, YOU LIED TO US IN SO DIRTY AND NASTY WAY. I thought you were better than that. The season is still really great. The whole story, the action, the atmosphere. It’s just astonishing. But the way what they have done with the ships... This is horrible. I feel so sorry for the plance shippers. This ship is so beautiful and worth to be an endgame, good for both characters, just perfect. And then DW just GIVE US THIS ALL*R*NCE SHIT. Don’t get me wrong. I am not anti, I’m tolerant to every ship, but the way they made this ship canon is just terrible. I feel sad for Allura’s and Lance’s stans. I’m sure they are not happy now. And this is not the only shitty thing with ships. Adashi. It has been just thrown away like it was nothing. It wasn’t a part of the story, they didn’t tell us about them at all. Shiro was proven to be gay. So what? IT MEANS NOTHING TO THE STORY. I AM REALLY DISAPPOINTED.

I am so happy that we finally get Hunk character development that HE and WE DESERVE. His bonding moment with Keith was precious. Shay is back! The purest ship is alive!

But except for this amazing stuff, I still feel very disappointed. No adashi’s development, no Allura’s development \she completely forgot about Lotor!\, all*r*nce’s appearance with no meaning and sense, KEITH AND ACXA? WTF??? WHERE DID THIS COME FROM. AND FOR WHAT.

Writers, you’re still really good at creating amazing, breathtaking stories, BUT YOU ABSOLUTELY CANNOT WRITE GOOD LOVE RELATIONSHIPS. YOU SO FUCKED UP. The season is still great though, cause the story is the main thing here. Stay positive.

[mondofunnybooks]

MONDO FUNNYBOOKS; HITLER, BREXIT THE COMIC ,WEIRD INDIAN GAY PORN AND SADDAM HUSSEIN ON AN OSTRICH!

There was a time where comic creators worked to cause up a stink. Keith Giffen shot a comic (We're still after one, please, Dave or anyone else who worked for Blackball.) Kevin Maguire made ALL of Steve Rogers embossed. Spawn shipped 2 issues out of order. Lobo punched God in the face. Kyle Rayner became a Green Lantern. Barry Windsor Smith said some of the early Image Comics were a bit rubbish while promoting his new book 'Storyteller'. Youngblood: Year One would feature fully painted art by Rob Liefeld, akin to just released hit 'Marvels', featuring painted art by Alex Ross. Tom DeFalco famously declared his new ongoing from Marvel, 'Sleepwalker', would be 'Sandman' done right.

Copies of Sleepwalker are usually found in cheap bins across the Western hemisphere so feel free to judge for yourself how successful he was with that.

But for our money, nobody stirred up trouble like Gregarious Grant Morrison. His interview alongside Mark Millar with Comics World to promote their upcoming mini-series 'Skrull Kill Krew' remains one of the funniest moments of 'What a load of old bollocks this is!' vindictiveness since John Buscema told everyone in his art class to swipe since 'this stuff ain't going in the Lourve, pal.' Some of the less informed American hype rags attempted to suggest that SKK was the natural sequel to Zenith since it would see Morrison reunite with his partner in crime: Steve Yeowell.

Which either means they didn't know, or thought it wiser not to mention a strip that ran in Crisis circa 1990 called 'New Adventures Of Hitler'.

We'll come back to Crisis in more depth because it's probably the answer to the question a lot of the UK retailers are asking at the moment: How do we get people reading comics again. Crisis or something like it would be a good attempt, featuring a ton of original strips in a format that didn't suggest it ought to be stocked amongst a bunch of plastic bags full of toys and a magazine. Crisis also featured two of our favourite stories: 'Dare' which finished off from the sadly cancelled Revolver (Again, more another time.) as created by Grant and Rian Hughes and 'Trip To Tulum'. Which oddly was the only way to find the English translation of the collaboration by Milo Manara and Federico Fellini for quite a long time. God knows how they even got that in the first place.

NAH featured in issues 46-49 and surprised a few newsagents opening their delivery at 5am across the UK when confronted with 'Mr Hitler's Holiday', featuring your man from The Third on a bike against a dirty lurid purple cover. NAH concerned itself with Adolf taking a trip to Liverpool from 1912-1913 and learning a few tricks about fascism from the English while reality warps itself silly around the wee lad. Morrisey shows up singing 'Heaven Knows i'm Miserable Now'. A bunch of randoms begin chanting 'Hitler Has Only Got One Ball' on a bus he's on leaving the future Fuhrer mystified and mortified.

'NAH' originally ran in something called 'Cut' magazine but one of the editors, also someone from a band called 'Hue & Cry' having a strop so either 'Cut' itself stopped or at least stopped running the story. In any event, it migrated over to Crisis. It's rather excellent and while we don't know who owns the rights to it, it's one of those things that really ought to be in print.

Speaking of which......

Those more in the know will have to explain it to us, because the common answer is 'Because Grant and Mark aren't friends anymore.' and we're not sure that's how book publishing works, but the question is obviously 'Why isn't Big Dave in print?' If ANY comic were a timely insight into the mindset of the Brexit voting population of the UK, 'Big Dave' prophetically nails it like a time bullet fired from 1993. Essentially a high budget Viz strip beautifully pencilled by Steve Parkhouse, BD is a series of increasing ludricious adventures featuring that wide necked bloke in an England shirt with a bulldog tattooed to his forehead you see every St George's Day with a copy of The Sun in his back packet. It is ludicriously sexist, homophobic, racist and pro-monarchy.

Or at least the character is. Quite a few people seemed to confuse 'the portrayal of an attitude' with 'the glorfication of same attitude'. 2000AD apparently getting a bit narky if you bring this not being in print up. Frankly, if you don't find Dave having a threesome with Princess Di and Sarah Ferguson funny, you're probably reading the wrong column. We'd like to see this back in print. And please, please do not feel compelled to update this strip the same way 'DR & Quinch' was earlier this year. We'll stick that little relaunch in the same bin as the 'Femme Fatales/What if our artists swiped from Loaded and stuck some 2000AD related costumes on the art.' supplement from 1994, aye?

Finally, we go from the unreprintable to the never even published and perhaps not even written!

Unless somebody does something incredible, we will probably go to our graves saying that 'Kill Your Boyfriend' by Morrison & Bond is the best single story in comics ever published. This, before old men start getting heart attacks, does not include long form series, mini-series, single graphic novels, cartoon strips, etc. In terms of a story that starts, continues and ends in one issue with no knowledge of any other comic ever published, KYB is it. It brings up and destroys the notion of the personality as anything other than a series of reactions to various traumas and conditioning far faster than 'The Dice Man' does and with much funnier results. It could be read as the documentation of how a good acid trip will crack the inner monologue of the ego and set your inner self free, if you were of such a mind. It's certainly one of the best things Vertigo ever did.

'KYB' was part of a line called 'Vertigo Voices' published in 1995. The other books were 'Faces' by Pete 'Shade' The Changing Man'* Milligan and Duncan 'Oh, all the good things' Fegredo a book about why is plastic surgery and what does it say about us that we've conditioned ourselves to believe that there is such a thing as an imperfect face. Also 'Tainted' by Delano and Davidson (we've not read it, but the line up is well sound) and another book that we'll come back to in a bit but what's relevant here is that there was meant to be another comic in this line.

That comic would have been 'Bizarre Boys' by Grant Morrison, Pete Milligan and Jamie Hewlett.

The legend is that a suitably refreshed Grant and Pete were out in India and were looking around at various stalls filled with magazines, amidst the chaos the publication 'Bizarre Boys' caught their eye and was so outlandish (we're not Googling it, but nor are we stopping you from doing so.) that they committed right there to sell a comic with the same title to Vertigo. It got as far as being previewed in Spin Nov 1994 along with talk of an Invisibles TV Show (and come on. PLEASE. Netflix has cleared the deck of all the boring Marvel Superhero things so now is the PERFECT time for the adventures of Lord Fanny And The Other Ones.) but somewhere along the line it simply dropped from the publication schedule with no word of why, although as the comic was to be a fictional biography of Milligan and Morrison's alter egos, it's suggested that they were too busy living the life to settle down long enough to document.

We'd have to make the point that an oral account of the Vertigo offices circa 1994-1996 as spoken by Pete and Grant while drawn by Jamie would be a far more interesting thing to bring us back to the shops for new comics than, well, Tank Girl or Green Lantern.

The following pitch ran as part of The Time Is Now: DC Comics' Editorial Presentation 1994.

'Here's the solicitation copy for Bizarre Boys, which ran as part of The VERTIGO does what it does best in VERTIGO VOICES - a new umbrella title for four distinctive one-shots - where four of VERTIGO's most creatively deranged writers give voice to their most outrageous, gripping and graphic imaginings. Each "VOICE" delivers its own sound, in turn hyperreal, darkly disturbing, irreverent, and biting. FACE is the first "VOICE" to be heard, followed by KILL YOUR BOYFRIEND, and closing with BIZARRE BOYS. These are stories with sounds all their own, tearing a jagged rip through reality.

BIZARRE BOYS, VERTIGO VOICES' most irreverent title, is a story within a story within a story. It's about some fictional characters called the Bizarre Boys, and about the writers who write them and about the writers who are writing about the writers... There are two voices telling the tale of BIZARRE BOYS, and they don't agree with each other at all.

BIZARRE BOYS is a comic about a comic and about the process of putting together a comic. It's a sparkling tapestry of post-modernism and a fast- moving breathless chase across time and space.

It all takes place - naturally - on Bizarre Boys Day, when writers Peter Milligan (SHADE, THE CHANGING MAN) and Grant Morrison (THE INVISIBLES) join forces with artist Jamie Hewlett (SHADE, THE CHANGING MAN, Tank Girl) to tell the tale of two writers called Millison and Morrigan, and their fabulous creations, The Bizarre Boys. Echoing James Joyce's Bloomsday, whatever events happen on Bizarre Boys Day also happen in the comic.

As the two writers begin their quest for the fantastic Bizarre Boys, whose sweat contains miraculous healing and hallucinogenic properties, these latter-day Brothers Grimm weave some dissolute modern fairy tales, take the wraps off the creative process itself, and tell a joke or three.'

We're told by inside sources that elements of 'Bizarre Boys' ran in the final book of The Vertigo Voices line: 'The Eaters' as drawn by Dean Ormston and Pete Milligan.

And that's us for now. What do YOU think? Should these projects remain in the dustbin of FunnyBook History? Maybe Kickstarters, er, started to try and release them as independent books (Lord knows if Cyberfrog can be a thing again, then...) Amazon have begun publishing comics directly from creators like Kyle Baker and Rick Veitch, which could sidestep the whole 'Comics are for kids so why is this in Sainsbury's!?' furor all over again. Image has put out some fairly anondyne nonsense lately and could do with something like this in their line-up. Let us know in the comments and as ever we'll see you in The FunnyPages.

(Big Dave ran as part of 2000AD's 'Summer Offensive' in 1993, some of the most fun the Progs have ever been. Big Dave features in the following issues*:)

"Target Baghdad" (with Steve Parkhouse, in 2000 AD #842–845, 1993) "Monarchy in the UK" (with Steve Parkhouse, in 2000 AD #846–849, 1993) "Young Dave" (with Steve Parkhouse, in 2000AD Yearbook 1994, 1993) "Costa del Chaos" (with Anthony Williams, in 2000 AD #869–872, 1994) "Wotta Lotta Balls" (with Steve Parkhouse, in 2000 AD #904–907, 1994)

*according to Wiki, anyway.

'New Adventures Of Hitler' can be found in Crisis: #46 - 49.

[darlingsdream]

My Story With Voltron and Season Seven Thoughts

So, this is the first time I’ll be posting something personal on here about my story with Voltron and how I feel about it. It’s going to be long, and yeah, trigger warning.

A year ago, I was in a very, very bad place mentally. I was learning a lot about who I was personally and dealing with a lot of losses and emotional baggage. As a very young child, I was very into the original Voltron. I loved that stuff, however, when I grew older I didn’t stick to it and didn’t hear about the new reboot of it. Last year, one of the biggest things I was dealing with was my sexuality. Hi, I’ve recognized I’m BISEXUAL! And I’m very proud! But, I found it very hard to accept that about myself last year, seeing as my family did not approve of that stuff. I always lost myself in LGBT members in TV shows because I felt like I could relate to the characters and they helped me get through my emotional stuff. I would hyperfocus on them to drown out the very, very bad stuff I was going through.

One day while scrolling through YouTube, I came across a Klance edit. I did not know what show they were from, and genuinely believed they were a cannon gay couple. I fell in love with them instantly and began watching more video of them on YouTube. After my spree, I looked it up and figured out they were from the new Voltron reboot! I was like, woah! A voltron reboot? A gay couple, in a child’s cartoon? I was DEAD SET IN LOVE with the show right off the bat. I watched all four seasons that were out at the time and yeah, realized Klance wasn’t a cannon ship. I fell in love with the plot, characters, ships, and fandom though.

Voltron gave me something to take my mind off how bad of a situation I was in. It gave me something to hyperfocus on and fall in love with. I’ve met so many nice and friendly people through the fandom, people that understand me! The fandom is so amazing with great content? Like, the fics? Amazing! Art? Stunning! I loved the VA’s immediately and even recognized them from shows I used to watch! I became so involved with Voltron and progressively found myself getting happier and happier as I met new people, found myself, found relatable content and happy spaces to put myself into. Long story short, Voltron saved me from a shit filled situation. I’ve loved Voltron so, so much.

For the past three seasons, I’ve stayed up just to watch them immediately. I’ve worked on many fan fictions and read AMAZING ones by BEAUTIFUL writers!

You could only imagine my SHOCK when I heard there would be LGBT rep! Something I personally struggle with, even now! I cried when I found out Shiro had a male fiancé when he was on Earth! It made me so, so happy!

So, here is where my issues start...

You can tell I’ve loved Voltron whole heartedly for a very long time. Yeah?

This season, season 7, hurt me in more ways than one. It was written poorly compared to the other seasons in my opinion. The episodes where a bit everywhere and the villains were out there! The time warps were confusing, and having twenty new characters thrown at you at once is confusing! Especially when the show is close to ending. Don’t get me wrong, there was a lot of good things in this season! An amazing and well deserved Hunk arc, Lance’s strong and smart sister! The Paladins all being with their families! Shiro getting a new arm! Major Paladin and Lion bonding! Keith loves his mom!

But, there was just as much bad things as good things... I’ll start with the plot, so people won’t think I’m shitting on a show I’ve adored for MONTHS because “MY SHIP DIDNT BECOME CANNON”. Because that’s not it.

The plot was, for this season, confusing! The space stuff happening was weird. And, as someone who has an 8 YEAR OLD SISTER who watches this show, she was startled by the hostility Keith began showing the fellow Paladins during their “space madness”. The game show episode, while supposed to be a tension breaker, was useless in the long run and more of an aggravating spit run than anything else. Like, it was nice seeing Zarkon, Haggar, and Lotor! As a family! But odd, we never got an explanation as to how. Then we have everyone bashing on Lance, poor lance, for being an idiot, which he is not. As well, Voltron is captured TWICE this season... never had that happened and the way they always get out of the trouble seemed very OP.

Now, I’ll go into characters. Shiro: a supposed LGBT member, handicap, suffers from PTSD, and is of a different race, gets put through the RINGER in EVERY SEASON. They have done this character dirty, I’m not even going to lie. It’s not “character development” to throw your character around like that and kill it a hundred times but allow it to still live. Poor Shiro has barely had ANY good luck through out this show! Then, they go and say, he’s an LGBT character... They kill off his ex fiancé? They said there would be a major plot with Adam and Shiro, and I feel like they did both characters dirty. No, Adam’s death was far from heroic. It was a flash death, not even sudden, and people were left confused to it. I’m pretty sure they even referred to Adam as PERSON 1 in the subtitles. Shiro’s grieving of his old partner is so rushed too. We got an entire clip of Pidge sobbing her heart out over her brother, but see barely a flinch as Shiro looks at his ex fiancés grave. You wouldnt even be able to tell they used to be a couple if the producers didn’t say something. I’m sorry, but personally, I can’t count this as LGBT rep when it’s so concealed like this... it hurts, because they hyped the rep up so much and I was so excited, and then shit hit the fan.

Then there is Lance, who we were promised would get development. The only development for him has been on his crush for Allura and it’s painfully obvious. He is used as a joke. The other characters mistreat him... and it’s very hard to watch. This, as a kids show, just shows that it’s okay to be rude and make fun of other people. My younger sister even picked up on this and said the way Lance is treated by everyone, especially his sister, is bad! The whole gameshow episodes they kept calling the poor teen Dumb and Stupid. Like, jeez, that’s kind of damaging? They even showed that Lance has many insecurities and yet, they don’t go any further about it. He cries? No one comforts him. He’s worried? People shoot him down. He tries to help others? He gets yelled at that he can’t do things right or disregarded. It goes to show as a regular trope kids are taught today, it’s bad for boys to have emotions! It’s like it doesn’t even matter! It agitates me so much...

Then, Keith. Keith is my favorite character, he’s gotten SO MUCH development. More than anyone else... which, I kind of dislike.. but, his personality was totally screwed over this season! They changed him completely, and it’s sad to see! Sure, he grew up, but there is literally NOTHING left of his old character!

Now, I guess it’s time for the major controversial ship talk.... this, is a fucking WRECK. The producers of Voltron said that romance wasn’t going to be a big thing in the show. In my honest opinion, they shouldn’t have done ANY romance, no Adam and Shiro, no Allura and Lance, no nothing. They’ve gone about it all wrong, and it’s just disappointing and UNCOMFORTABLE!!!

I’ll start with Allurance. I, originally, liked Allurance. But now, it’s so over done, it’s so awkward, forced, and uncomfortable! The past six seasons, we’ve seen Lance have a meaningless crush on her. I don’t see what’s so great about her to him? He said she makes him want to be a better person, but, anyone on team Voltron makes him try harder, honestly! It just seems so stupid! And now, that lotor is out of the way, Allura all of a sudden shows interest in him? No build up? No back story? Just random blushing and caring? It sounds like a rebound! I mean, yes, I understand peoples feelings can change, but this? They’ve gone about it ALL WRONG! As well? They have said Allura doesn’t get an endgame, but Lance does? This makes no sense. They have also said for Lance’s endgame: he ends up with someone he NEEDS, not WANTS, the person he ends up chose him as a first choice! This doesn’t sound like Allura, yet, they keep pushing it on their interviews and it’s just awkward! This ISNT slowburn!!!!

Finally, Klance. Yeah, I’m upset... very upset actually. They make Lance like Allura violently and now Axca is randomly showing up and now Keith is HET? Yeah... I don’t get it. I don’t get why they made all those unnecessary Klance moments now. Bonding moment? Elevator scene? Comforting? The soft looks? The concern? The colors in the backgrounds? The built up from rivals to friends to co-leading? They were getting along so well, it was so nice! I really thought that they were the slowburn relationship the cast was so excited and quiet about! It seemed so right! But then, Keith left for the blade, and in the shipping panel they said Keith and Lance were soulmates and they wished they could have seen that earlier. I was hurt. Beyond hurt. When Keith came back, I was disappointed. They changed Keith’s personality so much... he was rude and snapping at Lance, I was like, woah? And then when Keith was rude to Allura and Lance told him he should have just stayed away? That hurt! During the game show when Lance and Keith picked each other to leave, I felt so happy! I was like, wow, they care so much for each other! Lance was so earnest with his response! He made such a soft expression and said Keith was like the future! But then Keith ruined the entire moment and said he just picked Lance because he didnt want to spend an eternity with him! Like, what? What happened to the Keith that hung onto their bonding moment? Why was he so snappy? I am so confused why they built up a nice friendship and then we get THAT from them! It seems so.. wrong now! I am hurt over it, like, genuinely. I don’t even care if they weren’t going to be in a relationship! They could have been AMAZING friends, but they ruined that! They made their friendship seem so toxic!

After this season, I’ve honestly lost my passion and fire for Voltron... I’m so disappointed and sad. Not just because of ships, but plot as well.

I also would like to say as a side note: it’s okay for people to watch a show just for ships. That’s their interest, let them do what they want and don’t attack them... we all have our personal reasons for stuff!!!

[a-rdentlyy]

*finger guns* fuck vld s8 B)

I was incapable to do my final projects until I wrote down all my feelings. VLD is trash, but I’m sadly obsessed with it, dear god just end my suffering. Just to be clear, I also have some (very few) good things to say about this season but those will be at the end.

Cons

lol the whole fucking season

Pretty much everything concerning Lance was about Allura, nothing about his own personal growth except when talking to Keith

Sunset talk was romantic as FUCK and Keith spoke about how great Lance was and was just so fucking soft the whole time

Sitting at the table and confiding in each other about personal growth had me tearing up tbh

Literally episode one was extremely gay

Like, super gay

Lance and Allura have an awkward date, which was honestly pretty cute, EXCEPT for when Lance suddenly tells her he loves her and she’s just like “i mean ok i guess” and they kiss????????????

What the hell??????????

And why the fuck did Lance choose to seek solace in Keith when he was worried about his “date”??????? (hint: its gay fellas)

And then when Veronica asked about Keith and if he was single Lance literally freaked the fuck out for like 67493862988409 years

HUGE queerbait season and episode if you ask me :/

How the FUCK is Ezor still alive, I’m not complaining, but this was out of nowhere

The astral plane episode w the old paladins could have been so cool

Blaytz should have been with Lance, literally his whole speech about people underestimating him and “fucking having greatness within” is LITERALLY what Allura said to him in either season 5 or 6 (can’t remember and don’t really care about their interactions tbh)??????? Like??????? Give my boy some validation that isn’t centered around his romantic life?????

Alfor should have been with Allura. That’s her fucking dad and his whole “my daughter chose you cuz ur cool i guess” speech to Lance felt so flat and awkward, I hated it. Everything about Alfor’s speech would have been so much better if it wasn’t about how Allura liked him.

AND SHE DIDN’T EVEN CHOOSE LANCE, SHE CHOSE LOTOR AND SETTLED FOR LANCE BECAUSE HE WAS HER CONSTANT COMPANION

They did Lotor dirty, my trash son

Not a single bit of actual redemption

In the Honerva flashback episode could see how his parents tore him down. Zarkon destroying his first colony broke him.

Totally unresolved Lotura plotline. I really liked them together and they had genuine chemistry unlike the “main” bullshit ship of the season. Allura first tries to kill him in her nightmare and then immediately trusts him after he says like 2 words????????? Girl ain’t over her ex.

So was he actually evil and was really sucking out quinessence or was that plotline just never touched upon, cuz he tried to explain what was happening in s6 but was never really allowed to speak?????

The Altean colony was never really resolved???????

Like, who’s running it now??????

Altean/Farmer Lance

Don’t even talk to me about this shit

What the FUCK is with him suddenly becoming Altean????? Like, if he had, you know, some Altean descendents and his little markings were suddenly activated then i’d kind of get it

Also Lance has Altean markings now, because we just can’t let Lance move on from Allura and be happy can we

This ending was SUCH BULLSHIT. Lance has always wanted to be a pilot but now that some girl he liked is dead he wants to live on a farm w his family?????

I’m still not done with how they won’t just let Lance move on from Allura and be happy

He lives on Altea, of all places, so he’ll see her people everywhere

He has fucking Altean markings so he’ll be reminded of her every time he looks at himself in the mirror

Honerva seemed like such a good, complex villain but they just made her goal so fucking dumb

I figured she’d want to get Lotor back (which I dug because I’m always here for mother’s love n shit) plotlines, but suddenly she’s trying to get to an alternate universe?????? The fuck?????

And what the hell happened when she actually went to the AU, what the actual fuck

What a bitch, she’s still pissed at Allura even in this alternate reality

Lol AU baby Lotor telling Honerva how she sucks is incredible

Klance

Fucking gypped

So much build up

Where the hell is the “slow burn” endgame for Lance?????? Definitely not with Allura, that shit was rushed as hell

Literally so much chemistry between Keith and Lance

Allurance

I don’t actually hate Allurance

The writers just suck at doing their job and making good romantic relationships

Literally cringed at every scene where Allura and Lance interacted tho, it just felt so forced

When Lance said “my girlfriend” I actually had to stop watching and had to take a solid half hour to recover (I’m not even joking), it was the worst thing I had ever heard

HELLA rushed “i love you” to Allura. Lance, she’s the fucking best, I agree, but dude. You honestly don’t even really know each other that well (the demi in me is coming out lol)

Allura never once responded to Lance saying I love you until the very end, and even then it felt more like a platonic “I love who you are” deal. She definitely didn’t love Lance like he cared for her.

She even ended up dying and walked towards Lotor at the end, she still chose Lotor over Lance at the very end

And we just can’t let Lance have anything nice, can we

Lotura

“He was happy with you” fuckin Honerva speaking the truth for once

Literally one of the best ships that crashed and burned for no reason

Through this entire season you can still see Allura isn’t over Lotor

Allura, they did you so dirty as well

My wife

I’m so sorry for what they did to you

This amazing survivor of genocide that thought that she was the last survivor was killed off

They also ruined ur character tho, the real Allura would never have basically tortured the real Zarkon without quintessence poisoning

And you would have realized you don’t actually love Lance like that

Those goodbyes actually destroyed me at the end tho

“I’m gonna miss you Allura” BITCH ME TOO, THE FUCK

Shiro’s goodbye made me tear up the most

So she can create infinite realities because of her sacrifice except for one where she lives???????

And who’s leading the new Altea????? No one???? They never explain what happens with the actual colony that Lotor made and the current timeline

Holy shit I just realized we never actually found out if Lotor survived the quintessence field or not

I mean, almost certainly didn’t

But still, that shit’s important to tell us

Looked like a hawk carrying away a baby mouse

Shiro’s wedding was fucking bullshit

Like finally he can be happy

But god, give us fucking SOME development that isn’t damage control

At least I liked whoever he married in those background scenes despite never learning his name

MATT’S HAIRCUT IS A TRAVESTY at the end

He looks way better with long hair

What the fuck was with the lions just dipping??????????

Tbh that shit made me cry

And now they’re just chilling out in space??????

Pros

The beginning of the season was actually surprisingly really good? Like, I was nearly invested the whole time up until episode 8?????? And then it got fucking insane and weird with no explanation.

THE ANIMATION IS GORGEOUS

Baby Lotor was so fucking cute, I adore him.

Those small Klance scenes killed me

Keith supporting and validating everything Lance has done and just being a great bf in general

That romantic ass sunset scene (you CANNOT tell me that shit was platonic)

We could have had it all yo :(

Surprisingly really liked Kinkade’s vlog episode, it made me like the MFE pilots

I didn’t care about them at ALL in s7 but now I like them more

Just Kinkade and Rizavi tho

Some tasty VeronicaxAcxa shit

That’s lesbian activity

Thank god Bex was right when she said Kacxa wasn’t gonna be a thing

Old Paladin’s were pretty cool except for the bullshit talking

BAD. ASS. VOLTRON/ATLAS FUSION.

Thank GOD Galra Emperor Keith wasn’t a thing

Coran keeping Allura’s memory alive keeps me alive

HIS TOAST TO HER HAD ME CRYING

THEY REALLY WERE FAMILY

Thank god it doesn’t seem like Lance is insanely depressed a year after Allura’s death, this kid needs closure and to move on and find some semblance of happiness that doesn’t revolve around romance

Small Klance moments at the end

That fucking reunion at the end made me cry

At least we got a mlm kiss, even though it’s garbage :)

List of Those Done Dirty

ALLURA

Lance

Lotor

Shiro

Adam

The Whole Fucking Fandom

All in all, fuck v slur, 3/10 for the season and 4.5/10 for the whole show. Seasons 1-3 are the only canon seasons. Except for parts of Season 5 and 6. Those can stay.

Also Klance is Canon King.

[chillafqueen]

My thoughts on Voltron (especially season 8)

As a collective, the series was great. I’m not going to shit all over it and denounce it for the rest of my life. I’m gonna rewatch it, write fan fiction, follow artists and writers who will continue to do amazing work. I’m still in the process of buying more merch. It’s in my top 5 favorite shows. That said:

I’m extremely disappointed in the show’s ending. From about season 5-6, I feel the writers were way in over there heads. They had so many ideas and characters they wrote and put into the show. Yes, there was some important moments its just uggh.

Imma just get into it.

First off, Takashi Shirogane He’s been through hell and back. He was an amazing character the writers just tossed to the side when they wanted to follow the original plot more. I mean, in the original series Shiro was never the black paladin. The original Shiro was the blue paladin and was killed off. Then was kinda, kinda not Sven afterwards. VLD’s Shiro was poorly planned. They make him the black paladin for what reason? To give us a spacer until the writers were ready to make Keith the leader and then we just push Shiro to the side. His clone doesn’t suffice. Clone Shiro/Kuron is just bullshit honestly. Real Shiro is actually dead/stuck in the inner quintessence of the black lion while his clone is fucking up Shiro’s image. Yes, Kuron is just a pawn in Haggar’s evil plan to defeat Voltron, but before we know that, we just see “Shiro” fight with Keith over how to lead Voltron, and yell at everyone. To make things worse, Shiro never gets to pilot Black again because Allura needs to be blue, Lance red, and Keith black to follow the originial series. The writers just shit all over Shiro. They take away his arm again, kill off his ex fiance, don’t give him anytime to mourn him really, season 8 doesn’t even ever mention Adam. Nothing.  Adam was there just to say “gay rep”. And Shiro is given the Atlas to pilot which is just Castle of Lions and Voltron’s love child. They think they can just take away Shiro’s claim on the black lion and just toss him a new ship to make it up?

Shiro had to constantly fight for the control of Black because Zarkon still had a connection. Shiro earned his right to be the leader. I love you, Keith, but Shiro deserves Black.  Shiro didn’t go through all this shit to hand it over to someone else. They hand him this ship that seems awesome but is overkill. Castle of Lions is gone what are we going to do? Oh, just make a new one except it turns into a thicc voltron. 

Then season 8 comes around and Shiro isn’t given any real new development. In fact he’s just a face at this point. He captains the Atlas but all the spot light is on the current paladins and Allurance. 

Like Keith and him are distant friends now???

And in the end we just throw him a rando to marry and call it good?

Next we have Pidge, who I don’t have as much to rant about. She’s my baby and I will protect her at all costs. The only real problem I ever had about my little Katie is the constant cliche thrown around every time she starts explaining science or math things using smart big technical terms and you get someone to say “in english this time” or “Just get to the point”. Like Pidge, you is smart but too smart omg just dumb everything down for us dumbs is a constant joke thrown into the show. Just let my girl use her big words and be proud of her intelligence. While she has a very great role, she deserves more instead of deus ex machina-ing everything.  

Now Allura. Oh boy here we go.  I love my beautiful strong black girl. She’s smart, resilient, and a fighter. They did her dirty.  I mean we just kill her off? I was rooting for her. WE was all rooting for her. She’s a grounded princess who just wants to end the war and do Altea some justice. instead we throw her into romance like there isn’t the constant threat of the Galra just waltzing in any moment? My girl deserved better. She becomes the blue paladin, and struggles with learning how to work with blue as one. And watching her over come that obstacle was amazing and I’m a proud mom. But we just kill her off? Like Altean Alchemy is a fictional practice in a fictional show. Why did it take both Honerva and Allura to fix it all? Why did it have to take their lives? Why couldn’t Allura just take a deep breath close her eyes like she’s done with everything else and then do her blue glowy stuff and boom, lets go home.

They made the rules so her death wasn’t necessary. They could make easier less mean rules

Was it the writers trying to find a way please more than one ship? Like they wanted Allurance but killed her off to make Lance single and ready to mingle with Keith or Pidge to make fans happy? Did they think after fixing all realities once more that Allura had no where to go? They didn’t want her to help bring all the planets together? Did they not want her to marry Lance? I mean, we ask how do we form Voltron without Allura, and she answers Voltron is no longer needed. Like is there really not going to be any rebellion that needs Voltron intervention? Who says someone in the Galra empire isn’t satisfied with the ending? Or someone in the Altean colony wants revenge? Voltron could still be used. plus just because Voltron is no longer needed why can’t Allura be needed still??  I also can’t stand the writing they did for her. I’m looking at you, Allurance.  Allurance isn’t one of my favorite ships just because of how it turned out. Lotor and Allura was even then a bit iffy, although was healthier than Allurance. With Lotura, Allura and Lotor bonded, had their Altean heritage in common. A common goal. They weren’t rushed together. They were amazing together, until the very end where Lotor goes insane with quintessence. Allurance is just forced. In the very beginning until about season 7 we see Allura ever showing any feelings for Lance. All this time it was Lance being a cheesy lover boy who was hot for the princess and in return Allura rolled her eyes or ignored his advances. Up until season 7 where Allura all of a sudden blushes and whabam, has a full blown crush on Lance. OUT OF NOWHERE. Sure, theoretically Allura could’ve just hid her feelings very well until that point.  This newfound love just mocks Allura’s character. A strong woman who needs no man, but you know that hot suave prince who no one could resist. Then all of a sudden right before a mission, Allura becomes a little school girl blushing and stuttering.  Anyway, Allura deserved better than being a martyr and a rushed relationship.

Next on my list is Lance. My very precious boy who I will end myself to make smile. HE IS A BEAUTIFUL BOY WHO DESERVES EVERYTHING. including Keith  Lance, a cocky pilot, a terrible flirt, a lover not a fighter. He has one of the best arcs in my opinion. He’s a star example of growing up. He is first just a goofy boy with no care in the world except to show up Keith and get the ladies. As time progresses he matures so much. Goddamn should I even write about him because I just love him so much. He becomes a ninja sharpshooter, gains confidence, fucking earns himself the title of paladin.  though, he is constantly used as an object for comedy or plot continuance. He is the stupid one of the group who doesn’t understand anything. He’s the classic funny guy. Makes jokes, big flirt, doesn’t understand the big words the smart ones make. But I gotta admit, I think Lance eventually realizes that character and that’s him. Once “Shiro” comes back Lance thinks someone has to give up a lion. The old Lance would’ve voted Keith off the island, but Lance at this point came to terms that Keith isn’t just his rival. Keith is a vital part of Voltron. Lance has faith in Keith as the leader, and a paladin in general. And Allura at this point made some amazing progress with Blue, the lion Lance prided himself on the one Blue picked. Lance was willing to give up Blue for Allura and give Keith back Red, the lion Lance also really wanted in the beginning as well. Lance questions his own worth. He realizes he’s the goofy flirt. He’s not as smart as Pidge or Hunk. He’s not as skilled of a pilot and fighter like Keith. He’s not a leader like Allura or Shiro. Lance eventually realizes his importance later on when he finally gets some recognition and praise. “That’s why we bring our sharpshooter” Lance also develops a huge real crush on Allura. While he always had a thing for her, he also had a thing for literally any other female being he had come across that was remotely attractive. His not so serious hard on for Allura turns into something beautiful. He sees her for more than her looks. He knows how fucking incredible she is and he knows he’s not worthy. 

But season seven fucks him over as well as everyone else. Forced Allurance. Lance had a big crush on Allura for years and waited patiently. Allura falls for Lance out of NOWHERE. That’s all fine and dandy cause I love my boy and he deserves happiness.  But in season 8 with their relationship, Lance becomes just the boyfriend. A complete opposite of his usual self. He’s serious and at Allura’s side 24/7 being her emotional support even though she really takes him for granted. Allura never really shows this compassion to Lance.  Lance is just the kid who got his feelings returned. But that’s all it is. The whole season is Lance being with Allura there is no Loverboy Lance. It’s just sullen boyfriend who is giving his all for this relationship. And Allura isn’t like this at all. She returns the hand holding, the hugs, the kisses, but she doesn’t give the emotional side back. Which I understand is because she has way more important things to worry about. That’s another reason why I hated their untimely relationship. This is not the time for a blossoming relationship. Allura isn’t in the mindset to give her all to this relationship. She’s busy with Honerva. allura doesn’t have time to be all uwu for some guy. And in the end Allura gives her life to save all of existence. she kisses Lance one last time, and gives Lance those marks which is never explained further. Like are those marks there to signify only the relationship that lasted a few months? Lance’s love for Allura or Allura apparent love for Lance? Do those marks give Lance some Altean abilities?  Lance the sharpshooter fighter pilot ends up just being a farmer on his family’s farm? Like maybe the harsh cold truth of war might’ve made him want to retire the spaceman dreams??? The writers also just plain lied to us about Lance. Lance’s endgame was supposed to be a slowburn? that Lance wasn’t going to be someone’s second choice? And in the end he’s just sad and depressed over Allura. At this point he’s just there to spread the gospel about Allura. I mean who knows? Maybe they left everyone without a significant other (besides Shiro) to keep it all up in the air. Like maybe Lance’s slowburn endgame is Keith but we don’t see it? 

Then my boy Keef.  My boyfriend, my husband, my child.  What a mess. They gave him EVERYTHING. He gets childhood flashbacks, childhood trauma, mommy issues, a loving parent relationship, a backstory, his mom even got a backstory. He’s an amazing fighter. He is a great leader. He has some good connections. He’s smart, an excellent strategist.  He also has trust issues, a lone wolf type of guy, and he has some problems sorting out his feelings. He learns patience, compassion, love, trust. He’s the whole enchilada until season 8, where pretty much everyone is thrown out the window except for Allura and Honerva.  Literally the only problem I have with the writing for Keith was season 8, him and Shiro have literally no interaction for shit?  “Brother, I love you.” Bitch where?

Keith traveled galaxies for Shiro. And season 8 they’re just two co-workers. 

Hunk I’ve had problems with since the very beginning. He doesn’t get enough love. He’s the big guy so he is always hungry, always thinking of food, gets tired easily, has little stamina, scared of everything. Sometimes I forget he’s literally a genius engineer? 

Romelle had more potential than to be one of Hunk’s chefs. I’m sorry. 

Coran is perfect. Don’t ever change.

In the beginning of the series, they weren’t writing characters well enough, and in the middle everyone had something, but in the end there wasn’t enough time to wrap things up nicely. It was rushed. The last season was a poor excuse for an ending.  Lotor deserved better. They hyped us up for Lotor’s return but it was pretty much just his corpse in the sincline??? We get his back story a bit. But in the end he still doesn’t get the mother he deserved?? And Allura and him never got some closure????

Krolia who? We spent all this time getting to know her and build her relationship to make her a background character.  Keith and her have no interaction in the last season?? 

They should’ve made Veronica and Acxa lesbians. Ezor and Zethrid deserved some wlw screentime. More than what we got at least. Not enough Colleen.

Definitely needed more of the mfes. Especially James. Like I wanted some interaction between Keith and James???? Something at least?????

Also, Bae Bae should’ve been made into a main character. 

Though with all my complaints. I’m really gonna miss the show. I didn’t spend as much time with it as a lot of you guys did. I finally watched it right before the 7th season came out. So I haven’t had as much time to analyze it or to experience every season like all of you. But I’m gonna miss this show. I’m really beating myself up over not watching it early on. Like I’d see it on my instagram, or here on tumblr, but never gave it a second thought. It was just some mech kids show that was gonna be hella cringey. But it ended up being a big part of my 2018 and I’m gonna be carrying it into future years. 

I never made any friends because of the show. I’ve never reached out, no one ever reached out. Seeing all of you interact, or reminisce over the times you all had over Voltron moments. While I’ve only known it for months and I’ve never have that time a lot of people did.

I have discovered many great writers, artists, cosplayers because of Voltron and I’m so fucking happy that I was able to find people who express their love for the show so much that they present it to the world in different ways and I get to experience it. 

I loved the show. And I will continue to love it. I want to thank all the cast and the people who made the show. And I’m gonna go rewatch this whole entire thing over and over again even if I’m not 100% on board with how they decided to end it, but who ever really likes endings?

[magnusglows]

heya mags. wanted to at least check with someone who has seen s7 already, can pretty much guess what your opinion is on it. hope all is good

Hey! Thanks for the message @hoelko  (and thank you for calling me Mags, omg!)So, after getting some sleep, I think I can talk about it coherently, lol.So, I do think there were a lot of great things that happened in this season. Lance got to reunite with his family, as did the others.  Krolia and Keith’s relationship is really sweet and supportive, and I’m always happy to see Matt. It was nice to see the team working together, and I adore Romelle! I wish she’d been a main part of the cast before these last two seasons, tbh.But…As someone who’s gotten used to actual canon LGBT+ rep from Rick Riordan’s books (published by Disney, no less!) , I guess I was hoping that another story originally created for kids could add some wholesome LGBT+ rep into their plot line, too.

I personally feel like Dreamworks did both Adam and Shiro dirty. It’s…It’s not good rep to write in a main character and suddenly reveal he’s gay (and it’s debatable about whether or not anyone would’ve even picked up on this had they not made a public announcement about it)…and then show his ex-fiance, and kill said ex-fiance off almost instantly. It almost felt like, “Hey, all of the straight characters are gonna get their happy ending, but not these two gay characters!” Knowing that they originally wanted to reveal Shiro’s sexuality in Season Two and then immediately kill him off? Yeah. That doesn’t help that funny, gross feeling in my stomach either. :cAnd I’m gonna be honest: they’re doing Lance and Hunk some serious injustice, too. Again, I guess I’m just used to darker-skinned POC characters having plenty of moments to shine (thank you Rick Riordan!). I just…Hmmn. It makes me feel a certain way? Why can’t Hunk and Lance be loved and given as much importance as Keith? HMMMN. Hunk got several wonderful moments to shine in this season, and that made me really happy. But I don’t think I can ever forget the numerous times Lance was referred to as dumb. Ouch. :c Was that really necessary? No wonder the guy has no self-esteem and is waiting for death. Again.In regards to Klance: I truthfully think there’s still a chance for it to happen? Lance is growing and evolving and his feelings towards Keith have clearly changed. He’s in a very different place, in regards to how he perceives and treats Keith, than where he was in the start of the series.  But if it doesn’t happen, I’ll be…well. I don’t know. Shocked, I guess? I’m pretty good at reading in between the lines, and they certainly seemed romantically coded from the get-go. The problem I think will now lie with how they develop Keith’s reactions towards Lance, moving forward. There’s gonna have to be some growth there. And that brings me to the next part:Why the scenes with Acxa? I’m trying to figure this out from a storytelling point of view, from a critical-thinking perspective, not with any shipping goggles on, lol. What is her purpose, what’s the point of bringing her back into the story, after having her gone away from so long? Why emphasize her now?Her feelings and intentions towards Keith are debatable. It truly could be that she’s looking to join a side that has true honor and loyalty, qualities that she’d sought out in Lotor. I honestly feel really badly for her. She put a lot on the line protecting and defending Lotor, someone she believed was walking an honorable path. Imagine how that would feel, to find out the person you’ve so fiercely defended is actually…kind of a shit bag? Then there’s Keith, who’s truly fighting to do good for the universe.Could Acxa have feelings for Keith? Maybe. I don’t know. But it’s really obvious Keith does not return them, though. That actually felt pretty blatant to me. But I do think the storytellers are hoping we’re taking their interactions in a potentially romantic way. Or at least they acknowledge that people will wonder if Keith’s end game romance is Acxa. I’m wondering if she’s a red herring, of a sorts, meant to throw us off the scent of Keith being with someone else? We shall see.And of course, I want to talk about Allurance.  I like the idea of Lance being bi; that means I have to include his obvious attraction towards Allura in this post. At the end of the day, I want Lance to be happy. I want him to feel special, to feel loved and understood and safe and supported, and I want him to understand that he’s irreplaceable and worth someone’s attention.Can Allura make him feel that way? Can he make Allura feel the same way? I don’t know. The writers, again, would need do some serious work to make this ship feel believable for me. She’s just rejected him so many times. Would Lance even believe her if she confessed? His self-esteem isn’t the greatest, and she’s turned him down countless times before. A  re-evaluation of her feelings towards him is one thing, but can they truly support each other? I don’t know. If Allura ends up being Lance’s end game, the writers need to do it correctly. Will that happen? Eh. Again…I don’t know. :c I’m honestly expecting it to feel forced, and that makes me dread it. The world doesn’t need yet another forced straight romance.It goes without saying that the animation is beautiful. And the action scenes are intense. I just wish they’d spend more time on Shiro and Adam. And…you know…didn’t fall into the “Kill The Gays” trope. That’s just plain hurtful. Nearly everything else I can roll with. Just…not that. :cAnyway! Thanks again for the message. Glad I could write something out. Sorry it was so long!

[tazzykiki]

Bleck

I think it’s about time I abandon Voltron: Legendary Defender. I’m not going to sit around and take this stupidity any longer. I’ll probably reblog or like some vld stuff but I’m not finishing that show.

And before you snap and spit and go: ‘that damn dirty fandom!’ it’s not because of them. Know this: I would never ever leave a show because of the fandom. I never associate a fandom and its show as one. If I were to leave a show because of fans, then those fans deserve a fucking medal. I’m leaving because of the creators. They have started pissing me off more and more with their shit. I don’t blame every single person associated with Voltron, I just blame the ones that are either horrible, irritating, or just downright stupid.

They seem to like teasing their fans. It’s like they think we’re stupid. Every wrong thing they do, they always try to back it up with some loose ass claim and think we’ll just take it. The one time they took responsibility for something was when they white-washed Lance and Hunk on a comic book cover. Not to mention, they like to ‘hint’ and ‘tease’ at things in the show that are seriously over hyped. Like its amusing, but done too much and it’s just irritating. 

Not to mention their position on LGBT+ rep. I could care less if a ship becomes canon, I’m not that type of person, but when you say you’re going to do this or hint at that or play around with people’s feelings and hope for the show, then you’re doing something wrong. Sometimes I feel like they bait people in with Klance(and I regret to say this but sometimes I feel like they specifically use Jeremy to bait fans). After the blow up of that ship, they start to go nuts with promotion of it, but in the show there is literally no large sign saying its going to happen(Allurance is definitely happening). They are using a ship(that a ton of people are passionate about and obsessed with) to promote their B- show.

Ugh, now here is where I show how pissed I am:

Why the fuck did they kill Adam huh? No, don’t think for a motherfucking second that I am leaving this god forbidden dumpster fire of a shitshow because of a ship. That was just the final straw. Oh boo-fucking-hoo, war is sad and everyone dies. Well in Voltron: Legendary Defender that isn’t the fucking case. Name a main character or an important character that isn’t a villain that has died. Well let me stop you right there because its going to take you 500 years. Why do you think all of the sudden everyone starts dropping like flies? Since when did VLD care about casualties? Look back at all the plot armor they use to save so many characters that could’ve easily died. If war was so bad in Voltron, Matt would be dead, Nyma would be dead, Rolo would be dead, Shay would be dead, Plaxum would be dead, so many people would’ve died. Yet they’re alive. But for SOME dumbass reason, Adam dies and he and Shiro don’t even get to see each other. All of the sudden the writers, or whoever, want to start thinking about the death toll of war. I wonder why. Is it because they realize they’ve never considered it, or is it because they need someway to get rid of a gay character but keep the watchers watching? Seriously, Adam’s death was completely avoidable. I honestly feel like the Admiral was made specifically to kill off Adam, ever notice how useless and stupid she was?  And then how she died right after because she was of no use anymore? Yeah. Not to mention that super negative, vague and short scene we got of Adam and Shiro interacting. Without prior knowledge, no one would know they were together.

ALSO, the main characters have just become stale and inconsistent now. Keith has been shoved and forced into so many situations and made to be as if he were the only main character. Shiro is used as a plot device and at this point isn’t even seen as a character. Lance is used as a horrible joke tool. They constantly make fun of him, belittle him and use him as some form of twisted comedy that isn’t even funny(I hope they realize teasing and bullying isn’t funny). Hunk disappears and reappears constantly and is a step behind Lance when it comes to the non-funny comedy. Pidge is also shoved into situations and is also made to be seen as a bad person for some reason. Coran is nothing but a joke to them and Allura is only there to help move the loose ass plot forward. Then they start adding in new people and develop them more than the main 7. They don’t care for their characters anymore, after the sudden plot alterations, the writers have lost their shit and just seem to throw anything down.

Basically, I am leaving because I can’t take what the show has become. We literally have ONE more season left, even if they get their shit together, it’s too late. You can’t have multiple seasons of bad writing, inconsistency, and trickery and then expect everything to be okay at the last minute. I’m sick of this shit and I’m not gonna stress myself out about it. Things have gotten so bad that I can’t even bring myself to even feel a little bit dedicated without sounding like I’m addicted to some drug.

In conclusion, PEACE OUT MOTHERFUCKERS.