#probably the messiest edit I have ever done in my life

[diaryofamadsunwukongfan]

Expirementing

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[everlastingfable]

a jumbled mess of my thoughts about voltron

This’ll probably be the messiest post you’ll ever read. I’m done trying to finish this and edit it into something coherent, so I’m just combining the 3 drafts I have written out into one massive post. I doubt anyone will read this whole thing, but each draft is a sort of rewrite of the last, so there’s a lot of overlap. But there’s also a lot of new thoughts too as I kept thinking about this. There’s also a lot of unfinished thoughts.

There’s mostly negativity in this btw. This fandom had/has an amazing ability in making you think that this show was utter garbage. on par with riv//erdale or s//pn, but it really wasn’t. Like many shows they had weak points, it was never perfect, but it’s much better than we’re told to remember it as.

Intro from Draft 3 because I liked the way I started it:

This is all of my thoughts about Voltron, the show itself and the fandom. I have tried to write this post out for over a year or two now, so it was originally intended to be my final thoughts about the show. Obviously, it’s evolved since then into whatever this is. There may be some things that I’ll be wrong about, because I’m not about to dig through hundreds of discourse posts and old interview videos to prove a point that I doubt anyone’s gonna care about. This will 100% be based on my thoughts, opinions, and experiences.

That said, I don’t even know how to begin to describe how much I love this show. I’m probably one of the few people who have no regrets about enjoying this show as much as I do. I’d wholeheartedly recommend watching it, because it’s genuinely a good show. Voltron did the unimaginable for me. I don’t usually enjoy sci-fi stories. I especially don’t enjoy mecha stories. Yet somehow, Voltron combined the two and made a show that I loved so much I can’t stop thinking about it even though it ended over 2 years ago.

Draft 1: thoughts about a year after it ended without rewatching any seasons since it ended

It’s been about a year since voltron ended. I never wrote my thoughts about s8/the show then so here it is now. Because I decided to wait a year I honestly don’t remember a lot of specifics. But I still have a lot to say about it. This is very long and is basically everything I have to say about this show. I love voltron. It’s been an important part of my life during college. 90% of all papers I wrote were about voltron. But as much as I love it, I won’t deny that it fell apart at the end. 

Note: I tried to categorize these thoughts so I don’t get off topic and can talk about everything fully. But because they overlap so much there’s definitely some minor repeats when I connect two parts but decided to hold off talking about it all the way until the right section.

PRODUCTION

This is something I’ve expressed concern over while it was airing, but in a span of 2 and a half years, they premiered 78 episodes. That’s a lot, especially when you consider that production for s3 started after s1 premiered. There’s a lot of really good voltron review videos out there that aren’t just “oh I’m so cool I hate voltron” but there was one that talked about how the production was a mess and the writers couldn’t make up their mind for the endgame ship. And while that doesn’t sound like an important issue, it really does show when it comes to how characters are written together and (I think) the fandom war. 

Summarizing what that video said because I don’t remember who made it, the writers/producers never made up their mind on which ship was supposed to be endgame (klance, sheith, allurance, kallura). And this really does show in the show itself. I don’t like klance. I especially hate it because of my experience with the fandom, but I won’t deny that they were sometimes written romantically. The same goes for sheith. And that’s the problem. 

I don’t think the world building parts of the show was fully developed either. Shiro was supposed to be a teen like everyone else but then he was an adult. His and keith’s relationship was honestly vague for a good while. I don’t think anyone really knew how each characters’ relationships with each other was supposed to progress. Was allurance always supposed to be endgame? Because they didn’t really interact that much until like season 6, and then it was kinda sudden from what I remember. There was very little, if at all, parts where we were shown oh allura might like lance romantically. Keith’s relationship with the main cast didn’t exist for like 3 seasons. It was messy. 

Speaking of which, keith disappeared for a good portion of the show. I assume it’s because steven yeun was busy. Which is fine but then I think about how quickly voltron came and went, I wonder why they couldn’t slow down a bit so they could still have steven voice keith during those episodes. Maybe it’s because of how much I love keith, but he honestly felt like a central character to me. 

If I think about teen titans, for example, this show also had 5 main characters. Sometimes certain characters would get a spotlight for a season, but all-in-all they were fairly equally represented. It didn’t feel like robin was the main character. But that’s how I feel about voltron. Keith, and shiro to an extent are the main characters. A good portion of the plot relies on them. Shiro got kidnapped, keith leads them to the blue lion. Shiro is the leader with keith has his right-hand man and they mostly interact with each other. So when shiro “dies” and keith takes over, it starts to feel like keith is now the main character. Now he’s the leader and the arc is about him growing into becoming the black paladin and stopping lotor, who is his main enemy. But then he disappears. 

Again this is most likely because of my bias towards keith, but the episodes after that felt lackluster. Lance didn’t really get his character growth to become a good second-in-command. Because that development was supposed to be based around keith. :P. A big part of lance’s growth is to learn to stop needing to feel that he’s better than keith. And him accepting keith as the black paladin was a huge part of it. But with shiro as the leader again lance loses that development. Keith’s not in the picture anymore, and the person in-charge was already in a leadership position and has nothing to learn by being there. 

Before I go way too deep into my thoughts about the plot/characterization, I do want to mention the animation. The fighting scenes are amazing and one of the most beautiful 2d animation I’ve seen. That is, when it is actually animated and not just the camera panning on a still image. Here’s where my biggest concern over the time comes in. 2 years is absolutely not enough time to animate that many episodes. I was genuinely worried for the animation company because it could not have been a good experience. And yes, we got more episodes sooner, the quality definitely dropped and it’s a real shame. Who knows when we’ll get another american cartoon in this style. I love this animation style but it takes time and a lot of skills to do, so not that many companies do it. I honestly wished they took their time with the show not just to get more time to animate, but also to flesh out some of the plot.

PLOT

As hunk said in one episode, they don’t linger on dramatic events that just happened. This show is very fast paced, and that’s not a bad thing. But they never took the time they needed to really feel the weight of everything that happens. Keith’s galra heritage reveal was basically swept under the rug. So was the shiro clone, lotor’s death, zarkon’s death, naxzela, and so many more. In general, that was a big problem with how the episodes went. If it wasn’t for the sheer number of fanfics covering those topics, they were really swept under the rug. It honestly kinda felt like the writers didn’t know what to do with the aftermath of their reveals. But some of these were pretty essential to the plot of the story. 

Keith’s part galra! So he doesn’t look it but there had to be obstacles with voltron forming the coalition. He’s part of the race that caused this war. I honestly think we should’ve seen that reveal become part of the plot, or what was the point of it? They could’ve just as easily wrote keith to be a regular human just like everyone else. Taking the time to add that part of his character needs to have some significance in the story. And yeah, they had krolia appear but she wasn’t really a significant character except to kinda magically fix keith’s problems. In general it felt like they forgot parts that they were foreshadowing with keith. Why could he turn purple sometimes? Did that quintessence he was hit with fix him or help him hide the galra parts? Why does he look so human? What is up with him having that quintessence sensitivity? I’m all for shows ending with some questions unanswered because sometimes it’s impossible to answer it all and let it feel natural, but this just felt like they forgot or decided it’s too much of a hassle and just ignored it.

Okay going into more specifics now, s8 was kinda meh. It especially felt bad because it came out the same day as spiderverse which had a very similar villain motivation, but objectively done better. I think honerva’s motivation came out of nowhere. We see in the flashback episode that she was so intent on getting knowledge that it literally destroyed daibazaal. So, it was established that her motivation is knowledge. Even though she lost her memory and regained it, as haggar she was still very focused on quintessence. We know she was gathering a lot of it, and maybe they said it and I forgot, but we never knew why. Family wasn’t really shown as a motivation for her. Even with lotor it didn’t seem like she wanted to be a family again, but instead was using him for her own unknown motivations. Anyways, the season felt awkward. And the new dynamic they had really needed more time. The last season should’ve expanded to be at least 2 more. It would’ve fit a lot better imo. S1-2 would have zarkon as the main villain, s3-6 would have lotor, and s7-8 would have haggar, who was also the puppeteer throughout the entire show. But she didn’t appear for s7 and her motivations didn’t really make sense in s8 so it evidently felt rushed. There were also so many major characters in s8 we needed more time to see them interact. 

So the ending with allura becoming constellations. Gonna be honest that whole last part had me confused. Especially with the fact that I barely remember what happened, why are the old paladins like trapped in the lions? I could excuse the other 4 but zarkon? Especially a zarkon that’s not corrupted? It was weird and didn’t make a whole lot of sense, and that’s all I’ll say about that. I don’t even want to try to suggest an alternative because I think that whole last half of the season is so messy it can’t be fixed. But it was so obviously pandering to the fandom it hurt. Lance getting those marks was so obviously referencing when people wanted lance to be altean in response to keith’s galra heritage. The shiro/curtis kiss was very “look see he is gay and not just because we said so” while nice, was very weak (why wasn’t keith in the shot?).

Despite my complaints, I remember liking s8. I really liked the addition of the atlas, even though it didn’t feel like we were watching voltron anymore sometimes. S7 had to be one of my favorite episodes since s2. Not to say that s7 is better or worse, but I really like it because it felt like a genre shift. I usually don’t like space sci-fi or mecha stories. Voltron somehow managed to combine the two and make me love it. S7 did not feel like either of those. First, a good half of it took place on earth. And I believe two episodes didn’t even have the main cast, and when team voltron finally made it to earth, voltron wasn’t even there until the final battle. I genuinely loved it. I think it was a very well done invasion/apocalyptic story that doesn’t get told in animation that often. But if I think about s7 with the rest of the show, it was awful. It broke up the tone the show usually had and it was a very different way of storytelling that voltron didn’t have before. It wasn’t a space sci-fi mecha story, it was an apocalyptic action story. Voltron was so unimportant they sat on a moon for episodes. It stopped becoming voltron and started becoming a spin-off. 

I do have to add that I absolutely loved the color themes in s7. We already had purple for the galra, but in s7 it was very obvious that alteans are themed blue and earth is themed with orange. I loved it so much and it was great. I do like that they gave shiro something to do. Honestly not killing him off in s2 made him an awkward character afterwards. But I didn’t like that they brought back sendak. There was no explanation for it and it wasn’t good imo. He didn’t really do anything besides conquer earth then die. Haggar was also absent the entire season which definitely didn’t help her storyline in s8 because we didn’t know what she was doing the entire time except abandoning everyone who was loyal to her. 

I’m usually not a fan of time skips, it has the tendency to gloss over character development or create glossed over recap. Honestly I wish voltron spent more time over the blade of marmora massacre or just the bom in general. They received no rest. Literally everyone part of that group died except for kolivan. Speaking of that episode, there was no explanation for how keith was able to know where macidus was about to appear and that honestly bugs me. There’s so much about keith we don’t know. He has so many abilities we were just never told. 

Again a lot of problems within team voltron is that there was never any follow up on things that happened, like keith leaving the team. He becomes the black paladin and no one bats an eye. Lance did make one comment about keith leaving but then it wasn’t ever mentioned again. I get that the writers/producers wanted the dynamic the original had, but they didn’t take the time to work up to it. Keith wasn’t a natural leader, but he suddenly is because he spent 2 years on a space whale with his mom and a space wolf. Like I mentioned earlier, voltron feels like keith is the main character but then they dropped him for a few episodes, realized that he’s important and added him back in while saying “oh he went through a time skip so he grew into the role he needs to be in now”. It feels like a cheap pay off.

I’d like to specifically talk about my thoughts on each season and work back but honestly I don’t think I can remember s3-6 separately. So they’re being chunked together. 

Lotor had the potential to be a really great villain. But he had to be foiled with keith. They have a lot of similarities that I think could’ve really played off well together. Lotor isn’t really allowed to have a leadership position. Yeah he was technically in charge while zarkon was recovering, but haggar didn’t really allow him full control. But, he was a great leader. He knew how to read his enemies and form an alliance. Meanwhile, keith had a leadership position thrusted to him, and frankly he wasn’t a good leader. He tends to keep to himself so he never really has to make decisions with a team. It could’ve been great, but shiro had to still be in the story. I’m honestly conflicted about this because on the one hand, I think it really ruined character developments for the main cast, but then I loved the clone shiro plot line. I think keeping shiro prevented keith from growing. He was able to remain dependent on shiro instead of actually bonding with the rest of the paladins. And of course he had to just go awol. Also, lance didn’t really get to have as prominent of a role as I think he could’ve had with keith. 

These seasons are also when the lions stopped being sentient robots that specifically choose their paladins to just really cool spaceships. We don’t get that level of bonding that was so prominent in s1 and 2. That’s also something I’m conflicted with. I think the lion swap was a great way for character developments, but it also removed a lot of it. It kinda made the bonding feel useless. The swap also changed the dynamic of the group. Instead of shiro and allura being co-leaders, and everyone else feeling like they’re on equal footing, it felt like Keith was the leader with lance being a needed right-hand man. Hunk and pidge were off doing their thing and allura was a leader but also not. Maybe if they had spent more time working with this dynamic it would’ve felt better. But they didn’t and it didn’t. Voltron also implied that allura was the only one that could control the castle ship, but then she goes to become a paladin and who’s driving the ship?

I do wish we could’ve gotten more about the altean colony and the reveal about lotor’s plans, but that got overshadowed and forgotten by the clone shiro reveal. Maybe I just missed it, but I wasn’t sure what the galra empire and lotor were collecting quintessence for. Was it just to make mechs to rival voltron? Lotor’s death was also very unclear. 

The coalition was a much needed thing, but I think very badly executed. They were gathering people from malls. These people are regular civilians who probably don’t know how to fight or fly a ship. I thought it was really weird that they were just getting regular people (aliens?) to sign up like they’re applying to be part of the army. But we never see them maybe join the rebel force matt is part of to learn how exactly to help. I think about avatar and how they also had a rag tag group of people to fight against the fire nation, but these weren’t just regular people living in a village. They were either warriors or very skilled benders. The voltron coalition was just regular people. That genuinely annoyed me because the voltron show just felt like those army propaganda ads, but exciting. Not to mention it was a very hard to watch episode. 

It was definitely making fun of how the fandom complains about how characters are getting reduced to a certain characteristic. But it wasn’t done in an entertaining way like the ember island players episode from atla because some of those were legit complaints (like hunk being the fat/food guy) and that stuff wasn’t resolved. Like the ember island players made fun of sokka constantly talking about meat or katara crying all the time, but the show made it very clear beforehand that these characters are much more than that. Is hunk really more than the food guy? As far as the show mentions, the only things he’s done was make the machine to help find the blue lion, and help save the balmera. All of which was in season 1. After that hunk honestly took the backseat in voltron.

I mentioned earlier, but the time skip on the space whale felt like we were cheated out of keith’s character development. I mean we got development, but we didn’t get to see it. The vlog short showed that keith believes a lot of his problems stems from not having a mom (and a dad) in his life. But instead of seeing keith learning to trust and open up to people despite having so many people in his life leaving him, we get a cute montage of him with his mom. As if it makes sense that two years with his mom would fix everything. (side note, I know a lot of people were saying how obvious it was that krolia was keith’s mom, I genuinely did not know until she said so at the end of that episode).

I’m not gonna talk about my thoughts on s1 and 2 because I’m pretty sure I live blogged those and honestly I don’t think I remember it. 

CHARACTERS

Now I’m finally talking about the characters and I’m starting off with keith as if I haven’t talked about him enough already. I love keith. He’s undeniably one of my (if not the) favorite characters ever. And he’s obviously a fandom favorite if we’re considering the two biggest ships in the fandom. Or maybe he really is just the secret main character of voltron. We know so much about him, for someone who loves keith, it’s great. We basically know his entire backstory, and yet we know no one else’s (except maybe lotor but even that’s iffy).

I never rewatched a single voltron episode since it ended, and I can’t watch any of the connected shows (meaning shows that have the same ppl that worked on it or the same fans, think dragon prince and she-ra) because the fandom was the absolute worst one I’ve ever been in and parts legit trigger me. I am fascinated with fandoms. I love it. I chose my major because it was the closest I could get to just learning about them 24/7. But the voltron fandom was so incredibly toxic and over two ships? Honestly the fandom itself was a major reason why I couldn’t get super invested in the later seasons. I get afraid when it seems like a certain ship might happen. I actually hoped that certain characters just didn’t interact. (I’m not gonna get much deeper in this because I don’t want to touch this topic with a ten-foot pole, at least not now) Aside from that, I think that the plot and characterizations for voltron got really messy post s2. The lion switch was never handled well imo, and post switch the lions lost that sentient personality that was established in the first two seasons. It also didn’t make sense aside from the writers wanted everyone in the original lions. Or at least, we never got the proper character developments into those roles. Keith left right after becoming the black paladin. 

I think another major problem with the show is how some decisions felt like pandering. I remember hearing that they didn’t kill off shiro because he was a fan favorite, so he had to stay for marketing and to make more money. But then keeping shiro alive would’ve derailed the original plot idea. I wish I could see how the story would’ve played out with shiro staying dead.

Draft 2: rewatched the show then started writing this

So I wrote a draft of this like a year ago, realized I don’t remember the show much, so I rewatched the whole show and started rewriting my thoughts.

Pre-rewatch thoughts: It was a good show that was poorly executed

Mid-rewatch thoughts: it’s a really good show that just has some weak points (the second half of lotor’s arc, team voltron’s importance in season 4-6 it feels like a lot of filler episodes until keith shows up again)

End-rewatch thoughts: it's actually a really good show. It has some weak points and some really strong points. Season 8 was confusing though. I went through most of it going yeah okay I guess that can happen.

Final verdict: it's a genuinely good show

What went wrong

It ended on its weakest season, which was also the most abstract and different season. While the main antagonist changed throughout the seasons, it still continued to be the galra empire. Even when lotor joined, the team was still fighting fractions of the galra empire. Meanwhile, season 8 didn’t have any conflict with the galra. The antagonists were honerva and the alteans, who are very different types of villains compared to the galra. There was also little build up to that change. Sure, we got to experience that briefly in season 3 when they went to the alternate reality, but I don’t think that was built up well. Also, the protagonists and the audience are just not prepared. We don’t know how the alteans work like the extent of their abilities, but we were given dozens of episodes to learn about the galra. As a result season 8 just wound up with me feeling confused and thinking “uhh sure I guess they can do that, that makes sense maybe?”

It could not pick who its protagonist is. Yeah the five humans plus allura (and coran?) are the main characters but most shows with multiple major characters still focus one one character as the protagonist. Like atla has aang, adventure time has finn, umbrella academy has five. Voltron just never picks someone and the group constantly changes too, so you end up having to not focus on any character for the sake of time. Of course not all shows do that. Teen Titans had each season focus on a particular member of the team, and tbh I was wondering if that was what they were planning for the show, especially when season 2 was so Keith focused but guess not.

It feels like they did not have the time to fully flesh out the story. Voltron came and went so incredibly fast. They had 8 seasons (technically 6 if you group up the halved seasons). But also the show only lasted 2 years. It honestly horrifies me to think of the time crunch everyone on the team was going through, especially the animators. You can see the drop in quality as there were very few scenes that involved actual animation for the middle bulk of the show. So then, how much time did they have to develop the story, in addition to execs telling them what they can and can’t do. There’s so many arcs that seemed to start then get forgotten, and I don’t blame the writers for that at all. Although I wish we could’ve learned more about Lance and the Altean sword and Keith with his apparent quintessence sensitivity, they probably just didn’t have the time to plot those out.

It had too much outside influence. Such as, the writers wanting to kill off shiro, but then being forced to keep him on the show because the execs said to. And honestly, the fandom. For example, the whole last episode with Lance getting the Altean marks (an obvious omage to ppl wanting Altean Lance).

What went right

There’s a reason why the show became so popular (aside from being a reboot of a popular 80′s show) and it’s because of the characters. I’m not about the whole “we become attached to characters because the writers did them wrong but we fans can see the potential and that’s why fan works are better” bs that I see going around this site all the time. The first season particularly wrote these characters so well. They’re relatable but also intriguing enough for you to care about what’s going to happen to them. 

Some thoughts regarding popular fandom discussions:

It’s a plot-driven show with character-focused fans

I like to think of there being two ways to tell a story: by being character-focused or plot-driven. Plot driven shows are ones like atla, young justice, legend of korra, etc. There’s a conflict that gets introduced and the story revolves around that conflict. Character-focused shows are ones like adventure time or we bare bears, they’re less concerned about a plot line and focus more on the characters interacting with their world. Of course all stories incorporate both parts, just some focus more on one than the other. So, here’s where I think a lot of the issues about voltron and the fandom comes from. Voltron is a very obviously plot-driven show but the fandom is very character-focused. I won’t deny I loved the episodes about keith. Season 4 and 5 were hard for me to watch because I missed my boy. But that’s where the arguments come from. People get upset that their fav isn’t in the spotlight

It didn’t queerbait

I understand watching a show for representation, I really do, but voltron is not that show and that's okay. Not every show has to be revolutionary in its representation of marginalized people. I won't pretend to know the harmful tropes for marginalized people. My consumption of media is not usually diverse. But I will stand by my stance that a large part of voltron's later seasons is about the casualties of war. So of course a lot of people died. I also firmly believe that the producers had a much easier time adding diversity to their own created characters than the main voltron characters, because of rights and all that complicated nonsense. So as a result the ones who were more expendable and could die were also the same characters that they could add diversity too.

I’m gonna add the definition of queerbait here so we’re all on the same page:  Queerbait is a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but then do not actually depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ representation.

But here’s the thing. We were told at comic-con or one of those cons that Shiro is gay, and he had a boyfriend. They actually gave us that. Yeah it wasn’t as explicit as She-ra got, but that’s another point for later. There was no lying about it. Shiro is canonically gay, and his boyfriend was Adam. If anything, this whole thing came out of wanting Keith in a relationship with Shiro or Lance. Yes. I will admit, there are plenty of scenes between Keith and Lance, and Keith and Shiro that can be read as romantic. Someone correct me if I’m wrong but did any of the cast members tease the possibility of Kl//ance or Sh//eith (VAs don’t count, sorry but they don’t really have a say in the story)? Because unless they did, and they did repeatedly, the fandom queerbaited themselves. So many people in the fandom were so certain that Keith would be in a relationship with one of them, there was basically an all out war. Even if there was a chance, did you really think the creators (who were pretty active in early fandom days) would continue that development? It was so so toxic they were forced to shut off any possibilities of that.

In regards to minority characters

Again, I'll admit vld is not the place to go for real, proper representation. Their characters tend to be characters that happen to be a part of a minority rather than a minority character. wtf does that mean? Well, you can swap (earth) races for just about any character and it wouldn't make too much of a difference in how they act. There's some lines that wouldn't work like Lance's "I'm just a boy from Cuba" but other than that there would be no significant change. Of course this goes down to preference. Would you want a minority character whose struggles reflect those in real life and as a result be defined by that aspect of themselves, or do you want a character that just happens to be a part of a minority group but whose life is not really affected by that? 

Draft 3: months after the rewatch, mostly an attempt to reorganize the previous two drafts

I’m gonna start with the negatives just to get the ranting off my chest. Season 8 was bad. Yeah. No argument there. Although I wouldn’t say it was bad in the same way Game of Thrones and Supernatural was bad. Rather, it was an interesting and complex premise that didn’t have the build up it needed and honestly needed a few more passthroughs to iron out some parts. At worse, I felt it was confusing to the point where I just accepted whatever new worldbuilding thing they threw at me. The issue with Season 8 vs Seasons 1-7 is that Season 8 had a completely different villain, and a brand new cast dynamic. We got 7 seasons (65 episodes) developing the Galra as the villain. We got to learn who they are, their motives, how they operate, etc. Not only that, but they were pretty basic and easy to understand villains. They’re conquerors. They don’t have any sort of magic, they really just use brute force to attack and enslave the planets. In striking contrast, the Alteans in Season 8 weren’t conquerors. They didn’t care about controlling the universe. They also had magic abilities that our main characters don’t understand and didn’t explore. Season 8 had villains who could create illusions, mind control, and manipulate quintessence. The Alteans are leagues beyond the Galra in terms of complexities as an antagonist, but they didn’t get nearly enough time to be fully developed.

Also, Season 8 essentially doubled the cast size. So despite the fact that we have yet to see much of Keith-as-the-black-paladin Voltron group dynamic, now that screentime is being balanced with the MFE pilots and other Garrison characters. Essentially, there were too many characters, and too little time to flesh out the ideas of this season. A side note, Haggar’s (Honerva?) motivations were lame. I think it would’ve been much more interesting if her plans were just to continue the research she did 10,000 years ago with the rift. That would’ve also brought back the rift monsters which we never got an answer for. What even are they? Instead, her goal to have a family again is really weak. Even in the flashbacks she never showed any care for the more familial aspects of her life. It didn’t make sense for that to be her drive. It also didn’t help that Season 8 came out on like the same day as Spiderverse and the antagonists for both had the same goal, but Spiderverse did an immensely better job.

Another thing that didn’t make sense to me was Keith giving the speech to the rest of the Galra. He is not the right character to give that speech. Sure he’s Galra, but he didn’t even know for most of his life. For him to say “we” like he’s also a citizen of the Galra empire feels so weird. He never grew up with the Empire’s influence, and we never saw him experiencing Galra culture with the Blade. He learned about the Galra as an outsider, and despite the fact that he’s part Galra (he doesn’t even remotely look Galra), I don’t think that gives him the authority to say a speech like that. The speech is similar to Zuko’s at the end of ATLA, and that makes me feel like it would’ve been a lot better had Lotor said it. I think even Kolivan would’ve been a better fit than Keith. 

The more I’m writing about Season 8, the more I’m remembering just how messy and confusing it was. Additionally, the last bit of Season 8 was so obviously pandering to the fandom it gives me second-hand embarrassment. Lance getting those marks was so obviously referencing when people wanted Lance to be Altean in response to Keith's galra heritage. The Shiro getting married was just to make it more obvious that he’s gay, but had no build up. (There were definitely more but I didn’t write myself a list and I’m not rewatching that season)

Second, “Voltron queerbaited”. [this was posted before here]

Speaking of which, Voltron premiered summer of 2016 and ended in winter of 2018. That’s about 2 and a half years where they aired 78 episodes. That’s stupid fast, especially for an animated series. I’m constantly worried about what the people working on that show had to endure. For sure, Season 3 with Shiro coming back wasn’t written until at least Season 1. I recalled the execs demanding that Shiro not be dead since he was a popular character. It’s honestly concerning how little time they had to work on the show, and it unfortunately showed. In the later seasons, a lot of the shots were just still frames that moved across the scene. And the plot line with Lotor could’ve used some work. Although, I think Shiro being forced in there was also a reason for it being so shaky.

I honestly hate Seasons 4 & 5. I cannot tell you what happened because my brain keeps erasing it. Obviously, the lack of Keith had a huge impact on my opinion of those seasons, but it also felt like a whole lot of filler episodes, and not the fun ones with character development. With Keith mostly out of the picture, and Lance becoming the right hand of Voltron, that should’ve been a great time to develop Lance to become a second-in-command. To have him go through an arc where he overcomes his insecurities. It would’ve also been an amazing time to develop his and Shiro’s relationship. But we didn’t get any of that. 

I genuinely believe Keith was supposed to stay the black paladin and Shiro wasn’t supposed to come back. Keith would be an amazing foil to Lotor. They’re both half-Galra. They’ve both been given a new leadership role that they don’t want. The middle arc always felt so weak to me, and as I mentioned earlier, the Allura/Lotor interactions were awkward. It feels shoehorned in because someone has to interact with Lotor and I guess the writers decided Allura was the best option?

Season 3-6 felt like the epitome of what happens when showrunners are forced to do whatever the execs say and have no time to properly develop their story. I’ll forever be bitter at all the character and relationship development we lost because of that. We never got to see Keith really learn to open up to the team and start to trust others. But Keith still had to get to that point, which is why I assume they had the time jump for him. It’s so disappointing because we lost what could’ve been a great character development. It also made Keith being the Black Paladin again feel cheap. We didn’t get to see the struggle he had to be the leader Shiro saw he could be. He was just suddenly leading them and they worked like a proper team.

Voltron also had a lot of plot holes. Now, I don’t expect shows to answer every question, because it’s impossible to tie everything up and leave no questions unanswered in a natural way. But, there’s a lot of things that felt like the beginning of a plot line or honestly needed some answers. Like, Lance shifting his bayard to a sword. What was the point of that if it was never mentioned again? It felt like that was an important start to an arc for him that just got forgotten. Also, what was up with Keith’s quintessence sensitivity? How was he able to sense where that druid was. How did he know he could summon his bayard to him. I think the part that bugged me the most was that Keith was the only one who did that. Also, Keith’s eyes becoming slitted during his fight with Kuron was never addressed, and I really wish it was. It felt like such a throwaway moment that could’ve been interesting to explore more. Although I’m not too upset with that one as I think we were given enough to piece together a reason for it. 

[lebannabell]

now for some dnd asks for you!!!! 5, 8, 11, 15

dnd ask meme!~send me qs!~

5. What is your best dice set? I love All My Dice but my first set (chessix blue-green gemini) are probably my most blessed set, they roll high (mostly [that one time i rolled a 3,2, then 3 to climb a tree is still frustrating]) but also they were my first set and a gift and they always remind me of my first character and when I first started playing - which was a really important thing to me because it was something that brought me a lot of joy in a time i was seriously lacking it;;; anygay this got sentimental but those r probably my Best set (but fr tho i love all my dice so much theyre all Significant to me)

8. What does your dream dice set look like? This is a super hard question bc i dont think theres really One Set that would be like my Ideal set? Theres so many options out there and im very weak for a lot of them ( but gods i wish i could get my hands on those kraken cotton candy dice [im gon buy some kraken dice soon but those were limited edition so i guess ill die]) 

11. Have you ever rolled a natural 1? What happened? i have rolled so many nat 1s……. the dice goes into dice jail and is shamed for its villiany.. i trip and shoot myself in the foot instead of the enemy;; Bad Things Happen

15. What is your characters background story? I have seven characters that I play/have played and i know imma write an wild amount so im gonna put this under a cut!

Wren, elf rogue - Mines of Phandelver Wren was raised a member of the high elf House of Naïlo, but as a young girl grew tired of trying to garner the attention of parents who simply didn’t care about their daughter except as a prop for conversation. At the equivalent human age of 15, she ran away from home and made a new life for herself on the streets of Neverwinter. Wren spent the next several decades making her name as a criminal, and honing her skills in thievery, until she picked up a job at the local tavern that led her to her Biggest Adventure(god im so sentimental abt wren she really derailed shit and was such a dick but she was so fun i love her)

Eldan Caridalas, half elf sorcerer - Storm About To BreakEldan grew up in a small village, and went by his child name of Taryn (meaning thunder, inspired by his Wild Magic). He lived a happy childhood, with admittedly, some strange moments brought on by his unpredictable magic, but he got through any difficulties with his best friend and essentially soulmate, Alcea (played by another player in the group! shoutout to ash for working w me to make these beautiful kids lmao). When Eldan was around 14, he had another surge of wild magic,  but this one was far worse than all the others had been (when i was workshopping this with ash and dint know what exactly it was going to be yet we called it “The Big Bad”) - He had been speaking with alceas mother when all of a sudden an intense bolt of fire sprung from him, melting the skin off his left arm, and fatally wounding alceas mother. Eldan, unable to cope with what his supposed gift had done, fled the village without a word to anyone, and spent the next 14 years travelling the land, searching for a way to try and control his magic, to avoid hurting anyone ever again. Eldan eventually found his way to the entrance to the unexplored east lands where he ran into his childhood friend once again(eldan was such a Good boy im still sad about what happened to him he deserved better give me #justice for my boy)Reckoning, tiefling monk - one shot run by my friend claudio b4 he moved interstateReckoning was abandoned on the steps of a temple as a baby once her parents saw the devilish heritage in her. She was raised by monks in a temple to The Raven Queen, and she was trained and charged to become an assassin that took down those who went against the natural order of death. She was on her way to one such mission when she ran into a group of strangers in the woods and after promptly finding out one of them was (supposedly) claiming to be a false god, and pushing them into the nearby well, was lassooed and pulled down there with them to deal with the Creature within(will i ever make a not extra character? no.)Ari, human druid, fighter, and rogue (i know) - one shot battle royaleI was originally just going to make a level 15 barbarian for this one shot (rip ragna one day u might get played) but then i was like;; i may as well make the messiest multiclass i can Ari grew up with his older brother as his guardian, but then his brother was killed in a gang accident, and ari had to learn to fend for himself on the street. After many years of struggle, and losing a younger boy he had begun to think of as family, ari sought shelter in the forests, and had just started to discover the magic held within, when he was conscripted into a battle royale for the amusement of The Council Of ChickensRisk, dragonborn barbarian - Uni one shots (lower levels)Risk is aptly named - she’s willing to do most things others would blanch at for the right reward, which is how she ended up in a mercenary business. This is straight up all the backstory i have for risk that ive nailed down ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ shes hard to really conceptualise a good backstory for, esp bc i didnt know the world that the uni DMs had createdTrix, aasimar rogue - Uni one shots (higher levels)Trix practically raised herself, and by the guidance of her angelic counterpart, she was often driven to do things that left no time for friendship. Tired of living a life that wasn’t fully her own, she struck out to the wealthy area of the city to join the Planeswalkers guild, and has since become an initiate with her own housing in their extra planar facility, and does takes the odd mercenary work that comes her way from her new homeZiarda Lionheart, aasimar bard - Storm About To Breakafter what happened with eldan, i wanted to make a lighter, happier character - with a lot less emotional baggage, and so Ziarda was born. Ziarda has always been driven to do the right thing, and not just by her own morals - but those of her angelic guide. Ziarda was raised by a single mother, who taught her not only the value of beauty and joy in making the world a greater place, but also the practical application of music - in fact ziardas flute used to be her mothers. Ziarda left home at 19 on the will of her heavenly advisor, and joined a travelling carnival, where she could spread joy through her performances. She travelled with them for a few years before the travelled to the east to do a show for the soldiers guarding the entrance to relatively unexplored lands, where she was guided to join a band of weary adventurers in their efforts to stop a widespread cult from destroying civilisation. A lot of my characters backstories get more fleshed out the more i play them and have a better idea of what things could have shaped them to be the people they become? but this is their current Pre Adventure Lore

Yeehaw congrats if you made it this far ur insane i wrote so much i love my kids a lot heres a reward for reading all that, or i suppose, for scrolling to the bottom

Anyway thank u anya for givin me the chance to ramble abt my OCs i love them sm and i love You so much and everyday im so grateful that you gave me the opportunity to play this incredible game and to do the dumb cult joining, plan breaking stunts i pull

[eglantinian]

So i got tagged by @eponineinthebarricade, @bisexual-eponine, @kugirocks, @eponinexenjolras​ for this, and i decided i’ll just drop them all here for fun. i put in all my questions and those i tagged above, so if it’s not their thing to read the answers of other people, they don’t need to check mine out.

mechanics:

answer 11 questions

create 11 questions (for those i’ll be tagging) 1. What can cheer you up no matter how sad you are feeling? 2. How are you, really? (if you’re up for sharing, go ahead. if not, well, then, just say pass, and move on from this one) 3. Whose face do you think of when you hear the word humble? 4. What do you generally dislike about a certain fandom you are in? 5. If you can create a word, what would that be? 6. Was there something you said that you wish you could take back? 7. What irritates you? 8. What cultural norm do you wish wasn’the norm? 9. What’s one thing you would sacrifice everything for? 10. Would you want to die in Mars? 11. If you were in a zombie apocalypse, what weapon would you use, and why?

tag 11 persons: 1/ @ladywolfmd, 2/ @tomorrowatdawn, 3/ @xreyoflight, 4/ @skip-is-tired, 5/ @astoryinred, 6/ @courageandbravery 7/ @thesovereignempress, 8/ @eponinetdaae, 9/ @eponniia, 10/ @encarnalise, & 11/ @kotagula

questions from eponineinthebarricade:

What would you do if you went to space?

Probably spend gawking at Earth from the space station for a bit before bonding with other astronauts/cosmonauts over our mutual love for space. I’d probably be a space liaison.

What is “love” to you? Reason and passion entwined.

What is your hobby? Writing. Editing some photos. Reading. Watching videos about film and script analyses.

A food one must taste before they die? There’s this noodle we call palabok in my country, and it’s really filling. It has shrimp, eggs, and some vegetables thrown in, and the sauce in it is just… ah-mazing. I love this food.

Your way of coping with stress? I sometimes sing all the stress out. Or sleep. I like sleeping. Sometimes, I write. Or exercise eskrima.

What do you think would happen if music was not invented ever? Life would go on, albeit a little less interestingly. We’d make certain sounds from objects and we’d use our voice for purely practical reasons, but always wonder why is there something missing. We’d wonder why is spending time on this earth always a little empty. Literature would be less potent, less inspiring, even if it maintains a certain beauty with how it’s written. Any song would just be mostly poetry read aloud. Political propaganda as well as the market would use more visuals. Films and anything on screen would lack the drama and vividness of our imagination. Basically, our life would remain the same, but we’d have more boring lives.

Sleeping all day or being productive the moment you wake up? I prefer sleeping all day, but reality often denies it, so by circumstance and by duty, I am inclined to chooose to be productive. It makes me feel like I have a purpose, anyway.

Coffee or tea? I like both, but tend to buy more coffee because tea is a tad bit pricier.

What is your favourite literature movement? Realist and transcentalist movements.

Your favourite author? I have a ton, but for this one, I’ll say Sylvia Plath (for fiction) and Nick Joaquin (for non-fiction).

A line from your favourite poem and why you chose that line? ‘The night wind revolves in the sky and sings.’ - Tonight, I Can Write the Saddest Lines, Pablo Neruda It’s one of the most visually appealing and symbolic lines ever. And I memorise this poem a lot, but I keep forgetting this line. It’s the most different one from the whole set, and it joggles my pattern of recollection. But I really like it a lot.

questions from kugirocks: 

Favorite T.V show? I don’t have one I particularly like, but for the moment I am invested in watching The Flash.

Favorite movie? For this one, I’ll say Trance (2013) and Inglorious Basterds.

Favorite book? For this one, I’ll say Jonathan Tepperman’s The Fix.

Dogs or cats? Both are adorable, but I’m not inclined to adopt either.

An actor/actress you wish to meet? Leonardo DiCaprio because of his advocacy for the environment. Or, hmm, Asia Argento. She’s vastly underrated, and I’d really like to say she did amazing as Éponine in the 2000/2001 French mini series of Les Mis.

Grab the closest book to you. Turn to page 11. Read the first line from that page. What is it? ‘The Atoan system four days later.’ - Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command, Issue #1 (2011) Written by: W. Haden Blackman; Atist: Rick Leonardi

Favorite sport? Eskrima/Arnis. Savate.

Favorite musical artist? Too many. But I’ll say Freddie Mercury for this one.

Color or no color? Colour.

Favorite season? Autumn.

Favorite musical? LES MISÉRABLES

questions from eponinexenjolras: 

Are you afraid to die? No.

Introvert or extrovert? I’m an ambivert.

Dream job? Consul general / Human Rights Commissioner / Writer

What would you do with 1 million dollars? Keep half in bank. The other, I’ll divide to pay for my family’s needs, while some shall go to a select chairty, and a bit for some business.

Imagine you’re a celebrity. Would you want to be married to another star or rather to someone ordinary? I don’t like sharing, but I’d learn to make sure I could make that someone ordinary feel happy, safe, and never doubtful of my relationship with them.

Which royal person would you want to be (past or present)? Rajah Soliman. Or Nefertiti.

Where do you want to travel? Everywhere.

In which era would you like to live? Every era has its harms, but if I could visit a particular era, I’d want to see pre-WW1 or pre-WW2..

Favorite hobby? Making art.

Have you ever done something illegal? Yup. But would I tell? No.

questions from bisexual-eponine (who tagged me thrice lol)

set 1:

favourite musical? LES MISÉRABLES

what is the worst thing that’s ever happened to you? A shit ton that I’m not ready to share, but I’ll settle to oversimplify it with traumatic childhood episodes and psychologically being manipulated by people I thought I could trust.

“Thinking Out Loud” or “Perfect”? I’m inclined to be partial to Perfect. I understand that TOL is sweet, but this one is just more poignant for me.

most embarrassing childhood memory? I had a fistfight with a guy playmate in front of the church when I was ten. I won. But I suffered quite the embarrassment.

have you ever been in a serious accident? Mild opening of the scalp because I was reckless once. Got 2-3 stitches. I can’t fall asleep unless it’s sideways, but I’m trying to sleep on my back more.

Bill Skarsgård: smash or pass? I didn’t know who this guy was, so when I searched who he acted as, I just can’t. I’ll pass.

do you think people can get too old for Halloween? Nah.

how often do you sin? Everyday………..

are pandas useless? (trying to prove a point to my friend philip) No. There is such a thing as Panda Diplomacy by China, who owns all the pandas in the world, so they get a lot of cash and ‘fans’ because they are adorable af.

are you flexible? To a certain degree.

if you wanted to get married, where would you do it? If. Well, there’s a beautiful place up north in my country. I’d pick that.

set 2:

what’s one headcanon you’ve always had for your otp? Okay, I have a lot, and some of my otps aren’t here, but here are some I’d like to share my thoughts on. Enjonine: They always don’t fall in love right away. It’s like the lowest priority they could ever have, and when they do, it’s one amazing collision. Anidala: They would have ruled the galaxy well. Anakin is a genius, and Padme is one feisty diplomat. They would have motivated more to know more about the balance of the Force, and ended slavery (gradually). Ugh. They could have had it all. Sifki: They brought out so much growth from each other. In ALL aspects. Seriously. Sif would be nearly invincible in wars with Loki’s help, but she would temper his… well, mischief. Dramione: Same thing with Sifki, but they would be more amazing role models, especially with being intellectual equals. They would show the younger generation what Sirius really meant about being people with a little bit of light and darkness within. Carl Jung’s Animus/Anima plays in a lot here.

did you ever have that one teacher that just hated your guts for seemingly no particular reason? My general psych prof. Ah well, the feeling is mutual.

on a scale of 1-10, how strict are/were your parents? A mild 8 on a daily basis because of how fucked up my country is, a strong 15 when anyone in my family fucks up.

what do you think will finally break the internet? The moment Harambe returns.

which fictional character would you most like to marry and why? Enjolras. He is reason and passion entwined. Certainly imperfect in his own ways, but I feel like I could bring out his empathy in a more grounded way while he would make sure to challenge me to be better without making me feel a lesser person. 

what’s the worst purchase you’ve ever made and why? Hmm. SOME BLACK SHOES WITH CRISS-CROSS BINDINGS. It does more damage for my feet.

which character did you hate at first but don’t anymore? Sansa Stark. I didn’t realise I had too much internalised misogyny until I analysed her character, and finally realised that one could be dainty yet deadly. She’s an amazing character.

which character did you like at first but don’t anymore? Dumbledore. Look, he’s great and all, but he had a lot of mistakes that usually go unnoticed because of his Wizengamot status. He compromised a lot of things.

what’s the craziest thing you’ve ever gotten away with? I’d rather not speak of it.

who’s the messiest person you know? That would be… me.

what quote or saying do people spout but is complete bullshit? ‘Someone may have it worse than you. Please try to understand whoever did this to you.’ Casse-toi. Who, then, would understand me? Must I deny my own pain to give way for others so they could feel less guilty? Or you could feel better? Fuck off.

set 3:

what do you consider to be the three best things about yourself? Uh… curiosity. Ingenuity. Feeling too much.

if you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why? Caring too much.

what’s the most beautiful place you’ve ever been to? The Venetian.

what do you think is the “right age” to get married? 30-35 years old.

opinions on the concept of marriage? It’s how state and the market exploits love.

what are three things you’d ask your pet if they could talk? - what do you really call yourself? - do you have a nickname for me? - what is really your favourite thing to do with me?

when should we get a great comet revival? 2 years from now. They need to re-organise, re-plan their marketing strategy without sacrificing their cast, and re-structure their management model.

do you have a poor relationship with your family? (i sure do) i love my family, and they love me too, but sometimes they can be a little insufferable.

favourite time of day? 3 am. 7 am. 3 pm. 12 mn.

favourite person (real or fictional, dead or alive)? my guy bff. we argue once in a while, but i’m so fond of him a lot. i literally relax more when i see him.

favourite movie quote? ' Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to. It's the only way to become what you were meant to be.' - Kylo Ren/Ben Solo Star Wars: The Last Jedi

[lafortis]

Do the first 12 ask things

tell me about your crush!!!!!!!ahh well my crush is a beautiful elegant person whomst I do not deserve but whom accepts this about me and is understanding and wonderful anyway (and draws rly rly fucking well and [I’m lead to believe] is a mean lean vegan chef chopping greens)tell me about your exidk which one to talk abt so I’ll go with list recent. she was pretty cool, she followed me on Twitter and I recognised her from HS then a week or two later she had a mutual friend invite me to a basement party where me n tittles (aka The Good Jordan) got demolished and I think I smoked my first tiny bit of weed, then I made out with her on her basement floor or mattress or smthn (her pajamas were very soft). I sort of talked tittles n nevin into talking me into hitting her up afterwards, got together (while they were still around lmao) and watched a like bo Burnham special and made out or something. She was coming off a breakup, we hung out/talked on n off for a while with her being super inconsistent, dated for a few months (I drove her around a lot), and then it got #messy I guess yikestell me about your dayI woke up, finished my book and had a coffee (which I’m becoming increasingly convinced I should stop), grabbed rob, picked up Reid from work, got food, went home, grabbed Nevin, went to Anthony’s for melee n too watch evo. Jordan (aka The Bad Jordan) and Richard showed up too, it’s aiiiight, we break apart when Anthony has to pick up his gf, we drop Reid off, the crew we came with plus alek whom we get from McDonald’s go to my house to watch the rest n play melee, n then we’re done :D Rob and I go to try to catch a togetic but mine flees :’( now I’m heretell me about your dreamsLiterally my dreams or my aspirations? I think yesterday i dreamed I made day two of evo or some other big tournament and then missed my bracket and got disqualified (believable tbh), and probably also some random sex dream and maybe some other stuff. I’m off my vyvanse rn so i think my dreams r more vivid. As for aspirations… Probably like power honestly. Not like sinisterly, just the concept of decision making power. Like I think I’m smart and could do well and save lives if given the reins of whatever. tell me about your dramaLord… Aight. uhhh the messiest I’ve ever been was the end of the relationship with my last ex and I don’t want to just literally say everything on Tumblr but idk. basically she cheated on me at a house party I wasn’t at and I didn’t find out until after we were on a break/maybe half broken up for something completely random and petty, and after she interrogated me about cheating on her, from one of our close mutual friends. i was miffed, don’t even remember most of it, mostly just got near-black out drunk at a Canada day party, vomited on alek I think, loudly forgave the dude she cheated on me w. also there was some suggestion she cheated on me more than that but also some suggestion she may have lied about that to seem cool???? Idk it was all messy and I didn’t comport myself particularly well either (although I forgive myself I guess given the circumstances)tell me about yourself :-)I’m a 21 year old white guy, a little above average weight, average ish height, pretty stocky and broad shouldered, my head is huge. I’ve dropped out of uni twice. I’m supposedly smart but have trouble putting that to good use. I’m very good at some of the most technical elements of super smash bros melee and am working on the rest. I enjoy history and fantasy and my major if I ever finish it is in international relations. geopolitics is the core of what I find interesting above. Politically I’m probably a democratic socialist. I listen to a lot of mainstream hip hop and not much else tbh (I have a nujabes Spotify mix to relax n study to). I’m on an Effexor XR (for anxiety and depression), an SNRI, and Vyvanse (for ADHD), a stimulant. I have two lovely dogs. I think I’m really self aware but I’m not sure. I have too much arrogance and also too little self esteem. I’m often quite loud, and my brand of humour is like mostly either the like false arrogance/bravado, running jokes into the ground, or wordplay I guess? Or just sarcasm. Idk I make ppl laugh most of the time but I’m not sure I’m actually funny. I think this is enough without getting too much righttell me about something awkward/embarrassingUhhh idk what would be awkward and embarrassing. I had a huge crush on one of my long time friends in early high school. We admitted to each other we were like each others first choice to marry when we were adults. But we started hanging out for a day or two like we were dating and I like literally suffocated her into just immediately pulling the plug because she realised how wack I wastell me about a funny story or somethingUhhhhhhhhhhhh this might be where it really breaks down. I’m not sure I have a funny story. Which is odd, given I just said I thought I was funny. But I couldn’t rly pluck one out of thin air that wasn’t mostly just bullying someone the story was about lmaotell me your favourite band/artist/album/songKendrick Lamar is probably my fav artist rn, Yeah Right by Vince Staples is my fav song probably. The Kendrick feature is insane. (I don’t love Kendrick as much as this response make it sound I just have that album on CD along with damn so it’s been in my head of late)tell me about your favourite memeSearch Toyota previa on my blog to find the post. That is my favourite post. I love that post fuck I have no idea why but fuck. tell me about your favourite ficI don’t rly read fic but I guess my fav was the one I read almost all the way thru, Harry Potter and the methods of Rationality. It was kinda dumb rationalist wank but I’m a rationalist wanker so sue metell me a secret ;)Ohoho there’s a winky face so it better be sexual I guess… Idk what kind of secret there is here. I don’t rly keep those tbh, except for other ppl. Uhh I’ll just choose something rly private? What is there even then hmmmMMMM wait of course I have a good one duh. I was part of an internet secret society :o still am I guess. If u wanted a sexual secret uhhh the secret is in my junk? Women love that shit. Mostly. I was gonna say I’ve made all but one of my partner’s cum but that’s not rly true anymore given I’ve had a few one off hookups under various extenuating circumstances and never got to correct my failures :’( such is life Thank u so much for this and I’m so sorry for all this FUCKING text I’m gonna edit in a read more but I’m sorry mobile users if it doesn’t work I’m so so sorry

[abiteofnat]

GOD FORBID I WANT A MASON JAR WEARING A COWBOY HAT FULL OF ANYTHING...

Because guess what? Turns out my significant love for that bayou-slash-open-road-country life makes me a big ole weenie. As someone who’s incredibly open about their love for country music, bandanas, tall boys, and the seafood ways of the South, I have quickly discovered that only select people will understand and respect this part of my life. My parents? Heck nOPE. My coworkers? Heckled me to death after they found out I went to the Country Lake Shake Festival (which will be discussed more later, so leave now if you’re already like noooo thanks goodbye bon soir)! 

Ever since my mom, my sister and I went to New Orleans and Alabama for a family wedding last year, I have fallen head over heels in love with spicy cajun food, butter pickles, driving with the windows down and playing Dylan Scott, and Corona Lite with a lime popped in. I dream of shrimp & grits and I’ll be damned if a weekend night doesn’t end with something crisp and at least 4% alcohol, even if it’s a beer & bath affair. But in Chicago? Keep your country side a secret unless you want your ass whooped. That’s why I am so excited for this post: my top three favorite ways to feel like it’s a down-South summer day year round in Chitown. 

Quick explanation of WHY I love this emerging side of me before I get a whole lotta sass: Country music tells a story like no other genre does. While rap is celebrated for over-sexualizing women and probably leading to most of the sex happening in this country because who doesn’t feel frisky when they listen to fucking Fetty Wap, country is seen as disgusting and stupid even if it tells a narrative of falling in love and getting married and living a WONDERFUL LIFE TOGETHER. SO WHAT IF PICKUP TRUCKS ARE INVOLVED. IS YOUR MOM’S MINI VAN THAT MUCH BETTER??? Also, the food in the South is made with so much more attention, history, flair, and f l a v o r. In every bite there are a hundred spices, and in every spice there’s a piece of history. The recipes, the heritage, the attention to how textures compliment each other. The way people openly enjoy messy food and want to share and there is no other option than just be happy for that meal. You may all disagree, that’s fine. I just know that despite all of this country’s flaws, all of the past years of splitting hairs and choosing sides, grits are still good. Sometimes, y’all, life really is that simple. And that’s ok for as long as it takes to eat some fucking cornbread. 

1. The Fish Bar! 

As said on their Insta page, “New Orleans meets New England style restaurant in Lakeview” and that could not be more accurate! My foodie groupies Erin, Chelsea, & Luzi have a taste for anything and everything so we often try to hit somewhere new & different when we meet for dinner so that hopefully one day we can cross EVERY DARN RESTAURANT OFF our Chicago bucket list, and this last soiree was at The Fish Bar in Lakeview. Located right off the Wellington Brown Line stop, this cozy bar-meets-cookout vibe offers a huge selection of specialized cocktails served in mason jars and decently priced wine as well as tacos, “angry” tots, and a whole lotta seafood. Erin’s choice was the Satchmo Po’boy, a mix of crawfish and shrimp slathered in butter pickles and thrown on a thick n’ buttery bun, kettle chips on the side and eaten by mostly me. She also ordered the “Angry Tots”, a version of tater tots involving spicy aioli and some spices that will not make you angry but will certainly make your tastebuds say WHAT TO HECK?! They are a great compliment to all of the items on the menu, and a bite of tot with a sip of the refreshing (and pink!) cocktail I got? Fan-freakin-tastic. This cocktail not only looked like me in drink form, but also offered a delicious taste of vodka mixed with bubbles, strawberries, freshly picked basil, and a wee bit of cucumber. 

For my entree I got the Shrimp Tacos, a solid choice for my pescatarian ways whenever I’m overwhelmed by how many things I want and 9/10 end up being a lovely choice wherever I order them. These ones really took the cake, so much so I took the description right off the site: “served with red & green salsa, roast peppers, cauliflower, jalapeno crema, cilantro, guacamole, arugula.” Um, jalapeno crema? Need ANYONE SAY MORE?! 

This place is perfect for happy hour and apps as well as date night with friends or ya lover, as the inside is adorable and intimate but the outside offers views on the passersby and allows you to sit at a picnic table! Not to mention the baby blue brick wall with an epic fish design on it, perfect for photo ops. 

2. Low Country!

Ok, this place is beyond epic. Let me set the scene: you walk in and you’re greeted with a wall of garlic so strong you’re salivating but also aware that you’re going to smell like this until the next time you’re under a boiling hot shower. There are rows on rows of checkerboard-clad picnic tables and a giant vintage trough in the middle complete with beautiful faucets for washing hands (very important later), and a long bar that offers happy hour deals that Erin and I took great pleasure in. We got peach beer (!!!) and ordered, as you do at Low Country, a pound of seafood mixed with corn on the cob, potatoes, and a stew of cajun + garlic seasoning. They bring it to you in a giant boil bag still tied, wait for you to put on your bib (which you DEFINITELY WANT TO PUT ON), and then slam it down and cut off the top, releasing a force field of steam and smells so good your tongue literally rolls out of your mouth and lays on your lap until you put seafood on it. I got a pound of shrimp, Erin got a pound of snow crab, and sleeves were rolled up to our armpits to allow the messiest meal ever to commence. 

Is there anything as satisfying as eating a full meal with your hands? No worries, no holding back, just absolutely covered in sauce and drinking beer when you can without dropping it and then suddenly you sit back and realize you ate 1-2 pounds of food without really stopping? You can’t do this everyday because it will lose the magic, but the boil bag experience is one to definitely put on your list. It’s fun, it’s freeing, it’s freaking delicious. Between the succulent corn and the meaty, steamy shrimp that you bite right on out of the tail, it will fill you to the brim but leave you dreaming of more. I can honestly say this meal goes into my Top Ten Best Meals Ever, which is kindaaa impressive!   

*EDIT: Since this post was created and put int he queue, I have since gone back with Luzi and it still stands to be one of the best meals ever ever ever. And I tried the cajun fries, which are CERTAINLY worth it esp. when you swirl them in that boil bag sauce. 

3. Lake Shake!

No, this is not a restaurant, or even a real foodie experience. I just had to delve into the small things that made this such a perfect summer day; for one, there were a million food options at this three-day music festival on Northerly Island in Chicago including a whole vegan tent (!!!) and a million little nibbles that looked amazing, which is kind of rare for music festivals! It wasn’t just ice cream or french fries if you were vegetarian there- which to be honest shocked me, since it’s a country festival and meat is the way of the world down there. But between the vegan nachos, the walking taco, the mac & cheese INSIDE a BREAD CONE... options for days. My goodness. 

The drinks were fab as well! For an ungodly fee you could get their “signature” drink, a vodka lemonade with some blue raspberry flavoring and lemon inside this sick Live Nation cowboy-hat cup, and it was an easy choice for us to commit to that. Bonus? THE CUP DOUBLES AS A PIGGY BANK WHEN YOU’RE DONE. Brilliant. Even though it was pricey, it got me daytime lit so that when Luzi and I saw Dylan Scott perform I was in my dancing and singing-out-loud-very-loudly prime which is the other best part of country music: EVERYONE JUST WANTS TO DANCE. AND SMILE. AND FALL IN LOVE A LITTLE. It was such a feel-good environment that when Luzi suggested we get a couple tall boys before Rascal Flatts went on I did not fight back and we ended up sitting on the lawn just taking in the day for a while with some Bud Lights. 

Even if country music isn’t your thing, you still have to admit any day with festive drinks is a good one. Already can’t wait to go back next year! 

That rounds up a few of my favorite ways to embrace the shade, and I hope you go try a boil bag and ruin all of your clothes in the process because it is sooo worth it. If you hated this whole post, I get it, you hate fun. Stay tuned for what’s coming soon!

Until next time, Happy Eating!

-Natalie