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rainofaugustsith · 3 years

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Rain Plays SWTOR: Veteran Star Fortresses, Revisited

I thought it would be fun to take a more in-depth look at how to solo the Veteran Star Fortresses. As you know, these give you six different companions, some titles, cartel coins, armor and decos.

I posted this before with videos of the solo battles with the Exarchs, and the post was hidden for some reason. So I’ll try again. Let's talk about some basics and then focus on the Reactor Core, the last set of rooms.

Voss and Nar Shaddaa are notorious for being the most challenging VSF to clear solo. If you can beat these Exarchs, the others might feel simple to you. That is my experience anyway!

How to choose which Veteran Star Fortresses to do? If you want…

The companion who influences main story: Voss. Rokkuss is a good all around companion, so from a gameplay standpoint you’ve chosen a good one. However, he’s also the only SF companion to figure at all into the main story. If you’ve completed his SF missions and earned him as a companion, he’s mentioned briefly in chapter one of KOTET and a bonus mission will auto complete for you.

The companion who subjectively is the best in combat/healing: Nar Shaddaa. Veeroa Denz is a dual saber wielder and she’s very, very good, especially if you get her to influence level 50. Even if you have her on heals she can destroy mobs.

The chest piece for the Star Fortress armor: Alderaan. Choza Raabat is IMHO the least effective SF companion. He swats things with his lightsaber once and then stands there with that incredibly annoying Jedi hand signal. But - Alderaan is the SF to complete if you want the Exarch armor chest piece.

Another caveat: some of the random armor drops on Ossus look a lot like the Exarch armor - but it's no guarantee at all that you will come across one. A good all around companion: Belsavis. K’khrol holds his own and has some cool healing skills, and the Belsavis Exarch isn’t nearly as challenging as the ones for Voss or Nar Shaddaa.

The achievement for doing the VSF without specialists’ help: Belsavis.

The achievement for defeating all the different Paladins: Don’t even go into VSF. You can clear the Paladin achievement in the SOLO/STORY Star Fortresses, which are far easier. If you defeat every single Paladin on every single SF you get a very cool title (Fallen Knight) and some decos, so this one is worth it, but again, you really don’t have to put yourself through a VSF for that.

Decorations: If you want the ones that are given out by the specialists/completion of all the VSF, you’ll have to do all six, with specialists’ influence over 10. However if you are talking about the other decos that drop from Paladins and bosses, like the Zakuulan floor lamps, shiny gold panels and computers, those drop in STORY/SOLO too. Again, you don’t need to do the VSF fir that.

SF companions:

These companions are really good: Veeroa Denz, followed by Rokuss, K’khrol.

These companions are so-so: Hemdil Tre

These companions are honestly not going to help you much in battle in my experience: Leyta, Choza Raabat

General advice:

1. 306 level gear, or as close to it as possible. Some people like various set bonus armors, like The Victor. I prefer to put armor on my characters that gives them three small set bonuses for Mastery, Endurance and Alacrity.

2. Level 50 influence companion, or as close to it as possible. People have varied preferences for ranged vs. melee, but I typically go in with either Lana, Kira or Veeroa, all of whom are melee.

3. Life Warden tactical. This will heal you in a pinch. Since there are no kolto stations in the SF take all the help you can get.

4. Raise your Alliance specialists’ influence to at least 10 and interact with the blue clickable console in the first room to receive buffs to Mastery, Endurance, Presence, etc. that are substantial. Each of the Specialists will also leave you a special ability in a ‘cache’ in the bonus rooms (two on each level. Two have Paladins. One just has a mob. One has a bonus mission that will raise influence with the SF companions).

If you only raise one specialists’ influence: Oggurobb (Medical cache). Oggurobb gives you a kolto probe. There are no kolto stations in the Star Fortresses so you will need this.

Two: Oggurobb and Bey'wan Aygo (Military cache). Aygo gives you a small turret that can be set up in a room to fire on the enemy. It can be a game changer with mobs or gold level NPCs and it can also distract the enemy NPCs. On several occasions I’ve seen Exarchs completely ignore my character and just wail on the turret.

Three: Oggurobb, Aygo and Sana-Rae (Zakuulan Knight cache). Sana-Rae gives you a groundquake ability. This can come in really handy during the mobs in the sun rooms, but I’d get the other two first.

I don’t find the cache from Hylo Visz to be useful and will bypass obtaining it if I have the other three. By all means, raise her influence to 10 to get the buff, but I wouldn’t waste time fighting a Paladin to get her cache.

There’s an achievement for getting through the VSF without the specialists’ assistance. I honestly feel if you’re just going through this once to get the companion and finish the mission, you should make it as easy as you can for yourself, and forget about this achievement. If you decide you want it, you can always repeat the VSF.

I’m going to assume that you already have the basics of how to get through the Star Fortress itself and will concentrate on the final set of rooms. After defeating the mobs in the EMPHERMIS room, you get on an elevator and rise to a circular structure, the Reactor Core.

The goal in these rooms is to end the fights as quickly as you possibly can.

Room 1: Several skytrooper mobs. They should hopefully drop some dampening shields to protect you as you venture forth. Note: The medical droid at the beginning of this section also sells the shields for 1000 credits each. After a run where I literally got two in total from the mobs, I started buying a few from the droid as insurance.

Use your dampening shield by clicking on it. Look for the grapple hook on the top of the next platform, click it and grapple across. Do NOT try to grapple across without the shield, you will probably get zapped, fall and die. Also: be careful when you land on the platform. In a few cases Viri has landed facing the wrong direction, started running and tumbled right over the edge. Don’t be like Viri at that moment.

Room 2: The Exarch (who you will not be able to kill) and two gold NPCs. Run DIRECTLY to the blue, clickable console and click it as fast as you can. That ends the battle and sends the Exarch fleeing.

Another grapple, and there will be some mobs on the platforms to defeat.

Rooms 3 and 4: The Exarch, two gold NPCs and a lot of mobs. The Exarch will periodically wake up one of the two photoconduction droids in the corners. As soon as the droid wakes up and the nameplate turns red, beat them down as fast as you possibly can. They will drop a yellow power cell. It will show up on your ability bar or in your mission inventory tab. Target the Exarch and click that yellow cell to drain their power. You may have to do this twice. The large console will light up and turn blue and clickable. Get your butt there ASAP and click it. Keep clicking it even if you are interrupted. That’s the only way to end the fight.

If you are unsuccessful the cycle begins again - kill the droid, get the cell, drain the Exarch, click the console.

While you’re doing this, the mobs of skytroopers and the two gold NPCs will be attacking you and your companion. This is the time to pull out any and all stops you have that can stop a lot of enemies in their tracks. Put up Bey'wan’s turret. Use Sana-Rae’s groundquake. Orbital Strike. Vengeful Smash. Whatever you possibly have that will kill or stun the mobs.

My order of attack in this room is:

1. Set up Bey’wan Aygo’s turret in a corner of the room.

2. Go after gold NPCs

3. Go after the photocondution droids, even if the golds aren’t dead yet, while throwing AOEs or Sana-Rae’s groundquake at the mob

4. Drain the Exarch’s power

5. Click the console

After this, you’re going to grapple up to the Exarch!

When you grapple up to the edge of the platform, the Exarch will not see you. You do not have to start the fight right away. I personally prefer to call the repair droid and wait until every single skill, heroic moment, unity and the specialists’ abilities have cooled down. Take a minute or two to get ready.

Overall:

1. Start with a turret right by the entrance to the platform. It may distract the Exarch long enough for you to do some significant damage.

2.You’re going to do best with the Exarchs if you keep moving. The only exception to this is if the Exarch is completely distracted. In the Alderaan and Belsavis videos you can see the Exarch isn’t even looking at Viri and Lana, and isn’t reacting much when Viri and Lana keep attacking.

3. Any skill that requires you to stand still to channel is not the one you want to throw here.

4. Use ranged and AOE skills instead of getting up close and personal.

5. Try to keep your back to the doorway and away from the edges of the platform so you don’t get flung over the edge of the platform by a knockback.

All the Exarchs have a few skills in common:

1. A very wicked knockback. Remember your character is technically on a platform, and you can get flung over the edge, so be mindful about where you stand. I try to keep my characters in the middle or closer to the back of the platform by the door, so when they get thrown they are not going over the edge.

2. Orange exploding circles that deal substantial damage.

3. The ability to disappear during the fight and reappear with a very damaging attack.

4. The windows. As the fight goes along, the Exarch can shatter the windows on the platform. If you stand in the radiation pools, they will deplete your HP. There’s an achievement for killing the Exarch with this radiation, but again, if you’re just going through once for the companion, you might not want to get fancy and try this on your first attempt.

Beyond that, each of the Exarchs is a slightly different flavor of poison.

Voss: Andur Melor

Melor is subjectively the most difficult Exarch to defeat. They have self-heals and attacks that can take your HP down to about 60% in one blow.

Nar Shaddaa: Lesin Tyn

Tyn also has a self-heal, Aviela’s Avarice, but you can interrupt it. They can also be distracted. In Viri’s runthrough, she put down a turret and the Exarch spent half the fight attacking it.

Alderaan: Zar Draya

Once again, the turret was an effective shiny to completely distract the Exarch. Draya calls these “Mental Apparition” ghosts to help, but from what I’ve experienced, they mostly hover around and don’t really do very much. You can one shot them if you’re nearby or completely ignore them. You can see this is a far easier fight than the Voss or Nar Shaddaa battles.

Belsavis: Forta Gair

Again, able to be completely distracted by the shiny turret and Viri and Lana were able to get them down to about 50% HP before they even turned around.

Tatooine: Tarso Gren

Not as much of a pushover as Belsavis, and a great fan of the knockback, but still easier than Voss or Nar Shaddaa.

Hoth: Jom Vanten

More or less on par with Tatooine.

#rain plays swtor #solo swtor #swtor #star fortress #veteran star fortress

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otherfein3houses · 3 years

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Franz-Sacred Stones

Following up Seth with his protege Franz. Always like using him and don’t think I’ve had him ever turn out bad for me. That being said, he’s a little plain? His talents are simple enough, he’s a cavalier and can go Paladin or Great Knight so boons should lead towards those of course, but what exactly is he bad at? Some characters will have hints in support convos, but nothings apparent in this young knights supports. All that aside, here’s what I’ve come up with:

Boons: Sword, Lance, Axe, Riding

Banes: Reason, Flying

Combat Arts: Sunder (C), Finesse Blade (A), Monster Piercer (C), Lance Jab (A), Armored Blow (A)

Authority: Battalion Vantage (C)

Spells: nothin special, probably fire spells, the assumed faith spells and recover

Another mounted unit, so I assumed the obvious riding, lance and sword you’d expect on a cavalier. Given he can go great knight in sacred stones I figured he should have an axe talent too, but given his lack of focus on defense an armor talent didn’t quite fit. Still the axe boon would give him a path to it (and some other better classes in 3 houses since GK’s kinda bad in it) and armored blow fits in with the assumption axe use would go hand in hand with GK (coming later is lame but IMHO a lot of the axe talents are lame anyway). Sunder and Lance Jab mesh with his very earnest nature as up-front damaging attacks, with Lance Jab tying into his good speed. Monster piercer seems like something he’d naturally pick up battling them. Finesse blade and battalion vantage show Seths influence. Kind of wanted an art or two that would show some Forde influence too, but given I haven’t thought of his arts and their differing personalities I don’t think there’ll be overlap. The banes are sorta arbitrary, but nothing in his dialogue or supports points at a particular weakness, so I figured he’d be bad at stuff that shifts his focus from fighting as a knight, so no flyin and no castin. Or at least no easy flyin or castin.

#fire emblem #fe sacred stones #fe3h #fe Franz

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wearesorcerer · 4 years

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[5e] 8th-Level Spells

The glorious thing about 8th-level spells is that they are almost the same thing as 9th-level spells: horrendously powerful in ways that are barely limited. The limitations on 8th-level spells might be a smidge greater than those on 9th-level ones, but it’s not so much that (IMHO) it matters. (TBF, in 3.x spell levels vary by class; mass cure critical wounds is a 9th-level Druid spell but an 8th-level Cleric and Healing domain spell.) 8th-level spells have several perks over 9th-level spells despite being roughly as powerful: they’re available at a lower class level and you can use them more often (because you can use 8th-level and 9th-level spell slots to cast them). From experience and hearsay, I’m well aware that games don’t often get to the highest levels, but they can get to 15th/16th.

In other words, your choice of 8th-level spell is more important than your 9th. The 9th-level spell is the cherry; the 8th-level spell is either the whipped cream or some kind of drizzle.

Primary List

Abi-Dalzim’s horrid wilting · dominate monster · earthquake · incendiary cloud · power word stun · sunburst

That’s four boom-booms and two crowd-controls, with some CC mixed in with the boom-boom.

Abi-Dalzim’s Horrid Wilting: you violently dehydrate all creatures (except constructs and undead) in a 30-ft cube, dealing 12d8 necrotic damage (Con half; plants and water elementals take double damage). Non-creature, non-magical plants in the area wither and die instantly. This spell didn’t have an associated mage’s name in 3e, so I’m not sure where that came from. Other differences: it deals necrotic instead of typeless damage (you’re not applying what 3e would call “negative energy”), so undead and constructs are now immune to it; it deals a flat number of d8s instead of 1d6 per caster level (up to 20d6); and vulnerable creatures take double damage (makes sense) instead of increasing the die type to d8s. I don’t have much to complain about with this spell. It’s not my personal cuppa, but it sure is effective. Good.

Dominate Monster: you charm a creature, turning it into your mind slave for up to an hour. This is overall a downgrade from the 3e version (which lasted for one day per caster level and allowed you to perceive through the subject’s senses if you concentrated), but you don’t have to worry about issuing weird commands to prevent a creature from pulling a Sorcerer’s Apprentice problem -- and, well, you’re not waiting until 18th level (as you had to in 3.x) to get it. Do not pretend you are not horrifically evil for using this. “Good” in the sense that it’s highly useful and powerful.

Earthquake: This is the structural aspect of meteor swarm without the direct damage. It’s nearly as spectacular and will assuredly scare people in the area. The mun doesn’t care for the Earth element, but can still respect this thing’s power. Good.

Incendiary Cloud: a moving fireball that deals a flat amount of damage (10d8 fire, Dex half) but is effectively a DoT. Y’know, in case just blasting things to death wasn’t good enough for you. So far, so good.

Power Word Stun: target of 150 HP or less within range is stunned (no save); it remains stunned until, on each of its turns, it can succeed at a Con save. I like this spell a little better than power word kill in that there is some chance of the effect wearing off, as opposed to being an “I win” button almost regardless of level. It also affects more HP, so you’ll get more mileage out of it -- provided you don’t cast it on something with a good Con save. It’s not dominate monster levels of “I win,” but it’s also not mind control.

Sunburst: much bigger than fireball, blinds for one minute and deals 12d6 radiant damage (Con negates blindness, halves damage; oozes and undead have disadvantage on the save). Creatures blinded by the spell can save at the end of each of their turns to remove the blindness. ”Radiant” damage is a hold-over from 4e and was the term used to replace “positive energy,” which related to the plane of the same name. The 3.x version deals half as much typeless damage (bigger radius, though), ‘cuz it’s a light effect, not a holy effect. Sorcerers don’t get a lot of spells that deal Radiant damage unless they go Divine Soul and the Elemental Spell metamagic (UA variants) doesn’t let you change to or from Radiant (or any physical, Force, Necrotic, Poison, or Psychic) damage, so if you’re trying to cover your damage types, this is probably the spell for you. Unless you want sunbeam. A good boom-boom of boominess.

Cleric (Divine Soul) List

antimagic field · control weather · holy aura

Antimagic Field: magic stops working in a 10 ft. radius sphere centered on you. That means you shut down your class. Why would anyone do this? Mainly because of other casters. I WOULD NOT PICK THIS SPELL UNLESS YOU FIND A WAY OF ALSO BEING COMPETENT IN MELEE.

Control Weather: I’m pretty sure this is also an option for the Storm Soul or whatever it’s called, but whatevs. You’re Storm from X-Men. Need I say more? TAKE THIS SPELL!

Holy Aura: for 1000 gp, you can pretend to be a Paladin for up to a minute (with concentration). You and creatures you choose glow; they (and presumably you) have advantage on saving throws and all other creatures have disadvantage on attacks against them; Fiends and Undead that hit a creature must save (Con) vs. blindness until the spell ends. The effects are kinda neat, but why am I spending an 8th-level spell on this? Like, seriously, this is a second-level spell’s power. Pass.

Variant List

Demiplane: you create a permanent 30′ x 30′ x 30′ extradimensional room; every time you cast the spell, you can either create a new plane or gain access (via shadowy door) to one you’ve made or know of. It’s like having a better version of a bag of holding and a worse version of Mordenkainen’s magnificent mansion at once. The advantages over MMM (no costly material component, the space is permanent) outweigh its drawbacks. For Sorcerers who have incredibly awesome plans and/or just like planar magic.

Spells I Wish Were on the List

animal shapes · antipathy/sympathy · clone · glibness · illusory dragon · maze · mind blank · telepathy · tsunami

Animal Shapes: as I said about 9th-level spells, animal shapes is better for anyone who cares about polymorphing party members. There’s bound to be a Druidic or therianthropic origin at some point.

Antipathy/Sympathy: because 3.x got rid of inverting spells (a thing in AD&D), these were separate ones, so it’s good to see them as one effect. The downside is...why is this so high level? You specify a kind of creature (which sounds like species rather than type) that is affected by the spell and either wants to approach or flee from within 60 ft. of something. In real life, 60 ft. is not all that big; it’s tremendous in D&D because D&D is weird. The 10 day duration is really the only thing that justifies this spell’s level, but that’s an upgrade (it was two hours per caster level).

Clone: as I recall, this was the spell that made me realize how restricted the 5e Sorcerer’s spell list was, to my great disappointment. I’ve never used clone, but it’s a spell that’s worth using. You want to pull a Naraku? You can out do Naraku. You want to be a lich? Why would you when you can just use this spell and find a better method of gaining immortality? Such a good spell!

Glibness: This is something of an upgrade, yet not. The spell was new to 3.5; it was a Bard-only spell and third level (why it’s a Transmutation effect and not an Enchantment is beyond me), whereas here it’s 8th-level. The effects are identical save that the 3.5 gave you +30 on the check and worked for 10 min./level (which, given how Bards worked back then, meant 70+ minutes), whereas this treats your roll as a 15 and lasts for an hour. Rolling a 15 in 5e is much better than it was in 3.x given how easy it was to inflate die rolls, so the spells are roughly the same...except that this is an 8th-level spell, which is mind-blowing to me.

Illusory Dragon: other than going off of Investigation (3.5: Search) instead of Perception (Spot), this is pretty much greater shadow conjuration one level higher and with a specific thing it can do. I’d say compare it against phantasmal forces from O/B/AD&D. Still cool.

Maze: I’m assuming you can accomplish the same thing with imprisonment, but regardless, mazing is awesome.

Mind Blank: this is pretty much the best abjuration magic against spells that affect or target a creature’s mind. (I’d say that unequivocally, but I don’t know all spells in 5e.) Yes, it’s worth having. Very much so.

Telepathy: the only advantages this spell has over telepathic bond (a 5th-level spell) are that it lasts for 24 hours, you can cast it on a creature on the same plane from any distance, and it affects basically all creatures (IIRC you can’t have 0 in a stat anymore). The duration is key here, as permanency is no longer a spell.

Tsunami: I just like the idea, ‘kay?

#5e #spells

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annakie · 4 years

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An Annotated Mass Effect Playthrough, Part Seven

List of Posts: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Wherein we... talk to the crew. I didn’t quite make it off the ship.

Still, a lot of words.

Aka the nearly All-Gif update.

Didn’t get a chance to play ME at all this week, so I’m going to spend a few hours this weekend (double-checking to make sure screenshotting works :p) and have some real updates later.

So making it back to the ship from Therum, it’s time to talk to the crew. I maybe could have gone and talked to them after getting on the ship after the Citadel, but they don’t really have any unique lines then so, I usually wait til now to go chat.

First, let’s talk to Liara.

The thing that sucks about talking to Liara (or Kaidan, or Ashley, if you don’t want to romance them) is, you know, the accidental romance. Making “picking the Paragon-place choices = romance by default with NO WARNING” design was very Not Good. They fixed this in later games, well moreso in Dragon Age games than ME, (and Andromeda is done very well for this) but still. In ME3, the BackOff mod does a great job of making romance dialog more obvious and intentional.

Liara’s dialog choices I feel like are even LESS obviously flirting I feel like than Ash and Kaidan’s. Honestly with Liara’s most of the lines can be read and even said aloud as friendship then BOOM, all of a sudden she wants a threesome. I choose middle dialog options whenever possible with Liara just to avoid this. I’m not interested, never have been, don’t want Kaidan to think he has any competition. But seriously, it’s poor game design here that you literally have to be a jerk to a companion at some points to avoid having them think you want to bang. God, half of the reason I’d love a remaster would be to hopefully fix shit like this to avoid some of the pitfalls.

I hate that some people use this as a reason to dislike these characters more. And I’ll admit, in my early days as a ME fan, I held it against Liara, too, until I realized how dumb that is. I especially hate it when you get to the “confrontation scene” and people use Kaidan not wanting to be in a threesome as a reason to dislike him more? It’s not a bad thing to want to be monogamous? (And of course, it’s not a bad thing to NOT want to be, assuming everyone is open and OK about it.)

I just prefer to not get that scene at all now, and to avoid “leading anyone on” accidentally etc. My Shepard knows early on what she wants, and sticks with him all the way through.

I was going to talk more here about my feelings about Liara in general but uh, I guess I’ll do that later. This is already really long.

Here’s a great post about how to avoid romancing Kaidan while being rude as little as possible to him.

Well since he’s right outside the medbay anyway, let’s go talk to the LT.

Have I mentioned how much I hate the orange glow?

So anyway, I thought maybe I’d talk here a little bit about Why Kaidan?

I will point out here that I am mostly a hetero woman, so my choices in video game romances lean towards men first, though I’m also very cool with doing non-m/f romances in games, and often do on subsequent playthroughs of games I love, but that’s almost never gonna be my primary romance.

I’d already mentioned my love for Carth Onasi, one of the most hated companions in video games, If You’re A Guy.

By today’s standards, even the Carth romance isn’t that great. But at the time, it was the greatest romance I’d experienced in video games. There were a few others that were really good -- Valen Shadowbreath in Neverwinter Nights: Horde of the Underdark was the other really great one, but we also got nightmare fuel like Anomen in Baldur’s Gate (though that gets better with mods + the final BG expansion) or just under-written characters or romances like Casavir in NWN2 (who was much better with mods) or hell, either of your choices in KotOR2 imho. But I used to play KotOR over and over for many reasons, such as holy shit a Star Wars game(!!) and one where you can actually be a female main character AND has that great Bioware storytelling... but a big reason was Carth.

A funny thing about Carth Onasi... if you play a male main character, you have a very different experience with Carth than if you play a woman. And even I can agree that hoo boy Carth gets tiresome quick if you play a male, as a female you at least get to flirt and that calms him down and evens him out a lot. But the one time I tried playing as a male, I didn’t make it off Taris because.. yeouch I could actually see what the guys playing were so mad about.

But hey, that voice. Raphael Sbarge, I love that voice. So like I said early on in these posts, I immediately knew I was going to romance Kaidan the very second I confirmed he was romancable, before I even ran back into the ship and met anyone on the crew aside from Joker and Kaidan.

And... that only got confirmed more and more as I went through ME for the first time. The character is smart, and capable, and respected you, and never questioned your command, but made his feelings pretty clear along the way. He could be a little doofy but in an adorable way with some of the things he said, honestly there was almost never anything I didn’t love about this character.

I realized some time ago that I have a thing for the Paladin archetype personally.

This is Casavir, from Neverwinter Nights 2, and in NWN2, there are two romance options for women. An under-written Lawful Good Paladin in his late 30′s who is willing to buck his superiors to do what he thinks is right but also places you on a pedestal and holds back all his emotions. He’s a romance option. Or....

Bishop, a chaotic evil ranger who insults you a lot, threatens to rape an NPC under your protection, and ultimately betrays you.

Most people who played NWN2 seemed to prefer the CE Ranger. I loved the paladin so much I wrote fix-it fic that I never have gotten around to publishing anywhere to retcon his terrible dumb ending.

There’s a fan-made romance mod that helps with the romances in this game, though I dislike a lot of what they did, ultimately I always use it.

In Dragon Age?

Ah yeah, the Templar-Warden. Love him. He does have that “Oh I’m so young and experienced tee-hee” thing going on that isn’t my favorite, (at this point mostly because I’m actually in my mid-40′s so uh, I’m just Old) but otherwise, yeah, love Alistair.

Dragon Age 2, I mean I usually romance Anders but... I’m not real excited about either him or Fenris, or even either of the ladies, though I have done Isabella’s romance (as well as Fenris’) and enjoyed it. I’d probably romance Avaline (or Varric!), if she were an option. But yeah, Anders mostly because he IS trying to do what’s right, even if he... well. You know.

But Dragon Age Inquisition?

Give me that Blackwall-angst. That stoic guy trying to be a Warden who comes undone for you. You’d think I’d go for Cullen, but hey this game gave us two paladin archetypes, though one is merely pretending, he still atones and becomes what he was trying to be, one way or another, if you let him. I picked this paladin archtype first because I did not like Cullen based on interactions with him in DA1 & 2. I like him well enough in DA:I but Blackwall is my guy here.

Out of all the many, many companions in SWTOR, who’s my fave?

If Aric Jorgan isn’t a Paladin-type I don’t know who is, especially since any romanceable Jedi are uh, all your female padawans (don’t get me started) until Lana (also female) comes along.

Hell, in a very long-running 4e D&D game I played from around 2009 to 2014 where my character fell in love with our party leader’s son, married him and fought the final boss 4 months pregnant with our twins. That character’s husband... was a paladin. I mean look at this art my friend picked out for his character’s son:

I mean dang, who (of those who are attracted to men of this type) wouldn’t?

I always pick the Paladin. The guy who is gonna Do What’s Right no matter what it costs him, the guy who’s gonna be loyal, the guy who may bottle up his emotions or keep them under control all the time but ultimately does what it takes to get the girl... that’s my fave. And that’s Kaidan.

I will also say my second fave archetype is rogue-with-a-heart-of-gold, and that’s more of a Garrus or Varric (if only he were a choice!!! :( ) type.. aka my second choice in these games.

Well that was a lot more words on that subject than I meant to do, so I’m going to just say real quick here that what I love about this first conversation with Kaidan is that he’s already no dummy, he knows something is up, and warns you about it.

We’ll save talk about his backstory for another day.

Let’s head downstairs.

Yay for sped-up elevators! What used to take like 20 seconds now takes like, four.

URDNOT WREX.

This another place where Shepard starts out just sticking their foot in their mouths completely. I feel like this is something the game definitely has problems with here. Shepard should know a lot more about the Genophage, like they should have about say, Spectres, even if the player doesn’t. So basically every response you can give to Wrex about the genophage and what his people are going through sounds really insensitive. Comparing the relatively minor First Contact War with the entire galaxy more or less uniting to keep the Krogan from taking over after the Rachni war seems pretty dumb, and also like something Shepard should already know.

Loredumping on the Krogans a bunch with Wrex is necessary, but I think it could have been done better. Though I think there are a lot of questions about the Krogan and the Genophage that ultimately are important but go unanswered. I’m going to be honest, because generally I want my companions to be happy and ultimately I want the happiest ending I can get, I usually cure the genophage and leave Wrex in charge. But also I don’t think that ends up with the happiest ending for the galaxy. Everything about the genophage is terrible, how it works, how it was administered, what it’s done to the Krogan as a people, but let’s be honest, the galaxy will also be in huge trouble just from a resources perspective if each krogan woman can have hundreds (or even just dozens) of babies a year, who are gonna all live a thousand years. There’s got to be a compromise that, eventually, hopefully Wrex works out if he’s alive at the end of ME3 or the council figures out with Wreav or whoever.

It is kinda funny though that here, I basically met Wrex at C-Sec, told him I’d help him with Fist, sent him to my ship, and basically just kidnapped him to go help with the rest of the mission. He wanted to be here, right? I can only assume I’m paying him a lot.

Ashley!

I do love Ashley Williams.

I’m not going to turn this into a “Is Ashley Racist” thinkpiece. I’ve read a lot of both sides of this argument and no, I don’t think she is. Some pieces of her attitude do need to be kicked up a bit, for sure. She’s got about the same issues with aliens as most of the species of the galaxy have with each other, which sometimes isn’t great, but she’s far from supporting Terra Firma.

She’s smart, she’s funny, a hell of a shot, she’s being held back due to her family name. I would love for if someday a Wilshenko OT3 were possible. I’d do that in an instant. I despise the fact that you can only keep Kaidan forever if you lose Ashley forever, though I don’t see that changing even in a remaster. Please Bioware, for the super ultra remaster?

I know I need to do another run through the game with Ashley alive. I don’t remember too much of what happens in ME3 when she’s there.

I also love that her story is so much one of family. From her stories of her sisters, to the point that it’s her own grandfather’s legacy that’s holding her back. She’s so grounded, she reminds us that there are civilians out there we’re keeping safe, a whole world we rarely see, up in space and in the middle of so much military conflict.

GARRUS.

First of all, whew Garrus looks amazing in the lighting and with the textures with ALOT/MEUITM. Very handsome.

Interestingly, Garrus does not really loredump on the turians. We absorb a lot of what we find out about the turians more naturally. Garrus is more all about C-Sec and the general politics of the Council, of Spectres, of C-Sec. Gonna be honest, I expected C-sec to play into the game as a whole a lot more than it did based on Garrus’ talks about it. I mean it was always there, but Bailey ends up being the face of C-Sec

Garrus’ Law vs. I Do What I Want attitude is a nice way to do a non-goody-two-shoes companion story without having to go evil. I love that Garrus’ story kinda mirrors our own as players, how are we going to get things done? Shove a blaster in people’s faces, accept collateral damage, and do whatever it takes to get it done? OR play by the rules, compromise, and see if that fixes things.

The thing is though, Mass Effect actually is great at giving us the illusion of choice without making a huge difference in the end. Like I mentioned before... not bringing Garrus to ME1 makes little difference in how he acts in ME2 outside of a few lines of dialog. Lots of things are like that, like pick Ash or Kaidan on Virmire, and yes one is always gone, but 80% of the content is basically the same from there on out for either character.

There are games out now that do that choice better. Pathfinder: Kingmaker is one I can think of. Or Tyranny. Things you choose can alter the endings of those games drastically, locking entire paths out of the game.

I used to think that was what I wanted. Until I played Kingmaker and locked myself out of things I really wanted without realizing it. I stopped playing the game, sad that my LI dumped me and wouldn’t come back without reloading many, many hours worth of game. Despite enjoying the game overall, I still haven’t gone back. When I do play again, I’ll probably keep a lot of tabs open of walkthroughs and tips on how to keep things going how I want. Kind of defeating the purpose of the game.

Anyway, I got super off track again. The point is, Garrus is the companion that gives us the most Choice in who he is. Which is cool. He illustrates our Paragon vs Renegade dilemma. And it’s neat that it does make changes in some of the things he says in the future, but overall, his story doesn’t change much no matter what you do (Unless you, ya know, get him killed in ME2).

And therein lies a problem with Mass Effect, and video games as a whole. It’s neat to see the little changes, but it’s rare for anything to be an actual Big Change, because... that’s a loooot of work for a developer and how much more money is all that going to cost him.

At some point in the future I’ll point out how lucky we are for what we did get, though.

Heeeey it’s Chief Engineer Greg Adams! I wonder how many people don’t even know he has a first name? Anyway, thank you for your one short conversation in which you explain how the Normandy works (honestly, great job with explaining this, Bioware, even if the science is ???) and like three sentences on who you are. Wasted opportunity to give you an actual character. Glad you like Tali, though! See you in ME3.

TALI!

Okay, I will totally accept that Shepard doesn’t know much past the basics of quarian society. That makes a lot more sense than Shepards not knowing much about asari.

The quarians are so much more of an original creation I feel like than a lot of what we’ve seen in the galaxy so far. Krogan? Basically Klingons. Turians? Space Romans. Asari? Twilek/Space Elves but ALL Hot Ladies. Qarians feel like something new though.

I mean, I guess before they had to live in suits they were pretty normal, but their entire culture doesn’t feel like something we’ve seen everyplace before. I mean I’ve seen space (g-slur) but, eh not really.

And Tali herself is such a good character. I mean, she does suffer a little from being Very Important with her father being one of five admirals in a population of six million people but, I’ll allow it. Nobody else on the crew has Very Important Parents. I mean Garrus’ father is a little high up in the ranks but that’s a non-factor, Ash’s grandfather was but he’s dead and never seen, Wrex’s father is a chieftan but none of those is central to their current story or as big as this one. I mean, Spacer Shep’s own mother is a captain of a ship. Tali herself in-game isn’t that sexualized -- most of that was the fandom’s doing. She’s young but also confident and has her shit together.

She shoulda been a same-sex romance in ME2/3 though, damnit!

Joker. Is. Amazing. And uh, also shoulda been a romance option.

Hey first of all, how great was it that they put in disabled representation in this game. I have read a few posts on how it could have been better, and definitely agree, but it’s also been so important to have say, Geordi LaForge as chief engineer of the Enterprise and also Joker here, in space, being awesome on spaceships. And he really earns his the right to his bravado in calling himself the best pilot in the galaxy.

Also? Casting Seth Green was such a great choice. I couldn’t imagine Joker as anyone else. I mean this is Bioware so we expect, and definitely got, great voice acting (except for... ugh you know, we’ll get there in ME3) but honestly Seth Green was a particularly good choice. I don’t care that he’s covered with sixteen layers of plot armor, he deserves it.

He’s the companion that we don’t ever get to take in the squad. (I mean, except for that brief amazing moment in ME2)

I only wish in ME1 he had as much to say as in ME2/3. At least he gets cool snarky lines after all the major missions.

One last thing before we get off the ship for awhile, I love that the crew is actually comprised of both men AND women in ME1. With different hairstyles and faces, and even skin tones. It’s nice to see they didn’t just reuse the same guy over and over for the nameless NPCs.

Well, I guess they get names in ME2. :v

Anyway, I would like to point out, that there are seventeen nameless NPCs on the Normandy.

Then there’s Adams, Tali, Garrus, Wrex, Ashley, Kaidan, Chakwas, Liara, Pressley, and Joker.

That’s twenty-seven people and eight sleep pods. Let’s remove the aliens, who couldn’t fit in a sleep pod (Garrus and Wrex), twenty-five people. Are there people sleeping in the sleep pods now? There must be, right? Everyone can’t be awake when we’re on the ship just because we’re there? How does that math add up? Who is sleeping where, HOW DOES IT WORK!?

Well, that’s their problem. I got my own bed. Kaidan can share.

Also just... don’t get me started on how stupid this is. I mean it’s nice having a shop on the ship but... the justification is terrible. We all know it. He was counted as one of the 17 nameless, btw.

Okay well, I was going to get off the ship this update but this is already stupid long and honestly I don’t have too much more content to post so, I’m gonna go actually play this game!

#mass effect #kaidan alenko #garrus vakarian #urdnot wrex #liara t'soni #tali'zorah #ashley williams #jeff joker moreau #joker #annakie's mass effect stuff

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zjofierose · 5 years

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2018 Sheith Fic Rec Post Pt. 1

This is the first installment of several rec posts I’m planning to make in conjunction with the new year and with @sheithfictioncatalogue’s reclist/follower celebration! I keep a spreadsheet of fic I read in a year, and I read over 500 last year alone (I read fast, and I have a commute). So, when I went through and looked even for just the fics I’d marked for myself with 5 stars, there were… a lot of them.

I’ve tried to select ones that might be somewhat less widely known, though there are a few classics mixed in. Please note these are based on my taste alone, and thus ymmv! Hopefully you’ll find something new and enjoyable here!

she's cheer captain kissing him under the bleachers | akaiiko, onehornyunicorn | T/E | 4,035 (2 fic series) @akaiikowrites

Falling in love with Keith Kogane hurts. Everyone knows that. But it’s easy to fall in love with her, anyway.

I enjoy trans!keith or nb!keith stories a lot, though I don’t personally headcanon him that way in the actual series, and I’m also a sucker for HS/College AUs, so this little series hits me in a couple good places. That said, this wouldn’t be half as enjoyable if it weren’t so well-written. Keith as a high school ice queen? Shiro as the sweetheart athlete who knows what he wants when he sees her it? It’s delightful, and sweet, and I would read so much more in this verse.

control: see (me) | arcadenemesis | T/E | 20,326 (2 fic series) @copilotsheith

“I just can't believe you found me,” he whispers. It's nothing short of a miracle to Shiro too. When Keith had first changed course unexpectedly, he had been concerned. They were already battling against time to get back to Earth. The last thing he could have ever expected was a gut-wrenching sense of deja vu as Black tenderly collected up a tiny, dying Altean ship, floating in the vacuum of space. Not all the clones perish. A sole survivor threatens to tip the balance of Voltron.

I know in the series Kuron… basically stops existing once Shiro’s put into his body. Or something. But I find stories exploring the clones and their relationships to Shiro himself and the other paladins really fascinating, because there are just so many ways they can go. This one I really love, because Shiro and Keith’s reactions feel very real to me, and the clone becomes a fully realized person, especially in the sequel. The first one stands alone well, the second one is delightfully NSFW, but will also punch you in the gut at the end, so be forewarned.

i told the moon to never let me go | pumpkinless | E | 57,035 @disloyalpunk

Sometimes the best decisions are the most reckless, and Shiro's recklessness is inspired.

I love me some pre-kerberos fic. IDK that I could even tell you why, other than that I like a good origin story, but I do. I also love, love, love established relationship/married fics. This is both of those, and also it’s long, and also it is so full of intelligent emotional writing, and hope, and joy, and grief, and… this is my go-to fic for “I Have Too Many Emotions Right Now And Need Catharsis”. It will fuck you up, and you will thank it for the privilege.

a god big enough for your love | xerampelinae | M | 8,387 @xerampelinaekiss

When the universe was empty, there was only quiet. Then out of nothingness came the first of the Five Gods: the Black Lion, Guardian of the Sky, and the Red Lion, Guardian of Fire. The First God and the Second came together in the great dark and brought forth light.

Who loves a good mythological AU??? raises hand and waves it around So, consider this a blanket rec for all of xerampelinae’s work, because it is all fantastic, and it varies a lot, which is fun as a reader. But this particular Greek Mythology AU/Crossover Thing is particularly wonderful imho. 10/10, do recommend.

laws of the beast | tagteamme | E | 100,871 @phaltu

Under the scorching desert sun, Shiro picks up a hitchhiker who ends up saving his life— and claims to know him.

I can’t write a suspenseful plot to save my life, and I respect the hell out of anyone who can, let alone someone who can sustain one over the length of a novel, plus include gut-twisting emotional scenes, and develop genuine stakes for the characters and readers. This fic is a hell of a ride, and absolutely worth your time. One of my favorite long-fics.

toast the snow that fell | p0rth0s | E | 31,126

Keith leans forward a little further, puts his weight on his arms and kicks his socked feet in the air a few times, like paddling water. “I’ll be your friend, Shiro.”

Shiro pauses where he’s bent over the couch, meets Keith’s gaze dead-on and stares. “Aren’t you generous.”

“I’m so good,” Keith chirps. “So drunk,” Shiro mumbles. He’s not wrong. TL;DR a first meeting, a snow in, a Holt, and two lonely boys

A thing that I think is very hard to find in fics is believable and extended sexual and romantic tension. It’s hard to write! It’s very easy to either fall into tropes or to drag things out too long, or make them too soft (I love soft, but that lessens the edge of the tension usually), or whatever. This fic? Keeps you on tenterhooks. Also, it’s got a real sweet underpinning of found family and excellent Keith&Pidge and Pidge&Shiro friendships, which I always love.

negative spaces | lysapadin | T | 2,294 @lysapadin

What does it mean to be the clone of a man like Takashi Shirogane? Here are some things you don't have: A prosthetic where your right hand and arm should be; a scar crossing the bridge of your nose; any hair that has been stripped of color by quintessence; a patchwork of scars across your skin, the roadmap to your nightmares; any real right to those nightmares.

As far as Shiro!clone fics go, this is probably my favorite. The writing style is experimental, but it really, really works for the story. I love the way it deals with the loss of entities/beings/people that were never known, but were so closely tied, and the accompanying sensations of guilt and sorrow, along with the inevitable identity crises.

and we could touch the sun | miaoujones | T | 3,147 @miaoujones

"Why did you do it?" The tightness in his chest makes Shiro feel short of breath but he pushes on, holding Keith's gaze. "Why did you save me, after." Keith doesn't interrupt him, but Shiro stops there anyhow. His gaze slips from Keith's eyes to his cheek, to the scar burned into his face.

Non-sexual intimacy fics are a rare breed, and even rarer when they’re done well. This is an excellent example of the genre, and I highly recommend it, as well as the rest of this author’s works.

of glass hearts and gold | arcadenemesis | T/M | 31,019 (3 fic series) @copilotsheith

Keith is an up and coming figure skating prodigy with an image problem. Shiro defies traditional belief as the undisputed Champion of his discipline. It's only a matter of time before fate draws them together.

I’m a sucker for a good AU, and this is a Good AU. Keith and Shiro are Olympic Figure Skaters, chasing each other on the ice and around the world. They do (not really a spoiler) get together, but it’s not always easy, and this fic carries an authenticity in their relationship both as competitive teenagers and devoted friends, and eventually as lovers in an adult commitment.

Riftwood | neyasochi | M | 56,128 @neyasochi

In the year since Takashi Shirogane went missing on the trail, national park ranger Keith has spent all the time he can spare searching the rugged terrain for his boyfriend. But Shiro’s sudden return one summer night brings as much uncertainty as it does relief— amid dark discoveries deep in the woods, Keith finds himself questioning just how deeply Shiro changed during his lost year.

I do not do horror. Do. Not. Do Horror. Which means I genuinely have no idea how or why I started reading this - I think I was just cruising through the author’s other fics, and started reading without checking the summary? Suffice it to say, I got partway in and was reading through my fingers, but it was too good to put down. It’s the rare horror that avoids gore and ends well, and I love it - very creepy, well characterized, and exceptionally well written.

sand and stars | neyasochi | T | 22,203 @neyasochi

Keith’s no stranger to shit going sideways, but mistakenly assaulting and robbing a crown prince is definitely the peak misfortune of his considerable criminal career. Suddenly in the custody of the royal guard and slated for a swift and unceremonious execution, he figures his short life is over. Imminently.

But then Prince Takashi offers him an alternative.

Hands down my favorite Sheith Fantasy AU. This has a sequel, which I think was actually written first, and which was also very good, but I prefer this one. Wonderful character moments, beautifully constructed world, excellent storytelling.

that chaste mouth open like | pumpkinless | E | 9,643 @disloyalpunk

There is fire dancing underneath Keith’s skin, and all he can think about is burning hotter underneath Shiro.

I read widely. If I like the author, I’ll give just about anything a chance, regardless of whether it’s a kink or genre I’m usually into. Which, thank you, pumpkinless, is how I ended up reading Daddy!kink w/ a side of humiliation. Now, it helps that the author (whom you probably already know from their incomparable Frat AU) is a maestro at writing scorchingly hot and deeply emotional smut, but there’s an undercurrent of love and trust and safety in this fic that made me able to enjoy these particular kinks in ways I wouldn’t usually.

#sheith fiction catalogue #sheith #fic #fic rec #sfcfollowerfavs #zjo recs #phaltu #p0rth0s #neyasochi #copilotsheith #disloyalpunk #lysapadin #miaoujones #xerampelinaekiss #shiro #keith #voltron legendary defender #akaiikowrites

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bushybeardedbear · 6 years

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A Little Something I like about Plance 2 - Electric Boogaloo. 💙💚

Wherein BushyBeardedBear adds to the “Bi-Lance” discussion and how it relates to his near obsession with this OTP... See Part One Here...

Look at that soft look just look at it!!

So, the TLDR? - IMHO Pidge is best for Bi-Lance.

In the previous post I discussed how Plance, FlirtyRobot, Pidgance, SeaSalt, F*ckPlant, whatever you want to call this adorable ship doesn’t actually give us the LGBT+ rep we want... Well, maybe we just have to squint a little...? In this essay I will...direct you to the link below so I don’t dominate your feed...

This line of thinking started a couple of days ago. My partner was looking through a draft of one of my many unfinished fanfics and said to me... “You’re using that one again...?” “Which one’s that?” I reply nervously. “The idea that Lance liked Pidge when she was doing the Mulan thing...? You really like that don’t you...?” And my partner’s right. I DO really like that idea. It’s my top tier head canon. But the discussion got me thinking. Why do I like it beyond it being cute...? Well, there has been discussion in the fandom regarding Lance’s theorised bi-sexuality probably ever since he shared more than a nano-second on screen with another attractive boy. No shade, I’m guilty of it too in more fandoms than I’d care to admit. It’s a pretty understandable feeling. But there’s also this pic...

Given certain recent news that I won’t go into for fear of spoiler territory, this image suddenly has a lot more attention within the fandom. In particular, the discussion of Lance’s sexuality. Now, cute as it would be for Hance, Klance, Shance, Latte etc. to become canon, as long as they were all handled respectfully and lovingly for all involved, I just don’t personally see them fitting the character growth Lance has been given so far. Feel free to respectfully disagree, because I’m not anti any of your shipping preferences you ship what makes you happy. This is just my opinion, #shipandletship In the last post on this subject, my focus was essentially Lance unshackling himself from the concepts of toxic masculinity and how important a message that is for men young and old to see. Setting aside the idea of conquest, bravado etc and becoming a more nuanced, thoughtful and ultimately complete human being.

You know what fits that narrative really well? Loving someone regardless of what they are and more down to who they are. This wouldn’t be something new to Lance either. Just look at the early seasons of his being the incessant flirt-machine. Was he ever turned off by the idea of a non human being? Do you honestly think a particularly cute xenomorph would have been off the table? Seriously, if Lance had met this...

...do you think he would have cared about the silicon skin, the acid blood, the secondary mouth (ok maybe the secondary mouth for making out...), the barbed tail...? Or do you think he would have just taken one look at the smile, the figure, and been all over her like a rash...? Or at least given the winning smile and the finger guns. And now, as his character has developed into caring less about the physical and far more about the person within, learning to put aside his feelings of romance into being a better friend and person, do we really think he’d suddenly be hung up on the same sex or gender identity of his own species? I’d be tempted to say Lance may not simply be Bi, but given his utter lack of concern about alien species, he may well be Pansexual.

And this is where the Crush on Pidge at the Garrison comes in. Maybe Lance never even realised it at first. Maybe he did and just didn’t or couldn’t act on it, giving the barrier early Pidge always put up...? Just consider though. Even presenting as a male, even with the cold barrier up, Lance sought Pidge out, Lance raced ahead at Pidge’s behest toward certain danger, Lance cared deeply about Pidge’s reassurance of his decisions, valued Pidge’s intellect and took a genuine interest in what Pidge did and who “he” (as Lance saw it) was. Even waking from a coma just to save “him” from death at the hands of Sendak. Y’know. Like a friend does...

Or like a friend desperately reciprocates as a form of narrative parallel...

Now sure, this is all speculation on my part and all of those instances can easily be discarded as “just friends” if you like, that’s the wonderful thing about media and it’s polysemic interpretations. But, friends only or friends to lovers trope, they do show at least a connection, on that much we can agree. Connections can develop. Connections can deepen. Connections can be re-evaluated with the benefit of hindsight. So, perhaps one day we’ll see Lance reflecting on both how cute Pidge Gunderson was to him and how cute Katie Holt is to him now. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful message for Lance, grown as a character, to love someone beyond skin depth, beyond sex or gender, and purely for the person they are...?

And who fits that role better than our favourite Green Paladin? IMO, nobody.

Now you two hurry up and realise it already!!

#bi-lance #vld lance #vld pidge #plance #pidgance #flirtyrobot #seasalt #pikelevar #voltron legendary defender

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cakes-cosplay · 5 years

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Vld s8 Rant

Just need to get a few things off my chest since Voltron has been a decent-sized chunk of my life recently.

I hopped on board the Voltron Legendary Defender train right before season 2 aired, and I loved it since the beginning. Everything was new and bright and fun, and it was so entertaining watching these rag tag bunch of idiots interact with each other. I kept up pretty religiously, and even watched seasons 1 - 3 multiple times. But my passion for the show died somewhere around s5. It felt exhausting to get through episodes, and I was constantly checking how many I had left to finish the season. The newer seasons felt driven purely because the plot demanded it with the exception of one fun, silly episode per season. That one silly episode brought life back into my love for the show. Its a conflicting feeling because a show about war SHOULD show the nitty gritty plot demanded battles, but god, I was exhausted with them. But I stayed with it because I had so much time invested in it, and it felt like a disservice to not see it through. But I trudged, and the last 2 seasons were really a struggle, and I’d delve more into why the ending was such a disappointment to me.

Like many others, my favorite character was Lance. I say “WAS” instead of “IS” because that character is not the same person as in the beginning. I felt personally connected to Lance like many others did. He was energetic, loud, and silly, which he used to cover up how insecure he was. He used to be so expressive! But by the last 2 seasons, he was tired, quiet, and not outspoken at all. It’s like, as soon as Allura and Lotor became a thing, his personality did a 180. And I suddenly didn’t relate to him, and he didn’t do anything meaningful unless Allura was involved in some way. There was one comment in this season where the baddies refer to Lance as the “loud paladin”, and I was genuinely confused. Was there really no other descriptor for him? The descriptor they used wasn’t even true anymore! Like damn, boy! I’m sorry you got treated this way, but based on the series of events, Hunk is my new favorite! Lance’s lack of characterization was a big negative for me.

Other short character notes: Keith had no personality this season, and I felt that way about Shiro too. “The leader” isn’t a personality trait. The only smidgeon of Keith I saw was when both he and Hunk were on the Clear Day ride. Hunk and Pidge were great. No notes about Allura because her character felt so inconsistent to me. I used to like her a lot, but now I’m just meh.

Also, Keith and Lance’s relationship, are they just best friends now? Like why? What interactions did they have which showed that they no longer viewed each other as rivals after Keith came back from the void? Just because they aren’t as hot headed anymore doesn’t mean they are automatic bffs. Keith and Hunk had a way more meaningful friendship imho.

As for ships, I started as a main Klance shipper, but the more I watched, the more I became a Shance shipper, and I firmly hold them as my Voltron OTP. But to be honest, in canon, I never wanted any ships to be realized. This is a show about teenagers struggling and growing through an intergalactic war. I think it would have been way more meaningful to bond with each other through friendship and familial ties instead.

To be honest, once Lance and Allura got together in episode 1, I anticipated that one of them was going to die by the end of the season. Out of the two, Allura was the more likely to die, so I wasn’t too surprised by her sacrifice. Allurance was one of my lower tier ships, but it felt too rushed and forced these last two seasons. Like it really came out of nowhere and didn’t feel organic at all. So ultimately, I was disappointed by the ending that s8 provided for those two.

As for Shiro and Curtis, I kinda knew that was end game from the Clear Day episode where Curtis shows up to cheer on Shiros arm wrestling match. After killing off Adam, I felt the writers were trying to cover up the backlash they received by shoving Shiro with another POC without giving them any development. But whatever, they cute together. And Shiro can finally rest, like he deserves. Also, Shiro with glasses makes my heart go doki-doki.

Okay, that’s it, I’m done. I have more things to say, but I gotta run to catch a train, but the main thoughts are out there. Feel free if you’d like to message for thoughtful discussion about this 8 season journey, but please keep ship wars out of it :3

#vld s8 #vld spoilers #voltron legendary defender #spoilers #s8 thoughts #vld rant #vld ending

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sharky857 · 5 years

Note

I see u said that u have a list of artists to commission? Who are they? And why asking different artists when u could ask a single one?

Different artists = Different styles & skills, simple as that.

For example: an artist drawing exclusively anthro characters might not be able at all to draw robots and vice versa. This is the main reason why I tend to commission several different artists.

Another thing I look for in an artist is their overall drawing style; if I have in mind a super-cutey pict and I want that to look somewhat cartoonish as well, generally my first choice would be that artist who can make likewise super-adorable chibis instead of using a realistic drawing style.

That being said, I don’t really have a real list typed down somewhere, I always go by guts feeling. Nope, no joke.

But I guess it’s never too late to make said list (and give some of dem artists the recognition they deserve).

PLEASE NOTE! I’ll be typing it in no particular order (and I’m already deeply apologising to whoever I might be accidentally leaving out).

@evol-astraea: If you’re looking for an artist who can pretty much nail a Transformers (from any series/movie, basically), Gundam, Iron Leaguer and even Braves Series mecha-style, you won’t be let down.She can also draw anime-styled humans; usually they tend to be in a Gundam Seed-esque style, but sometimes she's also capable of drawing them in the style of the anime series they belong to.She can also draw characters from videogames such as Megaman (preferably X or the Zero series), Overwatch, Paladins... You name them.Besides her Tumblr, you may have a look at her DA gallery and/or her Twitter.

@alucardy2000: Another artist who can draw both mecha and humans in her own style. For personal taste reasons, I would commission her when I’d like a pic related to Transformers (either G1 or Animated) or Iron Leaguer.You may see her drawings also into her DA gallery.

@the-reddish-muse: Like Alucardy, she too can draw both mecha and human characters with no problems and in her own way. Oftentimes she would also draw fantasy/horror-like creatures, and pretty much all you can see in her DA gallery atm.

@hausofax: The one and only I’d commission to draw my Biker Mice OCs. Besides anthro, she can also draw human and fantasy-like characters. All in her own style.Other than Tumblr and the linked DA gallery, you can see her works popping also on her twitter.

@archangelduskanddawn: Another talented anthro artist, she tends to draw characters in a realistic/more proportionated way than they may appear. So, if you’d like to commission something related to Sonic X anime, don’t expect the characters to look exactly like that.Besides Tumblr, you may find this artist also on FurAffinity.

@fritzigrubby: Found this artist on Facebook, when one of her satisfied customers shared a commissioned work (PSA time: THIS is why you ALWAYS credit the artists, folks!)Commissioned her myself once to draw an OC of mine (+ CC) from a comic series as obscure as “Spirou et Fantasio”. She seems to be pretty much at ease with any anthro, fantasy and/or human character you may throw at her.This one also has an Instagram.

@d-structive: This artsy “stinky fishy” can draw pretty much anything, be them mecha/robutt or human characters. Imho, she’s the perfect choice if you want something to look cutesy-silly (or just freakin’ adorable) with her own chibified style.You may also see her DA gallery.

@trauma-a: Commissioned this one at least a couple of times to draw likewise characters from the game “Paladins”. One of the commissioned work can be seen as my blog’s current icon/avatar, for the records.They can be found also on Deviantart, Twitter and Instagram.

LailaSilverwolf: So far the only artist I found who could draw an anthro OC of mine from the long gone “Extreme Dinosaurs” series. Yes, said OC is none other than an anthro dinosaur. Go and sue me. :°) #No RegretsBesides the already linked DA gallery, she can also be found on Furaffinity and Twitter.- Fun fact: She’s been suggested to me by the first artist I tried to ask for the same subject, her friend and likewise talented colleague @thatjerkwiththemouse.When I first talked to LailaSilverwolf about the commission I had in mind, she entered full “challenge accepted!” mode and apparently had the blast of her life.

And that’s pretty much it, for what concerns my personal list. I left out some I haven’t asked yet (like @juliekarbon, another anthro/DnD-fantasy artist) and those that are known to take commissions but at the moment they’re on a sort of “commissions hiatus” (like @sandlake, who I commissioned at least once to draw my Iron Leaguer OC).

#sharky's replies #take a load of this list!#Anonymous

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ganymedesclock · 6 years

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@hillshollow replied to your post

I was thinking more in the realm of a scene where Luke Skywalker had to face himself in the swamp. It’s a pretty classic Sci Fi literary scene that lets the hero face his past and or darkside.

One very under developed side of Shiro IMHO is the year he’s been repressing. Sure they whip it out every once in a while when they want to use it as a plot device how-to to defeat a monster but that’s about it.

I want to see Shiro face down Haggar and the show finally show us him starting to heal. And a big part of that is facing down literally or figuratively himself.

And you have to admit Haggar is twisted enough to take a symbol of hope - a hero for the prisoners and twist and currupt it. You got to love to hate her that way.

While I agree that “facing the shadow” is a very common storytelling convention and a good one, I guess the thing that I disagree with is that Shiro needs to go through with this, that it interlaces meaningfully with his character arc.

The thing is, yes, Haggar definitely wants that- but again, when she talks about the Champion, she makes it clear that Shiro refused her.

This scene is not Shiro facing any actual element of himself- this is Haggar using Shiro’s fears against him to punish him.

Twisting the Champion into her personal attack dog was absolutely Haggar’s stated goal. But a lot of what’s happened to Shiro since then is clear that Haggar’s trying to retaliate at him for not being her puppet. She’s tried to find new ways to twist his arm- Operation Kuron- and there has to have been more than a bit of an intention to punish behind that, considering how many things Haggar and her operators that were monitoring Shiro let seriously endanger and wound him.

We see the nearly-syrupy way Haggar talks to Myzax, claims that she’s going to give him what he wants, when she’s the one who’s decided it’s time for Myzax to take revenge on Shiro. This is not remotely how Haggar talks to Shiro.

And that Shiro pushed back against Haggar’s control clicks in place with everything we see. There could be no breaking point for Shiro where Shiro was listening to Haggar if at the final point of the missing year, Ulaz trusted him, called him someone who gave hope to others, and set him free.

The only person that suggests to the contrary is Haggar, who contradicts herself in that regard, and Haggar also has a vested interest in lying to Shiro, in convincing him his darkness is internal, that it’s his fault, that he’s a bad person. This is a classic abuser tactic.

Now, bringing back to what you talk about with facing the shadow- this is of some interest to me since I’ve thought about the subject quite a bit in a different context. Shiro could benefit from facing what he perceives as his darkness.

Specifically because, I think in externalizing it in that matter, Shiro could realize that what he thinks is his enemy... is not.

One of the major things holding Shiro back, and I think this is born directly from his missing year (I’d disagree with you that it’s underutilized- rather, its effects are more widespread and subtle than just the overt flashbacks), is that Shiro has a complicated relationship with trusting himself, which he projects onto his relationship with the Black Lion.

I’ve said before that the paladins relate to specific Lions the way that they relate to that Lion’s seated paladin. This goes for their own Lions.

Consider Hunk and the Yellow Lion. One of the big things Hunk’s said about Yellow is he doesn’t want to leave him- that Yellow is safe and comfortable. This speaks volumes for Hunk as a person who’s very keenly aware of his comfort zone and likes to stay there- but is also confident to the point of being headstrong when it comes to his own capabilities.

Whether it’s hotwiring alien equipment in s1e1 or taking over a restaurant in s2e7, Hunk in his element is absolutely unstoppable. He’ll order people around who have a lot more power over him because listen buddy he’s the expert here.

And we see this same thing take place when Hunk’s at the head of the Yellow Lion. Hunk views Yellow as an extension of himself, a citadel of confidence, and because of this just like when he’s feeling knowledgeable and certain, Hunk in the Yellow Lion becomes brash and strong-spirited. “I’m gonna teach this sentry a lesson about tailgating!”

Shiro’s relationship with Black is established repeatedly as one of the strongest, and yet, one of the ones most fraught with peril. It’s not because Shiro’s connection is paradoxically strong and weak at the same time- but rather, it’s strong enough that Black, in effect, becomes Shiro’s shadow archetype.

Onto Black, Shiro projects his own fears. That he is not trustworthy. That in some essential way the people that hurt him have taken ownership of him. That he isn’t going to heal- or worse, that he doesn’t deserve to heal.

Shiro doesn’t have actual “sins” that he’s seeking atonement for as much as he believes that he does.

And when Kuron comes in, it frays his connection with Black, and what else does it do? Shiro complains to Lance he feels unlike himself.

This is an attack on Shiro’s identity. Which, this and the suspicious bout of amnesia would tell us that Haggar, in setting this up, considered who Shiro is as a person and his awareness of the situation to be threats. Things she needs to weaken the foundation of if she wants to keep the grip on him she has.

People don’t creep in through a third story window to attack someone they aren’t scared of, who they don’t think they could take in a straight fight. And this makes sense because one of Shiro’s central paladin virtues is his strength of will. The only way Haggar’s gotten these hooks in place is because Shiro’s not aware of them.

So if anything, I think Shiro fighting a perceived shadow would have to go the way Allura facing the white lion in s5e6 did- that is to say, you win the fight by recognizing it’s not your enemy. That his trauma, his exhaustion, the person he became to survive that, the Champion- is not a bad person. Not someone he hates, not someone he needs to get rid of or overcome.

But a wounded person, who’s very tired, and really needs to hear that it wasn’t his fault.

#voltron legendary defender #vld #Shiro #readmore

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ptw30 · 6 years

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Same anon as the Kuron and Shiro ask! I meant, if Kuron retroactively counts as Shiro, wouldn't that technically mean that Shiro has been present for every single season so far, which would support the argument that he is the protagonist? Of course the issue here is complicated by the fact that canon never actually says Shiro and Kuron merged, and in fact indicated that Kuron was a different evil person who is dead and gone. But IN THEORY Word Of God here supports the Shiro as protagonist idea.

As I said - fandom is a choose your own experience, type of deal.

However, no. IMHO - Kuron is still not Shiro during those seasons, so while there is A Shiro present in S3-6, Shiro isn’t in those seasons.

Keith wasn’t fighting Shiro in “The Black Paladins.” He was fighting the clone. Shiro hasn’t wielded the Black Bayard, and since the clone did and it was in its evil form again - that proves its not Shiro.

Nothing, even retroactive, is going to change that.

Now, if the show wants to address it - I believe a lovely scene between Shiro and Keith could be had, but Shiro did not fight Keith.

And no - it doesn’t support that Shiro is THE main character.

The Protagonist is the principal character of a story, usually The Hero, but not always. Beyond any and all other traits…you can generally tell who the protagonist is because the story is about them.

Considering Shiro is no longer in Voltron, was pushed to the side in the first half of Season 7, and was out for 24 episodes in Season 3-6, Shiro is not the main character of Voltron.

#shiro #operation kuron #voltron #vld #story structure #anon #answered #writing

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fadhilitheone · 6 years

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Shallura Holidays Oneshots 7!

Day 7: Homecoming

That night, the castle was on autopilot and had set coordinates to the place the Paladins hadn't seen in almost three years.

Earth: their home.

The only person Shiro knew was waiting for him was his mother and his dog Astral. He knew that the other Paladins had larger families and that Keith would be living with Lance because the blue Paladin refused to let him go back to his lonely shack.

Despite all his years as a Paladin, he still had the occasional nights where he couldn't fall asleep. He had accepted the fact that even with a brand new altean arm, his mind would never fully erase his time as a Galra prisoner.

Shiro walked towards the watchtower. He found this room on a night like this one when he went exploring the castle. It had quickly become his favorite. The large room had dark marble-like flooring and a giant window instead of a roof, giving him a perfect view of the universe. When he walked in that night, he found Allura laying on the floor, curled up in a blanket and crying.

He ran to her side. "Allura?" he called out worriedly. She looked up to him with watery eyes. Shiro lied down next to her and wrapped his arms around her. She pulled in closer to the black Paladin. "Talk to me, love," he whispered.

"I... I don't have...a... a home to... to go back to," she cried out between sobs. Shiro pulled her closer. This is my fault, he thought. He had been so busy with getting ready for the final battle that he hadn't stopped to think about what would happen once the dust settled. He waited for her to calm down before speaking.

"Allura, can you tell me who has my heart?" She looked at him puzzled. "What?"

"Tell me who has my heart," he asked again. Allura thought about it before answering. "I do," she mumbled. "That's correct. And who has your heart?" her lips slowly formed a smile. "You do... Where are you going with this Shiro?"

"There's an old saying on earth that sais home is where the heart is. You can't go back to Altea but as long as you have my heart and I have yours, you can always come home to me."

Allura looked into Shiro's eyes. He was right, she couldn't go back to Altea. But ever since her heart had chosen to be with him, she's always had this warm feeling in her heart of being where se was meant to be: with him. "Okay," she said, "you are my home now."

Shiro smiled fondly at the altean princess. "Can we stay here tonight?" She then asked. "Of course," he replied. He pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead and made sure the blanket covered them both. He already knew that his body would be sore in the morning but it didn't matter because being with Allura truly felt like being home.

The next morning, the world was stunned into silence as a live broadcast of the Paladins, Princess Allura and Coran announced their arrival back home.

Fun fact: I've never been to a homecoming anything (laugh all you want but my Canadian life is pretty sweet thank you very much!) , I did a bit of research and just as I had suspected, it is a very USA and very non LGBTQ+ inclusive tradition. Decepointed? Absolutely. Surprised? Not really. (Ya changes are happening but imho I wouldn't call it progress slide in my dms if you want to converse about it.)

#shalluraholidays #shallura holidays #shallura #shiro #allura #allura is homesick but space dad got her #she is his ohana fam that shit is beautiful

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veevvee · 6 years

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I'm bored, so here's mine video game characters top 10 male edition, so keep scrolling, LoL:

10 - Guybrush Threepwood _ The Secret of Monkey Island ◙ that was my first video game ever and Guybrush will always have a soft spot in my heart with all his 8 bits.

9 - Sebastian Castellanos _ The Evil Within 2 ◙ although I prefer the first chapter it’s in the second one that he gives the best of himself.

8 - Charon _ Fallout 3 ◙ maybe my favorite ghoul of all time, I'd like to shoot my former boss right in the face tho.

7 - Joshua Graham _ Fallout: New Vegas ◙ it would have been nice if he had more visibility then just a DLC, surely he would have been higher up in that case.

6 - Naked Snake (Big Boss) _ Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater ◙ maybe my first fictional video games crush, I remember I was jealous of Eva... that sexy bitch >///>...

5 - Ezio Auditore _ Assassin’s Creed: Revelation ◙ core italiano. I’m the only person on earth to have loved this chapter above all else, and a older and wiser version of Ezio is the best Ezio IMHO.

4 - Ocelot _ Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain ◙ Ocelot plays a fundamental role in every single chapter, I don’t know why I liked this one in particular but it’s so.

3 - Kenny _ The Walking Dead:Season 2 (Telltale) ◙ with Kenny until the end. UNTIL. THE. END.

2 - Trevor Philips _ GTA V ◙ I have to make a confession... Trevor is not on the top just because right now I love the actor who plays him more than Trevor himself...

1 - Paladin Danse _ Fallout 4 ◙ ...but if he’s in the first place now I have no regrets about it, at all... here and now he's the only thought that makes me smile...

what about you? I didn't tagging anyone but I'm still curious ^^

#about me #top 10 #video games #fictional character #fictional crush #shitpost

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just-absolutely-super · 6 years

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What are your top 5 ships and why?

This changes like every month lol but at the moment it goes like this:

Mileven – I swear this is probably the purest ship I’ve ever shipped. These kids are so in love. Mike took El in and gave her a home and made her feel like an actual human being for once in her sucky life. And in the beginning you think it’s just puppy love because they’re 12 and it can’t possibly be that deep but then after El has no choice but to keep her distance from Mike, you see just how negatively that effected them. Mike went into a depressive state and would call her 353 days in a row! And El would always check on him and was so upset because she just couldn’t see him in person, and she broke her and Hopper’s biggest rules because fuck everything she wants to see Mike! They kill me because they really do love each other and they’re so pure.

NaLu – I’ve loved this ship for a very long time (whether I realized it or not). I love how comfortable and trusting Natsu and Lucy are around each other; and as the series goes on you can see how much their relationship grows. Like in the first couple of arcs they’re friends but they could honestly go about their lives without each other, and then you get to the last few arcs and see how Natsu would risk getting arrested (or worse) for Lucy while Lucy would do everything in her power to make sure Natsu makes it out of his battles safe.

Pidgance – Started out as a crack ship tbh; I just started shipping them because I thought they were cute together. However, as you learn more about them, the more you think, “Well, hey if they were to ever be a thing they might just work out!” because their personalities complement each other well imho and I think they can help each other grow as people.

LadyNoir – Always a fan favorite because as civilians it’s cute puppy love, and then they’re heroes and there’s respect and trust that could build into a loving relationship. It’s such a shame that THEY DON’T KNOW THEY’RE IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER BECAUSE OF SECRET IDENTITIES AND GOSH DANGIT WHEN WILL THE WAITING END THEY KILL ME THEY’RE SO CUTE TOGETHER AND THEY’D BE SUCH A KICKASS ROMANTIC CRIME FIGHTING DUO BUT NOOOOO WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH DRAMATIC IRONY!

Kallura – THERE’S SO MUCH POTENTIAL HERE OKAY! Right now they respect each other and are good friends learning to understand each other, which is great. Allura had to struggle with accepting Keith as a Galra, and Keith had to struggle with the fact that one of his friends just might hate him forever because of who he is. They got passed that though, and I feel like their relationship is stronger because of getting through that obstacle. I just hope as we get into next season we have Allura and Keith talking more about how the universe needs him more as a PALADIN OF VOLTRON rather than as a member of the BoM.

#enjoy my word vomit #mephhius #responses #i have a lot of ships so it's hard for me to gauge who i like more than the others

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ladyvialana · 7 years

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a few more initial thoughts on vld s3:

First, I must reiterate: sniper!Lance!!!

Second: NEEDS MORE CORAN!!! (I mean, all the seasons need more Coran, but still)

Third: Sven! I am still cackling. ohmigod, that accent was the best, and pairing him with Slav?! I am convinced that every version of Shiro and Slav together must be amazing.

Fourth: I was not expecting Zarkon feels! Like, that was not at all on my radar! Goddamn.

Fifth: Blue paladins are always awesome (and queer)

Okay, so, slightly more initial in depth character thoughts and reactions next under a cut because this accidentally got really long:

Allura:

- best character story arc in the season, imho

- her scenes with blue in ep3 were amazing

- kind of wish we got more on her connection to magic/quintessence, especially now we have a backstory regarding the evolution of Haggar and (potentially) druids/magic in general

Pidge:

- loved her and Hunk bonding

- really hoping that season 4 has more to do with her search for Matt/the rebels since it was introduced and then kind of dropped

- her character arc really is kind of a waiting game, unfortunately, until the plot catches up, so while there were nice team moments with her, nothing major happened, so I’m expecting lots of awesome stuff later on

Hunk:

- we had a return of smart!Hunk moments! yes! I am so here for that! As well as the (somewhat) reduced food jokes (they’re actually kind of funny when used sparingly as opposed to every time he opens his mouth!)

- like Pidge, some great team moments, but no major character development, though, considering that Hunk and Pidge were the only two to keep to their original lions, it does make sense even if I’m not totally happy about it

- though, I do want to see more of his awesome piloting skills (that Shiro taught him!!!) since he’s so close to Yellow (I love that, I do, the scene where he basically refused to fly Black because he loves Yellow so much warms my heart)

Lance:

- he’s grown so much since the start of the series, I’m still crying (god, that scene in Black, and breaking up with Blue and then pragmatically taking himself out of the equation because he doesn’t think he’s the best soldier they have ... I’m gonna need more tissues guys)

- he’s just such a perfect XO - especially for Keith - like I genuinely love this dynamic (I fucking wrote about this dynamic because I wanted to to see it so much and here it is, playing out on screen, I am in heaven!!!)

- Lance and Allura’s developing friendship is everything I didn’t realise I needed until it happened. I need more of these two bonding, stat!

Keith:

- Keith’s struggles with leadership and living up to Shiro’s expectations was everything I needed from his storyline. Like, I love that he’s conflicted, that he realises he’s screwing up but also that he’ll do what he can to make things better (and he does! I genuinely like leader!Keith). He’s trying and he’s improving and, just as he starts to get the hang of this leader thing and maybe get his feet under him: wham! Shiro’s back (which he’s so happy about) and the team dynamic - their personal dynamic - has shifted so much that the friction is driving a wedge between them.

- Seriously, I am living for this emotional drama, all the contradictory things he must be feeling (thrilled at Shiro’s return, upset that everyone is ignoring his decisions again after being unwillingly thrust into the leadership role, guilty that he’s resentful about Shiro’s return, so fucking insecure because the minute that Shiro does return it’s like everything feels like it’s running smoother and he had to struggle so much for every win, relieved that maybe he doesn’t have to carry this burden any more, but also maybe a little angry because he earned this, okay and maybe he’s a little proud of himself, but it just feels so wrong when Shiro says it because Keith feels like he’s nowhere near as good enough for this as Shiro, but Shiro’s not okay and the guilt is just drowning him!) ... damn, I need to write fic about this, I have too many thoughts and feelings

- I mean, I love everyone in this season, but Keith is due for a breakdown and it’s going to be messy and ugly and so many people are gonna be caught in the crossfire (and I can’t wait! ... I need this angst guys, it’s been building for so long)

Shiro:

- I am so fucking worried about Shiro, like you have no idea

- So there are two options here:

1. This is the real Shiro and he just went through another terrible ordeal with the Galra experimenting on him and potentially has put his team (his family) in danger just by existing and this is going to end horribly for everyone

2. This is not the real Shiro but he is clearly unaware of this and has all of Shiro’s memories and so he believes he has just been through another terrible ordeal with the Galra experimenting on him and potentially has put his assumed team (his assumed family) in danger just by existing and this is going to end horribly for everyone either when shit goes down or they stumble across the real Shiro

- both of these options are heartbreaking and (working with scenario 2 here) even if it’s not the real Shiro, I am already inclined towards sympathy because this is gonna end in tragedy and there’s probably going to be even more loss of autonomy and major trauma involved and it just makes my heart break for him (and episode 5 just broke my heart and, whichever Shiro it was fighting to survive, I’m rooting for him)

- regardless of what is going on with Shiro (real or not) he didn’t deserve this and is clearly so done with life and needs to rest and I firmly believe that Black recognised that Shiro was on the edge of breaking down and could not bring himself to pilot Black again and intentionally didn’t respond and Shiro feels so guilty about being relieved about not having to fight again (honestly, that final fight with Zarkon had to be traumatic, whether he is the real Shiro or not, those memories not being there is a very worrying sign about his mental state)

- did I say Keith’s breakdown was going to be messy? ha! Shiro’s is gonna be bad enough to destroy the castle and maybe a few nearby planets. That look on his face when he was in bed and Keith just assumed he was fine to go again? I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. That was not the face of a man who is in any way okay!!! (#giveShiroallthehugsandwarmblanketsintheuniverse2k17)

Other things of note:

- everyone’s going gaga over Lotor and the Generals and while I do think they make interesting characters, I haven’t seen enough of them to make much more of a judgement - though, I am definitely more of a fan of the Generals than Lotor (Zethrid’s my fave, she likes blowing stuff up and has smart ideas like killing your enemies while they’re helpless - she’s clearly read the Evil Overlord list unlike her fucking boss who does things seemingly for #aesthetic)

- seriously though, Lotor’s kind of bland and generic and the plot kind of twists itself up to be a little convoluted to make him seem mysterious and cunning, maybe he has a really awesome Xanatos gambit up his sleeve for the later seasons that will make up for it (maybe we will have actual depth to his on-screen persona later as opposed to just using his Generals to prop him up as interesting, who knows) (seriously though, what’s his genuine motivation? what was his relationship with his father actually like? can we actually see him interacting with the rest of the Galra empire/fleet? Haggar kind of has a point about his priorities)

- despite my complaints, I was genuinely excited by the plot of this season. Yay for exciting sci-fi!

- loved seeing the original Paladin backstory

- again, I was not expecting Zarkon feels - I was definitely not expecting Zarkon/Haggar feels (or that their pre-evil relationship would actually be quite sweet?!)

- Alfor’s a darling and such a nerd, I love it

- baby Allura is the cutest ever, I imagine that Coran was completely smitten the first time he laid eyes on her (the entire universe was, tbh)

And finally, one of my favourite aspects of the season - the development of Keith and Lance’s relationship:

- aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- they’re just so supportive of each other, and they look to each other for guidance, and they pay attention to what the other is saying, and their teasing is kind of fond now, and they had actual scenes about emotions together

- I’m just ... I’m fine, completely fine, I’m always so happy I float near the ceiling when the two of them interact on screen, this is totally normal

- (*whispers* season 3 reaction fics! *squee!*)

In conclusion: Whoo! Bring on season 4!

(I am now going back to rewatch the whole season again before bed)

#voltron spoilers #voltron season 3 #vld spoilers #vld #review #kind of #i just needed to type all my excitement out #this is a little rambly #sorry #team voltron #text

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