I know most likely you wont revisit the fix it fix but if you ever did my life would be yours. Lmbo I do miss it ❤️😭
It's tricky because I think I am of three minds regarding the idea of going back to it:
1) Going back to it. There was a lot of stuff following the s3 finale (which is where we left off) and onwards that I think was generally the best stuff in the fic (Merla character + arc, giving Kuron his dues, White Lion shit, etc) and it'd be fun. Enough time has gone by (jfc almost 10 years) that I do have some nostalgia for Voltron given I was a teenager back then, and I think if like 2-3 people read and reviewed every chapter — like those long reviews where they're really Engaging with everything — I'd feel decently fulfilled in writing it, as the fact that engagement dwindled (+ a new and still my current hyperfixation came barrelling in) were reasons I walked away. However:
2) My time and energy is pretty precious. Is Voltron what I really want to devote it to? Writing chapters takes time and writing a long fic (we'd have probably like 200k to go) takes a Lot of time, and I'd usually rather use said time for other projects and things. The fact that VLD isn't good is a factor here, too, as I have other fandoms I'm in where I think the source material is bloody brilliant, the characters are explored in ways I find interesting and emotionally compelling, and it's never let me down. I've actually been rewatching some of Voltron Season 1 with friends the past few weeks — which is by far the best and most cohesive season of the show, as season 2 being good is being carried like, exclusively on Shiro's shoulders tbh — and it's been interesting to revisit and see what's different from what I remember.
For example, I definitely remembered the character dynamic writing being better in season 1 than I think it really is. Like, because they were driven to make the team function well enough to form Voltron early on, and because they're very committed (at this point) to being an actual ensemble, there's a lot of characters incidentally interacting with each other but not necessarily bonding or growing closer in meaningful ways, leaving most of the bonds feeling more shallow than I think you'd ideally want, especially in a show with a premise inherently based on having Functioning Loving Team Dynamics in order to, y'know, work.
which all ties back into, ultimately
3) I can get my Voltron fix from other things, and largely have. The only concept 'unique' to Voltron I haven't been able to adequately find elsewhere is the paladin-Lion bond, which was never really developed (ironically) outside of Shiro and Black, so even if I wanted to return to the show in the manner needed to work on TSBS it'd be like, I'm going back for a thing that isn't by and large there.
When it comes to shipping and general storytelling preferences, even for plotlines planned in fix it fic, other shows such as Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous and especially The Dragon Prince (both on Netflix/pirating sites) more than have me covered.
I'd recommend JWCC for anyone who liked Lance and Pidge or Keith in particular as characters (Kenji Kon is a character of all time and he's a well executed Lance archtype while also being his own thing). The show is heavily focused on platonic bonds, great sapphic development between two leads, and is focused 90% on exploring character dynamics and having a good set of interesting characters Discuss Their Feelings, which god knows VLD never really did. 100% favourite show for found family and being deeply anti-amatanormavity especially in its finished sequel show, Chaos Theory. 10/10 solid show, easy
When it comes to shipping and like, interesting Fantastical Concepts I wanted to explore in TSBS (cannibalism of yourself and of others for immortality; complexities of war; doomed siblings; ethics of assassinations; loss of childhood), The Dragon Prince has it all...
and I don't have to choose between having disabled or queer disabled or queer disabled BIPOC characters and them having happy endings. When it comes to Shallura's co-leadership "we're both united in the same cause and work ethic," I see it in Janai and Amaya's romance, which is also interracial and inter-abled, with Janai learning sign language to better communicate with her enemy turned ally turned love of her life; they're engaged from season 4 onwards and married from season 6 onwards and they're Happy. Cheek and hand and regular kisses, giving each other special weapons to keep one another safe, their own symbols and themes and plotlines, etc. "You are my heart and my truth" and "she thinks I'm cute but won't admit it yet" and bonding over shared grief and "I am yours" and calling each other "my love" with Amaya's sign name for Janai being a J over her heart, like they're So Good and I wish more people talked about them as a queer couple in animaton (nor are they TDP's only one, with two more existing and there being multiple trans characters too, including a main character and a couple of reoccuring side ones)
When it comes to the rest of Shiro and Allura's unexplored dynamic — the bickering, the teamwork, the devotion, the trust — I see them in Callum (a biracial prince and main lead character with a quest for magic and deep fears he could become/is a monster) and Rayla (an overly self-sacrificial white haired elf girl devoted to duty above all else; the series' deuteragonist)'s dynamic and romance, which is a central aspect of every single season of the show and my #1 ship of all time.
shit like "it means i trust her, unconditionally" and "the best thing i ever had: you" and "he's my friend, my best friend" and "it was always her" and "you don't have to ask, i would do anything for you" and "you're the most amazing person i've ever met" and "but i know i trust you to help me carry this" and "my home now is wherever you are" and "if he takes control of me again, i need you to kill me" from his end and "if you ever have to choose between me and the greater good, do the right thing, make the sacrifice" from hers. they're Crazy and (as of waiting for season 8 to come out) are now in their 20s, are married and have a little girl named after Callum's deceased mother, in case you were ever a fan of Shallura's firstborn being named after Alfor.
they're best friends and lovers and doomed by the narrative till they break it and routinely claw their way to a happy ending and like yeah. Gave me everything I could've wanted from Shallura dynamic wise in a Lot of ways, tbh
So it's kind of like — I could put all the extra effort into dragging VLD kicking and screaming into something I enjoy, OR I could just watch and write for a thing that already gives me basically everything I wanted from VLD to begin with PLUS a bunch of great bonus stuff.
Knowing that my writing and ideas made an impact on you is a lovely gift, so thank you again for sharing it and taking the time out of your day to communicate it to me! I'm still very proud of the fic and everything I learned while writing it, and have continued (I think) to grow as a writer. My focus the past few years have also shifted from fanfiction (generally) to my OG works, with my debut fantasy novel coming out next year! You can learn more about it here at @alvoskia if you're interested! I think it has some of what people liked about TSBS (focus on complex found family/friendship dynamics, power evolution)
romaincrisis
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