#langst survey
Hey! So I posted the Langst survey results super early this morning and also it was fragmented into different posts so I thought it would be nice to make a post with all of the links to the results in one place!
So:
…And that’s it! Happy reading!
Third time’s the charm! Here’s another read-more!
Why not?
The answers to this question hit on a few major grievances with Langst, which will be summarized below:
OOC Lance: Lance’s character tends to become woobiefied in Langst, which then turns it into a “Break the Woobie”-fest and that isn’t very appealing. Also, this inaccurate characterization results in Lance turning into a one-dimensional person, with almost all of the canon qualities that make him interesting, like his optimism and humor, being erased in favor of him being a turning him into a “messed up caricature of whining and stupidity”. In addition, there exists Langst in which Lance struggles with certain things that his canon self may not have had the same issues with, which is another disservice to his canon strengths. Langst creators also manage to overwrite his existing flaws with new, less realistic ones. On another note, another characterization error that Langst makes has to do with the fact that a lot of Langst uses Lance as a self-insert type of character, ignoring his issues in order to depict the issues of the writer/artist/etc. While there isn’t anything inherently wrong with this, responders at the very least wanted Langst featuring Canon Lance, not a self-projection with Lance’s name.
OOC Paladins: In Langst, the paladins tend to exist for the sole purpose of either being the problem/causing Lance’s angst or to gush and fuss over Lance constantly. Both of these options mischaracterize them or neglects their characters completely. In terms of being the problem, often what happens is that the other paladins become mean to fit a (false) “"oh Lance is so misunderstood and everyone is mean to him"” narrative. However, Lance’s canon angst comes from his own personal insecurities, and not from the actions of others, which is a narrative that a lot of Langst pushes. Characters like Shiro, for instance, are painted in a bad light in order to intensify the Langst (i.e. Shiro is abusive to Lance), and Keith, in particular, is either abusive or Lance’s Trophy Wife (or otherwise only exists to help Lance and nothing else). Finally, as mentioned earlier, when the paladins are mischaracterized in this manner, their own personal issues and angst fall to the wayside in favor of Lance. For example, in certain Kerberos AUs, Lance goes to Kerberos in Shiro’s place and his resulting PTSD is explored and acknowledged, but Shiro, who canonically went to Kerberos and got PTSD, is dragged for being in the same exact circumstances.
Oversaturated, Overrated: Some responders have noted that it was a bit strange that Lance has an entirely separate word and subgenre for his angst. There is a lot of Langst out there, and some responders feel like this lessens the value of individual Langst pieces. In addition, it always seems to be Fanon Lance that is used in Langst, which weakens the appeal. Also, it’s been overdone and to some, it is now boring.
Over-exaggerated, Uncreative: Lance’s insecurities in the show are turned in to a full-blown angst-fest in a lot of Langst. Lance isn’t as insecure as people are making him out to be, his insecurities aren’t always everyone else’s problem to deal with, and a lot of it ends up overdramatic or badly written. Also, there are a lot of the same clichés, overused tropes, and repetitive/obvious arcs used in Langst that makes it look not very creative in terms of pulling heartstrings.
Neglects others’ angst: Several responders were irked that the angst of other characters was being ignored in favor of Lance’s perceived insecurities. Everything seems to revolve around Lance, probably due to his popularity in the fandom, but Lance isn’t the only homesick one or the only character who has angst. For people who prefer other angst, it can be disheartening to try to search for that angst and scrolling through pages and pages of Langst to find even one thing. Also, in ignoring the struggles of other characters, Lance himself is absolved of any crime, i.e. if he hurts others it’s mostly overlooked and he isn’t required to apologize or make it up to them, and sometimes other characters’ angst is reassigned to Lance (for example, Shiro’s struggles are Lance’s now).
Racist: When portraying Lance’s Cuban/Latino heritage, Langst can fall into some unfortunate stereotypes. As one responder put it, “A predominantly white fandom brutalizing the attractive, brown main character? No thanks…It makes fans who should be able to relate to Lance as a Cuban and latino teen fucking uncomfortable with even showing their content in fandom…He’s also an openly emotional boy, which you don’t see often, and yet people turn him into personal wank material and spread it as a popular, proudful idea. It’s not…”
There were also responders who don’t understand why people would intentionally hurt Lance, as they believe that he has already suffered enough in the show and that he deserves love and happiness. Conversely, other responders simply don’t like Lance, so Langst doesn’t appeal to them as a result. Still other responders disliked Langst due to specific prompts/tropes, i.e. they would rather there be less character death and more ship-free material (Klance likes to appear hand-in-hand with Langst, to their dismay).
Other issues responders had with Langst include:
- They portray Lance’s family as evil sometimes
- Not being a fan of angst
- The tendency to put Lance through continuous hell with little to no positive resolution
- It’s “unnecessary to constantly take lance’s anxieties and beat him over the head with them”
- Presenting elements of Langst as canon despite it all being based around headcanons
- Ignoring canon
Are there any good Langst prompts/topics/tropes that you like?
13 of the people who responded said that there weren’t any good prompts. Of the people who chose a prompt, the most popular ones were Homesick Lance (missing his home or family) and prompts in which different team members come to comfort him (e.g. Hunk or Coran).
People also liked prompts that included Lance’s insecurities – as long as they were handled in a satisfactory manner. For example, one responder didn’t want to include “Keith apologizing for Lance being jealous of him.” Other related prompts include scenarios that involve his insecurities coming to light, hiding insecurities to both take care of the team and their issues and not worry them, and Lance dealing with his insecurities about his place on the team. People also liked prompts that looked more into Lance’s character and how he doesn’t feel as useful and looked deeper into his canon psyche/insecurities (as long as, again, it’s done in moderation).
Miscellaneous good prompts include:
- Canon-based Langst
- Insecurities about his place on the team
- Lance worries he’s not enough
- Lance-centric hurt/comfort
- Paladins comforting each other as a family, and acting as a support group for each other
- The team tries to cheer Lance up but makes things worse
- Conflicts that aren’t completely resolved
- “Lance realizing that he shouldn’t lash out when he’s feeling insecure and thus damaging his relationships and going on a self-discovery making painful realizations that he doesn’t need to be the best and accepting he’s fine the way he is realizing validation while nice is not essential.”
- “I ship Lance x happiness”
What is your least favorite Langst prompt/topic/trope?
4 people don’t like most, if not all, Langst prompts.
Many people noted OOC Lance and/or the other Paladins as a least favorite Langst trope. For the paladins, responders disliked when they were demonized and turned into bullies. Subcategories of this include: Lance isn’t appreciated enough by the team, “Everyone hates Lances except Trophy Husband Keith”, “Keith blows up and tells Lance he’s worthless/will never be good enough/anything of the like”, Shiro neglects his needs, and Shiro is mean to Lance. For OOC Lance, as one responder aptly put it, they dislike prompts that go along the lines of “Keith is mean to meee, I cry myself to sleep and no one caresss, The team won’t listen to me even tho I’m righttt”.
Other unpopular prompts that multiple people mentioned are: Lance dies, Insecure Lance, and Lance feeling suicidal/cutting (suicidal ideation, being caught self-harming, etc.)
Other least favorite prompts include:
- Lance being “singled out for unending hell”
- It’s Keith’s fault that Lance is insecure/compares himself to Keith
- Lance feeling like he shouldn’t be a paladin (especially when the feelings are triggered by things the other paladins say)
- Lance is injured
- Violence, abuse, neglect
- Non-/Dub-Con
- Pining for Keith
- Kidnapped, tortured, brainwashed by Lotor
- “sex makes things better”
- Homesick Lance
If you could change anything about this microgenre, what would you change?
Firstly, one of the things responders wanted more of is a focus on angst for other characters besides Lance. Similarly, responders wanted more variety in Langst, giving Lance depth as to why he’s sad or depressed, instead of making it due to, say, pining for Keith. Related to that, people wanted less Langst (or any angst, for that matter) being used as a ploy for ships; this is mainly having less Langst be from a romantic standpoint, and also making it less “Klancey”, since in those scenarios Keith tends to lose a lot of personality in an effort to make Lance Happy™
Speaking of Keith losing his personality, the main thing that this set of responders wanted to change about Langst was to let everyone remain in character. Characters shouldn’t be thrown under the bus or reduced to something they’re not in order for Lance to achieve maximum angst. The other paladins value Lance as a member of the team and are supportive of him, and their characterization should reflect that. In addition, the team’s characterization should remain intact, allowing them to be fleshed out characters in their own right, rather than one-dimensional foils. Good angst can still be done with canon characterization. Furthermore, some responders singled out Keith and his characterization; he seems to be used as a prop to deepen Lance’s angst, and this may involve altering his canon personality.
In regards to Lance’s characterization, he also needs to be written better. He should be portrayed as a stronger, more confident character (some Langst portrays him as less intelligent or a “pushover woobie”, which irks responders). Moreover, Lance’s loud personality and sense of humor should be allowed to shine, even though he’s experiencing angst; liveliness and humor and angst are all able to coexist at once.
Of the people who responded to this question, 4 of them said that would change the entire subgenre, and/or its very existence.
Other things people would change are:
- Create Langst in moderation
- Normalize characters showing vulnerability (Don’t ignore their flaws)
- Let Lance be the cause of his own problems
- Let Lance be happy
- More believable scenarios
- More of other paladins reacting to Lance’s problems (i.e. Pidge)
- More team support (Team is part of the solution, not the problem)
- Less plotless/baseless angst; don’t simply suckerpunch Lance constantly
- Less horribly cliché/sappy
- Less association with Lantis/Klantis
- Don’t romanticize things like (internal) homophobia, depression, self-harm, abuse, non-con, etc.
Do you enjoy angst focused on other Voltron characters? Which ones?
Sorta wordy, so under a read-more it goes!
How do you engage with Langst?
- 27 voters (77.14%) read
- 8 voters (22.86%) headcanon
- 2 voters (5.71%) draw
- 3 voters (8.57%) write.
- 6 voters (2.63%) said “Other”; their responses included: not engaging at all, having “vague interest in others’ headcanons sometimes”, “I look at it when it comes up on my dash and I say “wow he’s sad in that"”, and “I witness”.
Any reasons for your indifference?
Some say that Langst isn’t done well and is too over the top. It can be entertaining, but more often than not they find it OOC and unnecessarily blown out of proportion; it can seem like the people involved just want to beat up Lance for no reason. One responder claims that people do so to Lance without a proper understanding of trauma. Langst is good when it explores Lance’s character and insecurities in interesting ways in conjunction with the team’s support, (and is balanced with fluff) but falls flat when other characters are made into villains or the angst goes too overboard. Also, the fact that it is often a vessel for Klance shippers detracts from the subgenre. Langst is believed to not be the best read of Lance’s character that the fandom has produced.
Also, indifferent responders said that they it too much of it to fully enjoy it. It’s been overwrought and overdone, its large prevalence in the fandom making it redundant. Thus, they would like a larger variety of angst; it felt unfair that Lance specifically has a word and subcategory for his own angst, when there are a wealth of other characters to “spread the suffering” to. One responder says that Lance doesn’t deserveall the focus on his angst in particular. Another reason for indifference is that they are indifferent to Lance in general, mostly due to discourse. Others pay more attention to angst featuring other characters, such as Keith.
Some responders are indifferent to Langst for personal reasons; for example, seeing their favorite character hurt bring their mood down, (but they’ll still read it if they’re in a slump), or Langst itself makes them anxious and depressed but they don’t want to get in the way of others’ enjoyment of it.
Preferred Langst prompts/topics/tropes
Preferred tropes that multiple people voted for were homesick Lanceandcanon-based Langst; this includes topic such as possible claustrophobia from being locked in the healing pod/airlock, or something similar to what happened in season 3, where Lance has insecurities, opens up about them, and people comfort him.
Miscellaneous preferred tropes include:
- Self-discovery
- Coming-of age stories
- Overcoming trauma that stunted social/emotional growth
- Lance doubting himself
- Lance talking about his issues with the team for the sake of team bonding
- Langst that is lighthearted/has a happy conclusion
- Hurt/Comfort (especially if paired with Hance or Klance)
- Extensive injuries (to a point)
- Injury/death
- “Long ship fics like Hance or Klance with Hunk or Keith dying at the end, letting you back with an empty feeling and wet clothes of your tears”
Less preferred Langst prompts/topics/tropes?
Lesser-preferred tropes include the paladins being mean to Lance because it’s OOC to canon. Also, people dislike when Klance is included, and they dislike character death.
Also, there is a “samey trope” of Lance being captured, the paladins feeling bad for not listening to/believing in him, etc. that is disliked. Other plots neutral responders were tired of included ones such as “Allura is too tough on the team”, “Keith is insensitive and stuck up”, and variants of “Lance sacrifices himself for the team and they realize they never appreciated him”
Miscellaneous less preferred tropes include:
- Anything involving insecurities or homesickness
- “7thwheel”
- Self-hatred
- “ADHD” is a shameful burden”
- Sickfics
- Anything that stems from popular headcanons that aren’t based on canon
- Lance losing everything he loves (he doesn’t deserve it)
- Characters suffering for no reason, bodily/mental harm for the sake of harm
- Langst for the sake of making other characters look bad (i.e. Team Voltron shunning Lance for his issues)
- “Overt use of the trope without the nuance needed to take it out of horror porn.”
- Over the top Langst, e.g. Lance passing out from fear because Keith locked him in an airlock
- Unrequited Shance ft. Sheith
- Especially if Lance is depressed or suicidal over it
If you could change anything about this microgenre, what would you change?
Many of the people who answered this question said that they would change Langst by making the characters act more in character. The team loves him in canon, so Langst should reflect that. Keith, in particular, shouldn’t be demonized in order to make Lance seem more tragic. Also, Lance, too, should remain in character.
One responder wanted less blaming Lance’s insecurities on other characters; the team doesn’t cause Langst, he has to find himself and realize his worth independently (though the team can help him sometimes). Another wanted people to stop acting as if Lance is the only one with mental issues while assuming the others are all neurotypical.
Other changes that multiple people called for include:
- More gen Langst
- Different/more dynamic circumstances
- Less of Lance always being the victim (e.g. through power imbalances with other paladins)
- Less Langst in general
Miscellaneous things people want more of:
- Diversity in AUs
- Expanding on the Langst
- “Long ship fics with character death”
- Happy endings
- Paladins comforting and supporting Lance
Miscellaneous things people want less of:
- Character death
- Self-hatred
- Shaladin drama
- Writing Langst to be edgy
- Suicidal stuff (it feels OOC)
- Projection/self-insert
Do you enjoy angst focused on other Voltron characters? Which ones?
I know I chunked it, but this is still kinda wordy, so I’ll put it under a cut:
How do you engage with Langst?
- 31 voters (81.58%) read Langst
- 12 voters (31.58%) create headcanons
- 6 voters (15.79%) draw
- 5 voters (13.16%) write
- 1 voter said that they “View other people’s comics/drawings”
Why do you like Langst?
There were a lot of different reasons people liked Langst. Here are the big ones:
One of the biggest reasons was that Lance was very relatable. In canon, he has his own insecurities and his own ways of displaying/hiding those insecurities, which many people could already relate to. Langst that capitalize on that part of his character in a well-written and satisfactory way and can expand on them are favored. Being relatable also allows readers to project onto his character, letting him have and work through insecurities that closely resemble one’s own can be therapeutic and let you feel represented in a positive way.
Langst also can be a vehicle for additional character development that doesn’t exist in canon. Lance, as a character, is dynamic, and Langst can take advantage of this and create a gateway for more character development. Putting a character such as Lance through conflict, bending and breaking him, and then allowing him to overcome the pain and adds complexity and deepens his character even further. These angsty new character arcs create a juxtaposition between a happy, sometimes silly character and his suffering that is appealing to some. Langst fics can also develop new and different relationships, both platonic and romantic, between different members of the cast.
Some read Langst simply because Lance is their favorite character. There are people who like to see him suffer and be in emotional pain. Others like to experience the heartbreak and cry. There is more of an emotional payoff when he overcomes hardships, and it’s very satisfying to see him get comforted and get the help he needs. As one responder stated, “Theres something about Lance that makes us all want to see him go through these many feelings”.
A few other people simply like angst and other darker storylines, and they like seeing Lance be the subject of it. Those people believe that it makes things more realistic and interesting, especially since the only people who get hurt are fictional.
Something that many people noted was that Langst was best when there is a successful conclusion. The “nonpermanent hurt” allows for many opportunities for hurt/comfort, in which characters can care for and support Lance in ways that, to some, are superior to how they treat him in canon.
Some other miscellaneous reasons for liking Langst include: it being a good inspiration for good art (including vent art), it being a cool concept in general, and liking how “It also tends to show how hard fighting in this universal war can be for all of the paladins, not just Lance.”.
What is your favorite Langst prompt/topic/trope?
Many people’s favorite Langst prompts are those that deal with his insecurities and the issues that arise from them. These insecurities include feeling like the “7th wheel” - being insecure of his status of a paladin and his role on team Voltron - having his own self-doubt - thinking lowly of himself and doubting the team’s love for him – or feeling otherwise left out or unimportant. Also, people’s favorite fics included ones where he overcompensates for his aforementioned insecurities, and someone seeing past the overcompensation, the team realizing that Lance feels worthless (perhaps through a mind link), and Lotor taking advantage of those insecurities.
Another popular prompt was Lance missing his home/his family.
Miscellaneous favored prompts include:
- Lance, feeling like the least valuable member of the team, is desperate to prove himself and goes on a dangerous mission; the team is worried about him, and validates him when he gets back.
- Lance has a secret about himself (i.e. he’s transgender, anorexic, suicidal) that is revealed against his will, and the other paladins help him by giving him healthy coping mechanisms, offering moral support, and generally being nice and accepting.
- Lance getting separated from team Voltron and having to find his own way by himself.
- Feeling ignored
- Team Voltron makes a callous joke that hurts Lance’s feelings
- Depression
- Unrequited Shance ft. Sheith
- Hanahaki AUs
- Sickfics
- Lance is gravely wounded (possibly due to self-sacrifice)
- Whump
- Lance leaving Voltron
- Rebel Leader Lance
- Death(Fun Fact: one person’s example of this particular trope was “Lance getting rejected and killed by Blue”)
What is your least favorite Langst prompt/topic/trope?
Overwhelmingly, one of the least favorite tropes in Langst fic is the team being OOC. Langst in which the team is mean to Lance, bully him, or are demonized in general are not appreciated; some see it as “lazy angst”. There were also multiple people who disliked character death, especially if Lance is the one who dies.
Miscellaneous disliked prompts and tropes include:
- OOC Lance
- Overdone uselessness
- Lance downright hates himself
- Lance being ignored or cast aside by the team
- Lance being made fun of
- Whump
- Anything involving rape, assault, abuse, or death
- Torture porn
- Lance’s legs are amputated
- Anything involving Lance’s family
- Lance becomes “strictly gay”
- A love confession from Keith instantly cures Lance of his angst
- Internal homophobia/biphobia/panphobia
What type of Langst prompt/topic/trope would you like to see more of?
There were a lot of different ideas, so I’ll just list them:
- Plot-driven Langst
- Lance’s feelings about being shut down by Blue, not being chosen by Black, and always seeming to be a second replacement for Keith
- Lance missing his family (especially his mom)
- Focusing on Lance’s insecurities
- Lance needing more assurance
- Lance figuring things out on his own
- Addressing how he overcompensates for his insecurities (by flirting with lots of people, etc.)
- Lance changes his personality, leading everyone to understand that the old one was better
- Angsty interactions with Pidge
- Team realizing how he feels
- Team caring for him
- Lance hiding how he feels for the sake of the team, but its revealed he doesn’t have to
- Lance realizing his skills and talents
- Biracial/bilingual Lance
- Langst that addresses his ADHD directly and accurately
- Lance is separated from the others (i.e. he thinks they forgot about him and slowly goes crazy he’s forced into life/death situations, etc.)
- Lance running away from the team (e.g. he “joins” the Galra to help Voltron, but he can’t tell Voltron)
- Rebel leader Lance
- Battle wounds (Before and after getting the wound)
- Lance does something self-sacrificing (but he survives)
- People believing that Lance is dead, but he isn’t
- Injured/dying lance
- Lance fails at something, leading to his death
- Dark!Lance
- Angry Lance
- Unrequited Shance
What type of Langst prompt/topic/trope would you like to see less of?
Most responders would like to see less of the rest of team Voltron being OOC and mean to Lance. People would also like to see less of Lance dying (e.g. Lance sacrificing himself for a teammate), character death,and Lance’s self-hatred.
Miscellaneous less desired prompts/topics/tropes include:
- Mary-sue Lance
- Lance is kidnapped
- Running away from the castle
- Anything involving suicide or self-harm
- Anything involving rape, assault, abuse, or death
- Permanent hurt
- A Quick Resolution of the problem
- Hanahaki disease
- Romance being a cure-all
- Klangst
- Keith is the first to notice Lance’s issues (This responder believes that it’s more realistic for Coran or Hunk to notice first)
If you could change anything about this microgenre, what would you change?
Many people want the characters in Langst fics to be more in character. Team Voltron should not be demonized or a bunch of assholes. Lance’s insecurities are based on how he views himself and how he compares himself to the rest of the team, not on how the team treats him, and many responders would like Langst fics to reflect that and give more realistic interactions between Lance and the rest of the team. Sometimes Lance is too OOC, and the Langst is taken too far.
To answer this question, many responders mentioned Keith. Some would like less Klance. Others like the Klance, but would like less of a seme/uke dynamic between them, or would like an in-character Keith – Keith’s character is often misinterpreted, turning him into either an unnecessarily mean jerk or Lance’s trophy boyfriend.
Some mentioned that in many Langst fics, Lance usually only goes to Keith for comfort. They would like to change this so that Lance goes to more people for support; Hunk is his best friend, and Pidge is close to him as well. Having Shiro, Lance’s idol, comfort Lance would make an interesting plot point, and Allura and Coran can empathize to Lance’s homesickness.
People also would like to include more happy endings in Langst fics.
Miscellaneous things people would include:
- More of a focus on Lance’s journey and character, instead of using him as a crutch for others’ development
- Separate canon from fanon
- Less Lance seeming excessively useless
- Less of lance being “the weakest link” or inadequate or always messing up (because he’s not)
- Less forgetting Lance’s ego
- Less Lance dying
- Less excessive torture porn
- Less of Langst in which he gets hurt/abused
Do you enjoy angst focused on other Voltron characters? Which ones?
Hi! Thanks to everyone for responding! Sorry this is a bit later than I wanted it to be ^_^; . But the results are here! I ended up with 12 pages of notes, which is a lot, so I’m posting the results in chunks so I won’t inconvenience anyone. This post is essentially the basic demographics and TL;DR of the results. More detailed results will be coming soon!
Basic Demographics
Regarding age, 52.98% of responders are 18-24 years old.37.5% of responders are 12-17 years old, and 8.93%are25-34 years old. Interestingly enough, 1 voter said that they were under 12 years old!
Regarding gender, 68.45% of responders are cisgender femalesand14.29% of responders are genderqueer or non-binary.5.95% of responders are transgender males, and 2 voters (1.19%) are cisgender males. 7 voters answered “Other”’ their responses included agender and female-aligned genderfluid.
Do you like Langst?
- 35.15% of voters said that they liked Langst.
- 32.73% said that they were indifferent towards Langst
- 32.12% said that they did not like Langst.
TL;DR
People who like Langst:
- Mostly read Langst
- Mostly like Langst because Lance is a very relatable character
- Like Langst that deals with his insecurities or homesickness
- Dislike Langst that features an OOC team or character death
- Want characters in Langst to be more in character
- Also like Keith, Shiro and Pidge angst
People who are indifferent to Langst:
- Mostly read Langst
- Feel that a lot of Langst isn’t done well and is too over the top to be enjoyable
- Like Langst featuring homesick Lance and canon-based Langst
- Dislike Langst featuring the paladins being mean to Lance (OOC) or character death
- Want characters in Langst to be more in character
- Also like Keith, Shiro, and Pidge angst
People who dislike Langst
- The abundance of OOC characters, oversaturation, over exaggeration, and the fact that it neglects the angst of other characters makes Langst unenjoyable
- Like Langst that deals with Lance’s homesickness and insecurities (handled in moderation) and Langst in which different members come to comfort Lance
- Dislike Langst that features OOC characters
- Want more of a focus on other characters’ angst, more variety in Langst, and for everyone to remain in character in Langst
- Enjoy Shiro and Keith angst, as well as angst for all characters.
