#I mean there is (to me) also the romance between Keith and Allura in the original GoLion | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

burritello3000 · 3 months ago

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Klance Launch Date

Basically Launch Date, but with Klance instead of Allurance :))))))))

Lance sat at a cafeteria table, absentmindedly stirring his coffee. He didn’t normally drink coffee at this time of day, but he found it helped to calm his nerves.

Hunk sat down across from him, a smile on his face. “Launching tomorrow. The big day.” Lance zoned out as his best friend continued. “Oh, it seems like it was forever ago when we piled into the Blue Lion and blasted out into space. Man, we had no idea what we were getting into!”

“Yeah,” Lance agreed, still not really listening.

“But now it’s different,” Hunk said. “We’ve seen it all. We’re rugged veterans now, going back into battle one last time.”

Lance hummed. “Yup.”

“Guess that makes us heroes or something? … Like the type of heroes that would have their own TV show!” The yellow paladin chuckled, clasping his hands together. “Did you watch it, Lance? Ah, it’s so cool! It’s so cool. They got you spot-on, but Coran is like…” Hunk made a face. “He’s all super serious and stuff.

“And Allura is a little… I don’t know, she’s different. Keith is friendly!” Hunk laughed like that was the funniest thing he’d ever heard. Keith’s name caught Lance’s attention. “He’s happy all the time. I mean, they got it so wrong.”

Lance frowned. Keith could be friendly with people he liked! There just… wasn’t a lot of people that he really liked.

Before he could interrupt, Hunk kept talking. “Plus, I think they’re hinting at some romance between him and Allura.”

Lance jumped out of his seat, slamming his hands on the table. “What?! Keith and Allura? No! It should be Keith and Lance!” He sat down, realizing what he’d just said. He lowered his voice. “Uh, I mean it should be Lance and Allura. Saying it should be Keith and Lance would imply that I have a crush on him. Which I don’t… And besides, Keith is gay! Like, everyone knows that.”

His friend raised an eyebrow. “Uh huh, sure. Anyways, a love triangle?” He pointed a finger gun at Lance. “I like where you’re taking this.”

The blue paladin sighed. “No, no. It’s not about that…”

“Wait, that’s right. You said you were going to invite Keith to dinner at your house.” Hunk’s voice started to grow louder. “Oh, you asked him, didn’t you? Ah, and he said no. Oh. Oh, man. And here I am, rubbing your face in it. Sorry, buddy—”

Lance cut him off. “Keep your voice down! He didn’t say no. I… Well, I haven’t asked him yet. And I’m scared to…”

“You chickened out?”

“I didn’t chicken out!” Lance growled, putting his face in his hands. “I just… My family doesn’t know I’m bisexual. I know they’ll support me,” he added. “But I’ve got a good thing going with Keith right now! We’re finally friends, and I don’t want to ruin that if he doesn’t like me back. Maybe this just isn’t the right time…”

Hunk frowned. “No, Lance. What? It’s the only time. After tomorrow, we’re back in space fighting the Galra. There is no other time, literally. And I can’t believe how oblivious you are!” His voice softened. “Keith has clearly had a crush on you since, like, forever. Also, you two already bicker like an old married couple, so you’re already one step there! You’re asking him today, and that is final, young man.”

Lance thought about it. Maybe Keith did like him, and he’d just pushed him away with his stupid made up rivalry. “… Thanks, man,” he said, standing up. I’ll ask him after the meeting today!”

As Lance walked away, he suddenly realized something. Wait… do we really fight like an old married couple?

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Keith strood through the hallway, going through his mental checklist. Alright. I’ve packed my stuff. Maybe I should take Kosmo for a walk? Yeah, he would like that. I should also spend some time with Black tonight. I think Kosmo needs a bath. Would Black like a wash, too? Do the Lions even need cleaning? I’ll ask her lat—

“Hey, uh, Keith?”

He stopped, Lance’s voice cutting through his thoughts. Keith smiled. “Hey, Lance. What’s up?”

Lance ran up to him, panting. He stopped, leaning over and trying to catch his breath. “Dude, why do you walk so fast?”

“I don’t walk fast. Maybe you’re just slow.”

The blue paladin glared at him, spluttering. “I-I’m not slow, Mullet! I like to stroll. You on the other hand…” Lance ran a hand down his face. “Oh god, we do argue like an old married couple.”

Keith's eyes widened. Had he heard that right? “What?”

“Nothing!” the Cuban boy yelped, straightening his posture. “Anyways, I was just, uh, checking in. So, how are… things?”

“Um.” Lance looked sweaty and nervous. Why is he acting so weird? “Yeah, things are fine. Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m good,” Lance said. He put his hands behind his back. “Just, are you busy tonight?”

Keith bit his lip. “Well, I was thinking about giving Kosmo a walk and a bath. Why?”

“O-Oh, um,” the blue paladin stammered. “If you’re busy, it’s nothing.”

Lance looked so downcast. Keith’s heart felt like it was being squeezed. He didn’t like seeing a frown on his friend’s face. “But, Kosmo can wait,” Keith said, trying to salvage the situation. “What did you have in mind?”

Lance clasped his hands together. “Um, actually, I was wondering…” Keith’s pulse quickened. A little part of his mind whispered ‘Is Lance going to ask me out on a date?’ Woah, where did that come from? The blue paladin continued. “If, maybe, if you want to, you could have dinner with me tonight?”

A weird feeling warmed his heart, and he found himself blushing. “A-And my family,” Lance said. “Dinner with me and my family? My mom’s cooking for our last night together. I-I just thought you could join us.”

Keith pretended to think for a moment. “Will there be the famous garlic knots I have heard so much about?”

Lance nodded, looking sad again. “Yeah. I’ll ask her to make them, she usually does.”

“Lance!” Keith grabbed his hand. “I was just joking. Of course I’ll come.” He suddenly hesitated. “You’re… asking me out on a date, right?”

The blue paladin blushed, looking down at their intertwined hands. “Yes, I am. I really like you, Keith.”

He let go of Lance’s hand, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “I really like you too, Lance. Sorry I was such a jerk when we first met. I’m not good with people.” He was already nervous about meeting Lance’s big family. “And I can take Kosmo, too. You’re an uncle, right? There should be kids?”

Lance gave him a big smile. “Yeah, Silvio and Nadia would love Kosmo!”

There was a few seconds of awkward silence as they stared at each other. Keith started to chew on his lip again. How do boyfriends-who-aren’t-officially-boyfriends-because-they-haven’t gone-on-a-date-yet act around each other?

Lance also looked unsure. Thankfully, Hunk saved them. He came up and put a hand on Lance’s shoulder, slowly pulling him away. “Okay, Loverboy Lance. Now walk away before he changes his mind.”

Keith tried not to snicker at the nickname. He watched them go, a dreamy smile spreading unknowingly across his face. I can’t believe I finally have a date with Lance! He had actually had a crush on him at the Garrison long ago, but Lance had always thought there was a rivalry between them, so they never got close.

“Ohoho,” someone purred behind him, startling him out of his thoughts. “Finally! I thought for sure he would never ask you.”

The red paladin whipped around. He was met by a sneaky smile and glittering brown eyes. He tried not to sigh. “Hello, Rizavi.”

The girl took a step back. “Call me Nadia. Oh, I’ve been waiting for one of you to ask the other out. I literally cannot believe how oblivious you both are.”

Keith frowned. “What? Me and Lance? How did you know?”

“It’s hard not to notice with all the romantic tension between you two.”

“W-What?” he spluttered. “We don’t have any romantic tension! What are you talking about?”

“Um, yes you do.” She gestured at him. “There’s tons of it. Well, not right now, since he asked you out to dinner.”

“Were you listening to our whole conversation?” Keith hissed.

Nadia flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Yeah, pretty much. And I saw your face. You seem like a guy that’s pretty socially challenged. Which means you’ll probably need help choosing what to wear!”

“What’s wrong with my usual outfit?” Keith asked, feeling slightly embarrassed. He had been planning to wear what he usually wore instead of his uniform or armor.

She scoffed. “Everything. You need something more fancy, and I’m your gal. We could go shopping!”

“No,” he said. “I can handle this myself.”

“No you can’t.” She wagged a finger at him. “I’m going to help you, but we need more input. I was thinking we can grab Allura?” Nadia’s eyes suddenly sparkled with concern. “She’s been spending all her time in the Med Bay lately. It’d be good for her to get out.”

Keith crossed his arms. “… Fine. But only if Allura agrees.”

Nadia rubbed her hands together, an evil look on her face. “We need more opinions… and I know just the people to bring along.”

Keith was starting to regret his decision.

----------------------------------------------------

Nadia’s first target was Allura. They headed to her usual place, the Med Bay. Allura and Romelle were looking through the window, watching the unconscious Altean. They were whispering to each other softly.

“Hey!” Nadia called, jogging up to the pair. “Allura! Romelle!” Keith followed her quickly.

The two Alteans looked up. “Rizavi,” Allura said. “Hello. What is it?”

“Keith has a date with Lance!” Nadia squealed. “And we were thinking that you could help us pick out his outfit!”

Allura simply frowned. “That sounds wonderful, but I can’t. I’m sorry, but we must keep an eye on Luca.” Her gaze strayed back to the window. “She could wake up any day now.”

“Pleeeaaaase, Allura.” Nadia’s eyes were wide and pleading. “It would be good for you to get out, and we could really use your help. Right, Keith?”

She grabbed his arm, pulling him forward. He shot a glare at the obnoxious girl. “Yes, Allura, I could use your help. Because apparently I have no fashion sense.”

“Hmm,” Allura hummed, looking unsure. “I should really stay here…”

Romelle put a hand on her friend's shoulder. “Allura, I know you’re worried about Luca, but we’re worried about you. It’ll be good to get away for a night and clear your head.” They stared at each other for a few seconds, a soft look on both their faces.

Is that how me and Lance look when talking about each other? Keith wondered.

“Okay, lovebirds,” Nadia interrupted, crossing her arms. “Don’t worry, Romelle can come too.”

Allura raised an eyebrow. “Love… birds? Wait…” Her cheeks darkened. “What! W-We don’t— We’re not. Ugh, fine. Maybe taking a break is a good idea.”

Nadia clapped her hands. “Perfect! I’ll get Ina too, but right now, I know just the person to ask!”

----------------------------------------------------

Pidge was next. He followed Nadia, as she entered the ship’s greenhouse, Allura and Romelle right behind him. “Hey, Pidge. Do you have a sec?”

She looked up from her tablet, putting it down. “Sure. What’s up?”

Beezer was suddenly looking very interesting right now. Keith busied his attention on the little robot. Nadia smiled. “Well, Keith has—”

Romelle butted in, her voice shrill with excitement. “A date… with pointy chin!”

“Wait.” Pidge’s eyes widened in surprise. “A date? With Lance?” Beezer squealed, an exclamation mark on his screen. “Weird. Well, I’m glad you guys worked it out.”

“It’s not weird,” he muttered in protest.

Nadia ignored him, clasping her hands together with excitement. “And we were thinking, you could help us choose Keith’s outfit!”

Colleen laughed from a few rows over, her eyes still on her screen. “Katie? Fashion? That’s a good one.”

Pidge glared at her mom, then hugged her tablet to her chest. “Well, I heard the mall has reopened. I’ve been wanting to check it out,” her golden-brown eyes flicked towards Colleen, “but I’m grounded.”

“Grounded?” Romelle asked, sounding confused. “I wasn’t aware humans could float.”

Keith sighed. “No, Romelle, we can’t float. It just means that Pidge isn’t allowed to go anywhere without her mom’s supervision. It’s a punishment.”

“What are you grounded for?” Allura questioned, her eyebrows furrowed.

Colleen spoke up, not even looking up from her tablet. “She’s grounded because apparently my daughter thinks that running away from home and gallivanting off into space without her mother’s permission is an acceptable activity for a fifteen year old.”

There was a moment of silence as the green paladin hunched her shoulders. She then turned around and started yelling at her mom. “Well, apparently, finding my brother and saving my father from an intergalactic space tyrant doesn’t get me a pass!”

Colleen’s eyes glimmered as she replied. “Not on your life, young lady.”

Beezer beeped, panicked, and ran out of the room. Keith was tempted to do the same. The air literally crackled with tension as the two stared each other down. He winced. He could see where Pidge got her ruthlessness from.

Romelle hid behind Allura as Nadia tried to calm the situation. “Please, Mrs. Holt, we could really use her help.”

“We will not let her leave the ground once,” Romelle added.

Pidge’s mother studied them, one eyebrow raised. After a moment of silence, she closed her eyes. “All right.” She glanced at her daughter. “But only because I know how much Katie hates shopping for clothing.”

Pidge let out a low growl as Keith pulled on her arm to lead her out of the room. “Thank you, Colleen. And humans don’t float,” he grumbled to Romelle as she passed him.

----------------------------------------------------

There were a lot of people at the mall. More than Keith had expected. The entire mall was actually bigger than he had thought it was going to be. To be honest, Keith had never really been to an actual mall before. There were too many people, and he’d basically been living alone in a shack for a good chunk of his life, so there was no need to go to one.

There were aliens and humans alike shopping everywhere. They had grabbed Ina, and everyone had changed into their normal clothes before heading out.

Nadia put her hands on her hips, turning to the five of them. “Okay. ‘Operation Find Keith a Date Outfit’ is go! We’re going to take it one store at a time until we come out of this place successful.” She pointed out to the mall. “Let the hunt begin!”

Keith smirked as they started to make their way around. An operation, huh? We’re going to need a battle strategy…

He smashed a fist against the inside of his palm, cracking his fingers. “All right, team. We need a plan. Leifsdotter, Rizavi, Pidge, you three take the north side. Me, Allura, and Romelle will cover the south. Then, if yo—”

“Oh, Keith,” Nadia sighed, looking over her shoulder at him with a tsk. “Sweet, naive, beautiful, Keith. Haven’t you ever been shopping before? We can’t split up.”

His face turned red. “I’ve been clothes shopping! I’ve just… only done it by myself.”

“Suuure,” Pidge drawled from next to him. “Anyways, Rizavi is right. We need your opinion on everything, so we can’t split up.”

Keith's shoulders slumped. I hate shopping. Allura and Romelle led the pack, whispering quietly to each other. Ina and Nadia walked in front of him and Pidge. They were talking loudly. Mostly Nadia.

As they walked past a stall, Pidge suddenly stopped, rushing back to the stall and crouching down. “Killbot Phantasm 26: Revengifiance! This is out?” Her voice was shrill with excitement.

Nadia joined her, her mouth gaping open with shock. “Oh my gosh! It came out just a few days before the Galra invaded. No one was ever able to reach the end!”

Keith rolled his eyes. “That’s right,” the stall owner said, his voice soft. “I have one of the few undamaged units left.”

“WE’LL TAKE IT!” Pidge and Nadia yelled, leaning in close.

The poor seller gave them a nervous look, glancing back and forth. “Okay. Great to meet such passionate KBP fans. What have you got to trade?”

There were a few beats of silence. “Trade?” Pidge said, her voice small. She looked at Rizavi, then looked back at them.

Keith groaned and facepalmed as Ina showed them her empty pockets. Did we really forget to bring money? Or something to trade? Now how will we get something for me to wear for our date? That actually upset him more than he had expected.

“I-I, uh…,” Pidge stammered. “I don’t… really have anything.”

He really wanted to punch the easygoing smile off of the shopkeeper’s face. “I’m sorry, but no trade, no game.”

His friend groaned in defeat, lowering her head. Keith took a step forward. Maybe he could negotiate. Maybe trade his jacket or belt?

Before he could get closer to them, Nadia stood up, gesturing to Pidge. “Well, that’s some way to treat a Paladin of Voltron.”

The stall owner’s eyes widened. “Wait, what? You mean, like, from the show?”

“Show? Well, kind of,” Pidge said. “It was based off me.” She glanced back at Keith. “And him.”

“My kid loves that show!” the man said, leaning back. “The game is yours if I could just get an autograph for my daughter.”

Pidge shot up, a strange smile on her face. “Sure thing!” she exclaimed in a higher, squeakier voice. “Anything for the kids!”

She pulled out a pencil from nowhere and drew a mini version of her face on a paper the man handed her. She gave the paper to him. “Come on, Keith! Autograph time!”

Keith reluctantly took the pencil and wrote his name in big, blocky letters. She snatched the paper and gave it back to the man, in exchange for the video game.

As Pidge turned around, she flashed him a sneaky smile, an evil glint in her eyes. They proceeded to go around, trading stuff for his and Pidge’s autographs. Soon, the green paladin had traded enough clothes to dress up as her character in the show. She had even tried to get Keith to wear a costume too, but he had loudly disagreed.

----------------------------------------------------

Lance took a deep breath. This was fine, everything was fine. He wouldn’t get mad at him for asking Keith out.

He entered the bridge, clearing his throat. “Uh, Shiro?”

The captain of the Atlas paused, looking up from his screen. “Yes, Lance?”

“Could I, uh, talk to you?”

“Sure. In private, or…”

“Y-Yeah. In private, thanks.”

Shiro nodded, stepping down from his captain spot and coming up to Lance. The blue paladin led him down the hall and to his room, nervously fidgeting.

“Alright, Lance,” Shiro said as the door slid shut behind him. “What do you need?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, it’s about Keith.” He kept going before Shiro could interrupt. “I know that Krolia is his actual mother but you’re like a father or big brother to him.”

“Lan—”

“And please don’t get mad at me, but I asked him out on a date and I just wanted you to know about it.”

“Lance—”

“I also wanted advice about what to do because you know him better than I do an—”

“Lance!” Shiro yelled, cutting him off. “Lance, calm down. I’m not mad.”

He wet his lips nervously. “… You aren’t?”

“No.” Shiro smiled. “Quite the opposite. I’m glad you guys worked it out. I was hoping you would before we left.”

“Oh,” Lance murmured. Are we really that obvious? “Okay, cool. Cool. So, can you give me any advice? Like what does he like? I invited him to dinner with my family, but now I’m not sure.” He started rambling. “We could probably do something after. Like take a walk, maybe? No, that’s not good enough. Who am I kidding! Nothing I could come up with is good enough for Keith Kogane! He deserves the best, and I don’t—”

“Lance!” Shiro put a steady hand on his shoulder, grounding him. “If Keith is going out with you, it’s because he likes you.”

Lance sighed. “I know, but—”

“No,” Shiro stopped him. “No, buts. Keith likes you for you. So the best advice I can give is to be yourself.” His gaze suddenly darkened. “Just… be patient with Keith. He’s been hurt before, and isn’t used to being loved. And if you hurt him, I’ll have some choice words for you.”

Lance held up his hands. “Okay, okay, should have expected the shovel talk. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt him.” He poured all his emotion into those few words. “And I won’t let anyone hurt him ever again.”

Shiro smiled again, ruffling his hair. “Good. Everything will be fine. Now go get ready, Loverboy Lance.”

----------------------------------------------------

The group was walking around some more, laden with bags full of junk that they had bought. Rizavi suddenly stopped them in front of a store. “Oh, I’ve got a good feeling about this place. Keith, leave this to me. Ladies, divide and conquer!”

Pidge sat in the corner, reading a comic book, while Allura and Romelle looked at the shiny jewelry. He followed Nadia as she started browsing, looking through the men’s clothes. “You’re the last person I would trust to pick an outfit,” Keith grumbled.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “You’ll just have to deal with it sweetheart.”

He ignored her, turning around to a rack of assorted clothing. They spent a few minutes searching. He picked up a cool black jacket with crimson highlights. It probably wasn’t fancy enough.

Ina and Nadia ran up to him, mischievous looks on their faces. The black-haired girl started pushing him towards the dressing rooms. “Keith! Try on these outfits!”

As soon as he looked at the outfits they had chosen, he knew they were all wrong, but he decided to humor them. Nadia had picked out a yellow and white sporty outfit for him. “Ta da!” she yelled, showing it off. Ina, Allura, Romelle, and Pidge all gave it a dubious look. Keith silently agreed with them.

Ina had picked out a really baggy light red and white suit, with short white pants. That one got the same reaction as before.

Romelle’s choice was almost indescribable, and not in a good way. It was super colorful and looked like she had grabbed random things and thrown them together. His patience was starting to wear thin.

Same reaction. Allura smiled and gave her an encouraging thumbs up. “Good try, Romelle!” Pidge facepalmed.

The green paladin’s outfit was the same thing Keith’s character wears in the new show. He had refused to even try it.

He hoped Allura’s outfit was better. She had always seemed the most fashionable out of all of them. It was the best out of all the others so far. She had chosen a white dress shirt with a red tie and black slacks.

As he stepped out, Nadia’s eyes sparkled. “Wow, Allura! That looks amazing! It really suits you, Keith.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, it looks good. Thanks, Allura, but… something feels off. One second.”

Keith got to work, going through the aisles and grabbing items that he had seen earlier. He went back into the dressing room. He came out again, enjoying the looks on everyone’s faces.

Nadia sighed happily, putting her hands on her hips. “I think we’ve done it.”

“More like I did it,” Keith corrected. “And Allura. Thanks again.”

The princess smiled. “My pleasure. Shall we go?”

They went up to the counter and set the clothes down. The four-armed alien turned around giving them a pleasant smile. “Why, hello there. Is this everything?” Keith frowned. Something felt off about this guy. He didn’t trust him.

“Yep,” Rizavi said. “Mission complete!”

The alien held up a calculator in one hand, and looked through the clothes with another. “Let’s see, what have we got?” He cracked his knuckles and went to work punching numbers in. “Two decorative tarps with casing, one foot container and its mirror match, and a pair of damaged leg coverings. That’ll be… one phoeb of servitude from your small friend there.”

Nadia’s eyes grew to the size of golfballs. “What? A year?”

“A month,” Pidge said, glancing back at her. “I got this.” She spun around, ruffling up her hair to look like her character, and turned back to the counter, putting on her nasally voice. “How about you give us all this and I give you an autograph from a world-famous Paladin of Voltron.” Her eyes sparkled convincingly.

The alien had a confused, and slightly disgusted, look on his face, an eyebrow raised. “No! Price just went up to three phoebs.”

Pidge took a step back as Allura spoke up. “I could give you a royal decree of service from the Crown Princess of Alte—” She suddenly stopped, and looked at the ground with a sigh. “Oh, right, I, um…”

Romelle gave her concerned look, then clasped her hands together. “I can make you a deca-phoebs’ worth of blomfruit pies! I just need blomfruits. You wouldn’t happen to sell any, would you?”

“Shipping will cost you ten phoebs of servitude alone!” the alien yelled, leaning forward.

Keith scowled at the alien behind the counter, putting a hand on Allura’s shoulder. “Maybe this was a bad idea. I don’t need the clothes. Let’s just go.” If he was being honest, he really wanted the clothes. They looked good and made him feel good, but he wasn’t going to put up with this shopkeeper any longer.

He turned around and started to walk away, everyone following him. The four-armed alien suddenly gasped. “Wait!” he called, reaching out towards them. “I’ll give you a friendly deal. You can have all this… for Killbot Phantasm 26: Revengifiance.” Pidge’s eyes widened with surprise.

“No deal!” Nadia growled, narrowing her eyes. “What could you possibly need it for?”

“I’ve been looking to get my claws on that game for deca-phoebs.” A slightly dreamy expression appeared on his face. “I’m a huge KBP fan.”

He noticed the thoughtful way Pidge was looking at the game. As Rizavi vehemently denied his offer, Keith put an arm around his friend’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Pidge. I don't need them. This guy is shady anyways.” He pushed down his reluctance at giving up the clothes.

She shook her head, holding it out to the alien. “It’s fine. You can have it. We don’t have any time to play it anyway.”

As she turned around, Keith, who was usually not one for physical touch, bent down and hugged her. “Thank you,” he whispered in her ear.

He let her go, and Pidge gave him a happy smile and a thumbs up. “Anytime. Now, let’s get you ready!”

----------------------------------------------------

Keith hesitantly rang the doorbell, trying to smooth down his hair for the tenth time. Even after Rizavi tried tackling it with a hairbrush and gel, it still stuck up defiantly. It was fine though, Keith liked it this way.

Komso brushed against him reassuringly. He ruffled the wolf’s mane affectionately, and straightened as the front door swung open.

Standing on the other side was a woman. Keith could immediately tell this was Lance’s mother. They both had the same bright smile and chocolate-brown hair.

“Come in, come in, my dear!” she said. Even though he was bad at reading people, Keith detected a slight strain in her voice. She looked over her shoulder, swinging the door open wider. “Oh, you look wonderful! Doesn’t he look wonderful, Lance?”

Lance, who had been walking down the stairs, paused, his mouth gaping. “Wow!” he breathed, his eyes sparkling. “You look amazing.”

Keith glanced away, blushing. He nervously ran a hand through his hair, messing it up again. Rizavi would be so mad right now.

He brushed a piece of Kosmo’s fur off his sweater. He had picked out a loose red sweater to put on over the white dress shirt Allura had found, with ripped black jeans and black combat boots to complete the look.

“Thanks,” Keith said, meeting Lance’s eyes. The Cuban boy was wearing a tight white sweater with gray arms that looked adorable on him. “You look good, too.”

Lance smirked, making his way down the stairs and stopping in front of him. “Wow, a rare compliment by the amazing Keith Kogane. Who would have thought it was possible?”

“Remind me why I like you again?” Keith asked teasingly, crossing his arms.

Kosmo chuffed in greeting, bounding up to Lance. The blue paladin kneeled on the ground, allowing the wolf to jump up and lick his face. “Hey, buddy!” He laughed as Kosmo licked his cheek again, his tail wagging. God, who given this boy the right to look so damn cute. Lance looked up. “Maybe it’s because of my charming personality and dashing looks?”

“No, it’s because Kosmo likes you. Otherwise, you’d be kicked off the team.”

Lance’s face darkened, but it was so quick that maybe he had imagined it. “Yeah, yeah, I know.” He stood up, putting a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Anyways, Keith, this is my mom and Pop-pop.” He went through everyone, pointing at each person as he named them. “You know Veronica. That’s Rachel, my brother Marco, my other brother Luis, his wife Lisa, and their kids, Silvio and Nadia.”

The two kids weren’t even looking at him, their eyes were fixed on Kosmo. “Puppy!” the little girl shrieked.

Luis put a hand on Nadia’s shoulder, a nervous look on his face. “I knew you were bringing your pet, but… is it safe?”

Keith tried not to frown, instead forcing a smile. “Yes,” he said through gritted teeth. “Kosmo may be a space wolf, but he is well trained.” Kosmo gave him a look like ‘Seriously?’ At least he hoped he was.

“Don’t worry, guys,” Lance said, reaching down and patting the wolf’s head. “Kosmo is pretty chill.”

Luis let go of Nadia’s shoulder, and with that, the young girl ran up to Kosmo, throwing her arms around him. “Good puppy!”

The wolf sat patiently, his tail thumping on the ground as Nadia ran her fingers through his fur. Silvio slowly approached them, holding out his hand. Kosmo stood up, Nadia still practically hanging on him, and sniffed the boy’s hand. The space wolf licked his hand, making him giggle.

Rachel was giving him a suspicious look, but didn’t say anything. Now that Keith thought about it, everyone looked slightly uncomfortable. Is it because I’m a boy? he wondered. Did Lance’s family not know that he is bi? As the children started to play with Kosmo, Lance grabbed his hand. “Come on, Keith! Let’s go set the table.”

He allowed Lance to lead him to the dining room, a light blush dusting across his cheeks. They set the table, talking and laughing. His heart fluttered everytime Lance brushed against him.

They joined everyone in the living room after setting the table as Lance’s mother and Pop-pop went to the kitchen to finish dinner. The tension that Keith had noticed disappeared throughout the evening.

The kids had fun playing with Kosmo, who was preening under all the attention, and all of Lance’s family was really nice. Even Rachel eventually warmed up to him.

At one point, Nadia had run up to him and Lance, a curious expression on her face. “Uncle Lance, you’re a boy, and Keith is a boy, but you’re in love, right?”

They exchanged an awkward glance. “Yeah, kiddo,” Lance eventually said, ruffling her hair. “Why?”

She had a thoughtful look on her face. “So, is it okay if a girl likes a girl?”

“Of course.” Lance smiled. “Anyone can like anyone they want to.”

“Okay!” Nadia said, her face lighting up. “Thanks, Uncle Lance!”

Keith’s heart felt warm as he watched her run off.

----------------------------------------------------

When dinner was ready, they sat at the table, Lance pulling out Keith’s chair for him and sitting next to him. A headache that had started to plague him was chased away by the sensation of Lance holding his hand under the table.

The food was really good, especially the garlic knots. Even Kosmo had gotten bits of food slipped under the table from Silvio and Nadia. Eventually, Lance’s family started to tell embarrassing stories about his childhood.

“Or the time when we were kids,” Marco was saying, twiddling with his fork. “And Veronica mixed dirt with water and told Lance it was chocolate milk.” Keith chuckled along with everyone else, enjoying the annoyed look on his boyfriend’s face. Woah, when had he started thinking of Lance as his boyfriend?

“Oh, yeah!” Veronica exclaimed. “I still can’t believe he fell for it.”

Keith shook his head. “Oh God, I’m dating an idiot. What did he do?” The strange tension from before suddenly flooded the room again. Why did I say that?!

Lance blushed at his words as his sister continued. “He told on me, of course. Then Pop-pop gave him ice cream and I got none.”

“Yeah, Lance was always the baby of the family,” Marco said, a gleam in his eyes. “It only took you coming to dinner to graduate him to the adult table.”

Keith could feel Rachel’s eyes glaring daggers into his back. He put a smirk on his face. “That’s not surprising.”

Lance squawked in protest. “What?! What’s that supposed to mean, babe?”

He couldn’t help but blush at the nickname. That meant Lance wanted to be boyfriends, too. They would talk about it later.

Keith put his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “You know exactly what I mean, Lance.”

After he sat up straight again, there was a beat of awkward silence. Then, Lance’s mother spoke up.

Her next words were kind, but for some reason, it made Keith’s mental hackles raise. “Lance never brings girls, or boys, home. You must really mean something to him.”

Girls, or boys…

“That’s strange.” Keith had meant the words to be teasing, but they came out sharper than intended. “Lance gave off the impression of being really popular with women.”

There was an even longer moment of silence, only the kids still obliviously talking.

Then Veronica rose, clearing her throat. She held up a glass of water. “A toast… to family. Though we may be apart after tomorrow, we’ll always remain close at heart. Family is forever.” She glanced at him, her eyes raking over the table. “And to Keith, the newest member of our family.”

Everyone held up their glasses. “To family!”

He put down his glass, staring into the water. Family… Keith had never really had a permanent family before. His father had died when he was young, and his mother had left. He now knew why Krolia had to leave, but it still didn’t change the past. Then Shiro had become his father figure. Then he had also left, presumed dead on the Kerberos mission.

Then the paladins had come, and he had felt like part of a family again. Pidge had felt like a little sister. Hunk the big brother he had never had. Coran had turned into the weird, crazy uncle. Allura had become almost like a mother, and now their sister. Lance… Lance didn’t really have a family title in Keith’s eyes. Now he knew it was because he had a crush on the blue paladin.

Even with Krolia back, Keith still felt like he was missing something. Maybe it had come from visiting his father’s grave when they came back to earth? Or maybe it was seeing Lance, Hunk, and Pidge with their families… Another reminder that he would never fit in.

Keith stayed quiet the rest of the evening. After it was over, he thanked Lance’s mother for the wonderful dinner, and said a quick goodbye to Lance. Then, the moment he was out of sight, had Kosmo teleport him back to the Garrison.

After getting back, he made his way to the lions, Kosmo following him. He sat on Black’s head, stroking the wolf’s fur. Since it was summer, the sun was going down later, allowing Keith to catch the last of its rays as it dipped below the horizon.

The wolf suddenly teleported out from under his fingers, a rush of cold air greeting his hand. He sighed. Even Kosmo doesn’t want to hang out with me right now…

A few seconds later, Kosmo appeared. He had a passenger. The wolf gave him a pointed look before disappearing again.

Lance sat there, blinking in confusion. “Wha— Oh, hey, Keith.”

“Hey, Lance,” he muttered, avoiding eye contact.

“Sooo,” Lance said. “You’re watching the sunset?”

“Yeah…”

There was a few seconds of silence, before they both spoke at the same time.

“I’m sorry for ruining your dinner!”

“I’m sorry for being a bad boyfriend!”

Keith was the first to speak. “What? You’re not a bad boyfriend! Why would you even think that, Lance?”

The blue paladin scowled. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because I forced you into having dinner with my family? And what about you? You didn’t ruin anything, Keith!”

“Yes, I did,” he bit out. “My very presence ruined it! It’s obvious that your family doesn’t want us dating. They probably want a future daughter-in-law. Not a son.”

He didn't look at Lance. “… What?” The boy’s voice was confused. “Keith… it’s not you. My family loves you. Everyone wouldn’t shut up about it afterwards.” He finally turned to look. Lance’s eyes were soft. “It was my fault. I only told them I was bi and that I had invited my boyfriend to dinner only after I had asked you. They aren’t against us, they just still need to get used to me dating a boy.” He grabbed his hands. “Keith, you didn’t do anything wrong. You are fucking amazing. It was my fault. It’s always my fault…”

Keith squeezed his hands in return, concern for his boyfriend washing over him. “What do you mean, Lance?”

“You know what I mean.” His voice was surprisingly bitter. “I can never get things right. I’d be amazed if you even considered going on another date with me. I just keep messing up. I’m not a good paladin, I’m not a good friend, and I’m definitely not a good boyfriend.”

It hurt Keith to hear the usually bright, funny boy talk about himself that way. He grabbed his shoulders. “Lance, that’s not true.”

He shook him off. “It’s true and you know it. Nobody needs me, I’m expendable. And I don’t want to—”

“Lance!” Keith grabbed his shoulders again, leaning in so close that their lips were almost brushing against each other. “Shut the fuck up.” Then, he kissed him.

Lance immediately buried his fingers in Keith’s hair, letting out a little gasp as their lips met. Keith’s hands trailed down to the blue paladin’s hips. One hand rested on his thigh, while the other wrapped around his waist.

They pulled away after a few seconds, resting their foreheads together. “You’re not expendable, Lance,” Keith breathed, reaching up to cup his face in his hands. “You’re amazing. You're loving. You’re kind. You’re sweet. You’re funny. You’re important, to your family, and to me.

“I swear, Lance. We’re going to end this war, and we’ll do it with the Lance that’s the Paladin of the Red Lion. The Lance that’s always got my back. And the Lance who knows exactly who he is and what he’s got to offer.”

Lance played with his hair. “How am I supposed to one-up that speech? And who knew you were such a sap, Mullet? Speaking of which, your hair is really soft.” Keith snorted with laughter as he continued. “Keith… I know this is our first date, but I love you.”

“I love you too, Lance.” Raw emotion filled his voice. “With all my fucking heart.”

Lance pulled him into another kiss as the sun sank below the horizon.

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i-write-shakespeare-not-disney · 1 year ago

Note

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels?

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.

ohhhhh well, I think it's always the sort of comfort when one thinks they're not good enough for the other. when one goes out of their way to say, hey I'm not going anywhere and being with you isn't a burden, I just T.T

haha probably most of the first chapter of Princes and Pickpockets because Izuku sounds and acts so strangely and it's supposed to sound crazy. Particularly his little "his father is testing our love!" when rody tries not to laugh, because even I'm laughing and cringing, but that's... the point? lmfao. Also when he walks out nude not realizing it's not a normal thing in that world and all rody can say later is "ah, so that's your natural hair color huh" I thought i was cheeky for that one lmao ALSO, all the banter between Katara and Sokka! That was fun to write.

I don't really like being mean to the readers akdjfakdf I worry too much that I'll stress them too much or something and turn them away from the story. And I don't really like following the usual tropes of miscommunication and being all HAAHAHHAAAA NO WORRIES I'LL FIX IT <3 because I know I always get aggravated with miscommunications. I do my best to resolve miscommunications within the same chapter. I think the only time it was pretty fun, was leaving the cliffhanger on Princes and Pickpockets on chapter 5 because. Well that's where that HAD to end, and besides, it's a fairytale, everyone knew what was gonna happen next.

I like images and themes of home, belonging, and family. It's why writing Lance and Rody was always so fun for me- they're very family oriented. And having a person who feels like coming home has always been very comforting to me. And knowing that however many flaws and faults, there's a person- friend or lover- who sees the good still and works with you, helping you evolve into the person you want to be, that kind of belonging when everyone else made you an outsider or made you feel like too much is beautiful to me. It's why I love writing character fall in love, why they still have friends and it's not this zeroed in focus on only the romance, and it's why I really like writing all these characters. Lance, Sokka, Katsuki, Deku, all felt in some way that they were too much and not enough until their person. Keith, Zuko, Rody, all felt they had no place with friends much less a lover until the one who made them feel wanted and welcomed. Until all of them found friends to be at home with, a chosen family. So yeah aha <3 Oh! As for scenery, I try to stick to things I know. Terrain from mexico, places I visited, most of lovesick took place in homes I was familar with (Allura's home is my grandmas, Lance's family's home is my house, the campus Keith is at was my campus, etc)

Thank you for the questions!!! These were really fun, I just hope my answers weren't too long <3

#ask phoenix

0 notes

klixxy · 3 years ago

Text

ultimate voltron fic recs (mostly keith angst lol)

(ft. my bookmark comments)

klance

I Don't Know Where You're Going - perpetuallyangryinsomniac

(klance/gen, keith-centric, time travel au, angst, 29k words, ongoing)

Keith doesn’t give up often. When he does, he’s pulled back in; Shiro puts a kid in the simulator and shows him a life worth living, Blue tells a lost boy not to run just yet, Lance tells a cobbled-together Black Paladin not to split up the team. Despite everything--the list keeps growing--he has to believe he has always been exactly where he needs to be.

Between training, parading, babysitting, and ruining both intergalactic alliances and two-thousand-seven-hundred years worth of physical theory, Keith has plenty of time to reconsider.

When Your Giant Interdimensional Space Cat Gives You Superpowers To Fight The Galra - eternally_tired_muffin

(klance/gen, space lion superpowers!!, romance, fluff, angst, 66k words, oneshot)

Galra troops are being moved from galaxy to galaxy, leaving some planets badly defended. Taking advantage, Voltron manages to free them and gain new allies, learning more about the Lions - and each other - in the process.

With the Galra's complex plans, unexpected abilities and even more unexpected feelings, saving the universe gets a little more complicated.

☆☆☆

Keith was looking at him with a soft smile. "You're ridiculous."

Lance grinned and spun, shooting finger guns at him. "You know it."

For a short second, Lance swore Keith was blushing, ears tinted red. Lance couldn't look away.

☆☆☆

Essentially, a 'what if' scenario where the battle at the end of season two ends with Zarkon only mildy injured and Shiro doesn't disappear, and where klance becomes canon.

i want your heaven and your oceans too - mothpoem

(klance, angst, hurt/comfort, romance, getting-tgth, 11k words, oneshot)

“Not—not that you’d be my rebound! I mean, you’d be helping me take my mind off of this guy, but to be a rebound, I’d have to have dated him first, I think, and he doesn’t even know I like him, so. You wouldn’t be a rebound. At worst, we become badass partners-in-crime with a grudging respect for each other, at best, we’re soulmates for life and this is fate trying to help us find happiness. So. Um.” Lance swallows and looks up at the Blade of Marmora soldier through his lashes. “What say you?”

They look down at their hands for a moment, fingers twisting together in deep thought. Then they’re pulling their gloves off, revealing pale, half-bruised knuckles of the human variation, and their mask is dissolving, giving way to big blue-purple eyes and an achingly familiar jet-black cowlick. “Who,” says Keith Kogane, in that low-pitched rumble that makes Lance’s stomach roil in the good way—holy fuck—“is this guy you’re trying to get over?”

joke’s on your, loser - zxrysky

(klance, romance, pining so much pining, getting-tgth!, 5k words, oneshot)

Now, here’s the thing. Lance is crushing on Allura with her pretty eyes, dark skin, sweet smile and the way she can kill you if she wants to because Allura is scary and dangerous, which is hot.

But Keith is scary and dangerous as well, with pale skin and a challenging smirk on his face and he’s much more willing to hold his knife to Lance’s neck and make his blood run hot, which makes Lance crush really fucking hard on Keith. It’s a horrifying thought that he’d ever choose Keith over Allura, but the day has come, it’s probably Doomsday or something, and Lance is horribly attracted to Keith and his stupid hair and his infuriating smile. And those muscles, goddamn.

The Red String - Le_Tournesol

(klance, angst, hurt/comfort, backstory, :((, 19k words, series)

Lance and Keith keep coming across one another at different points in their lives.

[notes: this is. so poignant and devastatingly sad, but also ugh god its so sweet in a weird heart wrenching way. :(( <3]

sheith

galaxies away (a home to return to) - aerixlee

(sheith/gen, keith-centric, post-war, fluff, teamteam!!, 9k words, oneshot)

[Keith: is blowing off fifty dollars for a piece of ginger root worth it]

[Hunk: ?????? what the fuck no] _____

or: After the war, Keith explores the Earthen side of his identity. Featuring Korean food, love, and family.

[notes: okay as a korean person i never rlly understood the korean keith hc bc kogane is just n o t a korean name. im so sorry i wish it was but its rlly rlly not. but like... also,,, man what a great exploration of culture and identity and just,,, just great things in general. idk i just personally related to it a lot]

you, in a fight you lost - arahir

(sheith/gen, keith-centric, blood/injury, angst, near death, 5k words, oneshot)

Keith loses a fight with Haggar. It's bad.

“It’s too much to take in at once—there’s blood on Keith's face, in his hair, streaked down the white of his Paladin armor on one side. A mark spreads across his cheek like a bruise, dark and lurid, and he’s holding one arm at an odd angle—

No, it’s broken.

He takes a halting step toward them. The splatter of blood hitting the floor is audible.

That's how they learn Altean healing pods don't work on Galra.”

To Know One’s Family - alisayamin (sh_04e)

(sheith/gen, keith-centric, hurt/comfort, teamteamteam!!, BONDING MOMENTS, 18k words, complete)

“They want you to dance.” Pidge came clean, “Told us when you two were out flying earlier.”

Shiro raised his eyebrows. “Well, Keith isn’t as bad as me-“

“That’s the thing.” Matt cut him off. “They want both of you to dance. To honor our alliance and celebrate your killing of the giant worm. Together.”

Keith looked up at Matt slowly and said with fake solemn, “We’re doomed, Matt. The horror of 2050 has come back to haunt us.”

Matt played along with faux dread in his voice, “I told you we should have said the awful dancer that tripped everyone at the Garrison masquerade was Shiro.” Matt dramatically raised the back of his right palm to his forehead and tilted his head back with closed eyes. “Karma is reminding us of our bad decision.”

Hunk, Lance and Pidge’s eyes widened.

“THAT WAS YOU, SHIRO?!” Lance shouted while Hunk and Pidge gaped at their senior officer.

Shiro looked at Matt, then at Keith. “Please know, that I hate the both of you.”

gen

home again - chidorinnn

(gen, keith-centric, s4-centric, angst, hurt/comfort, 3k words, oneshot)

Yet again, Keith fails to show up in time. The team waits, ready to confront him for his diminishing commitment to Voltron in favor of his newfound duties among the Blade of Marmora.

Then Coran patches through a call from Kolivan.

"Keith is in urgent need of medical attention. Our estimated time of arrival is in three dobashes."

[my bookmark comment: please season four made me so mad gosh]

suffered the best for last - chidorinnn

(gen, keith-centric, s4-centric, angst, hurt/comfort, 2k words, oneshot)

Keith watches a fellow Blade die, and the reality of it doesn't hit until much, much later, back at the Castle of Lions. He doesn't handle it well.

Tag to Episode s04e01: Code of Honor

[notes: god this made me so sad... i just have no words the grief in this one was gut-wrenching. ive reread this oneshot multiple times]

stardust (and other intangibles) - aerixlee

(gen, keith-centric, s4-centric, angst, hurt/no comfort, 7k words, oneshot)

“Keith?” Matt asks quietly, and it’s in a private comm, like he’s anticipating a heavy conversation. “Keith, are you alright?”

And isn’t that just a wonderful question. What’s he supposed to say? Yes, I’m doing spectacular, which is exactly why I just tried to ram my ship into a force field knowing full well I would die.

“Fine,” Keith says. “I’ll be fine.” ______

or: Season 4 from Keith's perspective.

[notes: another absolutely breathtaking and heartbreaking oneshot about s4. man i think i actually broke out into sobs at three am for this one.]

in orbit - Anonymous

(gen/keith&pidge, hurt/comfort, fluff, BONDING MOMENT!!, 3k words, oneshot)

“You’re clearly not fine,” says Keith bluntly. He folds his arms across his chest, looking at Pidge head-on. “Come on. I’m shit at this stuff, so you’re just going to have to tell me. I’m not leaving until you do.”

Pidge gives him a weird look, anger evaporating in favor of vague bewilderment. “Most people don’t comfort others like this,” they say, raising an eyebrow. “Is this seriously your idea of helping?” _____

Or, Keith cuts Pidge's hair.

the stars burn out - Anonymous

(gen/keith&shiro, angst&pain, tw;suicide attempt, hurt/no comfort, 2k words, oneshot)

“You’re dead, aren’t you?”

Shiro lifts a shoulder, then drops it. “Maybe,” he says again, and Keith imagines him tilting his head a little, giving him a searching look. “It’s likely that I am.” _______

Keith considers death, the desert, and Shiro.

[my bookmarks: absolutely breathtaking. my heart hurts.]

Kings Over Aces - justheretobreakthings

(gen, keith-centric, angst, tw;attempted rape, oh god the trauma, 30k words, complete)

The Voltron Coalition has an alliance in the works with the resource-rich planet of Yuipra, and it’s the paladins’ job to keep on the king’s good side while the deal is made. That shouldn’t shouldn’t be too great a challenge; after all, they’ve courted plenty of planets before for the sake of alliances.

Unfortunately, things are made much more complicated when the king takes a special interest in Keith.

[notes: just here to break things indeed yeah like my FUCKING HEART GOD. (okay but tw!! check the tws!!! bc i actually mayhaps had a tiiiiiny panic attack reading this. pls pls pls be aware of the tags]

Magnetic North - Reverent

(gen, keith-centric, hurt/comfort, teamteamteam!, 8k words, oneshot)

Keith wakes up on a battlefield with no recollection of how he got there, but his team needs him to get to the Red Lion and form Voltron, or they’re all going to die.

[notes: genuinely in love with this fic. not kidding. i think ive actually reread this multiple times and just,,, had a great fucking time bc holy shit is this amazing]

The Kennerya Trilogy - SilenceIsGolden15

(gen, keith-centric, hurt/comfort, teamteamteam!, cuddle-bug au, 27k words, series)

The paladins are visiting a planet in hopes of securing an alliance when Keith is bitten by a mysterious insect. The effects are anything but comfortable.

the fear of falling - amillionsmiles

(gen, keith-centric, backstory, angst, hurt/no comfort, 3k words, oneshot)

Keith can pull off a downward spiral. It's the kind of maneuver he does in his sleep.

[my bookmarks:

“No one is surprised when Keith gets declared fighter class. A plane is something else in his hands. A weapon, sure, but also an instrument of art.

Come here, Keith, feel the balance on this.

See how the wing can be a blade. The way it slices through the air.

I know, Dad. I know.”

---> stunning. beautiful. breathtaking. poignant.]

It’s a New Start - DarkScales

(gen, keith-centric, galra keith au, teamteamteam!!, 27k words, series)

In which Keith, raised Galra and forcibly drafted into Zarkon's army, escapes from the Empire and proceeds to steal (then subsequently become adopted by) the Red Lion. Misadventures ensue, and Team Voltron gains an... interesting new member. The Empire isn't going to know what hit it.

[my bookmarks: a very interesting take on galra keith!! <3]

Recoil/Release - Cheshyr

(gen, keith-centric, amplified emotions, angst, :((, 22k words, complete)

When Keith is bitten by an alien creature with venom that causes your dominant emotions to be amplified, the team is ready for a day of dealing with an incredibly angry paladin.

Which means they're not ready at all for what actually happens.

[notes: ugh god i need to start reading more fluff im crying now look what you’ve done]

hound - story_monger

(gen, keith-centric, backstory, alien infiltration, angst, teamteamteam!!, 47k words, complete)

Keith has a lot of practice being alone; you might almost say he's good at it. When he finds himself seriously injured and stranded on an unknown planet, he knows he's not alone there. And here's the worst part: even after rescue and after things return to normal, Keith gets the distinct sense that whatever was on that planet has followed him. He doesn't have proof. But he knows it's there. He knows it's not going to stop until it gets what it wants.

[notes: im not even kidding this fic is absolutely brilliant. had my heart aching from start to finish- an incredible rollercoaster that ive made sure to read multiple times over and has been just as good no matter how many times ive read it. it juxtaposes two storylines; one from keith’s past in the desert on earth, and one in the present, in which he and the team encounter an alien infiltrator, and it is done wonderfully. just- this fic. pls read.]

Keith's 'Physical Contact' Initiation Program - alisayamin (sh_04e)

(gen, keith-centric, teamteamteam!!, BONDING MOMENTS, cuddles!!, 26k words, complete)

Keith didn’t move and neither did Pidge. It was a little awkward until Keith finally said, “Maybe we could officially officiate this..?”

“What do you mean?”

“Fist me.”

Pidge recoiled and sputtered, “Keith, what the f-” She was cut off by Shiro’s bellowing laughter from the observatory deck.

With his straight face unchanged, Keith lowered his left hand with the stopwatch and lifted his right hand, fisted.

Pidge actually sighed with so much relief, “OH. You mean fistbump! Right.” She slapped her forehead to remove the very very wrong image her imagination drew for her, “Holy shit, Keith, we need to work on that but yeah sure, I’d be honoured to officiate your physical contact program whatever.”

That one time Coran realized Keith was too distant and decided to make him undergo the 'Physical Contact' Initiation Program which then led to --> 5 times the paladins realized Keith was an actual cat.

Primal Fear - SilenceIsGolden15

(gen, keith-centric, backstory, no voltron au, angst so much angst, tw; implied rape, murder, abuse, 10k words, oneshot)

They say violence is never the answer, but the real world is a little more complicated than that.

[notes: this is so tragic and terrifying in a horribly real sense in that this happens in the real world. this is real, this really happens to so many strong people out there, and its really fucking shitty. moral lines are so hard to draw, and the law can be so shitty sometimes, and this fic explores all of it- and it explores it well. give it a read, its such an eye opener. tw warning though be careful!!]

Liar, Liar - SilenceIsGolden15

(gen, keith-centric, truth serum au, angst so much angst, hurt/comfort, 4k words, oneshot)

Keith gets grabbed while on a mission, and of course it's the most secretive member of the team who gets injected with the prototype truth serum. This should be fun.

[notes: everything by this author is great. uve seen them mentioned above, im sure, but god everything on their account is just phenomenal so go check all that out, but im just recommending my personal favorties]

my world is over one more time - SilenceIsGolden15

(gen, keith-centric, reliiving memories au, angst, hurt/comfort, implied abuse, trauma, 10k words, oneshot)

The team are stuck in dead space, and only a special kind of sacrifice will get them out. And martyr that he is, Keith is the one who makes it.

[notes: god this one had me speechless. i was so sad, it wasn’t even funny]

Miscommunication Celebration - SleepySsnail

(gen, keith-centric, birthday fic, fluff, teamteamteam!!, BONDING MOMENTS, 4k words, oneshot)

Keith was never too focused on his birthday, but when it rolls around he hopes his team remembers it. When Keith's birthday is full of quality time and fun, he doesn't even question why his friends haven't said "happy birthday" to him.

Or: Where Keith thinks everyone is celebrating his birthday when they really forgot about it. Keithtober 2019 Day 23: Birthday

[notes: gasp, a fluff fic in the midst of the agonizing angst? ure not dreaming, i swear. okay but no joke this one was absolutely adorable and i just had to put it in]

Carry You Home - MashpotatoeQueen5

(gen, pidge-centric, hurt/comfort, angst, teamteamteam!!, BONDING MOMENTS, 9k words, oneshot)

Pidge is small. And light. And very easy to carry.

Everyone ends up doing it at some point.

(Otherwise known as that one fic where everyone gets a bit of fic where they get to pick up the smallest Paladin for some reason and said reasons just involve more and more angst cause I'm a monster who loves Pidge.)

25 notes · View notes

dammitadolfnomorecake · 4 years ago

Text

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt.28

Lance looked pathetic as he sipped his bag of blood. Coran had taken a small amount in a syringe to inject Lance with pain medication. Whatever had been in it sent Lance loopy. He’d turned into a babbling mess under Keith’s watchful eye, Coran playing along with Lance’s mumblings much to Keith’s annoyance. The man wanted his Mami. Normally Keith was against kidnapping senior citizens, but Lance was really hurting and he couldn’t stay by his side. Coran ushering him out the room once Lance had finally fallen asleep, blood bag still between his teeth as he did.

Walking on the balls of his feet in an attempt to keep his footsteps light, Keith made his way into the kitchen, Allura beaming at him as he entered

“Good news, I take it?”

“There’s nothing good about Lance being sick”

Coran clamped a hand on Keith’s shoulder

“Never you mind, boy. He’ll be fit as a fiddle once these symptoms subside”

“I’m sick of this. He’s sick. He’s like sick sick. What’s happening now?”

“Well, lets take a seat then have a little talk about it. Allura, tea if you will”

The two of them seemed comfortable in Lance’s home. It irked Keith that Allura knew where everything was, she using matching cups and saucers like Lance would have. Taking Lance’s usual seat, because fuck Coran and Allura, Keith was no in the mood for the tea placed before him

“It’s chamomile”

Like that meant something to him. Tea was tea. You put a teabag in and that was that

“It’ll help soothe your nerves”

“What nerves?”

Allura giggled at him

“Your nerves over Lance, silly. He’s going to okay”

“He didn’t look very okay”

And he hadn’t wanted to be alone. Keith really should be back in the spare room making sure Lance was resting soundly

“That’s because his body is going through changes”

He got that... and that Lance was a breeder, meaning his body was changing but he didn’t get it at the same time. Coran took over the talk

“Lance’s body is changing to bear children. It’s happening faster than we expected, but he’s perfectly fine”

“He’s not fine. He’s sick and he’s in pain. And you didn’t help by making him smell my blood. He didn’t want to. He’s been trying his hardest, and you made me trick him”

“Ah, yes, well, for his own sake that was unavoidable. He needs to eat, no matter how ill he feels. I’m sure you are a great help to him”

“I didn’t even know what to do. I barely wiped his back before he was apologising”

Keith crossed his arms and glared at the steaming teacup before him. Coran and Allura were both being annoying.

“That’s because he cares for you”

Pulling out the chair, Allura sat to his right. Keith letting his cranky side show

“No, he doesn’t”

“He does. You two have such remarkable compatibility with your quintessence”

“Enough with that! What does it even mean? Lance is a vampire and I’m a hunter. Everything’s gone to shit. First Shiro dumps me here. Then Lance keeps getting sick. Miriam has a fall. Luis admits he reported his own fucking he reported in his own brother. Lance turns into a bat. And now he’s sick again. I’m sick of it. He hasn’t done anything wrong. He tried to save my life and he’s suffering, while you and Coran decide now is the perfect time for a tea party!”

Keith could have punched Allura for still smiling. Why wasn’t she angry?

“I understand it must be hard. But we cannot stop the changes. He’s strong, you know. He was tortured when he was turned, by his sires. He’s kept everyone he’s ever met since at a distance. Allowing himself friendships, let alone having someone living with him, is a large step. You could say he’s waited the last 36 years for a friend that knew him and didn’t judge him for it. He’s got such a sweet soul. The transition would be easier with fresh blood, the life is so much more alive when fresh, but he will never feed from you without permission. He’d never feed from you when offered either. He thinks rather highly of you”

Allura didn’t seem capable of giving straight answers. She looked enough like Coran to also be a fae. They both had the same tapered ears, and aura around them. Not a glowy aura, but a feeling

“If he did, he wouldn’t have tried to hide he was sick”

“Keith, Lance fears burdening you more than he already has. He doesn’t want pity or sympathy. He doesn’t want to draw even closer to you. He fears you leaving, so he’s hardening his heart so it won’t hurt when you do”

“You make it sound like we’ve known each other for years, not weeks”

“Sometimes a day or two is all it takes to decided what a person means to you”

Their first few days together had been shit. So he’d always mean shit to Lance if he followed Allura’s chain of thought

“You are allowed to befriend him, and him you. Romantical feelings can develop quite rapidly when your quintessence is so compatible”

“What now? Who said anything about romance?”

Allura sighed softly

“I misspoke. I simply mean to say that if you wish to pursue a romantic relationship with Lance...”

“I don’t”

“It’s alright to...”

“I don’t have those feelings for Lance. Stop making this into something it isn’t. There’s nothing there. He’s weird and he’s dead. We’re stuck together so whatever we’re feeling is because of that. I wouldn’t date him, even if he was the last man alive”

“I see I’ve upset you. Lance is quite fond of you, to hear you speak like that would certainly upset him”

“Because I call him weird and dead?”

He pretty much did that every day. Lance ragged on him just as much in return

“Yes. He is very sensitive about such topics. Perhaps leaving him in your care was too much”

“Allura, that is enough. Keith, please understand that what we were trying to say is that even through friendship, or something more, we would support the two of you. Matters of the heart are a complicated thing. Lance has lost many people he cares about along the way and remembers them all. He is wise and he is brave. He worked out from early age that to survive he had to hide large pieces of himself away. With you, he can be more open about those things. You are a great presence in his life”

“You make it sound like he has feelings for me”

“Perhaps he does”

Keith shook his head. Their “friendship” was complicated enough as it was. He felt as if Coran and Allura were pressuring him into something with Lance, which was the last thing Lance needed right now. He was sick and vulnerable. Besides, he didn’t have those feelings for Lance. He didn’t know what he felt, but it was nothing like romance. He was still trying to cope with the changes in his body. Once Shiro returned, he was going to request a medical to find out what was going on with his heart. The racing and the weird beats weren’t normal. He’d been in plenty of heart racing situations, but none made his chest physically ache, like it did for no good reason when Lance was around. His moods were as up and down as Lance’s. He felt sure that Lance’s bite had done something to change him physically. It was the only explanation for what was happening with his heart.

“How long’s he going to sleep for?”

“A few hours. He needs the rest. These changes are hard on his body, as well as his mind. If he’s in pain, you can try a combination of ibuprofen and a few drops of blood. Blood will help his body absorbed the painkillers, so make sure you don’t give him straight painkillers, or they’ll be ineffective”

“Wait. You’re leaving me in charge of looking after him? I don’t know how to help him”

“You can’t take away the physical pain, but your presence will help keep him calm”

“He wanted his Mami, not me”

Coran sighed softly

“Poor Miriam. She’s such a kind woman. She’s always been on Lance’s side. Lance wouldn’t have told her about Luis...”

Luis deserved to stand in a nest of fire ants for what he’d done to his brother

“Nope. That reminds me, has he always been like that?”

“Yes and no. Lance’s family all went through quite a lot after Lance was turned”

“He asked me the other day if I could find out whether Rolo and Nyma are still around”

“Fortunately, they are not, as far as I know. For a period I did keep an eye out for signs of them, but the last records are from nearly two decades ago. They’ve either wised up, or they were executed. They were listed as violent offenders, and scheduled for termination, but they’d left my jurisdiction by then”

That was good. The world didn’t need Nyma and Rolo. Though Keith was annoyed he didn’t get to kill the pair of them himself

“I’ll let him know. Maybe Shiro will know something more”

Allura took a sip of her tea, before carefully saying

“Keith, think about it carefully before you decide. There are somethings in life that you can’t unknow. We have no information on if their deaths did indeed occur. Telling Lance that they may still be out there may not be the best thing for him right now”

“He needs some kind of closure”

“Which, without facts, isn’t possible right now. Now, we need to be leaving. I’m afraid our work never seems to be done. We’ll send someone to check in with you once the weekend has passed. I’m sure you two must have plans?”

“Pidge has plans. Lance is going if he isn’t fully recovered”

Allura laughed at him. She laughed, and seeing it was straight after Keith had spoken, the only way to interpret it was that she was laughing at him. The hunter still didn’t understand how she could giggle and laugh like it was nothing. Maybe human lives didn’t matter so much when you spent your time dealing with supernatural creatures

“You sound like a concerned parent. Oh, Keith. I think I quite like you”

“Then why do you keep making fun of me?”

That sobered Allura right up

“I’m terribly sorry. That was not my intent in the slightest. I do think you and Lance quite compliment each other. I am struggling to contain my happiness over him finding an understanding friend, someone who understands him and has such compatible quintessence... I never thought it’d happen for Lance, so I can barely keep from smiling. I do believe you two will become very close”

“Is that a fae thing?”

“A touch of foresight, and a belief. Please reach out if you require anything”

Keith didn’t want to. Not when Allura and Coran were both so damn weird. What happened to people talking simply, without all these added meanings that seemed to go over his head

“I don’t have a phone number... I was going to borrow Lance’s phone and call Coran, but then both of you showed up”

“Here we go my boy. Direct line. Call anytime and you’ll be answered”

Coran drew a business card out of seemingly nowhere. Passing it over, the business card was for the bookshop side of things. Some help that was... Coran didn’t seem the kind of man who’d be above ground all that often

“Thanks... are you sure... that he’s to be okay? All of this feels kind of sudden, and now you’re both suddenly leaving... What do I do if he gets worse? What if he like... snaps?”

“Keep him calm and keep him fed... Monitor that fever and know you’re doing the best you can for him right now”

“That’s it?”

“I’m afraid so. It’s quite disheartening that we cannot do more for poor Lance. We can only guide him through his change. Now, I have one other thing for you. I believe you had no money of your own, so I’ve set this up for your account. It’s activated and ready to go”

Coran pulled another card out of his pocket and passed it over. Keith’s eyes widening at the bank card in his name

“I would say I’m surprised, but I think I’ve hit my limit on surprises. Thanks for this, now I have to convince Lance to let me use his car”

“I’m sure you’ll have no problems. Now, as Allura said, we must be going. No need to stand, we’ll see ourselves out”

Keith felt like he should thank them, they had come to Lance’s aid, but he was also kind of preoccupied with everything Allura and Coran had said. Leaving him sitting at the table, Keith really wanted to call Shiro and fill him in on everything that happened. His brother was such a huge part of his life, but now he was too busy to be there. Besides, Shiro would probably worry over Lance, when there wasn’t anything they could do about the pain of his body changing... and Keith didn’t want to have a conversation where talking about Lance’s bits and pieces was likely to mean talking about what was happening below his belt line. That was icky. Not that Keith hadn’t shared a communal shower before, but thinking about Lance’s dick was sure to only leave him feeling weird around the man. Seeing him shirtless had been weird enough as it was. He probably needed to get back to Lance, so Lance wouldn’t wake up alone and scared. Being a vampire was a lot more complicated than Keith had spent all these years thinking it was.

With Lance sleeping, Keith had wound up on his bed playing with his camera. He’d sat, paced, sat, then paced until he grew frustrated, before throwing himself down on his bed and pulling out his camera. Blue had come to inspect what was happening to her human, then run off when Keith went to pat her. Cats were so weird. He thought Blue had warmed up to him, but apparently not. Staring at the photo on the screen, he wished he could have seen the cavern the way Lance had. He’d probably been able to differentiate between the lines of sediment with his weird vampire powers. Lance had seen enough to know there were fish down there, which Keith found weird. He could only hazard a guess that they’d been introduced down there as emergency food reserves, then lived down there undisturbed when the mine was decommissioned. The Third World War had been a major turning point in industrialisation. Technology coming along in leaps and bounds since. The hunter still wasn’t sure that the mine hadn’t made Lance ill, seeing Lance had waded out into what had to be freezing cold water.

Sighing to himself, Keith looked over to Lance. The tea towel across his forehead would need changing by now. The vampire still looked wiped out by fever, and the scent in the room had definitely grown sweeter. Climbing off his bed, Keith’s knees nearly buckled as he tripped over air. Clumsiness coming from nowhere. Taking the tea towel off Lance’s forehead, Keith jumped as Lance’s eyes snapped open, staring right at him

“Lance?”

Reaching out, Lance grabbed him by the wrist, Keith being pulled forcibly forward as Lance rolled away from him. The vampire’s eyes closing again as Keith tried to free his wrist, only to find Lance’s grip too tight. Not physically tight around his wrist, but his hand was firm as if his muscles had seized that way

“Lance? Hey, let me go”

Half kneeling on the bed, Keith continued to try freeing his hand. Lance seemed to have fallen back to sleep, Keith not getting his hand back anytime soon. His heart was doing that racing thing, Keith sighing loudly over now being trapped. He didn’t have a choice.

Against his will, mostly, Keith realised he was going to have to wait until Lance woke up again. Climbing up on the bed, he slipped under the blanket, forced to spoon around Lance’s sleeping form thanks to his hold. Keith wasn’t used to this. He’d bunked with Shiro before, even cuddled up behind his brother like this, especially after the loss of Adam, when Shiro’s PTS got to the point he couldn’t sleep alone. But that was Shiro. His brother. Not a big sick vampire baby, like Lance. Locking his jaw, Keith ignored the way Lance wriggled back against him. His slim body seemed to meld far too well against Keith’s... something he was acutely aware of given how insistent Allura had been that they’d be something more than whatever they were now. Friends hugged friends. Keith could totally see Hunk spooning up with Lance like this, even if Lance seemed more the type to spoon. He’d be a cuddler. Like a big dopey dog or something. With his eyes scrunched, Keith tried to calm his racing heart. There was nothing wrong with this. Friends hugged friends when they were down. There was no need to complicate things by over thinking. Nope. This was fine. Everything was fine... perfectly fine...

#oncebittentwicestupid #once bitten twice stupid #ashratherose

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cabbagebender · 5 years ago

Note

Keith? Oh and Hunk?

Ahh, thanks for the ask! From this headcanon ask game:

Hunk

Age:

Supplementary canon: 17 - 18 in Seasons 1-6, 18-19 in Seasons 7-8.

Headcanon: I take the birthdays and ages in the Paladin Handbook as if the book were written on January 1st, so Hunk is only three months younger than pre-space whale Keith, and he's closer in age to (psw) Keith than to Lance.

Ethnicity:

Supplementary Canon: Half Samoan, half African-American.

Headcanon: Samoan on his dad's side, African-American on his mom's. Yes, I have his entire family figured out. They were relatively major characters in a fic I was hyperfixated on writing for a few months.

Gender:

Sure!

Which is to say, I've entertained pretty much every gender headcanon there is for Hunk except cis girl.

Mental Health:

Anxiety

I've considered Hunk as having ADHD before

Physical Health:

I saw a colorblind headcanon for Hunk once and like, I can get behind that?

Also, I think it'd be tragically amusing if Hunk had a food allergy that piSSED him oFF because it keeps getting in the way of him trying dishes he really wants to try

Orientation:

Bi/Pan (I go back and forth on which label I use for him, but the sentiment remains the same – all genders)

Most of the time I headcanon him as someone who, well, doesn't necessarily actively identify as arospec, but acknowledges that he has NO idea how to differentiate between romantic and platonic attraction. He just? loves people? Once the other person is like "this is what our relationship is" it's a lot easier for him to then develop his feelings along the appropriate track, but like, for example, if Pidge, his best friend who he has a 100% platonic relationship with and has never wanted anything different from, was suddenly like "hey, i wanna date you!" he probably would be like "yeah, okay, sure, we can try that!" (he might be confused because Pidge hasn't historically been romantically attracted to people. But if he was convinced she was serious). And that's not because he's secretly harboring romantic feelings for her, he's just sort of down for developing romantic feelings for any of his most special people at a moment's notice – OR for nurturing a hearty platonic love that can never be broken.

I have written him as more alloromantic, though – but he always values his friendships as much as his romances.

Poly Hunk poly Hunk poly Hunk P O L Y

(The Hunk-and-Allura polycule is one of my favorite little brain things, borne out of the fact that I keep shipping those two with the same people)

Religious Background and Current Beliefs

Protestant Christian to both of the above, of the "be generous and love thy neighbour" variety

Keith

Age:

Supplementary canon: 18-19 in S1-5, 21 in S6-8

Ethnicity:

Half Korean-American on his human side.

(In human!AUs, I have him as half Korean-American, half-English-American. The biggest empire in recent history is the British Empire, so I usually make humanized Galra characters English for parallel reasons)

(which is funky bc I've done a LOT of human AUs, which means in my head I sort of think of Keith as mixed white/Korean but in the actual show he's none white)

Gender:

Agender

The hair. It's been growing out for years. It's Keith's (lack of) gender affirmation project.

Sometimes I have them eventually going by K and using they/them pronouns.

Mental Health:

ADHD

Autism

Prosopagnosia (face blindness)

Desperate, desperate need of a therapist

Physical Health:

Lots of fun funky alien biology side effects that made his doctors twitch when he was a supposedly all-human kid:

I've seen headcanons that Keith can't digest vegetables because of his Galra heritage. I'm not sure if I hold that headcanon 100%, because he is still half-human, but I definitely agree that Galra are carnivores (look at the teeth) and Keith is probably malnourished. Even his human parent is big and buff and Keith... is not. If he'd been raised by his dad throughout his childhood maybe he would have grown up beefier and taller (since I'm sure his dad probably at least somewhat understood the Galra diet from having lived with Krolia), buuut his dad died when Keith was prepubescent and then he was in the foster system and... yeah he probably wasn't getting the optimized diet for his particular interspecies genetic makeup.

I like to think that he grew up with a couple of Very Strange Health Conditions that turned out to just be Galra things, like UV vision and two sets of baby teeth and ridges of bone protruding from.his scalp like Acxa has (hello, big poofy bangs to hide that).

Also, any time he had to do a blood test or a urine test at the doctor's it just... did not provide anything resembling useful information.

Doctor: I... don't know what I'm looking at here exactly but we've run the test multiple times and this seems to be your actual blood? How do you have this much iron in your blood?? Maybe eat... less meat?

Hunk, looking at the same results years later, having adjusted for Galra heritage: Keith, you're anemic.

Keith: are you KIDDING me

(see: Keith is malnourished)

Like most real life interspecies hybrids, I think Keith is probably incapable of natural reproduction.

Orientation:

Asexual

Aromantic

But like also sometimes he feels intense things for people that are different from his usual platonic bonds, but the word romantic is all lovey dovey to him and he Can't attach that to the complicated place his feelings are coming from so ??? Is he actually aro?? or does he just have Stuff way too deeply seated to ever process his romantic attraction in a clear and conventional way?? does it make a difference at this point, if the word aro is what's comfortable for him? aka, stuff keith ponders alone in his room at 2:30 in the morning

(If you want my specific headcanons about Who "people" are, it's Allura and Hunk – his hella strong but also kinda messy emotional connection with Allura, where he's just like "I know this is different from every other bond in my life but Please do not ask me to explain idk the Fuck is going on," and the fact that every time Hunk grabs him or picks him up or otherwise manhandles him his brain just shuts down like "oh this is good please continue to make hold" when it SHOULD be going into fight mode the way it would for anyone else)

Religious Background and Current Beliefs

I honestly don't know what Keith's background would be, but I think he's sort of... generally agnostic? Like, he believes in a higher power but not necessarily a sentient one or something to be worshipped. It's more like a big spiritual pulse through the multiverse that connects everything and everyone – fate, but with free will. It's what he taps into to access his nigh psychic abilities, which I've talked about before but maybe not since I made this sideblog so let me know if you want me to make a post about that.

#vld #keith #hunk #heith #kallura #voltron: legendary defender #hunk + keith #allura + keith #ask memes #headcanons #the disaster answers #leolikesarokeith #long post #the disaster speaks

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kcwcommentary · 5 years ago

Text

VLD8x01 – “Launch Date”

8x01 – “Launch Date”

First episode of the last season. This is probably the most romance-centered episode this show has ever done. And, this is the only episode solely written by Lauren Montgomery. The episode is clearly intended to be funny, but I didn’t laugh at much.

There are a lot of issues that can be discussed about this episode, about its own contents, especially the Allura-Lance romance, and about the episode’s relationship to the rest of the series. There’s a lot in this episode that bothers me.

The episode begins with some kind of meta commentary from this show about the original Voltron. I can understand VLD doing something like this as an homage to the original, but I, having not watched much of the original, don’t know if this particular homage works or not. Pidge is watching a cartoon that is, in-story, a production that has been made in wake of humanity learning about the existence of and being saved by Voltron last season. The show Pidge is watching is a short clip from the original Voltron animation.

In a medical bay, faceless medical personnel (I thought their faceless visual design last season was creepy then too) are tending to the Altean found in the wreckage of the mecha from the end of last season. Allura is watching from outside the room, and Romelle steps up to her, saying, “You know, back on the Colony, Luca and I didn’t always get along.” So, Romelle knows who this Altean is. Romelle gives us an expositional assessment of what Luca’s supposed qualities were, “inner strength,” “a desire to be a part of something greater than herself.”

The show presented the culture of the Colony to be very much a cult, but the show hasn’t really followed up with that and examined Romelle from that perspective. She’s just now become another regular Altean without really having to do anything to change. Even if she was the least cultish of the Colony Alteans, she still would most likely have to wrestle with the effects of growing up in a cult. This show has never demonstrated itself to be capable of dealing with big, heavy topics like that, so I don’t know why I would expect them to do so.

Allura responds to Romelle, “If she was so desperate for something to believe in, it may have made her susceptible to being manipulated.” The show has never given us any conversation between Allura and Romelle for the two of them to discuss what the Colony was like. Does Allura even realize that the Colony was a cult? Romelle’s characterization of Luca almost has a propagandistic quality to it. That description very much can apply to someone who has always been a zealot, then and now.

Hunk and his parents (and Sal from Vrepit Sal’s in the background) are in what looks like a mess hall. It’s a short, overly saccharine moment. “Your father and I are just so proud of you, saving the universe and all,” his mother says. That line feels so unnatural.

Hunk sits down with Lance, who’s clearly mentally elsewhere. Hunk expositions that the following day is the titular launch date. Launch Date also serves as a pun referencing the date that Lance and Allura go on in this episode. It’s more thought than most of this show’s episode titles get, and I kind of like it. At first, I thought Hunk could tell Lance was upset and was trying to distract him. Hunk riffs on the difference between the characters in VLD and the characters in the in-story TV show that Pidge was watching. But then when Hunk talks about the TV show hinting a romance between Keith and Allura, Lance reacts with instant, angry jealousy. Is Hunk really that oblivious and unable (or unwilling) to recognize his supposed friend Lance’s emotional state?

Hunk eventually realizes that Lance is talking about something real, “Oh, that’s right, you said you were going to ask Allura on a date. You asked her, didn’t you? Oh, and she said, no. And here I am rubbing your face in it.” Lance says she didn’t say no because he never asked her. Is this supposed to be demonstrating character growth for Lance? The guy who literally flirted with Allura the first time he ever spoke to her is too unwilling to ask her out now? It feels out of character for him. He’s been super open and publicly demonstrative of his interest in Allura before now.

Shiro is leading a “final briefing” before the launch tomorrow. At the end of the meeting, Shiro says, “It’s our last night on Earth, and we’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us. We may not be back home for years, so I’m ordering you to take some time for yourselves. Be with the ones you love. You’ve earned it.” Of course, what he says makes sense. What bothers me is that this show wrote him to say it, but we don’t get to see him doing it. The only person Shiro has that could count as a loved one is Keith with their previously depicted but now ignored friendship. And it’s not like Keith was busy with someone else this night because the show eventually reveals he’s just sitting alone on top of the Black Lion with Cosmo. Why in the world did Shiro and Keith not hang out together? It makes it feel like the EPs and writers of this show, because they revealed Shiro to be gay, became too afraid to have Shiro have any friendships, including ones that had already been established.

Lance goes to ask Allura out, and he’s uncharacteristically shy and dorky around her. If this had been how Lance behaved for most of the show, his interest in Allura throughout the show might not have been so obnoxious. But because he so specifically was overbearing in his flirtation and aggressive in his jealousy, the way he’s behaving now does not feel consistent with how he’s been written before. Lance is so casual that Allura says she has to get back to what she’s busy with, and Lance lets it be until Hunk literally kicks him into Allura. Lance then finally, with a tremendous amount of hesitancy, asks her out. He asks her to come have dinner with his family. Allura says she can’t, but Romelle pushes her to do it. The instant that Romelle starts to talk Allura into it, Lance seems to return to his regular overly aggressive self. What happened to him so fast?

Especially with this season added to the show, it really feels like the creative team never really could settle on how they wanted to depict Lance. They had the one-characteristic bullet-point that they’ve used to describe him in-show before and do so again here: “Loverboy.” They knew they wanted him to fit under that label, but they couldn’t elaborate on what that would mean for him specifically, so he’s written inconsistently throughout the show because of the creative team’s inability to unify behind any detailed description of who he is. It’s disappointing because Lance could have been such an amazing character. There were definitely times where he could have been used to examine some big issues, particularly if the show had ever had him grow out of his insecurities to a place of confidence. But aside from this episode and once with Keith in 3x06 “Tailing a Comet,” Lance hasn’t really made his insecurities public. And in having him get with Allura, the show kind of feels like it’s discarding his insecurities entirely. That sends a dangerous message: that it’s a woman’s responsibility to make a man feel secure in himself.

That’s one of the biggest issues with the show writing Lance and Allura ending up together. Throughout the show Lance has expressed interest in Allura, while she has repeatedly demonstrated no interest in him. There has been a little bit of movement on Allura’s part toward interest in Lance: 6x01 “Omega Shield” when Allura left her Lion to go to Lance’s and use her magic to heal him (though some viewers think so, I am not of the opinion that Lance died in that episode), and then in 7x10 “Heart of the Lion” when Allura initiates a brief conversation with Lance before going on a mission. There hasn’t been any movement on Lance’s part to consciously recognize his prior overbearing behavior to have been inappropriate and him changing the way he behaves toward Allura as a result. Because of this, the show effectively gave validity to the argument behind the Nice Guy trope. That all guys have to do to receive the attention of a girl they’re interested in is keep at her until eventually she realizes he is what she’s wanted all along. This show never criticizes Lance for this behavior, and instead rewards him for it. It’s a dangerous message for this show to send its younger male audience because it teaches them to not respect when a girl/woman tells them no. I’m not against the premise of an Allura-Lance relationship, but it really needed to address Lance’s overbearing flirtatiousness and jealousy (or better yet, not have written Lance to have been so jealous in the first place).

Pidge is working with Beezer in a hydroponics room. Allura and Romelle come in to ask for help preparing for Allura’s date with Lance. Romelle specifically asks about clothes. Pidge reacts, “A date? With Lance? Weird.” What’s weird is that line. Why would Pidge think it was weird? The show never actually explains Pidge’s reaction here. Allura asks Pidge to help her get a date outfit, and that’s when Pidge’s mother speaks to mock Pidge’s clothing. Pidge suggests the mall, but she says she can’t go because she’s grounded.

Colleen says, “She’s grounded because apparently my daughter thinks that running away from home and galivanting off into space without her mother’s permission is an acceptable activity for a 15-year-old.” The show thinks Colleen’s statement is funny. It’s not funny at all. One, who is Colleen to speak, considering that she should be in prison along with Sam for breaking the law in 7x07 “The Last Stand Part 1.” Two, how are we viewers supposed to think Colleen has any credibility when she says Pidge has been “galivanting off into space?” Does Colleen not remember Earth being invaded and occupied by aliens for three years? Does she not realize the danger her daughter has been in while trying to fight this war against the Galra? Does she not realize that without Pidge’s actions, Matt and Sam wouldn’t have ever come home? “Galivanting off into space,” why in the world did they think it was okay to write Colleen like this? I think this demonstrates a big part of what has been wrong with the writing for most of this show: This show has been more interested in writing particular moments without any concern with how those moments clash and conflict with previous writing. There is no way that a mother would react upon learning their child had been fighting a war by acting like that child was running around having fun the way Colleen does here.

Pidge rants and screams at her mom. There is a justification to Pidge’s reaction, but the scene plays her anger for humor. And then the scene, again, thinking it’s funny, has Colleen’s eyes and voice affected evilly as she says, “Not on your life, young lady.” Colleen scares Beezer in the process. It’s disturbing that the creative team for this show thought this was funny.

Allura asks Colleen to please let Pidge help her, and Colleen instantly switches, saying, “Alright, but only because I know how much Katie hates shopping for clothing.” Ugh.

The show could have had a really good moment, had they chosen to do so, in having Colleen and Pidge talk about Pidge’s experience and Colleen’s worry over her whole family being missing. There is emotionally significant content to what this family has gone through. But the show never had the skill to deal with any content like that. Instead, they have a weird, jarring “humor” scene like this instead. It just does not work.

Sam is told that Luca is conscious. And it’s a really short scene.

In addition to Pidge, Allura and Romelle have the female MFE pilots join them shopping too. I can’t help but feel that this episode is totally reinforcing stereotypical female behavior. The girls are going shopping for clothes for a date. This episode is a severe reinforcement of traditionalized gender norms, and it feels like the show wanted to write and depict the stereotype, like they thought actively including the stereotype was somehow interesting. It’s not. It’s actually kind of cliché.

Rizavi says that she “loves shopping.” This is the closest thing to being a characteristic that this show has given Rizavi so far. Leifsdottir replies, “It’s a primal urge from when collecting and gathering was a means of survival.” Well, that’s a hypothesis, but it is still gender reductive.

Pidge sees a video game some street vender has on display. Rizavi is also interested. The vender wants to barter, and Pidge and Rizavi are seemingly baffled by the idea. Did they not come prepared to shop? Is it specifically that this guy wants to barter? No one offers him money though, so it’s like they have no way to shop at all. Rizavi tries to guilt the guy into giving it to Pidge because of Pidge being a Paladin. I didn’t realize abusing a position of power like Rizavi is trying to do here, was a heroic way to behave. The vender only knows of the Paladins through the TV show. It was only a few months ago that Voltron helped liberate Earth, and the Paladins’ involvement was very publicly referenced, so his only thinking of the Paladins as a TV show is unrealistic. The vender offers her the game because his daughter loves the TV show and he’d like an autograph. Pidge then starts affecting her voice like the character in the TV show. It’s so weird. Rather than actually sign an autograph, Pidge draws her face. She then continues to use this method to acquire things throughout their shopping. She’s using people thinking of her as the actor on the show rather than as herself, so this is all fraud. Is the entire Holt family made up of criminals?

The show clearly thinks this is all funny. I’m not even slightly laughing. It’s just weird.

Meanwhile, Lance goes to talk to Coran. Lance tells Coran that he’s going on a date with Allura, and Coran is instantly aggressive, dismissing Lance for not being royalty nor Altean. Who knew Coran was both classist and racist. Lance says that he doesn’t think Allura thinks like that, and Coran responds, “It’s not just about Allura. Did you even acquire permission from her primary guardian?” Ugh! This episode really is putting a lot of effort into not just reinforcing traditionalized gender norms but into those norms being fundamentally patriarchal. The idea that a boy has to ask an older male who controls a young woman if he’s okay with the boy dating the girl is absolutely patriarchal. And this episode was written by Lauren Montgomery. The show can’t even hide behind saying it was some ignorant straight, white guy who wrote this. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that Lauren Montgomery has said that killing Allura was a feminist act of writing if this episode is what she wrote in her one, solo writing credit for the show.

The only thing that’s even slightly interesting to me about this scene is that Coran redressed his room to include a giant portrait of himself and Alfor above the mantle. During the time before season seven when I would let myself dream about the idea that this show might include a character who wasn’t straight, I actually thought they might could do so by having Coran having been attracted to Alfor but never acting on it. It would be a way for this show, like other shows have done, to claim inclusion without actually having to do any real inclusion by depicting any non-straight character interaction. It would have been cheap and the bare minimum of inclusion, but I’ve lived in a homophobic world so long that it’s about as much as I expect from straight writers who pretend they care about inclusion. But then Shiro was revealed as gay, as poorly as that whole element of the show was handled, and the show proved that there are other ways to claim inclusion without really actually depicting it.

But now this leaves me questioning. Is this portrait supposed to be some subtle way the show was trying to hint at Coran being gay? Or is it just supposed to be funny without an actual thought about what it actually means? It’s like the portrait is saying that Alfor and Coran were Allura’s fathers. As much as I would have loved for Allura to canonically have had two fathers, not just one biological father and one close friend of the family who serves as a surrogate father after the real one dies, this does emphasize how this show has totally neglected to include Allura’s mother in her life. We’re in the eighth season of this show, and it’s almost like she didn’t have a mother. I know there’s a bit of illusory dream sequence in a later episode, but Allura has never spoken about her mother, so it’s like they didn’t have much of a relationship. But if they didn’t have a relationship, I still would want that detailed. As for this portrait, it feels like the show is using queer identity here as a joke gimmick. If this portrait was revealed to have a bigger, more respectful meaning, I would like it more. I like the portrait but only because of what potential I can see in how it could have been used in the show. How it actually is used, though, seems to be nothing but as a joke.

Coran makes Lance argue his qualification to be allowed to date Allura. Reinforcing the patriarchy is so much fun. Sigh.

The girls meanwhile have gotten a lot of stuff in their shopping. The clothing options they try for Allura are supposed to be funny, but it just seems like a cliché trying-on-clothing scene to me. The shopkeeper seems to be the Unilu that Coran dealt with in both 2x07 “Space Mall” and 4x04 “The Voltron Show!” Pidge tries her autograph fraud, but the guy says no. Allura says she could give him a “royal decree of service from the crowned princess of Altea,” but then seems instantly dejected, like she doesn’t see herself as the Princess of Altea anymore. There is something meta interesting about how this show has let Allura’s status of being a princess no longer have any meaning.

The Unilu sees Pidge’s game and offers the outfit for the game. Pidge gives it up for the outfit, and Allura hugs her and thanks her. I love Allura’s reaction. I don’t understand why Pidge did it though. Yeah, yeah, friendship and all that, but the episode doesn’t do anything to show this plot as being Pidge and Allura bonding with each other. Maybe if it had just been the two of them shopping, it might read like that, but with the whole group it doesn’t. It’s clear that Pidge feels she’s giving up something, but the episode fails to explain why she’s willing to do it.

Sam asks Coran if Romelle could help speak to Luca. Coran says, “I’ll see if I can find her.” This is not Coran’s voice actor speaking. I don’t have the best ear to spot moments like this when a character’s voice does not match their normal voice actor, but I know that some within the fandom have suggested there are quite a few moments like this in season eight. This is definitely one such moment. This line is not Rhys Darby’s voice. (Anyone reading this, please feel free to point out other instances this season where the voice of a character doesn’t sound like their voice actor.)

Cut to a sunset scene. The music for this sunset scene is the same as the music from 7x01 “A Little Adventure” during the flashback with Keith and Shiro watching the sunset. This is another part of why it offends me that this show didn’t have Shiro and Keith hanging out together. Shiro had told everyone to spend time with people they cared about. Here Keith is by himself when he could have been hanging out with Shiro. They’re supposed to be super close, after all. And the show has the audacity to use the music of a scene that was part of the exploration of why and how Shiro and Keith were so close, and instead now have Keith alone and joined by Lance. Maybe the reuse of the music is just more evidence of how badly produced this season was that they didn’t bother getting new music, that they didn’t think through reusing old music, ignoring how repeating themes has an explicit effect on the interpretation of a scene? I mean, after watching this show enough, analyzing what I have, reading the analysis others have written, I can’t help but to question the competence of the executive producers and their creative team. Maybe they really were ignorant of the use of music in film and video series. Or maybe in reusing this music, they were making a statement about no longer caring about the relationship between Shiro and Keith. We know that the EPs always had a preference for Keith and only ever saw Shiro as a something to have Keith narratively step on in his ascendance to the position of main character of the show. Maybe to them, this music is only Keith’s music, and they don’t recognize the music as an expression of Shiro and Keith’s relationship. Maybe using the music again here, unassociated with Shiro, was a homophobic action on part of the EPs and their creative team in trying to distance Keith from Shiro now that they had written Shiro as gay. Or maybe they just didn’t put much thought into the implications of using this music in this scene. They haven’t demonstrated themselves to be all that willing (or capable) of thinking through the implications of their creative decisions, after all.

In short, I really, really do not like this scene.

Lance is wearing pots and pans all over his body. He says Coran is making him wear it for his date with Allura. It’s supposed to be funny, but it’s not. Keith reacts, “A date? With Allura? Well done, Lance.” I’m sorry, what? The show seems to consider a guy getting a girl to say yes to him is an achievement on the guy’s part. He’s done something well by finally getting her to say yes. “Well done.” Ugh. Allura is a person, not an achievement.

Keith tries to reassure Lance that if Allura’s dating him that it’s because she likes him. This development between Lance and Allura just does not feel natural to me. It could have, but the show was too lazy to do the work to deal with the baggage that comes with having spent so long writing Lance to be hyper flirtatious and instantaneously jealous.

Keith says, “That’s why we’ve got to end this war. And we’re going to do it with the Lance who’s the Paladin of the Red Lion, the Lance that’s always got my back, and the Lance who knows exactly who he is and what he’s got to offer.” There really hasn’t been anything to explain a change in Lance no longer having a problem with Keith. It’s like once 7x06 “The Journey Within” was done, the show decided to pretend that that plot solved whatever contention there was between Lance and Keith. Part of the problem is that the show never actually explained where that contention came from. They were supposedly rivals, but why? I think their being rivals was more bullet-point characterization. The creative team never bothered to develop an explanation for themselves, so there was never anything to include in the show to explain it. Their rivalry extended no further than just saying that they were rivals. Keith says that Lance now “knows exactly who he is and what he’s got to offer,” and this sounds like they intend this to reference Lance’s insecurities, but the show has not actually resolved those insecurities. It’s just more of this show having important character stuff all occur off-screen.

The scene clearly was meant to be interpreted as emotional and demonstrating friendship between Keith and Lance, but there are too many holes in the scene for it to actually feel like that to me.

Allura arrives at Lance’s family’s house. I actually really do like the clothes Lance is wearing for this date. Allura is reduced to her appearance by both Lance’s mother and Lance himself by how energetically they comment on her appearance as she walks through the door. Their reactions to Allura are just too forceful.

Lance has on-screen identified himself as being from Cuba. I found it odd that back in 7x05 “The Ruins,” Lance calls his grandmother “meemaw” instead of abuela or abuelita. Here, he calls his grandfather “Pop Pop,” which does not seem like what a Cuban boy would call his grandfather. Veronica also calls their grandfather “Pop Pop.” I don’t know Cuban culture well at all, but even still it seems off to me. It makes it feel like Lance has only ever been Cuban in name only.

During dinner, Lance’s family spends a lot of time mocking him. This could very much be an origin for most of Lance’s insecurities. He’s clearly upset as they laugh at him. We’re told by one of Lance’s relatives that the only reason Lance is being allowed to sit at “the adult table” during this meal is because Lance invited Allura. It really doesn’t feel like Lance’s family values him. This scene is supposed to be showing to us the big love Lance felt was missing all the times throughout earlier seasons he expressed sadness over being so far apart from his family. But this doesn’t feel like a loving family to me, and Lance is not reacting in any way right now like he’s okay with how they’re behaving. His arms are crossed, and he’s scowling. They’re clearly making him feel bad. And I get the impression that we’re to interpret this as how they normally treat him. So then, if his family picks on him so much, why would he miss them so badly earlier in the show. It does not feel consistently written whatsoever.

Veronica hints to Lance that she’s interested in Keith, and Lance very loudly and animatedly objects to the idea, and it’s really weird. Did the show not just immediately prior to dinner give us a scene in which we’re supposed to interpret the rift between Lance and Keith as resolved? Where is this spastic reversal coming from?

As an aside, Lance’s mother tells Allura, “Lance never brings girls home. You must really mean something to him.” Allura says, “That’s strange. He always gave off the impression of being rather popular with women.” His mother replies, “He gets that from his father. It’s all talk. But if you can get past that, you’ll find a good boy with a big heart.” Wow. So, Lance’s father is hyper flirtatious and aggressively jealous too? That is not a healthy mentality for this show to be normalizing like it is. And to have Lance’s mother excuse that behavior like it’s okay for a man to behave that way is appalling. The line, “if you can get past that, you’ll find a good boy with a big heart,” is the show saying that it’s a woman’s responsibility to make herself not have a problem with a guy who flirts with nearly every woman he sees and gets aggressively jealous over her. This is just so wrong. And that this was written by a female writer makes it even more disturbing.

Veronica leads a toast “to family,” and even Lance, despite having been picked on, is happy about the toast. Allura, however, is saddened by it, and Lance notices.

Meanwhile, Romelle talks to Luca. This is the one scene of Romelle’s in the entire series that I actually really like. This scene hints to me at what Romelle could have been to this show had she been written well. The scene first reestablishes that Romelle knows Luca personally as she starts the conversation. Romelle says, “I’m so glad to see you’re alright Luca. We can help. What happened to you, where’s the Colony?” Luca rejects Romelle, saying, “So you can betray them yet again? You abandoned us, Romelle. And for the Paladins of Voltron! The very ones who killed our savior, Lotor!” Romelle is shocked at Luca’s reaction. Luca continues, “You’ve sided with the Great Destroyers! She told us of their lies! She’s going to fix it all! She’ll reunite us with Lotor! With Altea! You don’t stand a chance against Honerva!”

And then Luca gasps, there’s a flash, an outlined shot of Honerva’s face, and Luca falls over dead. Seems like Honerva killed Luca from a distance with her space magic to keep her from talking anymore. There’s a shot of Honerva, like so much of this show, still weirdly standing in the middle of an empty room. So now, the episode has confirmed where Luca came from, that her attack on Earth at the end of last season had at least something to do with Honerva, thereby setting Honerva up as the final big villain of the show. I have never really found Honerva/Haggar interesting. But, I guess, at least the final main villain being Honerva does sort of stage the conflict as Honerva versus Allura, space witch versus space witch. Honerva as a foil for Allura is a good structure for the show. I don’t think the show does well exploring that foil parallel though because none of what Honerva does is related to any of Allura’s character motivations. The best villains in stories are ones who are directly connected to the protagonist’s goals. This show doesn’t give Allura any goals other than stop the Galra though. The protagonist-antagonist contention for this season, and really most of the show as a whole, is barely existent. The story would have been far stronger if the protagonists had had clear goals.

Lance and Allura go for a walk to a park. They look at leafless trees. Lance says, “This place used to be so beautiful,” and Allura responds, “It’s my fault the Galra did this to your home.” We’re not told where in the world they are nor what time of year it is. Given this bit of dialog, I think we’re supposed to interpret these trees as dead. But my first thought was that it was autumn, and the trees had lost their leaves. Lance tries to reassure Allura that it’s not her fault and that he’s glad to have met her. Allura touches the tree and does a hand-glowing thing. The tree glows, grows, and all the plants around the park gain leaves. So, again, we were supposed to interpret the trees of this park as having somehow died, right? And she just brought them back to life? Or did she just make them gain leaves in the middle or depth of autumn?

Allura says that while Team Voltron was out in the universe fighting the Galra, “I somehow felt like we were a family.” Of course, the show never really depicted them as being a loving family. Most of the characters always were angrily yelling at each other. “Each of us was alone, but we were alone together,” she says. Clearly, the writer thinks this is a poignant line, but, while it does have a certain truth to it, it’s not a flattering one. Being “alone, but […] alone together,” isn’t being a family. It isn’t being friends. It isn’t a close bond. It’s a statement that though they had to work together, they never actually were close to each other.

“But now, here on Earth, I see that everyone already has a family.” Well, Shiro doesn’t. Not that this show cared about addressing that because that would require the EPs and the writers to care about Shiro. It’s also really weird to have Allura talking like she doesn’t have a family, when the show very explicitly visually juxtaposed Allura being visited by Coran and Romelle in the hospital at the end of 7x13 “Lions’ Pride Part 2” with Hunk and his family, Pidge and her family, Lance and his family, and even Keith with Krolia and Kolivan. Why is this show suddenly having Allura discard Coran as part of her sense of family? This very episode had Coran acting as if he were Allura’s father. Having Allura act this way now is so out of place.

She continues that they have “a home to return to once the war is over. Everyone except me.” I can totally understand her being sad over Altea being gone. That is totally reasonable to bring up. It has an unfortunate dimension given what happens at the end of this season though. The season opens with Allura lamenting not having a family and a home to return to after the war is over, and then ends the show by having her give up her life, rebooting all existence, restoring Altea to existence, but she doesn’t get to benefit from her work. She doesn’t get to go home.

Allura’s story this entire season is hugely depressing, and I remember the first time I watched this season feeling that Allura herself was deeply depressed the whole time. That’s not a good message for the show to send either: If you’re depressed, then the only way out is dying.

“It’s silly,” she continues, “but I used to think that the team relied on me.” It once did, back in seasons one and two. But then the EPs wanted Keith as Black Paladin more than anything, and that put Allura in the Blue Lion, and ever since, her position of leadership has been eliminated. She just follows orders from Keith now. It makes me mourn for what Allura could have been if she been written with respect and a desire to show a strong female character in a position of leadership instead of reduced to a magical person of color who has to give up her life to magically fix everyone’s problems. In past commentaries, I have referred to Allura’s previous position of leadership on the Castle of Lions as being like she was an admiral overseeing the fleet. Imagine what it would be like if she was in command of the Atlas, not as Captain, but as an Admiral. Imagine how she could have been written such that Sanda was another foil to Allura, and with Sanda gone, Allura filling that void in fleet leadership.

Allura says that she gains strength from the Paladins. I mean, sure, that should be blatantly true by this point in a story with a found family theme, and it should be true for everyone about everyone in that found family. I don’t think that it is anywhere near fully realized though.

Lance tries to assure her, telling her that she’s not alone. “I don’t care that this is only our first date, Allura, I love you.” Really? This show went there, having Lance say “I love you” on the first date, and the creative team of this show didn’t think there was anything wrong with that? It’s at least notably immature of him to have done so. That the solution to a woman having complex emotions and thoughts about something is to just tell her “I love you” and everything is solved?

In response to Allura’s asking, “You truly feel that way,” Lance takes Allura’s hand and makes her touch his chest and says, “With all my heart.” It’s a little cliché, but it’s still way too soon. Against a glowing background, Lance and Allura, in silhouette, kiss. I wonder if this kiss was added late into the production because the animation is stiff and a little jerky and feels really different to most of the show’s animation.

So yeah, their first date and Lance has said “I love you” and they’ve kissed. On the first date. Now, I know this show doesn’t have the patience to build up a story over time, the show has taken so many narrative short-cuts, but this is just too damn fast. It just feels like there’s something missing to get to this point.

Beezer arrives for some reason. He takes a picture and gives it to them. Why is Beezer in the park? There definitely feels like there’s something missing.

Allura arrives at her room, and Coran and Romelle are waiting for her. Cut to the meeting room, where the three of them are talking to Shiro. Allura says, “If Honerva sent that beast, then our mission must change.” Shiro says, “No, we have a plan and we need to stick to it. If Honerva is behind this, then I’m sure we’ll find her along the way.” Allura follows up, “Or she’ll find us.” It is interesting that Allura’s instincts were very much right here. I wonder how much difficulty they could have spared the universe (and other realities) if they had altered their mission to actively looking for Honerva.

The time has come for the team to leave, Voltron and the Atlas. I like getting another shot of the scale of the Lions next to the Atlas for comparison. I do very much like the design of the Atlas ship. A huge crowd is there to see them off.

I’ve seen people point out this animation error before, and I want to point it out again because it’s odd. In the first shot behind the Paladins and crew on the stage, from center stage outward, the Paladins are standing Keith, Lance, Allura, Pidge, and Hunk. Then in the next shot, a reverse shot, from center stage outward, it’s Keith, Allura, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk. It’s odd that Lance and Allura are flipped from one shot to the next.

Sam starts a speech, and then Keith takes over. Allura then takes over from Keith. There’s a montage of Hunk hugging his family and Lance hugging his. One of Lance’s family hugs Allura such that he lifts her off the ground.

Then Shiro takes over from Allura. “Each of you have given something to this fight. Many have been lost, but not in vain because through their sacrifice, many more will live on.” The memorial wall of the dead of the Garrison is shown, and then a close up of Sanda’s placard. Why in the freaking world would they chose to juxtapose Shiro’s statement with Sanda’s picture instead of Adam’s? That’s really offensive and shows how little this creative team actually cared about Shiro and Adam and the inclusion of a queer relationship on the show.

The Atlas launches. I have to agree with others who’ve pointed it out, the way Shiro is standing in the shot of the camera looking over Team Voltron from behind on the bridge of the Atlas does not look like Shiro’s posture, it looks very much like how we’ve seen Allura stand many times before.

The music during the launch is nice.

So, that’s the first episode of the final season. It’s very much a different kind of story than most episodes of the show. There is a lot of focus on relationships of various kinds. The Allura-Lance romance is most prominent, and it’s really uncomfortable. It just amazes me that a story that so strongly reinforces traditional gender norms, patriarchal family structures, and rewards a male character with success through the nice guy trope was written by a female writer.

#voltron legendary defender #voltron #vld #voltron criticism #vld criticism #voltron critical #vld critical #vld season 8 #vld 8x01 #commentary

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acoolemocucumber · 6 years ago

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the fact that allura died really makes me upset, but think about lance. at the end of the show, he's left heartbroken and grief-struck by her sacrifice. he's alone and has tears in his eyes when the lions come to them in one of the last scenes. even when he's smiling in that scene, it doesn't mean he's recovered. his arc was about self-love and romantic love, but instead they decided to make him suffer while allura and lotor got together, only have her as his lover for one season, and then kill her off for the "greater good." he got his heart broken twice, in two different ways. they put lance through the worst experience of all, and decided to make him lonely - a message that is less "don't give up" and more: "you're never going to find love again."

and allura giving him altean marks was apparently a thing... now? just another constant reminder to him every time he looks in the mirror that allura is dead and he's never getting her back again.

i just feel sick at how horrible they made lance feel, and how clearly they made it that he loved allura, only to take her away from him. lance deserved full, requited love - not to be a rebound for allura after lotor. did allura even say "i love you" to lance once? even if she did, it certainly wasn't to the extent lance did. he gave everything to her, but he was still hurt so much. i have nothing against allurance, but it was handled so poorly this season i couldn't help but feel wrong while watching it unfold.

they disregarded the clearly romantic scenes between lance and keith. the first episode was a good episode, probably my most preferred one out of the season, and it started strong. after the sunset scene with them, that's when they should've begun to address lance's bisexual arc. they mislead fans to believe klance was endgame. they threw all of the romance between them and proceeded with the messiest plot of the show.

the plot hardly made any sense. they simply used fancy words to confuse the viewers and make it seem like they knew what they were doing. scenes came out of no where, there was little to no buildup with honerva and the paladins, creating an anticlimactic battle at the end which made allura's sacrifice seem even more unnecessary.

dialogue was unusual and boring. i was yawning during the episode with kinkade, the carnival episode, and any other episode with an excess of action - which was most of them.

haggar and zarkon's backstory was so out of place and confusing i could hardly keep track of anything. the entire arc of haggar's mind and the paladins inside of it made no sense at all. we didn't need to have so much screen time with those characters.

shiro's love interest at the end was like a band-aid on a gaping, bloody wound. nice try, voltron.

also, the end credits were just... bad. it wasn't necessary to add captions, and splitting up the paladins just feels out of place. if voltron started with all of them in one frame, it should've ended with them in a group photo or something.

in conclusion, the ending just made me feel lonely and disappointed. it was like a rift had come between the paladins and they weren't hanging out anymore.

i'm just.... sad and needed to get this all out.

#mine #voltron #klance #allurance #i cried in the bath typing this kill me

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skaylanphear · 6 years ago

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I didn't realize you were so critical of Voltron's writing. Is there anything you think the writers did really well?

Not… really?

The one episode that sticks out to me as having been well-written was an episode in season 3–the one where Keith is leading them into that planet and all their tech gets screwed to hell. It works on a lot of levels because it introduces Lotor as a scary villain, establishes Allura as inexperienced while giving her the chance to learn, and shows Keith learning a lesson while Lance gets to stretch his legs as an actual competent member of the team. What I loved about it though was the lesson Keith learned onscreen and how he learned it–we got to see actual development as well as him opening up to another member of the team other than Shiro. It’s one of the best episodes in the series and really goes to show what Voltron could have been if the writers actually knew what they were doing. I assume, at this point, that the episode was merely a happy accident.

Now that isn’t to say Voltron doesn’t have memorable moments for other reasons–the scene where Keith and Shiro fight was wonderfully animated and probably the most beautiful looking scene in the whole series, but that doesn’t mean how we got there was as good by comparison.

One of Voltron’s biggest problems (among other glaring issues) is that it relies heavily on concepts, but pretty much fails to expand those concepts into actual narrative development. We’re told via Hunk’s one episode in the Galra empire that he’s become quite the diplomat, but we never see that in action or see him struggling with that arc at any other point in the series. We’re told Lance has become a great member of the team by seeing his sword form during training, but we rarely get to see those skills in action. And yeah, Lance takes up giving commands when Keith and Shiro are busy, but it’s never highlighted. He’s never given his moment to truly prove himself to the audience. Which makes it all little different than telling the audience that development is happening offscreen, which you should NEVER do. Which brings me to Keith. Not only was Keith’s path through “development” poorly concocted, but we didn’t even get to see it. Why was he such a great leader after having spent time with his mother? What did that do for him? Fans can speculate all they want, but at the end of the day, Keith is one character when he left and another when he comes back, and WE DIDN’T SEE IT HAPPEN!

This leaves me with one of two conclusions: Either the writers were too lazy to put any effort into telling a proper character arc OR they simply don’t know how. And seeing how poorly every other character in the series is handled, I’d bet on the latter. The Voltron writers don’t know how to do their jobs on the most basic level. Even Shiro, the second-shining child of the series after Keith, doesn’t get any development. He’s got PTSD, sure, but he’s literally the exact same character he was in the beginning as he is now, much like the rest the cast. What would have made Shiro’s character really great would maybe be some regret on his end, or some self-doubt following his PTSD issues, or maybe a loss of confidence he had to overcome or literally ANYTHING! Instead he’s relegated to a plot device.

Which brings me to another glaring issues with Voltron alongside the character development–they’re taking what should be a character-driven narrative and pretending it’s a plot-driven narrative.

You want to know why Voltron was so promising from the start? Because it had a perfect premise for character building. It was like Avatar the Last Airbender but in space. You had a big baddy in the distance that the characters had to work their own skills up to in order to face. It gave the characters time to explore both themselves and the world around them, while still retaining a goal that implemented a sense of urgency. Which is why the originally episodic storytelling of Voltron in the first season worked so well and why the series seemed so promising. Each episode had a different character or couple of characters that had a problem they needed to overcome before the resolution of the episode, or a couple of episode as they sometimes did them in twos. This is a good format for storytelling with a big cast because it gives each character the turn they deserve, while still giving time for things like comedic relief and problem solving/conversations between characters, which is the FOOD of character development. Being able to have two character sit down and simply chat is the main course of character development and interpersonal relationships, hence Shiro and Pidge’s relationship was so precious in the first season, and why people latched onto Keith and Lance so hard, because they were constantly snarking at one another.

The problem comes with season 3, where the writers tried to change Voltron from an episodic format into a serial format while trying to retain the same tone. Serial storytelling has an overarching pot that the characters work toward the whole season–like all of a season is a single episode. Yes, Voltron already had an overarching plot, but it was secondary to the character story-telling. That was, until season three, when the writers decided that they wanted the story to be “epic all the time” instead of sticking to what was originally good.

Avatar the Last Airbender isn’t good because it’s epic all the time. It’s good because it’s well-balanced. Because the characters got the time to build themselves up so that when those epic moments finally happened, the audience actually cared. Voltron decided that they wanted to be edgy and took all of that away from us to make the show serial and focus more entirely on the end plot instead of each individual character’s struggles. They tried to retain a bit of this, but in contrast with the more serial episodes, it feels like whiplash. This is why season 3′s tone is so vastly different from season 1 and 2, and why so many people were so shocked. And why it feels so fast.

But the problem is that the writers clearly want to write an episodic show, they just don’t realize they do, which is why we’re getting TOLD character development instead of shown in favor of over the top battles and other “intense” mumbo jumbo that falls flat when anyone takes a moment to sit and think about what they’re watching.

This is why I got so infuriated when all those new characters were introduced in season 7–we don’t even know the characters we got originally and now I’m expected to care about these new ones? No, absolutely not. And this is also why I get angry every time we get a “filler” episode. Avatar had filler episodes, but Avatar was also episodic and used that filler to develop the characters, with the exception of Tales of Ba Sing Se, which was amazingly done for other reasons entirely.

Voltron made itself serial, which means we don’t have time for filler. It’s jarring and takes the viewer out of the experience. I don’t care about a stupid gameshow episode because the writers have made it overly clear that the situation is dire and serious and now I feel like I’ve been slapped. Especially when that filler does nothing for the characters. It’s a waste when they could have been using the time for something more worthwhile. Instead, they just wanted a Q episode, or a D&D episode, as if their storytelling had been good enough prior to earn them that wasted time.

Which brings me to yet another glaring issue that Voltron has–pacing. Not only did the change in storytelling alter the pacing in a way that was jarring for everyone, but they can’t keep up with the pace they decided to set, nor do they know how to keep tension going in the story so as to take advantage of that faster pace they forced on themsleves. Pidge, Lotor, and Zarkon are prime examples of characters whose arcs were slaughtered by this incompetence. Why was Pidge’s search for her brother concluded at the beginning of a season in a standalone episode that is so far outside the serialized plot? Well I can tell you why–because they didn’t know how to integrate it properly with the rest of the story. Which is why it feels like filler. Like fan service. Why it’s so out of the blue. Why is Zarkon’s death so lackluster? Because we’d been told that Zarkon was the big baddy the whole time and then they ended his reign in the middle of a season. Not only do we see Zarkon suddenly in the daylight outside his scary space darkness, but his entrance is lame and lacking impact. And then Lotor, a newer character by contrast, is the one to take him out. Suddenly, the show is without the big baddy that had been pushing it from the beginning, which is glaringly obvious in how disorganized the plot becomes after his death and Lotor’s subsequent defeat. Sorry, but by default of the role she had previously, Haggar is not as scary as Zarkon was, nor is Sendak. It’s like we’re supposed to now watch Voltron clean up the leftovers instead of fight a war, which is fucking stupid. And don’t even get me started on Lotor’s arc. They wanted to make him seem like Zuko and then pull an Azula? Well, sorry hons, but your storytelling capabilities aren’t strong enough to accomplish either.

Lotor was not made sympathetic or psychotic enough to pull off either act, which just makes him fall rather flat. The most interesting thing about him was his relationship with Allura, which was only interesting because we hadn’t gotten any romance yet in the show so everyone was super paying attention to how it’d unfold.

This pacing issue is continuous from season 3 onward. The story regularly takes detours it shouldn’t and focuses on things we don’t care about and interjects important plot-points at the wrong time while completely leaving out others. Like Haggar coming back in season 7. If we’d actually seen a bit of what she was up to, the addition of the last robot to the final fight might have been a little less stupid, but we didn’t see that, so it’s still just regular stupid.

So the characters in Voltron suck, the plot sucks, and the pacing sucks. The only thing that’s saving Voltron is the fact that it looks nice and that the fandom is happy to take concepts and run with them in fan works. There’s a reason the fandom is so happy to explain away everything in the series, because expanding the series for themselves is the only option they have. Voltron itself doesn’t do it on but rare occasions, and if the fan creators didn’t give the characters depth, no one would. Every piece of “character” we get in Voltron is a concept, not actual storytelling. They set up what could be something amazing and then dash it at the last moment by completely ruining everything. People say Voltron never ceases to surprise them, but this isn’t because they’re great storytellers, it’s because of the exact opposite. Voltron rarely follows through with minor plot points set up previously, instead settling to just tell you about them later in favor of laser battles. Lance is insecure? Just give him a sword, he’s fine. Hunk has no development? Give him a short, five minute moment about his family–a family he talked about one other time and a plot point that should have rightfully gone to Lance. Pidge’s “arc” is over? Just have her say a whole bunch of nonsense in the next scene. Need someone to do something cool? Better get Keith since that’s all he’s good for anymore due to his character being so inconsistent. Need some of that quality angst? Throw in Shiro too, because god forbid Keith relate to any of the other characters on a personal level and actually break out of the isolated existence that caused all his character problems in the first place. Oh, and don’t forget Allura, whose overpowered abilities have become such an expected norm and so unexplainable at this point that she’s nothing more than a bore-fest to watch.

Voltron had everything going for it–it could have been great, on par with Avatar the Last Airbender by sheer default of how the original premise was set up and how interesting the characters were to start with. And then the writers screwed it up because they didn’t know how to properly tell the story they’d set up in the first place.

This is why people who don’t watch Voltron or who don’t see anything special about it don’t understand why it’s such a big deal (and why comparing it to Avatar the Last Airbender is such an insult). Why it’s plain toast in comparison to other, better shows. Because anyone who actually takes a step back and looks at the show with more thought than “oh I like this character because of what they could have been,” they’d realize just how badly concocted Voltron is.

I know. I was once one of these people that had faith in the concepts that I eventually realized would never come to fruition. I was happy to ignore the faults in the show because I kept hoping it would get better. But then it never did and all that was left were the faults.

Voltron is not a good show. Like, it’s just literally not well done. The visuals are nice, which is part of the reason it’s gotten so popular. But even if the art is nice, at the end of the day, the writing has been and always will be the heart and soul of any narrative, and if that’s a pile of trash, the entire show will end up that way.

#skaylanphear replies #anonymous #voltron #vld #voltron legendary defender

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aro-aizawa · 5 years ago

Text

exactly one (1) person expressed interest in my au so i guess that’s good enough for me lmao. here’s my take on love bug klance au (set mid season 2 i guess):

The team are out to ask a planet to join the coalition when Keith gets bitten by a large bug on his neck. Lance panics and immediately squashes it, Keith momentarily faints and almost falls but Lance catches him. Lance alerts the group to what’s happening as Keith starts to wake up, Lance is concerned and asks Keith if he’s alright.

Keith thinks ‘god i really want to kiss him right now’, and immediately he does. The team arrive to see them kissing, and all sort of jump with the surprise of it. When Keith pulls back Lance just stares wide eyed at Keith “Uhhh….” to which Keith responds “what?”

Lance spots the bite on Keith’s neck and is reminded of the situation. He explains best he can while minorly freaking out that Keith got bit by a bug and is now acting weird. Pidge recalls reading about a sort of ‘love bug’ while doing some research on the planet and suggests maybe that’s what it was that bit Keith. Lance kind of freaks because he wanted Keith to kiss him but not because of some stupid love bug!!

Shiro calms the situation and suggests that Pidge take Lance and Keith back to the Castle so Coran can take a look at them while Shiro and Hunk continue on to search for the locals. He tells them to keep them informed on anything that they find out. They all agree.

Keith is still minorly disorientated but allows himself to be dragged along. He has trouble balancing along with being exhausted so mostly leans into Lance. Pidge starts to tease the two, but mostly just Lance with how flustered he’s being over the whole situation.

[diagnosis drabble:

“So, the lack of balance, exhaustion and minor confusion is because Keith is basically drunk?” Pidge clarified as Keith groggily dozed on Lance’s shoulder who had been tense ever since Keith sat down as close to him as possible.

“Yes! The ‘love bug’ as you call it, effects different species in different ways as they react to the substance that was injected. I’m not entirely sure whether it was the human part or the Galra part that cause those symptoms but it’s highly likely that was the root of it all.” Coran explained, taking a small blood sample from Keith who only whined gently but make no move to stop him.

“How long will Keith...be like this?” Lance dared to ask, which only made Keith snuggle closer to him as he was reminded of Lance’s existence.

“Well the intoxication aspect should only last until he sleeps it off, but the rest...It’s hard to say. My best guess would be anywhere between a few days and a week. It’s not exactly a dire situation, so I’d just try your best to act as normal! After all, Keith’s still the same, just acting on things he wouldn’t normally!”

“That’s the worst part though!” Lance hissed, trying to keep his words from being registered by the person he was talking about. “He’s going to be so mad that this happened, I mean, it’s not like he wanted to do any of this stuff!”

“Maybe he did. You don’t know what he wanted.” Pidge challenged him, with a raised eyebrow.

“Pidge, c’mon it’s me. We fight like cats and dogs, and everything is always a competition between us. He probably hates me and the only reason we’re not at all out war is because we’re fighting in a war already!”

“I’m tired.” Keith murmured, gently squeezing Lance’s arm and rubbing his thumb over the back of Lance’s hand. “Come sleep with me?”

Lance squawked, while Pidge choked with laughter.

“Um! No thank you! But I will take you to your room so you can sleep!” Lance managed to squeak.

“Oh, okay.” Keith glumly replied and let himself be lead out of the medbay, still leaning heavily into Lance, and sighing thankfully when Lance wrapped an arm around his waist to help keep him upright.

“See you later lovebirds!” Pidge called, heading back towards her lion to join the rest of Team Voltron for the coalition talk. ]

The next morning starts from Keith’s POV as he loosely remembers the previous day. He joins the team at breakfast acting completely normal, right up until he sees Lance and kisses his cheek, smiling and saying good morning before going about his routine. This leaves Lance disorientated and the rest of the team somewhere between amused and bewildered about how nonchalant Keith was being. Lance asks if Keith’s feeling alright because he doesn’t normally do that, and Keith just explains “I wanted to do it, so I just...did it?”

The day progresses like that. The team are somewhat confused about how differently Keith is acting to how they think he should be, as although he sticks close to Lance most of the day, he doesn’t always. He tends to go off on his own and do things that he wouldn’t normally. Things like messing with stuff he shouldn’t, asking random questions that border on invasive, taking a joyride with Red for no reason even though it risks being tracked by Galra.

Whenever he sees Lance he always hugs him, or cuddles close along with kissing Lance’s cheek. Lance is halfway between angsting that it’s a result of a love bug and enjoying it while it lasts. But then Keith also occasionally hugs the rest of the team every now and then.

It isn’t until the third day does Lance come across Pidge looking at the insect population data of the planet. He spots a picture of the supposed love bug and tells her that picture looks a little different to the bug he saw bite Keith. Pidge is confused, and asks Lance to explain the differences. Lance does, saying that the color was a little bit less vibrant and had three horns curved in a different direction rather than two.

Pidge’s eyes widens as she pulls up a different image and asks if this was the bug that he saw bite Keith, and Lance immediately recognises it. He says that was the bug that bit Keith, but then gets confused with how Keith’s been acting.

Pidge explains that the bug in question isn’t the love bug at all, it’s a different species that closely resembles it but is instead a bug that removes people’s impulse control. She explains that people think about doing things all the time but get held back by different reasons: that they’re not allowed too, that they shouldn’t do it and that they’re scared to do it, etc. The bug removes that impulse control so that the bitten will act on them almost immediately after thinking about it.

Lance’s heart leaps to his throat because then that would mean Keith had been wanting to kiss him and cuddle him before the bite but never did. He shakily tells that to Pidge who breaks into a grin. “See I told you!”

But then Pidge stops. And reminds Lance that Keith already had a very bad impulse control, so he’s going to be even worse on missions now. Lance thinks about all the times that Keith almost died pulling off insane things and almost has a heart attack. “We need to tell everyone. Now.”

They frantically race to the control room and calls everyone but Keith up there. They hastily inform the group about their findings and Coran goes on to add that he’d thought Keith’s behaviour wasn’t properly lining up to the properties of the love bug considering he wasn’t constantly hanging off Lance. He says that the impulse control bug only lasts about four days. Shiro just about has a heart attack as he realises why the two were frantic about reporting their findings.

Hunk suggests that someone should be with Keith at all times to properly keep an eye on him. Allura’s attention is caught by seeing Keith taking another joyride in Red, alerting the group. Lance immediately volunteers to bring him back.

Lance gets Keith to come back, explaining the lack of impulse control to Keith but skirting around the idea of romance. The next day (the final day of the bug) Voltron is needed and they head into battle. Keith, Lance and Hunk infiltrate a Galra ship to evacuate prisoners, when Lance gets cut off from them due to a corridor collapse. Lance tries to get them to get out, but Keith leaps through it regardless of the broken glass and jagged metal that cuts into him.

Lance tells Keith off for it but Keith explains he wasn’t going to leave Lance alone. So the two try to find another way out, they find their way to the bay where they’d parked their lions but Keith manages to take a shot meant for Lance without Lance seeing. The two get in their lions and leave, the team forming Voltron and taking out the ship.

The team get out of their hangars and Lance goes to meet Keith but is shocked and scared when Keith collapses due to the large wound on his side that’s bleeding heavily. Lance hauls Keith up and runs to the medbay informing the team on what was happening.

Lance asks Keith in tears why he did that, and Keith replies that he loves him and wouldn’t hesitate. He weakly smiles and says that he would have done it even without the stupid impulse control bug. And Lance have sobs because he knew he would. Lance tells him that he loves him too, and explains his feelings when they thought it was just a love bug, and how he felt when they realised the truth. Just before he gets to the medbay he says “I love you too, Keith, damn it but I’m going to be so mad if you die before I get to properly ask you out on a date.”

Keith laughs and coughs, as they find the rest of the team. They don’t hesitate to help a now fading Keith out of his armor and into a pod suit. Keith and Lance hold hands right up until they finish putting him in the pod.

Keith POV to stepping out the pod two days later, he’s suddenly incredibly awkward around everyone as he remembers what he was like while bitten and can’t look at Lance without going completely red. Eventually the rest of the gang all realise that Keith and Lance need to talk and peter away.

Lance asks if he remembers everything and Keith nods. Lance asks if he meant everything and again Keith shyly nods. Lance gently asks as he takes a hold of one of Keith’s hands — making Keith gasp softly as Lance rubs a thumb over the back of his hand — “Were you ever going to tell me?”

Keith slowly leans over into Lance’s side, and takes a breath. “I’m not sure.”

Lance looks over at him.

“I mean...I have had crushes in the past, but I’ve never really...acted on them. They either go away, or the person goes away. I just...didn’t really know what to do.”

Lance considers this for a moment. “Alright then, well now that you have told me, and I’ve told you...Keith Kogane, would you like to go on a date with me?”

Keith looks over and shyly smiles. “Yeah. I’d love to.”

The two slowly lean in to have a proper kiss since their first one right after the bug bite. It’s slow and sweet and gentle.

When they pull back Lance whispers with a smile, “It’s a date then.”

#voltron #klance #long post #uhhh idk how else to tag this #idk my general writing tag #love bug au #btw anyone who actually write klance fics you are 100% welcome to take this and write it out yourselves #just give credit and ABSOLUTELY link me to it bc holy shit i need this in my life #i am but an awkward aromantic who cannot write ship fic but loves to read it

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shushy101 · 5 years ago

Note

If you're accepting prompts, genderbent Plance w/body paint. Do with that what you will

;))))

yes [ quick note , tried to make lances name fit with spanish names because well , hes spanish , but i failed miserably because all the websites i went to were so incredibly hard to use . same for pidge nsjfjehfhr . and for the sake of lance ill genderbend allura too , so it doesnt complicate shit more ]

strongish language because they would . or maybe not . stuff gets kinda frisky friskers tho . just like two lines . nothing too hardcore .

dia de muertos - the day of the dead ! aka , our beloved lancita's favourite time of the year . she has multiple , but we shall forget about that for the sake of this story !

" so , basically , we paint calveras - i mean skulls on our faces . " lancita said firmly . she pulled out a palette of presumably , body paint , out of literally nowhere . she pushed a container that was already on her sink towards pidge that had brushes of all kinds . . " so you mean ... you don't know how to translate shit to english ? " pidge snickered , slapping on as much white pigment as he could , because that was what lance was doing . " no , i just didn't remember the english word because i'm a spanish idiot kid , give me a pass , katien . " she had a proud look on her face , smugly smiling as she picked up more pigment from the palette . " fuck you for use my legit name , garden hoe butt . before you comment on my censoring , i don't want shiro walking in and scolding my dumb butt . " lancita just snorted and continued to look into her bathroom mirror and paint on colours with a thick , fluffy brush .

" so you paint the white first because the majority is white , " the tan female explained . " i knew that , doesn't take much effort to think , not like you'd know , " pidge half-jokingly said , which his compainion picked up at lightning speed . she punched pidge lightly , smiling widely . " i hate you for a good reason , " she laughed , fixing up pidge's face because it was splotchy everywhere . " this seems more like a act of love than hate , " pidge smiled , blushing just a teensy bit .

lancita , however , was very clearly flushed . through the layer of white , pidge could see a thin veil of pink . he noted how cute her ears and neck blushed bright against her tan , sun-kissed skin that was somehow still as tan as ever even in space . he despairingly noticed that she didn't brush his cheeks with her thumbs out of affection when he said that sweet thought , because of the white that could smear onto lancita's skin . that did not spark joy . but it was nice while lancita's hand cupped his ear and pushed her hand into his dense , slightly curled hair .

" there , fixed you up . try not to be so heavy handed , this isn't a game for pushing buttons on killbot phantom , " lancita joked , trying to not acknowledge her blush that heated her up . " such sugarcoated words , " pidge said dryly , who then gave up on white and switched to black . lancita smiled , and any sliver of annoyance and anger was lifted off pidge immediately . whoever could be angry at those beautiful , crystal blue eyes ? it was like ocean blue , but not as blue , but not as light as light blue . it was somewhere in between .

" earth to kat-face ? " lancita laughed , pidge quickly snapping back to painting his face , nervously rubbing his legs together , a big fat rosy blush overtaking his senses . lancita just smiled , with her nice perfectly white teeth showing and absolutely stunning eyes glowing . which was horrible in pidge's perspective because he was desperately hoping his peripheral vision was on his side , but not today sisters ! he cussed under his breath gently , wishing that one day he would wake up next to her and lancita would not open her eyes to greet him for the sake of his confused self . they were friends , explicitly friends , just friends , no benefits .

lancita pressed on the black pigment on her eyelids , humming under her breath a random tune that she thought pidge would like to hear . it just made the sides of her already slightly tilted up lips tilt even higher . she was just happy that she knew pidge liekd hearing her voice , just as much as she liked hearing him . he was so good at coaxing her back to sleep with his pretty lilting voice when she had nightmares , pressing his face into the crook of her neck to try and make her relax . and he made her feel so incredibly soft and secure when he hugged her . sure , pidge was not much taller than her , but it was nice .

she dully noticed pidge's nervousness , since she was so intent on finishing up her look to checl on the sugar skulls chilling in the freezer . he was shifting in his seat , legs pressed together . a little flaring thought said to her that she was the one who caused this , perhaps he liked her , but lancita quickly pushed it away as hormones overreacting .

" hey , lancey-lance , is this okay ? " pidge looked at her , trying to comprehend if it was the right way to draw the borders or not . besides , he wanted her to paint on his face again . lancita sighed happily , feeling good that pidge asked her for help . she turned to see a pretty good job , and told him she would fix up his little mistakes . and just to try and insinuate something , she added , " perhaps you do make a rather charming companion after all . " yes , she wanted to sweet-talk her way into his heart because goddamnit , she was straight up thirsty .

this , firstly , earned her a gentle pushing back of her long , brown hair and a soft tinkling laugh . he also had put down his paintbrush and took her decorative comb that pinned back her hair and repinned it into a bun , gently running his fingers and untangling some hair . " your hair always smells so very nice , " which pidge did not mean to say that out that loud . lancita just took his other hand that was placed back on the table and squished it a bit harder than she should've . pidge just wrapped his arm around her , the other one going around the front of her curvy waist . he leaned on her head and hated that he was feeling real fucking hot and burning everywhere . he was pretty sure lancita was too , judging by her blushing down her neck and ears so much she tensed up under him .

lancita fought the urge to just pull him closer , just to feel him and know he's alive , that he'll talk to her and tidy up her hair and play videogames and everything else in between . perhaps she was irrationally swayed and attached and most definitely too sentimental about him . besides , she could just ask in a long-winded way on how to deal with it to him and let him assume it was alluran . she faked the whole " i like alluran " thing as a decoy after she realized pidge was honestly way cuter and so , so much hotter than he was . it went from zero to one hundred real quick .

she tried her best to not rush it , but ended up doing so anyway and slapped on some red , matte lipstick so people would not turn their attention the trash edges at the bottom . lancita turned her attention and body to face him so she could fix up any of his mistakes , a tad bit roughly cupping his face that was so close she could nearly just kiss him . she did her thing , trying not to get distracted by his wonderful hair that cupped his face so perfectly . his brown eyes that were tinted with amber and honey , and how nice the light reflected off it .

pidge tried to discreetly pull her closer so he could kiss her because he would like to be covered in red all of a sudden . lancita did not seem to notice and started to put her brushes away , and started keeping everything at a rapid fire pace . so pidge took this chance to fluff up his hair in a somewhat neat way and lean closer to her cheek . " hey question , do i ever get lipstick ? because i do like the colour of your lips . "

he tried desperately to be smooth to get that red colour on his lips from hers , and lancita being the absolute nerd for romance immediately took it as a note that he wanted to get in her pants , or more correctly , pajamas and eat her whole .

so she , out of impulse , decided to get frisky and pushed her hand up his shirt . she took that it was a good move since he had , in retailation , pressed his lips messily against hers and the hand around her waist went downwards .

shiro was questioning why it took pidge and lance that long to finish up their body paint . he quizzically touched the chilling sugar skull in the freezer , astonished that it did not fall apart at his touch , tapped the sugar skull again and it promptly fell apart . " uh . well . oh dear . " shiro stared , blinked twice , and called for hunk , who called for keith , who called for alluran , and they decided to go to lancita for advice on what to do now .

thhey were greeted by smeared body paint and lots of red , which shiro then took to the birds and the bees .

Edit : to clarify about the whole complication of allura and lance thing i personally thin kthat lance isnt bi , so genderbent lance isnt bi

Another thing is my crappy writing style please kill it

#pidge #pidge x lance #voltron pidge #pidge holt #pidge gunderson #vld pidge #plance #vld lance #lance mcclain #voltron lance

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i-write-shakespeare-not-disney · 5 years ago

Text

Director’s Commentary- Lovesick Addiction, Keith joins Lance in church as he mourns

My commentary is in bold italics- I hope it’s okay I focused on the shoebox because the whole church scene was like... 6 pages and half of it was crying....

Keith chewed on his lower lip for a second before nodding. “I want to be here with you.” I’m gonna be honest. I know I’ve gotten feedback on the realism of Lance’s mourning, but I have no idea how realistic I made Keith as a partner who is also becoming part of it. I don’t actually know how hard it may have been for Keith to sit there and open the shoe box with Lance, but I like to think that although it is a bit uncomfortable, the jealousy is gone and it’s something Keith does want to actively be part of with Lance out of love for him. Which is why I made him stay even in the midst of Lance’s mourning period and after so long without hearing from Lance.

Lance turned toward him and put the box between them. He took a breath and stared at it for a minute. Keith kept his eyes on him while he prepared himself. Then Lance reached out and pulled the lid of the shoebox away.

There were several papers, photos, and even pieces of jewelry. Lance let out a shaky breath and he let his fingers skim over the photos. They had a grainy sort of appearance, like they were photos taken with phones then printed at a Walgreens. A couple were those new, small polaroids.

Lance looked at them and took a deep breath that left him in a shaky exhale. It kind of killed me not getting a chance to write this section in Lance’s POV because this is huge for him. He’s allowing and inviting both worlds to merge here in a place of faith which he had been lacking. He’s inviting this acknowledgement of both Allura and Keith as romantic partners and it’s HUGE, especially after so long keeping them separate and grieving her separately. “This was the first Christmas we spent as a couple. She gave me the cologne you saw in my bathroom that day.”

He looked at the photo in Lance’s hands. The two of them bundled up with scarves and beanies and thick jackets so all you could really see was her hair spilling around her shoulders and their faces as they laughed in the middle of a kiss.

It felt jarring to see Lance kissing someone else. The bitterness Keith used to have to stuff down wasn’t there, just… discomfort. I also really wanted this scene to show the growth and security Keith feels in the relationship. He would NOT have been ready for this if they’d opened the box all those chapter ago when Lance first mentioned the box. Lance put the photo back inside and looked at the others. There was a silly selfie of the two of them where Allura’s hair covered both their faces because the wind was blowing it. Keith could still see their laughing smiles between the strands, the scrunch of their eyes as they winced. There was one someone had taken of them while they sat, each with a book in their hands. Lance seemed to be looking up as if whoever was snapping the photo had called his name suddenly. Allura was leaning against him, focused on her book. They were both dressed up.

“Where’d you guys go?” I know it seems like Keith asking stuff is just a given, but.... Honestly he could’ve stayed quiet the whole time and just let Lance talk when he needed/wanted. But I had this question from Keith’s end because I wanted to show that Keith is welcoming this information, this conversation. It’s not one sided. It’s a conversation and Keith wants to be part of it. He wants Lance to trust him with this, wants him to feel safe and comfortable talking about it. So he asks and he’s curious and it’s him opening that space for Lance. Reassuring him that he means it when he says he wants to be there.

Lance smiled sadly. “That was after Ash Wednesday. See the smear on our foreheads?” He sighed. “We actually weren’t dating yet in that one. I also wanted to make sure people recognized that his relationship with Allura wasn’t always romantic. There was friendship there, a bond that went back to childhood. A closeness that grew before the romance. It’s mentioned either before or shortly after this excerpt but I needed to drive home the fact that Lance is not only mourning a lover, he’s mourning a friend. Even when he’s been with Keith for 30 years, he will still mourn Allura because she was still his friend of several years. But my dad kept telling me to buck up and be a man and ask her out already.” Keith hummed and nodded. He looked into the box and skimmed the other contents. “Are you sure this is okay?” Lance asked.

He met Lance’s eyes and smiled sheepishly. “It’s a little strange. But I’m okay.” He pointed inside the box. “What’s with the index card covered in algebra equations?” The index card, I just really wanted a mundane object that would show how easy and natural their relationship was but also didn’t want it to be a sticky note because of that Valentine’s day headcannon I have for them.

Lance set the photos down and lifted the index card. There were a bunch of sticky notes attached to the other side of it, stacked sloppily over each other.

“This is from one of the classes we shared for gen ed. She left me a note on it when I wasn’t looking, and I just found it between my study guides.” He peeled the sticky notes off and Keith saw some loopy, round handwriting scrawled across the other side in black marker.

I like the look on your face when you get confused. It’s cute. -Ax

Keith knew exactly what she was talking about. That scrunch of his eyebrows, the way he pressed his lips together in a slight pout, the way his eyes would squint suspiciously, all topped with a slight tilt of his head. It was fucking adorable. So. I really liked the idea of creating a sense of similarity between Keith and Allura through Lance. The two people who love(d) him in this romantic way both knew him well enough to know what his confused face was and to find it endearing. They’re similar in their love for Lance, and it also shows that there’s parts that are integral to Lance that didn’t disappear after Allura’s death. Even if it’s as small as a facial expression.

“The professor was trying to explain logarithms. I never understood those,” Lance said. He flipped the edges of the sticky notes. “She used to leave me notes in my stuff. In my backpack. Between the pages of my books. In my wallet. Telling me to listen for the birds that day. Things that reminded her of me. Or just to remind me that… she loved me.” I want to expand on this in the prequels, but the idea was that Allura liked to mention things Lance could make poetry out of. While also letting him experience the present. As someone who knew she was on limited time, Allura was often the one reigning Lance back to just be present and enjoy the moment (something else Keith and Allura have in common) when Lance wanted to rush forward and plan the future. So she mentioned little things that could help him be present like bird songs. He traced the loops of her writing and pressed his other hand to his eyes.

He took a moment to pull himself together, placing the stack of notes back inside the box. While Lance breathed, Keith noticed the glint of a chain and a bracelet. The cross on the chain and the little infinity sign on the bracelet were the same as the ones Allura had been wearing in the photos. He could see them clearly on a small polaroid of Allura laying out in the sun- the very same cross and bracelet. I wanted the jewelry to stand out because they didn’t go to Coran and they weren’t buried with her. They were given to Lance.

“She really loved you,” Keith said softly.

Lance looked over at him and managed a nearly imperceptible nod. “I miss her. And it just sucks that… this isn’t the kind of missing someone where you know you can drive a few hours to see them or just wait a few months to be with them. It’s permanent. There’s no possibility at all and I can’t do anything about it.” Depending on how long you’ve followed me, you may or may not know I’m thanatophobic. So I basically put the fears I have of death into this. It’s kind of surreal trying to get into your head when someone is gone in a permanent way that has no chance of changing and I tried to phrase it in a way that would carry that weight of pain and finality. As he spoke, his voice broke more and more between whispers, some words barely distinguishable. “And when that reality hits me I just feel… so powerless and small.”

Seeing Lance break down further, Keith got up and moved to the other side of Lance so he could wrap his arms around him. Lance pressed his hands to Keith’s chest.

At first, Keith thought Lance was trying to push him back. That he might need space. But when Keith started to let him go, Lance’s body curled further into him. His palm pressed against his chest, seeking something. Seeking Keith’s heartbeat. Lance’s face tucked into the curve of his neck. Lance’s way to be present. The last time he did this was after a nightmare of Keith dying, so for Lance, the heartbeat is a way of comforting himself with the knowledge that the person he loves is alive.

They stayed that way for a long time. Keith let his finger twirl an unruly lock of hair by his ear, his other arm wrapped around Lance and gently skimming his fingers over him back. Lance kept his hand at Keith’s chest, occasionally pressing harder, occasionally letting his hand slip before settling back in place.

Eventually, Lance lifted his head. “I’m gonna pray a little,” he said with a tired, raspy voice. “Then we can go back. If you’d rather wait in the car, you can.”

Keith hummed and looked around at whoever was left still praying. “Can you show me how? Teach me one of the prayers you like so I can do it with you?”

I’ve mentioned why this last bit matters so much to me. I mean for one, it’s a big step that Lance made the step on his own to voluntarily go to church and another that he’s sitting to have his conversation with God. But there’s also so much in the fact that Keith is also offering to join him in this because he knows what it means to Lance. Anyway this is one of my favorite parts especially with the part the follows this where Lance gives him a simple little kiss and Keith is very confused and wondering if it’s allowed. That part, I think shows another merging of worlds for Lance. A merge of his faith with his identity as someone who loves a boy.

#director's commentary

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dat-g-man · 5 years ago

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Shance and Heith au where hunk sees the pain Keith is going through when Shiro disappears and decides to help him out

Keith is initially suspicious but taken in and eventually smitten. Lance is peeved and doesn't hang out with hunk for a bit but thankfully Pidge is there to knock some sense into him. Lances stops moping around their dorm and has a heart to heart with Hunk. This results in a truce between Keith and Lance.

Keith feels bad for separating Hunk and Lance but he wants to be selfish for once. Especially because that's all he has right now and he knows if it wasn't for Hunk he would have been expelled with all the bs the garrison is coming up with.

So Keith starts trying to be nicer to Lance and in one of his patience yields focus moments he sees beneath the mask lance makes and understands him. Lance is initially shocked but happy their is someone else who can understand him. Hunk is a blessing but only a treatment for the symptoms while Keith is genuinely trying to help him get over the little things he never noticed hurt him. He also does not want to overburden Hunk as Hunk has his own issues and he is glad to see Keith is also helping him.

So now they are close and because this wouldn't've happened without Pidge they try to include them in their shenanigans. Eventually they chip through that armor but then the incident happens. One of the instructors (maybe Iverson) is bringing up insecurities in Lance public humiliation to make an example style (a style I hate for so many reasons). They were going over stuff that he is working on and Keith refused to let Lance feel hurt again and fall back. Keith swings several times and gets escorted out/expelled as Lance and Hunk are being held back so they can't help him.

Blue calls for him but this time he has help from the other three because instead of sneaking out to have fun they sneak out to visit him and give him supplies from the garrison. They also find blues cave faster but since its not time yet the rubble doesn't break. Lance likes visiting the cave when he can because while initially he thought it was a ghost talking to him, she doesn't seem so bad and even sounds a lot like Keith. The crew is dubious and not so sure Lance should be talking to a ghost but Keith doesn't have a bad feeling and Pidge just wants to find the body for science.

Now enter shiro!

They are able to save him with a similar plan but Lance has his own speedster and the 2 teams get away going down the same cliff like last time and go to the shack. Feeling angsty Keith and Hunk go for a ride and cuddle session. Keith entrusts Shiro to Lance and Pidge because thats' how close the group is. Shiro is still feeling hazy and wakes up to Lance taking care of him. He blurts out if all angels are as beautiful as they are gentle before smiling at lance and going back to sleep.

Pidge is just snickering while lance is blushing and stuttering. When Keith and Hunk come back Pidge lets them know they are in the presence of a divine being and all make fun of him for a bit before checking in on Shiro. Shiro wakes up again with Keith next to him and start asking if it's a dream. Keith lets him know its not and the broganes cuddle as they catch up.

They wonder if the cave will open up now and go back when Shiro is well recovered. He is also a lil pink around Lance and Lance is also a lil pink around him but acts like his usual self. He just has a lil more bravado around Shiro. He doesn't bring up the angel thing because he thinks it was just the meds talking but the comment made him happy.

Shiro doesn't bring up the angel comment because he us not sure where lances preference lead and refuses to make him feel uncomfortable. It also doesn't help when he flirts with Allura when they meet. Keith notices Shiro is acting a little off but doesn't know if its because of his time in captivity

Pidge also lets them know earlier that shes a girl since the team as a whole is close, or closer than in the show at least. Shiro and lance are usually found together while Hunk and Keith are officially together.

Lance still flirts and it bothers Shiro until Keith has a little talk with him. He gives him the don't hurt Lance talk and to be patient because he knows his best friend. Yes they are best friends, or best rivals depending on who you ask. And he knows for a fact that Lance likes him in more than just a friend way.

And shiro us like what me?! He likes me???!!!! Keith is like yea doofus. Now remember he is strong but has a fragile heart and now go ask his other father for his blessing. By that he means Hunk

Shiro is initially puzzled but then realizes how Keith is actually wingmaning him. He thinks first before going to Hunk. He knows Hunk is the closest he can get to Lances family and will ask permission to date Lance. That is if lance will take him, and if lance is ready. Hunk is quiet for a moment just looking at him before he rushes him.

Shiro closes his eyes waiting for the punch but gets a really warm hug. Hunk lets him go and tells him how he is happy and knows Shiro will make Lance happy. He follows up with one of the most intimidating hurt him and I will not hurt you. Instead i will take you to his family who will then hurt you so much you will wish for many unpleasant things until your end. So keep Lance happy new friend.

Shiro doesn't worry because he knows that making Lance happy is the only way he would be happy. So now Shiro is off to find ways to show Lance he is cared for and eventually romance him. When the attack on the castles crystal happens Shiro is devastated but understands where Lance is coming from. Once recovered he knows he will tell Lance how important he is to not only him but to the team

When Lance wakes up the whole crew is there but Shiro is the one to catch him. Everyone is happy to see him well but they leave them after a while to give them privacy. The two become official and i don't know what happens from there.

#vld #shance #heith #vld shance #vld heith

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sp4c3-0ddity · 6 years ago

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cliche “what I would do differently in season 8″ post

Warning: contains plance and some kallura bias

Disclaimer: my memory on the season (especially some details and the order of certain events) is already rather hazy, and this is more focused on characters and relationships than on plot, with which i was mostly pleased (and it’s probably crap besides)

all right here we go:

first of all when Hunk gives Lance the run-down of the Voltron tv show and mentions that it hints at romance between Keith and Allura, Lance doesn’t react except to maybe look uncomfortable. Hunk is surprised he doesn’t have anything else to say about it and wonders why he’s unusually subdued, and Lance admits Veronica (not Hunk, who’s more aware of the dynamics within the team) is encouraging him to ask Allura out. Hunk wonders what’s stopping him and Lance, still a little cagey about it, says he doesn’t know but decides he’s gonna...so he does and Allura accepts reluctantly with Romelle’s encouragement as portrayed

Pidge still agrees to go shopping with Allura but when it comes to bartering for the dress the Unilu fixates on her glasses as a “Voltron collectible”. she’s reluctant for a good second before admitting she never needed them anyway (implied they were an emotional crutch while her family was missing more than anything else) and handing them over

Coran still puts Lance through his paces but in a less humorous and more uncomfortable fashion that implies he might be a little out of his depth

after the mall Pidge, not wanting to return to her “imprisonment” on the eve of leaving Earth again, goes off to watch the sunset. Lance finds her, and at first she’s a little stiff until he teases her about her “appreciation” for something so mundane (to her). Pidge muses it’s not so mundane if it could be the last time she ever sees it, then wonders what he’s doing with her when he should be getting ready for his date, but before he answers Keith interrupts. Pidge takes the opportunity to leave (she’s still grounded and Romelle and/or Rizavi have probably suffered for covering for her). Lance properly apologizes to Keith for his antagonism

the date isn’t awkward, Lance’s family still likes Allura and she appreciates their warmth, but something is still wrong and, when they’re off alone. Allura looks like she’s on the brink of saying something (after the tree healing incident) when Lance confesses he’d liked her for a long time and had a good time with her that night but that he realizes they’re better as friends. Allura breathes a sigh of relief that she didn’t have to break his heart because she agrees and doesn’t really have time to dabble in a romance anyway and they share an amiable hug

Krolia (because i missed her) is in “Battle Scars” and makes the realization that they’re dealing with Ranveig’s monster and communicates a warning seconds before Keith does

in the Olkarion episode Pidge’s grief bonds her more strongly to the Green Lion, which is how she connects with the planet enough to view its last moments. Lance and Hunk show a bit more concern for her and both comfort her (Allura’s still with her most of the time and insists she’ll be safe with her when they go with Keith to deter the weblum). also the Olkari refugees contact the Coalition after the fact and Pidge (and the Holts) greets them and they all mourn Ryner and the rest that didn’t survive their planet’s destruction. Pidge carries the anger with her for most of the rest of the season (so she now has another personal stake in seeing Honerva defeated)

the team splits as Lance/Pidge and Allura/Hunk. Ezor is actually dead and Acxa made the whole thing up to get Zethrid to surrender, but the Olkari guy does repent after Pidge and Keith “chat” with him about his choices (i.e. survivor’s guilt when he learns Olkarion was destroyed) so he still saves the ATLAS’ crew’s butts later

Honerva doesn’t drain the Guardian but rather takes it hostage to siphon off its quintessence. she still retrieves Lotor’s body and Sincline and they’re still on the verge of slicing the Red Lion (i.e. Lance) - made more meaningful since they’re explicitly friends and not romantically entangled - when Allura’s about to spear Honerva

rather than Lance, Keith gives Allura reassurance (and there’s no “romantic” mush but Kinkade still rebukes Rizavi for spying on a private conversation). also Krolia is interviewed alongside Kolivan, ostensibly to remind him of things he might’ve forgotten. she’s also shown reacting to Coran’s...excessiveness; there’s a brief glimpse of Pidge and Lance playing the new game while Rizavi observes they’re at it again and wonders if they’ll let her play seeing as she helped Pidge procure it, right in time for Hunk to interrupt and ask if they’ll taste something for him

Allura says that, after some rest, she’ll remove the “entities” from the other Altean colonists (she never does because...the one she removed from Tova ends up in her). all of them (especially Coran) are reluctant to leave her for the Clear Day carnival but she insists they go (Keith maybe gives her one last look before agreeing). alongside Lotor she hallucinates versions of Keith (who says he senses no hostile intent from it and that Lotor did have good intentions so maybe she should trust him), Shiro (who reminds her that he once had a direct link to Haggar’s mind, but if she knows about it she can use it to her advantage), and Coran (who tells her she’d be honoring her father’s memory experimenting with something he once did) in turn. Allura, despite her skepticism because she knows this isn’t real, sees no recourse and promises them that she’ll give it up as soon as they no longer need it

meanwhile at the carnival Hunk and Keith still get stuck on the ride (it was a Highlight). callback to “Space Mall”, Lance and Pidge go off together. when she doesn’t get enough tickets to earn the “best” prize, Lance cheers her up by challenging her to a pricey and rigged carnival game that he almost wins...which is when Pidge suffers the family portrait for more tokens. they retry, Lance wins and relinquishes his prize to Pidge, who may or may not blush only to observe he might be a good sharpshooter after all

(Pidge and Hunk both question how Shiro won at arm-wrestling without an elbow)

Coran is the most adamant about Allura not using the entity, though the others are still doubtful. Keith confronts her properly about it after the meeting, but Allura shuts his protests down by saying they need to defeat Honerva even at the cost of one of their lives (possibly alludes to his near-sacrifice at Naxzela)

Lance has a “wtf” moment when his bayard turns into the sword. he and Alfor only talk briefly about his appreciation for Allura before telling him he really should train in using that thing

Alfor to Allura about Keith: why is the red one in the Black Lion??

(possibly he also comments on his quintessence-sense...because someone should)

Trigel lowkey chides Pidge for neglecting her connections with people outside her family while also commenting on her kinda adoption of the Olkari

when Alfor is incredulous about Allura’s use of the entity (even Zarkon reminds her of the damage it caused) she insists it was the only way (Keith, internally: i told her so); the Paladins, horrified, stop her from tormenting a younger Zarkon with the memories of what his older/possessed self did, and she has a moment where she’s incredulous about what she’s doing/what she’s become; she promises that she’ll happily destroy the entity once they reach the end of the line

Allura admits to Coran that she saw her father while in Honerva’s mindscape. Coran begs her one last time to release the entity only for her to admit she’ll need someone else’s help

and when she’s recovering (when was that in the season?? can’t remember) everyone visits her, but it’s Lance reassuring Keith that Allura will be all right rather than the other way around...and he admits to remembering the “bonding moment”, Keith is like i knew it and rubs it in Lance’s face while still seeming troubled

Pidge still assists Slav and Sam but Trigel’s (and Slav’s hehe) reprimand sort of sticks with her and before they do battle she tells her teammates how much they all mean to her (maybe prefaces it with “i’m not good with people but you guys taught me how to be better”). there’s a group hug, but Lance lingers and they hug properly while she tells him that he’ll do great and he says that he knows (and he means it)

Battle proceeds. Maybe a little trimmed down so Lance, at some point, can “properly” bond with the Red Lion

Allura shows Honerva her work and tells her they can fix it if only she releases the Guardian. Honerva agrees, but it’s not enough and Allura reluctantly admits a life must be given too (and that the entity must be destroyed), at which point her teammates (Keith’s loudest, again bringing up his near-sacrifice at Naxzela as the wrong answer) protest...and Honerva offers something, that she started this and that she’ll finish it too and that Allura should live the life she never got to. she even uses the last of her power to take back the entity

“one year later”, Allura is shown mourning the person Honerva (and Zarkon) was by erecting a memorial to Alfor and to the Alteans that perished when Zarkon destroyed the planet and when Lotor harvested the colonists’ quintessence. she mentions to a few former colonists that they should never forget the mistakes of the past but learn from them, and she’s shown with Romelle and Coran, who begins briefing her on what Keith’s been up to with the Galra...

Pidge is with Matt, finishing up Chip (eh might as well keep it). he teases her about being late to her “date”, but Pidge insists it’s not a date (because all her other ex-teammates will be there)

the seven of them reminisce

Pidge works with her family but she’s also an ambassador spreading science ideas around the universe. Lance is an instructor at the Garrison (he basically has Iverson’s old job probably), and they’re implied to be happily in a relationship. Keith’s fate is pretty much the same but it’s mentioned he gets inspiration from Allura and her memories of old Altea. ditto Hunk

the show ends with Allura’s coronation as queen rather than Shiro’s wedding (though it can be implied he, attending wearing his black Garrison uniform, met Someone at the celebration afterward), and the Lions flying their separate ways, ostensibly to return when the universe needs Voltron again

#probably too neat and tidy but whatever i don't really care #allura deserved a neat and tidy ending #and better characterization #salt the earth #vld 8 #voltron spoilers #plance #kallura #voltron

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data-monkey · 6 years ago

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AO3 stats project: tags

In this post, we'll discuss tags on the Archive of Our Own! Please note: because the works on the Archive include explicit material, some of the tags discussed in this post may not be appropriate for your workplace.

The Archive of Our Own has one of the best tagging systems around. You can read more about it here, here, here, or here. For our purposes, the important part is that users can tag their works however they want, and then a group of people called "tag wranglers" sort those tags, either adding them as synonyms of existing tags or creating new canonical versions for them. What I'll be showing here is the "canonical" version of the tags. For example, a work tagged "flufffffff" or "so fluffy!" would have those two tags assigned to the canonical tag "Fluff", so I will consider both of those tags as being "Fluff" to get the most accurate count.

The other important thing about AO3 tags is that they come in four flavors. The first one is "warnings", the content warnings required by the Archive (plus the default tag indicating you're abstaining from the warnings system). The second flavor is "Characters", tags describing the characters in the work. The third is "Relationships", tags describing the platonic or romantic relationships depicted in the work--typically, "X/Y" indicates a romantic and/or sexual relationship between characters X and Y, while "X&Y" means a platonic relationship, although this usage isn't universal and isn't enforced. The final category is "freeform", aka everything else.

Again, the tagging system is freeform and optional. In particular, I'll note that "character" tags and "relationship" tags don't necessarily imply each other: you can have a work tagged "Sherlock Holmes/John Watson" that only features Mycroft Holmes, or that features John and Sherlock but doesn't tag them as characters, only as the relationship. So remember that--while it's pretty good on average, because people tag their works so readers/viewers can find them--the number of uses of a character tag isn't the same as the number of works that feature that character, for example.

Okay! So what are the most popular freeform tags on the Archive? If you read a lot of fanfiction, I doubt you will be surprised by anything on this list. Left column is the top 15 tags by number of uses, while right column is the top 15 tags by the cumulative hit count on every work tagged with that tag.

Are these tags consistently popular over time? For reasons of space, I’ll just plot the top 10 by number of works:

If you look back at the works vs time plot in the second post, you'll see that yes, the shape of these trends is similar to the total number of works, so trends in fannish tastes haven’t changed much over the time the AO3 has been in existence. (These show a little more bumpiness because there are fewer works in each plot.) Some of these have gained a little more recent popularity vs earlier works--smut, fluff, and the two specific alternate universes are a little more weighted towards later times, while humor and general AUs are falling a little behind--but the differences aren’t as large as we saw for fandom trends in the previous post.

I'm sure you're curious about characters and relationships. Here are the top character tags, omitting the catchall character tags of “Original Character(s)”, “Original Male Character(s)”, “Original Female Character(s)”, and “Reader” (all of which would otherwise appear in the top 15). Also, remember this is missing some of the data from 2018 and 2019, as described in the first post, so BTS characters should probably be higher:

And here are the top relationship tags (again, excluding the catchall “Minor or Background Relationship(s)”):

And in particular, here are the top characters of color (excluding works with fictionalized race/ethnicity power systems--um, more than modern-day Western society’s power systems are made up--and characters from Voltron Legendary Defender, since I wasn’t able to find enough information on them):

Park Jimin (BTS)

Min Yoongi | Suga

Jeon Jungkook

Kim Taehyung | V

Kim Namjoon | Rm

Jung Hoseok | J-Hope

Kim Seokjin | Jin

Zayn Malik

Katsuki Yuuri

Sam Wilson (Marvel)

Magnus Bane

Nick Fury

Midoriya Izuku

Bakugou Katsuki

Erica Reyes

And here are the top relationships that are not M/M:

Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan

Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak

Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin

Clarke Griffin/Lexa

Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov

Pepper Potts/Tony Stark

Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan

Kylo Ren/Rey

Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley

Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor

Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper

Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold

Allison Argent/Scott McCall

James Potter/Lily Evans Potter

Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy

Here are the top ten freeform tags for the top ten fandoms. Different fandoms seem to produce different kinds of fanworks--which you'd expect, based on the variety in the source material.

AU = alternate universe, AU - CD = Alternate universe - canon divergence, AU - C/U = alternate universe - college/university, AU - HS = alternate universe - high school, BJs = blow jobs, ER = established relationship, H/C = hurt/comfort, PWP = plot what plot/porn without plot, RPF = real person fiction, SPN = supernatural.

Finally, for fun, here's the top 200 tags of all kinds, sorted against each other. You can find a lot of fun things on this list. Some of my favorites:

Supernatural is so big, and so focused on so few characters, that Dean Winchester is the sixth most popular tag on the entire AO3.

Clint Barton is way higher than I would have expected.

Sherlock Holmes is slightly less popular than anal sex.

Original female characters are more popular than anal sex.

Similarly, cuddling is more popular than A/B/O.

Harry Styles is less popular than 3/7ths of BTS (at least as of sometime in 2018); Louis Tomlinson barely tops Draco Malfoy.

Alcohol comes between Katsuki Yuuri and Viktor Nikiforov.

Leonard McCoy is below songfic. Please join me in picturing how pissed off he’d be.

The one-two punch of “Spanking” and “I’m Sorry” is pretty amusing.

If I had put up the top 201 tags, 200 and 201 would have been “Flirting” and “Murder”, so Hannibal is almost on this list.

Fluff

Angst

Alternate Universe

Romance

Hurt/Comfort

Dean Winchester

Humor

Established Relationship

Smut

Sam Winchester

Steve Rogers

Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence

Alternate Universe - Modern Setting

Tony Stark

Friendship

Original Female Character(s)

Anal Sex

Drabble

Original Characters

Sherlock Holmes

Fluff And Angst

Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot

Castiel/Dean Winchester

One Shot

John Watson

Stiles Stilinski

Castiel

Harry Potter

Oral Sex

James "Bucky" Barnes

Natasha Romanov

Blow Jobs

Clint Barton

Emotional Hurt/Comfort

Drama

Derek Hale

Reader

Slow Burn

Original Male Character(s)

Sherlock Holmes/John Watson

First Time

Alternate Universe - College/University

Kissing

Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

First Kiss

Angst With A Happy Ending

Light Angst

Violence

Family

Park Jimin (BTS)

Min Yoongi | Suga

Jeon Jungkook

Crossover

Harry Styles

Crack

Friends To Lovers

Love

Fluff And Smut

Kim Taehyung | V

Louis Tomlinson

Other Additional Tags To Be Added

Draco Malfoy

Alternate Universe - High School

Explicit Sexual Content

Masturbation

Hermione Granger

Pining

Bruce Banner

Anal Fingering

Kim Namjoon | RM

Canon Compliant

Thor (Marvel)

Domestic Fluff

Jung Hoseok | J-Hope

Keith (Voltron)

Kim Seokjin | Jin

Depression

Character Death

Sexual Content

Happy Ending

Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson

Canon-Typical Violence

James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers

Lance (Voltron)

Cuddling & Snuggling

Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics

Dirty Talk

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD

Post-Canon

Loki (Marvel)

Christmas

Hand Jobs

Scott Mccall

Niall Horan

Sex

Mycroft Holmes

Blood

Shiro (Voltron)

Liam Payne

Rimming

Rough Sex

Zayn Malik

Cute

Original Character(s)

Original Character

Castiel (Supernatural)

Dubious Consent

Phil Coulson

Severus Snape

Ron Weasley

Character Study

Mpreg

Lydia Martin

Explicit Language

Slash

Grief/Mourning

Polyamory

Future Fic

Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter

Minor Character Death

Greg Lestrade

Steve Rogers/Tony Stark

Peter Parker

Mutual Pining

Swearing

Eventual Smut

Sirius Black

Dom/Sub

Pre-Slash

Sad

Love Confessions

Unrequited Love

Alternate Universe - Soulmates

Remus Lupin

Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester

Falling In Love

Jealousy

Spanking

I'm Sorry

Pepper Potts

Death

Keith/Lance (Voltron)

Spoilers

James T. Kirk

Hunk (Voltron)

Sans (Undertale)

Emma Swan

Gabriel (Supernatural)

Fluff And Humor

Magic

Torture

Alternate Universe - Human

Bruce Wayne

Isaac Lahey

Levi (Shingeki No Kyojin)

Eren Yeager

Clarke Griffin

Self-Harm

Slow Build

Victor Nikiforov

Alcohol

Katsuki Yuuri

Suicidal Thoughts

Implied Sexual Content

BDSM

Nightmares

Canonical Character Death

Action/Adventure

Sam Wilson (Marvel)

Developing Relationship

Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Bondage

Friendship/Love

Tooth-Rotting Fluff

Dark

Sheriff Stilinski

Mental Health Issues

Allison Argent

Reader-Insert

Slice Of Life

Allura (Voltron)

Kurt Hummel

Getting Together

Kidnapping

Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov

Dick Grayson

Merlin (Merlin)

Panic Attacks

Heavy Angst

Comfort

Alec Lightwood

Pre-Canon

Ficlet

Kid Fic

Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir

Implied/Referenced Character Death

Songfic

Leonard Mccoy

First Meetings

Flirting

#fan stats #ao3 #fanstats

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dammitadolfnomorecake · 4 years ago

Text

Once Bitten Twice Stupid prt.59

Three weeks passed without a word from Pidge, Lance feeling helpless. He’d turned off his private phone in the end, and kind of guilt tripped Coran into letting him stay for the time being. He knew his moods were up and down, he also knew he couldn’t ask Keith to stay when they were. He’d had a word with Coran about Keith working, he wanted things to be clear. When Keith was meant to be working, then he wasn’t allowed down to visit Lance. Keith wasn’t thrilled, but Lance felt it necessary, or he’d spend every moment thinking about his boyfriend rather than pretending he was being useful to Allura.

Allura was nice about everything, like she usually was. He didn’t push her about her friendship with “Loturd”. Keith had accidentally let the name slip, after his boyfriend came to see him. His and Shiro’s furniture had finally arrived. Keith bringing his favourite blade to show Lance, and Kosmo. Lance missed having Kosmo around. He had Blue for company, but Kosmo was too adorable, and his precious princess was hoing herself out for pats and attention from everyone she came across. When they’d agreed Lance could stay, he’d asked Shiro if he would Keith take Kosmo home with him. He wanted his boyfriend to have that feeling of coming home to his waiting puppy. If they were going to be out overnight, Kosmo came for sleepovers. Keith was such a proud dog father that Lance kind of felt like the only time he was happy was when Keith was gushing over his fur son.

Lance’s mood hadn’t gone unnoticed. Allura had planned a “spa night” for the both of them. Curled up on the sofa with face masks on, they’d watched movies and Lance painted her nails for her, and complimented her over perfect skin. It struck him how lonely it must be for her, and he silently swore to himself that he’d find a way to invite her out for some fun on the town. His Mami had noticed his mood. Luis wasn’t there the first time he visited after the “accident”, meaning he had his Mami to himself. Climbing into bed beside her, he’d fallen asleep in her safe and loving hold, her cold hadn’t progressed into pneumonia, proving there was plenty of life left in her. He hadn’t been to see her with Keith again, she understood he had work, so Blue came in her carrier.

Called to Allura’s office, through the personal phone he had in his room, Lance powered down his laptop before heading out. He had a nicer room now. His single bed now a double, plus there was a desk and wardrobe and space for Blue. Matt had come to check on him, apologising for what had happened. They’d hugged it out long enough that Shiro tugged Matt off of him. He hadn’t heard from Pidge either, so it was what it was. Leaving Blue sleeping on his bed, Lance headed out. He’d kind of been pretty much an errand boy for Allura, “helping” by making copies of things or running things between her office and the labs. His mood had picked up when he had something to do. It got him out of his head and not thinking about how much he missed his best friends.

When Lance reached Allura’s office, he knocked lightly on her door before opening it. His eyes totally bugging out as he eyed his boyfriend. Dressed in tight black jeans, a black T-shirt, a cropped red leather jacket and a thick pair of leather boots, his boyfriend looked hot. Hot and happy. Clapping her hands together, Allura looked particularly proud

“Lance! Excellent. Now, you may be wondering why I called. You and Keith are going on a date today”

Lance raised an eyebrow. He didn’t particularly want to leave the complex. He’d only left to see himself Mami and that was it

“I am?”

“Yep! Consider this a little thank you for allowing us to steal Keith away. The work he’s doing is vital to help ensure Platt remains relatively peaceful. Plus, you haven’t had a break in the last fortnight. Tonight is completely on me”

“You’re kicking me out?”

Lance was half joking, maybe more like he hoped his tone his that he was serious. He wasn’t supposed to go anywhere. His pheromones could be a serious issue. Allura didn’t see it as a joke, quick to give a shake of her head

“Not at all! I love you having here. No, I thought you and Keith might enjoy each other’s company. Keith has proved himself a valuable asset, and we want to thank him for his work”

“What she means is they think I might snap if I have to go one more undercover mission”

“You have been rather stressed of late”

So stressed Keith had snapped at him for not understanding. It’d been a small fight, Keith easily brought back under control when Lance wrapped his arms around him and told him while he didn’t, he was still there for him. It was weighing heavily on Keith not to be able to tell him everything. In some ways being in Platt made it harder for both of them, another reason Lance didn’t want to move in with Keith. He wanted Keith to have that safe place at the of work to relax and destress. Keith sighed at Allura, Allura ignoring it

“Now, you have a few hours before your dinner reservation. I’m sure the pair of you can find something to do. I don’t want to see either of you back here tonight. Keith, I give you permission to discuss things with Lance, though that is left to your discretion”

It was now Lance’s mind went into panic mode. He wasn’t dressed for a date. He wasn’t dressed any different from normal. His hair wasn’t tamed. He wasn’t wearing nice clothes. He didn’t know how to date! He’d never done a “date” date. And Keith... Keith was standing there looking calm and collected! What... what was he supposed to do? Why couldn’t he remember what normal people did on a date? Keith wanted to go on a date with him? Him of all people? What did they talk about? What did normal people talk about? What did Keith like to talk about? Letting out a squeak, he could have died on the spot of embarrassment. Keith hiding his laughter behind his hand

“I think you broke him”

Allura giggled, playing along

“Oh, dear. Don’t tell me you don’t want to go. Keith and I planned this days ago”

“I... me... you... we... date?”

He was short circuiting. Keith’s goddamn smile made him feel all goopy inside

“That’s how a date normal works, babe. Do you not want to go with me?”

“Yes! Date me!”

Now he was yelling? And Keith was laughing again. What was he even saying?

“You guys have fun tonight. I’m leaving him in your hands, Keith”

Allura left them. Lance covering his burning face with his hands. Coming up to him, Keith kissed him on the forehead, Lance peaking up at him

“It’s okay. I didn’t plan much”

“I... are you sure you want to go with me?”

“Well, you’re the only one I’m dating. Plus, you’re not the only on freaking out”

“What are you freaking out for? You’re all dumb and hot and smiling and can work English”

“Because I’m going on a date with you”

“But you planned it!”

And he was yelling again

“I’m freaking out because it’s a date with the guy I’m dating”

“But I’m me”

“That’s why I wanted things... You know, what, let’s just go”

“But... I’m... not even dressed”

“Pretty sure you’ve got clothes on, babe”

“That’s not what I mean. You’re all... hot”

“Do you want to get changed? I think you’re fine in what you’re wearing”

“But... I look like me”

“And I like you. God. You’re making me even more nervous and shit”

“Can’t forget a good shit”

Lance swore he could almost see his soul escaping from in the inside. Groaning, he slid his hand back up

“Just leave me here. Here lays Lance. Killed by his boyfriend’s niceness and unfair hotness”

Keith wrapped his arms around him. A date with Keith... an actual declared date. Like a boyfriend date. Keith’s scent was wonderful, Lance’s knees going a little weak

“Oh, babe... hey, if you’re not up to this, that’s okay too”

Nope. Keith had said date. He was having his date. He was having this date and going to prove he could function like a normalish human not a mess of a vampire

“No. I want to... God, I want to. How are you not making a fool of yourself?”

“I already made a fool of myself asking for the day off. I asked Allura, because I know you two have been hanging out...”

Allura hadn’t told him, see if he was going to braid her hair again when she couldn’t even give him a heads up

“I feel really happy right now... and like I’m going to throw up”

Keith’s hold meant everything, his boyfriend hiding his face against Lance’s shoulder. Fuck... it should be criminal to be this awkward

“Me too... okay. We’re doing this. Just two boyfriends going on a date. Doing boyfriend things... and shit”

Keith wasn’t going to let him forget. So he was going to have to make him forget

“I’m going to date you so fucking hard you’ll forget shit”

“I’m looking forward to the full Lance experience”

Lance huffed, feeling like someone more adult should be supervising them

“You just had it”

“Over so quick? Babe, I knew I was good, but damn. Should you be bragging about it”

Oh fuck... now he was thinking about sex...

“Shut up. God. Let’s go already before I really do expire from embarrassment”

Keith’s brought his motorbike. Keith had brought his motorbike and Lance wasn’t sure how to feel. With his arms around his boyfriend’s waist, he spent the first 5 minutes trying to accept he was on the back of a death machine with Keith weaving in and out of traffic like a mad man. He felt like he’d left his stomach somewhere behind on the trip, the vibration and noise taking a bit of getting used to. Keith called him brave, but Lance liked to think he was more like Hunk in this situation, safely cautious.

Despite his nerves, Lance felt strangely disappointed as Keith pulled up to a stop. His ears still ringing, despite the helmet he was wearing deadening some of the noise. Raising his head, he questioned Keith’s idea of a date. The sign above the door read “SPlatter-field”. A not so clever play on the business being in Platt. In the window was a sign advertising it being a shooting range. Climbing off the back of the bike, Lance tried to hide his confusion, and some of his disappointment. Dates meant romance. He wasn’t sure how guns said romance. Keith climbed off, pulling his helmet off as he did. Noticing Lance hadn’t taken his off, his boyfriend’s face fell

“You don’t like it?”

Keith had gone to a lot of effort to plan this date. He probably wanted to do something different and unusual. Pulling his helmet off, Lance shook his head

“It’s not that. I just wasn’t expecting a shooting range”

“Allura said you went hunting as a kid.... I messed this up...”

Keith was crushing his heart right now

“No. No. Look, sure, not a place I would think of, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be fun. Besides, I’m a total crack shot at fair games”

“You don’t need to try and make me feel better”

He was a dick. He’d hurt Keith’s feelings

“I’m not. But you better be prepared to have your arse kicked”

“So it’s okay?”

Lance gave Keith the warmest smile he could muster

“It could be fun”

“If you don’t like it, we’ll go”

“Okay. Let’s give it a shot”

With Allura being Keith’s co-conspirator, she’d given Keith his wallet ahead of time. Lance hadn’t even noticed it was missing. Which probably said a lot about how distracted he’d been lately. The man behind the counter didn’t seem so sure about him being 26, but his ID was valid and he was forced to swallow his tongue, as they signed all paperwork related to their outing. Trying to remember the last time he’d held a gun, he flushed at the memory of telling Keith to shoot him. God. He’d been so lame. He was struggling to remember ever being “cool” in front of his boyfriend. Allocating them two hand guns each, Keith produced his firearms licence, which was enough to let the man take over explaining how things worked. Lance was pretty sure Keith hadn’t meant it as a bragging move, but he did delight in the man being taken down a peg. Which was probably his ego showing.

Following Keith through to the range, he found they were the only two there, other a bored looking supervisor who made to follow behind them, Keith leading them to the last two cubicles, before turning hot instructor of him, Lance blocking out the man watching

“I know you know how to use a gun, but it’s important not to treat it like a toy”

“So I don’t point the end at my feet and pull the trigger?”

His boyfriend scowled

“No. Each magazine holds twelve rounds. You fire all twelve then put your weapon down on the desk. Seeing you’ve got a sight advantage and I’ve got an experience advantage, we’ll set the targets at the furtherest points. On the paper there’s zones, each zone is worth a number of points. I know you don’t want to shoot to kill, but I think it’s important you train up on your skills”

Lance jerked back a little, not expecting Keith to be so serious. Behind him, the man supervising the range backed off

“Should I be worried? Am I in danger?”

“No. But if you ever are, I want you to be able to protect yourself. The investigation is getting nowhere fast... and... the targets are all vampires. I know we could have done this at VOLTRON, but I didn’t want you to feel self conscious while handling a firearm. Taking the shot is never easy. Even when you tell yourself it it. I’ve had to shoot before and the first time left me messed up for days”

Keith was chasing a vampire killer? Lance tried to pretend he was surprised... Well, more surprised. He wasn’t actually all that surprised given vampires were most douches. Now it made sense. Keith wanted to make this as stress free as possible, knowing he disliked guns and the Coran would fuss if he was training with them

“Okay. I understand”

“Now, the way you hold the gun depends on the make and model. We’ll use two hands on these. There’s a little bit of a kick back, so when you press the trigger, make sure you’re not squeezing or you’ll end up shooting something you’re not meant to. I’ll set the targets up. Put your safety glasses and earmuffs on”

Lance did as he was told. Keith knew his way around a shooting range. Lance wondering if the one at Blade Headquarters was anything like this. Probably not. He could picture a whole wall of guns and other dangerous weaponry. Sending the sheets to the back of the room, Lance was starting to feel nervous. A shotgun wasn’t the same as a hand gun... or one of those weighted guns at a fair. He didn’t feel guilty for winning at a fair when the owners used cheap tricks. Coming back to his side, his boyfriend tugged Lance’s earmuffs off his ears

“I’m going to show you how to stand and how to hold the gun. It’s important to control your breathing”

Lance rolled his eyes, Keith didn’t find it funny. He needed to be serious. Gun’s weren’t toys. He knew guns weren’t toys. His ego was flaring again, and he kind of wanted to shoot himself for it

“Sorry. I’ll behave... please teach me all you know, Samurai”

#oncebittentwicestupid #once bitten twice stupid #ashratherose

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