#If this au were a story Kuron's arc would be like-

[empty-blog-for-lurking]

Me again! I'm curious, does Kuron ever change his name?

Yes!!! In fact if this au were to be a story a big part of Kuron's arc would have been him trying to find his own name. At first he would have started calling himself as "Kuron" cause 1) It is similar to Kuro which is opposite to Shiro. 2) Kuron is rather protective of his status as a clone. Like had he got this revealed to him without the entire possession + merger thing then yeah he would have certainly had issues with it, but Kuron of this au has this weird relationship with it where he loathes being a clone and what it had done to him but also this is His, he didnt deserve to be treated like this just because he is a clone and anyone who has problem with it can suck it

Eventually however he would realize that he is still letting others influence and thus define him. After like idk a mental breakdown, some more self reflection and conversations and some other shit, he would choose a different name, his own name that defines him, for himself and is for himself. A name i havent decided on yet but one day i will

[mckinlily]

So, I'm legitimately curious: What did you think of Kuron? I mean, I have my own AU ideas about him, and one I'm trying to write right now about how he can 'survive' the whole fiasco of his fate in V6, but I'm curious to know other opinions. :)

I’m happy you asked! The clone arc spawns so much fandom creativity. Though I’m not sure I’m the best person to answer this. Mostly because my feelings about Kuron aren’t informed so much by Kuron himself as by where I was at mentally and emotionally when season 3 dropped.

When I first got into Voltron, I was a young twenty-something in grad school, overwhelmed by adult and personal life, no idea what I was doing, far away from my family, and terrified that I was replaceable and forgettable to the people I loved most as well not even cut out for the career that I was going into debt for. (I’m glad I did it, but grad school kind of completely destroyed my mental health and only that I’m writing this now am I realizing exactly how bad it was). 

In the midst of all this, I met Shiro. Here’s was another young twenty-something, completely out of his depth, trying so hard and so scared of failure. I especially remember realizing that Shiro was scared of being rejected and replaced by the people he loved and sacrificed for. But he was Shiro. He was competent and strong and so, so good. Obviously HE deserved his team and family and every good thing in the world. And he had a team that (I thought) recognized that in him. So I told myself, if Shiro can handle being responsible for Voltron and the entire universe, I can survive grad school. And if even Shiro doubts his worth to his friends and family when he’s Shiro, then my own fears about my loved ones were unfounded too.

And then season 3 hit, and I have to hand it to them, I don’t think they could have triggered every single one of my worst fears better if they had tried. Yes, no one will really care if you’re gone. Yes, all your loved ones will just move on if you disappeared. No, you aren’t capable or worthy of what you want to do. You are literally replaceable.

And Kuron was a big part of that. I pegged immediately that he wasn’t the same Shiro I had fallen in love with in the earlier seasons, and although I never hated him or thought he was at all at fault for whatever Hagar had planned for him, I could never get over the feeling that I was being lied to. That was not my Shiro, but the story kept trying to convince me it was and it wasn’t. And I was projecting HARD onto Shiro, so I didn’t just react to Kuron as the clone of my favorite character but like if Kuron were a clone of ME that was taking my place in MY family and everything was trying to convince me it didn’t make a difference. Your family still gets a version of you (and maybe even, less deep and struggling version of you, one that’s a little less in all the ways that just make you palatable), so why should you have a problem with it? They’re good, possibly even better, and so they never needed you, right?

Meanwhile, I felt so guilty about reacting like that. Because for all that I hated everything Kuron represented and seemed to say about me, I also knew he was a victim. I could see how hard he tried and that he was also struggling in an impossible situation he didn’t even understand. Kuron deserved love and support and a family just as much as Shiro did. But for Kuron to get the things he so desperately wanted, it seemed Shiro would have to lose those exact same things, and I couldn’t figure out a way to get out of the zero sum game. Particularly because they both needed so much intense personal and emotional support from their team. And as much as it isn’t fair, I knew from long personal experience that emotional resources are not infinite, and if you can fake being reasonably okay, the people with the most obvious emotional needs will always be taken care of first. And I couldn’t see in such a situation, and with Shiro being the self-sacrificing person that he is, Kuron not winning that unspoken competition. Meanwhile, if I tried just putting Shiro first anyway, I felt so guilty because Kuron deserved all the love and support too.

Which isn’t to say that a story can’t manage to be fair to both of them. I think a few fics have even managed to do it (The Monster in the Mirror by squirenonny is perhaps the most satisfying one I’ve found, and I continue to be astounded by how it manages to cover so much while also staying relatively short. How???! What did you have to sell???). There are also plenty of fics that are still good, and some that even enjoyed, even if they don’t strike the balance that I really want. I’ve just never managed to find the balance I feel like I can write. I still feel some guilt about that because Kuron deserved so much better, but I’ve also accepted that fanfic for me is self-indulgent and about writing the stories I need. So, for instance, there is no clone or clone arc in Stars From Me which is 100% a story that I needed to tell for me.

I will say, that until they killed Kuron off in a move I did not see coming at all, I fully expected to embrace Kuron once the truth came to life and I was able to interact with him as himself instead Not Shiro (Stop Lying!). But that never happened, and he was never given that chance. I’m...honestly still shocked that didn’t happen. (I also have gripes about how the clone arc makes no sense from the Galra/Hagar POV, but that’s for another post and also assumes Voltron was trying to have a coherent plot at that point which is demonstrably false.)

Anyway, all that is probably WAY more personal information than you were hoping for. The TL;DR version is I think Kuron is a good character (and a good person) who tried so, so hard in circumstances that, narratively speaking, are extremely interesting. I just never managed to latch onto him the way I did with the rest of Team Voltron, and there’s a little part of my that irrationally and unfairly resents his existence. I am even sometimes very interested Kuron stories, but I am very, very picky. And I’ve had to quit some otherwise good stories because they inadvertently threw me into a bad headspace.

So how’s that for an answer? XD

[storiesbeyondthestars]

Black Paladin Lance and Why It Won’t Happen. Heads up, this is really long and does not contain pictures because I am tired (it’s almost 2am so if there are typos...sorry.)

Look, I like Lance, I do. He’s one of my favs! The thing is, I really, genuinely think that ‘Black Paladin Lance’ is not only completely unnecessary towards his development, but it actually makes it completely shallow.

Yes, you can get it to work with AUs and in fanfiction, but at this point, in the final season of the show, they are not going to have a permanent lion switch. There is too much plot as it is, they’re not going to do that again.  Not only that, but with the way they have the characters and stories set up, it’d be a huge disservice to both Lance and Keith.

(I can hear hardcore Lance stans screaming at him right now, blocking me or scrolling past this super quickly.)

The thing about Voltron that someone pointed out in a great post recently is that the fandom clings to, well, the fandom version of the show and the characters. I do too. I love all the rich headcanons and backgrounds the fandom has created.

But canon is another thing all together. All the Paladins have different stories and themes. Of course, many of them overlap with one another, and just because the focus on a person doesn’t include a specific, overarching theme, doesn’t mean they can’t experience parts of it. That’s a confusing statement, so let’s get right into Lance.

Lance’s story has never once been about leadership. Not at all. Lance’s desire to fly Black came from a place of self-worth, which is absolutely one of his themes. (Along with love, though all of them technically have this theme in different ways, but Lance’s specifically is romantic love.) That doesn’t mean that Lance can’t develop as a leader. Oh no, he’s definitely done that, but it’s not the focus of his journey.

The Black Lion was always an interesting one. It absolutely is special. Its Paladin is the guardian of the sky/space, it’s the biggest lion, it’s the head/torso of Voltron (literally the brain and heart), and it requires the most energy from their Paladin. However, it was never deemed as more important than the others. That’s something that came entirely from the fandom. It makes sense that they’d look within the group to find the next person to fly Black. You don’t want to bring an external factor into an already built dynamic, not when it comes to the head.

Lance himself is absolutely selfless. He will always put himself before others, however, even back in S3, when he sat in Black, he was thinking of proving himself. He didn’t want Black to be a leader. He wanted Black because he thought it was the only way that he could ever be worth something to the team.

That is why Lance becoming the Black Paladin would have been an absolutely horrible move for his character at that point. We saw how much Keith struggled, and when it comes to missions, piloting, Keith is pretty confident in himself. He didn’t know how to communicate and was far too emotional at the time to listen properly. Now, imagine Lance, who’s unsure of his place on the team, trying to lead at that point? I’m sorry, but you would have had Keith bailing out with Red all the time. He was in a bad place. Again, at that point, Allura probably would have talked over him. Pidge and Hunk, we’ve seen how they don’t always take him seriously. And can you imagine the blow that would have hit him when Shiro came back?

Lance would have crumbled underneath all of that. We saw Keith slowly break down, and Lance isn’t that different from him. Keith would have honestly been a shitty right hand to Lance at the time. Too emotional about Shiro, and Lance wouldn’t have been able to focus on chilling him out alone. It had to be the other way around, with Lance being the one to say ‘you done fucked up’. Lance works better that way. He works better taking a step back to observe before striking. He’s an excellent right hand.

Now, that being said, as he grows, he absolutely does fit into the footsteps of being a leader. If things were different, he absolutely could have been the permanent Black Paladin.

Lance has always been compared to Keith. In reality, we know Keith didn’t see him as a rival. Lance was barely on his radar. In fact, Keith’s rival was probably James, who I imagine was second in that class, becoming first again after Keith got the boot. Yet, Lance still focused on Keith, not James.

From the beginning, it was obvious that Keith was painfully, naturally talented. He even had the favour of Shiro, Lance’s hero. Instead of trying to actually better himself for himself, that type of thinking is more along the lines of ‘the only way I can be better is if I’m in the top spot. That’s the only way I’m worth something’.

Can you see what I mean by how horrible a message that is? Especially for the single most relatable character in the show? The one that they used to bring us into the story?

Look, I get it, I actually used to think that way too. It was only when I started doing things for myself, and not to be the best, that I stopped feeling so anxious about things like that. That’s why I know it’s a horrible way to try and deal with self-worth.

If Lance became Black Paladin, yes, he finally surpasses Keith. He’s finally at the top of Voltron. That could be a very good thing for him, just in a different world where things are different.

Why? Because Lance’s insecurities about his place on the team, his usefulness, largely have been addressed. We see this in S3. He didn’t think Keith would be a good leader, but he respected Black’s choice and instead of arguing, put aside pride to help. To reign him in, to actually be a very vital part of Voltron. We SEE this in the show. His bayard changes. He becomes more confident. He takes on more leadership roles.

Then we see that start to break apart when Kuron takes over Black. Lance still tries, because he thought that was his place. He thought he finally found where he belonged. He’s drowning and crashing and burning, doubting himself again, isolating himself. He’s losing that confidence he gained.

Stepping into the Black Lion directly after that would never have worked for him. He would have second guessed himself over and over again, which in turn would make everyone else second guess him too. Everyone BUT Lance (when it mattered most) did it to Keith.

Going back to Keith. He cares about Lance, he does. He has a bit of an issue with authority though. Except for those that completely earn his respect. For an orphan in the system, one that everyone has shrugged aside, and has assumed the worst of, that’s not at all easy to do. There is one sure-fire way to do this for him though.

Lance did this by proving himself to Keith in S3 by not giving up on him. Who does that remind you of? The one person Keith listened to without question. Keith didn’t question Shiro’s leadership at all. Keith does agree with Lance’s plans when Lance can explain them to him, but at the same time, sometimes he would just walk out a door, you know? It doesn’t make him an awful person, just flawed.

But what about now? Lance had plenty of leadership moments in S6 and 7. That’s true. Everyone did listen to him when Lotor’s generals attacked the castleship and Kuron was down. Even Keith did (though Lance had already gained Keith’s respect at this point). After what Kuron did though, all the times he belittled them, I think Lance would have caved a bit under the pressure to be the Black Paladin. Keith doesn’t now, because he’s has two years to let go of the past, two years to become more comfortable in his own skin.

Lance? Lance worked hard to get Red’s respect. That should not be understated. So many people just want Lance in either Blue or Black, with Red as a stepping stone in between. That’s bullshit. Red is the hardest lion to earn the respect of (kind of like the Keith), the hardest to fly. Lance is absolutely kickass with Red.

We see Keith choose Lance to lead in his absence, or we see him rely on Lance over and over again when he’s the Black Paladin. Keith, the one person Lance has always wanted to outdo, relies on him. Keith doesn’t doubt Lance. Keith knows he’s worth something. Do you realize how powerful that actually is? How much that lifts someone up. I don’t care if you ship them, but their story arcs involve one another any way you look at it. Lance needs Keith to be the leader. That configuration of Voltron is where he understands exactly who he is and where he fits in.

I mean, just so there was no confusion about people overlooking what was shown to us in the show, they bluntly said this in his book.  They released those books after S7 for a reason (they could have released them before, but didn’t). Lance basically says that being the RED Paladin helped him figure out where he belongs, helped him realize that he is worth something.

“Kaylee, that doesn’t mean he can’t be the Black Paladin. It only adds onto that.”

This is where you have to consider the type of show this is. Despite people complaining about it, it’s not the Keith show. It’s not the Shiro sow. It will never be the Lance show. It’s a team thing. You have to consider character growth for everyone.

Keith going back to Red instantly negates his entire leadership arc. It negates all of Shiro’s belief in him. It would make Lance becoming Black Paladin absolutely hollow. It doesn’t make sense for Keith’s story, especially not in the LAST season where they’re trying to close up story arcs.

Keith’s themes include leadership and opening up to others. He has always clung to the familiar in the past (his knife, Shiro, Red). It’s when he’s pushed into uncomfortable areas that he grows (as do most characters). Keith didn’t want to be the Black Paladin, but he grew up. He accepted it. He has fond memories of Red and the past, but as he learned to do with Krolia, he lets go of the past. He knows now that he needs his team, even if he relapses from time to time. (We have each other).  Keith is still growing into a leader, working out the more personal and intimate details of his team (like comforting Hunk). He’s still not done there. Shoving him back in Red would instantly stop this development, because he’s back in a comfort zone.

I do think that we’re going to see Lance pilot Black at some point, but I don’t think it’s going to be permanent. I think Black will let Lance fly them the same way they let Keith did when he saved Shiro (at the beginning of S2), probably to help Keith in some capacity. Maybe they even manage to form Voltronl though that would be difficult since they’d need someone else in Red…though that’d be a great time to let Coran finally pilot Red for a moment, then we don’t have to deal with Allura going into Red and then everyone switching back once they get Keith back, it only comes down to Keith and Lance here.

I can absolutely picture them having a moment that mirrors Zarkon and Alfor (which works well both as is, since Keith’s part Galra, and Lance has a broadsword and similarities to Alfor, or can also work if you like the theory that someone may try to get Keith to be the Emperor). Keith is going to ask Lance if he wants to take Black, just like Zarkon did with Alfor.

What’s more powerful? (I’m sorry, these are terribly biased, but oh well.)

Lance accepting. He goes into Black, only getting the position at this point because Keith backed down. Keith goes into Red, completely blowing away all of character development for him as a leader. They now have to do more team building to figure out this new Voltron during what will be a terribly busy last season, but hey, Lance is finally top dog so that’s what matters.

Lance appreciates the fact that Black let him in. There was a little bit of validation there that was needed. However, he insists on going back to Red, because he knows that’s where he belongs. He no longer questions his place on the team, and he’s choosing this. Insecurities? What are those? Lance has got this covered. Keith’s development? Still in-tact. All the team bonding in S6? Not thrown out the window.

I get why people like Black Paladin Lance, but I genuinely think, as a person who loves both him and Keith, that it’d be the absolute wrong move for BOTH of them. You may have your own interpretations, that’s fine, this is just mine.

[empty-blog-for-lurking]

I'm thinkn.. what does ps8 Kuron and Lance's relationship look like after lance wakes up? of course Kuron is Lance's Little Guy TM but also they never really got the chance to truly bond and become friends, and now Kuron is. y'know. being Kuron.. and lance is full of grief and trauma and also The Horrors

i feel like at first its gonna ba at least a little awkward lol

It'll be really fucking awkward for both of them indeed!! But not nearly as awkward. The timeline and the story ideas are not clear but like i feel like there is some shit going on during Lance wakes up and he takes a long time (maybe i'll bring my quintessence ideas for this? Maybe) and when he wakes up he isnt exactly There at first. So like by the time Lance wakes up, Kuron has already had a lot of his character development

And yeah Lance and Kuron is a bit complicated relationship cause like i have said Kuron is grateful for Lance for actually saving him, but also he's a bit angry and most importantly confused cause just why? Why all this? Why now? How did you? What happened to you? And just this confusion that is plaguing since he got his new body.

Meanwhile Lance genuinely cares about Kuron but also is y'know. Busy. Not to mention Lance kinda expected Kuron to be like he was 'used' to be, or rather the rosy eyed version that was Kuron was 'a sweet sensitive guy who can do no wrong and Did Not deserve That' (which isnt wrong but also) (also same with Allura)

But this is something that can be talked out, and it might take some time and development for both of them but by the end i think it's just hugs and a big healing moment for both of them and it would be like a promise to bond and stuff

That being said this isnt exactly final, cause like i said i am still trying to figure out the timeline and story plot and everything so this is very much going to change