#anti bp lance

[harukamitsuki]

Ur soooo right abt Lance I think he just became the fandom’s darling because people saw inklings of insecurity and home sickness and zeroed in. He’s whump bait, but like without the more complicated issues tied into Shiro, Allura, and Keith’s problems. Prime projection material.

He has potential and I appreciate fandom’s ability to see that in him, but you’re so right that people have completely forgotten who he is in canon. He *could* have been better, but he wasn’t and it’s frustrating that people have lost sight of that because I think it would genuinely produce more interesting takes on his character and role in the story. As someone who genuinely wants him to be a better character it makes me want to eat dry wall.

Lance, first and foremost, is the everyday man. That's why he's so popular. He is far from a piloting prodigy, flirts with every pretty girl, funny and exaggerative, has a generic weapon like a rifle, is the first paladin to find his Lion, and has the most basic interal conflict there can be. Which is why everyone loves him.

Shiro? Shiro is confirmed gay, was hailed as the most promising pilot pre-canon, was officially the youngest man sent into space, but also had an illness for canon forgot about it, had major PTSD that left him unable to move in most cases, considered himself broken if his hallucinations said anything, and literally died. He's good leader matieral, able to handle a group of four wildly differing teenagers and only really let his emotions plan his course of action once (when Allura was kidnapped). This man is insanely skilled but also insanely traumatised.

Keith? Keith beat all of the records Shiro set and was known as a genius in the field, only held back by his defense mechanisms and rushing on ahead. He was abandoned by his mother when he was a toddle, then his father died implicitly before his eyes, he was then an orphan where he was probably passed around from family to family, ot feeding into his adandonment issues. He gained a friend in Shiro, the first person to reach out to him, and then lost him a few years later. He finally gets Shiro back, only for more shit to happen. He finds out his mom was Galra, and becomes sorry that he even existed because of this. Nobody on Voltron actually felt like his friend with Pidge constantly calling him a loner right after he lost Shiro, Hunk poking fun at his Galra genes, and Lance playing up this one-sidedly rivalry and taking everything he does as an attack on his person. He loses Shiro again and has to constantly give him up for the sake of Voltron and the universe. The only time he can focus on himself is when Shiro is back and he distants himself for the team's sake and they just let him go. He's so affected by grief before the story starts and it doesn't give him a break. Even so, he's so kind and genuine about everything. He becomes the Black Paladin, not because he had no choice. Maybe at first, but he grows into that role and becomes a great leader.

Pidge? Pidge is a prodigy and a genius, able to hack firm and software from alien planets. She can fly a jet just from reading instruction manuels and have little to no trouble. At the same time, lost her brother and father all at once. When she finally got some clue as to what happened to them, she was kicked out and banned from the Garrison. She disguised as a boy and snuck in, abandoning her dream of becoming a fighter pilot because navigation would teach her more about scanning space for extraterrestrial communication and lifeforms. When she finally has the chance to find her family, she has to constantly give them and clues she may find up because Volton and the universe come first.

Hunk? Hunk is just as much of a genius as Pidge, even if the writers forget, with him able to spot foul play on an alien ship easily. He's so kind and loving yet fierce with his protection and so strong when defending his friends. He keeps spirits high with his warming attitude, even if he's the most home sick of them all. He acts the most realistically to become a child soldier. Still, even when he's terrified, he pushes on so that people like Shay can find out what freedom is. Feel it for themselves. When they go back to Earth, Hunk is the only one who has to fight to get his parents back and earn his happy ending. He suffers throughout the series, but he's always looking at the greener side.

Allura and Coran? They lost their families and thejr entire species before canon ever began. They lost so much and have nothing but revenge fueling them. They have to deal with the fact that they slept through the massacre of the Altean species and woke up far too late. They have to deal with inexperienced humans who have no real attachment to the war. They have to deal with the fact that they are the last of the Alteans. And when it's finally revealed that there are more survivors, they have to deal with the fact that they're being farmed by Lotor/Honerva for their quintessence. Allura was so depressed in season eight after falling for Lotor then being used so thoroughly by him. Coran never got to say goodbye to Allura before she died. Despite this, they still fight with all they have, making sure nobody has to face the loss they've felt.

Lance? Um. He's insecure about his place in the team? I guess Veronica nearly died but she didn't so whatever... He did spend a lot of his time in the Garrison being compared to Keith... But he also spent time he could've used to better his skills to sneak out and flirt with girls or hit the arcade. Um... I guess...

Um. Yeah.

See, I always wonder how people see such angst potential in Lance, or even see him as an angsty character in general. They act as though he's suffered the most in canon when, in reality, he hasn't. He has the most generic troubles and, I guess, it's more relatable that way? People don't have to struggle to relate to PTSD or abandonment issues or identity issues or child soldiers or losing your entire species.

Insecurity? That's easy because everyone feels insecure.

Which is why Lance is so popular.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this isn't valid. It sucks to feel insecure and doubt your every move. The only difference is how common Lance's issues are compared to everyone else. Because Lance is generic as hell, people love to vent through him.

Lance has a stable friendship group, is constantly given everything he wants, and even manages to destroy what has been the canon ship over decades (Kallura). He invented a rivalry with Keith, who didn't even know who he was when they met. Because of that, people either ship them for the 'rivals to lovers' trope or hate Keith and act as though Keith was bullying him. Shiro doesn't take Lance's side often because Lance's ideas are dangerous or reckless. He still tries to let him down gently, making logical arguments (see: Shiro explaining that Red is fire-resistant so Keith has to go to the BOM HQ). Oh, but he's not on Lance's side so the fandom decides he's an awful leader. As if they know what a good leader is. They think a good leader is someone who gets distracted by a pretty girl and blames everyone but himself.

The only thing not given to Lance on a silver platter is Black. Thank God. But because he wasn't given Black when he was given everything else, fandom decides that DreamWorks hates Lance and decides to argue that Lance was always destined to be the Black Paladin. Ignoring how Black's colour scheme was LITERALLY ON KEITH'S CLOTHES.

So. Yeah. He definitely has potential before DreamWorks just started rewarding him for breathing. The insecurity he has could have been a good way to develop his character. He could have become someone outside of Keith or Shiro's shadow. He didn't need a love interest to prosper, as proven by the fact that he never prospered in canon.

His potential was there, just ignored because the writers were allergic to complex characters, even to the smallest degree.

(They should have gotten the writers for Race to the Edge to do Voltron ugh)

[harukamitsuki]

I have one thing to say about this. Wrong. The only reason Keith didn't want to lead is because he was forced into it. Because him taking over the Black Lion would be like admitting that Shiro really is gine, and Keith didn't want to think that.

Lance wanted the Black Lion for himself. Not for the team. That's why Black rejected him.

'He was already teammates with Pidge and Hunk,' yeah and he sucked. Episode One showed that with no filters. They crashed the simulator and, from Lance's own words later on, they always crash.

'Without him, the Blue Lion would have never went to space.' Um. Without Keith, he wouldn't have found the Blue Lion anyway? Without Pidge, he wouldn't have even gone to Shiro's crash site? Lance is not that pivotal. Keith and Shiro set things in motion.

And Lance making sure everyone got along well? He isolated Keith. He always started shit with him, even when Keith was obviously greiving Shiro. Yeah, for one scene, he set his jealousy aside, which somehow made him the Red Paladin (should have been Allura). But, if I were in any of their shoes, I would not be willing to follow someone who's already had their Lion stolen from them, constantly flirts with any pretty girl, gets jealous over the smallest of things, and has an ego bigger than the teleduv. Yeah, he's insecure, but it's not what he expresses to everyone else. To others, he's egotistical.

Also.

The Black Lion chose Keith specifically because Keith did not want the position for himself. Shiro didn't want Keith to lead because he's his brother and he wants the best for him. If that was the case, he wouldn't be encouraging him to lead them in a war. He chose Keith because Keith proved himself to have the potential to be a better leader than Shiro.

What do I mean by that? Well, I'm talking about how Keith is constantly the first one to issue orders when Shiro's not around or able to and it always works. He's constantly telling the guys what to do when Shiro can't. I'm talking about how Keith advised not going to get Allura. Because, as much as people give him shit for that scene, he was right.

If Thace hadn't been there, Voltron would have been taken and the mission would have been a collosal failure. Allura herself said that they should not have come. Shiro, right then, was not thinking clearly. There were others ways to get Allura back. They should have come up with an actual plan, as Keith suggested though with poorly-chosen words, instead of rushing back in.

Lance showed no affinity for leadership. As far as I'm aware, Lance stans think he should be the Balck Paladin because...? Why? Because you think it'd give him a good character arc? Because he's the everyday man and it makes you feel good about youself? You're sacrificing a well-written character arc for meaningless titles.

Lance did not have to be the Black Paladin to have his own character arc. That's just lazy writing and fans wishing he was Shiro.

I don't know why, but I'm on an angry V:LD rant. But Keith should NOT have been the black paladin. No matter what Shiro said.

Keith was hot-headed, he got frustrated easily, he held anger in. None of those are things that make a good leader. Those are all detrimental to both the functionality of a team, and if let simmer and stew it could even hurt the teammates.

The only reason Shiro said it was because of his relationship with Keith. They were brothers.. He loved him and wanted him to finish what he'd started. Their bond was too close and it clouded his judgement. Hell, Keith didnt even WANT to lead.

A leader is someone who looks out for their team. Makes sure their in the right headspace and are getting along nicely. Someone who holds the team together. A leader should be someone that eases tension between the group. Who did all of those things?

Lance McClain. He did all of those things and he wanted to lead. He literally set the whole plot into motion. Without him the blue lion would have never went to space. Without him The group of humans wouldve never met the Alteans. Hell, Hunk and Pidge wouldn't have even snuck out had it not been for lance. He brought the team together. He was already teammates with Hunk and Pidge. It's arguable, but Lance was Coran's favorite paladin. Once he set aside his crush he and Allura were good friends. He respected Shiro. He and Keith even became good friends. He did that. Lance did.

Lance deserved to lead, and I want to say that the only reason Black opened up to Keith was because of Shiro. He put that out there and as a last wish, and Black fulfilled it. But Lance should've become the Black paladin after Shiro.

[bornfromthecosmos]

Been eons but fuck it! Aiden deserves a epilogue, I think its important for him to realize how traumatic his relationship was with Marmora, I was leaning into it towards the end before I abandoned everything all together but Mainverse! Aiden gets with Rosa and completely retires from piloting Green to becoming a engineering professor! I believe the last "episode" was when Aiden visited his two younger siblings- vowing to do better for them... he ends up mentoring Elitor as Blue decided to pick her! Aiden was apart of the Garrison for decades before retiring indefinitely after his third born... Rosa and Aid have twins of their own! They have sunday dinners with Merc and Lance- and Aiden finally views Merc as family!!! He's warmed up!! They bond over how fuck up Marmora was. What a creep.

To conclude Aiden finally rid himself of that dingy shack and found himself surrounded by the embrace of those that love him.

Now for my hardcore canon divergence au of BP! Aiden? He had a lot more twists! I was teasing/testing the idea of him being a clone of a dead version of himself or a druid experiment gone wrong... including a arc where it's revealed Akane was working with Haggar to triple cross Merla- (the daughter of Lotura!) who wants to eradicate all that sympathize with the Empire- I was only beginning to delve into Quintessence and it's colour properties AND Merla and Jeremy's son being the red paladin, needless to say a lot of plot of planned.

Aiden returning to Black and his team- more Aiden and Marx as co leaders or just bonding in general.

Yuki and Rosita are the precursor of Lumity- go back and read/watch their scenes.

I wanted to explore a possible anti hero arc for Jeremy... ouu omg I was excited for his arc in general- it was just beginning to heat up for his character and I was excited for how the shift of Allura griefing her dead child to the dead child being revived and slightly corrupted being groomed to kill her own birth mother.. being intrigued by a human group and falling for one of the pilots.. leading to James

Endgames that were teased but I might as well feed yall!! Jeremy/Aiden- they get together during a diplomatic mission that ended up being a set up- scenes of Aiden teaching him to cool his temper and giving him pointers on diplomacy and losing themselves in eachothers gazes... THEM! BEING! A! POWER COUPLE!" They're fighting back to back and cover eachothers's weaknesses while they were harmonious before.. this is after Aiden's crush wears off and they start naturally connecting.. Jeremy looked at him one day and said "fuck."

Yuki/Rosita.. or Aster??? I honestly think if they kept going there would've been a rift.. oh and Yuki would've sacrificed herself in a "Bury-Your-Gays" fashion! Period! Maybe Jeremy but after Aiden-Yuki passes and its more out of comfort now.. they thought they could love eachother as they did when they were kids.. before their dead lovers.

Ryou and Marxal deserve the cosmos!! Marx is a diplomatic symbol becoming extremely efficient with politics.. aside from that though he loves coming home seeing his trophy husband passed out in the dirt with their dog playing dead to be silly- I actually can see this couple being veryyy passionate compared to Yuki x Rosa(upon "rewatch" these two were a bit.. rushed and forced- we should've nurtured it a lot more.)Ryou is a social worker at the Galactic pit. He takes in experiments and every other child that's been harmed and makes it his duty they find their happiness like his teammates and husband did for him.

THE WHITE LION WAS GONNA GE MARX'S ARC. DONT ASK! I teased it for Rosa and Aiden interchangeably.. but honestly it could be a Jeremy and Marx moment.

[void-tiger]

I still wonder about whether Jiro's death tied into Lance's end-of-series depression, considering how hard Lance cried immediately afterward and then how we see his expression turn sad when Shiro makes his "evil clone" remark. I know we don't see anyone mourn Jiro, but those two moments we get from Lance does make me wonder if he mourned Jiro and then HAD to "move on." I dunno, maybe this is applying more compassion into the series than there actually was, but it's a cold comfort

I’ve wondered the same thing.

I don’t blame Takashi for his anger at Jiro. Not at all. He deserves to be hurt and angry for being both left inside the astral plane and replaced with nobody realizing it (including Keith and Pidge, who arguably knew him the best because of his relationships with them before the Kerberos Mission), and it is one of the few times he’s even allowed to express himself (or have lines) at all.

But, I can’t forget Lance’s tears when he sees Jiro’s unconcious body. His words could be directed to both Takashi and Jiro...but I think they were intended more for Jiro. He’s speaking to Jiro’s body, not the BlackLion still sheltering Takashi’s soul. And I definitely can’t forget Lance’s growing distress and shame during Takashi’s one (1) tirade at Jiro’s expense (while venomously speaking out about the “evil clone” out of said clone’s lips).

Lance frantically apologized to Jiro’s body, but moved aside when Allura directed him to. Jiro died as a result.

Except he didn’t, as we learn literally an episode later.

And what place does Lance even have to even contradict Shiro when his instinct to keep Shiro’s Warning between him and Jiro, and Jiro finally finally confessing that something’s Not Right (because Lance respects “Shiro” too much to betray that trust; Shiro often forgets things when trauma’s involved) ...only resulted in Jiro getting mindcontroled and turned against the Team, then harvested like Lotor had done (only to a single person verses an entire surviving ethnic group).

Lance’s inaction because he was thinking like a Leg—an emotional support—contributed to this mess. So what right does he have to even protest. But not speaking up—yet again—makes things worse.

-

Granted, all of this is literally because of how Mir animated these scenes, with a side of Josh’s voice acting. I dunno how much we can credit Jeremy, since those lines unless you’re intentionally working from a There Are Two headcanon (which Josh held from the start and let it influence his voice acting) ...are ambiguous on their own. The writers and monsantos certainly never acknowledged Takashi and Jiro as their own persons, and therefore saw nothing wrong with harvesting a living body for another’s soul—and even using a minority who just learned her people were harvested to death to do it!

Everything about Jiro’s Death and using Allura to do it is beyond tonedeaf and absolutely senseless.

Which. So is even “killing” Shiro by destroying his body, but BlackLion cradled his soul...but he’s no longer the Black Paladin now...because...???

For pete’s sake. Transporter Shenanigans are quite literally a Scifi Staple, especially in Startrek. And last I checked the BlackLion is a teleporting Lion, and even holding Shiro’s soul is the quintessinal expression of their Bond. And what do you MEAN “the Bond is severed” (in interviews only, not canon) when by the end of s7 we see the remaining Paladins literally using the Lions as Remote Control Planes with their souls and Bonds alone, going so far as for the Lions to even transmit their voices despite the Paladins not being physically present inside them!

[shiroallura]

i hate black paladin lance i hate lance stans who want black paladin lance i hate antis who want black paladin lance i hate black paladin lance so much did shiro just not exist for the first two seasons did shiro’s struggle just mean nothing so you can prop up your underdeveloped fave that you want to be deep that you want to be shiro does the concept of having character arcs that don’t shit all over another character’s arc just not exist to you like black paladin lance in s3 was terrible but at least it could be a temporary change but people are really out here acting like that’s what s6 is leading to even though black already passed over lance twice the second time for hours and there are two other pilots for her keith and kuron that are actual narrative options and then there’s shiro who has a parallel arc to black who saved her from zarkon who was chosen by her twice three times if kuron is a sleeper agent and the only way for black paladin lance to exist now is if it’s permanent and what the hell does that mean for shiro why does he always have to be left out in the cold to prop up lance why do you hate shiro why do you want shiro to hate lance why do you want lance to be shiro and i hate it i hate black paladin lance so much and i’ll unfollow anyone who posts it and if it’s something you want in canon unfollow me right now because it’s bullshit. it’s such bullshit. 

[iota-in-space]

..

[basilepesso]

Jews Will Save the World ?

3 or 4 years ago, I published a text called “Jews Will Save the World”. It was not pure sycophancy but a questioning on the obvious role of some enlightened and brave Jews in the Western Resistance, in particular the French one, as it’s France who is, by veeeeeery far, the most attacked country in Europe and in the West, South Africa being a specific case. Many goyim (non Jews) have been wondering why so many Jews were highlighted in the Resistance, and conclude that it’s part of Jewish domination. It’s a thesis I don’t reject, all the while systematically praising these fers de lance de la Résistance française as Alain Finkielkraut, Eric Zemmour and Gilles-William Goldnadel, the three stars having very different origins (Poland, Algeria, Israel) in spite of their common religion and remarkable qualities, literary among others. On the other side of this spectrum, many people have noticed for years or more that many Jews were also at the head of the neo-collaboration, in particular in the “anti-racist” associations. The general picture is hard to define, but makes people speak and speculate, for example on the (absolutely false) possibility that Zemmour for example would be a “sayan” (an Israeli spy) trying to excite natives against ALL Muslims and trying to start a civil war, serving the messianic plans of many Jewish extremists among which some crazy rabbis - the problem being that Zemmour hasn’t any connection with these plans, and is typically an assimilated Jew, lover of France and French history, so much that he’s also sometimes called “anti-semitic” by as stupid people as the fore-evoked, mainly because he wrote and spoke about Pétain having saved French Jews - which is a fact, Pétain having made a deal with Hitler to save French Jews in exchange of foreign ones. BP. Extract of the book Once, We Were - a History of neo-collaboration and madness

Remy Zero, Save Me

[heroesandmasterminds]

Presenting my new VLD sideblog!

All my Voltron content from my main will be reblogged there and all my VLD posts will be there from now on, so follow to see that stuff! Link here

https://thewingsofvoltron.tumblr.com

This is the sort of content you can expect:

Lots of Klance!

Multishipping for other characters, particularly Shiro and Allura, but a lot of Shallura

I prefer the original lion/paladin line-up but I don't mind the later seasons' ones much at all

A bit of BP Allura and Lance content

No romantic Allurance or Sheith but plenty of brOTP for those two because I love it!

General brOTPs all around between various Team Voltron members and other characters

Two years after this show has ended, I'm simply not getting involved in discourse - we all have better things to do with our lives

Not an anti, everyone likes this show the way they want it and I'm happy about that

Please do check it out!

[junkosaotomes]

Get rekt scrub 😝😝

………anyway, black paladin who? 🐸☕️

[sol1056]

another round of asks: keith

This feels like one of those things where you type ‘keith is’ into google and see what comes up.

Keith is a self-insert

Keith is on his way to becoming (a) god

Keith is destined to be emperor

Keith is friends with Lance > Keith is friends with Shiro 

Keith is over Shiro [ + kills Sendak]

Behind the cut.

Keith is a self-insert

I have no proof for this but I think that a majority of VLD’s writing staff are secretly making Keith their self-insert character.

It’s an amusing idea, but it’s very hard to do that when it’s a collaborative exercise like writing for television. Ostensibly collaborative, that is, ‘cause hell if I know at this point whether anyone has say beyond the EPs, but more on that in another post. 

I’ve never heard of anyone in the deciding-level staff (the EPs or the writers) say that Keith is their favorite. JDS is clear that his personal favorite is Lance, and LM’s been known for being pro-Pidge since the beginning. Early on (like S1), Hedrick’s on record saying that it mapped nicely, since he felt the most affinity for Hunk in some ways, but that’s not what I’d call a preference in the same way as I’ve seen JDS and LM speak of their favorites. 

More likely Keith is not a self-insert so much as a kind of every-hero. It’s really quite remarkable --- given how much the EPs are so blunt about their dislike for Shiro --- how the story events, put together, could be seen as split almost evenly between them. To the point we had nearly two seasons where they were never in the same room together, never exchanged any words, nothing. Like matter and anti-matter. 

To put it bluntly: by S7, Shiro pays the price, and Keith gets the rewards. We didn’t get to this point overnight; in S1/S2, it was split a bit more evenly, and the rest of the team had some share in the prices and the rewards, too. But that concept of an ensemble cast got tossed out the window to lie dead on the highway tarmac, somewhere around S4. 

The thing is, a character needs a conflict, needs an obstacle, because failing (and suffering the consequences) and trying again (and growing from it) is the only route to character development. And that’s been almost criminally denied to Hunk, Lance, and Pidge (and since S3, Allura). Their paths have been continually softened, if not truncated outright. 

I was noodling around last night, and this quote jumped out at me: ‘Dos Santos says they did think Pidge deserved a happy ending. “We wanted Pidge to have the true reunion she deserved...”’ They did the same for Lance and Hunk, whose families also survived. But what about Allura? Is her happy ending just Getting A Nice Boyfriend? Where’s Shiro’s or Keith’s happy ending? 

The result is that the story’s necessary conflict and tension --- because it must be there, or we’re all just watching paint dry --- gets shifted to Keith and Shiro. And with the bulk of that conflict landing on Shiro to suffer all consequences while Keith gets all the hero moments... it’s no surprise Keith might feel like a self-insert, since that treatment usually correlates. 

But I think it’s less self-insert, and more that with Shiro taking on all the EPs’ dislike, there’s not much left for Keith to do. 

Keith is on his way to becoming (a) god

At this rate, Keith will turn into god by the end of the show (like madoka, space dandy, and oban star racers), with all the stuff that gets handed to him, it doesn’t seem far-fetched anymore.

Okay, that’s out of left-field, but... it might actually improve the story if he turned out to be a long-lost twin of Haruhi Suzumiya (though I would totally dig if it were Haruhara Haruko instead, but only if the Atlas turns into a giant iron). 

With the way Keith's quintessence sensing came to the forefront several times this season, I still wonder (and fear, a little) about the possibility of him being part Altean. Even if there is a slim out with learning the druids were Galra, the focus on Alteans still has me worried that the last season will overlook Allura and Romelle in favor of having Keith develop druid powers and learn his connection to the Alteans.

Thing is, we’re so far along in the story that I don’t expect any of the odd abilities to ever be explained --- anymore than we ever got an explanation as to why quintessence reveals a skin tone Keith’s never demonstrated since, at least not to the same striking degree. And truth is, I don’t think the EPs know. I have a strong suspicion there was a lot of groundwork laid in the first two seasons that have since been abandoned. So I don’t expect it to fit together, in the end, and would not be surprised if everything’s hand-waved. 

So who knows. 

Keith is destined to be emperor

People are speculating on Galra emperor Keith (partly because he’s apparently magic now). Would explain why this season pushed Keith as leader... even though he never wanted to be a leader. And the leadership arc wasn’t really natural to his character. Also, whatever happened to democracies?

Emperor? Because magic? I mean, wouldn’t that make Allura a better candidate? I know, it’s so easy to forget she exists, now, but she did have a line or two this season. (Okay okay I kid, she had maybe a half-dozen.) 

I really don’t know. When I put on my writer’s hat, Keith’s entire arc really doesn’t make much sense. He spent way too much time in S2 and S3 protesting and fighting ever being a leader, and I have no idea how he got from that point to S7′s sudden undiscussed and unquestioned acceptance of the role. If there was development there, I would’ve liked to have seen it. 

Because without that, it’s still hard to look at the character onscreen and see it as the same person. Maybe they are setting up Keith to be emperor. I have no idea how that logic even works. Of course, seems like logic left the building about four seasons back but go off I guess. 

That reminds me of the teaser version that used to be all over the place --- and now I only see on the Google results --- that closes with “to conquer the Galra Empire.” That’s a rather specific word, compared to, say, “overthrow” or “defeat” or “end.” Conquering is what you do when your plan is to take over, after all. Maybe the idea of Emperor Keith isn’t that out-there. Hell if I know. 

As for democracies... well, the EPs have never mentioned influences that’d make me think genre political savvy (ie Gundam, Code Geass, Gasaraki, etc). Probably easier to have monarchs: one Puigian leader for the entire planet. 

Earth does get to be the exception there... with a social structure that appears to rest entirely in the quasi-military hands of the Garrison. Was there even a single civilian present, as the obligatory elected spokesperson for the people?  Pretty sure there wasn’t. (This is not unique to VLD; we have the same discussion on a regular basis in the SFF community about the bizarre prevalence of monarchial systems in American-written SFF.)  

Keith is friends with Lance > Keith is friends with Shiro  

There were scenes which would be v sweet for Keith and Lance if they weren't explicitly there to prove how useless Shiro is, and many to show how useless KEITH thinks Shiro is, and that’s why Keith took [Shiro’s] place. [Before S7] ... Keith wouldn't step on Shiro like that, take Black and his place in the team and his healing away from him. But S7? Behold the new Shiro and Keith dynamic. Keith choosing Lance to lead while Shiro’s right there? Roger that team leader SHIRO’S RIGHT THERE! +Sendak thing?

@sassafrassrex did a meta on the Sendak-Shiro fight that’s a must-read, so I won’t repeat that here. As for the rest... I mentioned above that Keith felt very unlike himself this season, and his dynamic with Shiro --- or complete lack thereof --- was a big part of it. 

After all this time, we’re overdue for seeing a solid friendship between all the paladins, and that includes Keith and Lance. Most of what I saw felt... well, uneven would be the best word. S1/S2 at its best, between them, was more of a good-natured teasing. S7 felt harsher, to me, as though it was Keith’s turn to be the asshole.  

More than that, though, is that it almost feels like the writers can’t figure out how Keith could cherish Shiro and yet have other friends --- so instead they chose to highlight Lance to the near-exclusion of Shiro. And that’s no better for Lance, either, because again he’s just a substitute. 

Frankly, I’m tired of Lance always ending up with someone else’s leftovers. 

Keith is over Shiro

They really had Keith kill a version of his most important person in the world (who he thought was Shiro) so he can rise as BP, then toss Shiro aside as broken, even choosing Lance as right hand over him. *And* to pick the one who abandoned him twice -- and at the end were [framed as a] “family" with Kolivan -- over Shiro who never gave up on him. Krolia even got an I-love-you *and* got called Mom for leaving. What fucked-up messages, lemme tell you, as someone who relates to Keith.

Put like that, it is pretty brutal. Not sure how else to read how completely Shiro is excluded from the narrative for the first 3/4s of the season, down to being literally frozen out --- and it’s most striking of all considering this is Keith we’re talking about. The one even the EPs describe as being so devoted to Shiro that he’d never dream --- let alone be capable of --- walking away (though the co-dependent note in that description skeeves me out some)... and then S7 starts and after the first episode, the two barely exchange any words. 

This was the one person Shiro was always vulnerable with, and Shiro was the one person Keith relaxed around. While yes, the team is way way overdue for doing that with each other beyond their original dynamics (and what I wouldn’t give for some real friendship-bonding between Allura and Keith, damn it), the complete absence made the season feel hollow. 

Just as Lance’s and Hunk’s friendship provided heart in the early seasons, so did Shiro’s and Keith’s. The absence of that, in S7, was nearly palpable. And it did make Keith look like someone who’d taken a long hard look at his best friend and decided Shiro was no longer worth it. This is the character who’d go back for a colleague even when the clock is ticking, who didn’t want to see Thace sacrifice himself, or see Regris killed, and went to the ends of the universe for Shiro? What wouldn’t he do for a friend? Unless, of course, that friend was killed, cloned, and brought back broken.

It comes down to two possible explanations: one is that the writers genuinely don’t know how to balance Keith’s devotion to Shiro while also letting Keith connect to the rest of the team. I’m having trouble believing they’d be that clueless about how friendships work, though. 

The other possibility is that we didn’t quite get the entire story when JDS said there’d been two versions of S6. I think what we’re seeing is the original script and storyboards for S7, leftover from when the EPs pitched a version where Shiro died at the end of S2 and never returned. 

The reason might’ve gone like this: we need N hours to sit down and write S7 with Shiro as Black Paladin (as they would for any other season). But if we just re-use the original storyboards with Keith as Black Paladin, we’ll save X dollars. Just edit a little to add Shiro, plus we’ll have the cash freed up to do [some set piece] so it’s really cool. 

JDS pitched the Atlas as the awesome and amazing consolation prize for Shiro, according to recent interviews. He might’ve argued the cost-cutting step would also let them expand Shiro’s role in the finale. 

My guess for the reason why Keith was the one to kill Sendak (besides the writers hating shiro and Keith needing to resolve every plotline himself now) is that Shiro killed Zarkon, the first major villain, so maybe that was one of their reasons to give that kill to Keith.

I was pondering that until I got to thinking about why the execs would reverse course and allow the EPs to shelve Shiro. I think that’s the reason Keith kills Sendak: it remained from the original storyline, where Keith took revenge on the person who’d tortured Keith’s best friend. Which in Shiro’s absence would’ve been powerful. In Shiro’s presence it’s... demoralizing. 

Bottom line: execs love cost reductions above all else. (Newsflash: DW is a business.) Given how the execs have consistently been described as pro-Shiro, cost is the only thing I can see convincing them otherwise. Especially if the series has already hit budget overruns from rewrites and redoes in previous seasons --- and if they’ve done this before to save money, by pasting Kuron where Keith would’ve been for most of S3-S6. 

That would explain why Keith doesn’t seem to even notice Shiro for most of S7. Because when the script was written, Shiro wasn’t there. 

note: it might also explain the EPs’ hints at a spoiler, but I’ll leave that wild speculation to @ptw30 to explain.

[harukamitsuki]

Okay... I am currently back on my Voltron bullshit and continuing my rewrite of Voltron. And I'm constantly reminding of HOW MUCH I HATE LANCE.

Don't get me wrong. I am still treating Lance fairly in my fic, making sure he gets screen-time and a proper character acr and stuff.

But by GODS. This man pisses me off so much and that's only made worse by his stans. I was scrolling through Keith's tag here on tumblr. I also have Kl@nce filtered out. I cannot see a single post without at least three pages of scrolling and then it's only ONE POST. AND IT'S STILL KLANCE BECAUSE IT HASN'T BEEN TAGGED CORRECTLY.

Anyway. Onto the actual things I hate about Lance and not just his fandom.

Lance is a fucking asshole. I mean that on the deepest level. Let's go through it chronologically because I cannot rank it from least to most assholery, because some things are on the same level.

1 - Allura wakes up from the cryopod and Lances catches her. She's confused and dazed and the first thing you should do is ask if she's alright. Oh, but Lance is above that. Instead, he flirts with her. Karma given immediately as she calls his ears hideous and puts him in a submission hold, which is why I kept that scene in my fic, but that was still wrong. I know it was played for comedic effect, but that doesn't make it not canon. It's canonically accurate that if you've awoken from a coma, Lance's first instinct is to flirt with you if you're pretty.

2 - Literally throws Hunk into the middle of a battle. I get that Hunk was supposed to leave the Lion anyway, but just shoving him out when there are lasers everywhere and Hunk has no protection? Yeah. So much for 'best friend'. Add on the fact that Lance never really treats Hunk like a friend. At all.

3 - Okay. Season 1 Lance isn't bad outside of those two examples, even if he has his dumb moments, so let's jump to Season 2. Starting shit with Keith for no reason. People can go 'oh, Keith obviously did something to him at the Garrison' but he DIDN'T. The writers themselves confirmed that Keith did nothing to Lance, he just started shit with Keith all the fucking time. Like accussing Keith of wanting Blue and cutting him off when he tried to explain what was actually happening, even though Lance is the one who was outraged initially that Keith had Red. Or how about Lance getting up in Shiro's face and screaming his head off about how Keith would rather kill people than listen to them, as if he knew Keith at all after bullying him the entire time.

4 - Okay. This one pissed me off the most and is the biggest reason I'm making this post. The fact that Lance used Shiro's death/disappearance against Keith. Keith outwardly expresses his lack of desire to become the leader and accidentally let it slip that Shiro wanted him to do it. To which Lance is all 'convenient that you say that when Shiro's gone'. What. What the fuck. Stans really say that Lance is precious but how the hell are you justifying that? A blind man could see how much Keith loves Shiro, and Lance has the fucking gall the say that Keith is USING his death/disappearance for a position he doesn't want? He didn't even apologise for it. He just told Keith to suck it up later on. This is one of the reasons I hated Lance as the Red Paladin, the others being explained in an earlier post of mine.

5 - Oh, yeah. We're not done. Because after Keith, it's Allura. Allur@nce is probably the worst ship that could have happened, apart from Kl@nce. If you wanted a straight ship, how about what was canon for the past Voltron series? Kallura? Anyway. Yeah, Lance treats Allura like a prize instead of a person. He's posessive in a way that he has no right to be because they were not together. He glares at Matt for flirting with Allura, something he only does once. He gets mad at Lotor and tries to stop them from spending time together, EVEN THOUGH LOTOR IS HELPING ALLURA AND BONDING THROUGH ALTEAN THINGS. HELPING HER KEEP IN TOUCH WITH ALTEAN CULTURE. In Season 8, he literally yells that it should be Lance and Allura?? What a fucking weirdo?? You can't claim that you're destined to be with someone without being together. That's not how healthy relationships work. That's how a stalker's mind works. Lance is constantly flirting with Allura throughout all of Voltron and she never once reciprocated until Season 8 where it's so obvious that Lance is just a rebound but the writers wanna make it so that it's 'true love' and they want Lance to be happier than anyone so they just gift her to him like some sort of trophy. Lance didn't care about loving Allura, he cared about winning her. At least Lotor actually cared for and respected her. I still don't like canon Lotor, but that's mostly because the writers didn't want to deal with gray morality. Cowards.

1 - Honestly the worst example of a leader. It's shown from episode one. Now, there is the argument of learning to become one, but Lance just never learns? He's never facing the consequences of his actions and, if he is lectured, he ignores it. Keith actually takes lessons to heart and tries to improve and he does. If Lance became the Black Paladin, the universe would have been doomed because he can't get over himself for a single moment to even bother listening to anyone else's advice.

So. Yeah. Those are the main reasons why Lance is an asshole. Now to make the Lance stans really pissed.

Reasons why Lance would have been a terrible leader and could never have been the Black Paladin.

Remember episode one? Remember how the hydraulic stabiliser was out in the simulator and Lance still tried to push on, even though Pidge and Hunk advised him not to? Totally great leadership qualities there. There's nothing better than a leader that refuses to listen to you. 'Oh, but Keith is stubborn and didn't listen--' yes he did. He's stubborn and unrelenting at first, but he eventually realises that they're right.

Remember episode three? Remember when Lance bragged about kicking, which made Voltron fall, then proceeded to try it again and failed again even when Keith advised him not to? Yeah. Lance does not make good decisions and does not listen to any advise. Even from the leader's right hand man.

Remember Season 1 Episode 12? Remember how they were waiting for Shiro and Allura to get back and then Keith saw someone taking quintessence so he decided to follow them? Remember how Lance said no and was ignored but did nothing more to stop Keith? He has no authority and no charisma to keep anyone at bay. Pidge herself mocks Lance for being the pinnacle for leadership. Sarcastically. Because he's far from it.

Pidge doesn't respect Lance as a leader, Keith never would considering Lance treats him like shit, Allura can't take Lance seriously with him hitting on her every ten seconds, and Hunk is always questioning Lance's decisions. If nobody respects you, you cannot be a good leader.

2 - Easily distracted. Yes, it's a very popular headcanon that Lance has ADHD, and I agree with that, but that doesn't make it okay. And he's distracted in the easiest ways. Just shove a pretty girl and he'll instantly get distracted and lead the entire team to doom. Remember Nyma and how easy it was for her to steal the Blue Lion? How he didn't even warn anyone that he was taking her out for a ride because he didn't want anyone contesting his conquest? Yeah.

Don't get me wrong. It's fine to have ADHD or get distracted easily. Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece is a great example of a leader who gets easily distracted, but the second he sets his mind on something, he blocks everything out. Lance just doesn't have the capability to do that, nor do I think he'd be able to learn how to.

3 - Gets jealous really easily. As in. Really fucking easily. He's jealous of Keith from the get-go, starting a one-sided rivalry that he's constantly on the losing side of because Keith doesn't care. He gets jealous of Matt when he flirts a bit with Allura. He gets extremely jealous of Lotor for having actual chemistry with Allura. He's constantly jealous and a good leader is only ever in competition with himself. A good leader will only strive to become better for the sake of the team, not to say that they're better than someone else, much less if they're someone that you are in charge of. It's a horrible trait to have.

Jealousy in and of itself is not a bad thing. It's when that jealousy overrides your logic and controls you, instead of you controlling your jealousy: which Lance struggles with a lot. And getting jealous over anyone who even looks at your crush is a very bad thing to do because you do not own your crush. It's okay to be jealous, but not posessively like Lance is. Not to the extent of trying to scare off any potential suitors.

4 - Nowhere near as skilled as Keith or Shiro. Sure, the writers may claim that he is better, but the proof is in the pudding. Keith and Shiro are fucking unmatched. I've defended Lance's skills in a previous post, but I also said in that post that, while he is skilled, he is nowhere near Shiro or Keith's level. I mean, Shiro was the golden child of the Garrison and set so many records. He was known as the best pilot. Keith beat those records and his flying capabilities are always, always noted. I haven't heard a single character comment on Lance's skills, other than to point out how bad they are. Keith was the only one who could have flew through the astroid field, he was the only one who could fly into the Marmora base which was in a blue star surrounded by two black holes, he was able to fly a Galra jet just by pushing the right buttons and knowing what the do, and he's the one who unlocks the warping abilities of the Black Lion. Shiro was able to connect with the Black Lion far before anyone else, able to see through Black and connect with Black to the point of his soul being saved by her.

Lance hasn't done anything spectacular. And, no. He was not 'done dirty'. He was given almost everything he wanted except the Black Lion. The writers claim he's the best pilot, but have not shown it at all. In my eyes, Keith and Shiro will always be the best.

5 - Selfish. Again. Nothing against being selfish. It's perfectly fine to be selfish, so long as it doesn't actively harm others. But for a leader? You should be as selfless as you can be. The team comes before you. And that's exactly what Lance isn't.

Lance is selfish and that's okay, but it's not leadership material. The whole reason Black rejected him is because he wanted the position out of selfish reasons. When he enters Black, he says 'Come on, Lance. You can do this'. In other words, he wants to pilot her because he wants to prove himself. He wants the acknowledgement. He wants the title of the Black Paladin and leader. Black accepted Keith, both at the start of Season 2 and Season 3, because he piloted her for purely selfless reasons. For Shiro.

Lance wants things for himself. Keith wanted things for Shiro. It was only after Shiro came back, (or so they thought), that Keith started focusing more on himself. Even then, he put everyone else before him. He distanced himself from the team so that Shiro could pilot Black again, and he was constantly risking his life for the Blades.

Lance just... isn't the type. He has put others before himself, but he expect things out of it. He expects a parade and acknowledgement. Nobody knew what Shiro went through to rid Zarkon of his connection to the Black Lion. Nobody knew what Shiro went through in his imprisonment because he doesn't want to burden anyone with that. Nobody knew what Keith went through to save Black and Shiro from Zarkon. Nobody knew what Keith went through when they were all mad at him for missing an attack. Lance doesn't withold that sort of stuff. The only thing he doesn't talk about is his insecurities, which he ends up spilling to the mice and Laika (the Yupper) anyway.

6 - Last one. Promise.

Nothing fucking happened. While Keith was gone, nothing of importance happened surrounding Voltron specifically. There was the Lion mind meld and Lotor joining, but all that served to prove was, with the mind meld, if Keith was there, he would have heard Shiro. And with Lotor joining, all it proved was how immature Lance was.

The second Keith gets back, things start happening again. Lotor gets outed as cruel and manipulative (still an ass-pull, by the way), Shiro gets outed as a clone, and so on. If Lance was leading, they all probably would have died ages ago. I'm talking Season 3 Episode 2, ages ago. Because Lance just isn't cut out for it.

So. Yeah. Those are the main reasons I hate Lance and why Black Paladin Lance is an awful idea. Screw the people who believe in it. It is awful.

Like I said, this won't affect my treatment of Lance in my rewrite, because I can fix those issues that come up. I don't have an issue with Season 1 Lance, it's later on that gets problematic. I just hate people building Lance up by bashing all the other characters, then claiming that Lance is the most traumatised, sad character when SHIRO AND KEITH ARE RIGHT THERE. NOT TO MENTION ALLURA, WHO LOST HER ENTIRE SPECIES, AND CORAN WHO LOST EVERYONE INCLUDING ALLURA AND NEVER GOT TO SAY GOODBYE TO HER.

Fuck. I hate Voltron so much but I can't help but love it.

[discoursecatharsis]

After everything antis have done and how s8 panned out, I’m just petty enough to be happy that bp lance was never a thing. Especially with how they pushed that second to klance lol

Same tbh

[lamealternatereality]

So to recap, I still adore Sheith. I do. I’ve loved it since episode one of VLD. 

But the latest developments in S7 have been a major disservice to BOTH characters. Not only is Shiro now effectively sidelined but Keith has all these abilities he didn’t earn, not to mention a lion he didn’t even want.

S3 was about Keith refusing to pilot Black. He resisted it with everything he had. And he still never warmed up to her. When Kuron returned, Keith was only too happy to give Black up. In his eyes, Black was Shiro’s no matter what. The whole story fed into that belief. Kuron bonded with Black by saying ‘trust me again’ and it went from there. How does that equal Keith now being given Black when he didn’t even want her?

Shiro earned his connection with Black. Their bond was deep. Keith had the same with Red and even as recently as S7 still talks about Red. It could be argued that his connection with Red is as deep as Shiro’s is with Black - Red came to save him multiple times, which is pretty damned special. And I can’t help but think they have to bring Keith and Red back together at some point after what happened in S7 when Red refused to come to Lance...all the work they’ve done on paladin/lion bonds can’t just be thrown away so easily. Someone else pointed out that Shiro still possesses the same qualities Black has always looked for in S7, because he was able to take control of the Atlas and her crew without an argument. Everyone knows he’s a leader and addresses him as such, so perhaps he does have a chance of being reinstated as BP (I have to hold onto this hope for him).

I’m upset that the fandom is currently at war with itself over this. Just because some of us can see the issues with the writing (not to mention the treatment of Shiro), it doesn’t mean we don’t all ship the same thing. We just want it on a more equal playing field where Shiro isn’t treated as a toy by a cruel, merciless god (or EP). Because what happened to Shiro from S3 through to S7 was just plain wrong, and Keith is now in a position he never wanted in the first place. It’s not fair to either of them. 

Both of these characters have been treated badly for the simple fact that the series writers want Black Paladin Keith to be front and center. They retconned their entire lore in S3 by switching up the lion bonds. They have shown time and time again that they don’t give a shit about Shiro - in fact, I think they actively get off on torturing him (because why else would he need a scene showing how much pain he’s in with his new arm?). They have given Keith everything and in the process they have cheapened everything the paladins have earned and fought for by making it so easy for him.

I just wish more people could see how wrong it all is. And I wish they could see that accusing us of being antis when all we’re asking for is better representation and character development is pointless, because they’re angry with us for the wrong reasons.

We’re all Sheith fans. We all want our boys to be together and happy. That doesn’t mean we can’t see the flaws in this show that we love, and it’s okay to point them out. Nothing will change if we don’t.

[void-tiger]

I still hate Shiro’s all-white (grey) hair.

I hate what it codes, I hate how he got it.

(...and I especially hate that he doesn’t even get to keep his jawline, long neck, and have his undercut faded back in for visual interest. And that it’s JIRO’s Face he’s staring out of and it’s never been so obvious that the two weren’t exactly 100% identical in bone structure and body type...y’know, other than there’s so rarely a Mir Got To TRY anymore. Who knows. Perhaps WashedOut! Chimera!Shiro was copy&pasted over Hawkins or Sam, afterall. HAHhhh...)

[shiroallura]

Hey!! I really like your blog and I do hope me sending this doesn't turn into a shitstorm. Youre 110% entitled to your own opinions but I'm just wondering why so much vemon towards bp l@nce?? You even ended your rant with "if you support bp lance, unfollow me" I mean, I'm completely fine with people disliking what I may like. I have no problem with your hating bp l@nce at all but you just seem so against it like do you want me to unfollow you becuz i support it? (1/2)

I’m really not hear to hate your for not liking it because like i said, that’s completely fine but how you complain about it makes it seem like the Worst Thing, which i really dont understand?? I’m okay with people preferring Shiro as bp or even keith or whatever but I dunno? I hope you get what im saying? I’m not good with words ahhhh. Bottomline just say the word and ill unfollow if you want!! Sorry if this ask came off as rude or bad in anyway, I really didnt mean it that way!! (2/2)

You do not have to unfollow me by any means anon; my statement in the post was one of the few I did not literally mean. However, I would like to point out that my post against Black Paladin Lance is the only one I have ever personally made. It’s not a reoccurring source of salt on my blog until very recently, and I’ve been bottling up my frustration about it for a long… long time. Numerous inboxes of my friends who are also into Voltron can attest to this. So, let’s delve into my history with Black Paladin Lance, and how it’s evolved.

Seasons One to Three: This theory was popular even in season one, and honestly, I didn’t mind it. Lance had shown some good tactical strategy and Shiro’s place as Black Paladin wasn’t as established. It was a cute theory and headcanon and fans weren’t as fanatic as it actually happening in canon. Enjoying things purely in fanon is possible, and healthy, tbh, and I do it as well (ie. I have some theories or headcanons or even ships where I like it in fanon, but would never want nor expect for it to happen in canon. It works, shocker I know.)

And then season two hit. And among the cries of “Lance didn’t get enough screentime!!” and “precious boy uwu he’s not a seventh wheel!!” and so on, there was a growing want for Black Paladin Lance to be the outcome of season three. Season two also gave rise to a strange occurrance in fandom for the sake of Langst, which is that Shiro either hates Lance or acts like he does, or constantly puts down his achievements because “Lance is underappreciated by the team!!” even though it’s completely untrue. Shiro notes and supports Lance’s sharpshooter skills, and the scene where Shiro supposedly diminishes Lance is one in which Shiro is actually being extremely patient with him (analysis in the link). But it doesn’t paint Shiro in a negative light and Lance is a precious boy who can no wrong, so it’s gotta get kicked to the curb, right?

And then the age discourse came for Shallura and antis dropped it like a hot potato (and the distinction between antis and other factions of the fandom do matter, but we’ll get that later). And in season three, Lance and Allura got some friendship development and Lance/Allura rose in popularity… right as Shiro disappeared and Shallura was labelled a Nasty Ship. I don’t think the correlation is too hard to see. 

And still I didn’t mind Black Paladin Lance. The season three trailer purposefully hadn’t revealed who was going to pilot Black, only that the lion was roaring, and while I was hoping for Black Paladin Allura, I didn’t mind the thought of it being Lance. The reason? Because I always wanted the vacancy of Black Paladin to be temporary, no matter who piloted Black. I wanted Shiro to come home and be the Paladin he was meant to be and be happy and safe and with his team.

But the rest of the fandom didn’t see it like that, as Shallura shippers retreated more fiercely into our corner after being shunned, laughed at, and hated by antis and shaladins alike. 

Black Paladin Lance stans wanted Shiro gone permanently, or never seemed to care about what would happen to him if he did come back. They lauded co-leadership Klance as the best possible thing that could happen, that Black Paladin Lance would be exactly what Lance deserved and had earned, somehow. I’ve talked about the Klance fandom’s fascination with using Shallura tropes while klantis (klance focused antis) shit on actual canon Shallura and discredit it before, so I won’t go into detail here, but yeah… it’s hella transparent.

Lance in fanon spaces also has a habit of basically being turned into Shiro, whether through characterization, trauma and Langst-fics (losing body parts, being captured and tortured by the Galra, brainwashed, having Keith’s undying devotion… sound familiar to anyone?) in addition to being given the title of Black Paladin because “he’s perfect” and “deserves it”. Post detailing more examples of how many Lance stans and fanfictions basically turn him into Shiro at any given opportunity. If you read Lance or Klance centric fanfiction at wide, I guarantee you’ve seen more than a few of these tropes or AUs used. Although to be fair, Lance also gets a lot of what Allura has too, namely her uniquely Altean heritage to be better paired up with Galra Keith (X) and the popularity of Lancelot before and after season three rather than Allura/Lotor, which had far more basis in VLD and Go-Lion canon. So yeah, the fandom at large loves to take Allura’s culture and Shiro’s arc/trauma and slap it onto Lance, yet largely ignore, mischaracterize, be hateful towards, or infantilize Allura and Shiro as actual characters.

Because the fact is, Shiro is the closest thing VLD has to a Main Character. His backstory and decisions of leading the team, whether against the Galra all the way to Zarkon’s central command, form the crux of season one. His capture by Galra and crash-landing on Earth form the catalyst that propels the whole show forward. His decision to trust Ulaz and the Blade of Marmora, and to strengthen his bond with the Black Lion opposite of Zarkon drives season two forward, and his victory over Zarkon is the conclusion of the season. His absence creates season three, his reappearance (or his clone’s arrival, depending on your theory) creates and resolves conflict in season four. Kuron/Shiro’s decisions drive the conflict in the first half of season five, and let the latter half of the season even exist by: giving Lotor the Black Bayard to kill Zarkon, an action which earned Allura’s trust of Lotor in the first place, and his decisions lead to Lotor becoming emperor which is what causes Voltron to seriously ally with him. 

So now, we’re heading into season six, and people are frothing at the mouth for Black Paladin Lance more than ever. Because despite Black passing Lance over twice, and Black having two other pilots in the narrative (Keith, and then Kuron – Shiro, if he’s a sleeper clone), both of whom were chosen over Lance, they somehow still think he deserves it. And it’s this issue of something that really has only ever had substance in fanon being demanded of and pushed and shoved in canon where it just doesn’t fit anymore.

Lance can pilot Black, they cry, Shiro’s Lion who he earned the trust of, and trusted, who’s trauma of being used and abused by Zarkon’s hands mirroring his own. Shiro can pilot the White Lion, they say, which during the time the theory was popular, was non-existent, largely implied to have something to do with Allura, and completely ignores Shiro’s arc and development.

Shiro, who found worth and purpose and always enjoyed being the Black Paladin. “Defenders of the universe, huh? Has a nice ring to it.” Shiro, who always took the war seriously even while everyone else, especially Lance, was goofing off (or flirting). “The princess is right. Let’s get to our lions and start training.” Shiro, who was tormented about Sendak to the point of a complete mental breakdown unlike anything we’ve seen, and it related to him being a paladin of Voltron. “You really think a monster like you could be a Voltron paladin?” Shiro, was hit the hardest by Allura not telling them the truth about Zarkon, Shiro, who Allura trusted and always reaffirmed as the Black Paladin. Shiro, who fought Zarkon in the astral plane and submitted to the will of his Lion, who saved him, trusted him, showed him traces of her trauma. Shiro and Black, who bonded immediately (the eye-glow thing that only happened with Red and Alfor) and Black, who helped him defeat Zarkon and gain back her bayard, who looked at a worn, beaten down man and chose him.

Because people want to throw away two whole seasons (not six episodes, not seven, thirteen episodes each) of development of Shiro and Black’s bond. People want to throw away Shiro always being devoted to Black. People want t throw away Shiro being Zarkon’s clear foil: the prisoner and the emperor, Haggar’s champion and her husband, trust versus power/control, both of them disappearing after the same battle.

Because if Shiro isn’t the Black Paladin, then he believes he’s the monster Sendak says he is. Because BP Lance stans claim that Shiro, a mentally ill man, “isn’t fit” to be the leader and it reeks of ableism. Because BP Lance stans are overtly critical and don’t realize their fanon theory will never be canon because they don’t understand how narrative structure works. Because if Shiro isn’t Black Paladin then everything he’s fought for in seasons one, two (and four and five, again, depending on your theory) is for nothing. Because if Shiro isn’t the Black Paladin then Allura was wrong to choose and believe in him. More meta on the development of Shiro and Black’s relationship here & here, because it’s beautiful and underrated and ignored because it – the literal canon – doesn’t prop up Black Paladin Lance. The most developed relationship between a pilot and a Lion we have in the entire show is Shiro and the Black Lion. They get two seasons’ worth of plot driving, dramatic development. Whereas we get Red rescuing Keith, and Lance complimenting the Blue Lion and being defensive over the thought of anyone taking her until season three, in which case the original Lion bonds have been completely left, and in season three, four, and five, we never ever see Keith or Lance bond with their new Lions whatsoever. 

And let me tell you, Black Paladin Lance fans don’t give a single flying fuck about Shiro as a character when they make posts with lines like this, and it’s a widespread attitude too: 

the black lion after keith who didnt even want to be bp and the mcskunkhead clone bs: “finally a good fucking pilot” (because shiro, her first chosen pilot that she opened up to after zarkon used her and betrayed her doesn’t count or exist at all…)

bp lance with an undercut…oh y es.. (GEE I WONDER WHAT OTHER CHARACTER IS ALSO THE ACTUAL BLACK PALADIN WITH A FUCKING UNDERCUT)

black: “lance im so glad youre my pilot now i couldnt stand that clone ass bitch” lance: “yeah me t-wait what clone?” black: “oh this shiro is a clone lol” lance: kill bill sirens (x) 

the black lion came to me in my dreams and told me that lance was ideal black paladin material and she’d love for him to fly her bc “finally. someone with clear fuckin conscience.” (X)

[lance is] the only black paladin since zarkon who actually wants the job (X)

this post (X)

Like honestly, the sheer hatred the klanti and lance stan portion of the fandom has towards Kuron is insane. Kuron, who’s lost and confused and knows it, knows in his bones that something is wrong but doesn’t know what and is searching for answers. Kuron, who has Shiro’s memories and misses Black but is trying to step aside when Keith’s her pilot because Black didn’t accept him, and how much that rejecting must have fucking hurt. Kuron, who gets angry more quickly and snaps at Lance, but apologizes for it later (…unlike Lance or Keith, who almost never apologize for their outbursts or rash decisions; Lance being frustrated/angry at Shiro, flirting with Allura at inappropriate times, Keith ruining her diplomatic banquet in 3x01 and never apologizing to her). Kuron, who makes one mistake and is therefore the Devil.

So I hate Black Paladin Lance because it ignores Shiro, degrades him, acts like he isn’t good enough, like he doesn’t have a place in this story, like he’s a temporary stepping stone, that he’s hated and vilified and the heaps of canon evidence that don’t support Black Paladin Lance is adamantly ignored. I hate Black Paladin Lance because it means Allura, who has lost and sacrificed so much over and over again, who chose Shiro and always, always trusted him, is wrong. I hate Black Paladin Lance because its stans act like it’s the only possible character arc for him, rather than him learning to grow and give up glory, to grow up and be more responsible and to appreciate what he can do at the level he’s already at. I hate Black Paladin Lance because people are taking what’s only a twisted account of fanon and act like it’s undeniably going to be canon and it’s everywhere, and it’s bullshit.

So yeah, you don’t have to unfollow. But if you, and anyone else, honestly care about Shiro as a character, and his life and arc, then I hope you really reconsider your stance on whether Black Paladin Lance should be a canon permanence or not, because if you do, then you really don’t care about Shiro at all, and he deserves better than being shit on to build up a fake deep fanon fave.

[huntypastellance]

oh god i was browsing through an artist's blog to see if they were an anti or not, and i came across a post talking about "L/ance supporting K/eith" which said that "L/ance is so patient with K/eith and never makes fun of him but helps him understand" ASDFFHGJ i'm sorry what???? i know ppl joke about some people not watching the show, and some anecdotes which confirms some people in fact don't, but how far from canon can you get?? if you want a ship with respect and support, k/lance ain't it

Fanon Klance is just fanon discount Sheith at this point.

It even fits what with some Klance shippers pushing the whole “Black Paladin Lance” thing & even trying to force Keith to be Lance’s “right hand man”. (”Blue Paladin Keith” is the worst fucking thing ever next to BP Lance).

If you’ve ever read really bad Klance porn fics (or just bad Klance fics in general), they tend to exaggerate the height difference between the two to the point where Keith is basically a dwarf compared to Lance’s gigantic muscles.

It’s a freaking inch of a difference, but it’s written or even drawn like it’s a whole foot.