#black paladin shiro

[incorrectvld-quotes]

Lance: My attitude has gone from a positive "I can handle this!" to "I'm too tired to care anymore." Shiro: Oh I've been like that for years!

[mottemort]

Shiro prosthetic arm sketch

[harukamitsuki]

Hello, I’m the anon that apologized for implying that Keith was “spoiled”

I wanted to come back and talk to you because I wanted to discuss some points!

I made my Keith statements without really explaining what I meant and I wanted to try again.

I don’t want Lance to be the black paladin and I just need to state that now. However, I also didn’t want Keith to reside as the permanent black paladin.

I know that his color palate and clothing have black in them but shiro is also all black. In my opinion I would’ve preferred Keith to be the substitute black paladin.

Ryou (the clone) should’ve never been able to pilot the black lion because he’s just a copy of shiros face not him. Making Keith stay within the team and allura going to red (because I really don’t know how they thought allura in blue was a good idea, love her but what?)

(I want Keith to stay with the team and not go to the blades as I would prefer the paladins sticking together)

(Also because the plot line for the altean colony is ridiculous)

I would’ve loved to see ryou find out he’s a clone along with the paladins and not just kill him off. I think it would’ve also brought some realization into Keith about shiro and such.

The way I think of the paladins and their relationship to the lions is that the lions physically created the paladins.

The reason why it took 10,000 years is because earth doesn’t have quintestance, so the lions had to basically build their paladins from the ground up by creating generations of humans with it.

Because earth doesn’t have it, it takes a long time until there’s finally enough for the paladins now!

Which is why I don’t think Keith should continue to be the black paladin. Because he belongs with red just as Lance in blue, pidge in green, hunk in yellow, and shiro in black.

and because Shiro never gets to go back to being the black paladin his character gets reduced to cardboard.

which is the reasoning for my initial comments that I couldn’t describe clearly.

I didn’t mean to come off as a black paladin Lance supporter or that Lance was the best option. Because he isn’t.

There are things with lances character that I feel as though could’ve been worked so much better. (I saw a previous post of yours discuss lances having altean markings and your so correct, honestly they feel like fan service since the fandom goes nuts with altean Lance and honestly I can’t understand why)

I’m far more a shiro fan. In all honesty he has done a lot for me. I don’t like that he was just meant to be thrown away.

I mean the writers created an entirely new character for crying out loud!! Shiro didn’t exist in the other versions. Technically he is sven but sven was always the blue paladin.

Shiro has obvious PTSD and has a genetic disease that needs his arm forcefully removed from him. He fights so hard for his lion and his teammates.

My feelings on Keith are in fact very biased but it feels like a lot of Keith’s character completely erases all of shiros.

With ryou and the paladins finding out that shiro is in the black lion i would’ve loved to see them search desperately to find where the clones were made to see if they could bring Shiro back.

My thoughts are a little all over the place I apologize for that.

Hello again!

This is a bit awkward because I basically agree with almost everything here so there's not much for me to dissect haha.

If anyone's been reading my past, PAST, posts, you'll have probably seen my post as to why Lance never should have went to Red, and why it should have been Allura. I can understand why Allura is Blue and Lance is Red in the ORIGINAL series, but this is a rewrite where the characters are basically completely different.

Which also means that, no, I will not be using the original series to back-up my belief that Keith is a great Black Paladin.

Like I said, I basically agree with everything you wrote, except that I didn't personally care for Ryou. I felt sorry for him and was kinda shocked when they just used his body for Shiro's soul, but I didn't care about him.

I do think it would have been interesting to see Ryou be a little stinker and try to manipulate everyone, due to him being a sleeper agent. Like, in canon, when Ryou apologised to Keith, he says "I'm sorry I had to step in there" instead of "for stepping in there". He's still putting the blame on Keith. He says sorry without truly saying it, if you get what I mean.

Then, one day, he goes a little too far. Like, I dunno, he calls Lance useless or Hunk cowardly or something, and Keith immediately goes: wait. That's not right. Suddenly, Keith's a lot less willing to take Ryou's 'advice' to heart and things pile up until he realises Ryou is a clone.

I think that kind of story line is much more interesting that what we got. Of course, if you care about Ryou and are horrified at his death, there are others ways. Ryou slowly learning he's a clone and hating himself until the paladins make him realise that it's not his fault and he can choose to be his own person. Heck, he kind of already is.

Of course, another option is just to not kill Shiro off? Like, put him in a coma or reveal that Haggar yoinked him from Black with quintessence magic and he's been captive this whole time. Keith would still have to pilot Black but, because Shiro isn't a clone, when he gets back Black opens up immediately.

The thing is, Shiro and Keith's style of leadership is different. Very different, meaning that they're suited to lead different kinds of things, with varying efficiency. What I think would have been cool to see is them changing the roster (Shiro leads, Keith in Red/Keith leads, Allura in red) depending on the mission. Which can mean that, if you decide to keep season eight for some reason, Shiro or Keith can lead them into the final battle. Shiro leading them might make more sense.

I've heard a lot of people say that Shiro is boring and it's like– why do you think that? I kind of wanted to see more of his character arc, wanted to see Keith, Coran and Allura take care of him when he's too high strung. I wanted to see him be there, actually there, when Pidge saves Matt. I wanted to see him accept that he may have been hurt, but he is not broken.

I think that those people who think Shiro is boring just weren't watching the same show, or only remeber him from season 7-8 where he does basically nothing. Season 1-2 Shiro are great. He feels so human, scared of the world but pushing himself through for the sake of others and to not seem weak. He makes bad gun noises, immediately denies Coran trying to feed him like a baby with "no. Just– no.", displays some dark humour when he's alone with Keith and bleeding out. He's terrified of being seen as broken, because that's exactly what he thinks of himself.

So. Yeah.

Either make Ryou more interesting or don't kill Shiro off. It would still let Keith become his own Black Paladin, and it would let the group change members depending on the situation, which would make it less jarring if Allura was the one to pilot the Atlus, as was originally planned.

I can understand why you believe Keith's character erases Shiro's. Because, in all honesty, it kind of does. Of course, that is mostly DreamWorks' fault because they just can't give Shiro any sort of happiness? Like, Keith has also been hurt over and over again, but at least Keith has his mother.

Shiro was supposed to gain the ability to teleport. HE WAS REPLACED BY KOSMO - HE WAS REPLACED BY A DOG. Shiro didn't even get to end Sendak! Even if I adore Keith, I was so baffled when Keith made the finish blow, because that was Shiro's fight! Shiro has nobody to go home to, only returning to find that his ex-fiancé is dead, and it's just– I know that gay characters tend to suffer the most, but come on DreamWorks! Give him SOMETHING!

From my perspective, I've always noticed the difference between Keith and Shiro's leadership styles, and just in general. But DreamWorks is so allergic to giving any of them anything, so they wrote in the Broganes bond, tore it apart, then played a darts game to decide their traits after Shiro's death. It makes it especially worse when they decide to make Keith go through development off-screen, so he comes back when he's become more mature like Shiro, but it gets no explanation so it feels like he was just given more of Shiro's traits.

Alas, we get no explanation, so it is jarring. Which is another reason why making Ryou unable to pilot Black, or Shiro still being alive, would have been much better. Keith had a point about leaving, but Shiro, the real Shiro, never would have let him leave, and Keith wouldn't leave if Ryou couldn't pilot Black.

I would still make it so that Keith stayed with BoM just for the sake of meeting Krolia, but nothing else much.

So. Yeah.

I do agree with basically all of this, only I wouldn't have Keith be just a sub for Black. I think he and Shiro should have used it interchangeably, or at least provide an explanation for why the real Shiro, the one who bonded with Black the most, couldn't pilot her.

AND SCREW KOSMO– GIVE SHIRO HE TELEPORTATION BACK! GIVE HIM HIS RELEVANCE BACK!!

(Sorry if there's any mistakes, I just woke up haha)

(Also, Keith's colour scheme fits Black more than Shiro's did, mostly because of the accent colours that Keith had. Other than that, yeah. I agree.)

[princessallura052]

Black Paladin Keith (detailed analysis)

Okay, so I did promise you guys an analysis. I did not expect to get this done so quickly but this moron who wanted validation on the mini-meta did made me angry enough to put this out there because *shrilly Angelica from Rugrats voice* Omg Keith and Black were such dicks to Shiro, aren’t they just horrible beings? Yeah, you guys just saw my petty side which I normally only show to close friends but to the sane VLD fans out there, I feel sorry for us having a fandom like this, we deserve better. So whether you agree with all this analysis or not, don’t be a toxic jerk. You can hate Keith all you want - I’m not a huge fan of Lance and don’t support LGBT stuff (unless canon and there are some exceptions too) but I’m not going to turn into Angelica from Rugrats on anyone who disagrees with me. 

So, the first screenshot is from Season 2 episode 1. Shiro is being attacked by giant lizards and Red is out of commission. Keith is not the Black Lion’s Paladin but the way he respects her is shown in the two screenshots below.

The way Keith speaks to Black despite his tone is so respectful. He’s not sure if Black will accept him because at this point, she’s not his lion but he talks to her and he waits for her. Also, some people may not consider this a huge deal but this is season 2 Keith. The Keith who literally blows up at everything - not calling him out, he is my favourite but unlike certain character fangirls, I won’t deny he has flaws because it makes him even more awesome.

Now, we’re going to jump onto s3. I know what some people are going to think. Keith was impatient with Black when he became her Paladin at first but like, give the kid a break. He’s just lost Shiro and been forced into a position he never asked for. Not to mention, Black isn’t as fast as Red is and that takes some getting used to.

So I’m going to go onto another episode after clone Shiro returns because this to me, highlights how quickly they bonded. Angelica from Rugrats also mentioned that Black Lion knew the clone wasn’t the real Shiro because she was in communication with the real Shiro. She knew it was not the real Shiro but saying she was in communication with him, I don’t know were we really ever given proof that lions retaining the essence of their Paladin was a voluntary thing?

Not to mention, how do we know Haggar didn’t give clone Shiro some ability to trick Black? Alfor made the lions from Altean alchemy but Haggar is also Altean. However, those are theories for another time. I would like to bring your thoughts to this conversation in season 3 episode 6 of Tailing the Comet.

Okay, so the reason I am giving these screenshots one by one is so I can explain myself a bit better. I may have to split this meta into a few parts too. Okay, so basically in this scene, clone Shiro who we believe to be Shiro at this time is trying to remember what happened. Keith tells him the last thing that happened was he had unlocked Black’s ability to teleport and the first thing he thinks is that Black was trying to protect Shiro. It’s the first suggestion he offers. This is the lion he didn’t even want to bond with because he was replacing Shiro but it took what? 4 episodes and he’s bonded with her and thinks so positively of her. And the scene isn’t over yet but I will mention a potential trigger warning here that there is victim blaming and victim shaming in the continuation of this scene. So please take care of yourself and do not hurt yourself to read this meta if you are triggered by that.

Clone Shiro in this scene tries to put all the blame onto the Black Lion. Angelica back there may argue that Keith was being a dick here though because this fandom sadly is toxic enough to be okay with victim blaming if Shiro is the one doing the victim blaming, clone or not. Sorry guys! I don’t hate Shiro, he’s actually one of my favourite characters believe it or not. But I hate what fans have turned such a wonderful character into and you can tell I’m still mad at this moron.

Ok, but look Keith is defending her. Keith is defending his lion from who he thinks is his brother - still think they’re not the perfect partners? Not to worry, I have one more evidence and this time, it’s not from Keith’s end either. It’s from the Black Lion’s because it’s at but the good news? I won’t have to do a second part because I should be able to fit this all into one meta. Ok, so this next scene is still from Tailing the Comet. 

Keith did not like the the slight competition between himself and Shiro. It put him in a position of choosing between Shiro and Black and although he ultimately chooses Shiro, it is a mistake and he acknowledges this in a later episode. But you saw earlier that Keith defended Black but the relationship is not one-sided. Black takes a stand for him too in that ‘no, I want Keith’ to the point that Keith basically has to remove himself completely, not just stepping aside for a singular battle because he doesn’t want conflict with Shiro and at this stage, he’s weak and honestly, a little codependent. It makes sense given his childhood that he would be but I never realised he was before. 

Now, we could argue that Keith and Red had a very mutual relationship too. I do not deny this - Keith has a beautiful relationship with both his lions as Keith is a character that loves very deeply. Red responded to that by being loudly protective while Black is more a quiet protective where you will not see her coming. I think I will do a two-parter to this. S6-8 do not have too much for them so it’ll be a shorter part than this but there are moments showing their bond.

I have given my screenshots as evidence for you but Keith and Black are healers for each other. Black was abused by Zarkon and Shiro was abused by Haggar, so the two had this in common but that was the only thing they had in common. Keith, once he gains confidence in himself is exactly like the kind of leader Black is. He’s emotional but he also thinks. I know a lot of Shiro fans are like: are you calling Shiro a bad leader? No, I’m just saying Keith is a better leader of Voltron. Shiro is a great leader - he helped them build alliances but Keith being the leader of Voltron and Shiro being the leader of the Atlas was a very smart choice. When Shiro was the leader of Voltron, he always was stressed and wanted to be the protector, making some bad decisions because he took much onto himself. There are a few examples of this too such as him taking all of Voltron to save Allura - they could have come with a better plan. Or continuing to shoot at cube monster despite Pidge trying to warn him and it nearly getting them all killed for not listening to her. Pidge is always right, Shiro. Have you learnt nothing? But compare this to how Shiro is when being the commander of the Atlas. He’s still a leader and he’s the one who gives orders but he doesn’t have a responsibility to protect them because they’re younger. 

But just to wrap by what I mean by Keith thinks. As most of you know I’m a Kallura fan, so Keith saying they shouldn’t go to save Allura in s1 did break the heart of this Kallura fan. But Keith had no idea how to people then - if he did, he was basically saying let’s not form Voltron and go save her head-on but he worded that very poorly.

This is just one example, of course from early on. Has he made hot-headed decisions as the leader of Voltron? Of course, he’s a flawed character but he grows to be the kind of leader Black is. Quiet and commanding but never overtaking anyone else. I think I’m going to ask you guys - do you want meta of Keith and Black from s6-8 or is this enough to make you think? 

Also, if you are toxic or a jerk, I will not reply to your comment. You are entitled to your opinion - I firmly believe you can express that opinion in a civil and humane manner. If you can’t, I will block you.

[moraxist]

do you guys think shiro sleeps with a body pillow

[void-tiger]

Hi! I hope it is alright if i ask you this but do you happen to have or know posts with Shiro and/or Black Lion meta? I struggle to understand their characters since i am more biased towards others but i really do want to understand them better (and if it is alright could they be more ship neutral or from people who are more ship neutral? Most metas i had seen claim to be about Shiro, only to end up as sk ship manifestos and no hate against the shippers but i dont care about sk and it has gotten really goddamn annoying) thank you!!!

I know I’ve made some, but they’re closer to headcanon territory vs proper meta. Check my takashi shirogane, vld shiro, black paladin shiro/bp shiro, blacktashi, and black lion tags. (It’s been probably a few years since I posted or reposted them though.)

I also know @headspacedad has made and reblogged others proper meta, and I often see @mckinlily and @noisypaintersong with Black Paladin Shiro stuff on my dash as well.

I’m trying to remember who else is active who might know—feel free to jump in y’all!

[yelmor-boots]

_____

I can’t believe I’m almost at Chapter Three! I missed writing

[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.

[beaulesbian]

never letting go.

[torveiglyart]

Lance is ambidextrous? Sure, I can run miles with that one. Maybe add a little klance while I’m at it ;).

[kierofoxen]

I ain't giving up on you!

ɪɢ x  ᴛᴡɪᴛ x

[mottemort]

Shiro fanart

[xxking-glitcherxx]

I had to

[princessallura052]

Unpopular opinion: Shiro's not a great Black Paladin

I'm probably going to get some backlash for this but I've learnt not to care. I LOVE Shiro as a character, he's one of my favourites. But I don't think he makes a good leader of Voltron. His plans are reckless and not very well thought out. To save Allura in s1, it was necessary, I get it but rushing in was not smart. Then when they are fighting that Olkari cube, his plans are extremely reckless, rush in, rescue, attack directly. Pidge was trying to say something and he completely overrode her and she's the genius here. I think Shiro works well as a collaborative leader which we see in the Atlas and him being a commander of it but not as the leader of Voltron.

[mockingjaylad]

Lance and Shiro from VLD rewrite “Home” by ErinWantsToWrite on Ao3

[mothmanavenue]

can i confess something else that will absolutely get me stoned in the town square since im dropping my unpopular opinions. I don’t like altean broadsword Lance. i already disliked red paladin Lance. the broadsword was like rubbing salt in the wound. why couldn’t he have his own niche. why was his character development just making him keith. i understand that it was like “he accepts that he doesn’t have to be a leader and excels as a co-leader and you can find happiness that way yada yada yada”. but you could’ve done that without making him keith. also now give him something unique, cool, that falls in line with his sniper bit. i’m not saying just give him another gun, im saying give him something quiet and lethal. like a garotte. yeah i want garotte lance.

i yap a lot more in my notes by the way if you were interested in other unpopular opinions. don’t send me hate messages or comments i won’t read it and will block viciously i also will not be debating this this is my hill to die on <3