#in this universe lotor is good and shiro is not a clone etc etc

[autisticlancemcclain]

Keith knows his nerves must be leeching off him, because the rest of the team is overcompensating. There’s an abundance of chatting and banter, way more than usual, enough that Keith can recognise the oddity even though he’s been gone for two years. It might just be everyone’s relief after finally getting to sit down and be calm after rushing to foil Haggar’s weirdo clone plan, but Keith’s pretty sure his team has noticed his strangeness, and is trying to make him comfortable again. The thought makes him smile despite his anxiety. He’s missed them.

He’s snapped out of his thoughts by Pidge pointedly clearing her throat and using her spork to point at Krolia, who’s been about as anxious as Keith (only for her that manifests as looking like she wants to kill small cute things).

“Are you finally going to tell us who Tall Dark and Gorgeous is?” she asks, because she is the least subtle and nosiest person in the galaxy and Keith honestly should have expected it. His face flames, and his mother raises an eyebrow, while the rest of the team snickers.

Shiro tries his best to appear a little more adult. “If you wouldn’t mind introducing us, Keith.” He smiles kindly at Krolia. “You were amazing out on the field, we were really grateful to have you. Sorry for not getting us all introduced earlier.”

Krolia nods at him, smiling in an awkwardly reassuring way. “Of course, Black Paladin. There were bigger things to focus on handling.”

She returns to her food too after speaking, clearly done her piece.

Keith grimaces. He was hoping she’d introduce herself, but it looks like he’s going to have to. Fuck. (He’s not sure why he’s so opposed to it. It’s nerve-wracking, though, introducing his actual mother to his family. To his brother, his almost-father.)

“Um, Krolia, this is my family.” He points to them all and names them, rolling his eyes fondly at Lance’s wink and finger guns. He even introduces Lotor, even though he still maintains that they are not friends and Prince Hairdo has a lot of making up to do. “Everyone, this is Krolia.” He looks directly at his brother, taking strength in the man’s encouraging expression and addressing him directly. “She’s my mother.”

The entire table goes dead silent. Small conversations abruptly halt, the sounds of eating cease, silverware freezes where it was scraping on bowls. Complete and total silence.

Shiro’s face goes from encouraging and open to shocked to shuttered, jaw set and eyes narrowed.

Keith’s anxiety skyrockets. He sees his mother tense from across the table, and feels Lance go rigid beside him.

This is worse than what he expected.

“Your mother?” Shiro clarifies, words careful and controlled. He’s the first to return to movement, scooping goo into his spork almost robotically.

“Yes,” Keith says hesitantly. He doesn’t understand his brother’s reaction. He had expected some hesitance from Hunk, who is wary of newcomers, and maybe some understandable discomfort from Allura, but not…

Not Shiro. Not Shiro who is great in a crisis, who is the king of diplomacy, who has always supported Keith.

The rest of the team slowly follows Shiro’s example, returning to their meals, but there’s no more jovial conversation. All eyes are avoiding the brothers, but ears are open, movements slow and quiet so as to not miss a word.

“Hm. Interesting.” Shiro takes a bite of the goo, slowly chewing and swallowing, looking forward like he’s really contemplating. Keith watches every move carefully. “Where’d you find her?”

His tone is almost pleasant, conversational, but there’s something off and plastic about it. Forced. Like he’s talking about a volatile creature Keith has dragged home that he’s trying to be cool about, not the parent Keith has been searching for his whole life.

Keith glances surreptitiously at his mother, but she only shrugs at him. “On the space whale. Well, at the Blades, technically. She was assigned the mission with me and we both got stranded.”

Shiro makes another hum of acknowledgement, nodding to himself. He pokes aggressively at the bowl of green gelatine. “That’s wild. I would have guessed you’d have found her in a jail cell for tax evasion or something, since she seems to be the type to avoid responsibility.”

Keith blinks in shock. Two seats down, Hunk chokes on his water, and Coran thumps his back to help. Every other jaw is dropped in shock, heads swivelling from Shiro to Keith, at a total loss.

“What the fuck are you talking about,” Keith says harshly. He glances at his mother, who quickly hides the hurt on her face with a carefully practiced mask of indifference.

“Oh, nothing,” Shiro says, distractedly pushing around his goo. He sounds blasé, unbothered, but Keith recognises this tone of his, as rare as it is to hear it — the passive aggressiveness, the snooty way he speaks when he’s too furious to even yell, and just wants to make everyone around him feel stupid. “I just figured the person who abandoned her infant son without so much as a note is someone of the more irresponsible and immature variety. That’s all.”

Lance, who has never been capable of handling tenseness, stands abruptly and starts gathering the bowls and utensils of everyone at the table, regardless of whether they’re finished. Keith watches distantly as he quiets Pidge’s whining, firmly telling her to get up and bring it with her if she needs.

“She’s my mother,” Keith says through grit teeth. He pulls his gaze away from the red paladin, glaring at his brother. “I thought you’d be happy for me.”

Shiro finally looks up from his stupid goo, baring his teeth in a poor imitation of a smile.

“Thrilled,” he drawls.

Quietly, Krolia stands, pushing in her chair and following the rest of the team to the door. In the back of his mind, Keith wonders if it would be better for her to stay, but dismisses it just as quickly. Better for her not to hear whatever Shiro’s problem is. She walks out the door without so much as a glance backwards, and Shiro’s gaze follows her out with a sneer. Lance shoves the rest of the reluctant team out of the kitchen doors, then glances back one more time, brown eyes big and reassuring, smiling sadly before closing the doors quietly behind him.

When Keith finally returns his gaze to his brother, his eyes are wet and there’s a lump in his throat. Hurt swarms his chest as much as anger.

“You’re being a dick,” he says. His voice cracks several times as he says it.

“Oh, well, fuck me, then,” Shiro says, violently pushing his chair away from the table and stomping to his feet, grabbing his bowl with his prosthetic so tightly it cracks. He barely even glances at it, fisting the pieces and storming over to the kitchen to toss them. “Here, let me pretend.” He turns back to face Keith and forces a smile on his face, mockingly sincere. He reaches over and yanks Keith bowl away, with his flesh hand this time, and all but tosses into the sink.

There are small smears of blood on it, from the shards of porcelain that dug into Shiro’s flesh hand. Keith’s own hands shake. He scoops his and Shiro’s sporks into his hands, squeezing them tightly, and walks carefully to the sink. He resists the urge to fling them right at Shiro’s head, instead forcing himself to set them gently among the rest of the dirty dishes and standing next to his brother to rinse what he washes. He says nothing as Shiro roughly scrubs the goo pot — they’ve discovered it tastes sort of better hot, so they take the time to cook it — and practically slams it into Keith’s sink.

“Could you tell me what your fucking problem is,” he grits out. He can no longer stop his tears and they drip down his face, down his nose, over his lips, down his chin and disappearing into the dishwater. Every time he swallows, it’s bitter with salt.

“Sure,” Shiro snaps. “I have a couple questions first.”

Frankly, Keith wants to tell him right where he can shove those questions, but he wants this to be resolved more than he wants to be angry.

“Fine.”

“Great,” Shiro says with a relish, and Keith regrets it immediately. “She recognise you the second she saw you?”

Keith swallows. He has to try three times to speak, to force his voice above a whisper. “No.”

“Huh. How long’d it take her to realise?”

Keith hands shake so bad he has to set down a cup lest he drop and break it. He doesn’t want to answer. “Some time.”

“Crazy. Bet she told you she’d been looking for you, huh?”

“Stop,” Keith whispers, choking on a sob, but Shiro plows right on.

“Told you that finding you was all she ever wanted? That she’s so glad she can finally see you again?”

“Stop.”

“That you’ve turned into a fine young man she’s proud of?”

“Shut up!” Keith shouts, and the words hurt on their way out of his mouth, shoved past the giant lump in his throat. He gasps for air and can barely find it, lungs heaving, hurting everywhere, heart feeling like he’s being squeezed. He can no more stop his sobs now than he could stop a star from imploding, and they tear out of him, leaving him aching and shuddering and shaking. “Stop. Stop. I don’t know why you —”

“I’ll tell you why,” Shiro snaps, dropping the last dirty dish and gripping the sides of the steel sink so hard it warps under his prosthetic. “You remember when you showed me those pictures of your dad and his crew? When you were thirteen?”

Keith nods, sniffling, wiping his eyes with wet hands. He hears metal creak, hears hands being dried on a dishtowel, and a long, heavy sigh.

“I picked him out immediately, kid,” Shiro says quietly. Some of the overt cruelty has faded from his voice. He just sounds tired, now; bitter. “You didn’t need to point him out to me. I barely even needed to look at it. I knew who your father was immediately.”

Keith sets the last dish on a drying rack and takes a step back, leaning away from Shiro and pointedly looking away. “So?”

“So — ”and Shiro’s voice sounds almost gentle, now, apologetic, although to Keith or for Keith he’s not sure — “you look just like your Pa, Keith. You are his spitting image. The only difference is your eyes, and your height.” He glances at Keith and then snorts softly. “Well, not the height anymore.”

Keith doesn’t smile back anymore. He hears what Shiro is saying and he hates it, hates him a little for bringing it up.

“She had no reason to expect it was me,” Keith argues.

“And no reason not to recognise you if she was really looking,” Shiro retorts. “If she was exactly what she said she was, she’d recognise you.”

Keith scowls at him. His eyes still burn with tears. “I was wearing my Blade uniform. And she hadn’t seen me since I was a baby.”

Shiro’s face has started to return to the anger it held before, the frustration. “That’s the fucking point!” he shouts. “She left you! Without so much as a goodbye, or even a note! Just a cryptic knife that did nothing but confuse you!”

“There was a war to fight!”

“And she had a kid to raise!”

“What was she supposed to do about Blue, huh?” Keith demands, pushing off the counter and throwing his hands up. “Let Zarkon find her? She had to protect the universe!”

“She had to protect her fucking kid.”

“One kid is not worth more than the entire universe!”

“You are!”

Keith freezes. Shiro barely notices, face twisted in rage so badly that he’s barely even looking at Keith, fists clenched hard enough to creak, fury radiating off of him.

“What?” Keith asks in a small voice, but Shiro plows on.

“You’re her fucking kid. You come first. You come before any other kid, you come before her mission, you come before the fucking universe. That’s how having a kid works. They’re the priority. And anyone who leaves their family behind like that is unforgivably despicable.”

The truth comes crashing down at Keith all at once. He looks at his brother with wide eyes, unclouded with his own hurt, and sees for the first time all the pure hate and rage and pain — not directed at Krolia, not even a little, but sharpened to a point and shoved back into himself.

Anyone who leaves their family behind is unforgivably despicable.

The words ring through the room. Keith hears them repeat a thousand time in three seconds. A million different memories whirl through him at once, all tinged with a pain and a border of abandonment; memories he hasn’t let himself touch since he got to space.

“I don’t blame you for Kerberos,” Keith says quietly. He waits a beat. “I never have.”

Shiro says nothing. His expression is frozen, body unmoving, but his dark black eyes — the eyes that chose him first, that followed him with pride, that were the first to look at him softly when his heritage came out and everything went to shit, that he used to cry and sob and beg to have so that Shiro could be his brother in more than name — are wrought with pain. His face does not crumple, but his eyes are like shattered volcanic glass, and slowly they fill with water, and a drop escapes the corner of his almond eye, dripping slowly down his cheek.

“How can you ever forgive her?” he asks, near silent, voice rough as sandpaper and twice as painful.

How can you ever forgive me?

Keith chokes back his tears and meets his brother’s eyes head-on, determined and steady and loving as Shiro always has been when Keith was the one shattering.

“Easily.”

Shiro swallows. It’s loud, deafening in the silence of the room. The sound of it, the knowledge that Shiro is pushing his pain down but it’s coming up anyway, makes Keith’s chin tremble.

“I don’t deserve easy.”

“You deserve whatever I want to give you.”

Finally Shiro breaks, and sobs. And sobs and sobs and sobs. His cries seem the yank the life out of him, drain himself of energy; his knees hit the floor with a crack and he crumples at Keith’s feet.

“Forgive me,” he begs, like he knows he doesn’t deserve it.

Keith gently kneels next to him and reaches out, almost afraid to touch. “I already did.” He reaches out finally and holds his brother, his big brother who was stronger than his body and bigger than his dream and catapulted Keith up to the stars with him, and holds him together as he cries.

“I forgave you before you even left,” Keith whispers, when Shiro’s sobs don’t sound so painful. He squeezes tighter, because he’s almost worried that he needs to keep Shiro all together. “So did Adam.”

The mention of Shiro’s…whatever Adam is to him makes him cry harder, but Keith pushes on, sure that he needs to know.

“The day you went missing, he broke into your apartment. Went looking for the rings. He never took it off after. Never stopped looking for you, either. He forgave you, too.”

Shiro cries something, too warbled to make out, but Keith can make a pretty good guess as to what it was.

“You do deserve it,” he says firmly. “You are not a monster. You are not undeserving of our love, Shiro, of any of our love. We have always loved you as you are. Don’t rob of us the chance.”

“I don’t actually hate your mother,” Shiro whispers.

Keith laughs wetly. “I got that one, dumbass. Use your words next time.”

Shiro smiles slightly, wisely not agreeing. They both know he won’t. They both know this will probably happen to him again, and probably Keith, too — they may not be blood brothers, but they’ve always been alike anyway. Neither has ever been good at expressing themselves, at letting themselves be vulnerable.

But Keith holds his brother tighter, and thinks of their family who loves them with all their shit, despite it and because it, and thinks that they’ll make it through anyway.

[greenflamedwriter]

S8 Second Chance [Ep1-4]

I wrote them as Episodes, these are just notes. I’m not writing it becuase I’m sick of Voltron.

Episode one: Shadows. 

-Kuron is having headaches and asks help from Lance. Lance saw Shiro attacking a galra sentry and suddenly acts weird, they subdue him and Lotor reveals a project Haggar had in relation to Shiro losing his shit.

"Why didn't you say so before?" Lotor gives them a blank stare "She has over a million projects you think I've memorised them all?" Pidge raised an eyebrow and lotor sighed.

"The galra are weak unlike alteans, we can't shapeshift." 

So they used clones and experimentation to create soldiers. CLONE soldiers.

-They arive at a Cloning facility, Shiro has a mid-life crisis when he see’s the OG Shiro from s1 when he got ABDUCTED.

The CHAMPION who originally piloted the Black lion has been a clone the whole time.

(Did I steal this from young justice? Yes, yes I did.) Kuron sacrifices himself but he lives and changes his name to Ryou he admits that Lance was his best friend and Lance flushes. Gay panic begins. Ryou goes to other planets along with the mamoura and calls shiro and keith on a zoom call. The clones call each other handsome. Which irks everyone. (Hes just as bad as Lance)

+return to earth, Lotor has a falling out with voltron via romelle who was in an eacape pod unconcious with Keith and his mother who confirm her story, lotor is banished (kidnapped) before he could explain. Then kuron clone crisis happens after.

Episode 2: Missing Limb

How everyone deals with Kurons abscence Lance gets hit the most, with his relationships feeling like they're falling apart he feels as if he's not needed once they return to earth, until something latches onto his ship and he has to investigate it himself a mushroom parasite that makes him tell the truth.

"I'm just a boy from Cuba!"  Lance cries out. missing Kuron, Allura, Keith, Hunk and Pidge it's as if everyone is evolving adapting growing stronger and he's...left behind.

At the end..."We're all messed up aren't we?" 

"No- what you said we were all thinking. we were terrified of talking about it."

"But letting things fester isn't doing good for anybody." Shiro took a long breath then exhaled "alright. Let's start from the beggining." All of them talk about their problems, Pidge vents about her family, as well as Hunk and even Shiro admits a bit of his past and says that the clone Ryou misses Lance the most and wanted to reach out to him for a while just thought Lance hated him for being a clone. Ryou ends up being Lance’s rock and best bro/platonic wing man. It doesn’t fix anything but it’s a step for lance’s arc.

Episode : Reboot.

Alternate reality: The voltron crew fall through a portal along with lotor [Who came back, explained everything redeemed himself] and found a reality commet (Lotor thinks of the potential of going through multiple realities with the comet and creates his own mini voltron with Allura) Go through 90's verse. Call back to the OG Voltron.

 Avil Altean Verse where Allura battles herself as a tyrant and stands firm that she's different, she holds Lotor's hand that she see's the Galra as victims and should be saved. Future verse/kinda Voltron reacting to the shit that is s8 Allura's statue Lotor being a traitor Shiro marrying some guy called Curtis and how the others are happy except Lance. Pidge screams at them that this is bullshit.

"Lance is smart! Alright- He saved us more times we could count and just because he doesn't know how tens and units works doesn't mean he's dim he's smart in a different way and has gained allies that way! living on a farm Lance!? Please...you're more than that."

Symbiote Verse/ They find monsters that latch onto people and make them stronger but they're like parasites and one latches onto Lance and they get into high jinks. Turns out that any aliens [Kolivan, Keith, Allura] are the SYMBIOTES in this universe. And it was Keith symbiote that latched onto Lance. [Foreshadowing for Klance]  

thanks to Slav they go to the 80s voltron verse. and have the other's react to their old selves. 

Then they get stuck in the crappy car one. [Voltron Force]

And a TON of AU’s of mermaids, Alteans, etc like a cute wink to the fandom that had so much fun with AU’s.

[braincoins]

The former Kuron is still trying to sort out a lot of things: how to get the Altean Diaspora's machines to work, how to separate himself from Takashi Shirogane, and, most of all, how to deal with the fact that he's falling in love with Romelle.

Fandom: VLD Rating: Teen and up Ships: Ryoumelle Tags: Fluff, Happy Birthday Breezy!, AU, obviously, ‘cause pretty much all my stuff is Fuck Canon nowadays

Author’s Notes:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, @breezycheezyart​!! You wanted Ryoumelle Fluff, and I am MORE than happy to deliver!! (And thank you, mckinlily for the beta!!)

First of all, anyone reading this should be thinking of Breezy's awesome Romelle, not the VLD one:

(reposted with permission, please visit The Original Post to leave comments on the awesome art!)

She doesn't usually run around in that lovely formalwear above, but it gives you a good idea of what she looks like (and all her adorable freckles...).

Secondly, this is set in my V:LotD universe (same one as "Yours and Mine", and, in fact, this takes place after that fic). Things to know:

Oriande is a very hard to find planet, one you have to both believe exists and know how to look for in order to find. But anyone who finds Oriande can set foot on it. HOWEVER, the Temple of the Goddess of the Universe won't let just anyone in. It very definitely kept Lotor out, which pissed him off to no end.

Allura and the other Paladins went into the Temple of the Goddess to get Shiro a new arm since the Galra one was actively corrupting him. (Basically just like in "Components.") They discovered that the temple changes every time you walk into it, depending on your purpose (and what the Goddess wants).

The Altean Diaspora - the survivors from Altea's destruction - settled on Oriande 10,000 years ago and have since established a small but thriving colony. Lotor found them when he found Oriande and convinced them he was here to help, did his experiments on them, etc. as in VLD. They have since kicked that moldy eggplant to the curb, thanks in no small part to Romelle, who is the youngest member of the ruling Council, and, of course, Volton and Princess Allura.

This version of Kuron attacked the team when confronted with the real Shiro's return; they managed to subdue him and brought him to the colony on Oriande for help in "deprogramming" him. This effort was successful, eventually. Shiro gave him the name "Ryou Shirogane," and refers to him as the younger twin. Ryou, for his part, has stayed with the Alteans, where he is happy to be useful, even if he feels like he doesn't really fit in and he still struggles with the fact that he was created for evil.

Ryou's hand is still the one he got from Haggar (compared to Shiro's new Altean one).

I think that covers everything, but if you're confused about things, let me know in the comments! ^_^

(4,544 Words - on Ao3)

Teaser below cut:

           He’d kept those feelings to himself successfully for months on end, but then, one night at the Lost Princess public house, Romelle had asked him, over a plate of roast wrestrel, “How’s it going with Dynart?”

           And he’d spilled it all out, all his frustrations over not-really-merged techs and the headaches of it and how he wished he could do something more about it, but he wasn’t even a decent engineer yet, let alone a Sacred Altean. And when he realized he’d just spewed all of that out over what was supposed to be a nice dinner together, he cleared his throat and apologized.

           Romelle just laughed and patted his hand. “You don’t have to be sorry!”

           “I didn’t mean to… we were supposed to be enjoying the evening together, and I…” He liked evenings with Romelle best. She’d been the first to accept him, to believe in him, and for all her outer softness, she had a spine of steel. She didn’t back down, didn’t give up, and her smile was contagious. To him, anyway. So the thought that he had ruined a good dinner with her pained him.

           But she was smiling, and so he had to smile, too. Just a little. Her voice was gentle as she said, “Sounds like you had to vent that to someone. I’m honored you consider me enough of a friend to vent to me about it.”

           Enough of a friend. Sure, he’d go with that.

           “I feel like I can tell you anything,” he admitted quietly.

           Her smile widened and a little blush sprung up in her cheeks. This was another problem he’d been dealing with: she was adorable, sweet, kind, sometimes flirty, and he had trouble unsticking his eyes from her (especially the cute freckles all over her… and her chest… and the freckles on her chest) sometimes. He had memories of… of Being With someone else, but they weren’t his. And he didn’t know how to go about saying to her, I want to make my own memories with you.

           But she was on the Council, and he knew that he was some strange object of pity to most of the colony. He didn’t fit in, and she could do a lot better than the Black Paladin’s redeemed monster clone. He was happy just to spend time with her, to have her smile infect him and her spirit lift him up.

           “Thank you,” she said, patting his hand again before pulling it back to resume eating. “But you’re not wrong about how a Sacred Altean would be a big help.”

           “Winter’s coming,” he replied, pushing the remnants of his food around on his plate. “The colony’s heating systems aren’t going to be able to handle the load without an occasional boost or an overall upgrade. And as good as it is to be rid of Lotor, he was the one bringing us replacement parts. We could probably ask the Princess and the Paladins, but there’s no guarantee they can find us the parts we’d need if that happened.

           “We figured out a work-around for now, but one bad storm could overload it and fry the whole thing. And we just don’t have the parts to replace it all.”

           She nodded. “Dynart’s reported on that to us.”

           “I just want to fix it, to make it better, but I can’t.” He set his spork down and sighed. “I don’t like feeling useless.”

           “No one does. But it’s not just you. I can’t fix this situation either.”

           He thought for a long moment. “What would the Alteans of old have done in this situation?”

           “Not been in it in the first place?” she said wryly. “But it’s not a bad question. Probably… probably have gone and asked the Goddess what to do.”

           “Well, why can’t we do that? There’s that temple.”

           “That no one can get into.”

           “Princess Allura got into it,” he reminded her.

           “She’s Sacred.”

           “And the paladins.”

           “Prophecy.”

           “We could at least try?” he asked. “Unless you just don’t want to take that long a walk with me?”

           She snorted and rolled her eyes, but she was smiling again. “You know that’s not true. I love spending time with you.”

Oh, so that’s what it feels like when your heart ‘skips a beat’. He cleared his throat.

[gigili-jiggly]

can you list your favorite klance fics ://

(i’m not sure how to respond to your ‘ :// ‘ emoji, but i’ll take any excuse to gush about fics lol)

I have so many favorite fics, so I’ll just list some oneshots for now so that this list doesn’t become too long 

(I might post a list of more oneshots and ongoing fics if anyone is interested!)

SFW Oneshots: 

you’re lucky that’s what i like by @zenstrike

Lance rescues a hamster from certain doom.

or, Lance has Keith wrapped around his little finger and doesn’t even realize it.

This is literally the cutest and softest klance series I’ve read in a long time!! It gives me lots of feelings and feeds my need for lovestruck Keith ladfajdifjdsklf

hey, mom, i met a boy by @mothpoem

“Sweetheart,” says Lance, his hair longer, his shoulders broader, the slope of his nose uneven now where it didn’t used to be, “you don’t know the half of it.”

LISTEN. This fic owns my ass, it’s so good. It has all my favorite tropes (marriage proposals, visions of the future, love realizations, etc.) and every moment between Lance and Keith is so sweet and full of love hnnngh. 

i know what you did last summer by seventies

Saving angry, mysterious damsels in distress multiple times weren’t in the job description of being a lifeguard. It would have been slightly bearable if only everyone would stop asking Lance if he remembered what he did last summer. What really happened, anyway? AU

Pining Keith? Oblivious Lance? A little bit of Memory Loss? Heck yeah!!! This fic also made me laugh a lot, so I always reread this when I need a pick-me-up

this, our town of halloween by @tobiologist

“Yeah, well, it’s written all over both of your faces,” Lance hisses. “It’s not a big deal.”

Pidge taps her chin. “Oh, you mean Keith, the local introvert and your ex-rival, creeping out of his cave to go to a huge Halloween celebration with you and your little niece and nephew? Of course that’s not a big deal. Silly me!”

Or: Lance invites Keith to Disneyland on Halloween and glimpses an entirely new side of the boy he has a stupidly massive crush on.

Lately, I’ve been loving tropes where people go on a ‘date’, insist that it’s not a date and then finally realize it’s a date. Also, pining Lance is good shit. 

Smell as Sweet by ultimateparadox

Coffee and love, Lance thinks, are the only universal constants.

Established relationship!!! Marriage proposals!!! Becoming a family!!! Everything here is amazing!!!

Bastion by Foxcote

In a healing universe, Keith and Lance await the arrival of their daughter.

I am a sucker for klance as parents, and one scene in particular between Keith and Krolia really captured my heart

In every reality, I reach for you by @enlacinglineswrites

Stories inspired the Klance AU month prompts.

I love drabble series and this one right here has so many interesting and wonderful aus! I read it time and time again like a morning newspaper lol. 

Somewhere a Clock is Ticking by @emphasis-all-mine

This is a story about time travel, lost memories, growing up broken, ukulele lessons, peanut butter banana sandwiches, and a stuffed hippo named Patches.

This is also the story of how James Griffin saved the world, but couldn’t stop his parents from falling in love.

Literally the fic that made me warm up to James! I’ve always loved time travel stories and the characterizations in this fic is so fun and enjoyable, I hold it very close to my heart! Also, klance family aldjofiadjfdf

5 + 1 times: lance and the search for keith’s boyfriend by @starwar 

Who could it be?!

Lance tried to convince himself it wasn’t jealousy… it was just friendly concern. He had to ensure that whoever Keith was with treated him well, not that Keith needed Lance to look after him, but still, Keith deserved the world and Lance wanted to make sure whoever he was with gave that to him.

Just buddy-buddy concerns.

or alternatively; 5 + 1 times lance doesn’t realise he’s keith’s boyfriend

Oblivious Lance who doesn’t know he’s Keith’s boyfriend? Bet your ass I’m gonna read that!!

chaser of fate by freshia

Where Lance thinks everyone else is really frickin’ weird, the others spend copious amounts of time trying to get him to just remember, and Keith just wants to (re?)live his life.

(Modern Reincarnation AU where the biggest threat to face, is the looming deadlines for essays.)

One of the first klance fics I’ve read and one that I absolutely consider a classic. I love me some reincarnation au’s, and I love how this one is nice and not too angsty! 

Save the Date by @thathopelessromantic 

They had gotten married in the middle of a war, on an alien spaceship, both boasting major injuries. It was rushed and short and the team was thrust into battle almost immediately after “I do.” But afterwards, after some insistent questioning from Keith, Lance admitted to things he had let himself imagine for their wedding, were they to have had one on Earth.

Cute established and married klance celebrating their anniversary, what more can a girl want? 

Speak for the Stars by @speakswords 

All Lance has ever wanted is to prove his worth. So, maybe it’s fitting that the Black Lion picked him right when Lotor betrayed them and Shiro’s clone went rogue. Right when the team was at its lowest and closest to failing.

The desire for glory that Lance grew up with—that drove him to join the Garrison and pursue fighter class, that drove him into his one-sided rivalry with Keith, that drove him after Keith in the Sonoran Desert and into Blue’s cockpit and into space and into the war in the first place—it’s a relic of the past for him now. All he wants these days is to keep his friends alive and the Coalition afloat, and he tries his best, despite the pervasive fear that he isn’t the right person for this monumental task. Despite the growing certainty that Black picked the wrong guy.

This fear will be put to the ultimate test when the mess that ensnares the team after the clone disaster turns out to be a labyrinth more winding than any of them were prepared for. Because Lance might just be the only person equipped to lead them through this maze and into the light.

I love those tropes where peeps get stuck in their own dreams and someone has to help them snap out of it. This fic does this wonderfully with Lance and I loved Keith’s dream in here, it was so sweet

in every reality, we meet by ULTIOcean

Small one-shots about our favorite team, taken from a prompt list on tumblr for the October Writting Challenge, in which i’ll write 31 short stories, unrelated to each other, each insipred by the prompt of the day.

i adore this drabble series, each chapter is such a unique take on the prompt! 

you’ve got a hand for the taking (i’m about to take it to the moon) by seabear

“I think,” Lance says, squinting, “he’s a vampire.”

one of my comfort fics to be honest. i really really like their interactions here and the confession scene makes me very happy

where & how we’ll land by @ephemelody 

The first time Keith meets Lance is also the first time they kiss. It all goes downhill for him from there.

looking for a childhood klance fic that is so so good? this one is a classic!!!

Complete Mature/Explicit Oneshots: 

assemble by groovystars

‘there was an idea- katie and hunk know about it- called the voltron initiative. the plan was-is, god, it is- to bring together a group of remarkable people, and see if together they could become something more. to fight the battles we never could. i wasn’t sure though. just knew that katie and hunk could do it, maybe lance if he wasn’t knee-deep in cover work. but now that cap’s used to the century and keith kogane turned up from the dead, and we have a literal god on our hands… now- now i think we can do that. i think we can believe in heroes.’

aka the marvel au that’s probably already been done

As a huge Marvel fan, this is an amazing superhero au!! It has klance and shatt, as well as lotor and allura in a thor and loki dynamic! 

i like me better when i’m with you by @reader115 

His mother’s advice when the war is over? That he should ask for what he wants.

Keith joins Lance and his family on their farm, and Lance wishes for a never ending visit.

i’ve read so many post-canon fics when vld ended and this one is one of my absolute favorites. It’s because of this fic that i started associating the song with klance, haha! I love the characterizations and the overall sweetness/lovey dovey feeling the fic has and aldoifjaidfd I just love reading this over and over again

there are worse things i could do by @peachgrdn 

His chest went tight when he recalled Keith’s face. What did it have to mean? They’d never been lovers; that much was clear.

When Lance goes out to buy himself a gift for his own pleasure, it comes with a little emotional baggage. Only just as he thinks he can manage it, Keith throws himself into the mix, and Lance realizes he must come to terms with buried feelings.

honestly, i consider lyssy the queen for fluffy and feely smut lol. I love her humor in this one as well as the many feels it gives me…just aldkjodfa i love this fic a lot okay?

kiss me (like it hurts) by mottainai

Purple light streamed through his kitchen window from the neon sign across the street, getting tangled in Keith’s hair and painted on the planes of his shoulders. He held his breath, afraid to disturb the moment. Keith’s eyes were on his, too soft to be coming from a dangerous man. Lance could see himself becoming caught in the gap in his teeth, pressed into the groves of his calloused hands, inked across his ribs. It should terrify him, the kind of terror of one looking into the belly of the beast.

But it didn’t.

Or: Keith and Lance, told through arguments and resolutions

i’m such a sucker for gangster keith stuff and this fic here has one of my favorite takes on it. perfect for rereading again and again! 

lure by chaeriee 

Becoming indebted to Keith Kogane was not a part of Lance’s future plans. Falling for him, even less so.

another gangster keith fic and it has almost all of my guilty pleasures in it uwu. i love those /person A needs to pay off a debt and works for person B while unknowingly becoming the most important one to them’ storylines haha! 

 Alpha Affairs by marizousbooty

Keith and Lance take a romantic vacation to the mountains for a snowy weekend getaway.

vampire lance and werewolf keith….doing it….good stuff

Heaven in hiding by i_write_shakespeare_not_disney

Keith finds something interesting in Lance’s drawer and it leads to one of the most amazing nights of his life.

insecure lance in lingerie and keith helping him become comfortable with it? sexy. 

Beast of Burden by melancholymango

“Keith, no, we can’t go again.” Lance pleads fall on deaf ears. Keith is honed in on him now like predator to prey. He’s fighting a losing battle and they both know it. He sees it in the way Keith is raking his eyes over him, sizing him up. “We’ll be so late getting to the bar.”

“Just one more.” Keith insists, herding Lance toward the counter with a stubbornness that is innately wolf. Lance pouts, but he doesn’t have anywhere else to go but backward.

“That’s what you said last time! And the time before that!”

–

The week leading up to a supermoon, as told by the world’s best werewolf boyfriend, Lance McClain. The good, the bad, and the horny.

I read this on Halloween and I’m not even ashamed of how much I enjoyed this. This fic made me very very biased towards werewolf keith lol. 

[rainforestgeek]

If you lose your strength to stand (I”m gonna reach for your hand) pt. 12 “Enemies, and their Power”

Part 11

AO3 link

Being American, I reserve the right to make digs at the U.S.

--

Pidge took a deep gulp from her caffeinated fruit-tea (God bless Hunk, honestly). The hangar where Hunk, Lotor, and Allura worked on the quintessence ships was huge and had catwalks all along the walls. Pidge had hit dead end after dead end with tracking Haggar through the clone until she was absolutely ready to scream. Once she realized she was just staring at the wall instead of working, Pidge took her equipment from the Green hangar to perch on one of the catwalks.

Allura had just walked out to go to the bridge. She passed by Pidge’s perch close enough that Pidge overheard her conversation with Lance – those comm earrings were pretty loud.

Keith was such a fucking hypocrite.

Pidge had never quite forgotten the day that, over a year ago, Keith yelled at her for trying to leave Voltron and find her family. He’d hurled accusations at her like a firing squad. He’d called her selfish. That’d hit too close to home. She remembered his voice echoing in her head alongside the voices of school kids who’d said she was cold or weird or didn’t care about anyone but her robots. She didn’t get that expectation that she had to feel for strangers; it’s not like she had the time or energy to prioritize everyone in the world.

Of course Pidge had learned a lot since then. There was such a thing as caring without that visceral wrench in her stomach. She could understand and prioritize the good for people she didn’t know and love. There was such a thing as empathy without instinct.

But it wasn’t fair that Keith thought he could run away from the war he used to dive headfirst into. He’d been all invested when Shiro had been here, when he’d had his family. He shouldn’t talk about selfish.

Pidge hoped Lance would snap him out of whatever weird-ass funk this was. If she had to work despite her grief then so did Keith.

Meanwhile, the Shiro-clone was still in stasis. Presumably, if he was being monitored, manipulated, and controlled by Haggar, it would be through the mechanical arm. It’s probably not as efficient as having it hooked up directly to the brain, but Hunk was certain that access through the shoulder into the central nervous system was sufficient. Even with the change of scenery (which often helped her think) Pidge was about ready to throw her laptop at the wall, though, because no matter what she tried the arm software was a fucking dead end.

Actually, no, never the laptop no matter how angry or frustrated she got. That computer was her baby. She’d built it back on Earth and added a ton of Altean modifications to the hardware – including some incredibly impressive RAM that allowed her to multitask like a crazy person and put the computer’s original 64 GB to shame.

Pidge pulled up the clone’s medical records. The cryo-pod did a full body scan twice a varga and she’d linked the data to continuously upload to her laptop (thank you, alien random access memory), focusing on the CNS. And –

Okay, that was different. The original clone scans showed no distinction between those of the real Shiro, allowing for expected discrepancies on the cellular and molecular levels due to time passing. One of the things the pods monitored closely was an individual’s quintessence. She was no biologist, but Pidge did grasp the basic concepts of thermodynamics and the quintessence seemed to be deteriorating. She didn’t know what it meant, though.

A hefty creaking noise distracted her. Hunk pulled his way onto the catwalk and settled in beside her. “Pidge. Can I chew your ear for a minute?”

“Aren’t you busy?”

“Lotor went to make some, uh, conference calls, I think.”

Pidge glared at the computer screen and decided to fuck it, she’s not getting anywhere with this anyway. “Yeah, why not. Shoot.”

Hunk blew out a puff of air. “We’ve made a lot of progress on the technology. Allura’s been working on adapting the ships to travel between universes and I’m really close to finding the most efficient ways to collect and contain the energy. It’s just, um…what if we aren’t doing the right thing here, Pidge?”

She eyed him. “If we can end the war without more war, I’m all for it. I know I wasn’t on board at first, and I’m no economist, but this seems like a good way to stabilize the universe.”

“I’m just thinking. Humans and galra have one big thing in common: exhausting resources. Sure, the quintessence field seems endless now, but the same can be said for every single resource humans overexploited in history. We don’t know how this could affect the universe.” He was getting worked up.

“Hunk.” Pidge placed a hand on his wrist, knowing he takes comfort from even small touches. “You’re a huge part of this project. You and Allura can find a way to make this harvesting sustainable.”

He hummed. His bushy eyebrows drew together.

Pidge continued, “Is this really the only thing bugging you?”

“I’m not…convinced doing this harvesting will lead to peace. Like, I get why Lotor thinks this will solve things,” Hunk said in a low voice. “Increase supply, satisfy demand, spare bad harvesting practices etc. But what do the galra need all this quintessence for?”

“I don’t know, space ships? Power grids? Fuel?…Weapons?”

“Exactly. These guys have been conquering for thousands of years. How can we be sure they won’t just keep conquering when we hand over the power?”

Pidge massaged her temples. “I hear you Hunk, but I’m way out of my depth here. I’d rather trust that Allura and Lotor know way more about alien politics and economics than I do, you know, being born rulers and everything.”

“Since when did you trust Lotor?”

Pidge finally tore her eyes away from the screen and leaned in close to Hunk. “I trust Allura. Do you, do you think Lotor can pull the wool over her eyes?”

“Yeah, well, the man has only been a military strategist for several millennia, I think it’s probable.”

Pidge pulled up another window. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been keeping up with the news. Lotor is on the manhunt for any and all galra factions who don’t pledge loyalty to him. And most of the ones who have are extracting their control over recently conquered sectors. It’s a start.”

“How do you completely reform a culture that’s built on war and conquest?”

“Rome and America became republics, didn’t they?”

Hunk groaned and rubbed his eyes. “It’s so complicated. I wish I could just fix up these ships and that would automatically make everything okay.”

She patted his shoulder. “I know the feeling. I’m confused here, too. Look.”

“Aren’t those scans of the fake Shiro? Why…man I can’t read these, why’s the blue glowing in the middle getting dimmer in each picture?”

“It’s his quintessence. It’s deteriorating. But look, it didn’t start until after we put him in stasis, see? The readings are exactly the same between the scan of Shiro and the very first scan of the clone.”

Understanding lit up Hunk’s face. Good, good, thermodynamics were safe, comprehensible ground. “And that’s when the energy started wasting away. Nothing’s regenerating the quintessence. Pidge, Haggar’s magic!”

She banged her fist on the catwalk. The echoing clang make Hunk flinch. “Of course! I should’ve figured that out. If it doesn’t make sense, then magic.” She huffed a sigh. “But if there’s no magic connected to the clone then that means I can’t trace it. It’s another dead end.”

Hunk was quiet for a few minutes, while Pidge stewed in her failure.

"Although," Hunk said, "Zarkon was obsessed with quintessence for his own personal use. He's gone now and if we get rid of Haggar too, then the demand should go down significantly. She's our biggest threat right now and with so much of the military devoted to Lotor he should be able to keep the rogues in check, right?"

Pidge shut her laptop. "See, you figured it out. What do you need me for."

---

“So let me get this straight.”

It was first thing in the morning, and they were in the Blade-equivalent of a conference room with Krolia and Kolivan. Lance pressed his fingertips to his temple like he was trying to organize something in his head (except in Keith’s experience, that usually happened out loud).

Lance gestured to Krolia. “You were undercover at Ranveig’s base, where he intercepted mega-powerful quintessence and accidentally used it to create a terrifying robeast but without the robot parts. Which you both then sic-ed onto a different general attacking the base so you could escape and presumably that thing is still on the planet.

“And you’ve tracked the quintessence to its source but it’s guarded by impenetrable space-time anomalies and we don’t know who was shipping it.”

Keith said, “It does fit Haggar’s M.O.”

Lance sighed. “We should call the Castle of Lions and get them in on this meeting.”

--

Pidge just about leapt out of her skin (and did leap out of her bed) at the loud, insistent banging on her door. She tripped over something on her floor and narrowly avoided face-planting in a pile of dirty socks.

“Pidge! Pidge, wake up!”

Vision still kinda fuzzy from sleep, she scrambled to her feet to slam her hand against the door panel. It hissed open as Hunk prepared to pound on it again. Had he been any shorter he would have punched Pidge in the head, but as it was his fist met thin air and he had to windmill his arms to not fall on her.

“Hunk! What is it? What’s happening?” Pidge demanded.

“Whoa, hey chill out. There’s no emergency.”

She glared at him. “Did you just scare me awake for shits and giggles? Do you have any idea how loud it is when you bang on a metal surface?!”

Because he was the worst, Hunk flat-out ignored her tirade. “Your brother, Lance, and Keith want everyone on a conference call. We’ve been trying to wake you up for half an hour.”

Pidge took a deep breath in through her nose. Then let it out. “If you value our continued friendship, you will get me the largest canteen you can find and fill it to the brim with the not-coffee. And it better fucking be hot.”

It was hot, and she and everyone else were soon in front of multiple huge screens showing her brother, her missing teammates, Kolivan, and another galra she didn’t recognize. The first thing that happened was Keith held up a placating hand before Allura could lay into him.

“I know what you’re going to say, and I’m sorry for leaving without telling you guys why. I got overwhelmed and needed to do something. But it won’t happen again.”

Allura drummed her fingers irritably. “It better not.”

“And by something,” Lance interjected, “Keith here means he had to have some face time with his LONG LOST MOTHER. Guys, meet Krolia, Keith’s galra mom!”

Pidge choked mid-drink and spewed liquid all over Hunk. Fucking what????

“Pidge, did you just do an actual spit take?” Lance demanded, blatantly ignoring the irritated glare Keith was shooting him.

“Did you deliberately wait until I was taking a sip to say that?”

“Depends.”

“Okay, you two can flirt later,” Matt said. Lance’s entire face and neck flushed. “We have important news.”

They proceeded to explain the quintessence the super-powerful quintessence, the spacetime equivalent of a minefield they’d tracked it to, and their suspicions that Haggar was somehow mining it to fuel her military and her magic.

Pidge downed the rest of her “caffeine” in two gulps.

“We believe the source is behind the quantum abyss, rather than the abyss itself,” Kolivan was explaining. “If we can cut Haggar off from her major quintessence supply then we stand a far greater chance at permanently vanquishing her forces.”

Krolia spoke, “The tricky part is navigating the abyss. It requires precise calculations and the consequences of being trapped inside would be dire.”

“Hunk, Pidge, think you can work through those calculations?” Keith asked.

They responded with a synchronous “probably.” Pidge thanked God she now had a new project to work on. One more day with the stupid clone arm and she was gonna lose her hair.

“I believe I know where that quintessence is coming from.” Lotor’s cool voice silenced the entire room. Pidge noticed with shock that his face had gone paper-white. He looked like the ghost of a general rather than a living emperor.

“It is a place I have not been to in some time."

Part 13

[breeeliss]

If you were put in charge of rebooting vld, what would you change? (Sorry of this is similar to the last ask)

i think if i had to only pick a few things to change, i would start with these six things: 

1) Forgo the lion switch and instead give Allura the Black Lion personally this would’ve made more sense on two fronts. one, it maintains the original integrity of the lion-paladin connection which we were told was dependent on the paladin assuming specific character traits that attracted certain lions. Keith and Lance, arguably, were the perfect Red and Blue paladins based on the attributes we were given and i saw little need to make them switch out. Allura, on the other hand, embodies all of the qualities of the black paladin (and actually wanted it, as opposed to Keith) so it would’ve been a more seamless transition.

second, Allura being placed in the Blue Lion felt very much like a demotion. she suddenly didn’t know how to fly despite coaching the paladins from day one (and being able to fly a battle class altean ship), she became an insecure terrified little girl being hunted by the big bad guy, and she began answering to people she used to command and having her opinions be undercut by people who knew less than she did. placing her in the black lion would’ve solidified her as the definitive leader of Voltron, leader of the coalition, and provided a much more satisfying character arc for her.

2) Not had Keith leave the team in order to completely devote his time to the Blade of MarmoraKeith leaving the team had a lot to do with the fact that he a) was not ready to become the BP/didn’t want to, and b) was being forced to remain the leader of the team and neglect his desire to explore his heritage and culture through the BOM. i feel like keeping Keith in the Red Lion would’ve circumvented a lot of this. he would’ve felt secure as the red paladin and i don’t think he would’ve kept his feelings about his need to explore the BOM a secret from his teammates as a result.

i also think that it would’ve been possible for him to balance both. at the end of the day, Keith was a paladin first and he ultimately returned to being a paladin bc he knew that’s where he was needed. i don’t see why he couldn’t have kept his Marmoran blade and assisted on covert missions while also staying a paladin of Voltron. Keith learning to become a better leader was something he could’ve learned without leaving his friends.

3) Cleaned up Lotor’s characterLotor ended up being more confusing to me than interesting. it seemed like the writers weren’t sure if they wanted to make him a redeemable character or solidify him as a clear cut villain and it shows. i think the fact that he’s a charmer, a manipulator, etc. added a good deal of depth to his character, and made the decision to trust him very confusing. which is good! that’s one of the things i loved the most about Lotor. where he started to lose me was in his backstory where he wanted to spare planets, save lives, and do good things for the universe but needed to…farm and kill Alteans to do it.

it’s not clear how he went from wanting to preserve life to committing genocide. that logic jump was very sudden and never explained. they either should’ve kept his backstory and his desire to preserve life and made him an ally to Voltron, OR they should’ve nixed the abusive backstory and maintained him as an enemy who was set on ousting his parents and ruling the Galra empire the way he wanted. i personally would’ve gone with the latter if i was rewriting, but either works. i think the writers wanted to try and get us to sympathize with a imperialist murderer at the same time they wanted us to demonize a victim of neglect and abuse, and as a result we as the viewers weren’t clear on what we were supposed to think of him.

also, i just personally don’t enjoy the “neglected child becomes a raging homicidal villain” narrative since it’s overdone and isn’t a very uplifting message for victims of abuse and neglect.  

4) Had Allura pilot the Atlas, and given Shiro the Black Lion back the Atlas was built with Altean tech, powered with Altean alchemy, and clearly become a Voltron-esque mech due to a combination of the Altean tech and the Altean magic that Allura used to bring Shiro back. it felt strange to me that Shiro would be the one to pilot this ship when a) Allura has experience piloting battle class ships, b) the ship was built using her culture’s tech, and c) it required Alten magic/alchemy/whatever to reach its potential. it’s more poetic in my opinion for an Altean to captain a human made ship made with Altean technology in a combined effort to oust the Galra.

and, honestly, Shiro’s bond with the black lion was the deepest paladin-lion bond we saw on the show. it’s only fitting that he should get his lion back considering how rewarding he found being a paladin and how much work he put into developing that bond. plus, it would’ve made both Shiro and Allura important leaders in the effort against the Galra which is honestly where the show should’ve stayed. Shiro and Allura co-leading was a really powerful dynamic that i wish the show kept.

5) Did something more interesting with Project KuronProject Kuron was the strangest plot device in the entire show. it was such a mystery when Shiro came back what this project was about, it turns out that this Shiro was a clone, but then the fact that hundreds and hundreds of Shiro clones were created was…..never explained. they were destroyed and that was that.

personally, this goes back to me wanting to elaborate on why Honerva was so drawn to Shiro (both enough to take his arm and use him during a cloning project). i wonder if something about his quintessence fascinated her. i wonder if, without his chronic illness, he would’ve been the embodiment of perfection and an ideal weapon for the empire. i wonder if this is why she outfitted him with Galra technology and planned to clone him to create an army of him for the sake of the war. i wanted a whole arc on just the clones, of Shiro finally grappling with Honerva and the hold she had on him for most of the season, i wanted the team to help in trying to destroy and defeat all of the clones before they were used as weapons against the entire universe, and then i think that would’ve added even more dramatic flair to the infamous black paladins episode (which i wouldn’t even touch, that was perfect).

6) Had Allura sacrifice the Lions in order to save all of the realities (thus keeping her alive)don’t think i have to explain why Allura dying was garbage. found family was one of the biggest themes of the series – was something that Allura herself acknowledged in the very last season – and it’s only fair that she be able to survive, see the fruits of her labor, see the reestablishment of the Altean colonies, be a ruler, be a leader, be alive, have a family, and get to be in love.

i feel like the lions would’ve been a very good alternative as a sacrifice. because it’s clear that after this Voltron isn’t needed anymore. so it would make sense that the lions final use would be to use their combine quintessence (which is likely more powerful than Allura’s) to save all those realities. and it would make sense that Honerva, as a way to atone for the damage she’d done, would be the one to redeem herself through this final sacrifice. it would’ve been a cleaner ending, it would’ve been more satisfying, none of the main characters had to die, and they all would’ve had beautifully happy endings.

[ptw30]

I really dislike how A/L has been written so far (in the romantic sense), their interactions always felt like a slap on the face since we never saw little casual moments with them... but sometimes I wonder, just because I dislike it, does that really mean it's bad writting? Maybe our expectations were too high and we just fooled ourselves?

I’m a fan of romantic comedies. It’s the reason why I loved the first two seasons of Voltron: Legendary Defender. It’s why I love sports anime. For all these, I essentially have the same expectations - at the end of the story, the potential lovers get together, Shiro and Black bond and get their bayard, Kuroko is going to win the basketball game, etc. 

I get a happy ending. 

But Shiro deserved his bayard and lion; Kuroko deserved to win the game, and most of the time, the lovers deserve to get together. They’ve earned it.

Allura and Lance don’t deserve each other for a number of reasons. 

I’m not saying I didn’t see it coming. I’m not saying one can’t enjoy the pairing. I’m saying - Lance and Allura aren’t jiving for a variety of reasons. Here’s an amazing post by @sol1056​ that sums up all I feel about Lance and Allura. It also goes into Shiro and Allura as a pairing, as well as Lotor and Allura.

In the simplest points - Lotor and Shiro respected Allura, respected her decisions, respected her right to choose - Lance has treated Allura like a possession. He growled at Matt. He addressed Keith in “Ark of Taujeer” - “Is the Princess with you? With-with you or…” not actually addressing Allura, and Lance never actually grew into supporting Allura and her decision of Lotor, but rather just biding his time until Lotor was out of the picture. Heck, Lance even wanted to send Lotor to his death - all because he saw Lotor as a threat in his “quest” for Allura.

Sorry, that’s not romance. That’s the beginning of a stalker film.

But if we look at Allura and Lance’s romance from a writer’s point-of-view, it actually doesn’t follow the typical format, which is why I believe it’s not working for a majority of viewers. 

(Below the cut - Lance and Allura’s relationship, as per a romantic comedy format; Lotor and Allura’s, and Lance’s true love - the Blue Lion. You think I’m joking with the last one - I’m really not.) 

There are generally seven steps to a happy ending in a romantic comedy (from “Seven Story Beats to Help Outline Your Romantic Comedy”).

1. The Chemical Equation: Setup

The unfulfilled desire of the protagonist - Lance is a lady’s man without a lady and now a new paladin of Voltron, insecure in his position; Allura is the princess of a dead planet, tasked with freeing the universe from the one who killed her people.

Hm. That’s unbalanced place to start the romance but all right. What’s life without a few obstacles?

2. Cute Meet: The Catalyst

Lance and the paladins come to the castle; Allura falls into Lance’s arms. He tries all his tricks to get with Allura the first two seasons to no avail. (This was actually sexual harassment. It’s clear that Allura does not feel the same way. She makes it clear, but like many women, she is stuck in her position. Lance is the only one who can fly the Blue Lion, and if Allura wants to save the universe and avenge Altea, she has no choice but to work with Lance.)

3. A Sexy Complication: Turning Point

Here’s where Voltron fails. The turning point should have been where Lance gives his bayard to Allura, and it seems to be. He knocks off half of his advances, though he takes three steps back when Matt comes to the castle-ship. Then he wants to send Lotor to his death. Then he starts to hone in on Allura and Lotor’s time. Allura doesn’t start to see him in a new light, and Lance doesn’t stop being an immature teenager. Allura finding out about Lance’s affections via the mice doesn’t help because it happens before she begins to see Lance as a potential love interest.

4. The Hook: Midpoint

Allura is already bound to Lance since they are both paladins, so this part never really happens. They aren’t forced into a new situation where the two of them must work together. Lance and Allura don’t struggle with their affections. Sure, the castle-ship is destroyed, and Allura joins the paladins on Earth - but that’s not a change in Allura and Lance’s situation. 

5. Swivel: Second Turning Point

Here’s where Lance or Allura’s romantic relationship would jeopardize their goal. So…what goal? Lance is going to impede Allura’s goal. Nope. He’s a paladin. She’s a paladin. They essentially have the same goal, though there’s no stakes here other than death.

One could say that Allura being in Blue impedes on Lance embracing his own strengths. He cannot accept himself while he must still be Keith (i.e. the Red Paladin). But even in this case, Lance isn’t jeopardizing Allura’s chance to succeed - unless Lance refused to take Blue from Allura (cuz she’s just too good as a paladin), and Allura cannot leave Blue in order to run the coalition since they don’t have enough paladins. 

Goals must shift. Did any goals shift yet? No? All right. Moving on. 

6. The Dark Moment: Crisis Climax

I’ll give on this one - Season 8 might touch upon this, as the Allura-crying “leak” might indicate, but…since Allura and Lance haven’t technically done any other sections other than the “meet-cute,” I’m a bit skeptical on this being achieved. 

7. Joyful Defeat: Resolution

Skip to the end. Allura and Lance are together. What? You wanted them to go through all the steps? Sorry. Voltron doesn’t do character development. 

I will say this - if Lance had come to accept Allura and Lotor, said he wanted her to be happy, and actually supported Allura, then this might have been a different outcome to Allura and Lance’s potential relationship. Lance’s goal of “getting Allura” would shift to “supporting Allura,” fulfilling the swerve part of the plot.  

Also, if Lotor and Allura do get back together - and Lance does not end up with Allura, then that actually would be character development. Lance is a lady’s man without a lady - and that’s okay. He’s learned from his time with Allura, and he’ll know how to approach a relationship healthier next time. And then he might actually commit to someone. 

“Who?” you ask? 

The Blue Lion…but that’s another meta. 

I do want to go through these steps one more time, but let’s do it with Lotor. 

1. The Chemical Equation: Setup

Allura is fighting to save the universe from the empire that slaughtered her people; Lotor is trying to bring peace to the universe by working as the emperor of said empire. 

Oh. That’s even footing for goals, and they are in opposition as Allura wants to end the empire. Lotor does want to save it, albeit change it to be better. 

2. Cute Meet: The Catalyst

Well, there wasn’t one for them, really, unless you count the fight in “The Hunt.”

3. A Sexy Complication: Turning Point

Lotor and Allura begin to work together; Lotor kills Zarkon. Allura begins to see him in a new light. 

4. The Hook: Midpoint

“The White Lion” - Allura and Lotor need to work together to procure the secrets of Oriande. 

5. Swivel: Second Turning Point

This is not as crystal clear as it should be. Allura and Lotor kiss after going into the quintessence field, and then Romelle shows up. Lotor wants to continue to work together, despite his past; Allura can’t move past the fact that he used Alteans to power his ship prior to meeting her. 

In a tighter outline, Lotor would be wanting to use the colony Altean still, and Allura would want to free the people. 

6. The Dark Moment: Crisis Climax

The fight at the rift. 

7. Joyful Defeat: Resolution

Season 8?

Do I think the end game with Lotor and Allura? No, I don’t. I’m just saying - the story would be better written if it were. 

But…considering Keith’s body and Shiro’s power was used to fly Black, Shiro’s body and Allura’s power was used to fly the Altas, and the clone was tossed aside without the team even contemplating saving him -  I don’t see Voltron pulling out a true and satisfying romantic story arc in Season 8. 

But you never know. After all, Blue and Lance were MFEO. 

…all right. One more time. 

1. The Chemical Equation: Setup

Lance is a lady’s man without a lady; Blue is a lion without a paladin. 

2. Cute Meet: The Catalyst

Lance falls into water, her element, at Blue’s paws. 

3. A Sexy Complication: Turning Point

Blue and Lance get closer. She allows him to use her ice ray. 

4. The Hook: Midpoint

Blue and Lance get stuck under water. They become closer, and Lance unlocks the sonic blaster thingie. He also is willing to die to save the universe along with her. 

“Let’s go down swinging.”

Blue is happy. She made the right choice. Lance is happy. He has his lady. 

5. Swivel: Second Turning Point

Lance wants Black. Blue just wants a paladin. 

6. The Dark Moment: Crisis Climax

Blue locks out Lance and takes Allura as her paladin. 

7. Joyful Defeat: Resolution

Wait. WHAT?! They never reconciled! What the…?

Sobsobsob

But…they were best buds for life, for real…

[nomadicism]

Double Standard Setting

Regardless of antagonist or protagonist, villain or hero, and the tropes used to characterize them: it doesn't sit well with me for a story to present a character whose goals (which we are told are noble/good) are impossibly high given the setting and challenges that face them, and then for that character to be held to an incredibly high standard (relative to the setting) by other characters that the narrative has expressly given the easy path to by virtue of possessing the one thing that makes this impossible goal obtainable while those characters also benefit from the work of the one being held to the high standard (again relative to the setting) who is also paying the price.

Within the confines of VLD’s setting—a hellscape where there are no good options to change things for the better unless one has ultimate power—Lotor pays a heavy karmic price for a setting-imposed “no good options” decision; while also paying the price of a future lost with the one that we are being told outside of the story that he genuinely loved (while the show itself both tells us that he was using Allura and also implying love), in addition to failing to realize his impossible goal of peace.

Meanwhile, the protagonists (excluding Keith and Shiro to an extent) have been coasting through on easy mode while reaping the rewards of Lotor's work without paying the karmic price that he did in order to reach the point where his work could make the impact that it did. Additionally, Lotor’s work was centuries (thousands of years even) in the making, and Allura and Voltron slept right through it.

Examples of Lotor’s work: (1) put the Empire in a heavily weakened position by preventing the destruction of Naxcela which could have destroyed Voltron in the process; (2) killed Zarkon; (3) was right about Kral Zera, and beating Sendak kept Haggar away from the power of the Empire; (4) took Allura to Oriande (she would not have been able to save Lance or Shiro without her new powers). One could extend this list further, but these are the highlights.

Voltron and the Coalition would likely be at a stalemate (or potentially worse) if Lotor hadn’t taken action against Zarkon. Lotor didn’t have to do any of that. He didn’t have to return from exile. He could have set up some additional defense for his Altean Harvesting Utopia and remain hidden there, never leaving, and been worshipped until the end of the time (pretty sure that Zarkon would have given no fucks about that). It actually cost Lotor more (and in the end, everything) to pursue the impossible goal of bringing peace to the universe.

Easy Mode:

Voltron shows up, 10k years after the fact, with game-changing power in hand, and their victory really isn’t all that unassured. Their victory was a matter of when (and how many more lives are lost in the process) and not if. Strategy, diplomacy, and team-work are necessary to use Voltron’s power wisely. So yes, it’s not just a matter of Voltron itself, but who is in command of it. But they are still moving through the setting on easy mode because having Voltron means that they do not have to make terrible choices by having enough power to nearly always avoid being placed in a no-win/no-good options situation.

The few hard challenges (nearly no-win situations) that the protagonists have faced where death (for themselves) was imminent, were either avoided by another character’s in-the-nick-of-time action or sacrifice (Thace, Ulaz, Lotor, etc), or were remedied by Allura’s magic (healing the Balmera, trapped on Naxcela, healing Lance, healing Shiro). Thus, “easy mode” still applies.

Keith and Shiro are the only ones who have had to make some hard choices imposed by the setting and circumstances, but even then, neither were put into a situation where the only choices where “sacrifice these hundreds to save these millions—and no—self-sacrifice is not an option”. The closest we get is during Keith's work with the BoM, we see him (thanks plot armor) skirt a version of this kind of choice when he runs back for Regress and manages to save both Regress and the data they were after. While the fight between Keith and Kuron amidst the all the clones definitely counts as “welcome to the hellscape!”, Keith’s options were to either leave or try to save Kuron at risk to his own life. That’s a hard choice, but still not on the level that I’m talking about here.

Choices Have Consequences For Thee But Not For Me:

By destroying the gate, and then attacking Lotor, and then leaving him in the Quintessence Field; Voltron has lost the chance for peace, plunged the universe into even deeper uncertainty, and without the Castleship they cannot protect those who depended upon them (e.g. the Coalition).

Surely some aspect of this is going to come up?

Can't have it both ways and be convincing.

Now that Lotor is gone…what is going to prevent Sendak and/or Honerva (now that she is no longer Haggar) from taking control of the Empire and putting things nearly right back where everyone started before Lotor showed up?

No Castleship equals no zipping around the universe to aid the Coalition or prevent the Empire from rebuilding itself under the rule of someone just as bad (or worse) as Zarkon.

Destroying the Castleship was a choice: close the reality tears, or maintain possession of a vital weapon and mobility resource.

In a setting that applies logic evenly (e.g. realistic outcomes/consequences and challenges for BOTH antagonists and protagonists), the destruction of the Castleship should have serious consequences for Voltron, as—logically—the war or other events regarding the Empire and the Coalition should continue without them being available. Hypothetically, Voltron's return trip to Earth is going to take a lot of time.

The following questions are raised:

How is the Coalition supposed to defend against Sendak or Honerva without Voltron?

Who from the Empire is going to take that Coalition intel that was synced by Kuron at Galra HQ and make use of it?

Is Sendak going to wait around to make good on his threat (in S1) to go after Earth?

Will the protagonists finally have to make a hard decision to protect one planet that is under attack versus another?

And when they make that choice, surely, the other planet will be a smoldering wasteland when they arrive too late?

Will it be Earth or Olkarion?

Without the Castleship, Voltron can’t arrive at the last minute to save more than one planet. The fact that this hasn’t even come up yet (b/c even with the Castleship Voltron still can’t be in more than one place at one time) has bothered me, but it’s going to be an even bigger problem if this kind of challenge (one that is logically demanded of the setting) isn’t set before the protagonists while they do not have access to wormhole transport (Castleship-generated or otherwise).

And while the protagonists do not have access to wormhole transport, Honerva does.

Is she really going to wait around till Voltron catches back up to challenge her?

10k Years of Consequences:

Assuming that Honerva doesn’t get there first…what happens when the protagonists go to The Colony?

Will Allura and Voltron be welcomed and celebrated?

Will the Alteans care (or even know) that Voltron attacked their god-king-savior and left him for dead in the Quintessence Field?

In a setting that applies logic evenly, those Alteans should be angry when the protagonists arrive. From their sheltered/socially-engineered perspective, it seems highly incongruous that the protagonists would be seen as heroes or saviors as they are seen when liberating planets from the Galra. The Alteans should be angry either from the death/disappearance of Lotor (their god-king-savior), or just the simple fact that Allura (and thus Voltron) slept for 10k years while the Alteans were hunted and had to be hidden away while the rest of the universe was conquered by Zarkon.

In a setting that applies logic evenly, are the Alteans really going to be ready to throw a parade for the daughter of the king who may as well have abandoned them?

Within this context, Alfor’s decision to divide and hide Voltron (and his daughter) doesn’t reflect well on him. Presumably he must have ordered some evacuation of Altea, but he still made the decision to prioritize his daughter, friend, and Voltron by dividing and sending them far away and put them in stasis indefinitely. If the right people hadn’t chanced upon the Blue Lion then how much longer would Allura and Coran have been asleep? The Galra found the Red Lion and nearly got the Blue Lion, great plan Alfor.

Alfor had the power—the ultimate power that allows the protagonists to coast through the Hellscape of No Good Choices—to do something and he didn’t use it. He made a choice that left his people defenseless, and still ended up creating a risk that the power would fall into the hands of Zarkon (or even someone worse). There is also the ethics of binding Allura’s quintessence to Voltron to consider.

If anything, that sets up Alfor's decision to be similar to Lotor’s decision, in that sacrifices had to be made for what either perceived as the greater good.

To recap: why is there this dark and terrible setting that left Lotor with no good options for bringing peace but somehow that setting never forces the protagonists into a corner where they have to make a legitimately terrible choice with no better options?

Especially with antagonists like Sendak and Honerva who—by any reasonable logic—would be in a position and mindset to create situations in which there are no options other than terrible ones that carry a karmic/moral price.

We’ve already gotten a hint of this with what Honerva did with Kuron and Keith, and with what Sendak did with the Arusians.

Clearly, the reason that this setting is inherently more punishing for the antagonists (and anyone who isn’t the protagonists) comes down to who has Voltron in their possession (regardless of strategy and team work). And that’s believable to a point.

In a setting that applies logic evenly, if the difference between Lotor not being able to make a better choice within the confines of the setting really boils down to Lotor not being Allura (with her magic) nor having Voltron at his disposal then…it seems like that choice was already made by Alfor, and the consequences of that choice have been felt by the universe for 10k years, and someone should call that out in-story.

So will the writing continue to gloss over consequences and/or never place the protagonists into a moral choice trap?

I’m not holding my breath. The plot armor within this double-standard setting is very heavy, and should that continue, it's going to kill what little desire I have to finish out the series.

[dynared]

Challenge: You have to rewrite Legendary Defender. Make it a better show, with a saner fan base.

Do I get my own writing staff?

OK, here’s what I would do, from top to bottom.  Keep in mind some of this is gonna be from a production standpoint as well as writing one because I feel like the showrunners are guilty of goading a toxic fanbase along.  It’s also gonna be kind of scattershot as ideas, rather than a beginning to end series bible, because I do want to go out tonight -

1.  BEG Bandai to come back if this was after the showrunners told them to piss off.  We’re gonna need the money.

2.  Take a distinct cue from the showrunners of The Dragon Prince.  Be transparent.  If a ship isn’t gonna happen in the show, say so.  

3.  Have the people on the staff actually enjoy the thing in the title.  We’re not ‘Paladins’ and honestly, toning down the amount of hand to hand fight scenes in favor of mecha combat will probably be a good thing.  Get designers who are more interested in designing mecha and power-ups than furry Lance costumes that get used once and never again.

4.  Get an opening that doesn’t suck.  Here’s a random Japanese opening with a Japanese OP, but something with some energy where you show off the characters, the action, etc.  

5.  You can actually start the show with a similar setup to what the original had.  Most people agree that the start of the show wasn’t terrible, but there are things I would be changing even at this point.  For starters, actually, give Hunk something besides a fat joke.  I mentioned before that OG Hunk was the team’s hand-to-hand combat expert, who, along with Keith, actually taught Allura judo.  That seems like something worth keeping, that he’s this guy out of his element but is actually as strong as two men and has the skill to toss people around like ragdolls.

6.  Kill Shiro off early.  I’ve mentioned it in other ideas, but I feel like a lot of the issues with the middle seasons are sadly Shiro living and creating this power vacuum for the fans and the in-universe leadership position.  You could honestly wrap up the whole Black Paladin arc in roughly 4-5 episodes.

A.  Shiro returns from the dead!  Or does he?  He’s so accurate he even tricks the Black Lion.  

B.  Keith is in despair, and doesn’t see a place for himself on the team.  Shiro tells him to join the Blade of Mamora, who he sets up a trap for.  Keith’s presence however, lets them save the mission and meet his mother.

C.  Keith and his mother find evidence that Shiro is an impostor.  Found out, Kuron reveals what he was really doing, copying the schematics of the Castle of Lions and Voltron to find their weakness.  He laughs off the idea of Shiro having been anything but an idiot who died ignobly far from home, and shows the fruits of his labor, a super robot with Altean technology.

D.  Robot fight!  Now instead of having a wishy-washy plot with the Unfortunate Implications of a clone that wanted to be a hero being viewed as a spare body, you now have a villain that symbolizes the doubts and fears of the Paladins that they overcome and prove that they don’t need to be held by the hand.

7.  Honerva…was a really LAME final villain.  They start hinting at the presence of something in another dimension as early as season 4 in “The Legend Begins” and between that and the one-shot presence of the Mirror Alteans, you had so many things you could have done.  I mentioned in another post that a great idea would be for Lotor to return, kill Honerva, and with his army of Mirror Alteans and their technology, take over the universe with his equivalent of the Fleet of Doom.  Now you have a villain with a genuine reason to conquer the universe, and rather than try some lame attempt at forgiveness, you have a direct threat.  Another idea was that whatever was living in the dimension was controlling Honerva and Zarkon the entire time.  Just…something besides what we got.

8.  You can be a bit more overt with character reactions.  Even if it’s a throwaway line from Lance saying “Yeah, not into dudes Pidge,” or “Shiro was family to me” to ensure people don’t misinterpret or twist words to fit their own viewpoints.  And if fandom gets too toxic about it, feel free to shut them down.  Publicly.  “___ coding is just your headcanon.”  Hell, there’s a filler for you.  Lance hits on a woman along with someone who seems aloof and uncaring (or gay coded according to the Klantis) and the episode ends with him going out of his way to save said woman and gets her in the end.  Just to put a spin on that stereotyped perception.

I’m sure there’s a lot more to say, but I’ve got other metas on it.  Really, the big issues are to present action, be transparent about certain things so no one can accuse you of ___baiting, and give the show a finale worth the buildup.

[echodrops]

Issues with Voltron Season 6 (Part 3)

A continuation of my extremely long vent about the most recent Voltron season.

<-- Part 1 is back here.

<- Part 2 is back here.

This time it’s (mostly) about Keith and Shiro!

All right, so while I think the treatment of Lotor’s character was the true worst offender of this season, the entire clone Shiro plot line has just driven me nuts from start to finish, and the culmination of it in this season just heaped more salt in the fire.

Let me preface this by saying I love Shiro--I genuinely love this character and have felt like the EPs had no idea what they were doing with his character since the end of season one. Everything I say in this post is an extension of the fact that I feel like this poor man has been mistreated and misused by the writers since practically day one.

At least as far as I understand it, the EPs’ original intention was for Shiro to disappear at the end of season two and not return until this point in the show, which would have been an absence of a season and a half (19 episodes). I absolutely understand the higher level executive meddling from Dreamworks that forced them to scrap this idea and bring Shiro back into the story earlier. Simply removing a character from the plot for over a year’s time and then expecting to bring him back in and have some major emotional payoff would have been utterly stupid. No one would have cared at that point, and everyone would have been left wondering why they bothered to return Shiro to the plot at all.

But that doesn’t mean that the route the writers took to “fix” the issue is any better. Why in the world does this entire clone plot line exist? It’s honestly like they sat down at the table and said “What is the most roundabout, complicated, and unnecessary way to fix our Shiro problem?” and then went “Okay, let’s do exactly that.” There are so many ways they could have chosen to solve this problem instead:

1) Leave the real Shiro on the astral plane, and have periodic cuts throughout other episodes to Shiro struggling to “survive” on the astral plane, possibly dealing with apparitions of Zarkon etc. Experiencing difficulties due to the extreme isolation, trying to reach out to the team in critical moments--hell, he could have been there with the manifestation of the Black Lion, and and the writers could have shown him learning awesome things about the lions, the universe, the Alteans, etc. etc. Meanwhile, outside, Keith could have stayed with the team and grew into his Black Paladin leadership role organically instead of the artificial “Well, we aged him two years so now you know he’s mature and leader-worthy!” The drive to find Shiro could have continued to lead Keith and could have served as a more logical reason for Allura and company to be swayed by Lotor--he could have tried to convince them that Shiro might be trapped in the rift or something, and that could have been their reasoning behind being willing to explore the rift despite the imminent danger. Hell, it could still end with Haggar controlling Shiro into a Shiro vs. Keith showdown--maybe gaining the secrets of Oriande would allow her to reach out and control Shiro on the astral plane--they could have used literally any other excuse! And then we’d get our Shiro and Keith showdown on the astral plane as a perfect parallel to the Zarkon vs. Shiro showdown from the earlier season! It would have been great!!

2) Scrap the astral plane idea entirely and just put Shiro somewhere on the other side of the universe with like... minimal working tech. The show cuts between Shiro’s antics across the universe and his attempts to make it back to the team--allowing for greater world building--and the team, where again, Keith is allowed to organically grow into a leadership role. Same reasoning as above, the team could engage with Lotor after Lotor makes a promise to help them find their missing Black Paladin or something. Meanwhile, Shiro is being mind-controlled remotely from Haggar, whose magic got into him from the glowing wound way back in season one or something. We still get our Keith vs. Shiro showdown, tada.

In essence, what I’m trying to say is that literally any other possible plot would have felt more natural and been a better addition to the story than going with “Shiro’s an evil clone and the real one died inexplicably 19 episodes ago.”

I mean, can someone actually articulate any positive gain from the clone plot line? In what way did this particular plot--these particular events--actually make the story better? Is there something here that I am just flat out missing? Was there something in this plot that could ONLY be done via this particular clone story? I am honestly struggling here to see any profit in this. I can only see this as an example of writers choosing the worst possible solution to a simple problem, possibly even out of spite.

As an aside, I think my true biggest problem with the clone Shiro plot line is the the underlying issue of why the EPs thought it was a good idea to get rid of Shiro in the first place. Several of their interviews have led me to conclude that they never expected people to actually like or care about Shiro, and that they themselves never saw him as more than a stepping stone for Keith to overcome in order to achieve his ultimate role of leadership.

But that entire thing doesn’t make any sense, because it hinges on one major premise that the writers never actually sold to us: Keith needs to be the leader.

Why? We’re literally never given a single compelling reason for this in the show itself. There is nothing in this show to support the idea that Keith should be the destined leader of Voltron. There’s simply no logical explanation for this in the show at all. 

The only remotely reasonable excuse is that Keith was the leader in the original Voltron, so he should be the leader here too. Except “Keith” in the original show had an entirely different personality and was a perfect cookie cutter of the hero archetype. Sven wasn’t leader type in the original series; he bears minimal resemblance to the Shiro of this show.

So why does Keith need to lead Voltron? What does he bring to the table as Black Paladin that he could not have brought as the Red Paladin? Why are there so many parallels between Keith and Alfor, the Red Paladin, if Keith was just going to end up as the Black Paladin all along?

Am I genuinely supposed to believe “Because Keith was the leader originally” is the only valid reason the writers had for giving us this massive tumor of a plot--a plot that resulted in Keith’s leaving the team, Shiro becoming a clone, Lance being shoved even further aside, Allura getting a lion despite the EPs saying they wanted to make her a cool enough character she didn’t need one, and undermining essentially all the efforts of season one to show a meaningful lion/paladin bond?

I have never seen--from the very first episode of this show to the most recent--a shred of convincing evidence that Keith being the leader is, in any way, shape, or form, necessary or what’s best for the plot.

The entire lion swap plot line is, to my eyes, utterly unneeded, convoluted, and reductive. So much time was wasted on this that could have been dedicated to better examining the characters’ motivations and reactions to the numerous serious issues the show chose to instead gloss over...

Which is not helped by the writers’ lack of commitment to the color swap in the first place. If perhaps, from season three on, the show had consistently insisted that the color swap was permanent and we were never going to see Keith back in Red or Lance back in Blue, I might have accepted it. But the show writers are wishy-washy about even this!

This is literally how we ended season six:

Haggar deliberately says “the Red Paladin” in reference to Keith in this season--in a freaking episode titled “The Black Paladins.” The lack of consistency in messaging is actively painful to my sensibilities as a writer.

To sum up what I’m trying to say here: The clone Shiro plot line was the worst possible solution to a problem the EPs created for literally no reason, and the trajectory of the “Keith becomes leader plot” so badly shifted the tone of the show that tens of opportunities to better examine the world and characters were lost in order to progress a story line that the writers never convincingly sold to us as an audience in the first place. I can’t think of any word for this but “bad.”

(PHEW. THERE. I SAID IT.)

And this of course doesn’t even touch on the other issues raised by this season in regards to Shiro, namely:

1) How much of the clone body is actually organic material? Because in the flashback from season 3 (or was it 4?), the clone Shiro that was shown lying on the table made a camera sound as his pupils dilated, indicating that at least part of the body was mechanical, not to mention that the prosthetic arm literally grew to extend past the organic part of Shiro’s arm in the Shiro vs. Keith fight--did they put real!Shiro’s self back into a mostly robotic body? Are we ever coming back to this? Is it ever going to be discussed? Why do I get the feeling it won’t?

2) The fact that the clone’s existence was entire overwritten by real!Shiro is super creepy and maybe just because I’m coming from a long history in the Kingdom Hearts fandom, the idea of someone’s existence being absorbed despite them functionally being capable of being different people is super saddening. I was never emotionally invested in clone!Shiro because he was obviously a clone from day one, but the fact that he was a fundamentally good person who was trying his best, then had to face the horror of losing control of himself, fighting someone he thought was his best friend to the death, and then literally being swallowed by a person who wasn’t around to personally experience any of these things is discomforting. Not to mention that “Shiro just inherited all the clone’s memories!” makes absolutely no sense scientifically (and isn’t even explained magically in the show) and is, once more, a cheap way to handwave character growth--of course Shiro hasn’t missed out on more than a season’s worth of development! It’s all still there, even if he wasn’t the one to experience it! Now it’s just like he did, promise!) Miss me with this nonsense, please.

3) What kind of government does Earth have in place that a minor can leave foster care to go to military boarding school at the tender age of what looks like 12 on the apparent recommendation of a man who likely wasn’t even 21 years old? (It’s like, if the main plot itself was going to be completely illogical, couldn’t they at least make the backstories somewhat viable?) And not to mention, but... didn’t the Keith and Shiro backstory deserve more screen time? There was so much build up to this, and we got less flashback for Keith and Shiro than we did for Krolia and Tex! Matt and Pidge got more! I feel incredibly short-changed, especially because I feel like that was probably it and we’re probably not going to get many more flashbacks for Shiro and Keith specifically. I think their placement in the Keith versus Shiro episode was good, but there just wasn’t enough material there to really satisfy the longing I had to see Keith and Shiro grow up together.

“What I got wasn’t what I needed and I wanted so much more than what I got” is the summary of Shiro and Keith in season 6, essentially.

ALSO I CAN’T UNSEE THIS.

I burst out laughing at this scene when I actually watched the season--it wasn’t supposed to be funny but I could not stop laughing. Sorry Keith, or something.

Anyway, all of this also relates to one of the other major issues I have had with Voltron since season one:

4) The writers have no idea how to handle an ensemble cast, but they keep adding characters anyway!

Matt was introduced and effectively erased, Slav might as well no longer exist, Olia? Not sure why we even bothered to give her a name. Kolivan? Probably died off screen! Lotor’s generals? I have no idea why they even bothered to animate them into this season given how little impact they had! All the other existing Alteans on the colony? Erm... I’m sure we’ll get back to those guys eventually.

There’s a difference between “We don’t have time to dedicate entire episodes to side characters” and “These characters just functionally stop existing when we no longer have an immediate role for them in the plot.” The attention in this series is all over the place--Matt gets a ton of screen time in season 4, enough to make it seem like he’s going to be a recurring character--and then his existence is entirely ignored two seasons later. Slav could have proven useful at any number of moments in this plot--and yet he’s nowhere to be found. The allegiances of Lotor’s generals are so cheap that they could basically be swapped out for any random helmeted Galra cannon fodder with zero impact on the plot. I’ve genuinely never seen a show deliberately add so many characters to its cast and then so badly under-utilize them.

This is actively jarring because any new character that appears, you have to first ask yourself “Is it worth getting invested in this person’s story? How likely are they to never appear again after this season?” And there’s seemingly no rhyme or reason to who disappears--even people who could and should still be active in the plot get shoved entirely to the side without any explanation or justification for their absence.

And all this mistreatment of the side characters might be okay if the main characters were at least getting to grow and develop consistently instead. But that’s not the case either! We have Lance’s character back-pedalling, Hunk fans excited over mere scraps of their favorite getting screentime that isn’t a food joke, and Pidge... I was honestly concerned that some of her hacking footage from this season was stock reused from previous seasons. 

Screen time in this series bounces around like a ball--whoever catches it gets to do something cool for ten seconds then has to immediately pass it to someone else. Keith is a ball hog but somehow STILL doesn’t get his issues dealt with respectfully.

This show sold itself on the tried and true premise of “power of friendship.” The entire first season was really about becoming a team. And yet the show writers seem entirely adverse to letting these characters grow together. All the best moments of the show are moments in which the relationships between characters are expressed in believable and meaningful ways. Lance’s pep talk to Allura on Naxela. Pidge’s moving mourning for Matt. Keith’s refusal to let go of Shiro. The show writers KNOW how to believably develop more than one character simultaneously--they know how to let characters share the spotlight--and yet they continually fall back on scenes which give the foreground to a single character, leaving the audience with the constant feeling that other characters are being short changed. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge fans have every right to be upset.

There’s no reason that Keith and Pidge’s character developments have to take place in entirely different episodes. There’s no reason that Lance’s insecurities and Pidge’s fears about her family need separate screen time. All of these characters’ issues--everything they need to overcome in order to become stronger, happier people--could be dealt with together, saving time and animation budget in the process.

I have never come across a show about being a team that so violently rejects the idea of its characters being you know... an actual team.

And I guess, while I’m here, one last little gripe:

5) Chekov’s Gun is a serious issue for the writers of this series.

Lance unlocked a sword in season 4. Where is it? Why has it not been used? Keith got a dog that can teleport. Why not just teleport the dog into the Sincline ship and let it eat Lotor’s face while he was in a cramped and defenseless position??? When elements like these are introduced to the story, viewers are trained to expect something to come from them. We can only assume that Lance’s sword and Keith’s dog will be plot relevant at some point. But when? The timing is terrible in this show--why make us wait more than a season for Lance’s sword to pay off when there were plenty of opportunities to work it in before now? Did the EPs really give Keith a wolf just because they thought it would be cool for him to have a “lone wolf” to relate to, despite the fact that part of the entire trajectory of his character has been teaching him the importance of relying on others and making meaningful bonds to other people? (How does it make sense to even deem it a “lone wolf” if Keith adopted it when it was just a tiny puppy?)

I mean, I LIKE the dog and I still think its inclusion was nonsensical and pointless... They could have introduced this dog in any number of ways, but “randomly dropped on the back of a whale in a space-time continuum with no logical origin point or reasonable explanation for being there” is what the writers went with.

This is nitpicking, I know, and don’t get me wrong, I’m all for Keith having a cool space wolf--but did the show really need another example of badly shoehorning in the EPs’ whims? Did the none of the editors really stop to go “Maybe we should do this stuff later or in a different way”?

At the end of the day, there are just a lot of problems with the story. Enough that, at this point, I feel ready to divorce myself from it. I’m going to continue watching the show--there’s no point in stopping now, at the end--but at this point, Voltron is always going to go down on paper for me as a show I loved for what could have been, not for what really was.

I don’t say any of this stuff with a light heart. I definitely give my all to shows and games when I get invested in them, and Voltron has dominated my fandom time for two years now. I’ve written hundreds of thousands of words about and for this show. No one can accuse me of not caring about it.

But it’s because I care about the show--and the heights I know it could have reached--that I do feel this upset and let down. I know this show could have been better. I wanted better for it. I’m not spewing senseless criticism because my favorite ship didn’t come true or something... I really believe that the show has tons of untapped potential, and I’m saddened by the fact that I feel like it’s all going to waste.

I’m not asking anyone to agree with me, nor am I telling anyone that they have to suddenly start disliking the show just because I dislike where it has gone. People all have their own opinions, and like things for their own reasons. My reasons for liking Voltron are essentially gone, but for the other people that are still enjoying it, rock on.

I really do wish I was still there with you.

[californiannostalgia]

Holy Shit Voltron Season 6

They did NOT pull their punches, WOW. This has gotta be my favorite season yet. Emotions were flying, space was beautiful/terrifying, important plot points were coming together, and the action was AMAZING.

*SPOILER ALERT IMMA GONNA START BLATHERING*

1. Lotor: Lotor is fucking insane and the creators played it PERFECTLY. His childhood was obviously one of continuous abuse, and I’m guessing the derision he faced for being a half-breed was worse than we’d thought, because he outright despises the Galra. He doesn't want to hear an apology from the monster that wears his mother's face, and when his father is mentioned, he FLIPS. 

It’s hard to wholeheartedly hate him because we’ve seen the potential for goodness inside of him, but with no one to teach him that genocide or forced sacrifices is wrong, he's grown up warped and twisted. What he did to the Alteans strikes me as especially awful because he genuinely sees himself as a savior of Altea. I think his falling for Allura might have been partly because she was the first sincerely kind being he's interacted with, and partly because his ideals of a perfect Altean future included the Princess in it.

Whereas Zarkon felt like a dark, immovable force, Lotor is intelligent, flexible, and much, much scarier. He fooled the Paladins, his Generals, the Galra, the Alteans—like Lance said, he fooled everyone. If he emerges from that overcharge of Quintessence for a final boss fight, he's going to be utterly terrifying. Madness runs in his family, it seems, and it's rendered more disturbing by the tragic circumstances behind it. Lotor should be proud, though. He has more than outdone his father.

2. Allura: Her Altean magics gave the enemy an impossible advantage, but also saved everyone over and over again. When she blasts Lotor with that crazy amount of Quintessence, a part of me felt disturbed by how sad the situation was. This stupid war is forcing a kindhearted child to push someone she cared about (even if it was a relationship built on falsehoods) straight into madness's open arms. Fuck war, really.

Part of her wanted to save him from becoming even more of a monster, but Allura knows where her duties lie. She doesn't have the luxury of feeling sympathetic towards the enemy. She leaves Lotor behind to his madness. She doesn't even blink at destroying the Castle of Lions, the one last piece of Altea she has left. She's a lion goddess, and I love her.

3. Keith: THAT'S WHAT I CALL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. Marmora training plus two years in the presence of a solid parent figure and a space pet did him good. When he returned, he came back decisive, hardened, and completely ready for Black. Watching him claim his seat without a moment of hesitation gave me the shivers. The backstory episode was so good, too. This kid loves his fellow paladins with all his heart, and it's great to see his love giving him the strength to save the people that matter to him. Especially Shiro.

Oh, and you know that moment at the end of the fifth episode, when Keith nearly gives up on himself? Not caring about himself is what he does, what he’s used to. But at the last moment, he remembers how Shiro pleaded him not to give up on himself, and opens his eyes. That moment he decides to live is the definition of epic. (Also, HOLY FUCK THAT MARK WAS A SCAR??)

4. Clone Shiro: I can't believe they made us grow fond of the Shiro Clone through the D&D episode (showing off Takashi's dumb nerdy core, god I love him) before pulling the inevitable betrayal. Even though we saw it coming, they made us remember that part of him is the Shiro we love, so that the battle between the two Black Paladins could carry a sufficiently devastating note. 

I now understand why Shiro seemed so obsessed with playing a Paladin. It was because a Paladin is what the Clone was programmed to be, the only thing he knew how to be. Add that to the fact that the last thing the Clone says is Keith’s name? Yeah, the Clone Angst was strong.

5. Shiro: I'd forgotten how good and pure the real Shiro was. His acceptance and encouragement is like hot chocolate. BUT WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN YOUVE BEEN DEAD ALL THIS TIME. WHY WOULD YOU DROP SUCH A BOMB SO MATTER-OF-FACTLY? 

God, I'm ecstatic to have him back, grandpa hair and all. Thank you, Lion Goddess Allura. (Since this means he didn't go through any more suffering after the end of season 2, I'm strangely relieved?) (Does this mean we get a Shiro video diary now?)

6. Hunk: That first episode of him using his understanding of Galra culture to save an innocent planet was amazing. (I also really liked the command structure the team has. They readily defer to whoever has the most knowledge about a given task and follow that paladin's orders. It's a jarring contrast with how Clone Shiro was acting last season. But I digress.) Watching Hunk being a genius engineer in action is the best. I love one sarcastic, pessimistic child who basically has a heart of gold.

6. Pidge: She hesitated once and failed to stop the Clone Shiro from leaving with Lotor. When the Castle is hacked and her programs are being taken down, she pulls out her last resort card. Using that program is tantamount to admitting that she cannot trust her Shiro, and it is a crushing revelation for her, the team, and us. But she doesn’t hesitate again. (Always a joy to see her work her programming magic.)

7. Lance: The rapport Allura and Lance have with each other is the purest thing. He throws himself into harm's way for her and nearly dies. She jumps out of her lion to go help him when there's a radioactive flare moments away from coming into contact with her position. If one of them is sad, the other is there to offer emotional backup, without question. I dig this healthy supportive relationship.

What’s special about his character is that Lance is a solid presence to lean on for the others—whether he’s providing emotional support for Keith, Clone Shiro, and Allura, or taking command in the absence of a clear leader. Funny thing is, he can’t do shit for himself. His self-esteem is getting lower than ever. He openly cried (something he never lets himself do) thinking he failed Shiro. The self-hatred at his own mistakes and supposed uselessness is gonna blow up sometime soon, and I look forward to the day that time bomb finally goes off. 

8. Coran: I could feel his grief for his dead planet, his sense of inadequacy compared to his grandfather. Very pleased that they gave us quality Coran Feels. (Also, Dungeonmaster/Dragon Coran was amazing.)

9. Krolia: Keith's parents fought so hard to protect the universe and their child. I can't forget the look in Krolia's eyes when the memory beam showed her a tiny Keith standing in front of a tombstone.

10. Acxa, Ezor, and Zethrid: They're trying to be loyal to the Empire, trying to save their people. They're being faced with impossible decisions left and right, and I'm curious what they'll be doing next.

11. Haggar/Honerva: She is genuinely sorry to Lotor, but sorry can't erase a millennia's worth of abuse and she knows it. I wonder what she will think when she finds out her son has followed her and Zarkon's descent into madness? I wonder what plans she has in place. (Could she be the final villain?)

12. Team Voltron: Here's the thing. In previous seasons, they were Paladins, yes, but they were still kids. They messed around with cows, made stupid jokes, generally powered through hard battles with the help of luck and sheer determination. But this season, when they charged into battle screaming, shield up and sword drawn? They no longer felt like brave kids going to war. They felt like the motherfucking Defenders of the Universe, through and through. (I didn't think I'd ever be this into a show about color-coded robot pilots. I was wrong.)

The scene where they pack their things to leave the Castle behind communicates the sense that there is no going back for them, that they are permanently changed and will constantly continue moving forward. It’s exciting. I can't wait for them to return to earth as hot badasses and bask in the respect they deserve. (Also someone needs to punch Iverson.)

13. Overall: The gorgeous backdrops, the pacing of the plot, the presentation of the scenes, the action sequences, the sound effects and acting—they were faultless. The soundtrack was great. There were countless moments of pure badassery: Krolia's fight, Keith vs. Clone Shiro, that Pidge-and-Lance tag-teaming action, Hunk's powerup, Voltron tearing a rift into the fabric of reality, etc. I loved it, I loved every precious second of this season, and I am blessed to be able to witness this masterpiece unfold before my eyes. 

[therecusant]

VLD S8: Keith vs Haggar

This week I started seeing some posts about how Haggar might go after Keith in season 8 and that Acxa might be secretly evil and still aligned with Haggar. While I’m pretty sure these are more from a shipping angle (likely out of a dislike for Kacxa), I started thinking about how a Haggar/Keith dynamic might work in season 8 and actually found it to be really interesting.

Where this first drew my attention was in rewatching season 7 episode 5, ‘The Ruins’. In that episode we see Keith having a rematch with the Druid from season 1 episode 10, ‘Collection and Extraction’. During the rematch, Macidus (the Druid’s name) says something very interesting to Keith about Haggar.

Treachery. The Druid specifically refers to Keith’s actions as traitorous. At first this was confusing because, obviously, Keith never was aligned with the Galra Empire. It had me scratching my head when I first watched and others were too.

Now the obvious implication is that Macidus is accusing Keith of being a traitor since he’s half-Galra. Why this was so weird to viewers though is that this is first time in the show (to my understanding) that a villain has addressed Keith’s Galra heritage (Zarkon did in season 1 during their fight but that was more to hint at the Galra hybrid twist for the audience than for any actual in-universe implication).

Why this is significant is that then we are finally having the lineage addressed by the antagonists and its specifically the Druids. This made me ask the question, what is Keith’s connection to them in the story? From there, I started going back through the show for moments that would lead to the discussion/analysis I’m now presenting which is:

Haggar blames for Keith for everything and wants revenge.

Let’s start off with the first interaction Keith has with Haggar/the Druids.

As mentioned above, in season 1 Keith ended up in a battle with the Druid called Macidus, interfering in his quintessence work and starting a long list of conflicts that lead to Haggar wanting revenge.

In the following episode, s1e11 ‘The Black Paladin,’ Keith prevents Zarkon from taking the Black Lion by knocking it away and then defending the lion in a battle with him in the Red Lion. In doing so, Keith prevents Zarkon from fulfilling his desire to reacquire his lion, a goal that becomes self-destructive by season 2.

In season 2 episode 12, ‘Best Laid Plans,’ Keith sneaks onto Zarkon’s ship and, with the help of BoM spy Thace, manages to kill two druids and turn the central hub into a bomb that shuts down Zarkon’s ship to allow the Coalition and BoM to infect it with a virus.

This forces her to abandon her previous work, powering Zarkon, and try and stop Keith and Thace in the Central Hub. Keith manages to escape with instruction by Thace who holds off Haggar and the sentries in the meantime, leading to their plan succeeding as the bomb goes off and nearly kills Haggar.

As the season 2 finale (s2e13 ‘Blackout’) begins, Zarkon decides to face Voltron himself against Haggar’s suggestion. He’s endangering himself, just like in season 1′s battle with the Red Lion and Paladin, to regain the Black Lion. She knows it’s a bad idea and also knows this would never have happened if Keith didn’t interfere back in season 1 when Shiro was expelled from his lion. Similarly, if Keith had not worked with Thace in activating the bomb, Zarkon would not need to make himself so vulnerable.

Like she suggested in the beginning of that episode, Zarkon is left nearly dead by the end of season 2, with Keith being the one to add the extra touch of shoving the blazing blade into Zarkon a second time at the end of the conflict.

Her husband is on the brink of death and it’s Voltron’s fault but more specifically the intervention of Keith and the BoM.

Following up on this is Keith and Haggar’s conflict in the season 4 finale, ‘A New Defender,’ where she and the other Druids have trapped the Paladins on Naxcela and Keith leads the Voltron Coalition to stop her.

In this space battle, Keith attempts to sacrifice himself to stop her before Lotor interferes. Now, while the series has only used this moment for Lotor and Haggar’s relationship and his later alliance with the Paladins, we still need a follow-up on Keith’s attempted sacrifice and a new conflict with Haggar could bring this to light. At the very least, it is worth acknowledging how Keith lead a battle against her and the Druids.

This is then followed up with season 5 episode 4′s ‘Kral Zera’ in which Haggar, Lotor and other factions of the Galra Empire arrive at the Kral Zera ritual in order to take over the throne in the wake of Zarkon’s death.

Haggar arrives in order to establish Sendak as the new emperor but things go bad quickly as the BoM and Keith set off bombs that send everyone into chaos and leads to Haggar having to give up on her plan. It’s very possible she sees Keith specifically to blame because he’s fighting without his mask in the latter part of the episode wherein Acxa helps him against a Galra general.

The potential Haggar/Keith plot point then escalates in season 6 episode 4′s the Colony when she activates Kuron, a Shiro clone allowing her to spy on the Paladins. This lets her learn about Keith’s work with the BoM and specifically the Altean Colony.

After she manages to get Kuron and her generals to abduct Lotor from the Castle of Lions, Keith interferes in her plans yet again by managing to pass through the wormhole in the Black Lion and attacking the ship harboring them. She does manage to lead him away though, using his connection to Shiro.

This is significant because the dialogue reveals that she knows who Keith is. She knows it’s the Red Paladin in the Black Lion, knows how deep the connection to Shiro is. Some of this is just from Kuron’s vision of course, but remembering Keith was the Red Paladin when she saw him in the BoM outfit just before? Sounds like he left an impression on her in those first two seasons.

Kuron vs Keith happens, like she plans, and it seems things have worked out. Kuron is Keith’s worst fear, knows all his insecurities, and seems impossible for Keith to beat.

But Keith does manage to beat Kuron and in doing so he’s indirectly defeated Haggar.

Lotor gets free and nearly kills the other four paladins before Keith and Black arrive and stop him in s6e6 ‘All Good Things’. This interruption leads to Keith leading the team to defeating Lotor and leaving him in the Quintessence field.

Now she’s lost her son too.

Through every foiled scheme, Keith manages to stop Haggar, Zarkon and Lotor and destroy their family. He’s a member of the Blade of Marmora, meaning he’s a traitor to the Galra Empire. He’s the Black Paladin, meaning he’s stolen from her husband the thing he’s been trying to find for thousands of years. According to some fan theories about Galra Keith, Kacxa, Kallura, etc. Keith might have stolen Lotor’s place in the universe too, if not just his life.

Keith.

Haggar blames Keith for all these things and in season 8 will do her best to get whatever revenge she can. Targeting Shiro? She’s done it countless times before, it’s possible she’ll try to make death stick this time. Maybe Allura or Acxa? Depending on if and how those relationships develop, maybe they’ll be her targets. Potential lovers as revenge for Zarkon. But, there is an even more frightening possibility.

What would be a bigger blow to Keith, a more satisfying revenge for Haggar, than taking from him the very same thing he took from her: family. All Keith has left is his mother. Surely killing Krolia would be the perfect punishment for his constant defiance, his treachery, his stealing the Black Lion and killing her son?

It’s a frightening thought, for sure.

I hope you like that little analysis, I’ve got a few more thoughts somewhat separate and others I’m just not sure if they should be added to the main point so I’m adding them at the end here

Keith is Quintessence Sensitive:

A lot of people have talked about this, particularly after his managing to detect Macidus in season 7, and I think there’s a possibility people haven’t mentioned (or at least I haven’t seen yet):

Back in season 1, in his first fight with Macidus, he was contaminated by quintessence harvested by the Galra Empire and Druids. Now, at the time people thought the Quintessence healing him was all there was to the scene and I did too. Others thought it was covering up the Galra skin underneath which we now know isn’t the case since Macidus himself says Keith’s hand was injured (I believe the ‘Form Podcast’ creators on for that episode similarly said that was the case).

While that scene seems to be foreshadowing the effects of quintessence, what if it’s more than that? What if being contaminated by quintessence gave Keith...abilities? It’s why he ends up having such a strong bond with Red, is able to bond with Black so easily, is able to link with Allura to enter the Quintessence field immediately and is, aside from Allura, the only paladin who does not become violent due to its effects? What if that douse of quintessence is what made him be able to sense Macidus in that moment and kill him? It’s just a thought but it’s possible and I honestly love the idea a lot.

Haggar and Druids vs BoM:

Multiple times throughout the series, Haggar or something connected to her have gone up against the BoM.

Ulaz takes out her Robeast, Thace and Keith kill some Druids, Kolivan is captured by Macidus, etc.

There’s one particular interaction I want to address, from s4e1′s ‘Code of Honor.’

There’s a Galra ship Keith, Kolivan and another BoM named Regris intercept and try to plant a tracker on before finding out it’s a bomb and nearly dying. For me, it’s unclear if that was Lotor or Haggar’s doing. For a while, I thought it was Lotor and assumed the show would address him nearly killing Keith, killing his comrade and the like. It hasn’t which makes me wonder (and also hope because otherwise Keith letting Lotor be around the Paladins is weird, as well as the BoM trusting him enough to reveal their identities) if maybe that was Haggar instead.

Not to mention, if what Macidus said was true, Haggar’s last order was to kill all the Blades of Marmora, (especially Keith?).

If so, this adds to the Keith/Haggar possible dynamic moving into season 8.

[kekeslider]

Do you ever wonder what the original storyline for v/tron was going to be if they did kill off shiro after s2 completely? Like they were dead set for bpkeith and the clone plotline was a later change they had to create cause executives wanted shiro alive in someway even if it meant they had the real one dead during that time(which is what we got) and the fact the flashback with kid keith and adam were for s2 and if they were going to bring shiro back somehow in later seasons without the clone?

I was actually just wondering about this like 20 minutes ago.

I think BP Keith was definitely always the plan, and I think without Kuron around, Keith’s time running with the BOM would have been much less. I kinda wanna believe that some of Kuron’s interactions with the team were originally Keith’s interactions with the team, since the yelling at Lance, running off on his own, arguing with Allura, etc is all much more like Keith than it is like Shiro, and there’s not a very good reason for the clone to behave that way if he’s supposed to act like Shiro. I mean we can deduce it’s because he’s corrupted by Haggar’s influence even before he’s activated, but that’s very subtextual so I dunno. I really think seasons 3-6 would have been all about the team trying to deal with Lotor while also adjusting to having Keith as BP. If you think about it, the clone arc is really a B Plot to the other stuff going on, and taking it out doesn’t change a whole lot in the grand scheme of things.

I dunno if they had planned to bring Shiro back some other way, because I think they’d have known Shiro couldn’t stay dead by the time they’d be seriously writing those later plots. I wouldn’t be surprised, since s3 bothered to show us Sven, if some kind of alternate universe Shiro would have shown up at some point as a prominent character.

[chibichocopaws]

Visions of a Dark Star

Visions of a Dark Star

A theory by chibichocopaws!

(Note: This is stupid long. There are no actual facts backing my theory up, it is, after all a theory. I am open to friendly discussion or debate on the topic as well. Apologies for any grammatical errors. I may or may not have written parts while enjoying some prescribed pain relievers. And....

SEASON 6 VLD SPOILERS AHEAD!

K.thanks!)

Krolia: “Time collapses this close to dark stars. Going through the light triggers glimpses of the past and the future.” (Season 6, Episode 2: Razor’s Edge)

We are starting with Kieth's return to the Castle of Lions in Season 6, Episode 4: The Colony. He seems very accepting of what's happening with Shiro, and even slightly pulled back when he sees Shiro at first.

What I mean by this, is the first time Keith speaks to Shiro is over a com when he's on the Altean space pod. He seems slightly frantic, given the information about Lotor. He quickly identifies himself, saying "Shiro it's Keith." Then instantly asks where Lotor is. Granted, this isn't very unlike a Leader of Voltron to do. "It's me. Don't fire. Friend not foe. Now here's the important part."

But even when he lands the Altean pod, and steps out, there's little interaction between the two. Now, Sheith fans jump on the look Shiro gives Keith. It's a big "Holy shit, you look hotter." Look. As a Sheith fan, I'm not going to argue that look, but I am trying to be unbiased here. Soooo, how about we take that look as something different. Where is the hug? Where is the hand shake? Some sort of physical contact. We know Keith and Shiro share physical contact frequently. A hand on the shoulder, an arm around the shoulder, etc. It's uncommon for them to not be near each other, or exchanging a touch. We know Keith doesn't do this with many others. “He's not exactly handing out love hearts to anyone.” Whether that be as a friend or more. Again, different topic. So, we know Keith is reserved to begin with during this reunion, so perhaps that's really what the look is for. Keith barely acknowledges Shiro here. Sure, he's matured, but he's holding back. There's only one point he's smiling at Shiro when he's returned. Otherwise, he's rarely interacting with him. He's brushing off Shiro’s questions, and focusing on other people's questions. If you watch the episode closely, he rarely even looks at Shiro.

To touch on the “one time he is smiling” was when Haggar was looking through Shiro’s eyes. Of course she was. Why would she not be. The universe really hates Keith sometimes. Poor guy. Anyways, it's after the introduction of Krolia, when she thanks Shiro for raising him to be the man he is today. So, even if we dissect this, it can still stand to reason, that he's simply smiling because of his mother's words. If they had the visions, and Krolia too saw what was bound to happen, why would she do this? It's a funny thing, mothers. They do things that their kids don't always understand, but it's for the best. Krolia understands that Shiro has been and is a huge part of Keith’s life. She's had 2 years and countless past and future visions to discover this, nevermind if Keith opens up to her verbally (which is likely considering 2 years with only one other person, not including cosmic wolf because I'm left to assume it cannot communicate, is a long time to sit in complete silence, especially with all their dirty secrets being shown in visions to each other). So perhaps, Krolia does and says this more for Keith than Shiro. Krolia is difficult to read though, she's naturally obscure with her facial expressions, most likely due to her being Galra and a member of the Blade of Mamora.

So let me throw this out there. Based on what we know from Episode 2, every time that time collapses, Keith and Krolia fell victim to visions of the past and the future. Yet, Episode 2 only showed one vision from the future, then proceeded to only show visions of the past. Yet, this makes no sense, unless of course, the visions of the future were obscured by the creators to "not give anything away" (such as the small snippet of battle between Shiro/Kuron and Keith. As viewers we only knew it was going to happen, though we didn't know to what extent or why at the time of episode 2).

They were on that space whale for 2 years. I'm not sure what the frequency of time collapses was, but they occurred on the space whale as well. It seemed the trip to the space whale from the destruction of their ship, could not have lasted more than a couple of days to a maximum of a week. I say this based on Keith being human, because he mentions they won't survive much longer without food or water. Some humans can train their bodies to go longer periods without sustenance, and sadly, I imagine Keith has had to do just that based on his history as a child. Ok, so supposedly the average human can last without food for about three weeks. I, personally don't believe that. (Backstory: I went an entire week without any food as a cleansing exercise and by day 6 I was about ready to pass out, day 7 found me literally blacking out randomly. Keeping in mind, I only drank water, and continued to work at a grueling physically laboring job). So I’m assuming this 3 weeks statement is for those that can basically veg out without much, if any, physical labor. Now, water is a different story. The human body cannot survive very long without it (a matter of days really). Days under normal circumstances, not extreme labor, like pushing from space rock to space rock, sweating from exertion, etc. But, if we take into consideration that Keith is also half Galra, that may extend the amount of time he needs liquid. I am not familiar with how frequently Galra need sustenance to survive.

Back on topic though... In that time we were given three time collapses. So, let's say we go with the maximum of a week they were jumping from space rock to space rock before encountering the whale. (This time frame is important because we need to figure out how often the time collapses were occurring and we need a point of reference, which would be prior to the space whale) That's 3x52 (52 weeks in a year) which is 156 time collapses in a year. Now that's 156 times 2 for 2 years that they were gone, and that's 312.

Obviously that's not including any changes. So yes, there's a possibility that maybe the whale has blocked some of the collapses, or that the collapses happen less frequently the closer or farther away the whale gets to or from the star. Or even if the collapse is blocked from hitting them by something. But even if it were only 100 visions of the past and future, that's still A LOT!

So here's my theory. Keith knows. He knows the entire time what's going to happen. I'm basing this on a linear future, meaning it cannot be altered.

There is a time in episode 4 where Keith tries to reach out to Shiro (right after Shiro steals a pod and Lotor and flies off, Keith calls him through vocal com) desperately. He tried to keep his voice calm, telling Shiro it will be alright. Without my theory, it's something Keith would maybe do. I mean, if he doesn't know what's happening, why would he speak calmly to Shiro. Why wouldn't he yell and be like "Shiro what are you doing!?" Sure, he's matured in two years, but it seems like something more of a last hope reach out. I truly believe, at this point, he knows already. He knows that Shiro is a clone. He knows that they are going to battle, but that doesn't mean he can't try to stop it still.

But, 2 years is a long time to come to terms with the inevitable. It by no means makes it any easier, but it can be accepted. He's also had 2 years to discuss this with his mother. Now, looking at Krolia, she is very cool headed. She seems to know herself and her limits very well. She has seemed to since before having Keith. Krolia very well could have been the voice of reason he needed to accept that he may have to kill Shiro/Kuron, or at the very least, fight him.

Now, because it's not released, it's impossible to know how much was revealed in the future visions. The past visions seemed to be weird intervals, some long, some very short. So I'm not sure what was shown for future visions or the lengths of them. Though 2 years is a long time to get the entire fight and what brought Shiro to that place. So, I honestly have little doubt.

Ok, this finally wraps around to “The Battle”. Ugh. My heart hurts rewatching this episode, but I didn't feel I could full circle my theory without doing it.

Season 6, Episode 5: The Black Paladins.

The cracking sound you're hearing? Oh, just my heart shattering. I'll find some glue or something later.

Anyways. They rush out as Voltron to fight Haggar’s goonies. I really want to call them the switchers. It's hard to keep up who's side they're on. Point is, they do their battle, get flung into a rock and Haggar opens up a wormhole. So at this point he says “We have to make sure we get Shiro back.” (Well there's this little conversation prior to this line, but it doesn't pertain to my point.)

Hunk: “But Shiro isn't Shiro anymore.”

Keith says he knows, but it's almost exasperated. Like, sure he could have taken that tone because it was obvious, or he could have taken the tone because he knew well before they did. He says “But something is wrong with him, the Galra or Lotor have to be behind it.” Weird right? Because if he had visions for two years, he should have been able to piece things together, right? Maybe not because there's two bad guys right now. Lotor and Haggar (which would currently be classified under as Galra). So sure, he's had visions, but it's like being handed 5 different ingredients to a meal and telling someone “cook whatever with just this”. If you hand those same 5 ingredients to someone else, there's a good chance they won't come up with the same menu. So, maybe Keith was able to piece together most of it, but pinpointing which bad guy was responsible for which scene (ingredient) could be trickier for him.

So after their little chit chat, Keith goes on to say: “We all know he wouldn't give up on us, we can't give up on him.” Yet, he doesn't say this immediately. He stops, closes his eyes, takes a breath then says it. Why? We know the creators of VLD don't ever put anything in the show without meaning. So why have Keith pause? This action, the looking down, closing your eyes, breathing. It's a way to center our thoughts. He's trying to remain focused, but why? Is it because he feels himself slipping, becoming emotional? I mean, he doesn't look emotional. Or is it because he's trying to re-center himself within the timeline of the visions he remembers?

Why does he have to recenter himself within the timeline of visions? Maybe something is missing! Maybe he was unable to piece together why the other Paladins weren't by his side during his battle with Shiro. Maybe he thought they gave up on Shiro. Maybe this part of the timeline wasn't revealed to him (this part being the fact that only Keith gets through the wormhole), so he felt that he needed to reassure them that Shiro was worth saving.

Now, look at Keith’s shift when he yells disband. All that coolness from earlier, the calm collectedness he had is gone, and he legitimately looks like something has clicked. He gets it. He understands why they aren't there during the battle, because the only one who can make it through the wormhole is him. He goes from calm to confident in a second. And although his facial features change when the speed is intense, he doesn't look scared or nervous. Just in pain. Like he legit knows he's going to make it, it's just taking a lot of exertion on his body to do so, but he has no doubt he will get through. Why? There should be a glimmer of doubt unless he knew otherwise.

Except of course when he comes out the other side of the wormhole and is met with a fleet of Galra battle cruisers. Oops. Guess that part wasn't in the vision. Oooor maybe it was. He literally effortlessly glides through that. The Black Lion isn't at full capacity with its broken thruster, and yet he GLIDES through the line of fire, almost as if he's done it before. So why the face of surprise? Let's be honest. Someone could tell you “oh, there's like a thousand bees over there. Look I took a picture even.” But then you go over there and seeing a thousand bees can be intimidating face to face. Or, maybe he's surprised because he recognizes it instantly. Like “Oh, right. Seen this part before.” This would also make sense, if he didn't know why the other Paladins weren't around for the fight. As in, he missed a vision from two seconds earlier, but now it's one of his visions again.

Even Ezor turns around and is like “Wow, I can't believe he made it through that.” Maybe she's talking about the wormhole, or maybe she's talking about the fleet of Galra battle cruisers.

His mini battle with Acxa kind of proves my point further. He has been Lion-less for over 2 years. Sure, it could be like riding a bike, but his moves are so precise, you know, almost like he knows what's going to happen!

Also, he flies right to the ship and to the area where Shiro, Lotor, Ezor and Zethrid are. How did he know where they went in the middle of a fleet of ships, while distracted by Acxa? (As a side note…. I love Ezor’s line of “Is it broken?” *poke* *poke*. She's so damn cute I can't take it.)

Now, I personally think Keith does not believe this is a linear timeline. I think he truly believes he can alter what he saw somehow. So at this point Acxa has grabbed his attention again. He says “Think. Think. How are we going to get in?” If he truly believes he can change this timeline, at this point he could really be trying to avoid the next part from happening.

Now things are going to get intense and I'm going to cry… again.

“Shiro…. Shiro come in! I don't know what's wrong, but I know we can fix this.” Listen to that desperation! Still stuck on him not knowing? Him just being more mature? Spent so much time with his mother he adapted her calmness in moments of crisis? I disagree. He's begging. Keith is legitimately begging. He knows where this is leading, and he's pulling a last call to try to stop it before it goes there. We know he saw a part of the fight in a vision. We know that much. He has to know where this is going. “Let me help you.”

But wait…. Acxa has locked his position. He knows she's on his tail. Why isn't he moving out of the way? He's given her a clear line on his position. Keith is an ace pilot. He can maneuver and have a conversation. Why isn't he? Because Shiro is more important? Sure we could go with that, or because he knows she won't fire. He saw she doesn't fire.

At this point he turns his attention towards Black. Look at his face. Listen to the sound of his tone. He's accepted this is going to happen. His facial expression is bitter acceptance. Bitter acceptance in the manner that he knows it's going to happen, but it doesn't mean he has to be happy about it. “I know you're hurting. We just need to keep it together a little longer.” He said we. We need to keep it together a little longer. He's hurting too. He knows what's about to happen. How could he not. He's not only telling Black, he's telling himself.

At this point we have a focus shift. The virus shuts down the Castle of Lions, it's panic, but let's focus on what little amount of Krolia we can see. When Pidge gets the systems fixed for all of like 3 seconds, Krolia remains rigid. As if she knows it's not going to last. This could be a stretch, sure. I mean, maybe she's just rigid from the panic, but when the systems fail again, you can see her face. It's detailed. She's worried, but distant. She's not worried about herself or the crew. Distant look implores us to believe she's worried about someone or something that's not present. Keith. Shiro. Their battle. If Keith saw Krolia’s past, it's safe to assume Krolia was able to see Keith’s future. At first, I wondered if this was only when they were touching, but it appears not. If we go back and look at Episode 2 again, there is a point, on the space whale, where Krolia sees a young Keith over his father’s gravestone. At this point Krolia is not touching Keith. She's across the way sitting next to the fire with Keith on the other side sleeping, or at least laying down. So it's easy to assume the memories and future visions are shared between the two of them every time the time collapses.

Ok, skipping over the Lotor/Honerva and switchers (Yup. Doing it. Zethrid, Acxa and Ezor shall now be known as the switchers) scene, it's unrelated (though… woah Lotor you sneaky bastard).

Next we see Keith has found an abandoned shuttle pod. He tracks the footsteps. And his face. It says it all. “This is it. It's time.” The pure definition of determination. He's ready. It's happening. There's nothing he can do or say at this point. The time has come.

He even walks with purpose. But here's another thought. When he no longer has footprints to follow, how does he know where to go? He takes a lift and goes exactly where Shiro is. How did he know unless he saw it?

There's a lot of facial expressions talk for the next few scenes. So first he enters the room with a surprised look on his face. This could be from a “where am I?” in a sense of visions showed him nothing, or with my theory this could be a “Wow, it's exactly as the vision showed me.”

The next facial expression is back to determination, which leads me to believe the surprised look was more of a “Wow, exactly as my vision.” If he were lost or unsure of himself he wouldn't have switched to determination so quickly and suddenly.

Now, the determination expression could also be confusion. If he's confused, it could really just be him thinking “Ok, I'm here, but where is Shiro? This is where I'm supposed to be, but I don't see him.”

Next he seems genuinely surprised. He places a hand on the clone pod, and one by one they all light up. This very well could have not been part of a vision based on his reaction. Sure, the pods were there during the battle, therefore there during his vision, but it could have been background, and he could have been far more focused on the battle with Shiro as opposed to what was around him.

But, “Hello Keith” is in his vision. If we go back to Episode 2, those words are in it. At this point Keith turns. He kind of looks surprised but I interpret the look more as a “Oh no.” So at this point, we know for a fact Keith has seen this. We don't know how much of this he has seen. The entire thing? Just parts? We don't know. We do know he's seen from this point and at least part of the battle based on what was shown to us from episode 2.

In the vision from episode 2 we hear the following words. “Hello Keith.” “Yes. I know.”

“It's going to be ok, we just have to get back to the castle.” “Shiro!!!!!”

and “....are not going anywhere.”

Which, if we're following it in sequence, means he saw the entire before-the-fight-sequence, but also more. The beginning of the fight Keith does not yell Shiro. The words were all spoken before Shiro goes in for attack.

Next scene, Pidge to the rescue in the worst way. Also not pertinent to this, but something I would like to touch base on some other time.

Battle ensues between Keith and Shiro, but Keith isn't fighting. At least not at first. Keith is strictly defending. At least until his helmet comes off. The punch hits him hard, maybe he whacks his head on the way down. His Galra is showing. (kek). It isn't until his Galra side comes out that he starts fighting back. This could be because he doesn't want to hurt Shiro, or because he's still holding out hope that the timeline isn't linear.

“That's the Keith I remember.” Seems to spark something in Keith and bring back his human side, and once again he starts avoiding attacks and defending. No longer on the offense.

When Shiro knocks down a tower, and Keith starts talking to him by saying “Shiro.” Is this the Shiro from Episode 2? It's hard to tell. This Shiro call sounds more raw vocally, than the vision. So, let's move on, pretty sure this is not it.

Now, I know this was touched upon by someone else, but here’s another take, Keith’s lack of reaction to Shiro’s hurtful words. “And I should have abandoned you, just like your parents did. They saw that you were broken. Worthless. I should have seen it too.” If Keith had been able to hear these words in any of the visions, he could have already dealt with the pain they caused. He could have already spoken with Krolia about it. She has already told him he was the most important thing to her. So I believe he's already dealt with that pain, and been reassured of its falseness by Krolia herself.

Ooh, another time Keith yells Shiro. At this point Shiro is… well I'm not really sure what's happening. His hand is connecting with the Galra tech and turning into a giant laser? Well, whatever the case may be, this sounds more like the Shiro yelled in ep 2. So, this implies Keith’s first and only on screen vision was from before the battle to this point. Keep in mind, the creators would not include an in depth vision in episode 2, but leave hints. They didn't want to give away the fight entirely.

Now, the next set of scenes depicts Shiro destroying the base. There are times where Keith seems surprised, but ironically, he knows when to jump out of the way of a falling piece without looking up to see it. How would he know to jump out of the way? He's already seen this all happen. He's pretty banged up, sure, but just because he knows what's happening before it happens, doesn't mean it's less painful either physically or mentally. Remember, we are basing this on a linear timeline. So regardless, certain things are going to occur.

He lands on a ledge, catches his breath for a moment and immediately looks in the direction of his blade, like he already knew where it had landed. He's determined. He knows he has to get to it. He knows it's the only way to end the battle, but his body is exhausted. Far too much exertion.

He doesn't make it till the last second, but does manage to grab it before Shiro’s killing blow. Next we fans all die a little. We all know the line. “Shiro, please. You're my brother. I love you.” That's a whole different subject for a different time. (Can't even describe how difficult it is to not touch on this right now, but it's not pertinent to my point.) So Shiro proceeds to tell Keith that the castle and Paladins are gone. Why doesn't Keith react? Sure he's using all his strength to hold off Shiro from cutting his head clean off, but he should have had some sort of reaction unless he knew it wasn't true! He saw it wasn't true.

Now, there's a chance that he does react. That the news is what wakes up his Galra side, but I don't really think so. It's several moments after Shiro’s words that Keith reacts. If we look at just moments before when Keith was punched, we can use this as a safe assumption of what causes his Galra side to wake up. Pain. He's being burned by Shiro’s blade. Boom. Galra side is awake.

So, with the Galra power awakening, Keith gains strength and cuts off Shiro’s arm. The camera pans to his face. Oh gosh. The feels are too strong. Keith is the definition of regret right now, but is it just regret that he's hurt Shiro, or is it regret for more. Regret he couldn't stop this before it got to this point. It's a horrible thing.

They fall, but his face. Oh that agonizing face. What's this tell us? He didn't want it to be like this, but he's not giving up. He could be not giving up because it was a promise Shiro made that he needs to reciprocate, or maybe he already knows Shiro will come back to him.

Flashbacks. End episode 5. Aaaah.

Nope. Not done yet. Hah. You thought that was it?

Season 6, Episode 6: All Good Things

This episode starts off strong. And confusing for my theory, but things still work, I promise. The visions from Episode 2 are never inclusive of thoughts that we can see. They tend to be themselves during the visions/memories. So why does Keith look surprised and sound surprised by Shiro’s words in the black lion? Because, technically, that never actually happens. It's in Keith’s mind (well actually Black’s mind). So because it doesn't occur on a physical plane, it is not shown in his visions, thus he is surprised by Shiro.

This also relates back to my theory of Keith having known. He seems unsure now. Out of nowhere. He's reacting how we would expect Keith to react when Shiro stole Lotor. He's angry, scared, nervous, anxious. What happened to our calm, collected and determined Keith? Where'd he go? Could it be because Keith never had a vision of this. He wasn't prepared for this? I really believe so.

But what about when he says “The others. You said… you…” And then glowy Shiro appears behind him and Keith turns, interrupting himself. This leads us to believe that Keith didn't know the others were going to be ok after all, right? I disagree. So far, Keith has been very aware of every moment. Things have been very linear, but he's done everything he can to try to change it. This was never in his visions, and now he's doubting them. Now he's wondering if he did change things, and that fear that maybe things aren't linear anymore is taking hold, and Keith is Keith once more. Sporadic. Moody. Easily angered Keith.

“I died Keith.” Surprise! Keith didn't know this either, even with my theory. Because again, he was only being shown things that happened on a physical plane. So if we take this scene out entirely, and pretend it didn't happen, it would still be difficult for Keith to piece that information together unless specifically told so on the physical realm.

Back to calm and collected Keith now. Things are back to normal, visions are back in sync? Notice how he doesn't tell any of the crew that Shiro died. He just says that the other Shiro is a clone. So if he had a vision of this part, he still wouldn't have known Shiro was really dead, thus the shock when he found out.

Almost half an episode not pertaining to this post later, and we have Krolia asking Coran if setting a bomb off in the main turbine is a good idea. Keep in mind, if Krolia and Keith had experienced future visions, she could be nervous at this point that this is where the Castle of Lions gets destroyed. If the visions were not shown to them in a linear fashion, but random fragments, there's the possibility that she doesn't really know exactly when or how the Castle of Lions is destroyed. But if you also notice, she doesn't seem too surprised that his theory worked, just relieved.

Back to Keith. After unlocking the Black Lion’s thruster wings and making it back to the team. Keith says “Now hurry, we don't have much time. Form Voltron.” I mean, this could be an educated guess. Maybe he just assumes that Lotor will be up and moving quickly, but look at his face. Again. Self assurance. Self confidence. He knows.

Season 6, Episode 7: Defender of All Universes

The battle with Lotor. Ok, trying to make this a quick synapses as opposed to going attack per attack, otherwise this will result in another Episode 5 length segment lol. So, Keith is making some great calls during this battle, quick on defense, quick on the offense calls, but what really struck me was when he yells “move”. Is that Shiro telling him? Or is that him remembering? Or is his reaction time (after two years of peaceful waiting) that good?

Ok, what about when Lotor teleports (for the first time)? Well, if we look at Kieth’s face here, he's the only one that isn't showing an expression. He's blank. Completely blank. Almost like he's trying to recall what happens next. He looks over right before the portal appears though, why before if he didn't know?

Next scene shows Krolia staring at the pod that Shiro is being put in by Coran. Her face. It's of betrayal, pain and yet relief. She knows too.

Voltron and quintessence scene was next, yanno, after Voltron got the snot kicked out of him. I mean, there's only so much they could have done, even with Keith knowing what was going to happen. Voltron was infinitely slower than Lotor’s suit. But anyways, on topic here. Keith says it's the only way, they have to try to enter the quintessence field to win. Everyone else has trepidation or nerves, but not Keith. He knows.

In the quintessence field Keith seems surprised once more, but only after his “we did it look.” This could be because maybe, the quintessence field isn't exactly a physical plane of existence. I mean it is the plane between existences, so perhaps it falls into the same category as Black’s consciousness. Or maybe it is considered a physical plane, and he's just caught up by its intensity. I mean, a infinite space full of power? Who wouldn't get caught up in the moment?

So after the battle, and the Castle of Lions is destroyed Keith says “We need to find somewhere to land to see if we can help Shiro.” He seems calm, but not necessarily knowing. It's hard to tell with this scene. I feel it would be easier if they showed his facial expression, but they simply showed Shiro.

Now Keith admits that Shiro’s soul is in Black, but heard out of context there's a good possibility that, if Keith had seen this as a vision on the space whale, that it was misinterpreted. Maybe he thought that somehow they transferred his spirit there to save him because the clone body was barely alive. We have to think about those ingredients again. They've been handed to Keith randomly, and he can't be entirely certain what he's required to make. What order he's supposed to put them in.

I must point out here, that this scene focuses a lot on Lance’s grief, panning away from Keith, so it's difficult to really tell what Keith is thinking or what he looks like at the point Allura walked up to the Black Lion to rescue Shiro’s soul.

At some point the scene pans to the Paladins watching Allura. Everyone has their eyes wide and their mouth hung… except for Keith. His mouth is open, but his eyes are not wide. We know wide eyes is an expression Keith takes often. So it's not like a shocked expression would be out of place on his face either. So why aren't his eyes wide in shock. He knows what's happening. His eyes are squinted slightly, as if expressing a relieved “finally”.

Keith does look surprised and hopeful when it works, but if we look at Krolia, she's smiling and doesn't even flinch a single bit (unlike Romelle) when the Green Lion roars behind her.

And to testify for my cause more, Keith looking surprised and hopeful, keep in mind what Keith has experienced in life. Things can being going perfectly for him and suddenly everything is in pieces. It's a mindset he's used to expecting, why would this be any different. Sure, based on my theory, he's seen the outcome, and thus far everything has been true, but Keith is the universe’s punching bag. He's privy to this, he always expects the worst, and I'm not surprised he would wait with bated breath for the validity of this part of his visions.

While we've spoken about his facial expression. The ending. (Wait... is that my heart glue!?) Look at Keith's face now. Totally different. Relief. Happiness. He's back to looking at Shiro how he used to. How he hasn't since before the space whale. He knew. He had to have known.

Aaaand end! Well of my points from the episodes.

In summary, I truly believe Keith and Krolia have seen every moment on the physical plane of both their pasts and their futures up until this point. I can't quite tell how much farther past the end of Season 6 they have seen, but with the grin on Kieth’s face at the end of the episode, he definitely knows something we don't know. I can't wait to see if this theory is true, and I would love to hear what others think of my theory. If you totally disagree please share with me! I would love to hear other people's theories, or even examples on why my theory is bogus. Bring it on!

And, if you've made it this far. OMG I love you. I love you. I love you. Special kudos and Web cookies for you.

Thanks for reading! :D

[dchan87]

Voltron meme

I was tagged by @formjawblade!

How did you discover the show?

A little backstory, first; like a lot of viewers, I watched the original Voltron: Defender of the Universe show, but in the late 90s when it was on during Toonami’s early days. So I came in with some nostalgia, or at least knowledge of the source material. As for VLD, I believe that I was just browsing Netflix, came across it and decided to watch it.

Was it love at first sight or did it take you a while to get into the show?

I think it took me a while to get into it because s1 was kind of slow, and I saw a spoiler somewhere that it ended on a cliffhanger, kinda making me unsure about watching it. But I did. It’s been a bit gradual, but I think s4 was around the time I really got into it, much to the detriment of my mental health (it’s a joke son, a joke!).

Do you have a favorite episode?

I think it would have to be the s2 finale Blackout because it had some of the best action in the whole show. There’s been some good episodes since then, but some of them have been marred by the disappearance of the character I’m about to mention.

Do you have a favorite Paladin?

KEITH. He’s been my favorite ever since the early days. I happen to be drawn to leaders who wear red; Jason was my favorite in the early MMPR seasons. And the Red Ranger has usually been my favorite. Plus he fits a lot of character types I like, like the hot-blooded hero. I also really identify with him, being a strong silent type and a but socially awkward, but still working on it. Plus he’s a complex badass.

Do you have a favorite Lion? (If it’s different from your fav paladin, why?)

Black. It’s the wings. And forms the head.

Do you have a favorite Villain?

Lotor. COME ON, we all know he’s the villain!

Do you have a favorite Alien Race? (recurring and/or minor)

The Alteans, if only because they have a space elf thing going on. A close second would be the Balmerans.

Favorite side / other character(s)- Rebels, General, Blade of Mamora, Garrison, etc?

Krolia, because she’s a badass mom and the person Keith needs most in his life right now.

How/Why did you join the fandom?

I don’t think I “joined” the fandom, because, as I already mentioned, I already liked Voltron. So I guess you can say that the fandom joined me XD

Care to share a favorite headcanon?

Keith is part Native American/Asian on his dad’s side.

What do you think is the best part of the show?

Came for the giant robot fights, stayed for the amazing characters.

Any hopes and wishes for future episodes / seasons?

Black Paladin Keith. I’m fairly sure it’ll happen, since there’s no way they can’t pull the trigger on it. Same with Clone Shiro coming to a head. Keith’s character arc got unfairly interrupted. I dunno why. I hope it’s because of Yeun’s schedule, which makes a ton of sense. And since this is a retelling, they have to get Keith back in Black.

Do you think you’ll stick it out until the end of the show?

I hope so! Like I said, I’m fairly certain Keith will fly Black again, which has been a sticking point for me. I almost gave up the show, but I’ve stuck around. But because it’s almost certain that he’ll be back in black, I’d say that yes, I’ll stick it out. It’s a good show with great animation and amazing characters. I just wish a few things had gone differently, but that’s life. As for the fandom, fuck it. Reboot the fandom, because a vocal minority is a dumpster fire. However, there are still great people I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with, so it’s not a total dumpster fire.

Tag your friends or someone you want to get to know better

Anyone following me can do this, but I tag @spinzgirl, @thekallurashipper, @princessstaryknight, @warlordess, @cultofpokeshipping, @burr-ell, @murasakihime, @kittyr0se

[swimmerboys]

I HAD A THOUGHT

Or a conspiracy. Whichever.

Ok Keith is off studying the blade, Shiro is back in black. Lance is still in red (right hand man) and Allura in blue (the heart).

Ok with Keith in black, he listened to Lance. Literally was Keith's impulse control. But now that Shiro is the leader, he doesn't listen to Lance (he never has if I'm honest). And it almost cost the entire team their lives (by extension, the universe). Lance isnt as highly regarded as he was when Keith was around (shipping or not, Keith respects Lance and vice versa).

I predict that he catches onto clone Shiro(Kuro) before anyone else, tries to reason w/Kuro during a mission, saying it's not right for the team and etc and Kuro doesn't listen and then Lance, being the selfless soul he is, takes a direct hit for the greater good of team Voltron, cause of Kuro's bad leadership. I mean we've seen it before, he will willingly put his life on the line for people.

I feel like him taking that hit will cause the rest of the team to be suspicious of Kuro, they'll start to distrust their "leader". After all, Shiro would never put his team in danger like that. How many times in s1&s2 did he advocate for the mission being too dangerous? And on solo missions, how many times did he express concern over needing to help his team. S3 "Shiro" doesn't react the same. And I think Black only let him in cause it was directly for the team. They needed help, Black has been shown to respond when his team needs help (Keith piloting Black to save Shiro). Keith never really bonded with Black in that short time, not on a deep level. And Kuro hasn't bonded with Black either cause Black ain't dumb, she's doing what's necessary. I have probably only touched on a few points I'm trying to make. They go deeper.

Basically what I'm saying is Kuro is going to be directly responsible for Lance's arc in the coming seasons. Especially with the help of manipulative Lotor. And the team realizes that Kuro isnt Shiro and then angst and then DEATH.