#to explore shiro's past and his insecurities

[torao-chan]

decided to do a little drabble of character exploration for my most recent OCs because something in my brain pinged and I wanted to write it out.

posting it only because I'm trying to get the courage to post about my OCs more asdlkjlgdfg I'm. not used to people caring so they tend to just accumulate in my drafts but. Figured I'd try posting this one.

putting it under cut for anyone who's interested, and otherwise- feel free to skip over it adlskjlgfdsg

Are they a naturally trusting person?

Rakko is a person of numbers; of organisation and catagorisation. Rakko can see bonds and connections, can see secrets weighing over people's heads that would change their connections with others. Can see who they do and don't trust, and can see more than anyone naturally ever should. Rakko is a person of facts and logic, inherently. He was raised by business men, by teachers of science and art who've chosen to turn to business for a living. People who teach how to learn; how to question, research, and verify results. It would make sense for Rakko to be withdrawn, hesitant with information, and generally not very forthcoming with trusting anything to anyone.

But Rakko is a person of trust and love by choice. He chooses the path of optimism consciously, even as his nature is prone to insecurity and doubt. He trusts his instincts. The things he can see- he can see why people don't tell things, and he trusts his gut reaction to individuals. When meeting you, he decides whether he trusts you or not immediately- and he sticks with that decision until you prove him wrong thrice over.

Rakko would trust anyone to have his back in battle, once he's met them and reached his snap decision. Rakko would trust them to catch him from a fall, to take care of him when he can't, when he's sick, with his heart.

The only thing he is reluctant to trust people with is anything that falls under his responsibility as a job. The business heritage wins over him there; being trusted with a job is important. Jobs show someone your integrity, how much you value the people involved, and ultimately- they represent your worth in your current situation; these are lessons Rakko has not managed to shake.

So the ultimate show of trust from Rakko would be trusting someone with his job, his responsibilities.

But in terms of his life, his heart, and his happiness- Rakko trusts readily and without hesitation- as long as he's met the person first.

-x-x-x-

Shiro trusts semi-easily. He'll trust someone to do a job, to do a task, and will take a promise in good faith. He is also an 'I've met you for 5 seconds and I now have an Opinion on how much I can trust you' kind of person- but unlike Rakko, he constantly reevaluates this opinion every meeting with the person. Additionally, unlike Rakko, he holds a different trust level for various tasks and aspects as well.

Shiro trusts other people the most with tasks it assigns, and with backing it on bigger issues. It's careful about what tasks it dolls out, but if it's said it- it trusts you to get it done. It would trust most people with it's back in battle, provided it already knows either their stance on the issue at hand, or how well they know it. It will let down it's guard around most people, but it is always constantly evaluating the mood and keeping an eye on the situation regardless.

On the other hand, they're more reluctant to entrust their heart to someone. They've been hurt many times in the past, but this is an area of trust that rarely needs reevaluation. They make this decision based on core values of the individual, and they tend to shift very rarely- it just takes them a while to get a read on the situation first. Once they've decided though- that's a heart in your hands, and you'd better take care of it.

The other thing that they're notably slower to trust people with is their honest opinions. This comes because it's a dual trust issue to them. First, do they trust you to value the opinion for the carefully considered and rarely given thing it is. Second, do they trust you to hear it out and hear the whole thing out, without taking it wrong in the meantime. This trust is highly situational, but some people are more likely to receive it repeatedly than others.

The thing Shiro is least likely to trust another person with is those who are dear to him. Not so much in their safety, but in terms of their happiness. Shiro treasures easily, and he's constantly aware of how fragile anyone's happiness is- and he doesn't trust other people to have a good enough read on the situation to take care of those who are precious to him in that regard. There are very few people he would ever entrust his loved ones to.

That is the ultimate sign of trust from Shiro.

Ultimately, Shiro trusts semi-easily, but noticeably holds back in several areas.

-x-x-x-

Mars is a curious case, because it seems like he trusts a complete stranger with his whole safety. And in a way, he does. Mars doesn't value his own life much; he sees himself as just one flower, on a bush, in a forest that could easily be swept away in a wildfire in a single lightening strike. Just another ant on the ground, another fly in the air, another cloud on the breeze.

He's never had much of value, either. Not much to trust another person with, and anything he's owned has always been temporary at best. What does it matter if he gives this stranger his last piece of meat? They're hungry, he just ate the rest of the meal, and either he'll find another boar tomorrow or he won't. But they're hungry now, and he has spare now, so why not?

He doesn't care about much, his memory is faulty as fuck, and he has to rely on fate for a lot of things. So trust is difficult to nail when decisions others would see as a sign of trust are just another 'shrug, that's fate' decision to him.

Will this person betray him? Only time will tell. Will he go hungry tomorrow? Who can say. Is this job a trap to catch another slave? Oh well, it's what's crossed his path.

Trust doesn't really come into any of it until, at age 15, he finds a home with the Whitebeard Pirates. Because suddenly, for the first time in his life, there's some form of stability around him. There's people who know his name, who see him everyday. There are doctors who actually care about his health, there are people who care if he eats. There are people who care that he can't remember what happened this morning, if he ate, when he last bathed, what his opinion on anything is.

It'd be overwhelming, if Mars weren't so detached from everything, always. It is overwhelming, in a way, when he finally starts connecting his actions with people caring in any goddamn way.

In that way, that is Mars' sign of trust- the way he allows himself to be present in what's happening around him. If Mars has stopped to consider what you've said, if he's paused to take the time to process what you're doing and asking him- that's Mars' trust coming through.

Trusting you with himself.

It doesn't come hard, and it doesn't come easy- because it's something he's never done before. It just wasn't, and then it was- and it's not a conscious action on his part, per say.

It wasn't, and then it was.

And that is Mars' trust.

[very-burnt-toast]

OKAY HERE WE GO

So we had a good discussion and here's some things we came up with that could improve the writing of the show explained in a little too much detail because I'm terrible at summarising -

Fleshing out the worldbuilding of Altea and Daibazaal giving the main two races the series talks about depth instead of the Galra being "bad" and the Altaeans being "good"

Having the Altaean alchemy magic system actually make sense and be less of a soft magic system

Hunk actually having a character arc

Making the discovery of the lions a little longer and more meaningful instead of rushing finding every lion except the blue one so it reinforces that only certain paladins can fly certain lions

Adding more "show don't tell" instead of explaining everything through dialogue

Showing more actual bonding between the paladins

Shiro needs to bond with the paladins more before he dies, he's literally the "space dad" AND the leader of Voltron

Coran could have had more character, even if he is meant to be comic relief

Klance had potential to be canon, logically it works better than Allurance looking at how the characters interact in the show

If they were desperate to include Allurance they should have actually built up to it more

The whole killing off Adam thing sucked. Keep him alive and develop their relationship even after they break up

SHIRO SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN PAIRED UP WITH CURTIS WITH NO DEVELOPMENT PURELY TO HAVE A GAY CHARACTER DREAMWORKS WTF

Some of it seemed to just be trying to show us cool aliens and spaceships - the atlas becoming a mech via Altaean magic and somehow being connected to Shiro made no sense even if he had the crystal in his arm

Also there were so many different planets and aliens that showed up for literally just a single episod and little holidays like "Clear Day" would have been even cooler had they been developed more

The show could be aimed at a slighter older audience and explore some darker themes more as well

There needs to either be some kind of translator or some kind of universal language because otherwise how can all the literal different alien species communicate

Could flesh out the cultural background of the characters more

Altaean Lance makes no sense so it either needs explaining or removing

The literal main villain should not die at the end of season 2 and Haggar's plan could have been revealed earlier if she was still gonna be the main villain at the end

After he dies Shiro doesn't feel the same, could have been more impactful if Shiro stayed dead instead of there being a minimally explained clone (or multiple as we find out)

Allura experiencing little to no consequence usually after using magic but having to sacrifice herself to save all of the universes makes it feel unnecessary and unimpactful

Make Lance's almost-death angstier. He literally nearly died

The Garrison crew or even what was happening on Earth before the start of the series could have been shown more, more pre-Voltron paladins

Character backstories could also have been developed more

Shiro's trauma seems to disappear and he loses some of his personality after he dies

Keith's abandonment issues disappear when his mother comes back and that is not how that works either

Logically Keith would know Pidge or at least Matt because Keith knew Shiro and Shiro knew Matt and Sam

Keith briefly mistaking Pidge for Matt could be an entertaining scene

Using the potential for a trans/non binary character and not making Pidge a girl could be really interesting

Letting Lance actually work through his insecurities instead of falling right back into them and ending the series depressed and longing for the past

Shiro needs to take on more a caretaker role but also people need to take care of him - he can't ignore his trauma forever

I think that's most of it but I can explain more about any of it if anyone's curious !

I keep meaning to post about a conversation I had with a dear mutual @thefinestkilljoy the other day but I have never gotten around to it-

We were basically discussing Voltron and some of the things that were not done well and some ideas for alternative plot points and stuff.

I might eventually post that if anyone's interested I'm just lazy 💀

[fenfyre]

Be My Eyes - Part III

Part I    Part II

This time around the wait was almost unbearable. Mostly because Shiro didn’t want to admit to himself that he was waiting at all. But their second conversation had given him even more hope and the things he’d gotten to know about Lance, that he was great with children, was dedicated and hard-working and compassionate, made Shiro’s useless crush even worse. A few times he toyed with the idea to go out and find someone to hook up with just to get that pretty smile out of his head. But he’d never liked one-night-stands and besides, after the accident it had gotten much harder to pick someone up. Most people out for a quick fuck were deterred by the prosthetic. Not that Shiro cared too much. It had taken him years to pull himself together and get back on his feet, switch professions, become at peace with himself again. There hadn’t been much place for a relationship during that time, as focused on himself as he was, as he had to be. He’d always be grateful for the role Allura had played in his recovery and always regret that he hadn’t been able to offer her anything but his friendship in return. It was too late for them now, she’d found love with someone else and he was happy for them, no matter the bittersweet could-have-beens floating through his mind sometimes. But now that he was recovered and had reclaimed his life, found a job he enjoyed and friends he liked spending time with, it felt like he was ready for love as well.   If only his best shot at it wasn’t an elusive, beautiful man he had no chance of contacting on his own. It was late evening when his phone rang and Shiro dried his hand on a kitchen towel before tapping the notification. The last few calls had left him numb, the hope he’d only just found fading more and more every time it wasn’t Lance’s face smiling at him from his screen and even though Shiro felt his heartbeat pick up yet again he tried to shoo away the tiny flame of hope before it was snuffed out by reality. Instead of a wide smile the screen turned black and for a moment Shiro wondered if his phone had died. But then he heard soft breathing before a familiar voice spoke up. “Hey, I’m Lance. Thanks for...” “Hey”, Shiro breathed back, having to lean against the counter to support his suddenly weakened legs. What were the chances? “Nice to talk to you again.” There was a soft gasp and a rustling sound of fabric, maybe clothes or bedsheets and then Lance laughed, a sound that made Shiro’s heart clench with sweet longing. “Shiro! Oh wow, I was wondering if I’d uh … meet you again.” Shiro bit his lip against a happy noise. Lance had thought about him, about talking to him again. But there was something he was wondering about. “Is your camera broken? I can’t see anything...” “Oh, yeah!” Lance let out another laugh. “That’s why I called, I couldn’t remember if I turned off the light after my sister left and … I was too lazy to get back up and check the switch so … guess I know now, huh?” So he was in bed already and just didn’t want to get up again. The thought made Shiro smile, even though his stomach clenched nervously when he realized they’d hang up again very soon. He wouldn’t be able to stand another month or two of waiting for the next call, he had to do something, say something but before he could even open his mouth Lance was speaking again. “But honestly, how weird is it that I talked to you three times now? That never happened to me before! You might as well just give your number at this point!” The words were accompanied by another carefree laugh, Lance was obviously joking. But it was also the perfect pass and Shiro would hate himself if he didn’t at least try. It helped that he had literally nothing to lose. “Would that be … very weird? If I … gave you my number?” As soon as Shiro had said it he crumbled, hiding his face behind his hand. He’d been so smooth once. Years ago. Obviously that was not like riding a bike. “What?”, came Lance small, wondrous reply and he sounded so cute Shiro almost whimpered. Well, he’d started this, now he had to finish it. “You, uhm … you just seem like a … really great and, and interesting person. To be honest I … I was hoping we could talk again and I’d uh, I’d love to get to know you better. If you want.” There was a stretch of silence that seemed to last forever, broken only by Lance’s breathing and the occasional rustling sound of the sheets. “Get to know me in like … a gay way?” Lance finally asked and there was a hint of humour in his voice that Shiro just couldn’t place. He knew there was a big chance Lance wasn’t even interested in men and that he might just have made a huge fool of himself. But it had still been worth a shot. Was still worth a shot. “If that’s”, he began, licking his dry lips. “If that’s what you want...” Another stretch of silence, this one so long and unbearable Shiro let himself sink down along the counter and onto the floor, pulling both knees to his chest. Not like riding a bike at all. He felt and acted like a fumbling teenager all over again. Maybe that’s what years of only partly voluntary abstinence did to a person. Finally Lance talked again and when he did it was with a cheeky, flirty tone that made Shiro even more jittery. “Shiro, can I tell you something?” He didn’t have the energy for more than a weak “Hm?” but it was enough. “I’ve been using this app five times as much as I usually do ever since I talked to you for the first time. Every time I was hoping they’d connect me to you again. So can you please just give me your number?” Shiro didn’t compute for a long moment. He just sat there on his kitchen floor, face in his hand, breathing. Then a laugh bubbled up from his chest and he just let it spill over, laughing freely until Lance joined him, the melodious sound of his laughter music to Shiro’s ear. He grinned all the way through giving Lance his number. “Alright”, Lance smiled after he’d finished. “I’ll call you back in a minute, yeah? Then you can tell me all about how you’re not a 50-something year old pervert so my sister can sleep again at night.” Did … did that mean Lance had talked to his sister about Shiro? That was … adorable. “Sure, I’ll be waiting.” And wait Shiro did after they hung up, seconds ticking into minutes until his anxiety flared up again and he scrambled to his feet, starting to pace through the kitchen. Had he given Lance the right number? Why hadn’t he asked for a number in turn? What if Lance was just trying to get rid of him and didn’t even intend to call? What if Shiro had creeped him out and he’d uninstall the app and they’d never speak again? By the time his ringtone echoed through the kitchen Shiro had all but convinced himself Lance hated him. So he answered the call from an unknown number with shaking fingers. “Hey, I’m Lance”, came the casual drawl that made Shiro melt from the inside out, knees getting weak again. “Thanks for picking up. I’ll only need you for … hm, the rest of the night?” Shiro grinned, bit his lip, nodded slowly as that crushing weight of his doubts was lifted from his shoulders. “Sounds perfect.”

The End

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[marshmallowgoop]

Satsuki meta anon here again, apologies, but I was reading some meta that you wrote surrounding Soichiro/Isshin and his relatively necessity to abandon both his daughters, and wanted to contribute my own thoughts on the matter, specifically around the matter of difference of the nature of how alone both of them are. You nailed it completely with Ryuko. Isshin left Ryuko alone, wounded by his severance of their closeness in her early years and making it nearly impossible to bond with others. But-

-my reading of Satsuki’s situation is one of equal isolation, if of a different kind. Soichiro introduced her to a world where she can’t even trust her own mother, usually one of the, if not the most, strongest bonds a child could have at that age. Coupled with the fact that she was likely taught early on that being a child of a family with the wealth and power meant that people would try and use her for a piece of that, and you have a recipe for a grieving child incapable of trust without major investments of time and effort and frankly, some testing. 

Soroi is in the employ of the family, paid by the family to serve Satsuki. In the beginning, while she accepted his attempts to comfort her via tea and an introduction of one of her closest friends, its very likely that she didn’t trust him right away even if she desperately wanted to bc of how closely money could play a part in that kind of trust. Yes Soichiro asked Soroi to look after her, but is that something he could have easily conveyed to her at that junction and have her believe it? I think the trust they attained by the time Satsuki went to middle school was very hard earned on Soroi’s part. 

When it comes to Nonon, the light novel confirms that she didn’t find Satsuki interesting until she was very deeply troubled, a change that Satsuki very likely noticed the difference in her interest beyond that of two children of powerful families associating together. They may have been friends since preschool, but arguably Satsuki did not trust her until Nonon followed her away from a school that suited Nonon’s tastes and into a rougher one. Iori likely suffered from being placed in a similar boat as Soroi, not to be trusted for the sake of his uncle’s employment until proof otherwise (obviously earned as well, considering just how central Iori was to her plans and inner circle). 

While Ryuko was utterly alone because of a broken ability to bond from separation anxiety turned to abandonment issues, Satsuki found herself alone among others who might very well sell her out for power or money, regardless of their true intentions. Both are very isolating situations. And I’d argue that trusting people with plans and secrets and perhaps your life are markedly different than fully entrusting your heart to them, which has been played up by the anime as a large difference between Ryuko and Satsuki. Where Ryuko opens her heart to Mako and Senketsu, Satsuki’s heart remains closed still until far later.

In fact, because of this, Ragyo saying ‘give your heart over to me’ (Netflix subs, I think I’ve seen it translated as ‘entrust your heart to me’ as well) has always stood out to me as understanding Satsuki doesn’t trust like that, which is what separates her from Nui and Rei. 

Apologies for the length of this, and that I keep doing this your inbox, but this interpretation has been sitting inside of me since 2014. 

Oh my goodness, Anon!

I hope this doesn’t come off wrong, but I think you really ought to be posting these analyses under your own name. You deserve credit for your excellent work! As much as I’m thrilled that someone would want to discuss these topics at such length with me—seriously, you do not have to apologize at all for engaging with my content so much because that is literally my goal—I feel that you should also be getting recognition for what you do. I know how much time and effort goes into writing stuff like this.

Of course, I do understand that there are valid reasons to wish to be anonymous. I just want to say that these are good, detailed posts that could stand very well on their own, without any input from me.

Regarding my input here, these asks remind me of a line from “KILL la KILL Digest -Naked Memories by Aikuro Mikisugi-,” a quick recap “episode” that was included as a DVD/Blu-ray extra. Narrated by Aikuro, the short briefly explains the entire plot of Kill la Kill and then sets up the OVA with its final lines: “As for Satsuki Kiryuin, who led such an intense life ever since she could remember, totally alone… What kind of clothes will she choose to wear from now on? That’s the one thing that intrigues me.”

As you might expect, I always disagreed with the sentiment of Satsuki being “totally alone.” In the tags of one post, I even wrote, in response, “Nah man you’re thinking of Ryuko” and, “Satsuki had Soroi and Shiro and her Elite Four.” As I argued in the essay that you’re probably referring to, Isshin/Soichiro left Ryuko alone—and drj2008 even opened me up to the idea that he perhaps very purposely created and utilized Ryuko’s loneliness so that she would be so desperate for love that she’d bond more easily with Senketsu—but Isshin/Soichiro did at least assure that Satsuki would always have someone by her side when he told Soroi to look after her.

And I think that’s the key point of difference here. I’d never before considered that Soroi would need to gain Satsuki’s trust because I assumed he had it from the very start. My interpretation was that Soroi had to be a dear, close friend of Soichiro for Soichiro to ever ask him to look after Satsuki, and Satsuki—who adored her father, arguably to a troubling degree—wouldn’t question her father’s judgment. From the moment Soroi and Satsuki met, I believed that she would know, just by understanding Soroi’s relation to her father, that Soroi was someone to be trusted.

But I see now that my reading makes a lot of assumptions. Who knows when exactly Soroi told Satsuki that Soichiro had asked him to look after her? Satsuki might have been informed that Soroi was her father’s choice in some way (which is… actually quite curious, honestly), and Soroi might have told her that he knew everything early on, but you’re right—we don’t really know. I think your reading is very fair.

Concerning Nonon, I agree completely. I found Nonon’s part in the light novel to be absolutely tragic. Talking about the story, I once said, “It just shows how Satsuki did not trust Nonon at all.” Nonon was head-over-heels infatuated with Satsuki, but Satsuki didn’t even bother to tell Nonon when she was moving schools. That’s the exact opposite of trust.

I swear I don’t normally talk about my fanfiction in my essays as much as I have been in these responses, but I explored Satsuki and Nonon’s dynamic in a short Satsunon Roman Empire AU. In my piece, Nonon learns that Satsuki is going away by hearing some chatter, and to prove to Satsuki that she’s worth trusting, she runs to Satsuki before Satsuki leaves, declaring that she’s coming with no matter what. At the end of the fic—and this is the relevant part here—Satsuki meets with Nonon again after the world has been saved, and Satsuki finally opens her heart up, noting that she wants Nonon by her side, as a friend and equal, and she’s done with being treated as a goddess to be worshipped.

And I think that’s a big thing you’re touching on here, Anon. Satsuki may have had all these people around her, but many of them considered her to be something more than human. And that is lonely. It’s difficult to reveal your insecurities and doubts and fears to someone who sees you as a god. After all, they’re probably not going to listen; they think you’re “above” all that. Satsuki was very much isolated, just like Ryuko.

However, I still disagree with Aikuro’s assertion that Satsuki was “totally alone,” mainly due to Soroi. Regardless of how long Satsuki took to open up to Soroi, I think she most certainly had trusted him with her heart at least by the events of the series. The moment where the two converse about Soroi’s tea in episode 17 is probably the most telling example within the show itself; Satsuki smiles genuinely for Soroi and even reveals her hidden emotions, readily admitting that she may have been more compassionate in the past.

I can’t definitively say how much Satsuki let Shiro or the Elite Four in, but Soroi? There is complete and total trust here. And while I dislike comparing Soroi to Senketsu because I feel this too easily lends itself to the interpretation that Senketsu is a father figure to Ryuko (which is my absolute least favorite reading of Kill la Kill and one that I consider to be a complete and total misreading of the text #PleaseStopSenketsuIsRyuko’sDadTheories2k19), I do have to admit that Soroi is, for the majority of the anime, the one person whom Satsuki seems to truly be herself with, just as Senketsu is for Ryuko. 

Concerning the episode 17 scene mentioned above, I think it’s also pretty telling that Satsuki’s moment with Soroi occurs just after an intimate conversation between Ryuko and Senketsu that the script even emphasizes as a heart-to-heart that Ryuko deliberately wanted to have with Senketsu and Senketsu alone. Sure, I’ve argued in the past that the real connection between the scenes comes from Ryuko’s later chat with Aikuro and the fact that both Aikuro and Satsuki are discussing Soichiro/Isshin, but it’s also true that both Ryuko and Satsuki have very vulnerable, humanizing moments here. Soroi knows Satsuki’s heart, and she reveals it to him, just as Ryuko (quite literally!) shares her heart with Senketsu.

Of course, I think it’s clear that Ryuko’s relationship with Senketsu is one among peers while Soroi takes on a fatherly role for Satsuki in the place of Soichiro, but Soroi is still someone whom Satsuki trusts with her whole heart and soul. As pointed out, it may very well be true that Satsuki didn’t have that kind of trust in Soroi immediately, but I figure it can’t have taken too terribly long for the relationship between them to become close. After all, as noted in the aforementioned episode 17 scene, even young Satsuki smiled for Soroi when she had stopped smiling at school. Satsuki wasn’t being genuine, yes, but she was still breaking her hard guise for Soroi, and 18-year-old Satsuki is even surprised that she wasn’t honest back then, implying that she feels they’ve been as close as they are since practically the beginning.

I know this got terribly long, but I don’t at all disagree that Satsuki had also been subjected to an isolating situation. It is lonesome to feel, as outlined in an early advertisement introducing Satsuki’s character, that “humans are clothes-wearing pigs” whom she must “dominate,” “rule over,” and “destroy,” all while “relying on no one.” It is awful to believe that you have to do everything all alone, without sharing your true self with anyone.

And it’s sad, too! Satsuki’s struggles to truly trust others lead her to inadvertently hurt the people she cares about, and there’s something especially tragic about how Satsuki used and manipulated her own sister—whom Satsuki was fighting for all along!—rather than tell the girl the truth and trust her. As I’ve written in the past, “While Satsuki is not truly against Ryuko, her plan prevents them from being close. The thought of Satsuki fills Ryuko with hatred… when they could have been allies and friends. Satsuki’s tired, sad frown as Ryuko returns to normal [after going berserk in episode 12], juxtaposed with the Mankanshoku family’s shock and Nui’s bemusement, does well in hinting that maybe Satsuki wishes she had Mako’s power herself… and she’s sorry that she doesn’t.”

But more than all this, even Ryuko points out how alone Satsuki is after fighting Satsuki to a draw in episode 15. Ryuko only gets as far as she does by putting her complete and utter faith in Senketsu—and notably here, she follows through with his strategy even without knowing exactly what he intends to do—and she recognizes that Satsuki… doesn’t bond like that.

In pushing a point like this, I think the show definitely wants viewers to notice that Satsuki is stuck in a hard, isolating situation where she feels she can’t entrust her heart to anyone.

But I think the show also wants viewers to notice that Satsuki is more than capable of loving and trusting in the same way that Ryuko does. Ryuko doesn’t have a clue about someone like Soroi when she accuses Satsuki of being by herself, and as I’ve emphasized all throughout this monster of a post, I wholeheartedly believe that at least Soroi had fully earned Satsuki’s trust, even if it took a moment. Satsuki just about always had someone she felt safe with, whereas Ryuko… lost all that when her father abandoned her and didn’t find it again until she met the Mankanshokus and Senketsu. There’s a reason that one of Ryuko’s defining features is her loneliness, pointed out in her character introduction with the line, “Ever since I could remember, I was alone,” in her (and Senketsu’s) theme song “Before my body is dry” with lines like, “But I’m all alone,” and, “Don’t wanna be all alone,” in her fantasy world in episodes 20-21, and even by the cast, such as when the Mankanshokus note that Ryuko has to be super lonely to talk to her clothes or when even Ragyo tells Satsuki to go join her “lonely little sister” in death.

Ryuko gets a lot of heat for not being as strong as Satsuki upon learning her true origins, but I argue that you can’t really blame her. Even if Satsuki closed off her heart to most people, she undoubtedly grew up with a support system that Ryuko did not have until practically adulthood. Satsuki manages to keep her head up and carry on not only because of her immeasurable resolve and ambition, but also because she has a lifetime of love and support. Satsuki is not as alone as Ryuko claims (and I’d really like the Satsuki-centric Kill la Kill the Game: IF to elaborate on Ryuko understanding as much), and I feel that Soroi is genuinely an unsung hero of Kill la Kill. Could Satsuki have been nearly as strong without his influence?

I guess this is maybe a bit off topic, though.

In any case, I definitely agree that Satsuki struggled to open her heart to others, and I definitely agree that this is a hard, sad, awful place to be in. Part of what makes Satsuki’s team-up with Senketsu near the end of the series so sweet to me is that it is here that Satsuki really begins to open up. She doesn’t look down on Senketsu, she acknowledges his feelings, and in a cut moment from the script, she even outright tells him to wear her, thereby fully and completely trusting him to work with her and save Ryuko. Senketsu noting that his and Satsuki’s “hearts are as one” in episode 21 is one of the most heartwarming things in the entire anime when you consider everything that Satsuki has gone through. She’s been afraid to trust and afraid to show her true self to anyone, and yet… to save her sister, she opens up her heart to someone she had once considered evil and incapable of love.

And after this? Satsuki, despite saying in her introduction that she will be “bowing down to no one,” bows down to Ryuko.

And she smiles openly.

She laughs.

Satsuki was absolutely stuck in this lonesome, isolating position. But just like Ryuko, she gets out of it—and just like Ryuko, it’s so incredibly, incredibly sweet that she does.

[space--pony]

Honestly, Klance is still one of the most beautiful ships, even after all of this shit. Knowing that Keith was there to comfort and support Lance whenever he was feeling down made it so special for me, because you can see how much they’ve developed and how much they’re grown to care for each other. It’s just so pure and genuine and HONEST, and that’s one of the things that makes me so sad about season 8.

There was so much potential to build something beautiful out of it all. Like, actual REAL rep. In a story that is about action and war, somewhere in between all of the battles and pain, those two found each other and learned how to love, despite EVERYTHING. They were first rivals, and then team mates in battle who had each other’s backs. Lance was Keith’s right-hand man, and helped to support him when Keith was struggling with his confidence in his leadership. And Keith supported Lance with his insecurities, and showed him how to respect himself and not downgrade himself. It could’ve been so amazing, and there was so much potential to give proper representation to the LGBT community. (But instead we got a half-assed gif thrown in at the end to say “hey there everyone! here’s your LGBT rep!!!” as a way to make up for killing Shiro’s long term boyfriend who also happened to be tossed in randomly anyways?? Like... what?)

I’m just so heartbroken, because Lance’s whole arc was about finding love. About finding himself and improving himself and BEING HIMSELF, FOR HIS SELF. Not for someone else. Keith literally showed that to him countless times, both through his actions and his words. But instead of having something that could’ve been amazing, his character was almost completely dumbed down to “the boy who gets the girl.” His character soon became the boy who did EVERYTHING out of love for his girlfriend, and nothing for himself. And then his girlfriend died and he was left all alone on an unfamiliar planet. Neither Allura or Lance deserved that at all and it’s just so... fucked up that it had to end like that. 

I wish they would’ve built more on the relationship with Lance and Keith at the end. Because it was truly beautiful how they developed over the entire series, and if the creators had just made that TINY push, just to show that they were a couple, that would’ve been enough. Because they HAD all the development they needed, they HAD all of the romantic moments and coding and foreshadowing and EVERYTHING that a canon romantic couple NEEDS. It would’ve been SO EASY. But they just DIDN’T do it. And it’s just a shame. 

But you know what? SCREW the canon ending with Lance being all alone. SCREW him being depressed with no one to hold onto at night. SCREW him LAYING IN HIS BED, ALL ALONE IN THE DARK, HUGGING HIS BLANKET AND CRYING HIMSELF TO SLEEP. SCREW the fact that he stopped his self-care, SCREW the fact that he gave up his dream career to just dote around thinking about his past. Because in my mind, Klance is still canon king. No matter fucking what. Because I know for a fact that Keith will come visit Lance, and they will hang out together and they will bond. They will have lots of fun flying hoverbikes together and going to the beach to swim. They’ll go to parties and Lance will teach Keith how to dance, and they might get a little bit drunk because they’re young and still need time to de-stress from their long years in space, because it’s HARD being a teenager without parents around to help you. They’ll be so tipsy that they have to walk home instead of driving, and one of them will cradle the other in their arms because they’re too drunk to walk on their own. In the morning, they’ll wake up VERY VERY close to each other on the floor next to the couch, draped in blankets while a shitty rom-com plays on the TV in the background, but they won’t even freak out over being so close like that because it will just seem NORMAL and it’ll be COMFORTABLE. They’ll eat a shitty breakfast that consists of leftover pizza and half a bag of Froot Loops with no milk, and they’ll yell at Kosmo for stealing the last slice of pizza before they could even bicker over who got it. Their friendship will naturally bloom further, and Lance will realize that it’s OKAY to move on, because Allura would’ve WANTED him to do that. He will realize that the “rivalry” that he had with Keith wayyy back when was actually the beginnings of his crush, and that he really had no need to be ashamed or scared of it. Keith will further realize that it’s okay to accept people into his life and his heart, and he will fall even deeper in love with his first choice. With Lance McClain, the boy who is NOT just a boy from Cuba. And they will live together forever, space explorers and fighter pilots, Lance and Keith, HAND IN HAND.

[hard-days-heavenly-nights]

Dear Voltron,

In regards to Lance, what the actual fuck?

You fucking imbeciles, what were you thinking? Making the most determined paladin of voltron who had the biggest dreams for his future a lovesick, ex-obsessed, forever sad farmer.

He was the character with most potential, and the largest fan following and yet you were able to fuck him up. Where is his endgame? To who was he a first choice? Where was his fucking arc? What, you thought that making the loudest and most confident character who obviously had deeply rooted insecurities, calm was character development? It was nothing! Instead you could have idk made him speak about his insecurities, overcome them and become a truly confident person instead of the fake confidence he used to cover up how he felt he wasn't good enough. But yeah sure make him a half altean (also how tf does that even happen?), depressed farm boy who will never get over his past relationship with a person who obviously didn't even care for him and make sure he doesn't amount to anything in life. Sure he wanted to be the greatest pilot and sharpshooter and wanted to explore the universe, but nope, give him cows and shit and he'll be fine... Ugh I'm just so disappointed, i honestly can't even function.

Oh and while I'm on the subject, Lauren idc what the fandom says about being respectful towards you even if my ship isn't canon cause you obviously didn't respect your fans one bit so you know what? EAT SHIT

IN WHAT UNIVERSE IS IT ACCEPTABLE FOR YOU TO DRAW LANCE AND SHIRO HOLDING A LGBT SIGN AND THEN JUST MAKE HIM STRAIGHT.

You had to fuck us all up and being bisexual myself, I'm so disappointed that your "lgbt rep" was Shiro kissing some random guy he's never spoken to in THE CREDITS, you know the same ones that most people skip?

Just.... Fuck you for wasting 2 years of my life.

Sincerely,

A disappointed fan

[the-magical-garden]

Regarding Allurance

Soooo since many people are confused, and even angry, about Allurance, I wanted to do a breakdown about the past and possible outcomes on what appears to be Lance and Allura’s relationship!

As far as it goes right now, literally EVERY SINGLE SHIP has gotten a moment. Plance has had the hand holds, ‘Don’t you touch her!’ and ‘Lance/Pidge, No!”. Klance has had the entire episode of when Sendak’s crystal corrupted the Castle of Lions, Lance almost stepping down as the Red Paladin, and Lance trying to bolster Keith’s confidence as a leader. Kallura has had the entire Taujeer episode, and the arc of Allura coming to terms with the fact that Galra does not come hand in hand with evil. Shallura (even tho Shiro has been confirmed gay, therefore, Shallura might be dead) has had Shiro and Allura being the actual parents of the daycare that is Voltron. Sheith has had literally Keith and Shiro’s entire relationship, especially Keith telling Shiro he’s like a brother to him, and he loves him. Punk has had Pidge and Hunk geeking out over nerdism. Alluratt (is that it?) literally gives Matt an entire anime as f sequence declaring his love to Allura. Hunay is self-explanatory. And so on and so forth. The point is, is that finding ‘proof’ for ships doesn’t work much anymore. There is proof on all sides, and at this point, and just focusing on proof, we’d end up with a ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ ending where they all just end up dating each other. But we know this is not going to be the case, because we’ve only gotten two confirmed LGBTQ+ characters in Voltron, and the managers would definitely red light a huge polyamory relationship. And I highly doubt the majority of Voltron’s target audience would be would be happy with that.  Also, sorry about a long paragraph on all ships, this post is supposed to be about Allurance.

So, my point is that all relationships have been explored to some extent, and by purely looking at what the showrunners have given us, we have an impasse with over 12 different forks in the road as to who could end up together. Focusing on the current content might not work anymore for any ship, except for Allurance.

It is very clear that Allura has started to reciprocate feelings for Lance, due to the self-explanatory blushing on both sides in season 7. Plus Veronica teasing Lance about it, even if it is extremely cliché and a dead giveaway to what the writers are hinting at. Not to ignore Lance dying for Allura, and her bringing him back to life.

The writers are making explicitly clear that they aren’t ‘just friends’ anymore. However, as they explore this road, the end game could be a lot more complicated than we thought.

So, here are my thoughts:

1. You’ve probably heard this a million times, but many people are complaining that Lance is Allura’s rebound. Which I totally see.

2. Lance has not has his own ‘moment’ in the show yet. Pidge has had it with her family, Keith has had it with Leadership, Shiro has had stepping up as the pilot of the Atlas+ literally the entire show (because he is a tortured soul), Allura has had many episodes to show getting over the loss of her father+Altea, and Hunk has had an arc throughout season 7 where he really steps up to the plate as the glue of the team. Lance has not had a serious arc yet, but it has been heavily hinted at in season 2 where he describes his teammates. He goes off on a tangent, and says. “Maybe I don’t have a thing. I mean, the team wouldn’t have me stick around if I didn’t contribute, right?” He’s also had his moment of almost quitting Voltron through feeling like he is a replaceable cog in the wheel. + possible foreshadowing in the Voltron book.This kind of characterization and the growth required to overcome this personal issue is much more than a ‘and the moral of the story is: ___” episode. So, we know Lance hasn’t tackled this arc in his story yet. So we only have season 8 left for this!

Which brings me to my next point.

3. Lance will become aware that he is, in fact, comparable to Allura’s rebound. And with his whole inferiority complex, that would hit hard. His entire flirty and cocky nature is about making himself feel less inadequate. He is basically walking insecurity. This is doubled, by being constantly compared and reminded of Keith back at the Garrison. Knowing that, to someone he loves, he is only the second choice, would really force his confidence issue to light. It would probably take up an entire 1-2 episodes to cover this topic. By forcing the hand of his insecurities using Allurance as a part of the driving force, we could deduct that Allurance has a possibility of not working out because of this, and it could only exist for the sake of plot and Lance’s road to maturity and true confidence.

4. A bonus point I would like to make is the possibility of Lance not getting with anyone at all. Lance’s whole thing at the beginning of the series and throughout it is impressing the ladies. A big part of his characterization, would either be finally going after someone he really cares about, or stepping away from dating all together. I mean, what an arc that would be, amirite?

5. So, if Allurance is purely a plot point in Lance’s character arc, we have the possibility of it not being the end game. The whole purpose of Allurance could be giving Lance confidence after the issue of being ‘second best’ comes up.

6. Another complaint I’ve been seeing is that Allurance’s relationship is only now beginning to develop, in the second to last, if not last, season. Many people are like: “So, are you kidding me??? When it comes to relationships, it is always developed from early on, not rushed! This is forced!” And while I agree, the Voltron crew are pro-fess-ion-als. They write for a living. They have lovingly created the characters that we adore on screen. We can talk all we want about Voltron’s writing ‘weak points’, but at the end of the day, this is a kids show. Some points are going to be weaker. But, my point is, if they want to genuinely develop Allurance in season 8, they are going to do a fantastic job of it. Can you imagine them delving deep into the two’s relationship in the last season? And getting attached to Allurance as a pairing? It gets me excited thinking about the possibility of a nicely developed relationship.

I mean, except for if they go forward with Kacxa. In which case, all hope is lost. But that is a whole other topic.

In conclusion, Allurance is going to be a thing. At least for a couple of episodes. Whether it stays or not is going to be the big question. And if it’s canon, great! It was already hinted at (but not developed!) at the beginning. If not, great! It’s part of further developing our Cuban Boy’s character.

What do you guys think? Please keep negativity to a minimum. I know that shipping can be controversial in the Voltron fandom, but I’m only hear to get my thoughts out. Not to fight anyone, and not to diss/kill someone else’s ship.

(Also, I had to change some of the wording because I made a Sheith shipper mad. Sorry, my dude ;( that was no beuno of me.)

[lemongogo]

when it comes to shows and fandoms, i never like to use shipping goggles, so yeah, i can honestly say that if keith hadn't left in s4, klance would have fallen in love. but at the same time, i think it was really necessary (and i hate to say this) for keith to leave, just bc i think both lance and him needed to find themselves and grow as characters first, instead of jumping right into a couple. i just wish they would have handled lances growth and arc and his relationship with keith better

oh, most definitely. i think with the way that season 3 unfolded, you see this huge growth in both keith and lance’s relationship and how they view each other, both as individuals and as parts of a team. I feel like, regardless of how the show ended up (ka//xca and a//urance), there was a lot of build up in their arcs to become something much closer than rivals. additionally, their personalities compliment each other so well and they really know how to depend on one another and really grow from the things they’ve been taught. hell, joaquim even called the act of shipping them “natural progression”

so imo, you can really argue that there was such a strong basis for endgame klance when you really look at seasons 1-3

but you’re right; i felt like keith leaving the team was important for the show (though how they handled it / the duration is debatable imo and i can explain later if you want), but it also served as a way to separate keith and lance. let them figure out who they are via their own experiences. for example, it’s evident that lance felt as though he was in keith’s shadow and questioned his abilities because of it. so when keith left, we see a lot of growth (ex: unlocking the altean broadsword) on lance’s behalf as well as reassurance via allura as to how much he’s grown and come to be an integral part of voltron. as for keith, he was also feeling a lot of insecurity in terms of his heritage, family past, place on the team (now that shiro was gone), and general sense of “purpose” (ex: in s7, keith’s space madness reveals that he sometimes feels like what they’re doing doesnt matter/is futile). so, for him joining the blade, it gives him a way to explore his own wants and needs away from that of the team

so i definitely agree that they used that moment as a way to further each character’s respective story arc, and unfortunately it did drive a wedge in between their relationship. it kind of halted whatever future progress we would’ve seen by having them split up. the thing that makes me really upset though is the fact that it had a huge impact on lance. he’s mad at keith for leaving, he doesn’t understand why, and it sucks because he was really starting to find himself via keith’s help. but knowing voltron, they’re never going to reconcile that. they’re never going to explain why this “switch” in keith turned off as soon as he returned in s6 to where their moments leading up to that seemingly didn’t matter. they won’t explain anything in regards to his regression as a character and that SUCKS. 

it makes me sad. klance really had such a strong and healthy foundation and they turned it into nothing more than a forlorn dream / something we “did to ourselves” lmao.

[neven-ebrez]

"Leaps of Faith, Falling, and Learning How to Fly"

The narrative structure of Keith and Shiro in Voltron: Legendary Defender.

(X)

First, an introduction.  Hello, I’m Zerbe and this is my first time writing meta for the Voltron fandom.  Be that as it may, this is not, however, my first time writing structural meta.  I've written extensively on narrative structure specifically in relation to character development for the fandom of Supernatural for going on seven years.  Comparing the two shows, we are looking at wildly different storytelling mediums that come from two very different social climates (the Old Gods of live action broadcast television versus the New Gods of streaming animation).  As different as the two shows are in conception, execution, and awareness, together they utilize a similar structure as far as character development goes.  It is what I like to refer to as “overarching character development endgame structure” (or simply “endgame”). This character driven (rather than plot driven) structure is by far the driving force of the architecture of Voltron's storytelling: a narrative designed to specifically develop its main characters to a certain endgame point as (usually) colored by trauma caused by the Galra Empire.  

Unlike with Supernatural (a show that utilizes a highly reductive two lead structure and has struggled with its exploration and expression of trauma many times in the past), Voltron utilizes a full ensemble cast (with all core characters appearing in most episodes) and takes the time to explore each character's development and trauma at a decidedly steady pace and without the continuous “sacrifice” of other characters as simple narrative mirrors (also sometimes called "narrative folds"), to this ultimate purpose.  I feel, however, I’m perhaps giving Voltron too much credit here, as effectively Allura and Keith function as the series’ two structural leads more often than not.  Also unlike Supernatural, Voltron writes itself into its final season knowing well ahead that it's reached the end of its road, hopefully leaving no stroke of storytelling wasted.

And while Voltron sets each of its characters on specific developmental paths, it doesn't, however, spend an equal amount of time on each to accomplish this narrative task (hence my description of Keith and Allura as the series’ respective structural leads since their final developmental arcs represent the essential end of the series).  Pidge's development, for example, is already effectively over when she is reunited with her family in the S7 finale. There’s nowhere else to go with her beyond emphasizing or revisiting what matters to her.  This unequal time dedicated to structure for some characters becomes especially evident later on, once certain characters reach certain developmental milestones that others simply can not due to the nature of what (or rather, who) is involved in their ultimate developmental endgame.  

In general, the first season focuses on establishing the basics of the Voltron Universe, including, but not limited to: the past and continuing threat of the Galran Empire, the magic and mechanics involved in the operation of Voltron, and other more general world building.  The first season also quickly establishes its ultimate character goals in episode two (simplified easily into S1E2 for discussion purposes), and though the details and road maps to development for each are unveiled at significantly different paces, each are definitively and firmly cemented in the past with an aim towards the future.  

⦁ Shiro: wanting a way to be remembered before he dies, but choosing to seek this through historical accomplishments, rather than in his bonds to others

⦁ Keith: plagued by a life full of unanswered questions that permeate the walls of an empty shack in the middle of the desert where everyone who has loved him has left, a house that isn't a home 

⦁ Lance: struggles to distinguish himself among a big family and is often overshadowed by others, his rivalry with Keith and pursuit of Allura explore this in different ways

⦁ Hunk: pure of heart, brave in the face of fear, and plagued by a stomach that both values and rejects food according to his nerves

⦁ Pidge: driven to find out what really happened to her father and brother, she strives to reunite her family, with this mattering more, sometimes, than any mission

⦁ Allura: while the Princess does not get the early group visual that the other five do, her shackles to the past and the trauma of the Galra manifest visuallly, compoundedly and symbolically within the confines of the Castle of Lions, from losing her father a second time to events well past the Castle's destruction.  The tragedy of what happened to her home world keeps her shackled to the past.

Allura, Coran and the five Paladins function as the various core baselines of the show's narrative structure, (and as mentioned before) with Keith and Allura each serving as cornerstones for the series at greatest length, each sharing in the trauma of the Galra most profoundly and both effectively mirroring each other towards similar and interwoven leadership endgames. With this structural developmental overview of the series briefly touched upon, this meta will now focus on Keith and Shiro together through a thematic lens of taking a leap of faith and learning what it means to truly be able to fly.  

The Keith/Shiro relationship is the inarguable lynchpin of the series, with several episodes which highlight it or are otherwise mostly dedicated to it.  The first episode to explore the “leap of faith” theme between them fully is S2E1, where Keith must get to an injured Shiro and save him from some creatures that are hunting him down after the team has been separated through a wormhole and blasted to different parts of the galaxy without their lions working.  It is in this episode where we finally see the intent the creators have with the two, that Shiro wants Keith to lead the team if anything happens to him.  This is typical of a mentor/pupil relationship: the pupil learns, the mentor dies, the pupil becomes the master.  It is as predictable a narrative as it is old.  It is a significant part of Keith’s development arc.  Visually, Shiro and Keith are separated by a huge rift, and it is Keith who must make the journey to Shiro by taking his teachings and applying them.  

Keith uses the water pressure that simmers beneath the rock to launch him across the chasm.  It is not enough, however.  When the rock falls away Keith begins to fall.  In order to reach Shiro, he must fly.  This is only possible, however, because of Shiro mentoring him to begin with.  Keith was patient and looked at what it would take to cross the chasm before he simply jumped.  Shiro maybe doesn’t really look at it this way, but the reality is that he is only able to be saved here because he forged a bond with Keith and helped him develop a certain outlook.  And while this is the first striking visual to their relationship being defined through leaps of faith, it won’t be the last.

The strongest and most thematically relevant to the "leap of faith" visual (retroactively established in the pilot and elaborated on for its link between the two characters later in what most closely resembles a chiastic ring structure) as centered in this analysis is S6E5 (so this is where my focus will now mostly be).  It is an episode titled "The Black Paladins", which basically is an episode titled "Keith and Shiro", the two Paladins that can fly the Black Lion on near equal footing.  Anytime episodes are titled by characters or relationships this usually represents or leads to a death of some sort, or in the case of Keith and Shiro, Keith deciding to not jump, but fall.  Here, the past dies.

From S3 onward we see Keith and Allura's previously mentioned dual lead development structure in greatest evidence as both characters must ultimately face deceit from mentors they have bonded closely to: Lotor for Allura, and Shiro (or rather, Kuron, Shiro's controlled clone) for Keith.  The show also frequently compares the protective relationships of others: Lance and Allura, Keith and Krolia, Allura and Alfor, as well as Zarkon and Haggar, among others, to Keith and Shiro’s own for the purposes of establishing the blur between how a relationship is coded (platonic, familial, or romantic) in relation towards mentoring and teaching, as well as protecting.  

And while Allura's bond and relationship with Lotor isn't as long established as Keith's is with Shiro, Lotor and Shiro are both consistently framed as mentors of sorts for the two, key in unlocking important future potential in both characters.  Lotor teaches Allura to believe in herself and she then develops romantic feelings for him, to the point where they share a kiss.  We will see this sentiment echoed from Shiro to Keith in the final scene of the episode.  In S6E5 Keith fights Shiro's clone, who attacks with not only physical attacks, but emotional ones, designed specifically to target Keith's previous insecurities about his unknown past.  This devastating emotional barrage would have, perhaps, ultimately worked had Keith not just made peace with his mom in an isolated two year time skip where he saw (or rather, practically experienced) first hand the events that lead up to her leaving Earth to protect Keith (and not specifically the Blue Lion, as Keith thought). Keith is shown two distinct relationships: one romantic between his mom and dad and one familial between him and his parents.  Both involve protection and teach that motivation personally matters, but sometimes can not be easily quantified.  

Either way, the narrative lesson to Keith is given as such: protecting who you love is more important than any single mission. Defending himself, Keith confesses his love for Shiro, declaring him a brother against the decidedly more romantic textual portrayal of Lotor and Allura. Keith previously uses “like a brother to me” in S2E8.  The sentiment, I feel, is what matters most here and that sentiment from Keith to Shiro is as follows: “You are the person most important to me, the one I love most.”  Everything that follows is Keith deciding what that truly means, a story we must now wait for.

Worth noting is that Shiro does not outwardly react to Keith’s declaration of brotherhood, but rather the one of unquantifiable love is the one that causes Shiro to react.  This is easily comparable to Shiro’s previous jabs to Keith which he showed no reaction to.  This line, “I love you” is the one thing, the only thing, that one of them reacts to visibly.  It says without a single word, “There’s something here to this that affects Shiro, something he hasn’t made peace with.” 

Keith being completely at peace with himself is then symbolically structured as being instrumental to saving Shiro in the present, and into the future.  We get this pretty explicitly in S2E8 when Keith is at war with himself over learning his past (what the knife he has symbolically means), versus him fighting to live in the future.  For the flashback Keith sees Shiro, then his dad: the two defining older male mentors in his life.  Keith pleads to Shiro how much learning about his past means to him.

Keith: “I’ve made my choice.”

Shiro: “Then you’ve chosen to be alone.”

If Keith clings to the past, he’ll lose the bonds he has forged, specifically with Shiro.  He’ll end up alone.  The show says “we’re all the family you need”, but it is decidedly Shiro (and not the team) that Keith associates his decision to cling to the unknown past with, as none of the other paladins appear even though Keith’s suit has the ability to show them.  When given the ultimatum, Keith chooses Shiro and the future.  This is important because later we see Shiro facing the same ultimatum in the past, between his goals and his boyfriend, Adam, yet back then Shiro chooses differently than the Keith of the present.  The two events between past and future (goals vs people) are  therefore significant in terms of character structure between the two characters.  While Keith’s father tries to convince Keith to stay and learn the truth, the Red Lion is shown lifeless and immobile on a cliff.  Only when Keith makes the decision not to wait around anymore does the Red Lion take flight to come save him.  It’s a mirror to S2E1 visually in many ways.  At the same time Shiro comes to Keith’s aid, the Blade of Mamora insists Keith give them back the blade and Keith does, in favor of going with Shiro.

Keith:” It doesn’t matter where I come from.  I know who I am.”

With this declaration and being bodily supported by Shiro, Keith awakens the blade and walks into the future.  The truth the show has only hinted at is finally revealed: Keith can only awaken the blade if he has Galran blood running through his veins.  One answer only leads to more questions as forever the future marches on.

Back to S6E5 we get this symbolic visual of Keith further accepting his past and embracing his future with him receiving a scar from Shiro (Keith is also scarred in S2E8 but his suit covers it) with this scar not altogether unlike the Galran marks his mom bares on her face (and in a battle where we see flashes of Keith’s Galran lineage), all the while Keith, in turn, severs the visual of Shiro's trauma by the Galra, his Galran arm.  

Keith blocks Shiro’s attack with his mom’s blade (the past), but severs Shiro’s arm with the black bayard (the future).  In one moment, one fell swoop, the past finally symbolically, and completely, gives way to the future.

It is here that the chiastic structure of Sheith approaches its end, though we must wait a few episodes for Shiro’s POV to fill in the rest of their shared past, a past our pilot episode has only hinted at.  As the science station that houses countless Shiro clones crumbles around them, Keith holds fast to the one he just fought and falls. It is a leap of faith, though not the first.  It is, perhaps, the most important one thus far though, because it is the one the two finally take together and it is the one in which Keith refuses to let go.  Keith is not jumping, he is falling.  And he is not falling alone, no.  Keith is falling with Shiro.  Wherever the future takes them, they fall into it together.  

Keith: “I’m not leaving here without you.”

Shiro: “I will never give up on you.”

These are, at their core, wedding vows.  When you get married the usual promise is that you will love someone in sickness and in health, til death separates you.  But Keith and Shiro... they go beyond this, are not bound by it.  They transcend. 

And if I had to say what the series was about, both emotionally and structurally, I'd have to say plainly, the show is about Keith and Shiro’s love and commitment to one another against a war torn universe, with the show developing Keith to a point where his faith, love, and dedication to being able to save Shiro is what finally actually, *truly* saves Shiro, and Shiro, after learning it’s people you love that matter most, finally lets this course happen.  They are student and teacher, up until... they are not, up until... they fall together into the unknown.  At this point and in the time I am writing this, with less than two months before the final season is released, Keith can physically save Shiro and truthfully does so again and again right up until the S7 finale fight with Sendak. This is not what Shiro needs (as a character) though, is not how Shiro is structurally designed to be ultimately developed.  Shiro needs to be saved in an altogether different way and everything that follows S6E5 brings this narrative structure design starkly to light.

In S6E6, an episode titled, "All Good Things", a reference to the proverb, "All good things come to those who wait", which is a virtue on the payoff of being patient, as the phrase, "Patience yields focus" is a recurring cornerstone phrase in Shiro's mentoring of Keith, the Black Lion (complete with symbolically injured wing) saves both Shiro and Keith and the truth of the past four seasons is revealed: Shiro died back when he fought Zarkon at the end of Season 2 and his consciousness has been residing within the Black Lion ever since.  Keith’s worst fear is realized, the person he cares about most has left him just like everyone else.  When left to fight in a mission alone, to ultimately shoulder responsibility meant to be shared, Shiro is destined to die.  

Keith’s whole Blade of Mamora retreat arc, in which Shiro takes back control of the Black Lion to lead Voltron, is essentially Keith being afraid of replacing Shiro.  He thinks (and I must make some guesses here as there’s no clear text for why Keith runs from leading Voltron) that if he never again leads Voltron, then Shiro can never be replaced, can never die.  If Keith leaves Shiro, then Shiro can never leave him.  It is an act of protection born out of fear.  The one death Keith can never bear is Shiro’s.  Sound familiar? This is exactly what Zarkon felt towards Honerva, and what she, in turn, can not bear herself.  We even get a scene where Honerva remembers their past and brings Zarkon back from the brink of death in a coma.  That’s not now though for Shiro and Keith (and I’m honestly trying to stay linear here), but it follows into the opening of Season 7.  

Everything Keith does is to protect Shiro.  All the while the Blades try to impart on him the wisdom that a mission of protecting the masses is what matters, moreso than any individual ever matters.  It is not until Keith meets his mom and learns the truth (that she left to protect Keith above all) that all this reductive development is wiped clean and Keith comes full circle.

Keith calls Allura and informs her of what's happened to Shiro.  Keith, very far away, must now find his way back to help the team fight Lotor, as this episode is both the Allura/Lotor fold to the previous episode's fight between Keith and Shiro, and the next unveiling in the future shape of Shiro's ultimate development arc as defined by Keith.  Keith calls upon Shiro for help getting to where he needs to go and once again, there’s a cliff, a leap of faith and Shiro shows Keith once more how to fly.  When Keith calls out, Shiro will always answer.

In another striking symbolic visual, Keith unlocks the Black Lion's ultimate wings and he makes it to the team, retaking his place as leader, truly, and helping them win the fight.  From here, there is nothing more Shiro can teach Keith.  The mentoring part of their relationship is effectively over.  Wherever they journey from here, it is a walk they take side by side, as equals.  After Lotor is left in the Quintessence Field and the Castle of Lions is crushed into a crystal, Allura is left with one final link to her past, Voltron itself (and, well, her tiara, which she sacrifices to power Shiro’s arm in S7).  With Allura's newfound abilities unlocked, she pulls Shiro's consciousness out of the Black Lion and into herself.  Allura then transplants Shiro's consciousness into the defeated soulless clone, his hair turning completely gray from trauma. Shiro awakens with a cough and falls into Keith, telling him, "You found me." Looking at all they've lost, all they've sacrificed, the team decides there's only one place they can go to move forward in their fight against the Galra: home. 

Season 7 then opens with Shiro dreaming of Keith, a narrative reflection of everything that lead him to where he is now, in a fight for his life inside a body that isn't truly his own.  Somewhere on the other side of life after death.  This will be the final fill in the blank for the past chiastic structure of Shiro and Keith’s mentoring relationship.  And I feel this must be said...  The creators didn't have to do this.  Like... at all.  This situation, designed to show how irrevocably the characters’ fates are tied together, was otherwise an utter and completely avoidable narrative problem. They seriously could have just had what Allura did in the S6 finale be the end of it, Shiro saved.  But no.  The creators decided instead to show us Shiro coming into this season, to be dying AGAIN so that he can then decide to live for one reason and one reason alone: for Keith, specifically because Keith tells him that he can’t go through the thought of losing Shiro again.  This ties their futures together.  Irrevocably.

The creators spend a whole episode on where Keith and Shiro have been, to show us where they need, as characters, eventually, to go; specifically, where Shiro needs them to go so that his future isn’t full of regret, the way his past is.  This matters more than anything structurally the show has done between them previously.  This is the future.  But first we go, by typical chiastic ring structure design, all the way back to our first episode... in a leap of faith to rescue Shiro. We see the first time Keith and Shiro meet, in Keith's school as Shiro is sent to find recruits for the Garrison.  Keith, among his peers, stands out in ability, but his anger at being unable to know of his past clouds his future.  Here, he is standing narratively still.  Keith steals Shiro's car and is sent to a juvenile detention facility.  Shiro gets him out and offers him a future at the Garrison school.  From this point, they begin their journey towards the future.  "You can't imagine all he's done for me." Keith tells Allura when she tries to reassure him that Shiro is going to be okay.  

The flashback dream begins again.  Shiro brings Keith to a hanger where a shuttle is, and not just any shuttle; it's the shuttle that flew the mission that made Shiro want to be a pilot.  Shiro speaks of braving the unknown and how great things can be accomplished with time... and effort. Time and effort.  This is very important for what comes later in the episode.  Also interlaced with this episode is the search by the rest of the team to locate Faunatonium, a substance that will help them more quickly recharge their Lions so they can all begin heading home. While Keith, his mom, and Allura decide to stay with Shiro, the rest of the group decides to leave and perform the search.  On the surface level, this narrative detour (or rather, plot attachment) seems rather silly, and is, indeed, relatively coded as such being lead by Corran. There's some very thematically relevant parts though.  Faunatonium can not be found by simply searching.  It can only be found by getting something else, a Yalmor (and in fact, usually many working together), to find it instead. While this ongoing theme: relying on others, folds into the general theme of accomplishing the impossible through teamwork (that is ever present in the series), it is particularly relevant to Shiro and Keith's respective arcs. If one is to find what one needs to be able to fly, it can only be done by looking to others. Also visually relevant, the others are shrunk during the course of the episode (complimenting the visually smaller Keith), and must find a way to “grow up” in order to move on in their journey.  Again, this is done... through a leap of faith into the Faunatonium.  

We then return to Shiro's dreamscape.  Keith and some more cadets are training in the simulator, learning to fly in formation.  Keith is bored and starts to goes off command, ignoring Shiro's instructions.  The group is punished and one cadet in particular takes great offense, picking a fight with Keith over his attitude and dragging his past into it.  Keith takes a swing and we see the scene that Keith was reflecting on when he and Shiro were falling to their deaths after their fight in Season 6.  It is a pivotal point, with the show showcasing both characters reflecting on the exchange.  It functions as a cornerstone to their entire relationship.  Shiro is never going to give up on Keith and that it is important that Keith, in turn, not give up on himself.  Two equal and important parts to the same coin, finding a way to ultimately “save Shiro”.  Keith is floored by this kind of dedication.  "You don't even know me," he tells Shiro and Shiro responds in kind, "You're right, I don't, but sometimes, we all need a hand."  Shiro is telling Keith that he is taking a leap of faith.  He doesn't know how this relationship will work out for either of them, but he wants to find out.  Shiro offers Keith his hand, and Keith takes it.  

The narrative then switches over to the rest of Voltron, small, who discover that communication with Keith and the others is impossible because of their size. The episode's title, "A Little Adventure" specifically references size as well.  This is the "little" adventure of Keith and the "little" adventure of the others, both searching for something you can’t get on your own.  And... back to Shiro's dreamscape again.

Shiro and Keith are racing on hoverbikes through the desert.  "Come on, catch up!" Shiro tells Keith, who is trailing behind him.  Keith passes him, but can't keep the lead.  Shiro heads back in front.  The two reach a cliff and Shiro dives, leaving Keith behind on the ledge.  

Keith is amazed at Shiro's leap, asking him how he did it.  "It's all about timing," Shiro tells Keith.  "Pull up too soon, you won't have the momentum needed to create lift.  Too late, there won't be enough lift to avoid the crash."  It's all about patience, all good things coming to those that wait. Keith admits that he's not ready to be on the same level as Shiro just yet.  As he is, he can not make the jump.  This is the jump Keith makes in the pilot episode to save Shiro, then again in S2E1, and it is something Shiro taught him.  Everything in the pilot between Keith and Shiro is instantly given more weight because of this.  Shiro taught Keith how to fall, and then, how to fly and this, in turn, saves Shiro in the future.  And it is absolutely a metaphor for how falling in love with someone who makes you want to be a better person feels like.  

Here, at the dying of the day with a rainbow framing them, Shiro asks about how Keith grew up in the desert. Keith's dad is revealed to have died in a fire, having run back into a burning building to save others because you couldn't tell him to not try to save someone.  For as much as Keith is revealed to be like his mother, he is just as much like his father.  He even runs recklessly into a fire to save strangers in S1E4.

Here, small and in the past, he does not yet realize this, much less is he at peace with it. This, ultimately, is why he can not make the symbolic leap of faith not even alongside Shiro.  A beep sounds from Shiro's wrists and we see a medical device that he must wear because of his muscles.  However serious his illness is, the show does not make it very explicit.  If I had to guess though, and unfortunately the show makes it so that I must, it's that Shiro's unnamed illness was going to cause him to die young (or maybe is going to, though I doubt it will now, given what I've heard about the creators originally planning to kill off Shiro after season 2 and being unable to for whatever reason, involving something on the production level).  Being that Shiro is about to be revealed to be a gay man, this functions as an AIDS visual in many ways, but the show makes it distinctly not for whatever reasons.  Shiro, operating his life under a young death sentence is, in my opinion, the best explanation for everything that follows.  Remember the wedding vows I mentioned?  In sickness and in health? This further promotes the concept.  

Keith overhears Admiral Sanda telling Pidge's father that Shiro shouldn't be going on any more missions in his current physical state.  Shiro looks defeated as he returns home.  In a frame on the shelf, among various trophies and aircraft models, we see a picture of Shiro and another guy about his age.   As Shiro throws his bag on the couch, the living version of the picture is drinking at the island in the kitchen.  He asks Shiro about his day and Shiro explains what just happened. The guy sides with the Admiral, saying the mission is not worth it. Shiro gets angry and tells the guy that he knows what the mission means to him, and that it is worth the risk.  

"Takashi, how important am I to you?"  

And... this is a couple's fight.  Shiro is called by his proper first name for the first time by a character and the guy basically rips into Shiro, telling him that he's always been there for him, but that now Shiro's unfairly asking him to just be okay with the decision to do the mission, knowing he's possibly (and probably) flying to his death.  "Don't start that again, Adam. You don't need to protect me." This is not only a couple's fight, but it is an old fight, definitely not the first if Shiro’s exasperated tone is anything to go by.  Shiro doesn't want someone who wants to protect him.  He wants glory, a mission.  He tells Adam that he must do this for himself. Shiro is being selfish.  Adam tells him that there's nothing left for him to prove, no more records to break.  Adam is talking about the things Shiro has done to put his name in the history books, to be remembered when he is gone. In his decision to go into space one final time, Shiro values his name written in a history book more than he values being cherished and protected by the person that loves him most.  To Shiro, and against what Krolia ultimately teaches Keith, the mission is more important to Shiro than love.  As of right now, taking a leap of faith and flying means only one thing to Shiro.  And it is the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back.  Adam tells Shiro that he can't stop him from leaving, but that this time he won't be here waiting if Shiro makes it back.  

Adam... is completely and utterly giving up on Shiro.  

No matter what he does, Adam can not save him.

And... here's where I talk about what the showrunners have come out and said once this season was released.  This scene, as given, was apparently as explicit as the show was told they could be regarding this relationship and in specific regards to Shiro's sexuality.  To children, the show's proclaimed aimed, core demographic, the ones the toys are aimed at, this whole thing... is essentially nothing definitive. Children, with no frame of experience for reference, don't understand that what just happened is a conversation that could only be had by lovers, ones that have been having a specific argument for a very long time. Adam, however, isn't labeled explicitly as lover by the text.  Any adult with half a brain cell and not bound by a dense fog of heteronormativity viewing this whole exchange recognizes it for exactly what it is though, what it can only be. So by sheer design, this is the show admitting it writes for two audiences and is caught between them.  This is where animation, in the ongoing fight for representation and inclusion, often falls short and struggles the most out of every available storytelling medium.  And in a show aim towards young boys, involving a creative entanglement of toy production of all things, it is quite simply the toughest fight there is.  And the creative team has certainly tried, based on everything I’ve come across of them discussing their limitations.  

Apparently this was always the reveal that the showrunners wanted, to present Shiro as the hero who just happened to be gay.  From what I understand, this reveal was originally planned to be worked into season 2 right before they killed Shiro off (or otherwise had him gone for an extensive period of time), but then that plan got axed for reasons, with the creators seemingly only reflecting on how they avoided the Bury Your Gays trope in retrospect.  The creators cared enough to be thoughtful in regards to wanting to be as inclusive as possible, but perhaps operated without fully understanding (and from everything I’ve read I’d argue, yes, without malice) the delicacies of trying to present a narrative based in equality. to a consumer, who ultimately doesn’t live in such a world themselves.  Quite simply, if there were more lead queer characters among the media landscape at large then Bury Your Gays would not even be a thing.  This, however, is not the world we live in and the role of the mentor usually ends in death anyway, so the protagonist can advance.  

I should say here that I’m pointedly not going to discuss the accusations of queerbaiting in this analysis, which have been thoroughly discussed already and commented on by the creative team.  The purpose of this analysis is for me to give my opinion of intent as derived from looking at a specific themes and examining both dialogue and narrative mirror structure towards this end.  That’s my “thing” as a meta writer.  As I’ve said, the fight for same sex romantic text (and therefore, representation) for this medium and with this specific core audience (young boys) is simply the fucking toughest fight there is.  And the creative team has fought hard for what we’ve gotten so far.  Their hands are also tied with explaining this clearly and teasing plots in general.  All I can truly say is the whole situation is understandable (the team wanted everyone to know exactly what Adam and Shiro were), and also... unfortunate.  

Adam, we are told by the showrunners, was killed off in the Sendak invasion to drive home the severity of the situation. But, oh, this is not something children would even properly understand, remember?  Without the real life experience to understand that Shiro and Adam were having a lover’s spat, this whole assertion loses itself.  The show could have easily killed Iverson, or any other number of familiar faces the show’s younger audience would better understand in context instead of Shiro's textually undeclared boyfriend we only just met and only then for about a minute as a reflection of the past. So we, as a thoughtful adult audience, must ask ourselves... why exactly were these narrative decisions made?  And for who, exactly?  To what ultimate end do they serve?

Why did avoiding Bury Your Gays matter one time, but ultimately not the other? And if the goal was to make Shiro, and therefore the audience (again, which one?), feel loss as keenly as possible, then why have them be broken up already?  That certainly doesn't pack as much as an emotional punch, if, indeed, that was the focus goal, which I honestly don't doubt played some kind of part...  Just not the most important structural part, given everything that has come before and has been tied into Shiro’s development post S2.  No, it was more important to the creative team to establish Shiro as a man who had previously dealt with (and specifically *chose* to deal with) sacrificing a lover, than it was to establish him as a man who never carried that pain throughout the series, but must now without choice.  

“However, when times change, so does decision-making. “I think when real tragedy strikes it kind of snaps things into sharp focus,” Montgomery added. “And you start to realize how much [Shiro] may have taken Adam for granted and how much he didn’t appreciate him when he could have.”

-Showrunner interview in PolyGon

Shiro’s choice is the key.  Just like Keith’s choice in S2E8.  This, ultimately, reveals what the showrunners have yet to come out and plainly say.    

Shiro/Adam, as a cornerstone of Shiro’s past decision to put “the mission” above love, was therefore specifically introduced as a narrative focus towards Shiro learning from this character flaw in the near future through and because of his “leap of faith” relationship with Keith, wherein Keith has specifically learned and understood this narrative lesson and has effectively been crafted to, in turn, teach it to Shiro.  

This is what I personally see when I look at everything that’s been given.  Beyond this, and to a certain point... I think I understand.  These creators were obviously told they couldn't depict an ongoing same sex relationship for Shiro, and that obviously ended up factoring into everything that follows, but the exact way this was all done... I mean.  Specifically.  In the long game endgame development sense.  In my opinion, it speaks to creators that knew what they were up against and tried to plan ahead.  Adam giving up on Shiro... in a multi episode sequence that deals specifically with leaps of faith, Keith needing to grow into that position, and both Shiro and Keith vowing to never give up on one another, never to leave one another behind...  I can’t help but see the greater design here, what Adam’s introduction became a vital part of.  Let me put it plainly.  As a follow artist and designer... you simply do not arrive to the point Voltron has arrived at in specific regards to the relationship progression between Shiro and Keith without purpose or somehow by grand accident.  It is honestly impossible.  No, these were creative choices on behalf of a writing team that knew exactly what they were doing and reasonably, the limitations involved therein.  

Where Adam gave up, Keith never will.  

Forged by the shared trauma of the Galra, and standing together on a cliff high above the edge of everything they’ve ever known, the past gives way to the future.  It’s not a jump.  It’s a fall.

And I don't know.  Maybe I’m completely wrong.  Or maybe the showrunners are actually more clever than they themselves can ever admit, will ever admit.  Maybe they’ve played the long game even better than the show’s narrative structure itself.  They are, after all, fighting the toughest battle there is in the war for representation, trying to push the boundaries here as much as they can. Maybe they knew exactly what they were doing and going into their last season they used this extensive public critique to help plead their case, their need for text to the people that are ultimately holding their leash.  Or maybe not.  I don't know. Maybe none of us will ever know.  Was it awful to use Adam as nothing more than a prelude to something between Keith and Shiro?  I guess that’s up to the individual watching.  I personally have mixed feelings.  All I do know is that there was, is, a lot of effort here and... a lot of sacrifice.  We are talking about the thematic backbone of this entire show: leaps of faith, falling, and learning what it takes to finally fly.  

And I honestly write this analysis in good faith, hoping for the best, but expecting the usual.  I don’t write this to make anyone believe anything, nor hope for anything in particular.  It is an analysis of pattern, theme, and unknowable intent.  I can only write what I see and how I feel about it.  I want to believe most creators currently crafting stories in this social environment are doing their best to push the well established boundaries into the future.  These particular showrunners have talked about this in various articles where I can tell there’s a lot being held back. I do wonder, however, how much the creative team is aware of how much their entire show functions as a metaphor for this exact fight: the battle for representation against an Empire that has ruled for far too long.  Like with Shiro and Keith we are patient and we wait.  We go to the edge of the cliff and we fall, hoping to see if we have what it takes to fly.  

It's a leap of faith.

[lioncunt]

Why do you think Klance will be canon? I read somewhere you though it was the most logical conclusion, could you outline your thoughts? Or if you already have, could you add a link to your post?

I have written about it before but I’ll put down my new thoughts to include season 6. I’ve never been certain of it, keep in mind, it just always has seemed like an inevitable thing based on every single thing we’ve been told about the show and characters, no matter what angle i’ve looked at it from.

So, here’s what we had been given on romance in the show:

-they were planning a slow burn with all romances

-endgame romances couldn’t really happen with all the space plot stuff going on

-lance’s love interest will be someone lance needs, rather than what he wants, and will get him to a place opposite of where he started. they will be self assured and confident, in order to help HIM be more confident and help him with his insecurity. jeremy shada said that lance would fall in love with someone a little bit and like having one person rather than just going all over the place, and he would mature in all ways.

-when asked in a post-season 2 interview about keith and allura’s development, steven yeun replied “I like playing this mystery of where the romance is. I don’t know where it is. It could be between anybody. That’s the natural evolution of this relationship. Even as a friendship, it has fits and turns and ups and downs. I think this is the beginning of a wonderful, wonderful storyline.”

What we get from this is that all the endgame romances will take massive amounts of time to develop properly, and since they are slowburn, it really can’t be with characters introduced far past the halfway point, cause that’s the opposite of slowburn. we also know that they couldn’t really explore ANY romance that wasn’t relevant to the galra plot. lotura is an exception, because it was literally the foundation of the plot in seasons 5 and 6, so they were able to fully go there. but other possible romances have been inching along at a snail’s pace.

Now, in season 6, allura and lance’s relationship has been getting a LOT of focus. i ship this heavily, but in this season I personally was put off by the way their scenes were written and how they reacted to one another. this isn’t evidence that it’s not going to happen, because these are all my subjective opinions and that’s NOT factual, but if you’re interested in why I feel this way, I’ve written about it a lot in the last few days, just do a search on my blog.

so, my opinions aside, there was a lot of focus on their relationship.

but we can look back and see all those keith/allura scenes in season 2, when everyone was certain THEY were going to end up together. in season 1, people were sure it was going to be allura/shiro, before allura was revealed to be in the teen paladins’ age group. it changes literally every season. this is the most it’s ever been, because lance canonically is in love with her, but it’s still just more of the same.

I’ve said it before, but any and all endgame romance in the show will be limited to keith, lance, and allura. pidge is too young for any of them and hasn’t had a single serious one-on-one interaction with any of them, shiro is too old and is seen as a mentor/brother figure, and hunk is linked to shay. any side character hasn’t had enough development, and it’s too late to properly develop a relationship with a brand new character. so, romances are only possible between those 3 – and we’ve already seen this come into play, what with the ship fodder for their various combinations in every single season. and steven yeun even said it himself - “it could be between anyone.” 

now, before season 6, I would have said immediately that it would be keith/lance, because allura doesn’t fit the description of lance’s love interest (and he’s the only character confirmed to have one). he’s wanted her since episode 1, so how could she possibly be not what he wants, but what he needs? however, since season 6, you could also read it as that he’s wanted tons of girls, but he really needs just one. this is where one half of my brain is at right now.

the other half of my brain can’t stop thinking about the lgbt rep.

you can cry “queerbaiting!” all you want, but the fact of the matter is that they wouldn’t be so secretive about it if it weren’t happening and if it weren’t main characters. here’s literally everything that’s ever been said on the subject:

Pre season 1 Tim Hedrick (head writer) interview: http://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/voltron/256121/creating-voltron-legendary-defender/page/0/1

So you worked on Legend of Korra and that show really broke ground with having Korra and Asami get together at the end of the series. Will we be seeing any LGBT content in Voltron?

“I think I’ll just let that play out as we go. No comment on that question.”

–

Fan interaction with Jeremy Shada right as season 3 came out: http://emerald-trash.tumblr.com/post/163610844403/so-today-i-got-to-meet-jeremy-shada-at-tbcc-i

So today I got to meet Jeremy Shada at TBCC. I made him a little doll of his character just like I did for Josh Keaton. I was so nervous but Jeremy was super nice and friendly! He loved the doll thankfully. I asked him about lgbt representation in voltron and his response was “I can’t say, but don’t worry. You’ll be happy.” Just the hope alone makes me happy lol

–

NYCC post season 3 panel question: https://vld-news.tumblr.com/post/166188210767/nycc-panel-quote

Fan Question: I know you can’t go into any specifics, or name any characters, but I was wondering if we will be seeing any LGBT representation in the Voltron universe before the show ends?

Joaquim: Lauren?

Kimberly: Ah, that’s a good question.

Joaquim: That’s a really good question.

Lauren: I think— You know, I think it’s something that is super important to us.

Joaquim: It’s very important to us. Um, you know, obviously I think what’s great about our community is that, you can pretty much tell whatever story you want to tell and put whatever you want to see into these characters. And just know that, from our perspective, we’re fighting to create as open and as broad a spectrum of characters as we can. So, um, yea. We—

Lauren: We can’t give you any definite answers, but we are super—

Joaquim: We are advocates, and we are fighting for as open and as broad a spectrum of characters as we can create.

–

Shada has also said some things on the subject that were illegally recorded and shouldn’t be repeated, but in short, there IS lgbt rep, it’s between two characters, and it’s apparently such a big deal that it would LITERALLY SPOIL PLOTLINES AND CAN’T BE TALKED ABOUT.

they’ve revealed info about the characters before. they said lance was cuban mere months after season 1 was released, even though that information wouldn’t come up in the show until years later. that could have been considered a spoiler. but no, it didn’t have to do with any actual plotline, so it was easily shared information to make people happy about good rep.

if the lgbt rep weren’t a big deal, they would tell us. they would at least say there’s definitely going to be some. i mean, people ask about it so fucking much, i’m sure they would say what it is if it would get fans to shut up.

and even before there was a fandom, tim hedrick said he would just let it play out as it goes, meaning it’s THERE and he wants people to watch the show and react to it naturally.

something else that i’ve said before – let’s go through the main characters one by one to determine who it could possibly be:

-pidge: has shown no interaction with any girl her age, and the creators have said that “if you want to see her as trans, you can” which is coding, NOT rep. plus, they did that in season 1, and they still won’t talk about the lgbt rep. she’s out.

-shiro: has shown no interaction with any guy his age. i originally thought it would be him and matt, but matt turned out to be younger than him and they haven’t interacted at all since matt came back. a husband back at home wouldn’t be a BIGGGGG SPOILER THAT THEY CAN’T CONFIRM OR DENY. he’s out.

-hunk: linked to shay. out.

-coran: has shown no interaction with any man his age currently. interacted in the past with alfor, but he’s dead, and the lgbt rep is a major plotline that can’t be spoiled. out.

-allura: has shown no interaction with any single girl her age. she interacted with shay, but shay is linked to hunk. unfortunately, i think romelle is too new a character for them to properly develop a relationship between them. out.

-lance: yall know.

-keith: yall know.

LITERALLY who could it possibly be besides keith and lance?? like i said, they wouldn’t be so hush-hush if it weren’t main characters and if it weren’t a huge plotline. i cannot think of a single other option. and anytime anyone’s tried to GIVE me another option, i just immediately disprove it. plus the fact that keith is super insanely self assured and confident now with his additional 2 years, his mom, and his brother safe and sound. he’s exactly what lance needs.

so that’s where the other half of my brain is.

I MEAN i really can’t be sure anymore. if you just go by romance alone it could totally be like allura/lance and keith/romelle or some other terrible het keith ship. or they could go back and rekindle keith/allura and do lance/romelle. but then when you factor in the elusive lgbt rep, there is no other fucking option than keith/lance. 

and if one of yall dumbasses comes on this post crying “sh*ith!!” i’ll come to your house and piss on your lawn.

[dent-de-leon]

lance for the character ask meme 👀

asjsdkdfkg sure thing bro,, some Sharpshooter stuff, here we go:

Why I like them: Love his sense of adventure. Like, in episode one where he mentioned that to Hunk–in reference to why they’d join a space program–that just made me stupidly happy. Because going up to space does sound super exciting and fun and it’s always been a dream of mine and I think it’s kind of nice that Lance wants to fly and see the stars just for the love of it. Also, I’ve said this before, but despite being described as “lucky,” Lance is a character who makes his own luck–follow Pidge, reach out to Blue, follow the mermaid, take that impossible shot–he sets off some exciting chains of events simply because he’s someone who goes looking for excitement. It’s nice change of pace to have a character without a tragic backstory who genuinely speaking has an optimistic and enthused outlook in regard to the universe. 

I’m also very partial to his growth as a character–for instance, learning that Black wasn’t meat for him, his parallels with Alfor, how his bayard evolves into a sniper to show he’s starting to really step back now and reevaluate a situation before he acts–I just think he’s made lots of strides and I’m proud of him for it. 

Why I don’t: He became so popular–greatly in part do to his role as the everyman character–that so much fandom content surrounds and caters to this notion of fanon Lance that’s been built up. It often feels like Lance’s canon development and core character is lost in interpretation (including but not limited to fans stripping Shiro of qualities to pass on to Lance). Keith and the Black Lion are also often passed off to Lance as prizes that he supposedly “deserves” and destroying their autonomy in the face of having them serve Lance’s character at his behest is both disconcertingly unsettling and widely prevalent within the fandom. Again, it’s Lance’s character that takes precedence in both these situations, with neither Keith nor Black Lion’s wants and needs ever factoring into the equation. Anyway, yeah, I have way more issues with fanon Lance. 

As for more my problems with canon Lance, it’s hard to forgive and forget some of his treatment of Keith. The one sided rivalry was entirely his invention, and even while Keith was deeply grieving Shiro, Lance had the audacity to accuse of him selfishly just using Shiro’s loss to have his shot at being leader–which is, ironically, exactly what Lance tried to do. He also only wanted to be Black Paladin for the sake of his own ego. I’m glad that Lance has both worked towards moving past the hostility he built up towards Keith, as well as matured considerably–he was only able to pilot Red because he realized he had to set aside his own ambitions for the team. It’s nice to see season Lance is in a different place now than he was at the start, and hopefully his development will continue in that direction. 

Favorite episode (scene if movie): Either The Red Paladin or A New Defender. Both show Lance stepping up and really coming into his own within his new role, as well as showcase his unwavering support of Allura. Some really excellent character development in both cases, both of which really sure just how far he’s progressed from day 1. Also. That heavy allurance hinting?? That’s some Good Stuff,, 

Favorite season/movie: Season 3 had some prime Lance content, with him learning to put the team first and try to navigate the Lion switch in a way where he both learned to respect Keith as well as grew very supportive of Allura, immediately welcoming her to the team. He grew a lot then, I think. Those parallels between Lance and Alfor were also super interesting and I’m all here for them. 

Favorite line: I have two now!! “Let’s go down swinging,” which is what he says in the final fight with Zarkon at the end of season 2. I love how he just expected to lose and accepted it, but still wanted to go down fighting and was proud to do so. Also, there’s, “You are the Heart of Voltron,” and more recently, “I could feel you in my heart.” Just…the fact that he cares for Allura so much and believes in her no matter what is really?? So, so sweet?? I love them??

Favorite outfit: I like his Altean pajamas!! :D They just seem to suit him really well. Also, the lion slippers?? They’re so cute!! I’m glad Lance at least wears them a lot. No slippers that cute should go to waste lmao

OTP: ALLURANCE!! I feel like that’s no secret by now lmao. Their development has progressed so far from day one, and now you literally have them being so in sync Allura is able to unlock new powers she’s always had the potential for because Lance was there encouraging her. Just like how Allura was the one who passed on Red and Alfor’s legacy to him. They’ve helped each other navigate the frighteningly unfamiliar territory of their new roles, building one another up. Lance loves Allura so much, he’ll literally go on and on for it (that fucking vlog), and Allura is quieter about it, but you can see she seems to reciprocate. It’s little things like her soft smile when Lance tells her there’s no one else he’d rather leave Blue with, or how sincerely she thanks Lance in A New Defender. They’re both so precious together and they deserve each other.

Brotp: Either Hunk and Lance or Lance and Pidge!! :’DD I love how Hunk and Lance are just best friends that were lucky enough to end up stranded in space together, I love how they’re comfortable teasing each other and poking fun. I love how they were probably roommates at the garrison. I love how Lance knows Hunk’s a total genius and is genuinely supportive of him. I love how Hunk has raced to Lance before when he was scared. I love how they’ve known each other well enough to see how much they’ve each changed from the start. I love how they’ll just hang out together like maybe nothing’s changed at all. 

I’m also so here for Lance and Pidge, for Lance actually trying to reach out and be friends with her on day one–then making it his mission to be more inclusive of her when she pushes everyone away. I love how Lance is super interested in all her science stuff even though he’s not really familiar with any of it. I love how they’ll get into ridiculous antics like stealing money from a fountain to buy video games and also leaving with a cow. I love how snarky they to each other are but will also secretly gossip about everyone else at the table. I love how Lance still tries to be inclusive of Pidge–little things, like showing her pictures of their new allies at the start of season 3.

Head Canon: Lance and Hunk were roommates at the garrison!! You’ll have to pry that one from my cold dead hands lmao I like to think they played video games lots, stayed up late making snacks or running movie marathons, snuck out into town to go on “adventures” at Lance’s insistence, ect.

Unpopular opinion: I’m a bi guy, and I’m like…really turned off by everyone in the fandom acting like bi Lance is canon. In fact, I think Lance would make for bad bi representation that perpetuated harmful stereotypes. I also don’t like k/l or Black Paladin Lance, so uh…I’m not a fun of a lot of fanon Lance I guess I should say, since that pretty much sums up all my (very) unpopular opinions. 

A wish: Lance and Allura end up together, and although Lance frequently visits Earth after the war, he’s very much involved in helping various planets rebuild and gets to continue exploring far off corners of the universe.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Black Paladin Lance, bi Lance, canon k/l

5 words to best describe them: Ambitious, bravado, potential, insecure, self-improvement 

My nickname for them: I’m actually willing to throw Lance a bone here and give him his preference of Sharpshooter lmao 

[thetimeoftomorrow]

Rant on VLD

Voltron is disappointing because everything is rushed and the result is a fucked up plot and questionable character developments. They could have dragged it out longer, in fact would anyone have complained? If every single character received a season just to focus on their growth, everyone would have been fucking happy. Like production would definitely be happy I mean more seasons mean more money. If they want to argue about pay and working hours in the studios that's another thing that should be settled within so don't bring it into this argument that touches on their script writing.

VLD fans would have gladly continued the series just to watch each character get their screen time, receive proper development and have active representation. This isn't about ships, like I personally ship Klance but that's not the reason why I'm upset. I'm upset because Voltron had all the potential in the world to educate people and normalize issues such as disabilities/LGBTQ/mental illness etc. To be so much more like they said they would be. That's a whole new other area I don't want to delve into considering what they said/promised so let's just focus on the production of Voltron.

Like the eight fucking seasons. You think eight seasons are enough to give accurate/proper character development? If you count main protagonists ie the paladins, you already have six of them, not counting supporting characters and antagonists. Each of the character has a history, a present and future timeline. You probably need several episodes to lay out their past, show how it gave them their current personality, show how events they go through in the present affects them, and then how it changes their future. And that's just the character themselves, not counting the ripple effect in their social circle ie friends, lovers, families etc. How the hell would eight seasons even be enough for character development (considering the depth they're trying to go for) when there are so many characters with different stories and personalities? If eight seasons isn't even enough for character development, how the hell is it going to be enough for the overall plot; let alone more sub-plots that hint to the major plot?? There's so much to fucking touch on just the protagonists I can't even-

Shiro with his PTSD itself is already such a huge fucking thing that could have taken up one entire season. Who the fuck goes through torture/experimentation, see their friends/comrades get dragged away/killed, be forced to fight and kill monsters + innocent (maybe) civilians for sport in a gladiator ring, and be able to walk around without being triggered? You're telling me Takashi Shirogane would not flinch when he sees his metal arm glow? That Takashi Shirogane would not back away when he hears the whirring sound of a pod because it reminds him of when the druids are preparing to inject him with more quintessence and painful shit? That Takashi Shirogane will see a giant fucking space craft filled with aliens who were complicit in his torture/abuse and keep a cool head/decide: cool imma fly up there with a bunch of underage teenagers and whoop their ass in an alien lion space ship to protect a planet that left me to die, lied to all my friends and family about my death, tarnished my name (a big thing for the Japanese which hah was never fucking touched on) plus strapped me down after I crash landed to conduct tests instead of rushing for medics?

Takashi Shirogane, as a proper character with the actual proper fucking memories, would not have survived ANY war in Voltron just based off his PTSD alone. And it's not like his PTSD is light because when the fuck is there a PTSD that's light? There could have been a whole segment on the team learning what triggers Shiro and how to better help him (which links back into the real world on how you treat veterans/people with PTSD), could have built better teamwork, shown what a positive supportive system looks like, educate on how one should seek help or react but no. It couldn't be done because there are only eight fucking seasons and this is just one aspect of Shiro as a character. What about his Japanese lineage? What about Adam which the creators openly promised/said was his boyfriend? This whole fucking thing is blank and that's just for one character!! ONE.

What about Allura dealing with her xenophobia towards Keith being a half galra (like did no one realise if you just made it all about race it literally is her being racist and judging someone based off their race instead of how they were brought up as a person)? What about Lotor and his problematic relationship with his father (Zarkon basically tried to kill his son because Lotor wouldn't listen to him - parental abuse?), his exile and his journey? What about Lance and his issue with being the fifth wheel, of not being good enough or likeable enough no matter how hard he tries aka self-esteem/insecurities? What about Pidge and the bullying she suffered for being a nerd, exploring how it made it difficult for her to connect with people, relating it back to real life on how people get bullied for being smart/nerdy and how it's somehow still a shameful thing to be "too" academically inclined? What about Hunk and his anxiety issues/worries that he voiced but were brushed off, just like how some people are ignored on a daily basis? What about Keith and his entire process of dealing with losing his father, losing Shiro; touching on the healthy way to truly cope with loss and how to help people who are suffering? (There's still so much more like the whole fucking LGBTQ part but let's not go there yet)

And these are just the fucking main six. We haven't even gotten to all the others like Kolivan, Lotor, Coran, Romelle, Shay etc. There was so much in terms of just educating people that this show completely missed. And yes, the fucking point is that it should have been shown on Voltron because Voltron is a children's show. It is meant to educate children, and teach them things that society doesn't like to openly discuss or even mention.

How many fucking parents would sit their child down and talk about mental illness or let alone teach their kids how to help/support these people, when most of the time they themselves don't even know how? And children are known to mirror: they see a character being mean and they learn it's wrong because that character learns from their mistake and apologises. That's the whole fucking point (and if you come swinging with the whole if the characters are gay then the child will become gay cause they mirror: news flash bitch what they're mirroring is the concept of love, not a sexuality. Character falls in love with other character because they make each other stronger. Child mirrors and wants to fall in love with someone who helps both become stronger NOT with a particular gender. Not that fucking difficult to understand people).

In summary, I am not angry about ships; why would I give a fuck about the ships? Like YES they're amazing and it'll be cool if it was canon but not all ships are going to sail. That's why fandom writers/artists exist. You can create the world you wish to have, and bring life to whatever ship you support. Besides, most people just want them to be happy - the show could literally have an open end with the characters as platonic friends ie the future is up for the fans to decide/create.

What is unforgivable is that they took a show that not only had the potential to break so many stereotypical barriers, but could educate people on respect, promote awareness/love, and turned it into a work that has zero consistency (as of S7), lack of proper character development, and nothing but another money making project.

So yes, that's why I'm angry. I'm angry because no amount of things that they can squeeze in Season 8 will ever fix it/make it the grand finale it could have been. Because it ends in Season 8 and that's why the show is already beyond saving.

They destroyed what could have been a revolution.

[ganymedesclock]

Something I think is very interesting about Lance, Voltron Legendary Defender, and the archetypal “five hero ensemble” that the show plays into...

Roughly, there’s usually the hero, the hero’s rival/right hand man, the brains, the brawn, and the fifth ranger- sometimes a healer, other times generally identified by compassion, and virtually always in older continuities, the Designated Girl of the team.

In prior continuities of Voltron, the breakdown is such:

Keith is the Hero, with Lance as his Rival Right Hand, Pidge is Brains, Hunk is Brawn, and Allura, stepping up to the plate rapidly in the fifth episode of DotU, is the Token Girl.

This is true for GoLion, it’s true for DotU, and it’s true for Force, though Force “matures” Allura from the ‘soft sensitive one’ to more of a mediator figure- a more motherly take on the Token Girl role to reflect Force having an older take on all of the old school heroes.

Sven tends to take a back seat, as whether he lives (DotU, Force) or dies (GoLion), he’s pretty much shuffled off the team from the start, but his early role as a counselor and wiser, more patient head to Keith paints him with a bit of a similar brush to Force’s take on Allura.

However, in VLD?

Shiro is the hero. With Zarkon firmly as ensemble final boss, Shiro is the one set thematically across from him as rival, given much greater focus- bumping Keith to the Rival Right Hand, and, while they’re far closer and warmer to each other than usually seen, the later episodes of season 3 do show us a bit of a rift between Keith and Shiro with them challenging each other on the right thing to do.

Pidge is still definitely the main “Brains”, though that’s a role shared partially with Hunk, who, while still “Brawn” is no intellectual slouch- Pidge’s Lion and skill set reflect more evasive, stealth, and guile-based problem solving while Hunk’s lie more steadily in impressive fortitude, compassion, and strength.

In the alternative formation, with Allura taking the field... while at a glance she takes Lance’s Lion, narratively, she takes Shiro’s position- s3e2 features Allura as the triumphant arrival that decisively makes Lotor back down, s3e3 has her be the only one to overcome Thayserix’s obstacles and find everyone, s3e4 is about her choice and her people, and in s3e6 she thematically takes point on the team when we see them on foot.

Allura becomes the Hero, with Keith remaining as Right Hand, even though he’s calling the shots. He doesn’t have quite the emotional connection to their victories and conflicts that Allura does. He’s just Allura’s Right Hand in a way very different from Shiro’s.

So where does this leave Lance, in both formations?

Lance, rather than either of the two women on his team, fills the narrative role virtually always given to the Designated Girl.

Think about it. Lance is the compassionate one, Blue is described as a nurturer- a supporting role, even with his insecurities in place Lance ultimately puts other people before himself, and even the act that causes Red to accept him as their pilot is making a motion of solidarity and emotional support to stand by Keith- setting aside their rivalry.

Where the “rivalry” is often a major, integral component to the Right Hand’s characterization, for VLD’s Lance, it’s something that ultimately did not have nearly as strong a sway on him and that he’s growing out of without a specific resolution with or about Keith.

Lance is the emotional compassionate “heart of the team”. Putting him in the Blue Lion, he’s thematically placed in the role that most other continuities put Allura in. This makes him a triumvirate with Keith, who’s the Right Hand here, but in most other continuities the Hero, and Shiro, who is decisively the Ensemble Hero rather than not even part of the team.

What I think is so interesting about this? In contrast to DotU, which at times quite frankly treats Allura like a burden, inherently vulnerable and the “weak link” in the team... VLD has nothing but respect for Lance. The two times Lance has been held captive in some sense, he takes a foremost role in his own protection (s1e4&5, getting a decisive shot on Sendak despite his exhaustive injuries, and s1e6, being the one to raise the alarm after Nyma deceives him)

Lance is not, and never has been, the weak link in the team. But he’s not the Right Hand- because the most serious time we have seen him arguing with s3e3, Lance isn’t acting as an instigator- he’s the mediator who is trying to keep Keith in check and keep the team together in a dangerous occasion. When Keith returns, all contrite, realizing what he’s done has hurt people, Lance’s focus isn’t on having one up over Keith- his “Yeah, you kind of did,” is a little sheepish, and quickly brushed over to focus on Fixing The Situation.

But out of this? I really have to wonder if a great deal of the fandom outcry around Lance not being important is tied into the fact that VLD’s take on Lance occupies what’s often a thematically feminine role.

Even though, frankly, it’s kind of brilliant- because Lance’s insecurity and frustration at trying to identify and define his own role are textbook problems for that particular role in The Band- I have a mixed relationship with TVTropes, but, they have a specific page titled “What kind of lame power is heart, anyway?”

The name of the page is inspired by Captain Planet, an old cartoon with, you guessed it, a five-hero team, four of whom wielded elemental powers- water, fire, earth, and wind, and the fifth wielded the element of “heart”. Incidentally the team had two girls, but, shockingly, neither of them were heart wielders.

TL;DR The Voltron writers thematically gave Lance the narrative role that’s virtually always the domain of the Designated Girl, and are consciously exploring this in an interesting thematic manner.

And the other interesting thing about this? While, as I said before, Zarkon is definitely designated final boss and presented thematically as Shiro’s villainous Arch Rival- Lotor, a major threat on the board and currently a main thematic character, is a leader who arguably takes a very similar stance to Lance- like Lance, Lotor is not a master in any one field as much as showing multiple diverse talents- and being a quick study of others’ emotions, and someone who prioritizes and acknowledges the power of emotional labor- for example, how on Puig he zeroes in that the Puigians don’t merely want to survive as much as they’re motivated by a desire for power and autonomy.

And everything attached to Lotor? Is absolutely slathered in blue- Lance’s archetypal color.

A color which, in the past, has been considered feminine, and is seen as a calming emotional color.

So- not only are they ultimately cementing that Lance’s contributions are important and to be taken completely seriously, they’re also showing us that those very same virtues are very dangerous to be on the wrong side of.

Just like how in the comics, Pidge cites Lance as the most dangerous person on the team who has to be taken out first if she’s going to survive fighting her friends- more dangerous than Shiro, the Hero (tm) with a year of experience as a gladiator and a laser cutting murder prosthetic.

[breeeliss]

I love klance too but I feel like the pairing really killed Lance's character in fandom. It's like he exists outside of his relationships with people and he's allowed to talk about girls on camera but I feel like people only care about him when he's standing next to Keith :(

no, you’re absolutely right, and this is the negative side of shipping in a fandom where romance and relationships are not the main thrust of the show: characters are only appreciated within the context of a certain relationship and fail to be considered individually or in relation to other characters outside of that favorite ship. 

because of the popularity of klance, keith’s and lance’s characters have essentially been butchered and watered down into what they are now in fandom. and it’s gotten so bad that whenever lance or keith develop or act outside of each other, it’s perceived to be bad writing, out of character, or “doing the characters dirty,” when in reality it’s just keith and lance acting as the writers intended them to act. 

(this got fucking long wow, i’m putting it under a cut)

lance’s fandom qualities seem to be: he’s bisexual, he’s angsting harder than anyone on the team, his homesickness and his insecurity comprise his entire character, he’s a bitch to keith because he’s secretly in love with him, keith is the reason he discovers he’s bisexual, keith is his first experience with a boy, and lance becomes completely uninterested in women upon entering a relationship with keith 

and keith’s fandom qualities seem to be: he’s gay, he’s socially inept, he is incapable of showing positive emotions, he doesn’t laugh or tell jokes, he’s pining after lance, he needs lance to teach him how to love, function, and show emotions, he seems to not interact with shiro much because he has lance, and his family life/past was so horrible that lance is the only one who can help him heal from it. 

needless to say, these are all fandom fabrications and next to none of this is accurate. but these characterizations fit with this troublesome idea of romance that fandom constantly perpetuate: when you’re in a relationship, your whole character is inextricable from your partner – you need your partner to save you from yourself, complete yourself, and be your everything. anyone who’s been in more than one healthy relationships knows that that’s bullshit, but fandom doesn’t realize that. because keith can’t be a leader, can’t express his emotions, can’t get over his past without lance’s help, despite the fact that he’s canonically a very independent character and relies most heavily on shiro than anyone else. and lance’s insecurities (which, in canon, are private and never get in the way of him playing his part as a paladin of voltron) leave him unable to function in fandom and it isn’t until he has keith’s support that he can go on. 

lance and keith have been watered down to these weak, weepy, pining characters who need a partner in order for them to develop. at the same time, their relationships with other characters are completely downplayed because they’re “threats.” that’s why lance can spend an entire vlog gushing over allura, but people think they’re “friends/siblings.” it’s why keith and shiro’s deep relationship and meaningful past is reduced to this snarky, aloof sibling relationship that’s focused on shiro hooking keith up with lance. how lance grows in relation to allura and how keith grows in relation to shiro is downplayed and ignored. when you ignore these parts of their character, you begin to see canon behavior as being uncharacteristic. 

if you paid attention to how lance’s character changed in relation to allura, you’d see that his vlog is perfectly in character and shows a crush having turned into a deep love and admiration for his teammate. but if you decided to ignore that and think that lance’s bisexuality is only valid if he’s attracted to men, you’d perceive that as out of character and stereotypical. if you paid attention to how keith’s character changes in relation to shiro, you’d see that him choosing to confide in shiro about his thoughts and concerns is perfectly in character and denotes a deep relationship that goes past friendship. but if you decided to ignore that and think that keith is gay and shiro is his brother, you’d think the writers were tossing klance aside by not having keith go to lance instead. 

it also isn’t a coincidence that any pairings where lance or keith are paired with women (i.e. allurance and kallura), people make this strange conclusion that they’re cliche and boring. that allurance is a classic “persistent boy eventually gets the reluctant girl” and that kallura is “angsting prince gets the charming princess.” it’s this subtle way of undermining straight relationships while ignoring the fact that klance is a classic “rivals to lovers” dynamic that is no more cliche than anything they accuse allurance and kallura of being. if you cared enough to explore lance and keith’s characters in depth, you’d also understand that allurance and kallura are not simply these stereotypes and that they look a lot different when canon conceptions of these characters are considered and not the faulty, fandom ones people are so set on clinging too. 

literally every single corner of fandom where lance and keith exist are seeped in these weird and frankly worrying characterizations of keith and lance, and that all goes back to klance and how violently people rally around it. klance is the common denominator in all of this. although, considering the fact that m/m relationships where both men have a perceived rivalry are so often fetishized by women in fandom, this is hardly surprising at all. 

now are klance shippers gonna own up to that and realize it? honestly? probably not. 

[graphicnoiz]

graphic noiz 3 manga | Blog Tour & Review

graphic noiz 3 manga - Manga Review

Genre: Yaoi, MM, Romance, BL, LGBT, Gay Romance, Coming Out

Fomat: YA Manga (Graphic Novel)

Reviewer: Natalina Reis (Romance Author) - Never Too Late Website

Rating: 4 Hearts

Full Review

All in all, Graphic Noiz was a fun read that touched on some serious and relevant themes such as mixed ethnicities, cultural and racial identity, and even rape. It featured characters from different cultures and backgrounds which is always a plus for me and the author/artist did a good job at representing Noiz confusion and Shiro’s trauma.

I did think however that the writing of Noiz’s insecurities about his multi-racial ancestry was a bit repetitive (Noiz repeated the same questions many times throughout the book in the same words) and I wonder if the point would have been made stronger if the script was a bit more diversified in terms of text. I did love the support he got from both Shiro and Shawn (we all need someone like that in our lives to remind us how amazing we are) and at times I wanted to slap him and yell, “Will you listen to them already?” LOL.

The romance writer in me loved the romance between Shiro and Noiz (so glad Shiro finally confided in Noiz about his past) and the HFN (Happy For Now) ending made me smile.

Website Review Link: https://natalinareis.com/2021/02/25/graphic-noiz-release-tour-and-review/

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

ARC Review Author Notes

The Never Too Late graphic noiz 3 manga review was based on an uncorrected ARC (1st Edition) using initial unproofed and unfinalized draft dialgoue translated from the original Japanese into English and French. The Japanese dialogue was then revised and translated to create the Engish dialogue for the 2nd Edition (yaoi) released on February 14, 2021. The final English dialogue will be available as the 2nd Revised Edition in ebook and paperback format to be re-released on March 1, 2021 exclusive to Amazon and Kindle Unlimited in ebook and paperback.

Update on Foreign Langauge Releases

New 4th Edition versions of graphic noiz 3 manga will be available in the following languages: French, Japanese, Spanish, Italian and German. Production will begin in March for French version with other language versions to follow in next months. Foreign language bversions will be for sale exclusive to Amazon storefronts starting with French version in Spring 2021.

About Upcoming YA "G" BL Teacher Edition

An abridged Teacher Edition of graphic noiz 3 originally requested by the Hafu Japanese forum on Facebook with Student curriculum and worksheets teaching and exploring ethnicity, racial and cultural identity, self-esteem and self-acceptance are currently in production and the Teacer 3rd Edition will be available in March. If you are a Teacher, Educator, Library or School interested in the Teacher Edition, please contact natsuyauesugi@natsukoarts.com to learn how to get copies for your school, class or library.

[ao3feed-klance]

A Dreamer with a Wolf

read it on AO3 at http://ift.tt/2n2E6xC

by leboredinlife

Kingdom/War AU

An adventurous prince with something to prove, a prince who wanted to be normal and happy, a prince who hated Galra more than anything from what they did before. A prince who had a dream to fly over the hills of the kingdoms and explore more than anyone else. A prince who has a family and friends. A prince not fit to be king. A brother in the pack.

A guard with nothing left from his past, a guard with only one purpose to live, a guard who just wants family again. A guard who has never left his duties. A guard who had a secret which would destroy him. A guard not fit to be in a pack of people. An independent wolf.

They were polar opposites but that might just work.

(Basically the plot: Keith is appointed to be Lance’s guard, Keith was to keep Lance alive. Lance hates Galra’s, Allura even more. Keith was half-galran and half-fire spirit. Lance is mostly Altean with some part of his blood being Water-Elf. War was started again, dun dun dun, annnddd Major Character Death because I’m a sucker for sad endings. Maybe will do art for this)

Words: 870, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: M/M

Characters: Lance (Voltron), Keith (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron), Pidge | Katie Holt, Hunk (Voltron), Allura (Voltron), Alfor (Voltron), Zarkon (Voltron), Haxus (Voltron), Sendak (Voltron), Kolivan (Voltron), Acxa (Voltron), Ezor (Voltron), Lotor (Voltron), Zethrid (Voltron), Nyma (Voltron)

Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Matt Holt & Pidge | Katie Holt, Allura/Shiro (Voltron), Keith & The Blade of Marmora

Additional Tags: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Fanon, Slow Burn Keith/Lance (Voltron), Slow Burn, Angst, Sad Ending, klangst, Lotor (Voltron) Being an Asshole, Galra Keith (Voltron), galra - Freeform, Altean Lance (Voltron), Matt is jelly of Shiro, I mean I ship it myself, But I also like Shallura xD, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Hunk (Voltron) is a Good Friend, Hunk is a good chef, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Magic, War, Good versus Evil, Alfor was a bitch, But Zarkon was too, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Aromantic Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Pidge is an amazing engineer, Lance becomes a bitch sry, How tf do i tag, kingdom au, Royal Guard Keith, Alternate Universe - Royalty, No Smut, sry I don like that stuff, Why Did I Write This?, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation

read it on AO3 at http://ift.tt/2n2E6xC