#vld is a mess right now because its supposed to look like one
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My crush on the creators of VLD continues- they understand relationship dynamics so well. There are so many things going on in this show that seem flighty or as if they are bending a character to suit a need that doesn’t fit with who they are, but that’s just not the case. We place our hopes and wishes for characters into these episodes and in the process ignore what canon is telling us. I want to talk about Keith x Team Voltron where this is concerned.
RE: At the Loss of Shiro
Keith’s relationship with the team has been touch and go for the entire show but throughout everything it seemed like things were going well until suddenly they weren’t. The first two seasons are spent building this group into a unit that is able to achieve a great deal in a short amount of time. They find their niche and begin to flow well together so it feels like whiplash when the team turns on Keith in season 3.
It’s implied a significant amount of time lapses between Shiro’s disappearance at the end of season 2 and the beginning of season 3. When we open to s3, the team has recovered from their battle with Zarkon, started gathering allies for the coalition, and have gone through the stages of grieving. Keith on the other hand refuses to accept the loss of Shiro; he’s continually searching for him and is frustrated that the rest of the team has given up. When the time comes to address how they move forward without Shiro, Keith fights it tooth and nail. And when the team finally does get Keith to admit they need a new paladin, it’s under extreme duress. Keith becomes the black paladin, only taking up the mantle because it is what Shiro and the Black Lion chose for him. And when Shiro returns, Keith gladly wants to hand the reins back to him.
While all of this is happening there is a lot of friction between Keith and the team that is upsetting to watch because of how little they trust him. From what Keith has demonstrated, we feel like the team should recognize he has a good head on his shoulders and gets results.
But you know what, this is the most logical scenario when we look at how Keith operates. The overlying problem is that Keith does not take the time to communicate. He thinks on his feet and acts intuitively, leaving everyone behind to follow if they want. “You wanted me to lead Voltron? This is how I lead.”
It is difficult to build trust and respect for someone when they won’t communicate their reasoning and motives, even if the end goal is shared. The team knows Keith can be counted on in a pinch, but they aren’t prepared to trust his instincts because the foundation has not been laid. In the first two seasons there are several instances of Keith seemingly acting brash while the team reals at his decisions when actually Keith is just thinking at a different pace. Off the top of my head:
01x10 where Keith trails a druid to learn about quintessence
01x11 when Keith speeds in to confront Zarkon and protect the Black Lion
02x06 where Keith abandons ship because he thinks Zarkon is tracking them through him
In all of these instances Keith is acting against team member’s wishes, but it’s because he sees something they don’t and won’t take the time to explain himself. During seasons 1 and 2, the team trusts Keith because Shiro does first and Shiro is easy to follow. But with Shiro’s disappearance Keith falls into wildly erratic behavior that catches everyone off guard. Keith is an intensely private person who does not expose his vulnerabilities easily, if at all. He acts brash for weeks while searching for Shiro without explaining why he is so upset so by the time s3 picks up the team is at the end of their rope with Keith. They are trying to move forward, like Shiro would want them to, but Keith won’t let them. So really it’s no surprise when the team questions leader!Keith at every turn. Keith is a good leader, yes, but he’s also a leader who demands trust when he rarely explains himself or gives trusts in return.
RE: Operation Kuron
The team absolutely should have noticed ‘Shiro’ was acting weird right out the gate, but they didn’t until he started lashing out at them specifically for two reasons:
Selfishness- I’ve said it before and this won’t be the last time I say it: the members of Team Voltron can be extremely self absorbed. Every. Last. One. Of. Them. Yes most of those ‘other things’ they’re working on are vital to the war effort, but these people all suffer from extreme tunnel vision which means Kuro’s behavior and treatment of Keith slipped through the cracks.
Shiro is their steadfast, unquestioned leader. The team debates with each other a lot throughout the show and I say debate rather than argue because they communicate respectfully with one another. But I could probably count on my fingers the times someone who is not Keith was the first to question Shiro’s opinion- and remember that this crew has been in space for over a year by now.
The team expects Keith, Shiro’s right hand man, to hold him in check, and Keith does a good job of this- questioning Shiro and opening the floor for the rest of the team to chime in. So if Keith isn’t calling Kuro’s strange behavior out, why would they?
Of course, Keith never mentioned this issue to anyone. He’s an overly private person who prefers to deal with problems internally. As far as he’s concerned, the war comes first. What the team needs is a reliable leader; they need Shiro. Calling Shiro into question would be counterproductive; Keith’s job is to support and bolster Shiro because it’s what everyone needs.
Keith clearly knows something is wrong with Shiro and he reacts to it with more erratic behavior and mistrust. So even if the team did notice atypical behavior in this pair, they aren’t going to comment because Shiro is their leader and Keith has been acting wildly for weeks or months- nothing new to see here. Keith is okay with this; he can handle the team turning on him- it’s nothing he hasn’t dealt with before. But Shiro. Shiro is the best option for this universe- Shiro is someone strong and capable, intelligent and fearless, someone people will gladly follow into battle. From Keith’s view, the universe, the team, needs Shiro way more than they will ever need him.
Sidebar: I’ve seen loads of complaints that VLD never gives up emotional moments. Let’s correct this statement- VLD isn’t giving the emotional moments you want to see in your specific pair. Look at Pidge x her family reunions. Keith x long-hair!Shiro. Lance x Allura- when these two are assaulted with Kuro’s aggression they have an open conversation about it between the two of them. We’re not likely to get an emotionally charged, cathartic scene between Keith and anyone and it’s not because they would rather show big robot fights. It’s because 98% of the time, those conversations with Keith do no exist. It’s just not in his character to talk when he could be moving, taking action.
RE: Keith as a Blade of Marmora Member
Back to Keith as the Black Paladin, this is a storyline that I see coming full circle. The first time Keith piloted Black was to save Shiro- a willful hero. The second time was to replace Shiro- a reluctant hero. The third time is likely going to be of his own volition and probably to save Shiro again because Kuro is eliminated and they’ve got to get the real Shiro back.
The team struggling to accept Keith as the head of Voltron is understandable because as I said, Keith acts on instincts and rarely explains his decisions. Trusting and following someone like that is extremely difficult. It’s hard to give something that hasn’t been earned or isn’t even mutual. Additionally, Keith never fully embraced his role as Black Paladin. Keith inherited this mantle at a time of extreme loss, something that has happened to him twice now, and he rejects it. Then when he does lean into it, he’s doing it for Shiro but still not owning his new role.
Keith as Black Paladin is an ongoing story and we have yet to hit the point where Keith welcomes the role. So it absolutely makes sense that he would willfully step down from the position on Shiro’s return even if Shiro was acting really strange. Keith rejects the role continuously, not for lack of skill, but because he hasn’t accepted himself for who he is and what he has to offer, yet.
His time with the BoM is serving him well because it’s giving him that sense of action and agency he needs to feel value. We are seeing him grow into himself, take on more responsibility, going on more solo missions, making more quick decisions that have huge effect. We are seeing him grow into a leader by doing- the best way Keith can learn.
This works well for Keith because he doesn’t have people constantly questioning him, people he feels he has to babysit. It’s him, out in space alone, figuring things out- with the bonus of Kolivan personally grooming him (no pun intended). Keith has proven he’s okay if he comes into harm so long as others are preserved. So removing others from the equation while he learns to be a decision maker and a leader absolutely makes sense.
People who say Keith as a Blade member is a waste of storyline frustrate me.
So yes, the team doesn’t trust Keith and his instincts enough and yes it shouldn’t have taken this long for them to realize something is up with Kuro. But flipside, Keith never took the time to explain anything and had a lot of growing to do.
Summoning @akaiikowrites because she demands this.
#vld.schematics#keith's story line#keith x the team#mistreated keith#bom keith#blade!keith#keith meta#voltron meta#voltron#meta#vld#black paladin keith#in this house we stan the entire show#also stan the show creators#stop ignoring canon#stop bending canon to suit your ship#vld is a mess right now because its supposed to look like one#it all ties together#circle of life#thats right this is a lion king situation bisch
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VLD S8E5: The Grudge
Season 8 Episode 5: The Grudge
Transcript by @dragonofyang
Summary: The Paladins and the crew of the Atlas arrange to rendezvous to discuss how the Altean robeasts are able to wormhole and the destruction of Olkarion. Acxa and the Atlas crew are still getting used to one another.
[Google Doc]
Iverson: Who’s a good girl? You are. I used to have a dog like this years ago. Old Sally would follow me just about everywhere I went. I couldn’t turn around without her being there, smiling her big, drooly smile, which was actually a problem sometimes. I once tripped over her, slipped on her drool, and went shoulder-first into the refrigerator. Yeah, and that’s where this clicking came from.
Veronica: Is that why you were struggling with the pull-ups, sir?
Iverson: No, that’s because I’m old and overweight. And watch your insubordination.
Veronica: Yes, sir!
Curtis: Was the dog alright?
Iverson: She was fine, thank goodness. Yeah, that dog meant the world to me.
Veronica: I know how you feel. My brothers and sisters adopted every stray animal they could find. There was this one cat, “Flash” we called him. He hated everybody except me. Smart cat.
Curtis: What about you, Acxa? Did you have pets where you’re from?
Acxa: I never had a creature companion, but one of my partners, Narti, was bonded to an immortal cat named Kova. That cat gave her the ability to experience the world.
Curtis: Oh. That’s great.
Acxa: Until Lotor killed Narti and we had to abandon the animal on our destroyed ship so we could escape without being tracked.
Shiro, on PA: Crew, report to the bridge immediately.
[Cut to Iverson, Coran, Curtis, and Veronica entering the bridge.]
Shiro: I’ve got an incoming transmission from the paladins. Go ahead, Allura.
Allura: Atlas, we’ve managed to track down an Altean robeast.
Coran: You found one!
Shiro: Where is it? Did you engage the creature?
Allura: Unfortunately, we were too late. It attacked the Olkari and stole the remains of the weaponized cube.
Coran: Is Olkarion okay?
Keith: No. Olkarion is gone.
Coran: No.
Allura: The loss of Olkarion is devastating to us all, but we were able to acquire some vital information.
Keith: We learned from Olkarion that the robeasts have been traveling via wormhole, which leave behind unique energy signatures. Pidge created a program that can identify those signatures and pinpoint their exact locations.
Allura: We’re sending over the readings from Pidge’s program now.
Coran: Are you telling us these are all robeasts?
Pidge: We’re not positive, but they could be.
Allura: There’s more. After studying the map, we noticed the signatures all radiate from a single epicenter: Oriande.
Coran: Wait, so Honerva could be on Oriande? But I thought only worthy Alteans could get there. Could she have the Mark of the Chosen?
Keith: There’s a lot we don’t know. We need to rendezvous to come up with a plan.
Coran: The Baltuf Nebula would make a good rendezvous point for both of us.
Keith: Send us the coordinates, Coran. See you soon.
[Scene transition to the mess hall.]
Veronica: Acxa! Come join us. So, how did you meet the paladins?
Acxa: I met Keith when I was stuck in the third stomach of a Weblum. He saved my life.
Rizavi: What were you doing in a… stomach?
Acxa: Gathering scaultrite to help enable Lotor to conquer the universe.
Rizavi: I once got stuck in a ball pit when I was a kid.
Veronica: Well, what do you think of the crew? It must be a pretty different dynamic being that we don’t try to kill each other, huh?
Acxa: I suppose, but the Galra had an expression: “Combat is the searing light that burns away imperfections.”
Ina: It would appear the mood at this table has become rather awkward. Most likely due to your Galra lineage. Yep. Definitely… awkward.
[Cut to Shiro in the bridge.]
Keith: Atlas, we had some technical difficulties. We’ll be delayed.
Shiro: Copy that. How long?
Keith: We’re still assessing that. Might be a few hours. We’ll keep you updated.
Shiro: Roger that.
[Scene change to the lions approaching a black and red planet.]
Pidge: Coming up on rendezvous point, straight ahead.
Hunk: Anyone else find it odd that Shiro changed the rendezvous point to this place?
Pidge: I’m reading high CO2 and low oxygen in the atmosphere. We’ll need our suits to breathe if we go out there.
Hunk: I’m not going out there.
Keith: They’re here. Atlas, we have a visual. Paladins, get airborne immediately! This is a trap!
Hunk: It’s just like when we were caught by those pirates!
Lance: We’re about to be captured again!
Keith: Emergency ejection!
Allura: Atlas, come in!
Keith: Atlas, we’re under heavy fire!
Pidge: The Atlas isn’t receiving our communications!
Hunk: The beam has the Lions pinned.
Allura: We must have been set up. But by whom?
Pidge: Guys, we have incoming. It’s closing fast.
Hunk: We need to lose it!
Lance: Isn’t there anything we can do to throw it off our scent?
Pidge: Yeah, I’ve got an idea, but I need a minute.
Hunk: I’ll buy you some time.
Pidge: Got it. It shouldn’t be able to detect us anymore.
Lance: Then let’s get out of here!
Hunk: Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
Keith: I need something to draw its attention!
Allura: I’ve got it!
Lance: Huh, good job, Keith. I mean, I was just about to do that, too, but that’s cool.
Pidge: I might be able to hack into it.
[Scene transition to the Paladins gathered around the drone.]
Pidge: This is Galra tech, but it looks like it’s been infused with Olkari elements. The subatomic microfilament is single modulated before it goes through its attenuator. Wow!
Hunk: So, it’s pretty amazing, huh?
Pidge: Yeah.
Hunk: Oh, look at that, it’s single modulated, not double modulated. Huh.
Pidge: Oh, shut up, Hunk! This thing has been locking onto our key encryption protocol that’s built into our suits and bayards.
Keith: How did they get that?
Pidge: I don’t know. Only a genius could do it.
Lance: Can’t we just turn our suits off?
Pidge: Negative. And if the drone had our encryption protocol, then so does that cruiser and anyone on it. If we want to avoid detection, we need to lose our suits and our bayards.
Allura: Remove our armor? In this place?
Hunk: Has anyone read the atmosphere? Oxygen low, CO2 high. We’re not gonna last long, a few hours, tops. We need our suits to survive.
Keith: Yeah, at this point, we’ll survive longer without them.
Lance: So keep our suits on and risk getting blasted, or take our suits off and live long enough before dying from poisoned air.
[Scene transition to the Galra ship hovering over the planet.]
Olkari Technician: Sending you the drone’s last known coordinates now.
Captain: We’re going after them.
Fentress: Why would we do that? It’ll risk the entire operation. We already have the Lions. The paladins have no value.
Captain: They do to me. We’re going in.
Fentress: But we--
Captain: I am the captain, and my authority will not be questioned! You do as I say, or you will spend the rest of your miserable days right here on this planet. Is that understood?
Fentress: Yes, captain.
Captain: Do not let those lions move. No one takes them until the hunt is over.
Olkari Technician: Yes, captain.
Captain: And make sure the Atlas stays put.
Olkari Technician: Copy that.
Shiro: Keith, any updates on your ETA?
Olkari Technician (as Keith): We’re finishing some repairs and about to get underway. We’ll update our ETA when we’re en route.
[Scene change to a shooting range on the IGF-Atlas.]
Acxa: I know you have little trust for me, but your constant presence is tiresome. If you have a problem, let’s end it now.
Veronica: Acxa, it’s not that I don’t trust you.
Acxa: Then what is it?
Veronica: Honestly, I just wanted to get to know you.
Acxa: By sneaking up on me at a firing range?
Veronica: I didn’t sneak up on you.
Acxa: Only because I’m always aware of my surroundings.
Veronica: Look, I’m sorry that I may have been following you around. It just seems like you could use a friend. I know it can be hard to fit in sometimes.
Acxa: I’ve spent my entire life not fitting in. I’m used to it.
Veronica: Right.
Acxa: I was an outcast, born and bred in war. The only way I survived was to become worse than my enemies.
Veronica: I don’t care about what you may have done in your past. I know there’s more to you than that.
Acxa: But some people only see Galra, and I understand why. Sometimes even I question if my people have the ability to change.
Veronica: By choosing to join the coalition, you’re living proof that it is possible. I guess I wanna get to know the Acxa who turned her life around. I have a feeling everyone would like that person.
[Scene change to the volcanic planet.]
Hawkins: They’ve abandoned their suits. Now how are we gonna track them?
Bounty Hunter: We hunt them the old-fashioned way.
[Scene change to the Paladins walking in their undersuits.]
Pidge: Are we sure the Lions are this way?
Hunk: Every direction looks the same.
Pidge: Oh, what I’d give for a GPS right now.
Allura: We cannot allow ourselves to panic. Clearly, we’ve relied on our tech far too much. We need to focus if we’re going to get out of here. Okay, I’m lost.
Hunk: What do we do?
Lance: Our Lions are that way.
Pidge: How do you know? Do you have a scanner you’ve been hiding?
Lance: No, I just looked at the volcano. It was on our left when we came in, so I put it to our right side, and that’s the way out.
Allura: You’re a genius!
Hunk: Oh, snap. Well done, Lance.
Pidge: Uh, well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Lance: Hey!
Pidge: Ah!
Allura: More drones?
Lance: No, look!
Bounty Hunter: They’ve split up. Stay on their trail. Get them!
[Cut to the Captain and Fentress.]
Hawkins: We’re on the trail of four of the Paladins right now.
Captain: Which four?
Hawkins: The Altean, the big one, the tiny one, and the loud one. They removed their armor to throw us off their scent, but we’ll have them soon.
Captain: Good. The one I really want is this way.
[Scene change to the IGF-Atlas bridge.]
Olkari Technician (as Keith): Apologies for the delay. We experienced a glitch in navigation. I will have to get back to you.
Veronica: Everything okay out there, Keith? Do you need help from the Atlas?
Olkari Technician (as Keith): No assistance required, thank you. Lance will figure it out.
Veronica: Right, Lance, the navigation genius.
Keith: Affirmative.
Veronica: How long have they been delayed?
Iverson: They should have arrived when we did.
Acxa: Something doesn’t seem right.
Curtis: Look at this. It looks like their frequency has been pinging off a decoy. I’m intercepting it now.
Paladins, overlapping: Atlas! This is an emergency! Atlas, come in! Atlas, help! We’re under attack! It was a trap!
Iverson: We need all hands on deck immediately!
[Scene change to Keith jet-packing along the volcanic planet, then the Bounty Hunter and Hawkins as they chase Hunk and Pidge.]
Bounty Hunter: You think I forgot about you, tiny Paladin? I’ll make you pay for what you did to me!
Hunk: We need to hurry. They’re right behind us.
Pidge: The CO2 is poisoning us by the minute, and we don’t know where we’re going. We can’t keep running.
Hunk: Okay. What do we do?
Pidge: We have to make a stand.
Bounty Hunter: Your brother isn’t here to help you this time. And I’ve upgraded since we last met.
Hunk: Woah! Alright, nice work!
Pidge: Found the Lions. This way.
[Scene change to Allura and Lance running through a cave.]
Lance: Okay, if my volcano logic is correct… the Lions should be on the other side of this--[grunts] Allura, get out of here. Go!
Pirate: Looks like she left.
Pirate 2: Don’t worry, we’ll find her for you.
Lance: Thanks.
Allura: The Atlas!
[Cut to the IGF-Atlas bridge.]
Veronica: That’s where the ghost protocol is emanating from.
Shiro: Hit them with the electromagnetic pulse.
[Cut to the Captain and Fentress walking in the forest.]
Fentress: Squadron Z, come in. Squadron Echo, come in. HQ, come in. HQ is not responding and the other pirates are offline. I never signed up for this!
Captain: Well, you’re in it now.
[Scene change to the loading dock on the IGF-Atlas.]
Olkari Technician: Sophisticated hacking and jamming abilities. Impressive. It’s nice to find others on my level.
Shiro: Yeah, it’s terrific. Now where’s your leader?
Olkari Technician: I don’t know. I lost her signal when you attacked. But she’s out there somewhere, hunting down the Paladin you call “Keith.”
Acxa: And who exactly is your leader?
[Scene change as Fentress gets surprised by Keith, who then stumbles into the Captain.]
Keith: Zethrid?
Zethrid: You took Ezor from me!
Keith: I don’t know what you think I did.
Zethrid: You took away everything. And now my face will be the last one you see!
James: Does anyone have the shot?
Rizavi: It’s too risky!
Acxa: Zethrid, don’t do this!
Zethrid: I knew you’d come. Now you will feel what I felt.
Acxa: It’s over. You’re surrounded.
Zethrid: You think this deters me, Acxa? I welcome death now that Ezor’s gone.
Acxa: Zethrid, I know you hurt. Ezor hurt, too. That’s why she left you. She couldn’t keep holding onto the anger.
Zethrid: Stop!
Acxa: Hear my words. Remember how we first met. We were all so full of hate and rage, half-breeds rejected by the Galra. Lotor used us. He led us down a painful path, a never-ending cycle of destruction and loss. Now’s your chance to break that cycle… with me, with Ezor. She wants you to leave the rage behind.
Zethrid: I’m too far gone. She’ll never take me back!
Acxa: Wait! Please! Don’t let the rage control you.
Zethrid: All I have left… is revenge!
[Scene change to a holding cell on the IGF-Atlas, where Zethrid and the Olkari Technician reside.]
Zethrid: You waste your time, Acxa.
Acxa: I know you’re angry, but I refuse to give up on you. And I know someone else feels the same way.
End.
#vld#voltron#transcript#keith#acxa#lance#shiro#iverson#pidge#hunk#allura#coran#james#rizavi#veronica#fentress#olkari technician#bounty hunter#hawkins#curtis#ina
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VLD8x01 – “Launch Date”
8x01 – “Launch Date”
First episode of the last season. This is probably the most romance-centered episode this show has ever done. And, this is the only episode solely written by Lauren Montgomery. The episode is clearly intended to be funny, but I didn’t laugh at much.
There are a lot of issues that can be discussed about this episode, about its own contents, especially the Allura-Lance romance, and about the episode’s relationship to the rest of the series. There’s a lot in this episode that bothers me.
The episode begins with some kind of meta commentary from this show about the original Voltron. I can understand VLD doing something like this as an homage to the original, but I, having not watched much of the original, don’t know if this particular homage works or not. Pidge is watching a cartoon that is, in-story, a production that has been made in wake of humanity learning about the existence of and being saved by Voltron last season. The show Pidge is watching is a short clip from the original Voltron animation.
In a medical bay, faceless medical personnel (I thought their faceless visual design last season was creepy then too) are tending to the Altean found in the wreckage of the mecha from the end of last season. Allura is watching from outside the room, and Romelle steps up to her, saying, “You know, back on the Colony, Luca and I didn’t always get along.” So, Romelle knows who this Altean is. Romelle gives us an expositional assessment of what Luca’s supposed qualities were, “inner strength,” “a desire to be a part of something greater than herself.”
The show presented the culture of the Colony to be very much a cult, but the show hasn’t really followed up with that and examined Romelle from that perspective. She’s just now become another regular Altean without really having to do anything to change. Even if she was the least cultish of the Colony Alteans, she still would most likely have to wrestle with the effects of growing up in a cult. This show has never demonstrated itself to be capable of dealing with big, heavy topics like that, so I don’t know why I would expect them to do so.
Allura responds to Romelle, “If she was so desperate for something to believe in, it may have made her susceptible to being manipulated.” The show has never given us any conversation between Allura and Romelle for the two of them to discuss what the Colony was like. Does Allura even realize that the Colony was a cult? Romelle’s characterization of Luca almost has a propagandistic quality to it. That description very much can apply to someone who has always been a zealot, then and now.
Hunk and his parents (and Sal from Vrepit Sal’s in the background) are in what looks like a mess hall. It’s a short, overly saccharine moment. “Your father and I are just so proud of you, saving the universe and all,” his mother says. That line feels so unnatural.
Hunk sits down with Lance, who’s clearly mentally elsewhere. Hunk expositions that the following day is the titular launch date. Launch Date also serves as a pun referencing the date that Lance and Allura go on in this episode. It’s more thought than most of this show’s episode titles get, and I kind of like it. At first, I thought Hunk could tell Lance was upset and was trying to distract him. Hunk riffs on the difference between the characters in VLD and the characters in the in-story TV show that Pidge was watching. But then when Hunk talks about the TV show hinting a romance between Keith and Allura, Lance reacts with instant, angry jealousy. Is Hunk really that oblivious and unable (or unwilling) to recognize his supposed friend Lance’s emotional state?
Hunk eventually realizes that Lance is talking about something real, “Oh, that’s right, you said you were going to ask Allura on a date. You asked her, didn’t you? Oh, and she said, no. And here I am rubbing your face in it.” Lance says she didn’t say no because he never asked her. Is this supposed to be demonstrating character growth for Lance? The guy who literally flirted with Allura the first time he ever spoke to her is too unwilling to ask her out now? It feels out of character for him. He’s been super open and publicly demonstrative of his interest in Allura before now.
Shiro is leading a “final briefing” before the launch tomorrow. At the end of the meeting, Shiro says, “It’s our last night on Earth, and we’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us. We may not be back home for years, so I’m ordering you to take some time for yourselves. Be with the ones you love. You’ve earned it.” Of course, what he says makes sense. What bothers me is that this show wrote him to say it, but we don’t get to see him doing it. The only person Shiro has that could count as a loved one is Keith with their previously depicted but now ignored friendship. And it’s not like Keith was busy with someone else this night because the show eventually reveals he’s just sitting alone on top of the Black Lion with Cosmo. Why in the world did Shiro and Keith not hang out together? It makes it feel like the EPs and writers of this show, because they revealed Shiro to be gay, became too afraid to have Shiro have any friendships, including ones that had already been established.
Lance goes to ask Allura out, and he’s uncharacteristically shy and dorky around her. If this had been how Lance behaved for most of the show, his interest in Allura throughout the show might not have been so obnoxious. But because he so specifically was overbearing in his flirtation and aggressive in his jealousy, the way he’s behaving now does not feel consistent with how he’s been written before. Lance is so casual that Allura says she has to get back to what she’s busy with, and Lance lets it be until Hunk literally kicks him into Allura. Lance then finally, with a tremendous amount of hesitancy, asks her out. He asks her to come have dinner with his family. Allura says she can’t, but Romelle pushes her to do it. The instant that Romelle starts to talk Allura into it, Lance seems to return to his regular overly aggressive self. What happened to him so fast?
Especially with this season added to the show, it really feels like the creative team never really could settle on how they wanted to depict Lance. They had the one-characteristic bullet-point that they’ve used to describe him in-show before and do so again here: “Loverboy.” They knew they wanted him to fit under that label, but they couldn’t elaborate on what that would mean for him specifically, so he’s written inconsistently throughout the show because of the creative team’s inability to unify behind any detailed description of who he is. It’s disappointing because Lance could have been such an amazing character. There were definitely times where he could have been used to examine some big issues, particularly if the show had ever had him grow out of his insecurities to a place of confidence. But aside from this episode and once with Keith in 3x06 “Tailing a Comet,” Lance hasn’t really made his insecurities public. And in having him get with Allura, the show kind of feels like it’s discarding his insecurities entirely. That sends a dangerous message: that it’s a woman’s responsibility to make a man feel secure in himself.
That’s one of the biggest issues with the show writing Lance and Allura ending up together. Throughout the show Lance has expressed interest in Allura, while she has repeatedly demonstrated no interest in him. There has been a little bit of movement on Allura’s part toward interest in Lance: 6x01 “Omega Shield” when Allura left her Lion to go to Lance’s and use her magic to heal him (though some viewers think so, I am not of the opinion that Lance died in that episode), and then in 7x10 “Heart of the Lion” when Allura initiates a brief conversation with Lance before going on a mission. There hasn’t been any movement on Lance’s part to consciously recognize his prior overbearing behavior to have been inappropriate and him changing the way he behaves toward Allura as a result. Because of this, the show effectively gave validity to the argument behind the Nice Guy trope. That all guys have to do to receive the attention of a girl they’re interested in is keep at her until eventually she realizes he is what she’s wanted all along. This show never criticizes Lance for this behavior, and instead rewards him for it. It’s a dangerous message for this show to send its younger male audience because it teaches them to not respect when a girl/woman tells them no. I’m not against the premise of an Allura-Lance relationship, but it really needed to address Lance’s overbearing flirtatiousness and jealousy (or better yet, not have written Lance to have been so jealous in the first place).
Pidge is working with Beezer in a hydroponics room. Allura and Romelle come in to ask for help preparing for Allura’s date with Lance. Romelle specifically asks about clothes. Pidge reacts, “A date? With Lance? Weird.” What’s weird is that line. Why would Pidge think it was weird? The show never actually explains Pidge’s reaction here. Allura asks Pidge to help her get a date outfit, and that’s when Pidge’s mother speaks to mock Pidge’s clothing. Pidge suggests the mall, but she says she can’t go because she’s grounded.
Colleen says, “She’s grounded because apparently my daughter thinks that running away from home and galivanting off into space without her mother’s permission is an acceptable activity for a 15-year-old.” The show thinks Colleen’s statement is funny. It’s not funny at all. One, who is Colleen to speak, considering that she should be in prison along with Sam for breaking the law in 7x07 “The Last Stand Part 1.” Two, how are we viewers supposed to think Colleen has any credibility when she says Pidge has been “galivanting off into space?” Does Colleen not remember Earth being invaded and occupied by aliens for three years? Does she not realize the danger her daughter has been in while trying to fight this war against the Galra? Does she not realize that without Pidge’s actions, Matt and Sam wouldn’t have ever come home? “Galivanting off into space,” why in the world did they think it was okay to write Colleen like this? I think this demonstrates a big part of what has been wrong with the writing for most of this show: This show has been more interested in writing particular moments without any concern with how those moments clash and conflict with previous writing. There is no way that a mother would react upon learning their child had been fighting a war by acting like that child was running around having fun the way Colleen does here.
Pidge rants and screams at her mom. There is a justification to Pidge’s reaction, but the scene plays her anger for humor. And then the scene, again, thinking it’s funny, has Colleen’s eyes and voice affected evilly as she says, “Not on your life, young lady.” Colleen scares Beezer in the process. It’s disturbing that the creative team for this show thought this was funny.
Allura asks Colleen to please let Pidge help her, and Colleen instantly switches, saying, “Alright, but only because I know how much Katie hates shopping for clothing.” Ugh.
The show could have had a really good moment, had they chosen to do so, in having Colleen and Pidge talk about Pidge’s experience and Colleen’s worry over her whole family being missing. There is emotionally significant content to what this family has gone through. But the show never had the skill to deal with any content like that. Instead, they have a weird, jarring “humor” scene like this instead. It just does not work.
Sam is told that Luca is conscious. And it’s a really short scene.
In addition to Pidge, Allura and Romelle have the female MFE pilots join them shopping too. I can’t help but feel that this episode is totally reinforcing stereotypical female behavior. The girls are going shopping for clothes for a date. This episode is a severe reinforcement of traditionalized gender norms, and it feels like the show wanted to write and depict the stereotype, like they thought actively including the stereotype was somehow interesting. It’s not. It’s actually kind of cliché.
Rizavi says that she “loves shopping.” This is the closest thing to being a characteristic that this show has given Rizavi so far. Leifsdottir replies, “It’s a primal urge from when collecting and gathering was a means of survival.” Well, that’s a hypothesis, but it is still gender reductive.
Pidge sees a video game some street vender has on display. Rizavi is also interested. The vender wants to barter, and Pidge and Rizavi are seemingly baffled by the idea. Did they not come prepared to shop? Is it specifically that this guy wants to barter? No one offers him money though, so it’s like they have no way to shop at all. Rizavi tries to guilt the guy into giving it to Pidge because of Pidge being a Paladin. I didn’t realize abusing a position of power like Rizavi is trying to do here, was a heroic way to behave. The vender only knows of the Paladins through the TV show. It was only a few months ago that Voltron helped liberate Earth, and the Paladins’ involvement was very publicly referenced, so his only thinking of the Paladins as a TV show is unrealistic. The vender offers her the game because his daughter loves the TV show and he’d like an autograph. Pidge then starts affecting her voice like the character in the TV show. It’s so weird. Rather than actually sign an autograph, Pidge draws her face. She then continues to use this method to acquire things throughout their shopping. She’s using people thinking of her as the actor on the show rather than as herself, so this is all fraud. Is the entire Holt family made up of criminals?
The show clearly thinks this is all funny. I’m not even slightly laughing. It’s just weird.
Meanwhile, Lance goes to talk to Coran. Lance tells Coran that he’s going on a date with Allura, and Coran is instantly aggressive, dismissing Lance for not being royalty nor Altean. Who knew Coran was both classist and racist. Lance says that he doesn’t think Allura thinks like that, and Coran responds, “It’s not just about Allura. Did you even acquire permission from her primary guardian?” Ugh! This episode really is putting a lot of effort into not just reinforcing traditionalized gender norms but into those norms being fundamentally patriarchal. The idea that a boy has to ask an older male who controls a young woman if he’s okay with the boy dating the girl is absolutely patriarchal. And this episode was written by Lauren Montgomery. The show can’t even hide behind saying it was some ignorant straight, white guy who wrote this. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that Lauren Montgomery has said that killing Allura was a feminist act of writing if this episode is what she wrote in her one, solo writing credit for the show.
The only thing that’s even slightly interesting to me about this scene is that Coran redressed his room to include a giant portrait of himself and Alfor above the mantle. During the time before season seven when I would let myself dream about the idea that this show might include a character who wasn’t straight, I actually thought they might could do so by having Coran having been attracted to Alfor but never acting on it. It would be a way for this show, like other shows have done, to claim inclusion without actually having to do any real inclusion by depicting any non-straight character interaction. It would have been cheap and the bare minimum of inclusion, but I’ve lived in a homophobic world so long that it’s about as much as I expect from straight writers who pretend they care about inclusion. But then Shiro was revealed as gay, as poorly as that whole element of the show was handled, and the show proved that there are other ways to claim inclusion without really actually depicting it.
But now this leaves me questioning. Is this portrait supposed to be some subtle way the show was trying to hint at Coran being gay? Or is it just supposed to be funny without an actual thought about what it actually means? It’s like the portrait is saying that Alfor and Coran were Allura’s fathers. As much as I would have loved for Allura to canonically have had two fathers, not just one biological father and one close friend of the family who serves as a surrogate father after the real one dies, this does emphasize how this show has totally neglected to include Allura’s mother in her life. We’re in the eighth season of this show, and it’s almost like she didn’t have a mother. I know there’s a bit of illusory dream sequence in a later episode, but Allura has never spoken about her mother, so it’s like they didn’t have much of a relationship. But if they didn’t have a relationship, I still would want that detailed. As for this portrait, it feels like the show is using queer identity here as a joke gimmick. If this portrait was revealed to have a bigger, more respectful meaning, I would like it more. I like the portrait but only because of what potential I can see in how it could have been used in the show. How it actually is used, though, seems to be nothing but as a joke.
Coran makes Lance argue his qualification to be allowed to date Allura. Reinforcing the patriarchy is so much fun. Sigh.
The girls meanwhile have gotten a lot of stuff in their shopping. The clothing options they try for Allura are supposed to be funny, but it just seems like a cliché trying-on-clothing scene to me. The shopkeeper seems to be the Unilu that Coran dealt with in both 2x07 “Space Mall” and 4x04 “The Voltron Show!” Pidge tries her autograph fraud, but the guy says no. Allura says she could give him a “royal decree of service from the crowned princess of Altea,” but then seems instantly dejected, like she doesn’t see herself as the Princess of Altea anymore. There is something meta interesting about how this show has let Allura’s status of being a princess no longer have any meaning.
The Unilu sees Pidge’s game and offers the outfit for the game. Pidge gives it up for the outfit, and Allura hugs her and thanks her. I love Allura’s reaction. I don’t understand why Pidge did it though. Yeah, yeah, friendship and all that, but the episode doesn’t do anything to show this plot as being Pidge and Allura bonding with each other. Maybe if it had just been the two of them shopping, it might read like that, but with the whole group it doesn’t. It’s clear that Pidge feels she’s giving up something, but the episode fails to explain why she’s willing to do it.
Sam asks Coran if Romelle could help speak to Luca. Coran says, “I’ll see if I can find her.” This is not Coran’s voice actor speaking. I don’t have the best ear to spot moments like this when a character’s voice does not match their normal voice actor, but I know that some within the fandom have suggested there are quite a few moments like this in season eight. This is definitely one such moment. This line is not Rhys Darby’s voice. (Anyone reading this, please feel free to point out other instances this season where the voice of a character doesn’t sound like their voice actor.)
Cut to a sunset scene. The music for this sunset scene is the same as the music from 7x01 “A Little Adventure” during the flashback with Keith and Shiro watching the sunset. This is another part of why it offends me that this show didn’t have Shiro and Keith hanging out together. Shiro had told everyone to spend time with people they cared about. Here Keith is by himself when he could have been hanging out with Shiro. They’re supposed to be super close, after all. And the show has the audacity to use the music of a scene that was part of the exploration of why and how Shiro and Keith were so close, and instead now have Keith alone and joined by Lance. Maybe the reuse of the music is just more evidence of how badly produced this season was that they didn’t bother getting new music, that they didn’t think through reusing old music, ignoring how repeating themes has an explicit effect on the interpretation of a scene? I mean, after watching this show enough, analyzing what I have, reading the analysis others have written, I can’t help but to question the competence of the executive producers and their creative team. Maybe they really were ignorant of the use of music in film and video series. Or maybe in reusing this music, they were making a statement about no longer caring about the relationship between Shiro and Keith. We know that the EPs always had a preference for Keith and only ever saw Shiro as a something to have Keith narratively step on in his ascendance to the position of main character of the show. Maybe to them, this music is only Keith’s music, and they don’t recognize the music as an expression of Shiro and Keith’s relationship. Maybe using the music again here, unassociated with Shiro, was a homophobic action on part of the EPs and their creative team in trying to distance Keith from Shiro now that they had written Shiro as gay. Or maybe they just didn’t put much thought into the implications of using this music in this scene. They haven’t demonstrated themselves to be all that willing (or capable) of thinking through the implications of their creative decisions, after all.
In short, I really, really do not like this scene.
Lance is wearing pots and pans all over his body. He says Coran is making him wear it for his date with Allura. It’s supposed to be funny, but it’s not. Keith reacts, “A date? With Allura? Well done, Lance.” I’m sorry, what? The show seems to consider a guy getting a girl to say yes to him is an achievement on the guy’s part. He’s done something well by finally getting her to say yes. “Well done.” Ugh. Allura is a person, not an achievement.
Keith tries to reassure Lance that if Allura’s dating him that it’s because she likes him. This development between Lance and Allura just does not feel natural to me. It could have, but the show was too lazy to do the work to deal with the baggage that comes with having spent so long writing Lance to be hyper flirtatious and instantaneously jealous.
Keith says, “That’s why we’ve got to end this war. And we’re going to do it with the Lance who’s the Paladin of the Red Lion, the Lance that’s always got my back, and the Lance who knows exactly who he is and what he’s got to offer.” There really hasn’t been anything to explain a change in Lance no longer having a problem with Keith. It’s like once 7x06 “The Journey Within” was done, the show decided to pretend that that plot solved whatever contention there was between Lance and Keith. Part of the problem is that the show never actually explained where that contention came from. They were supposedly rivals, but why? I think their being rivals was more bullet-point characterization. The creative team never bothered to develop an explanation for themselves, so there was never anything to include in the show to explain it. Their rivalry extended no further than just saying that they were rivals. Keith says that Lance now “knows exactly who he is and what he’s got to offer,” and this sounds like they intend this to reference Lance’s insecurities, but the show has not actually resolved those insecurities. It’s just more of this show having important character stuff all occur off-screen.
The scene clearly was meant to be interpreted as emotional and demonstrating friendship between Keith and Lance, but there are too many holes in the scene for it to actually feel like that to me.
Allura arrives at Lance’s family’s house. I actually really do like the clothes Lance is wearing for this date. Allura is reduced to her appearance by both Lance’s mother and Lance himself by how energetically they comment on her appearance as she walks through the door. Their reactions to Allura are just too forceful.
Lance has on-screen identified himself as being from Cuba. I found it odd that back in 7x05 “The Ruins,” Lance calls his grandmother “meemaw” instead of abuela or abuelita. Here, he calls his grandfather “Pop Pop,” which does not seem like what a Cuban boy would call his grandfather. Veronica also calls their grandfather “Pop Pop.” I don’t know Cuban culture well at all, but even still it seems off to me. It makes it feel like Lance has only ever been Cuban in name only.
During dinner, Lance’s family spends a lot of time mocking him. This could very much be an origin for most of Lance’s insecurities. He’s clearly upset as they laugh at him. We’re told by one of Lance’s relatives that the only reason Lance is being allowed to sit at “the adult table” during this meal is because Lance invited Allura. It really doesn’t feel like Lance’s family values him. This scene is supposed to be showing to us the big love Lance felt was missing all the times throughout earlier seasons he expressed sadness over being so far apart from his family. But this doesn’t feel like a loving family to me, and Lance is not reacting in any way right now like he’s okay with how they’re behaving. His arms are crossed, and he’s scowling. They’re clearly making him feel bad. And I get the impression that we’re to interpret this as how they normally treat him. So then, if his family picks on him so much, why would he miss them so badly earlier in the show. It does not feel consistently written whatsoever.
Veronica hints to Lance that she’s interested in Keith, and Lance very loudly and animatedly objects to the idea, and it’s really weird. Did the show not just immediately prior to dinner give us a scene in which we’re supposed to interpret the rift between Lance and Keith as resolved? Where is this spastic reversal coming from?
As an aside, Lance’s mother tells Allura, “Lance never brings girls home. You must really mean something to him.” Allura says, “That’s strange. He always gave off the impression of being rather popular with women.” His mother replies, “He gets that from his father. It’s all talk. But if you can get past that, you’ll find a good boy with a big heart.” Wow. So, Lance’s father is hyper flirtatious and aggressively jealous too? That is not a healthy mentality for this show to be normalizing like it is. And to have Lance’s mother excuse that behavior like it’s okay for a man to behave that way is appalling. The line, “if you can get past that, you’ll find a good boy with a big heart,” is the show saying that it’s a woman’s responsibility to make herself not have a problem with a guy who flirts with nearly every woman he sees and gets aggressively jealous over her. This is just so wrong. And that this was written by a female writer makes it even more disturbing.
Veronica leads a toast “to family,” and even Lance, despite having been picked on, is happy about the toast. Allura, however, is saddened by it, and Lance notices.
Meanwhile, Romelle talks to Luca. This is the one scene of Romelle’s in the entire series that I actually really like. This scene hints to me at what Romelle could have been to this show had she been written well. The scene first reestablishes that Romelle knows Luca personally as she starts the conversation. Romelle says, “I’m so glad to see you’re alright Luca. We can help. What happened to you, where’s the Colony?” Luca rejects Romelle, saying, “So you can betray them yet again? You abandoned us, Romelle. And for the Paladins of Voltron! The very ones who killed our savior, Lotor!” Romelle is shocked at Luca’s reaction. Luca continues, “You’ve sided with the Great Destroyers! She told us of their lies! She’s going to fix it all! She’ll reunite us with Lotor! With Altea! You don’t stand a chance against Honerva!”
And then Luca gasps, there’s a flash, an outlined shot of Honerva’s face, and Luca falls over dead. Seems like Honerva killed Luca from a distance with her space magic to keep her from talking anymore. There’s a shot of Honerva, like so much of this show, still weirdly standing in the middle of an empty room. So now, the episode has confirmed where Luca came from, that her attack on Earth at the end of last season had at least something to do with Honerva, thereby setting Honerva up as the final big villain of the show. I have never really found Honerva/Haggar interesting. But, I guess, at least the final main villain being Honerva does sort of stage the conflict as Honerva versus Allura, space witch versus space witch. Honerva as a foil for Allura is a good structure for the show. I don’t think the show does well exploring that foil parallel though because none of what Honerva does is related to any of Allura’s character motivations. The best villains in stories are ones who are directly connected to the protagonist’s goals. This show doesn’t give Allura any goals other than stop the Galra though. The protagonist-antagonist contention for this season, and really most of the show as a whole, is barely existent. The story would have been far stronger if the protagonists had had clear goals.
Lance and Allura go for a walk to a park. They look at leafless trees. Lance says, “This place used to be so beautiful,” and Allura responds, “It’s my fault the Galra did this to your home.” We’re not told where in the world they are nor what time of year it is. Given this bit of dialog, I think we’re supposed to interpret these trees as dead. But my first thought was that it was autumn, and the trees had lost their leaves. Lance tries to reassure Allura that it’s not her fault and that he’s glad to have met her. Allura touches the tree and does a hand-glowing thing. The tree glows, grows, and all the plants around the park gain leaves. So, again, we were supposed to interpret the trees of this park as having somehow died, right? And she just brought them back to life? Or did she just make them gain leaves in the middle or depth of autumn?
Allura says that while Team Voltron was out in the universe fighting the Galra, “I somehow felt like we were a family.” Of course, the show never really depicted them as being a loving family. Most of the characters always were angrily yelling at each other. “Each of us was alone, but we were alone together,” she says. Clearly, the writer thinks this is a poignant line, but, while it does have a certain truth to it, it’s not a flattering one. Being “alone, but […] alone together,” isn’t being a family. It isn’t being friends. It isn’t a close bond. It’s a statement that though they had to work together, they never actually were close to each other.
“But now, here on Earth, I see that everyone already has a family.” Well, Shiro doesn’t. Not that this show cared about addressing that because that would require the EPs and the writers to care about Shiro. It’s also really weird to have Allura talking like she doesn’t have a family, when the show very explicitly visually juxtaposed Allura being visited by Coran and Romelle in the hospital at the end of 7x13 “Lions’ Pride Part 2” with Hunk and his family, Pidge and her family, Lance and his family, and even Keith with Krolia and Kolivan. Why is this show suddenly having Allura discard Coran as part of her sense of family? This very episode had Coran acting as if he were Allura’s father. Having Allura act this way now is so out of place.
She continues that they have “a home to return to once the war is over. Everyone except me.” I can totally understand her being sad over Altea being gone. That is totally reasonable to bring up. It has an unfortunate dimension given what happens at the end of this season though. The season opens with Allura lamenting not having a family and a home to return to after the war is over, and then ends the show by having her give up her life, rebooting all existence, restoring Altea to existence, but she doesn’t get to benefit from her work. She doesn’t get to go home.
Allura’s story this entire season is hugely depressing, and I remember the first time I watched this season feeling that Allura herself was deeply depressed the whole time. That’s not a good message for the show to send either: If you’re depressed, then the only way out is dying.
“It’s silly,” she continues, “but I used to think that the team relied on me.” It once did, back in seasons one and two. But then the EPs wanted Keith as Black Paladin more than anything, and that put Allura in the Blue Lion, and ever since, her position of leadership has been eliminated. She just follows orders from Keith now. It makes me mourn for what Allura could have been if she been written with respect and a desire to show a strong female character in a position of leadership instead of reduced to a magical person of color who has to give up her life to magically fix everyone’s problems. In past commentaries, I have referred to Allura’s previous position of leadership on the Castle of Lions as being like she was an admiral overseeing the fleet. Imagine what it would be like if she was in command of the Atlas, not as Captain, but as an Admiral. Imagine how she could have been written such that Sanda was another foil to Allura, and with Sanda gone, Allura filling that void in fleet leadership.
Allura says that she gains strength from the Paladins. I mean, sure, that should be blatantly true by this point in a story with a found family theme, and it should be true for everyone about everyone in that found family. I don’t think that it is anywhere near fully realized though.
Lance tries to assure her, telling her that she’s not alone. “I don’t care that this is only our first date, Allura, I love you.” Really? This show went there, having Lance say “I love you” on the first date, and the creative team of this show didn’t think there was anything wrong with that? It’s at least notably immature of him to have done so. That the solution to a woman having complex emotions and thoughts about something is to just tell her “I love you” and everything is solved?
In response to Allura’s asking, “You truly feel that way,” Lance takes Allura’s hand and makes her touch his chest and says, “With all my heart.” It’s a little cliché, but it’s still way too soon. Against a glowing background, Lance and Allura, in silhouette, kiss. I wonder if this kiss was added late into the production because the animation is stiff and a little jerky and feels really different to most of the show’s animation.
So yeah, their first date and Lance has said “I love you” and they’ve kissed. On the first date. Now, I know this show doesn’t have the patience to build up a story over time, the show has taken so many narrative short-cuts, but this is just too damn fast. It just feels like there’s something missing to get to this point.
Beezer arrives for some reason. He takes a picture and gives it to them. Why is Beezer in the park? There definitely feels like there’s something missing.
Allura arrives at her room, and Coran and Romelle are waiting for her. Cut to the meeting room, where the three of them are talking to Shiro. Allura says, “If Honerva sent that beast, then our mission must change.” Shiro says, “No, we have a plan and we need to stick to it. If Honerva is behind this, then I’m sure we’ll find her along the way.” Allura follows up, “Or she’ll find us.” It is interesting that Allura’s instincts were very much right here. I wonder how much difficulty they could have spared the universe (and other realities) if they had altered their mission to actively looking for Honerva.
The time has come for the team to leave, Voltron and the Atlas. I like getting another shot of the scale of the Lions next to the Atlas for comparison. I do very much like the design of the Atlas ship. A huge crowd is there to see them off.
I’ve seen people point out this animation error before, and I want to point it out again because it’s odd. In the first shot behind the Paladins and crew on the stage, from center stage outward, the Paladins are standing Keith, Lance, Allura, Pidge, and Hunk. Then in the next shot, a reverse shot, from center stage outward, it’s Keith, Allura, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk. It’s odd that Lance and Allura are flipped from one shot to the next.
Sam starts a speech, and then Keith takes over. Allura then takes over from Keith. There’s a montage of Hunk hugging his family and Lance hugging his. One of Lance’s family hugs Allura such that he lifts her off the ground.
Then Shiro takes over from Allura. “Each of you have given something to this fight. Many have been lost, but not in vain because through their sacrifice, many more will live on.” The memorial wall of the dead of the Garrison is shown, and then a close up of Sanda’s placard. Why in the freaking world would they chose to juxtapose Shiro’s statement with Sanda’s picture instead of Adam’s? That’s really offensive and shows how little this creative team actually cared about Shiro and Adam and the inclusion of a queer relationship on the show.
The Atlas launches. I have to agree with others who’ve pointed it out, the way Shiro is standing in the shot of the camera looking over Team Voltron from behind on the bridge of the Atlas does not look like Shiro’s posture, it looks very much like how we’ve seen Allura stand many times before.
The music during the launch is nice.
So, that’s the first episode of the final season. It’s very much a different kind of story than most episodes of the show. There is a lot of focus on relationships of various kinds. The Allura-Lance romance is most prominent, and it’s really uncomfortable. It just amazes me that a story that so strongly reinforces traditional gender norms, patriarchal family structures, and rewards a male character with success through the nice guy trope was written by a female writer.
#voltron legendary defender#voltron#vld#voltron criticism#vld criticism#voltron critical#vld critical#vld season 8#vld 8x01#commentary
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Left Behind - Shiro, Allura and Lotor
I tend to dance around theories, so I’m glad I can speak to people more knowledgeable than me, who can put the pieces together. This happened last season with my crack Cosmo-Shiro theory, so Fandom, I’m asking for your help again.
Below the cut - I can tell Voltron, Altas, and Sincline were MFEO and their journeys all lead back to “Knights of Light.” I’m not quite sure how, though I may have a few wild theories.
Shiro & Atlas
In “Prisoner’s Dilemma” Keith makes this statement when he suggests Voltron goes out on its own -
(Tangent - the paladins are in order for Black Paladin Shiro - Pidge as his left arm, Hunk and Lance in their rightful places as legs. The only people out of place are Keith and Allura, the latter whom stands in as Keith A LOT as the right arm - re: The Void scene, re: now, re: at the beginning of “Lions Pride Part 1, where Blue is in Red’s place.)
However, Voltron isn’t okay. In fact, the Atlas has to come save the paladins two episodes later in “The Grudge.” If the Atlas didn’t arrive, Keith would be dead.
The very next episode, “Genesis,” has Atlas and Voltron deciding to attack Oriande together.
(Thanks to Allura again, for being the right arm, and Lance, for being the right leg. Move Keith one seat over, and we would have had BP Keith in place.)
Six episodes later in “The Zenith,” Voltron demands Atlas comes with them to go after Honerva.
This shows that Keith and the paladins agree - though not as overtly as I would like - that they are stronger together. Voltron can’t defeat Honerva without Shiro Atlas.
But then... “Knights of Light” makes no sense in its placement for this season.
(Oh, look. The paladins are back in their same positions as the earlier screenshot - Lance, Hunk, and Pidge in their correct positions with Shiro as the BP, with Allura in as his right arm and Keith out of place. ...interesting.)
Here, the paladins decide to go back into the Infinite Void (Astral Plane, the Void, Voltron’s inner quintessence - all the same place, I guess...?) without Atlas.
“Knights of Light” then dives into Shiro’s paladin journey - without Shiro. (More on that here.)
So my question is - what am I missing? It makes no sense for the paladins to leave Shiro behind yet again, just to take him with them four episodes later. Keith learned that they need to be together to win in “The Grudge,” two episodes prior to “Knights of Light Part 1.”
Like Pidge was supposed to open her bayard on Olkarion, not Earth, then was “Knights of Light” supposed to happen in the previous season and they dropped in the Honerva parts? Were the paladins originally going for Shiro? Because it makes no sense for the paladins to say they are stronger, then realize they need Atlas/Shiro, just to leave him/the ship behind again, just to admit to needing him - and forging two mechas in order to make that happen.
Allura & The White Lion
When forged together, Atlas and Voltron have a White Lion motif.
It makes no sense for this, either - because even though the White Lion may not be done with Shiro -
- the White Lion is not part of Atlas, seeing as the White Lion was destroyed by Honerva in “Genesis.”
Obviously, the White Lion wasn’t supposed to die since it was supposed to make Atlas sentient. As previously discussed in “The Bayards Don’t Lie,” Allura was supposed to be the White Paladin and we see her progression through Seasons 5-8, first with Allura learning about the White Lion in “The White Lion,” then helping to create Sincline, then transforming Atlas on the fly into a mecha, and then forging Voltron and Atlas.
(Instead, she stayed in Blue, the White Lion was killed, and Allura sacrificed herself.)
Voltron learned not to leave one of their own behind in Season 8 (Shiro), only to leave one of their own behind (Allura), and “Knights of Light” shows the team coming together - the old paladins and the new, and how no one, not even Zarkon, is left behind.
And yet - Shiro and Allura both are, Shiro in that very episode and Allura after.
...huh?
Lotor & Sincline
Lotor and the comet have to fit into this as well, since he was also left behind in the rift -
- but then brought back. I won’t go much into Lotor. There are much better metas that went in depth about Lotor’s journey and his potential redemption arc, but if he was supposed to get a “redemption arc” (I’m putting it in quotes because I’m not sure if there’s enough evidence in “The Colony” to say he did anything to be redeemed for - we just don’t know enough), there had to be more content with Lotor post-Season 6 than what we saw in “Clear Day.”
If that’s the case - we had “Day Forty-Seven” and “Launch Day,” two episodes in Season 8 that were mostly filler, as well as half of “Clear Day” that was not essential to the plot. That is more than enough time to have Lotor back alive and allying with the paladins, rather than he be shown in that terrible screenshot during “Knights of Lights Part 2.”
Working Backwards from the End
From the above evidence, Shiro was supposed to be in Black, Lotor alive, and Allura the White Paladin - and even knowing that is the endgame, it’s hard to unraveling this season and its confusing structure. The linchpin is “Knights of Light,” where Shiro is banished from his own fight, Lotor is shown as dead, and Allura is compromised by Haggar, just like the clone was in Season 6.
Therefore, was “Knights of Lights” originally the end of Season 6?
Perhaps the most compelling evidence of a switcheroo is the reused animation. Now, one-third of all animation is reused in a series (Producing Animation), but I’m not sure how much was actually reused in VLD. But here is a side-by-side comparison between the Season 6 finale, “Defenders of All Universes,” and “Knights of Light.”
Season 6:
Season 8:
Season 6:
Season 8:
Let’s take “Knights of Light” as the Season 6 finale.
The paladins went into the Void and endured Shiro’s fights in order to find him, and this also would put all the flashbacks for the og!paladins in the middle 26 episodes, not one episode in Season 3 and the rest in Season 8.
This is all conjecture, though, since Atlas and Voltron needed to merge in order for Allura to work her Altean magic to the fullest. So the Castle of Lions needed to be destroyed in order for that to happen, though perhaps not necessarily in the Season 6 finale.
Furthermore, if Keith was supposed to be the Black Paladin in Season 3-6, Keith was supposed to find Shiro’s body at the facility, not clones, and he was to battle Lotor there - then the finale could have been the paladins searching for Shiro’s soul, which would be in the Astral Plane/Void, where the paladins went to find him.
And since Haggar finds out about Lotor’s death in “Knights of Light,” perhaps in the original version, she simply found out Lotor created Sincline - through Allura.
After all - Allura’s mind was invaded -
- just like the clone’s.
And it was through the clone, Haggar and Lotor meet.
Of course, if Shiro was trapped in the Astral Plane, then perhaps this wasn’t Keith talking to Black.
It was Keith talking to Shiro.
After all -
However, “Knights of Lights” was scrapped as the Season 6 finale when the EPs got the go-ahead for Black Paladin Keith but still needed to have Shiro, as per execs’ notes. Therefore, Shiro’s return was tagged onto a new two-part finale, “All Good Things” and “Defenders of All Universes,” and to save on re-animation costs, this two-part episode was re purposed in Season 8, just like there was re-purposed animation from Season 4 in Season 7 with “The Road Home” and “The Way Forward.”
TL;DR: I have no idea. When things don’t make sense, I try to make sense of them. “Knights of Light” is out of order, highlighting the paladins in their displaced spots, showcasing Shiro’s paladin journey, revealing Lotor’s death to the viewer, and showing Allura fighting the same mental battles as the clone.
If originally “Knights of Light” was in a different section, perhaps in Season 6, then the rest falls better into place - Shiro back in Black, Allura with the White Lion, and Lotor set up for his “redemption” arc.
I know this is a mess of wild theories. Please let me know your thoughts.
#voltron#voltron critical#shiro#allura#lotor#vld season 8#vld season 6#black lion#black paladin#white paladin#atlas#vld
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can you put your bag things bingo fills on tumblr? it would probably be easier for requesters to see and the mods to keep track of. and, i just want to reblog your fem!hance, cause that was cute.
Actually I meant to do that, I just forgot. Oops.
Sure I can!
(VLD) Space: Anger Born of Worry
AO3
Something Lana will never tell anyone is that during their first meeting, Huihana scared the crap out of her. Only for the first thirty seconds or so, sure, but in those thirty seconds the fear was real. She took two steps into the room the Garrison assigned her, took one look at her roommate, and felt her blood turn to ice.
That chick was freaking huge. Biceps like boulders, fists like frozen turkeys. She could probably take Lana’s head off with one punch. Nervously, Lana gulped, trying to think of something suave to say, straining to shape her mouth into a confident smirk so this Amazonian stranger wouldn’t smell her fear. Then the giantess advanced and before Lana could escape, those brawny arms encircled her, deftly lifted her right off the floor…and pulled her into a hug.
“Mmph!” Lana found herself pressed up against the soft, plentiful pudge of her roommate’s round midsection, and her face smushed into the pillows of her even softer, coconut sized breasts.
“Nice to meet you, new roomie!” chirped a voice of pure sunshine.
She gave Lana a hearty squeeze and returned her to the floor.
“So I’m Huihana, most people call me Hana for short,” she paused, amusement squiggling over her features as she blinked at Lana’s name tag. “Guess that means we’re Hana and Lana, huh? Pfft, Hana and Lana. We could totally headline a sitcom.”
“Heh, yeah.” Lana gave a chuckle, feeling herself melt in relief.
“I’ll help you put away your stuff, but let’s eat the muffins first. They’re best while they’re still warm.”
“You made muffins?”
“Uh-huh.”
Hana showed her the small oven she’d hidden in the closet. It was about the size of one of those toy ones, but Lana could tell it was made of spare parts. The metals didn’t match and the screws were different sizes.
“Let me guess, you’re here to be an engineer.”
“Yep.” Hana smiled and pulled a small muffin pan out of her makeshift oven and if the tantalizing aroma of apple cinnamon was anything to go by, mismatched metal didn’t prevent it from working.
Lana took a muffin and shook her head. Hana was a freaking teddy bear. No hecking way could she ever scare Lana again.
“You’re supposed to be in bed,” Lana scolds, crossing her arms over her chest.
Hana rolls her eyes and keeps rolling the orange dough in front of her. “As if you always do what you’re supposed to do.”
“This isn’t about me!” Lana barks, still too shaken to keep herself from snapping. “You’re a mess, you can hardly stand up!”
Hana shoots her a look that might’ve been dangerous if she were actually standing steady. But she isn’t steady at all, she’s tottering like a butterfly could knock her over and Lana isn’t sure if it’s making her nervous or furious.
“What I am is sore and stressed, and not in the mood,” she warns irritably.
“Oh, you’re not in the mood?” Lana scoffs. “Don’t even. I’m the one who gets to be mad! You almost got yourself killed!”
“We almost get ourselves killed all the time,” Hana grumbles bitterly, flipping the dough and rolling some more.
“This was different! You know we’re supposed to be extra careful since the pods got hacked, but you ran back into a Galra infested tunnel for no reason!”
“No reason my ass, I was checking for civilians.” Hana pauses to wipe the sweat from her brow.
“Civilians who weren’t there!” Lana huffs, grasping at her hair in frustration. “BLIP tech told us the tunnel was clear!”
“And like I already explained to you and everybody else, the dust storms on that planet were interfering with our tech. Our comms were screwy, our scanners were screwy, we had no reason to trust in the BLIP tech!” Hana gives the dough an exasperated whack with the rolling pin and Lana can see the immediate regret in her eyes as the movement sends repercussions through her battered body. Recoiling, she hisses through her teeth.
“Damn it! Ugh, just come off it. I clearly did the right thing.”
“How? No one was down there!”“But someone could’ve been down there,” Hana insists hotly. “We couldn’t rely on the tech to tell us one way or the other, so I checked for myself. It’s what a paladin would do.”
Lana chews her lip. She understands where her friend is coming from, but she doesn’t have any forthcoming fuzzy feelings for her decision either. It was too reckless. Lana doesn’t like to see any of her team in danger, but this was the kind of stunt she would at least expect from Keith or Shiro. Not Hana. It was a stunt that blindsided her coming from cautious, nervous Huihana.
“You should have at least called one of us for backup.”
And what she means is, you should have called me for backup.
“I didn’t think I had enough time.” Hana gripes, maneuvering her way around the kitchen. “It’s over and done with, so just lay off.”
Lana feels the worst of her fury dying away, but she still isn’t happy. This was too much, too close a call. She can’t just swallow it with a smile and pretend she wasn’t terrified to her core. Not with the echoes of Hana’s scream still rattling around like vengeful wraiths inside her head.
“Oh crap…I’m bleeding,” Hana mutters, yanking Lana out of her thoughts.
The red stain spreads through her robe and Lana gasps, scrambling over.
“Don’t want to say I told you so, but this is exactly why you should be in bed,” she says tersely, hiking Hana’s arm over her shoulder.
Hana is still the bigger of the two, but Lana is tougher than she looks and more than strong enough to offer her support. Hana accepts it wearily, and Lana becomes increasingly worried when she fails to fire back some retort. Lana studies her more closely and frowns.
Drops of sweat sprinkle Hana’s face, headband practically drenched with it. The pain is naked in her eyes, glistening with the mist of unshed tears. Her jaw tightens, teeth clenching as she fails to bite back a whine.
“Come on,” Lana encourages. “Just a little farther.”
“A little?” Hana shoots her an exhausted look. “The med bay’s on the other side of the castle.”
“But your room is right around the corner, and Coran helped me stock it with all the right aftercare supplies while you were out being a bad patient.”
“I wasn’t trying to be a bad patient,” she mumbles. “Today just caught up with me and sitting still in silence wasn’t exactly doing wonders for my anxiety.”
“Yeah, well you bleeding through your clothes isn’t exactly doing wonders for my mental health, either,” Lana retorts.
Hana must be too spent to keep arguing because all she does is glower.
When they reach her bedroom, Lana parks her down on the bed and slides the robe off her shoulders. The bandages encasing her torso are soaked scarlet and it sends chills up Lana’s spine. Even so, she tries to keep herself together. She opens the impressive supply kit Coran prepared and paws through until she finds the sutures.
“So you’re gonna patch me up even though you’re pissed?”
“Of course I am, jerk face.”
Lana gets the packet of numbing gel and the scissors, kneels down, eye level with the wound. She snips through the layers of gauze and they fall loosely to the bed. A wide absorbent pad remains, taped over her side. It’s sodden with blood that smears onto Lana’s fingertips as she removes it as gently as possibly.
What lurks beneath is like something out of a slasher flick. Lana is a tad nervous about tending to it because it’s such a gruesome injury, but she doesn’t want to admit that aloud. The blast from the sentry’s gun shaved off a good hunk of flesh. The aperture of the wound is irritated where Coran had to trim away ruined skin. The layer of fat beneath the remaining skin peeks out a bit, bumpy and glazed in blood. The open meat in the middle is this sickening, moist, melon pink.
“Congratulations,” Lana offers sarcastically. “You managed to pop all of your stitches.”
Hana grimaces. “I don’t wanna know the graphic details.”
“No,” she agrees grimly. “You don’t.”
Lana pinches the tip of the scissors over the broken thread of the old stitches and carefully pulls them through. Hana’s fist clenches into the blankets, a tight look of discomfort twisting her features.
Some of Lana’s frustration ebbs.
“This is the worst part and it’s almost over, okay?”
Hana nods tensely.
Lana removes the long, thin thread and discards it. She opens the numbing gel and carefully spreads it along the in tact skin around the wound.
“I’m sorry, okay?” she says softly. “I know I shouldn’t be mad at you, you did what you felt was right—“
“You mean what was right,” Hana breaks in stubbornly.
“…I thought you died,” Lana admits somberly.
“What?” Hana’s jaw drops.
Lana purses her lips as she opens the suture set. “It was the way you screamed. You’re super jumpy, so I’ve heard you scream a thousand times before, but never like that. That scream chilled me to the bone, I could just hear the hurt in it…and then when we started screaming back for you to answer, you didn’t. We— I was begging you to answer me but all I got was radio silence.”
“I scared you,” Hana concludes quietly.
“Yeah.” Lana huffs, poking the needle into the flesh. Evidently the gel is doing its job, because her friend doesn’t even flinch. “Scared me more than anything else ever has. You’re in front of me right now in one piece, talking to me, and I’m still kinda shook up over it.”
“Aw, Lana…”
Lana sews quietly, occasionally glancing up to make sure Hana’s tolerating it okay. She’s fiddling with her fingers, gaze pointedly fixed on the wall.
“Look, I’m sorry. Not for what I did, but for scaring you.”
“I don’t really blame you,” Lana says, finishing off the stitches. “This is war, we get hurt. But can you at least be a good patient for the rest of the day?”
“I will if you stick around to distract me.”
“I’m supposed to let you rest,” Lana mutters, distracted as she fishes through the supplies.
Hana groans quietly and shakes her head. “I can’t. You don’t think I got scared too? It’s so quiet in here, all I can do is relive getting blasted. It’s freaking me out.”
She takes another absorbent pad and thick roll of gauze, wincing sympathetically. “Alright. I’ll stay. Maybe I can get Pidge to bring us a projector so we can watch a movie or something.”
Hana lets out a sigh of relief. Lana returns to her bedside and strips the sterile packaging off the pad. She plasters it over the freshly stitched wound and gingerly pats it down. Hana gives a wince and she stops short.
“Too rough?”
“Nah. The gel wore off, that’s all. It’s sore.”
“I’ll bet.” It’s a hell of a wound, after all. Wide, deep, and butt ugly.
Lana unwinds a length of gauze and makes an effort to be especially gentle as she bandages her, starting from the bottom and moving upward. She smooths out as many of the wrinkles as she can and tries to secure the gauze around Hana’s torso without pulling too tight.
“Alright, almost there. Just hold your tits.”
“Huh? I’m not rushing you.” Hana puzzles, brow furrowing.
“I meant literally, my busty bestie,” Lana chuckles. “They’re in the way.”
“My bad.” Grimacing, Hana sheepishly hefts them up and Lana wraps the last layer around. She finishes up with small adhesive strips to keep the bandage in place and gives it the slightest of tugs to make sure they’re effective.
“All done,” she says brightly, pulling back. “That should keep it clean and safe. Just try not to bump into anything and don’t abuse the rolling pin anymore.”
“Thanks. I’d hug you if I could.” Hana sighs and slides her arms back into the sleeves of her robe. She raises her shoulders to get it all the way on— at least, she attempts to. Pain crosses her face halfway through the motion and the fabric slides back down.
“And I can’t do that either.”
She tucks her head down like a grumpy turtle sulking in its shell. Lana wordlessly pulls the garment up for her.
“Gonna do everything for me?” Hana lifts a tired brow.
“If I have to,” Lana says, crossing her arms. “As long as you promise not to scare me like that again.”
“If it were a promise I could keep, I would,” she says wistfully.
They gaze at each other a moment, an understanding passed. Lana deflates and tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear, leaning forward to pull back Hana’s blanket.
“Go on, climb in.”
“Could’ve done that much myself,” Hana mutters, sounding more weary than offended.
Lana studies her as she draws herself up, stiffly braced back on her elbows. Pain speaks in every movement, from her legs’ halting stretch, to the low breath hissed between her teeth as she carefully reclines to the pillows. Lana lightly drapes the blanket over her.
“Lemme get you something for the pain—“ Lana turns to go and stops short as Hana’s hand encircles hers.
She tugs with surprising strength for somebody who looks two seconds away from passing out, and Lana’s eyes pop wide as she gracelessly flounders to the bed.
Lacing their fingers together, Hana gives her a tender look. “This is enough. I feel better already.”
“Liar,” Lana huffs, crinkling her nose.
“No, really. Holding hands has the potential to reduce pain. Several studies suggest it produces an analgesic effect.”
Lana pauses, studying her face for any trace of deceit. Normally having genius friends is pretty cool because they can explain complicated stuff to you and help you ace your homework. But sometimes genius friends can mess with you by rewording bullshit to sound all science-y and smart. One time Hana and Pidge nearly convinced her that the moon was indeed made of some form of petrified cheese.
“For real?”
“Yeah, for real,” Hana insists, smiling gently. “When we hold hands our brainwaves begin to synchronize. It’s like communicating empathy through touch and it makes people feel better.”
“Huh.” Lana looks down at their hands and squeezes Hana’s a little tighter.
With Hana’s hand in hers, solid and warm, Lana is beginning to feel better too.
#bad things happen bingo#badthingshappenbingo#hunk vld#lance vld#platonic hance#i mean i don't touch shipping in the vld fandom no thank you#not even in genderbend aus#blood tw#injury tw
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Honestly, though, I think the Blue Paladin being a looked-down-upon position and the impetus to try and cast Lance as another- mainly Black, but some people are eager to see him stay with Red or interpret him as a sort of secondary Right Hand figure rather than a Heart figure- boils down to a couple of things:
Heroism that puts supporting others above personal glory is seen as unheroic. Dull, uninteresting, this isn’t the sort of thing we tell stories about- we want to see heroes who take the front lines and take charge and have specific victories that were all them. An example of this is s4e6, where Lance personally inspired and empowered Allura in a very big dramatic manner, impossible to miss- and people don’t consider that a heroic moment for Lance. Only Allura- because Allura’s making the magic happen.
If you’re a character that supports others, there’s a common assumption that only the characters you’re supporting are important here- that you are accepting a subordinate or less important position because of prioritizing your connection over personal glory.
So because of this, a lot of misreading of Lance’s character goes on where he’s assumed to be dismissive of his accomplishments, when if anything, we’ve seen that it tends to be the opposite.
Insecure, needy Lance? Is the Lance who tries to play himself up, usually trying to exaggerate traits he doesn’t actually have. “I’m the cool ninja sharpshooter”? No, Lance, you’re not a cold stoic precision sniper or a too-cool rebel hotshot. You’re a compassionate sweetheart who uses your rifle scope to check on your team and that’s a wonderful thing to be.
Lance’s arc as a character is about outgrowing the need for personal glory. He’s set up in narrative contrast to people like Keith and Shiro whose personal demons are often that they try to give more of themselves than they actually have to lose.
Lance’s demon is trying to get in people’s way for short term glory. He does it in s2e4, he does it in s1e1. And in both situations, things go badly, he messes up, he feels bad. He’s adaptable enough that he is able to take roles from other people, and he’s exploiting a chunk of his real virtues to do so- but being an envious chameleon doesn’t do him any good.
Narratively, in the beginning of s1e1, Lance was acting as “Red Paladin” in a sense. Keith had abandoned his role and fled, burnt himself out, and Lance had moved into his place. This was, he told himself, good. Keith’s role is important, heroic the way people tell you heroes are supposed to be, he’s the cool guy out in front, he just snaps orders and people listen because he’s determined and a prodigy.
Lance is shown to be the one with a greatest sense of stories, who quotes action movies. He’s aware of popular media and what that means.
S4e4 also shows us that Lance is an actor who actively revels in the idea of presenting something that isn’t him, but that he thinks flatters him more, or that other people will like.
Keith is a very stereotypically heroic figure. It makes sense- he’s The Leader in every other continuity, and Voltron is an old property. Tracing back to the original GoLion? An entire generation of heroes were inspired off the original Keith. He’s bright-eyed, passionate, determined, a prodigy, he’s got that troubled temper.
And Lance saw that. And Lance was very jealous of him.
Because Lance isn’t a prodigy. He’s good, but he got there by hard work and diligence. He’s shown to have struggled with school and dislikes it. He’s not a brooding cool guy- he’s actually kind of a bubbly sweetheart.
So I’m not completely mad with the people who write off Blue, and insist that Lance is being sold short, because... they’re sort of being hilariously meta here, in that the whole idea that Lance’s brand of heroism is systematically devalued is something they’re already toying with in-universe when a sneakier underlying point of Lance’s character arc is he feels the desperate need to be anybody else to feel valued and important.
Here’s the thing though: that quest is doomed from the start. Because ultimately... Lance knows who he is. He has to, in order to be an actor.
Lance knew Blue’s virtues, without ever being told them, having specifically interrupted Allura to get her not to tell him those virtues, because he tells them to her in s4e6.
Lance’s story- Lance’s maturation as a hero- is the chameleon needs to shed its skin here. That is to say- Lance doesn’t need to find his sense of self, or his brand of heroism. He just needs to trust it. He needs to come to value, independently, that he himself and his contributions are enough.
Because many prior incarnations of Lance have been competitive hotshots- but that element of his character has always been vindicated by giving him the Right Hand position, where that drive and reckless energy are rewarded, are the natural infrastructure of his narrative position.
It’s VLD that says, “No. That’s not who Lance is. Lance isn’t the cool guy Han Solo archetype. He is more than this.”
VLD Lance, however warm, ‘fiery’ or energetic his outer layer seems, ultimately has a core of water and ice. Elements symbolically linked to patience, compassion, clarity of focus. And fittingly, we see that he has advantages his prior incarnations never did. In many prior continuities- Year One, Third Dimension, Force- Lance was a hazard onto himself and others. He’d take huge risks to show off or feed his own grudges or threaten to split the team over not being made leader. And even when Force made Lance a gunner, he was a short-range gunslinging brawler and his aim was hit or miss.
Conversely VLD Lance’s weapon basically spells out what his deal is. He has a devastating advantage over the entire rest of the team in having the single longest range and the best aim. Lance is preoccupied thinking he’s unheroic for not being right up in everyone’s business the way Keith Shiro, and Pidge fight- but VLD Keith picking up a gun is a markedly terrible shot. He has better weapon accuracy throwing his sword.
The spotlight, up in the center of everyone’s attention, is not a good place for a sniper. But Lance, by his bayard, that took that form specifically to tailor itself to him, is definitely a sniper. He’s the kind of person who sitting back out of the spotlight means he can rain precision-targeted hell onto just about anybody else on the battlefield. In the comics, Pidge’s analysis of her team’s weaknesses specifically has her ID Lance as the most dangerous member of the team, over Shiro, Keith, or Hunk.
Why?
Because as soon as she’s distracted with any of the others, Lance is going to snipe her in the back.
Because Lance is a team player, he fights at a distance, and taking your attention off Lance to focus on Keith or Shiro, the people who are much more natural spotlight grabbers? Is a huge mistake, but one that you’re set up to make. Because the whole point of a sniper is you don’t know they’re there until two of your buddies are dead from projectile attacks.
Consider Lance’s counterpart on Team Sincline.
Ezor is literally a disappearing act. She’s no sniper, but, rather, instead, her contributing factor is being an infiltrator. While other people have seized her enemy’s attention, she creeps around, follows them invisibly. She’s the one given the high-impetus job on Puig in s3e2 as the one who flushes out the leader and captures him, specifically with those same sort of Blue Paladin mentalities.
Because Ezor’s not the spotlight type- she’s the type you forget about right up until she flickers into sight in the middle of nowhere and gets you in a sleeper hold.
Now, it is difficult for Lance to make this adjustment for a deeper reason than just insecurity, and that’s also, Lance is full-stop the feelings guy! He yearns for connection and meaningful emotional bonds, and in that sense, he has some growing and adjustment to do. His reflex is to try and grab people’s attention, be flashy and showy. Again, in s4e4, when basically told to market themselves, Lance isn’t just the only one comfortable, he’s actually genuinely thrilled, and when Hunk points out what they’re doing feels kind of stupid, Lance contradicts him with “they’re loving us!”
Widespread approval is fantastic in Lance’s book. The only problem is, again... his actual brand of heroism doesn’t work very well with spotlights.
There’s a certain amount of growing pains for Lance, where he’s in the process of coming to grips with the realization that he really is a hero, but the kind of hero that shortsighted stereotypical media says isn’t important. Because oh, sure, nobody actually wants to be without the Heart, but nobody wants to give them the time of day or actually admit that any of their rough tough cool guy heroes need something as wimpy as, y’know, emotional labor or anything.
The important thing to keep in mind though is this is a way modern media is absolutely bullshit, and, that’s something that VLD is specifically dismantling the fuck out of.
Because, spoiler: if you have emotions. you need emotional support. This is not negotiable. There is a reason I call this role the Heart, when the heart is a vital organ that will genuinely fuck you up real good if it’s not working properly.
In s3e3 the reason things did not go to hell was Lance and Blue. That’s not because “Lance is Keith’s babysitter” it’s because Keith has exploitable Red Paladin weaknesses and one of those is instability. So does Pidge. So do Shiro and Allura to a slightly lesser degree.
The thing is that taking care of each other and yourself emotionally is actually a damn important skill in literally any group of people you want to work together for any stretch of time. The other thing is that there is a flat-out gendered devaluation of this, in that this is a kind of heroism frequently demanded from women, but treated as nothing to write home about or actually heroic at all.
People in the fandom genuinely say that Lance is in a bad role, that he’s being shafted, that he can’t be doing anything important when he’s the feelings guy in an environment that has been held down by a dictator for so long that the overpowering sense of despair and hopelessness is genuinely a barrier to progress that they had to grapple with at the Balmera in s1e5 and that nearly got them killed in s1e9.
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12 Days of (Lance) Whumpmas! - Day 9 [Broken Limbs/Bruises]
yay for broken limbs but i also broke.. other bones... :’)
Crystal Venom is actually one of the few episodes i’ve seen from season 1 and it was GREAT... which is where this story came from yay for glitchy Castle that turns evil
part of the 12 Days of VLD Whumpmas hosted by @vldwhumpmas2017! you can still submit up until january 7th (rip my late ass), so check out more info on the challenge here if you want to participate!
Lance didn't usually train on his own. The team had plenty of group training exercises to cover for most practices, and he preferred winding down in his room after long days. But sometimes, he found himself on the training deck for private sessions. He still needed to carry his weight as a Paladin, after all.
Today, it was target practice. Mostly just shooting at moving gladiator bots before they got too close. He figured it wouldn't be a long session, opting to just take his hoodie off and shoot instead of having to change into his armor completely. Even still, he kept steady throughout, occasionally dodging a gladiator that dove forward to strike as he felled one after another. Seeing the hole open up and swallow each bot that he struck accurately brought a nice sense of satisfaction. He kept at it for two or three levels before he grew exhausted, his arms sore from staying in the same position for so long.
“Ugh. End training sequence.” Lance groaned, dematerializing his bayard and relaxing his arms once the last bot disappeared. He was probably done for the day. Might as well duck out before he risked running into Keith here. That guy was obsessed with the training deck.
Lance headed towards the doors, bending to grab his hoodie and shrug it on. But then he heard a slight thud behind him, and Lance turned around to catch a gladiator bot marching towards him, sword at the ready. He barely had time to dodge the bot's broad swing, tripping backwards onto the floor as his bayard clattered out of his hands.
“What the—” Lance scrambled to his feet, ducking from another attack. “Uh, hello?! I said end training sequence!”
The bot didn't shut down like it should've, instead charging once more, its gem an ominous red. Lance yelped, running for the doors and into the hallway, the bot close behind. Crap, he never picked up his bayard. How the heck was he supposed to fight an armed bot with his bare hands? He was pretty sure only Shiro could manage that on his own.
“Guys, need a little help here!” Lance shouted, running down the hallways in a full sprint. He chanced a glance behind his shoulder, spotting the bot just a few feet behind. “Castle's trying to kill me again!”
Seriously, where was everyone? More importantly, it was getting obvious that Lance wasn't gonna be able to outrun this thing. Maybe if he could just get rid of the sword... He'd have a better chance of not dying.
Lance skid to a stop, turning around and sidestepping the sword as it swung into an arc down at the ground where he previously stood. The swing was so powerful that Lance felt it from the wind that whisked by his face. Jesus, it wasn't holding back at all.
He didn't hesitate in lashing out a powerful kick at the bot's hands in the hopes of loosening its grip on the sword. It only managed to get one hand off before the bot swung the freed arm up. Lance got his hands up in front of his face in time to block the blow, his arms stinging as he stumbled back with a gasp.
There wasn't any time to recuperate, and Lance caught the swing of the sword again, ducking his body down enough to prevent himself from getting sliced in half. One more time. He waited until the bot stepped too close again, baiting it into swinging its sword back down. It was a simple feint, and Lance was ready enough to dive backwards in time to catch the sword slam its blade onto the floor in front of him. He twisted around, putting even more strength into his kick as he did so. This time, he was successful in kicking the sword out of the bot's hand, and it clattered against the wall before dropping onto the ground.
But before he could even consider trying to make a grab for it, the bot dove forward with a speed that was way beyond the typical gladiator bot he'd been fighting. A sudden force—the gladiator's arm, it turned out—slammed against his chest and sent him crashing into the wall. For a second, Lance's vision went completely white before he felt himself hit the floor.
Lance crumpled onto his side with a cry, trying—and failing—to take a deep breath. He couldn't, it hurt to even get out a shallow breath, let alone a deep one. His vision swam, shapes and figures still trying to reorient themselves in his mind. Maybe he got lucky that he landed not too far from where the sword fell. He reached out an arm, ignoring the way his body screamed at the movement. But before he could get any closer, a foot slammed down on his arm, and Lance could literally hear the bones crack at the force. He definitely screamed this time, the sound ripping its way out of his throat. It hurt, shit, it hurt so much. Black creeped at the edges of his vision, and he was desperate to just fall unconscious at this point.
The floor rumbled, and Lance distantly heard someone yelling before the gladiator disappeared, tackled to the ground by a large figure. Lance couldn't tell who it was, but all that mattered was that someone came. The ground vibrated with slams and heavy footfalls of a fight he couldn't see, and Lance groaned at the slight waves of pain even that sent through his body. His hands lay loose in front of him, trembling every time he tried to move his unbroken arm towards his chest to assess the damage. It hurt to move, it hurt to breathe, it was so hard to breathe.
And all of a sudden, the vibrations stopped. Lance didn't have to wonder who won for too long, because the next thing he knew, Hunk was in front of him, a hand grabbing at his shoulder. Lance choked out a scream, and Hunk's hand disappeared in an instant, his voice slowly starting to trickle back into Lance's ears.
“—nce, what happened?! I heard your screaming and—Wait no, that's not important right now.” Hunk rambled, hands floating helplessly in front of him. “Quiznak, your arm... Are you injured anywhere else? Talk to me, buddy.”
“My chest,” Lance gasped, trying to focus on Hunk's face. “I think my ribs...”
Hunk paled. “Your ribs? Oh God... Can I check your chest real quick? Let me see where.”
Lance couldn't manage a reply, but Hunk reached out anyways, gently pressing his fingers against Lance's front. When he grazed on an area slightly lower, a strangled cry forced its way out of Lance's mouth, and Hunk's hand disappeared as he apologized repeatedly.
“Crap, I'm so sorry, I just... God, it's already bruised pretty badly, too.” Hunk glanced down the hall before he ducked towards Lance, gripping at his uninjured hand. “I'm gonna go get Coran. We need to get you in a pod fast. Can you hang on for just a few more ticks?”
Lance stiffened in alarm, his mind going hazy with pain at the movement. “W-wait, don't leave...”
“I'll be right back.” Hunk added, frantic. “I'll send the others to where you are before going to Coran. I promise. You need to get help right away. I'm sorry.” Hunk squeezed Lance's hand tightly one more time before he ran off.
He wasn't being abandoned, but Lance still felt terrified of being left alone in the hallway. What if another bot activated and came across him? What if someone didn't come in time? His chest throbbed, and Lance bit back a sob. It hurt so much.
And then the ship shuddered, the lights in the hall flickering and dimming for a few seconds before it went back to normal. Lance felt his already short breaths quicken at the sight, panic blinding him. Something was wrong with the Castle. There had to be. He tried to sit up again, almost blacking out at the strain.
“Lance!” Someone was yelling his name, and Lance slid open his eyes again. Shiro flew into his line of vision, crouching down in an instant. “Hang on, Hunk and Coran are coming.”
To be honest, it was a relief to see Shiro after the paranoia he was going through. Lance tried to shudder in another deep breath, a whimper escaping when he couldn't quite make it again. “The Castle... Something's...”
Shiro lifted a hand, gently carding his fingers through Lance's sweaty hair. “I know. There was a glitch from a bug that got through Pidge's laptop and it messed with some of the systems. She rebooted some of the Castle mechanisms just now so that she could fix it.”
So that was what happened earlier, with the flickering lights. If it was fixed, Lance was glad.
Shiro glanced briefly at where the gladiator must have fallen, a dark expression on his face. He looked back at Lance. “Hunk told me you might have broken ribs,” Shiro said, wincing. “Can you try taking in a deep breath? You might get a chest infection at this rate.”
“I—I can't... Shiro...”
“It hurts, I know. They'll be here soon. You'll be okay, I promise.”
The floor rumbled with footsteps again, and Keith appeared behind Shiro, panting. “They're not here yet?”
Shiro glanced up. “No. Don't worry, they're coming.”
“His arm looks... What about his ribs? How bad is it?” Keith pressed, staring at Lance in a way that was so concerned it was almost unbelievable. “What if it punctured something, like his lung...”
“Gee, thanks.” Lance managed between gasps. “So comforting.”
Keith had the decency to look guilty at that, shifting his weight impatiently from one foot to another. “Sorry. You're gonna be fine.”
Lance wanted to laugh, but he was pretty sure he'd actually faint if he did. Pain thrummed in his chest and he shut his eyes again, doing everything he could to prevent himself from making a noise. It worked, but it was exhausting. When he opened his eyes again, Shiro was busy staring at him with thinly veiled worry while Keith paced in the back.
“What's taking them so long?” Keith grumbled.
Shiro shifted his hand from Lance's hair and moved to wipe away some stray tears instead. “Hang in there. You're doing so well. We'll get you healed up in no time.”
Lance couldn't do anything more than lay there, his body trembling with both pain and exhaustion. He was glad to feel the floor vibrate again with footsteps this time, Hunk and Coran's voice booming down the hallways. Shiro moved aside for them as Hunk apologized to Lance for taking so long. They had trouble finding something similar to stretcher to carry him on. But everything would be fine now, because they'd get him into a pod ASAP.
The struggle to get Lance onto the stretcher with as little movement as possible was agonizing, but the shaky ride to the medical bay was not great, either. But the thought that he could close his eyes soon and let the pain fade away once he got into the pod was what kept him going. And once he felt the familiar cold creeping up his body, Lance let sleep take him.
When Lance stumbled out of the pod, he was surprised at the thin build of whoever caught him. Definitely not Hunk. Or Shiro. Not even Keith. His eyes blinked open, more than a little surprised to see Allura holding him up. He backed up a bit too quickly, staggering as Allura helped steady him.
“Do you feel alright?” Allura asked, eyes wide with concern.
Lance pondered the question, trying for a deep breath. His lungs stretched to their full capacity, and he relaxed at the sensation. His arm was moving fine. Nothing hurt this time, which felt unreal given the pain he'd been feeling not too long ago. He glanced up at Allura, a slight grin on his face.
“No offense, Princess, but I think your Castle has it out for me. This is like—what—the third time it's tried to kill me?”
Allura frowned, guilty. “Lance, I'm so sor—”
Lance's eyes widened, and he lifted his hand, waving it quickly. “No, I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything! My terrible CQC skills are to blame. It was a joke, honestly.”
Someone enveloped him into a hug, and Lance inhaled a mouthful of Hunk's clothing before he was released. “You almost dying isn't a joke, dude.” Hunk moaned. “It scared the heck out of me and everyone else.”
Lance felt someone else burrow into his side with a hug, and he looked down to spot the top of Pidge's head.
“It was my stupid fault you got hurt.” Pidge said, words muffled against his hoodie. “I'm sorry. I should've paid more attention when I was transferring stuff from my laptop.”
Lance grinned, ruffling her hair. “Aw, you do care. I'm all fine now, honestly! It's okay.”
Pidge didn't budge; if anything, she squeezed him harder. Lance coughed awkwardly, the somber atmosphere starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. “Seriously, you guys are acting like I actually died or something. How about we go to the kitchen and talk about something fun while I eat? Because I'm starving and would like for everyone to go to sleep on a happy note.”
“You truly feel all better?” Coran piped up, a worried crease in his eyebrows.
Lance blew out a breath. “I swear I am. Heck, I bet I could spar with Keith right now and take him down one-handed.”
Keith rose an eyebrow from where he stood a few feet away, arms crossed. “Seriously? You?”
Shiro finally cracked a grin, gently extracting Pidge from Lance's side (she still opted to walk closely next to him though, like a protective puppy—Lance found it adorable) and leading him towards the doors. “I think we've had enough sparring for today. Let's get you something to eat.”
Lance laughed. “Whatever you say, bossman.”
When Lance finally got into bed after his late night snack, it was with a relieved sigh. This day was something he was glad to get over with. He probably wouldn't be doing another solo training session for a while, though.
#my writing#vld#voltron#lance#lance mcclain#keith#shiro#hunk#pidge#allura#coran#12 days of vld whumpmas
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When You Hurt One Of Us (Sheith Secret Santa Fanfic)
Okay I think its been more than a year since I last posted a fanfic here but since my giftee is here so yeah! Here is my (VERY LATE IM SORRY) Sheith secret santa gift for Lucia-ik!!!! I hope you enjoy it dear~
Summary: There was a group of children at Hogwarts that never really fit in their houses. When these children bonded, they knew where they finally belonged, with each other. They were very protective of their small family. Very. Protective.
Notes: I’ve never read the Harry Potter series, only its fanfictions lol so I’M VERY VERY SORRY IF ITS NOT ACCURATE and I changed the school years a little. My version of Hogwarts enrolls students from age 11-20 because in my verse, they’re not encouraged to leave the school until they come into their magic which is roughly when a wizard is around 17-20 years old.
O.W.L’s and N.E.W.T’s are taken at the same age as usual. Students who have taken their N.E.W.T’s and have come into their magic can graduate or they can stay the extra 2-3 years at Hogwarts that will help fully prepare them for the working universe. In this story:
Ravenclaw - Lance (16 - halfblood), Matt (18 - muggleborn)
Hufflepuff - Hunk (16 - pureblood)
Gryffindor - Shiro (18 - unknown), Allura (18 - pureblood)
Slytherin - Pidge (15 - muggleborn), Keith (17 - unknown)
All aliens in VLD are just a different type of magical creature in this fic.
Read on AO3
Lance peeked his head out of the corner, “Okay, coast is clear.”
“Y’know Lance, maybe tonight we shouldn’t head to the kitchen?” Hunk suggested with his shoulders hunched and his forefingers touching in small rapid movements.
“Pfft what are you talking about? We’re almost there.”
True enough, just one more turn into an empty corridor and they were standing in front of the infamous painting of fruits. Lance tickled the pear and heard it giggle before a knob magically appeared in a shimmer of gold dust. He turned it with a smile and opened the door to the kitchens.
“Lance-“
The ravenclaw glanced back at his Hufflepuff friend, “Hunk, c’mon.” He took one step into the kitchen still muttering under his breath, “What’s gotten in to you toda- OH MY GOD"
The kitchen didn’t have any elves at the moment since no meals were necessary so late into the night and they were too busy cleaning up the castle probably. Pidge was sitting at their usual wooden table in the middle of the deserted kitchen, legs crossed as she leaned her chin on right hand. Her latest crossover tech (combining muggle technology with magic) was left idly on the table as the Slytherin was smiled at the very thing Lance was gaping at.
Shiro was ravishing Keith’s lips but that wasn’t the (only) reason Lance was so shocked. It was more because of the position those two were in.
Keith’s back was pinned against the solid wall, thighs being impossibly pressed against his chest as Shiro hoisted him up with just his bare hands on Keith’s supple butt cheeks, supporting all of Keith’s weight. Keith’s black dragonhide pants left nothing to the imagination as his knees were bent over Shiro’s shoulders, ankles crossed and urging Shiro closer.
There was something aesthetically pleasing about the pretzel knot position Keith was in but Lance would rather ask Allura to the Yule ball before he even dared to admit that to Keith. Still, he wondered how flexible Keith really was since he wasn’t completely human.
Shiro, the supposed golden boy of Gryffindor and head prefect, didn’t even pause kissing his boyfriend breathless when they both heard Lance’s exclamation. And to be honest, if Shiro did stop, Keith’s fingers that were lost in Shiro’s hair would probably pull him right back in.
When the noises started to get a little obscene and Shiro’s fingers couldn’t help but squeeze those cheeks in his hands, Lance called it off.
“Okay that’s enough. KEITH, unpretzel yourself right now! SHIRO, you were supposed to be patrolling with Matt!”
Shiro bit Keith’s bottom lip one more time when Keith started leaning his head back to part their kiss. They shared a loving stare, admiring the other’s disheveled appearance. Shiro’s hair was a mess from Keith’s grabby fingers and Keith’s neck was adorned with various marks. Both their lips were red and plump from a very satisfying snogging session. Just as an afterthought, Shiro leaned into his boyfriend’s neck and began slowly kissing each mark he made. Watching from over Shiro’s shoulder, Keith wanted to laugh at the look on Lance’s face. He could tell the Ravenclaw was going to explode soon. Before Lance could physically pull them apart, Keith started stretching his legs out and did a semi split to untangle his limbs from Shiro’s shoulders.
When Keith was on the ground again, Shiro wrapped his arms loosely around Keith’s hips and kissed him chastely on the lips before they were both staring at each other again, smiling.
Lance groaned out loud at their inability to part from each other and the wave of magic that was constantly present whenever Keith and Shiro were in the same room. He deadpanned at Hunk and Pidge’s adoring expressions, “You guys knew they would be like this didn’t you?”
Hunk shrugged, “I tried warning you. My cousin couldn’t stop for at least a month after she found hers.”
Pidge just sighed happily, “It’s their honeymoon phase~”
“It’s not a phase if they’re never gonna get out of it.” Lance grumbled. He sighed as he looked at his two friends. He was happy for them, really he was but they were getting ridiculous with the love-struck staring.
It took a little over 10 minutes before Lance was finally able to usher Shiro out of the kitchen. Hunk started making use of the elf-less kitchen to make some late night snacks while Lance urged Keith to do some poses with him to test his flexibility.
“I’ve honestly never seen anyone do that before.” Lance referred to what Keith just did with Shiro. Lance took off his robe and draped it over one of the chairs at the table, leaving his skinny pants and plain prussian blue shirt on, “Let’s see how flexible you really are. No one can match me back at home.” Lance smirked with crossed arms.
Taking it as a challenge (like they do with everything), Keith agreed and took his own robes off. Lance narrowed his eyes at Keith’s neck and decided to cast a quick spell, changing Keith’s emerald shirt to an emerald turtleneck instead to cover the marks.
Keith deadpanned, “Really?”
“Really.” Lance theoretically gestured to Pidge, “KEITH, THINK OF THE CHILDREN!”
Lance was zapped with a wordless and wandless spell by said ‘child’ for that comment. Soon, they were both on the mats that Lance helped transfigured from two plates. Lance started with some stretches to loosen himself.
Starting with an easy pose, Lance asked, “Did you even warm up before you decided to pretzel?”
“Yeah.” Keith answered distractedly as he copied Lance’s split stretch, “Shiro helped-“
Lance pushed a forefinger to Keith’s lips, “Never ever tell me what it is that you and Shiro do.”
Pausing from continuing her project, Pidge grimaced from where she sat at the table, “I get sore just looking at you two do all that.”
Currently, both Lance and Keith were supported by their chins and shoulders as their body bent forward till the tip of their toes touched the mat, right in front of their faces. Keith had a relaxed expression on his face. He usually was after being with Shiro. Lance was both intrigued and a bit put out that Keith could match him and was basically as flexible as he was.
“Remind me again why you’re here tonight?” Pidge said out loud as she continued tinkering with two small devices, “I thought our match tomorrow would make you hang out with the lions tonight.”
“Actually…” Lance easily untangled himself and sat up straight, “I want Gryffindor to lose. They’ve had the quidditch cup for too long.”
At hearing that, Pidge smirked, “Why Lance! I didn’t know you were such a cunning raven! Are you actually suggesting of assisting us serpents against the battle with the lions?“
Hunk suddenly showed up with a tray of… some kind of food, “Why am I not included in all this?”
“You don’t play quidditch, Hunk.”
“Neither do you!” he frowned at Pidge and set the tray down on the table just as Lance helped Keith to stand up.
Pidge was still smirking, saying, “Yeah but Keith does.” As though that answered everything. In a way it did because Pidge didn’t like losing so she would find ways to make her quidditch team win. Unfortunately, against Gryffindor with a keeper like Shiro, a chaser like Allura, along with formidable beaters, not even Slytherin’s prodigy seeker could best them. Despite Keith catching the golden snitch in every single game ever played, it was never good enough to win them the cup.
"Well I have a few plans”, Lance sat down in front of Pidge and took out a parchment and quill from his robe that was still draped on the chair he was sitting on, “Okay, listen up…”
When Lance was done, Keith nodded, “It’s perfect.”
Lance’s head whipped so hard, it even surprised Keith, “Wait, really?”
Keith frowned and gestured at the parchment Lance had written his strategic play on like it was obvious, “Duh.” He pointed to one of the Slytherin chasers Lance had drawn and started explaining why Lance’s plan would work. Enthusiastic that someone like Keith actually liked his plan, the two of them started exchanging more and more ideas.
Meanwhile, Pidge was studying Lance. His plan was practically fullproof. Why didn’t he become the strategist for his own team? At the moment, Lance was only a reserve chaser for Ravenclaw. Before Pidge could ask, she felt Hunk nudge her side. She turned to see Hunk slowly shake his head. Pidge crossed her arms. She knew a little about Lance being ostracized for not being the right kind of Ravenclaw but how could anyone deny his plans? Heck, Pidge knew even Allura consulted him and that’s how they had been winning since three years ago.
Pidge sat back in her chair and took a good look around her. Lost children, that’s what they were. Didn’t really fit in anywhere. Hunk was a Hufflepuff that was almost too Ravenclaw with all his vast knowledge for both potions and magical theory. Lance was a Ravenclaw that wasn’t book smart but street smart instead with the courage of a Gryffindor. Herself, a Slytherin attitude with a very Ravenclaw brain. And then Keith, a Slytherin that wasn’t liked by anyone from his own house despite his contributions in both quidditch and studies. She would say Keith was a Gryffindor if she didn’t know any better but despite Keith’s reckless bravery, he was as loyal as a Hufflepuff, as sharp-witted as a Ravenclaw and with a deep-sated understanding of self-preservation only a Slytherin could have. Keith’s decisions sometimes made him seem heartless when in fact his ideas were the most practical and logical ones. Arguments with Keith usually led him to drive others away.
However, watching Keith and Lance banter lightly about other possible plays with Hunk on the side trying to cool them down made Pidge smile. She was glad they had each other. The misfit always fits with other misfits. They weren’t like Allura, Matt and Shiro who basically embodied their houses. Still, she was thankful for them. Matt who always supported them, often discussing animatedly about possibly new spells and potions with Hunk and helping Pidge with her latest projects, Allura who admired Lance’s brilliant mind and never took him for granted, and Shiro… Shiro who was always coaxing Keith out, always teaching him new moves on the broomstick, always teasing him and caring for him more than an older sibling, more than a friend. Despite all the shit that their houses sometime put them through, Pidge was glad they were all together.
Everyone had a different magical signature. It fully matured when a wizard was fully harmonized with their magic. Since children and adolescents were still volatile in regards to their emotion, their magic would not fully mature until the age ranging from 17 to 20 years old.
Keith, unlike most children, did not have the liberty or the freedom of a normal childhood. As an orphan under the care of the Blade of Marmora, Keith had matured much earlier and was able to fully control his magic at only the age of 12. However, before that age, Keith’s magic was too volatile to be enrolled into Hogwarts with the other first year 11-year-old children, thus the Marmora and the headmaster agreed that they would wait for Keith’s magic to fully settle before he was allowed to learn magic at the institute. Keith was the only one to begin his first year at Hogwarts at the age of 12.
Shiro, like many others, came fully into his magic at 18. The day that he did, he felt an itch under his skin. He ignored it and went through his normal routine. At breakfast, he joined the little group sitting at the end of the Hufflepuff table. Despite the tables being assigned by houses, not many of the students followed unless it was the grand dinner at the start or at the end of the school year. Any other time, they would sit wherever with whomever they wanted to. The staff didn’t seem to mind and there were no rules for seating placements at the Grand Hall.
It was a day like any other but for Keith and Shiro himself, it was the day they found each other. Shiro had sat in front of Keith that day, not noticing Keith’s wide eyes when he felt Shiro’s magic. Reaching out, Keith’s magic curiously touched Shiro’s and then they both felt their magic pulsing happily, twirling around each other.
Shiro and Keith stared at each other in a different light. It was Keith who spoke first. There was just a soft trace of laughter in his voice as he said, “It’s you..”
There was a foreign fondness in Keith’s voice when he said those words, making all their friends turn to look at them in surprise. As a Slytherin, Keith was often quiet unless prompted to speak. That didn’t count the snide remarks and petty fights he often had with Lance though. Still, even Pidge, Keith’s first friend and housemate, had never heard nor seen Keith exhibit such a soft voice and expression.
Shiro reached his hand over the table and entwined his fingers with Keith’s. His fingers squeezed and massaged Keith’s hand intermittently with gentle circular motions, both of them slowly smiling and just…letting their magic do the work. Allura was the first to gasp when she noticed their magical aura combining. She was the only one with such a gift for the past 5 generations of her family and what a gift it was, to witness Keith and Shiro’s aura wrapping around each other until they formed a new colour completely.
Pidge and Lance had stared at the entwined hands before they both shouted, “NO WAY” and just like that, the whole group was celebrating for their two friends.
The magical combination of compatible auras were in some way, similar to what the muggles often coined as ‘soulmates’.
At age 18, Shiro knew exactly who he would be spending the rest of his life with.
Shiro took his place as keeper and kept a vigilant lookout for the Slytherins throwing around the quaffle.
“Come here often, sir?” he heard a teasing voice from somewhere above him.
Shiro was already smiling before his eyes tracked down the opposing player in green. Keith was just lounging on his broomstick somewhere above the goal rings, that pretentious brat. Honestly, if Keith wasn’t such a good seeker, Shiro would have said that insult out loud.
“Shouldn’t you be patrolling for that little snitch?” Shiro teased back.
Keith rolled his eyes, “Does it matter if I go look for it now rather than later when it actually shows up?”
No it didn’t. In fact, rumours were that Keith was almost in tuned with the golden snitch. Matt and Pidge were the ones who offered the theory that Keith could actually hear the frequency of the golden snitch’s tiny wings due to his partial galra heritage and the only thing that would stop Keith from catching the small thing was if they were forced to wear noise-cancelling headphones during quidditch, which was never.
“AND THERE THEY GO!” Coran’s booming voice resounded throughout the pitch. Truly, there couldn’t be any other that suited as the commentator.
“Swift pass from red number 7 ther-! OH! STOLEN BY GREEN 19!!!”
Shiro braced himself as the Slytherin players approached. He was used to stopping their throws but at the final stretch before the ‘scoring area’ where only one chaser was allowed, the two Slytherin players initiated a very effective feint move involving a short throw-and-catch play, fooling Shiro easily before they scored the first goal of the game.
The crowds reacted in a mixture of awe, cheers, and disappointed grumbling.
The game continued with a change of momentum from all other previous Gryffindor-Slytherin matches. The Slytherin beaters seemed to know exactly when and where to time their hits, aiming the bludgers swiftly to the Gryffindor chasers who were about to catch the quaffle.
“Watch out for those bludgers!” Coran warned just as Allura herself had to back out from catching the quaffle in order to avoid a powerful hit from the bludger.
The quaffle was yet again stolen by the Slytherin chasers and despite experiencing the feint before, Shiro fell for it again, letting Slytherin gain 10 more points.
He could hear Keith’s muffled laughter from above him. There was something going on. A new play- Shiro looked up to Keith again and he knew what that mocking smile meant. They had the game all figured out.
After the next consecutive five goals, Keith called out, “Can’t keep up, old man?”
Shiro gripped his broomstick so hard he thought he could hear the wood start to crack. That brat was infuriating. Shiro adored him.
Too bad for the Slytherins that Shiro was quick to adapt after seeing the play again and again. They next feint was countered with Shiro’s own feint, effectively allowing him to block the quaffle from being thrown into one of the hoops.
Even Coran cheered for the Gryffindor keeper who finally managed to overcome Slytherin’s newest play.
Shiro smiled up at Keith, “What was that part again? Old man?”
Keith simply smiled back, posture stiff and threatening, “Just you wait.”
With Shiro’s save lifting everyone’s morale, Gryffindor finally had the strength to initiate counterattack.
Pidge adjusted her glasses from where she was sitting at the Ravenclaw tower stand. Since Matt and Lance were the majority (in term of house), Pidge and Hunk decided to join them instead of choosing to sit at other houses. Besides, the Ravenclaws were pretty much neutral since not many of them cared much for quidditch matches not involving their team, except Lance.
Whom by the way, was grumbling because of course Shiro could overcome his play after just 7 goals.
Matt just shrugged, “It’s Shiro. He practically raised all of you in quidditch. Can’t blame him for being able to overcome that. But it really was a good play. I’ve seen other teams try to perfect that but they never could because of the scoring area rule.”
“Thanks.” Lance smiled sincerely, “That’s the thing though. Number 19 and 20 from Slytherin, they.. Keith said they followed the rule book to a T. Obsessively. So I figured, if anyone could pull a feint before that line, it’d be those two. ‘Cuz they’d rather lose the game before breaking the rules.”
Hunk was happily looking through Matt’s self-made binoculars, “I think Keith just challenged Shiro or something. They got that weird ‘I’m-gonna-bring-you-down’ look they always make during practice.”
Pidge snorted, “Of course they would. After all…” She smirked up in Keith’s direction, “This isn’t over yet.”
Matt leaned towards his sister, “Careful Pidge, your Slytherin is showing~”
Gryffindor managed to score three times before something changed again. Keith mounted his broom properly before flying in front of Shiro to give him a mock two-finger salute, “Try to keep up, old man.”
Shiro was not at all expecting Keith to suddenly kick into overdrive as he dove straight into the game. At first, it seemed as though he was just flying in swift circles around the players. Keith moved so fast, Shiro saw him only as a green object. It looked as though Keith was chasing the golden snitch amidst the players. But even the Gryffindor seeker was looking incredulously at Keith, so that meant that the snitch was still not spotted yet. Again, Keith’s flying seemed harmless to Shiro. Except… it wasn’t.
“OH IT SLIPPED AGAIN!” Coran shouted with a little exasperation, “Perhaps the quaffle is a little slippery…” he muttered as an afterthought.
Shiro watched closer and then realization dawned on him. He only noticed after hearing Coran’s comment. Allura always caught the quaffle perfectly during practice but ever since Keith started circulating the pitch, Allura and the other two chasers failed to properly secure the quaffle in their hold, three out of five times losing it to the Slytherin chasers.
Finally, Shiro understood.
It was just a subtle thing that Keith was doing but it worked. Merlin, it was genius. Shiro let out a chuckle. He hadn’t ever seen this kind of play before, only heard of it.
Misdirection was a funny thing. And Keith, the swiftest flyer Hogwarts had ever seen in the past 50 years was definitely capable of initiating this play. He was fast enough to distract the chasers for a split second and was skillful enough to navigate, pause, break and turn his broom at will.
Heck that little green brat even affected Shiro at the goal post. All it took was a distraction close enough in Shiro’s eyesight and suddenly, he was fooled by the feint he had just learned to overcome earlier. When Slytherin scored again, Shiro could hear Keith’s laughter. And he couldn’t help but laugh along. Even though Shiro had never lost to Slytherin before, he felt as though he wouldn’t mind losing this game. The play was too good.
When he caught Keith’s attention, Shiro smiled in defeat while shaking his head slowly. And Keith, the mature brat that he was, gave Shiro his cheekiest grin.
Lance and Hunk were the only ones standing in the tower stand as they cheered for Keith. It was old news that their group rarely supported the housing system, just each other. Lance got a glare from Allura when she heard Lance cheering for her current enemy.
“Whoops.” Lance grimaced before he shouted in Allura’s direction, “YOU’RE STILL THE ONLY ONE FOR ME, ALLURA!” and then he added as a whisper, “…even if you lose this game, haha.”
Pidge was smiling at her fellow housemates. They didn’t even practice this play. It was just explained earlier in the changing room and yet they were pulling it off as though they’d been practicing it for months. Even she couldn’t escape from cheering for them every time they scored. She was surprised Matt wasn’t laughing at Shiro or something.
When she turned to her brother, she noticed him scowling.
“Matt? What’s wrong?”
“Katie…” he started without looking away from where he was scowling, “Remember those lions that I told you about? The ones who accused Keith of manipulating Shiro’s magic to bond with Keith’s?”
Pidge started frowning. Those prats were the worst kind of people. Prejudiced and so insistent on taking the house traits seriously. They never liked Shiro befriending Keith or herself but it got worse when they found out Shiro and Keith’s magic had officially bonded.
“’Course I do. Why?”
Matt finally looked at his sister, all seriousness in his eyes, “They just left their stand. And they’ve been glaring at Keith throughout the whole game.”
Keith loved flying. He never enjoyed quidditch much. Most of his love for the sport was an extension of Shiro’s own feelings. The game was so strange to Keith but who was he to judge that? Still, flying was Keith’s favourite pastime and only hobby. He almost hugged Kolivan when the Marmora presented him his first own broomstick. It meant a lot when Keith knew that the Marmora themselves weren’t big on ‘gifts’. He was able to train with Shiro much better after that. The school broomsticks didn’t move quite as smoothly as the latest ones that had a more aerodynamic design.
As Keith once more distracted Shiro from blocking the goal hoops, he heard the familiar fluttering of the golden snitch. He couldn’t see it yet but it was definitely released already. Keith smirked. As long as the Gryffindor seeker didn’t spot it yet, they could prolong the game for as long as it was necessary to keep the quidditch cup out of Gryffindor hands. If Keith could just… get them more than 300 points ahead, it should be enough. Besides, if they could repeat the current strategy against the other houses, they were a shoo-in to win the cup.
He kept distracting the chasers and Shiro all the while keeping an eye on the Gryffindor seeker. After Slytherin scored 3 more times and Gryffindor scored once, the red seeker finally spotted the golden snitch.
With an easy-looking maneuver, Keith swiftly flew towards that annoying fluttering sound. It would only be about a 250-point lead but that was better than what they originally expected. Without Lance’s play, Gryffindor would have won whether or not Keith caught the snitch. He was so gonna get those stupid (yet really expensive) ingredients Lance always wanted to create the perfect face mask or whatever it was that he used before bed time. It was a tradition he learned from the muggle world. Keith never knew why some wizards hated the muggles. Those people built buildings with their bare hands (indirectly but still using their hands nonetheless to create those…. ‘machines’ Pidge called them) and created weapons to fight for them. Muggles were impressive.
Getting his head back in the game, Keith had already outflow the Gryffindor seeker and he could finally see the fluttering golden snitch.
Keith reached his hand out. He could feel the cool golden metal despite his thick gloves as his fingers wrapped around the snitch.
“Gotcha” he whispered to himself.
All of a sudden, Keith’s outstretched arm exploded in sharp pain. Keith let out a hoarse scream as he felt himself swerve to the left from the massive impact. He was disoriented from the pain for a few seconds before he managed to balance his broom again.
His right arm was broken and was resting at a very odd angle.
Keith gritted his teeth. Then, the shouting started. Keith looked up to see more than a dozen bludgers moving all over the pitch. The students were screaming as some bludgers went through the tower stands and others were trying futilely to stop the rogue bludgers with ‘finite incantatem’ spells. The beaters from both teams were shouting for their teammates to dismount as they deflected what they could with their bats.
But four beaters couldn’t honestly battle more than 12 rogue bludgers.
Despite the pain in his arm, Keith flew. He was their fastest flyer, he had to help. Before three bludgers could hit Allura, Keith swiftly tackled her and practically pushed her with her broom towards one of the exits.
“KEITH!”
“GET OUT OF HERE!”
Allura’s eyes were wide with fear when she saw his arm, “Y-Your arm-“
“ARGH!” a loud cry from the pitch broke off Allura’s sentence.
Keith’s head snapped at that sound. He knew that voice.
Turning away from Allura, Keith quickly flew towards Shiro. One of the bludgers had hit Shiro’s broom, breaking it into two.
On any other occasion, Keith would have enjoyed the exhilarating wind against his face. But at that moment, all he wanted was to go fast enough to catch Shiro.
“SHIRO!!”
Keith didn’t even care that one of his arm was broken. He reached out his uninjured arm and-… “GOTCHA!” Keith gripped Shiro’s arm and let them descend towards the ground.
Shiro’s momentum from falling off his own broom pulled them quickly towards the pitch but it was at a speed that they would survive from. Around 10 of the rogue bludgers were finally tamed by the professors by then. Unfortunately, Keith was not so lucky.
Just a few feet more from reaching the ground, Shiro saw it coming from his left. In that split second, he could tell by the speed they were moving that it would hit Keith. He could only look up at his bondmate, pure fear in his eyes when he shouted, “KEITH LOOK OUT!”
It hit Keith on the side. And in that short amount of time, Keith knew to let Shiro go so that he wouldn’t be dragged along for the ride. Shiro fell the last few feet and landed on his back with the wind knocked out of his breath. But he couldn’t care less about the trauma as he immediately sat up to look for Keith.
The hit from the bludger made Keith lose control of his broom, causing him to land roughly onto the pitch, breaking his broomstick and other parts of his body as well. It wasn’t just his arm in a weird angle this time.
The final bludger was tamed. The teachers were running towards the pitch. Pidge, Lance, Hunk and Matt were running down the stairs of the tower stand. And Shiro was running towards Keith. At first, there was no sound. And Shiro felt dread fill him. But he could still feel their bond. Keith was still alive. Shiro begged that Keith was just unconscious. That’s why he was so quiet.
But suddenly, Keith screamed.
It was a long cry of strangled pain, over and over again.
It was a sound that Shiro would never forget.
It was a few hours before they could finally see Keith and Shiro at the hospital wing. Shiro was admitted overnight as a precaution for the trauma from his fall. And Keith was admitted, obviously, for his multiple injuries, not limited to broken bones and crushed organs.
“Hey guys.” Pidge was the first to approach the only occupied beds, Lance and Hunk close behind her.
Shiro was out of his bed, opting to sit on the chair beside Keith’s bed instead. His hand was tenderly gentling Keith’s uninjured left hand.
“Hey.” Keith croaked weakly at his housemate.
Pidge quickly jumped to sit on Keith’s other side, carefully avoiding his arm. She smiled softly at Keith, “You look like shit dude.”
Keith snorted.
He did look like shit. His whole torso, right arm, pelvic region and left leg were completely wrapped in bandages. They had to save his crushed organs first from the second bludger hit. That took more than two hours. The rest of the time was used to setting his bones again before administering the skele-gro potion to allow the bones to reconnect properly.
Lance and Hunk hovered at the foot of Keith’s bed. Hunk raised a small pouch and dangled it, “Made your fav cookies! Shay helped pack’em. This pouch is much bigger on the inside than on the outside, fyi. And I made around 5 batches. Coated them all individually with that white chocolate Klaizap sent to you, it was on your bed I hope you don’t mind. Of course, I had to melt them first before I could coat the cookies and then leave them on the drying tray, I mean, THAT was how long we had to wait to see you.”
Keith gave a weak laugh. Only Hunk would stress-bake 200 cookies for him and nervously rant about it, “Thanks Hunk..”
Lance hid his sadness at seeing Keith sprawled on the hospital bed by pretending everything was fine, “Dude. You were awesome. If it wasn’t because you were practically fighting against your own quidditch mentor here-“ he gestured his head towards Shiro, “-you would have easily scored that 300 lead.”
Shiro shook his head slowly with that same smile he gave Keith after the misdirection play, “That was the best play I’ve ever seen.” He turned to Lance, “Allura’s gonna be pissed you didn’t share it with her instead.”
Keith croaked out with a soft sneer, “Heh. Good luck with that.. Only someone as fast as me can run that play.”
Lance raised his hands exasperatedly, “Obviously he’s fine enough to compliment himself, ladies and gentlemen.”
They all laughed at that, all of them ignoring that rogue bludgers almost killed their friend. Ignoring that Keith could have died. Ignoring that they had all heard Keith’s pure unadulterated screams on that pitch. Ignorance was bliss. They could share this small moment, just making Keith smile.
After a few minutes, they all heard a woman clear her throat.
Lance was the one who pouted at the matron, “Just 5 more minutes please~? I promise we’ll go to dinner in just fiiiiiivvveee more minutes!”
The matron did not look happy at Lance, Pidge and Hunk. In the end, Shiro was the one who encouraged them to go get some dinner before everything vanished.
“Fine.” Pidge grumbled, “But we’re coming back tomorrow.”
Shiro chuckled, “We won’t stop you.”
Keith inclined his head towards his friends, “..see you guys tomorrow.”
“Bye mullet head.” Lance gave a small wave.
Hunk placed the pouch of cookies on Keith’s bedside, “Goodnight Keith.”
Pidge didn’t say anything from where she sat beside Keith. Instead, she just gently caressed the back of her fingers against his cheek. All she could think was that those people had hurt what was theirs. Pidge knew that none of them ‘belonged’ to their houses because their houses didn’t fully accept them, so alternately they belonged to each other. And those people had hurt their Keith. Then her eyes met Shiro’s in a silent reverent stare.
Shiro nodded and said, “Have fun.”
The matron quickly ushered the trio after that. She locked the hospital wing to avoid any more visitors. She approached Keith’s bed and gave Shiro a disapproving glare, “I would urge all patients to sleep on their own beds, Shirogane.”
“My magic helps him heal, madam.”
And it did. Their magic had bonded. Physical touch between bonded wizards helped to heal injuries by distributing their magical core.
The matron’s expression soften when Shiro reminded her of their bond, “Yes yes… That would help greatly. Nasty little thing that skele-gro potion.. They still haven’t made a pain reliever to go with it.”
“Thank you, madam.”
Excusing herself for the night, she left to stay in her office. It would be another 5 hours before Keith could take a pain reliever potion. Once her door closed, Shiro cast a muffliato charm surrounding Keith’s bed.
“It’s okay Keith…” He spoke softly, “It’s okay to let go now.”
Keith’s eyelids fluttered as he did as he was told. The coast was finally clear.
It started with little twitches in Keith’s left hand and feet. The tension of keeping his body locked up slowly eased. His breath quickened, matching the rapid rise and deflation of his chest. The twitches turned to full spasms followed by a wet sob. That was when the tears started flowing and the dam was broken.
Shiro watched as Keith dropped all his masks and cried out all the agonizing pain he was truly suffering. And all Shiro could do was return the grip Keith had on his hand.
“..it…” Keith hiccupped through an intense sob, “…hurts.. Taka-…shi…”
“I know.” Shiro cupped Keith’s face, locking their eyes together, “I need you to hold on, Keith. I’m right here, okay?”
Keith nodded, and weakly pulled Shiro’s hand. Shiro got the message before laughing, “This is not how I planned to get in your bed, Keith.”
In midst the endless tears and sobs, Keith let out a wet laugh, “Shut up-…and get in here..”
“Bossy.” But Shiro complied, making sure to avoid all of Keith’s injuries. He was somehow able to join Keith on the bed by sacrificing his arm as a pillow (the actual pillow used as a cushion for Keith’s side). Keith still held onto Shiro’s hand, taking deep breaths throughout the torment of his injuries. All the while, Shiro kissed his head, wiped his tears away and whispered comfort in his ear.
Their magic entwined and wrapped them both in a cocoon. Miraculously, even without a pain reliever potion, Keith eventually fell asleep in Shiro’s arms.
Pidge, Lance and Hunk never went to get dinner. They never planned to. There was too much anger thrumming under their skin. The moment they turned to the first corridor outside the hospital wing, they saw Matt and Kolivan talking. When the three of them approached, Matt and Kolivan turned towards them.
Kolivan looked into their eyes one by one. Whatever he was looking for, he found it. The leader of the Blade of Marmora inclined his head towards them, his own version of a tacit approval, before making a quiet exit out of the castle. He was present during Keith’s surgery that was conducted both by a blade healer and a healer from St Mungos. Keith’s mixture of anatomy was luckily not an issue with both of them present. The discrimination that Kolivan knew Keith suffered made him believe that the perpetrators would escape unscathed. But then Matt spoke to him and proved his words when Kolivan saw Pidge, Lance and Hunk. He saw a similar look in Shiro’s eyes earlier as well. If it wasn’t for Keith needing Shiro’s presence, Kolivan was certain Shiro would have dealt with ‘them’ on his own.
Once the Marmora leader was out of sight, Matt turned to his two friends and younger sister, “We have 6 hours. Allura, Shay, Luxia and Olia are dealing with our alibis. Nyma and Rolo are standing guard right now outside the… classroom.” Matt smirked, “Shiro’s joining us after he can finally give Keith a pain reliever potion.”
Lance tilted his head with a bored expression but his eyes reflected how eager he was to meet the people that dared to hurt his friends, “What are we still doing here then?”
Hunk lifted his hand as though to ask a question, “Um.. I have these potion recipes that my parents never allowed me to make because they said it had…questionable effects to its drinkers.”
There was an awkward pause of stunned silence where everyone just stared at the Hufflepuff before Hunk continued, “I… also know the antidote recipes..? So its not like.. y’know. A forever thing. I just wanna know what happens.”
Pidge huffed a small laugh, smiling at her brother, “I guess they’re lucky Shiro only gets an hour with them, huh?”
“You have no idea.” Matt shook his head slowly, still looking at Hunk with a bewildered expression, “But 5 hours with you guys should be interesting.”
Keith stirred and started feeling the pain all over his body again. The white hot pain was coming back and he didn’t want it anymore. He whimpered and shook his head. He didn’t want to wake up. He couldn’t- Not again, not again, please, pleas-
“Shhh Keith, it’s okay.” Shiro whispered softly, quieting his pleas. Keith didn’t even realize he was saying it out loud until Shiro spoke over him.
Keith heard a distant “I got it, Madam.” before he felt the bed dip beside his head and then Shiro was there pressing their lips together. Keith made a questioning noise but otherwise didn’t complain. He especially did not complain when he tasted the familiar liquid Shiro was forcing down his throat from their kiss. He could feel himself slowly floating on a cloud, the pain ebbing away into a dull ache that was barely noticeable.
His mind was finally calm and he could breathe easily again. Keith opened his eyes properly only to be greeted by Shiro’s blinding smile, “Better?”
Shiro had braced himself rather ingeniously, hovering the way he was over Keith’s recovering body without crushing him. Since Keith was able to think clearly, he contemplated silently before deciding to swat his boyfriend’s arm, “You just wanted to do that ‘medicine kiss’ with me didn’t you?”
Truthfully, he could have just helped Keith sit up to drink the potion. It’s not like Keith’s spine was injured or anything. Keith glared at Shiro until the Gryffindor gave him a sheepish look that was answer enough. A few weeks ago, sometime after their magic bonded, they had watched a ‘movie’ Lance had brought to Hogwarts and Pidge and Matt managed to build their own device that mixed a little muggle technology and few simple spells to display all the contents of the ‘CD’. The movie wasn’t that interesting but Keith remembered how obsessed Shiro was with the ‘intimate healing trope’ Hunk called it. Shiro was specifically interested in the ‘mouth-to-mouth medicine dosing’.
Keith chuckled when Shiro started pouting slightly. Keith wrapped his uninjured left hand around Shiro’s neck and pulled him down till their noses touched, “Kiss me properly already, old man.”
“Brat.” Shiro teased fondly before complying with the much needed kiss. What they didn’t say in words, they expressed with the urgency to be intimate. Keith breathed in their magic, so saturated around them after a whole night of sharing their magical core. Keith could feel traces of Shiro’s fear of losing him but he felt Shiro’s relief the most. They didn’t even hear the matron clearing her throat rather loudly. Unfortunately, their snogging session was short-lived when the pain reliever fully kicked in and Keith started slipping back into sleep.
Shiro parted their kiss and stroked Keith’s cheek gently, “Sleep, Keith.” he whispered quietly.
And Keith did.
A crack resounded in the previously abandoned classroom.
Matt turned to Shiro, surprised to see that his friend had apparated so easily. Shiro just shook his head at Matt’s questioning eyebrow lift, “That wasn’t me. Klaizap brought me here. Said I’d run into the headmaster if he didn’t take me here directly.”
“Of course that little guy would know where we are.” Then Matt let out an exaggerated relieved sigh, “PHEW! For a second there, I thought you learned to overcome the anti-apparition charm and anti-disapparition jinx before I did!”
“I’ll leave that to you and Pidge, thank you.” They both laughed before Shiro’s friendly demeanor suddenly took a sharp turn as he remembered how much his bondmate had suffered during and after the bludger incident. He was sure Pidge, Lance and Hunk were still having fun but their time was up. Shiro had a smile on his face that didn’t quite reach his eyes when he asked Matt slowly, “My turn now to play with them, isn’t it?”
Author’s Note: I always believe there’s this line that people would cross when you push them to their limit, directly or indirectly. And when you mix that with magic, damn. Imagine the possibilities… I know I made it like it was off-screen torture or something but IMAGINE, the paladins are hardly dumb, and they have magic, imagine the amount of times you can hurt and heal, hurt and heal, make them forget, CHANGE them. I like how some hp ff emphasized on the greyness of magic, light and dark. Not all light-affiliated wizards are good and not all dark-affiliated wizards are bad. This fic isn’t really about this distinction but more on what magic could actually do and how it would affect morality.
The paladins and the accomplices (the girls I mentioned in passing) are exacting revenge because they CAN. If someone did what those teens did to one of your own, hurting them as much as Keith was hurt, and you had the ability to return the gesture without a trace and without leaving permanent damage, would you?
Anyway, I really enjoyed writing that, it’s been awhile since I wrote something like this… I hope you guys liked it. Maybe one day I’ll write a full fic with the whole 7 book shibang hahahah I love wandless wordless Pidge urgh I might continue just for her sake tbh
#sheithsecretsanta2017#sheith#vld#little dark sorry#fanfic#protective paladins#hurt keith#hogwarts au#mmmmmm#my fics#my children
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A resuce and a discovery- Bi VLD Week Day 1
So when trying to think of an idea for this, I kept thinking of Keith and I’ll be honest, I don’t really see a lot of bi Keith stuff. I could be totally wrong and just not be looking right, but I hope everyone likes this.
Discovery/Journey
Why was he doing this to himself? If he leaned back a bit, he could just look past his locker where he could see the two of them. God, why did it have to be her?
Lance forced himself to look back inside his locker where he was supposed to be grabbing his books for his next class. The history teacher did not like him and he didn’t want to give her an excuse to dump more work on him.
“Come on, skip with me.” Lance heard her say.
“I can’t. The teacher is really observant despite how old she is.”
“But I want to be with you. Besides, all those girls will be staring at you. Plus those poor unfortunate gay guys who think they have a chance. And you’re all mine.”
He couldn’t take it anymore. He slammed the locker door shut, locking it. The noise drew attention from the other two people.
“Eavesdropping McClain?”
Lance scoff, putting the key to his locker in his blazer pocket. “Like I’d be interested in whatever you and mullet would be talking about Nyma, but honestly not hard to hear your pathetic begging when your screechy voice can be heard all the way down the hall.”
Nyma, in her blonde hair purple eyed glory, could be considered the most beautiful person in the whole school. But their school was very well known for not only focusing on gender when looking at beauty, which was why Lance took the spot as the most beautiful person in the school. Everyone knew how much it annoyed her, which is why Lance was sure she took such an interest in Keith Kogane, who Lance would totally go after. If he wasn’t so sure Keith was completely straight and flirting back with Nyma.
“Jealous McClain?”
“Of what, your horrible attempts to be appealing? As if. If you’d excuse me, I have better things to do other than watch the gag fest of your mating call. Hi boys.” Lance waved to a group of guys who just happened to be passing.
“Hi Lance.” They called back, watching as he went to the steps. He heard Nyma try and get their attention but no replies where heard. That made him feel slightly better.
Lance didn’t know how this crush started. Oh no wait, yes he did. He saw Keith and that was it. He was perfect in every way. Well except he was completely straight, not at all interested in boys. So what did Lance do? He picked a fight with him every time until Keith was so sure Lance was nothing but a spoiled brat. Lance didn’t know what was wrong with him. He knew Keith was straight and should of lost interest but he still wanted it and went so far as to get Keith to pretty much hate him and see him as an annoyance just to keep Keith’s attention on him.
‘The sooner I get over that crush, the better. He’s straight and interested in Nyma. Besides, even if he was interested in guys, he wouldn’t be interested in the guy who is always annoying him.’
Time in class seemed to drag on, though it might have had something to do with their teacher. A sweet woman who actually looked past their trouble making side to actually look at the kids in it, but it didn’t mean listening to her teach wasn’t a drag. She would go on and on about their subject, diving deeper on parts that weren’t mentioned in the textbook. Lance was hiding behind his textbook to doodle in his notebook, not even trying to stop himself from drawing little drawings of Keith’s face.
“Gay.” Pidge whispered from the desk next to him. He just stuck his tongue out at her, not even bothering to correct her that it was bi like he always did when she’d make the comment. He liked Pidge, but her being friends with Keith was bound to kill him someday with how often Keith joined in on their hangouts. He looked over his shoulder where Keith sat in the back, actually looking like he was paying attention. Lance could vaguely make out smudged lipstick on his neck. He turned back around, ducking lower in his seat. What was he doing? Why was he torturing himself like this? Keith wasn’t interested so why could Lance get over it?
“Excuse me, Mrs. Opal?” Lance looked up, eyes automatically narrowing at the sight of Nyma, “the principal is calling Lance McClain to the office. He has a phone call apparently and his secretary was a bit busy.”
Phone call? The only person who’d call him at the school was his dad and he knew when Lance was in class and would usually call him on his cell. He only called the school when Lance was in trouble and Lance knew he didn’t get into any schemes recently.
“Mr. McClain go ahead, don’t spend the whole period talking on the phone ok?”
“Uh, yes ma’am.” Lance got up and walked out the door, Nyma following him close by. He expected her to leave now that her message was delivered but she was following his every step to the office of the principal. He got the hallway past the lockers when he turned around and faced Nyma. “Can I help you with something?”
“You could stop pinning over my boyfriend.”
“Excuse me? Someone is actually dating you? Who is that poor soul?”
“Very funny. I see the way you look at Keith, its sad really.”
“What sad is how you can’t seem to function without your mullet around. The only way I look at Keith is in annoyance on having to see you two together. It’s honestly sad and pathetic to see.”
Nyma scoffed. “Oh please, you are so in love with him, it’s sickening to watch. It must annoy you so much that I have a chance with him and you don’t. Of course, you're such a slut with any other guy, he must appreciate it.”
“Oh I get it,” Lance said, rolling his eyes, trying hard to hide how Nyma’s accusations hurt him. He flirted but he never slept around. People could call him a tease, but he wanted an actual relationship. “You’re jealous that all the guys like me more than they like you, so you’re just making insane accusations to make yourself feel better. Wow, I knew you were desperate, but this is so sad.” Lance turned around and continued on his way to the principal’s office, glad that he didn’t hear Nyma’s footsteps behind him.
Strangely though, there was no phone call waiting for him. He guessed Nyma was just trying to annoy him and just did it so she could bother him out of class. It was slightly annoying when the principal came out of his office and accused him of skipping class. He was walking back to class when his phone buzzed. He decided to take the chance to stop and check it without any teachers to yell at him for having his phone during class hours.
“Lance move!” he heard before somebody crashed into him, pushing him back but still somehow making sure he didn’t fall back. He also heard the sound of some sort of liquid falling and hitting the titled floor. Once he got his bearing back, he saw it was Keith who pushed him out of the way. Lance couldn’t help the blush that came to his face, as he pushed himself away from Keith.
“w-what the hell? What are you doing?”
“You’re welcome.” Keith said, crossing his arms. “God knows we wouldn’t hear the end of it if you got hit by that.” He moved out of the way so Lance could see the large puddle of dirty and muddy water that stained the floor. Lance looked up to the walkway on the floor above where Lance’s locker was located. “I saw Nyma dragging one of those mop things the janitor uses upstairs a little while after you left, so I reminded Mrs. Opal about attendance sheets to figure out what she was up to. What did you do?”
Nyma, of course. But why did Keith try and figure out what she was up to and then try and save him?
“My apologies for pissing off your girlfriend.”
Keith sighed, “She’s not my girlfriend. I was interested and flirting with her yeah, but I’m not interested in people who do petty things like that. It’s one thing to give harsh words, but just trying to mess with people like that can get dangerous.”
A small part of Lance felt elated that Nyma lost her chance to be with Keith. He tried pushing it down but it wasn’t listening.
“Maybe next time you should flirt with a girl who doesn’t get annoyed when a guy gets more attention than her. No one likes it when you need that much validation.”
Keith shrugged, “I mean, you can’t blame the guys for being interested.”
Lance let out a forced laugh, why was he playing with his emotions like that? Other straight guys complimented him on his looks but hearing it from Keith. It made him happy but then he remembered it wasn’t really an interested compliment. “Right, no homo though right?”
“Well a bit. I’m not blind.”
Wait, what?
“Huh? But you’re straight.”
Keith blinked before bursting into laughter. Lance felt almost insulted at the fact that he was laughing at him but also liked listening to him laugh.
“Lance, I’m not straight. I’m bi.”
“What, no you’re not. I’ve only seen you flirt with girls.”
“True, but only because most of the guys here are straight, fuckboys if they are gay, bi or pan or just not my type. Besides, I’m more used to flirting with girls since it’s safer but the one guy I’m slightly interest in doesn’t seem to like me.”
“What, who?” why was that the first thing out of his mouth. It was like he wasn’t trying to hide how he felt.
Keith gave him this sort of smug look and stepped closer to him. “Oh trust me, you know who he is. You know him really well.” He said, poking Lance on the nose before turning around and walking off. “Maybe you’ll see me flirt with him next. I grantee you won’t be upset about it.”
That small blush from before felt like it took over his whole face. Keith was bi, Keith was interested in guys, Keith was interested in a guy and for some reason, that guy sounded like it was him. Yeah, that crush wasn’t going anywhere.
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hypnotized - klance oneshot
k so this is my first fic for the vld fandom and its a mostly fluffy, little langst, klance oneshot. i hope u like it :3
on ao3
“Lance! No!” Lance faintly heard Keith scream as he threw himself in front of Keith and his lion in attempt to block the blow they were about to take. The blast hit him like a hurricane, whirling Blue and him around and around until he was far away from the rest of the team. He could hear the others shouting his name, Keith loudest, but he couldn’t get any words out.
At least Keith’s okay.
During the time Lance was spinning around, he had been thrown out of his seat, hitting the top his lion. Now, he was lying on the floor, a throbbing pain in his side, and the feeling of a hot and dark liquid surrounded him.
The last thing he remembered before blacking out was seeing Keith’s sparkling eyes in his mind – or was it real? – and hearing his friends calling his name one last time.
Lance? Lance!
Was it someone calling him? Or was he still in the dream state he seemed to be stuck in? Lance tried moving his arms, but they didn’t work. In fact, no other part of his body seemed to work. Was he still in his lion after the crash?
He tried opening his eyes, and through the slits he saw a tall figure with black and white hair, mouth moving with words Lance couldn’t hear. Next to Shiro stood Hunk and Pidge, with Allura and Coran behind them. Each of them looked equally worried, and Lance realized with a start that it was him they were worried about. His eyes whipped around the room as far as they would go without needing to turn his head, and he didn’t know what he was looking for until he found it. Keith. He had his head slightly turned away from him. He was wringing his fingers around his wrists, and his leg jiggled from – what was it? Nervousness? Why would he be nervous? Keith was the reason Lance was in the healing pod – if that was where he was, that is. He vaguely recalled what had happened. A blast, some spinning, and lots of yelling, but the details he couldn’t remember. Lance was pretty sure it was Keith he was trying to save, but he didn’t know why.
Before he could dwell on his thoughts any longer, something in front of him gave way and he was falling through the air, waiting to feel the hit of the cold ground.
But it didn’t come. Instead of a hard surface, he was in warm arms cradling him. Hunk lifted him up carefully, saying something like ‘I’m so glad you’re okay, Lance.’ Pidge hugged him too, scolding him for making such a rash decision. Shiro placed a hand on Lance’s shoulder in a comforting manner.
“Pidge is right, Lance,” he said, and Lance looked up to his face. “You shouldn’t just jump in front of someone.” Allura came from behind Shiro and nodded,
“I understand you were scared for your fellow paladin, but you must understand the danger you put yourself in. You’re lucky you survived.” She said the last phrase softly.
“Hey, I’m fine now, aren’t I?” Lance tried to lighten the mood, but all he got was a tight smile from Allura, a frown still shadowed in her eyes. “What? Am I not okay?”
“You are now, Lance, but you weren’t before,” replied Coran, his usually cheery aroma gone. “I don’t think you understand how serious the situation was.”
“How serious was the situation, then?” Lance asked, frustrated that none of them were giving him a straight answer.
“You were in the healing pod for over a week, Lance. That’s not normal. You lost a lot of blood, since part of your lion was embedded into your side,” Shiro explained, and Lance winced at the thought. “You were in critical condition when Keith took you to his lion.”
At the mention of Keith, Lance turned his head in his direction, seeing that he was looking his way now, the common scowl on his face switched with a soft expression and upturned brows. When they made eye contact, Keith turned away again, the familiar frown returning to his face.
Lance returned his gaze to the rest of them, mumbling an apology. But in truth, he wasn’t sorry. He would do it all again if he had to, to save Keith.
“You were about to die, Lance. Don’t joke about it.” Lance whipped his head in time to see Keith storming out of the room after his sudden outburst.
Shiro called out to him but got no reply, and as Lance began to walk out after Keith, Allura held him back.
“I’m sorry, Lance, but we’ve got to double check on your vitals, and it is very important that you get your rest.” Lance groaned at that, and Hunk gave a comforting pat on his shoulder. He would have to talk with Keith later.
“Keith, are you in there?” Lance called through Keith’s shut door, knocking softly. “Please, Keith. I just want to talk.”
He heard a soft groan before the door opened, revealing a messy haired Keith behind it. Lance felt a blush creeping up his face.
How could he look so cute?
Lance cleared his throat, and forced a smile. “Did you have a nice nap?”
Keith scowled at him, but let him in. Lance resisted the urge to ruffle his friend’s dark mullet.
“Are you mad at me?” Lance asked, his forced smile falling of his face, fiddling with the worn ends of his dark green jacket. He looked up at Keith through his eyelashes, nervous to make eye contact.
Keith kept the scowl on his face, and turned away from Lance, not saying anything. When it was clear he wasn’t budging, Keith sighed.
“I- I mean. I’m not mad. You just…scared me. A lot. Scared all of us.” He ran a shaking hand through his dark hair, still not looking at Lance. In a much quieter voice, he added, “We didn’t know for sure if you’d make it. You almost died, Lance. I- I don’t think you understand how important you are to the team. Without you, we fell apart. You’re the glue that keeps us all together. Thank god we didn’t get an attack from the Galrans; we wouldn’t have survived.”
Lance was speechless. His mouth was slightly open, eyebrows upturned, intently looking at Keith as he spoke. Never before had anyone said something so honest, so open, and he least of all expected it from Keith. His heart ached seeing him like this, broken, trying to stop the tears from falling down his lightly freckled cheeks. Lance hadn’t notice them before – they looked adorable. He mentally slapped himself. He was supposed to be comforting his fellow paladin, not thinking about how freaking cute he was. He scowled at himself, feeling heat creep up his neck and face. Carefully, he put an arm around Keith, pulling him close as soft sobs escaped him, hoping the motion wasn’t awkward.
Luckily, instead of pulling back Keith moved closer, burying his face in Lance’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry. I should be the one comforting you, not the other way around,” he said between sobs and hiccups.
“Nonsense. When would I ever pass up a chance to cuddle?” The words were out of Lance’s mouth before he even thought about them, and it was too late to take them back. His hand suddenly stopped rubbing Keith’s back, the realization of what he had said dawning on him. If possible, his face reddened even more, and he was sure Keith’s bed was covered in his sweat.
Keith’s sobs also ceased, and he pulled back a little to look at Lance. He had a look of shock on his face,
“Did you just flirt with me?”
“No-nope! What are you talking about? I always cuddle my friends. Yup. Just-just ask Hunk! He’ll tell you just that, y’know. I’m the cuddly type. With friends. Yeah.” Lance babbled at him, trying not to bury his face into the pillow on Keith’s bed and scream for eternity. His next thought was how that pillow would smell like Keith, but he immediately dismissed the thought.
Keith smirked softly at him, wiping the tears off his face with the hem of his shirt. When he did that, Lance spotted part of his toned abs peeking through the exposed skin, and made him want to wrap his arms around him. He coughed loudly and suddenly, startling Keith and turning his smirk into a worried frown.
“Are you okay?”
Lance nodded quickly. His face was probably as red as the ripest tomato, and he cringed at himself.
“I’m fine, sorry,” he said, trying to recover quickly, which clearly didn’t work since Keith raised an eyebrow at him. Luckily, he dropped the subject, but they ended up in an awkward silence.
After an agonizing three minutes, Keith turned to Lance and spoke so softly he almost didn’t hear him over the incredibly loud beating of his heart.
“Just, Lance, please don’t do that.” His voice sounded so broken that Lance couldn’t help but pull him into a tight hug. Keith seemed startled at first, but he relaxed a bit and hugged Lance back.
He’s so warm, Lance thought, more heat rushing into his cheeks. In an even quieter voice, Keith whispered,
“I don’t want to lose you.”
Lance swore he had a heart attack. His breath hitched in his throat, and all his mind seemed able to do was bury his head in the crook of Keith’s neck.
“You know, if I hadn’t done what I did, I might have lost you.”
This time, it was Keith’s turn to freeze up.
“You can’t just say things like that,” he mumbled, his face turning red. Lance, feeling satisfied with flustering Keith, decided that he wanted to see Keith blushing more often.
They stayed like that a bit, until Lance felt Keith’s breathing even out, and let him lie down on his bed. He stayed for a bit, watching Keith drift into a peaceful sleep, when he caught himself. He quickly got up and left Keith on his own, his face almost as red as before.
God, he was so fucked.
The next few days, or what were considered days in Altean time, passed with Lance trying not to confess his feelings every time he saw Keith, usually ending in a blushing mess. The others must have noticed something strange, because they constantly asked him if he was okay, or if anything had happened between him and Keith. He dismissed them, only hoping that Keith also didn’t notice him acting strange.
However, a few days after his discovery of his crush, Pidge and Hunk decided they had had enough. After another one of his flustered sessions, Pidge, saying nothing, grabbed him by the elbow and led them to the common room, empty except for them.
They sat him down, glaring daggers at him.
“Do you, perhaps, have anything to tell us?” Pidge asked, taking a seat beside him.
“Uh… I’m guessing you won’t believe me if I say no?”
Hunk crossed his arms, sitting down on his other side. “No, we won’t. Now, will you please tell us what the heck is going on with you and Keith?”
“Um. Well, you see, I’m pretty sure there’s not anything wrong with him, but…”
“But…?” Pidge urged him to go on.
“But, I think I might maybe, just maybe, like him?” Lance’s voice squeaked at the end, and Hunk looked at him patiently, a faint smile on his face.
Lance sighed, he wasn’t going to get out of this. “I have a horrible, terrible, awful, gigantic crush on Keith. Happy now?”
Pidge grinned widely, pumping a fist in the air, “Ha! I was right! Shiro, you owe me five bucks!”
Confused, Lance whipped his head back and forth, “But Shiro’s not here?”
“Sorry kid, but it was Pidge’s idea,” said a manly voice from behind, and Lance knew it was unmistakably Shiro. He turned his head to look, and beside Shiro stood a sweetly smiling Allura.
“You-you guys! You can’t eavesdrop like that!” Lance pouted, throwing his hands up.
“Hey, it was taking a while for you to admit, and we needed confirmation. Shiro, hand over the money.” Pidge put her hand out, other hand on her hip.
“Wh-you guys bet on me too?! That-that is unacceptable! I thought we were friends!”
“Hey, I said you were just acting weird because of your injuries, and Keith’s initial reaction,” said sweet, innocent Hunk.
“As did I,” added Shiro, and Lance sighed,
“Glad to know I have some good friends,” he said, glaring at Pidge, who stuck her tongue out.
“Shut up, you love me.”
“I wish I didn’t.”
“Well,” Allura interrupted, “when are you telling Keith about your feelings for him?”
“Who said I was telling him anything?” Lance cried, still pouting.
“Lance, I’m pretty sure he feels the same way about you. So, I definitely support the idea of you confessing.” Shiro said, putting on his Dad Voice.
“I agree. Have you even seen him around you? He gets almost as flustered as you.” Hunk added.
Lance rolled his eyes, “Yeah right. The dude hates my guts.” Except for that night.
“Uh, no. You should’ve seen him when you were in the pod. He didn’t budge from in front of you for the first three days! We had to remind him to eat – he almost died of starvation,” Pidge pointed out.
“Yes, and he was pretty reluctant to leave too,” Allura said, patting his shoulder. Lance covered his face with his hands, blushing profusely.
“But what if you guys are wrong? What if he does hate my guts? What would I do next?”
“You will tell him, or we will do it for you,” Pidge deadpanned.
Lance groaned, leaning against Hunk. “Fiiiine. But if he doesn’t like me back, you are all dead. R.I.P Space Dad and Mom. Next to them, Hunk and Pidge, almost too young to die. Almost. Death at the hand of Lance for incredibly bad advice.”
“Don’t be dramatic, Lance,” Allura said, a smile adorning her gorgeous face.
“I am the definition of dramatic,” Lance shot back, smirking.
“We know, Lance, we know,” Hunk sighed, pushing Lance to his feet. “Now go get your boyfriend!” Lance glared at all of them, spending an excessive amount on Pidge, but obediently obliged.
Lance put his fingers to his temples, rubbing circles. Why had he agreed to this? His original question still stood – what if Keith didn’t like him back? The others said he did, that it was almost as obvious as him, and Lance knew he should trust them, but he couldn’t seem to let the worries go.
He should have been looking where he was walking, but Lance, clumsy Lance, ran straight into something. Actually, more like someone. Someone, more like Keith. Just his luck.
“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” Keith said, clearly startled.
“Sorry, that was my fault.” As Keith started to walk away, Lance gathered his courage and reached out for him. Keith looked back, surprised, when Lance had grabbed his sleeve. Lance’s cheeks reddened, and he loosened his grip.
“Actually, I-I was looking for you,” he took a deep breath, preparing himself for the possible rejection as Keith waited patiently, watching him with curious eyes. “You see, I was talking to the others, and I know this is a stupid idea but they encouraged me a lot and so I’ve decided to go with it. And I’m sorry if it sounds really stupid but-”
“Lance, what is it?”
He sighed, almost curling in on himself. In a soft and quiet voice, he confessed. “I-I really like you Keith. Like, I like you. And I don’t know if you feel the same way, because to me, it seems like you kinda hate me? But the others said I should tell you and see what you feel and oh god Keith please say something.” Keith’s face was perfectly still, his perfect lips that Lance wanted to pull onto his own so badly parted slightly, and his arm limp in Lance’s grip. “Keith?”
That seemed to shake him out of his stupor, and his violet eyes flicked between Lance’s eyes and lips. One moment Lance was ready for rejection, and the next Keith was pulling him in, his lips on his own. It was fireworks and stars and the whole universe was pulling them together and Keith was kissing him. Before Lance could kiss him back, Keith pulled back, a dazed smile on his face.
“Of course I like you back, you oblivious idiot.”
Lance let himself smile, and soon it turned into a grin, a soft chuckle escaping him before he could stop it. He leaned back in, cupping Keith’s face in his hand, and Keith reached up, brushing his hands through Lance’s hair, and they kissed again, stronger this time.
They breathed each other in until they were gasping for air, soft smiles adorning their faces and bright red flushes across their faces.
“So,” Lance smirked, “you really did enjoy my cuddling.”
A scandalized look crossed Keith’s face, “Oh, shut up,” he said, but a blush crept onto his face and neck.
“You know you love me.”
Keith’s reaction wasn’t what Lance expected, because instead of him rolling his eyes, he smiled, “Yeah, I guess I do.”
Lance’s face burned up, a sputtering mess, “Wh-bu-you can’t just say things like that, Keith!” Keith just grinned and pulled him back into a kiss, shutting Lance up, and they sank into it, Lance wishing he could stay like this forever.
#klance#mine.txt#my fics#my writing#voltron#lance mcclain#keith kogane#klance oneshot#voltron oneshot#oneshot#klance fic#voltron fic#fanfic#writing
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I heard some people in the fandom say that they fear Lotor as a character, thinking his is predestined to be a sexist perverted dickhead in VLD. The thing is the creepy Lotor some hate and fear (which is something I agree with *shutters*) came from the subs, or as it was called Beast King Go Lion, which were a lot darker and edgier than any of the other versions of the show, being more akin to Berserk or a darker version of Game of Thrones. It had things like forced cannibalism, the Galra drinking the blood of the dead, people being sliced in half, decapitating heads, showing trophy heads, blood raining from the sky and making people explode, on screen deaths of women and children, and a whole lot of other things even darker then that! If it got a western rating, it would be rated R, hands down. The only reason why it got dubbed in the west in the 80s because of miscommunication and the people who bought it wanted to buy another show to dub instead. (Although, it makes me wonder why the people who brought Voltron over to the west to dub it back in the 80s, thought, "This would be a great show for kids!" when they saw all the above things mentioned. But it could've been 4Kids logic, I suppose.)
The darker elements I just mentioned did not obviously carry over into VLD. In fact, all of the other adaptions of Go Lion, including Defender of the Universe or the dubbed version of Go Lion, had the more messed up elements from Go Lion scrapped automatically. Do not get me wrong; the creators of VLD aren’t ignoring Go Lion (because they gave Shiro his Go Lion name and use some of the subbed terms like Galra and Altea, after all), but they did leave out the, for a lack of a better word, fucked up stuff like I mentioned before on the way side while doing this new version. Sure, VLD can get dark like having on screen deaths of the secondary characters, all of the Alteans except for Coran, Haggar and Allura being killed, planets being destroyed like the Death Star did in Star Wars, hinting at the mermaid people being eaten by a giant sea monster and the fights getting more intense, but not anywhere near as dark as Go Lion ever was! A lot of the violence and themes in VLD are still appropriate for kids and adults to watch together.
Lotor and his subbed counterpart are two totally different characters.
Subbed!Lotor, or Sincline as he was named in that version, was a lot more twisted. He had the obsession with Allura and wanted her to be his because she looked like his dead mother, killing people to get his prize. He wanted to kill Akira, or Keith as he is called in VLD, take Allura to be his. He had no compassion and was outright sadistic, laughing after he murdered people. He was super unhinged. He once killed one of his slaves because they spilled wine on him. He has really bad temper tantrums. He even killed his own grandmother and father!
Dub!Lotor, while by no means a saint and some of his actions were still wrong, I would never justify some of his actions, is not anywhere near as dark or perverted as Sincline by a huge long shot. He had a lot more shades of grey to him. He was belittled by his father constantly for his half!Altean side and wanted to prove himself more to be worthy in his eyes. He helped out the team on occasion. His obsession with Allura came off as more as an intense crush, even respecting her as a person more and having a soft spot for her. He had a rivalry with Keith. He did not derive pleasure from killing others and had compassion for some other people. He rebelled against his father numerous times, not agreeing with everything he did. He was a huge dork, who fell out of a tree while on a mission among other embarrassing things. Hell, dub!Lotor never even had a harem!
I find it more likely they will adapt the dub version of Lotor then the more one dimensional and creepy subbed counterpart...who also gives me nightmares, because it is more appropriate for the target audience and the creators grew up on Defender of the Universe! Lotor instead of his Go Lion counterpart.
Not to mention, Zarkon was just as bad as Sincline when he comes to women in Go Lion since he had a harem of his own and killed Sincline’s mother, which obviously never carried over to VLD at all. So I highly, highly doubt Lotor will be the same way in VLD if Zarkon never had a harem in this version or any other version outside of the twisted Go Lion one. The worst I can Lotor being like in VLD is him being a flirt or having a squad of fangirls and fanboys who follow him around for being a good looking crowned prince -- that’s it.
Also in the previous versions: Allura was white, Pidge was a cis guy, Pidge sounded like Gollum from Lord of the Rings, Coran was dead serious 24/7, Keith had Shiro's personality, Lance was the hot head, Lance had a mullet, Keith was part Altean, the Blade of Marmora was never a thing, the team was all together off the bat and a ton more. The staff said numerous times that VLD is taking its own direction, not copying the storylines of the other versions totally. They did it before already by making Galra Keith canon among many other things. Hell, the only the general storyline of Defender of the Universe/ Go Lion is the same in VLD. The only moments I can think of that match Go Lion dead on are when Shiro fights Haggar in the end of season one and when Keith flies the Black Lion -- that is literally it. So the VLD staff don’t have to make Lotor a perverted dickhead like his Go Lion counterpart and can make their own version of the character, making VLD!Lotor into an anti hero or a complex villain. I can even Lotor possibly getting a redemption arc since his Defender of the Universe personality and backstory does present that chance, especially if he was that person in the Weblum like I honestly think he is, but even that is just a theory.
The show staff on VLD are super talented people, the show being made by a lot of the same show staff who worked on Avatar and Korra, so I have little doubt they will make Lotor far more multidimensional than his previous counterparts and make him more likable no mater what personality they decide to give him. I highly, highly doubt they would be able to get away with Lotor being a super sexist perverted stalker along with all of the stuff his Go Lion counterpart did on a Y7 show. The worst case scenario I can see happening is him being like Gideon from Gravity Falls, even than that is less likely since it would be copying a character from another show made by a rival studio.
If I had to guess what Lotor would be like in VLD right now, it would be a mixture of Space!Zuko, mirror!Lance and Marik from YGO with a touch of Duke Devlin from YGO. Someone who has a has it out for the team for putting his father into a coma and wants to please his father, despite his father belittling him a lot. Over time, he might learn to not walk in his father’s footsteps and create his own path. Like Lance, he would have self doubt issues, love pampering himself and be a flirt. With that said, that is just a guess.
Either way, I’m excited about Lotor and curious to see how the show staff will update him for a modern audience in VLD. The show staff, from what I heard, are excited to add him to the show, which is always the sign of something great.
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The Rewrite of Fairy Tail: Bonus (Mentality)
Is my rewrite of Fairy Tail supposed to be a replacement of canon?
Honest to goodness, I was planning on doing this for about two months. I feel as though this has been an elephant in the room of this series. While I have been saying that I love Fairy Tail and was okay with the ending of this series, I still decided to go through with this project. When I planned this post, I was going to compare the analysis done by Craftsdwarf on Fairy Tail and Nux Taku’s recent videos about Fairy Tail, as criticism done from different points of liking the series.
And then, Voltron Legendary Defender ended and I decided to take this in a different way. If not for any reason, but this is my only real outlet to get my thoughts on this whole mess out.
Before we get farther into this, I need to make it clear that I haven’t seen Voltron. At first, it was because I didn’t have access to Netflix. Then, it was because nothing about it seemed appealing to me and I was told that it wasn’t written well (No comment on the writing.). About the only reason I have to watch it now is to understand it.
And that’s the funny thing about VLD. Despite knowing and following people who were into the series, I don’t even really understand a whole lot about it, why this was the show that blew up how it did, or, despite all the salt I’ve seen, what is so bad about this ending that it effectively ruined the show for seemingly everyone who watched it. (Normally I’d say things here about it, but spoilers.)
But, oh my goodness, the Voltron fandom. I’m sorry to those unfortunate souls following me who have the misfortune to call themselves part of the Voltron fandom. The things I’ve heard you guys go through make me question if it’s even possible to have ever called the Fairy Tail fandom toxic. Like, this fandom has done some messed up stuff in the past, but Voltron is on a completely different level of bad. You guys deserve T-Shirts or something.
So, why talk about a series that I have little to no interest in as a launchpad for my topic of trying to replace Fairy Tail? Because a lot of what I’m seeing from the fallout of it’s ending is exactly what could spark the mindset that one could go into making a rewrite of a series as a replacement of the series.
As I acknowledged in my introduction, I am by no means the first person to think that it would be a good idea to retell the events of a series with changes made to it. Incidentally, much of the Fairy Tail fanfiction I’ve been reading recently can be argued to fall into this category in some way. The argument can be made that this is the driving force behind most fanfiction that seeks to exist within its parent series universe. And it’s not like this is a practice for only fanfiction. In a very real sense, abridged versions of a series are essentially rewrites of their canon material.
But, that’s just it. They are re-writings of a story. They aren’t the original version of the story. They are, in fact, a re-presentation of what has already existed. Arguments can be made for how it is when compared to the original, but, by any definition, it is not and can never be the original. And here’s where the importance of my question lies.
I do not believe that it is a good idea to come into the rewriting of a series without a thorough understanding of the series you are trying to remake. When you ignore any potential thought process behind what happened in a series, it’s hard to think of how what happened could be salvaged. It’s why part of my rewrite involves this series, where I explain my understanding of why certain events happened, filtered through the lens of being a Fairy Tail blogger for over three years and having gone through the series more than once. (Though not without bias.)
After all, despite how you feel about how a series was handled, you were not the one to make it. While this can be seen as a reason not to change a series any further than what exists, as usually is the case, this also means that your interpretation isn’t the primary interpretation. (Primary, in this sense, meaning the first, as opposed to the most important, for readers in the “Death of an Author” camp.) Trying to understand why someone would make a certain decision can help inform your change in direction.
In my opinion, the best retellings of stories come from people who demonstrate an amazing understanding of their source material. I think this is one of the big reasons that TeamFourStar’s work on Dragon Ball Z Abridged and Something Witty Entertainment’s take on Sword Art Online are as successful as they are. They don’t just tell the same exact same story with a bit more jokes, as other less successful abridging projects have done.
In the case of TeamFourStar, in addition to tight writing and clever running gags, they have referenced as many parts of the Dragon Ball universe as could possibly be referenced. Not just in playful nods to the versions of Dragon Ball, GT, and Super every now and again. They have referenced material from obscure and unpopular dubs. They even made a shot at the less than stellar Dragonball Evolution in an early episode. Even watching their Dragon Ball themed Let’s Plays and DBCember lists, you can see the love and respect the members have for (most of) the Dragon Ball Series.
SWE has had less time around in the abridging world. However, their work is already being considered as some of the best abridging work of an anime. It’s not hilariously uncommon for less than talented people to criticize SAO for its poor writing. While one could argue that any rewriting of SAO could show a better understanding of the universe than the series author, people calling the abridging of this series better than the original are justified. Even simple changes like retconning an in-series justification for Dual Wielding and the end of the final battle between Kirito and the final boss are enough to show some genuine thought was put into remaking one of the most popular modern anime.
And, of course, each episode of both (except for the first one of SAO Abridged for some weird reason) starts with both a recognition of not being the original owners of the series and a plea for fans to support the official release. Regardless of how cynical you may think this practice is, the fact still stands that there is a recognition that they wouldn’t be able to do what they’re doing without the original.
And, that is the mindset that I have with this rewrite. I don’t agree with everything that Mashima’s done regarding Fairy Tail or every sentiment he has. Heck, early last year, I shared my disagreements with Mashima over his own perception of Nali. If I thought that everything that Mashima did throughout the series was good, I wouldn’t be doing this. Even as much of this series involves the defense of Mashima’s established universe, much more has been trying to explain things that weren’t explained and even making up things that didn’t happen in the series (albeit, usually using canon material).
But, at the end of the day, I still do love the series. I love the characters. I love the world. Even some of the things I have and will complain about and change are things I struggle with as they’re part of this hilarious mess I’ve come to love known as Fairy Tail. I feel as though it would be a mistake to forget to make Fairy Tail something other than Fairy Tail.
More importantly, I don’t know that, if I were actually given the opportunity to start from near scratch, I would be able to make Fairy Tail again, let alone outdo the original. I don’t think anyone other than Mashima could make Fairy Tail what it has become.
If this rewrite is considered to be good, it will only do it because I’m working with a heavily established series with close to a decade and a half worth of canon material and spin-offs, of which the creator has had and taken multiple opportunities to explain his reasoning behind the decisions, mysteries, and mistakes made throughout the series. And because I, recognizing this, do my best to keep the series as close to what it was, while also changing material to make things feel more refreshing than many felt them to in the original, after years of talking about and interacting with its fandom and detractors.
Now, I don’t say any of this to mean that it’s impossible to come away from a series thinking that it’s entirely terrible, try to rebuild it without regard for what was done in the original, and come out with a good product. I absolutely defend the right for people to dislike something for whatever reason they want to, legitimate or pedantic, provided they do so respectfully. Given my track record, I’m almost legally obligated to.
In some cases, rare though they may be, it may even be possible to create something people can and do consider to be better than the original. (Though it’s worth considering that the only situation I can think of this kind of thing happening is SAO Abridged, which I’ve already explained doesn’t neglect canon.)
The issue is that I personally don’t think that, in succeeding to do so, you’ve replaced the original series. At best, you’ve likely created either a well-liked fan alternative to the original or something so wholly different as to not even be considered similar to the original, save in potentially sharing names, titles and, on occasions, themes and plot lines. At worst, your efforts prove that you have completely and fundamentally misunderstood what was happening within the series you tried to rewrite. Either way, unless you can genuinely convince whoever made the original to throw it out and accept your version as the new standard for canon (good look with that, by the way), you haven’t succeeded in “replacing the original”.
So, if I don’t want to replace Fairy Tail, why rewrite it?
I have a few reasons. I want to consider how the series would look if certain changes were made to it. I want to explain how elements of Fairy Tail succeeded or failed in canon, which I have been explaining through this series. As I have been noticing, I have come to think of ways that what Mashima has done throughout the series can make sense without having to break too much about the series.
But, as I’ve been learning while I’ve been rewriting this series, I’ve recognized how much I love this series. Some of these choices involved in rewriting this series have been genuinely difficult. Not just in deciding how much to change to keep Fairy Tail similar. I want to be very careful about how I treat the characters in this series I’ve come to love.
Doing this has given me a newfound respect for Mashima. Despite much of what I’ve said about him in the past, I think that what exists within canon is special. Fairy Tail really is something different from many of its peers. From plot direction to characters (which will be the topic of later posts), I don’t think Mashima gets enough credit for what he did different from those around him, regardless of how well executed you may think it was.
I’m not doing my normal “In Conclusion” for this, given this is technically a series post. But, long story short, I don’t want this to be a co-opting or replacement of the original series. I see this less as making a new house on top of an older one, and more restoration of that old house, with new additions.
Based on the Introduction.
#fairy tail#the rewrite of fairy tail#yeah yeah#you're only riding the salt wave#to be fair#i got into rwby and...#let's just say#i could have talked about it#and its fandom#but voltron's a hotter topic#and i don't want to engage rwde#not that doing this won't draw ire from vld fans#but hey#new year new them?
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