#Lance feeling insecure and specially because of Keith is...so important to establishing his character

[linipikk]

I love it here, actually.

sorry for hijacking BUT--

my favorite part of VLD Klance case study is that:

in one hand we have this tweet

And VLD is not Marvel, but both are American-developed IPs. We are talking about the mid-2010s, when queer media even more, queer animation, was fought tooth and nail by everyone who cared about it and still lost epically. Korra was demoted to Nick online after the first seasons. Rebecca Sugar had to cut short SU for what she believed. Gravity Falls was messed with due to its representation. Hell, even AC Syndicate, a game for the older audience, was not allowed its mc bisexual moment in all its glory.

I know many people ride this high horse about how "they knew voltron was never gonna deliver good rep." but let's not forget that criticising is free. Yes, LM and JDS were shit at interacting with audiences, but also...they were tired that the story they planned for was stripped bare. Two things can be true at the same time.

On the other hand... I don't think we were playing chess against a dog here.

Netflix wanted the attention, and the team behind VLD was in fact Korra's. We were promised rep for better and for worse. There is enough about it going around, including deleted tweets, Comic Con interviews, and the LM drawing.

We (and by "we" I mean me) might be shippers at heart. But audiences are not dumb. Shipping and queer subtext exists in part because we, as humans, like picking up what the author/narrator/showrunner is putting down. (I know people also ship because hot+hot or self-fulfillment, but that is not the case I'm talking about here.)

Animation is intentional, and the extensive frustration the entire VLD crew felt, I assume, in my personal opinion, is not only bc the work environment would be crunch after crunch with 8.5 seasons to deliver, but also because unclear direction of the story due to last-minute changes. Like working very hard for the first 2 years so any sort of foreshadowing and plot hints are on point, just to have it all stripped away. It is frustrating, yeah. But it does not eliminate the work that is already greenlit.

To reiterate. Audiences are not dumb.

And I personally know that when I ship something, its because it's the most in-your-face pairing in a series, i'm a simpleton like that, but I enjoy it.

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i think about this every day of my life

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Banging my head against a wall. It is so real that even for casual viewers, Keith and Lance are so much of what motivates the story that it irks me so badly that their arcs do not feel complete.

And as a shipper myself, it drives me insane that s1-s4 is so consistent in the direction of Lance's relationship, from insecure but wanting the attention to seeing through Keith's walls to working together....and for what? AND FOR WHAT!???

Lance is such a simple but effective character arc we see in other media.

character looks for romance (as a flirt as a hopeless romantic etc) -> liking someone they dont want -> denial -> [insert character development] -> growth-> falling in love for real

... Isn't that the plot of a thousand romcoms?

I think Lance is a character who wants to be in a romantic relationship from the very beginning, hence the flirting. That's a driving force for his development, "Lance ending with someone he needs, not who he thinks he wants" And I was always very sus that Lance doesn't make a move on Allura on the later seasons (telling the mice about his feelings, or asking Hunk and Pidge about her again) until Lotor enters the picture as a real romantic interest for her. IMO, it's because it's not about Lance liking Allura but about him wanting someone.

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All the Allura-Keith parallels really are something. even more bc they are very related to Lance.

Lance accepting Black's choice leads to him being kicked out of Blue Lance in Red, literally being in the middle of Blue (Allura) and Black (Keith)... this is just my opinion, but idk, but they were doing a whole thing there.

Yes, exactly. No one can say this better

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Banger after banger after banger

A while ago I examined Keith's feelings for Lance after his return, since this is when he seemed to be the most hostile against Lance to the casual viewer. This analysis establishes a very clear pattern of Keith having a soft spot for Lance in the first three seasons, and so off the back of that, I examined the rest of the seasons by scrutinizing all of Keith's interactions with Lance. Not only did I find that Keith continues to have a soft spot for Lance, but I found the reason behind his hostility. Keith is in love with Lance, and he is hurt, because he thinks Lance doesn't reciprocate his feelings for him. But is this true? Are Keith's feelings one-sided? To determine that, we first need to answer the following question:

What are Lance's feelings for Keith?

That is what we are going to examine in this analysis. But unlike for Keith, this isn't going to be a 3 season affair. Oh no. We will have to examine the whole series bby, and it is going to take a while. So strap in and get comfortable as we scrutinize this boy from Cuba and his feelings for his rival.

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[kaiayame]

post s8 thoughts

the good, the bad, the mixed. 

the good

the marketplace at the garrison in ep 1! i’m a sucker for a marketplace. and allura got to go shopping!!

romelle was back! her hair was cute. 

i think the tone of the first episode was actually a really smart one to start the season on. i’m glad they jumped a few months (or was it a year?) since the end of last season. 

pidge and allura got some good bonding time in general this season. pidge giving up her game for allura was cute. and then when they were together on that planet where the olkari had lived, that was strong. 

pidge being upset about the loss of the olkari, lamenting over “how much more they had to offer us” was solid. i think they spent too much time on it, but the sentiment of mourning all the good that a people could’ve given the universe if they hadn’t been lost was solid. 

omg listen. keith and lance. literally sat together. just the two of them. watching a FREAKING sunset. and keith, in my opinion, basically said the nicest things anyone has ever said about lance to his face, and it felt like a confession of feelings from keith’s end tbh. the writers did that. they know that they did that. and it happened. it was real and so, so soft. i had to stand up in front of the tv while i was watching, clutching a pillow and screaming a bit. 

i think the amount shiro and coran were utilized throughout the story felt balanced. shiro especially has dominated so much of the story over the seasons, and even tho i love him, it felt nice to kind of have him become somewhat less of a focus. 

i think the episode where they got trapped in the ship with the monster was fun! did you see how crazy lance went when keith got stuck in that room with it?? 

the carnival episode!!! I love a good carnival setting :) i like that they all wanted to get something for allura.

the day 47 episode was also cute, imo. I thought it was clever. I loved kinkade! the overall concept could’ve gone really badly but it felt creative enough to me. I wish it had focused more on just the paladins, but still.

all of the MFE pilots actually didn’t annoy me this season, yay. 

veronica and axca had super gay vibes.

keith and axca didn’t happen! *throws confetti*

lance got called a genius by his fellow paladins! and they meant it! 

we got to see them all in their under suits and out of their paladin armor!

that short bit where Hunk made the recovered alteans food from their home world? I think that was actually more powerful and potent than the writers even intended. I thought that was really well handled and not heavy handed and had a lot of weight to it. 

the bit before the final battle with keith and lance alone at the war room table...................... prime, prime content. THEY HELD. HANDS. there was a CLOSE UP. i’m still living off of it. another “lost my shit” moment. favorite scene of the entire season. 

there was some genuinely good moments of humor. keith had some especially funny moments, i laughed out loud a few times, tho i can’t name anything super specific atm.....

it was nice that they tried to really work in the idea that unity is what’s important, and the best unity is built through love, and differences shouldn’t tear us apart and we are always stronger together, etc etc.... i think that was obviously the writers referencing our society’s current climate to some extent, so i appreciated them at least trying to touch on that, however generic and vague it was. 

they had some good new outfits this season?? it was nice to see the paladins in so many different clothes. and a lot of the garments were really cute!!

i like how often keith urged them to not give up. I think that’s another strong theme that’s existed throughout the series. it just strikes a personal note with me. i like how far keith has come as a character in general.

pidge’s mom making that flower for allura?? very sweet. 

i liked all of lance’s reactions to anyone mentioning someone having an interest in keith, haha. Obviously, i’m projecting, but still. 

i think the concept of ALL realities being threatened was actually great, because otherwise idk why they would’ve brought up there being other realities in the first place. the significant level of what was at stake with that being what the paladins were dealing with was a good choice. 

keith turning down becoming the new head of the galra. phew, thank you @god.

as always, studio mir is the lord’s animation studio and so much of the visuals were so excellent. can’t wait to see their future projects.

and honestly, it’s been fun. it’s been a fun show. it’s had a ton of problems but i cannot deny that i have seriously enjoyed watching a lot of it as a whole. 

i guess technically they did end the show on a gay kiss. 

the bad 

i’m not even that personally upset but it just goes to show how important an ending is. how a story leaves you makes such a significant impression. it’s probably the most important part of a narrative and OMG THESE WRITERS DO NOT KNOW HOW TO WRAP THINGS UP AT ALL, IT’S SO FUNNYYYYY.

so anyway, yeah........ episode 13.......................... what. 

like wtf was ep 13. 

what.

what even WAS THAT. PEOPLE got PAID to write THAT. 

lance became... altean? can that.... happen? also........... why???

and a farmer?? a simple life?? where did that even come from??? like sure, lance was homesick and missed rain one time. that doesn’t.... it just..... that doesn’t mean he should just be a random farmer?????? whose gf died, i guess??

speaking of that, OMG they fucking KILLED ALLURA. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. I CAN’T BELIEVE IT. WHAT A DUMB CHOICE. I’M STILL LAUGHING. I HAD NO EXPECTATION THAT THAT WOULD HAPPEN. WOULD NEVER HAVE EXPECTED THAT. AND YET IT DID. WTF. HOW CAN YOU MAKE SUCH A DUMB WRITING CHOICE. HOW???

and the fact that they didn’t even EXPLAIN why honerva & allura had to do whatever it is they did????? criminal. ridiculous. 

and all that aside, allura and coran’s relationship was so important and so special and the fact the she and him didn’t get a goodbye? garbage. unbelievable. 

and to add to that, all of her goodbyes were underwhelming. shiro being like “you don’t have to thank me for anything” umm, what. yes she does. you did a lot. wtf, what was with that?

like i love allura, but also, why was the ending SO FOCUSED on just her?? And by that, i mean including the choice to kill her off. VLD has always been about the group. It just was a weird vibe to end on for many, many reasons. The ending should’ve been about her and the rest of them recognizing how they were more than just friends or paladins. They were family... like ALL THE WRITERS HAD TO DO was have them all together at the end?? I’m not even joking. That needed to be the ending, point blank...... AND THEY COULDN’T EVEN DO THAT. WHYYYY

ok moving on but still related, I HATE slideshow endings like that, in pretty much anything that isn’t a documentary or historical drama. I feel like it’s such a cop out. Writers should find confidence and end their story on a specific note. Not a series of slides.

as i was watching ep 13, tbh, the title got me excited. “the end is the beginning” made me feel like they were somehow going to get thrust back in time for a brief second to the moment they all met at the garrison, or met allura and coran, and somehow that was going to get pulled into the finale as a way they could re-establish all the destroyed realities.... so i guess this is my own fault for just hoping for something that wasn’t there, but whatever.

i think lotor and zarkon also got some really undeserved positive recognition. like, they both killed a LOT of people... some things are just too little too late. 

lotor coming “back” was also like, half assed. it was weird. it would’ve made more sense for honerva to start jumping through different realities earlier in the season “looking” for a version of her son and husband that she could be with. 

too many big robots. like..... so many different kinds of big robots. i couldn’t care less. 

as always, a lot of the fight scenes were repetitive as hell. I wish they’d been more creative and written them taking on different approaches rather than just charging at the bad guys.  

WHERE IS MY FORMAL WEAR EPISODE

sorry to hate on allurance, but like, neither lance or allura felt like their actual selves whenever they were together or trying to be a couple... it was weird and sad. Lance barely ever acted like himself this season. 

I thought they threw krolia around a bit too casually. Like she barely pops up and when she did it almost felt like the writers were like “oh yeah, i guess we should include her every now and then”

i thought allura being like “i don’t have a family” to lance was bullshit. like, hello, coran and romelle are right freaking there. more alteans are showing up every day. girl, what tf do you mean???

allura was also kind of excessively mean on multiple occasions?? she was cutting people off, being unreasonable, reckless, and kind of dark..... i didn’t really understand the sudden downfall of her character when she’d started out as this sort of insecure victim, but season after season became stronger and stronger and an awesome member of voltron. idk, it just felt out of place to make her a part of the problem for the final act. 

i wish i had......... cried. i wish they’d written at least one moment well enough that i actually got to experience at least a little bit of a tear.

adam didn’t magically come back from the dead. 

OMG and the kiss between shiro and random dude???? IT WAS SO SLOPPY, I WAS SO EMBARRASSED. it was obviously thrown in at the very last possible moment because they were trying to cover their own asses about the adam thing. like, what was with that bad animation....

epilogues in general are just........ so bad. no one should do them. stop.

omg they never explained the altean colonies... 

honestly, as we kept getting closer and closer to the last episode, i was like....... they do know this is the LAST season, right??? they’re kind of running out of time??

that black entity thing should’ve been fleshed out more and had more of an actual purpose, especially because they touched on it before with the paladins of old. 

i feel like the writers just threw so many things out there over 8 seasons and didn’t actually.... resolve most of them. like, they needed to edit down sooooo much of what they were trying to do. it would’ve been such a stronger series overall if they’d just FOCUSED on the actual compelling parts of this story and its characters.

i feel zero closure tbh, lol. whatever.

the mixed

overall, i was pretty engaged for the most part from episode to episode, but i did get pretty damn bored a few times.

oh god, the leaks were real. it’s good and bad. 

lance and allura still felt SOOOO forced and awkward but at least they tried to give them some actual substance.

like I said before, yay romelle was back! but boo, she wasn’t as quirky or funny anymore :(

Slav bothering everyone was still quite enjoyable to me. i wish shiro had gotten roped into that more, tho. Missed opportunity.

Atlas didn’t feel quite as dumb... but it was still kind of dumb.

i thought honerva honestly held up as a villain. Maybe not a FINAL season villain, but meh. her motivation seemed legit enough and the lengths she was willing to go after 10k years of pain seemed real. I just..... ugh, i wish they’d stuck to her just being evil. Or revengeful. Lok tried to do the same thing with kuvira right at the end. there just... wasn’t enough time to actually do that right, in either case. Or if they were going to do it, Honerva should’ve sacrificed just herself and allura should’ve left with all the other paladins, and that could’ve redeemed her character if that’s what they were going for.

the 2nd episode that focused just on honerva was... fine i guess, but i thought they didn’t define the mixing of timelines very well. it would jump from one clip to another and i didn’t realize fully that we’d gone back in time, or returned to the present, or were seeing this important thing before moving on to another. idk, the order just didn’t work for me. 

i’m glad allura got so much more focus but i feel like keith had so many important story points throughout every season and it felt weird that he was kind of just in the background for the most part of every episode.... like if vld had a “main” character, i always kind of felt that it was slightly keith.... so i’m sad that he didn’t really get much of an ending.

and that being said, i guess this is just a negative, but i feel like keith and shiro’s relationship just didn’t matter anymore??? that was so weird to me?? it was such a focus for SO LONG, it didn’t feel good to just never address them ever. 

there was this really awesome momentum going in the first half of season 8 for this theme of “not holding on to the past / letting the old give way to the new” and they just….. totally lost it. Like, it just never came up again by the end, lol. But i liked it a lot while it was initially there. Just.... wish these writers knew how to stick a landing, jesus. 

like, that older olkari woman that pidge was trying to call out to? she probably had one of the best speeches of the season when she was telling that little olkari girl to go on and be a part of the future. that’s what i’m saying. it had good momentum. they just didn’t fully realize it :/

i think where they started to lose the narrative was in the two part episode, the knights of light ones. going into honerva’s mind seemed cool and i appreciated them trying to do a few interesting things with it, but bringing back the old paladins didn’t feel right. For some reason, I didn’t enjoy allura reconnecting with like, the spirit of her father. I felt like it was a loss that should’ve remained a loss. and yeah, just in general, having them bring up the idea of the benefits and power behind “the old making way for the new” just wasn’t supported by bringing the old paladins BACK... it felt counterproductive. i didn’t like it.

Anyway. I feel like i’m still forgetting stuff and I’ll probably go back and edit this post but yeah. Enjoyed a decent chunk of the final season. Cannot..... even believe how dumb some of the writing choices were. Will forever be slightly confused. Canon is whatever. I’ve still enjoyed this show and its characters and a lot of the amazing content fans have created for it, and it is what it is and at least it’s over and done with :]

[voltron-bug]

My take on bisexual Lance still being a thing/Klance

I’m not trying to be “that guy” that brings Klance up at every given moment, because I promise you, Klance isn’t my biggest priority in Voltron. I’m sticking around because I want to see what’s in store for Lance. And honestly? I feel like it’s still possible for Lance to be bisexual/Klance being a thing in canon. 

If you have been having negative feelings towards VLD so far for their poor representation of Lance, the lack of Keith and Lance interaction, and/or lack of payoff for a lot of things, I HIGHLY recommend you read this post, I have a lot of things I touch on in it and it may help you see things a little differently.

Allow me to begin.

At first watching season 6, the way Lance had been portrayed with his feelings for Allura, I let it get to me. I was afraid his sexuality wasn’t going to be a part of his story. This season was very much in-your-face about his feelings for Allura and it felt like the point the writers were trying to drive home for viewers. They’re constantly reminding you of his feelings for girls.

You must remember, however; everything is not as it seems. Especially in this show. Take Lotor, for example. Y’know?

I personally don’t have anything against Allura and Lance being a couple. But it just feels weird to me to have them come together like this. We saw in the first 5 seasons (some seasons showing it more than others) how Lance does have a thing for Allura, but it’s unrequited the entire time. It just doesn’t feel right to all of a sudden change it. Not only that, but Allura actually had feelings for Lotor first. He had shown who he really was, and he was the one who broke Allura and himself apart. Her feelings for him were still very much present before this happened, thereby making him her first choice; the person she had actually come to like. Lance would have been the second choice in this scenario, and that would be doing him dirty, especially for his already insecure mindset about himself. Nothing solid was established between Lance and Allura by the end of the season, though it still leaves you wondering.

At this point, I still had those negative feelings nagging at my gut that my hope to see Lance’s sexuality develop was for nothing. We see he clearly has a thing for girls. They’ve made sure to show us throughout the entire series. That’s the thing, though. Bisexual means being attracted to two or more genders. Duh, right?

I began thinking about how his sexuality might actually still become a part of his arc. So I thought up a few examples that could aide in showing how his development may play out, and go figure two of the biggest ones were from Avatar: the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra, both of which shows have a production connection to VLD lol.

In ATLA, Sokka didn’t see his biggest character development until more towards the end of the series. He matured from being an obnoxious, jealous, mean, irresponsible joke, to being a caring, loving, loyal, and talented warrior, leader, and military strategist. As you’ve seen so far in VLD, Lance hasn’t completed his arc yet. We’ve gotten some development for him, but not as much as I feel like we will get for him. There’s still at least 26 episodes left.

In LoK, in the beginning of the series Bolin has a thing for Korra, and they even go out on a date at one point. But it didn’t work out between the two of them. Korra was more interested in his brother, Mako. Bolin was able to move on, though. I feel like the connection here could be made between Bolin and Lance. As we have seen with Lance, he clearly has a thing for Allura, and has since the beginning. It didn’t seem like Allura felt the same about him, and it’s very possible it just wouldn’t work between the two. Lance will have to realize this and then, like Bolin, he’ll be able to move on. As for the end of LoK, however, Bolin ended up finding the right person for him, who was, in fact, not Korra. There’s also the fact that in the end of this series, Asami and Korra are confirmed bi girlfriends (and they’re both the colors red and blue like Keith and Lance, but that’s just me reaching lmao.)

It’s also theorized that in s6, there was a big hint that Lance is bisexual. This post will explain that.

Lance’s arc is about his insecurities. We’ve seen just how he feels insecure about himself. He’s also not quite reached the point yet where he sees his full potential and just how vital and important he is to everyone. He feels very isolated, and he feels like there’s part of him that doesn’t really fit with everyone. It could be because he’s hiding a part of himself, and until he realizes that that part of him is very much there and present, and a big part of who he is, he’s got a lot to discover about himself.........

To help me explain this point, I’ll refer you to the theory about this drawing by Lauren herself. I’m sure you’ve heard the theories about this already, but I’ll briefly explain if you haven’t. If you don’t want to read the theory again, you can just skip this next paragraph and move to the one below it.

In this drawing you see Pidge and Allura holding the sign that says “Gender”, and early on in the series for Pidge’s story, Allura played a role in Pidge actually being a girl instead of a boy. Hunk and Keith are holding the sign that says “Race”, and Hunk played a role in the part of Keith’s story where it was discovered he was actually part galra. Shiro and Lance are holding the sign that says “LGBT”, and it’s theorized that Shiro may play a role in Lance discovering he’s actually bisexual. Here’s a video that helps explain this further, I’ve time-stamped it to the part talking about this drawing, but I recommend watching the whole thing. It’s a very interesting and well-said take!

VLD’s story thus far hasn’t been focused on romance. There has indeed been some in it, but the biggest percentage of it was in season 6, involving Lance, Allura, and Lotor. Keith’s character arc has pretty much been completed, and that would give some time for other characters to get their chance, namely Lance. It’s very possible we had a lot of romance in season 6 because we’re preparing for a big part of Lance’s arc; his sexuality.

Lance’s arc won’t just be about his sexuality, however. 

I won’t lie, it has felt like so far everything we’ve seen with Lance hasn’t had any payoff yet. Shiro had called out to him in the astral plane, yet Lance had no part in rescuing him. He discovered he was able to transform the red bayard into a sword, yet so far he hasn’t been able to utilize this feature. In season 6, all of the characters seemed to play a major role in some way, yet Lance wasn’t able to offer anything special to the table. In the first episode, there was even a moment where Lance nearly died, yet it was hardly touched on. He was very low-spirited in a lot of this season as well, and his friends even made fun of him for the way he was feeling. It felt unfair. But it’s important to remember; we still have time. There’s still an entire third of the series left.

All of this felt like it was happening in the last few seasons, yet there was no payoff. That very well could be because we are preparing for the part of his arc where it all gets mentioned, it’s all brought back up and that’s when Lance has his big moment we have all been on the edge of our seats waiting for.

We have still yet to see all of what Lance is capable of, and I have more hope now that I’ve been able to realize a lot of this.

Now let’s talk more about Klance...

I’ve talked about Lance’s sexuality thus far, so how could Keith play a role in this? I’m sure most of you already know some of these things, but let’s go over them again just so it’s all laid out in front of us.

First and foremost; the writers.

As we know, both Joaquim and Lauren have stated they were very happy with the ending of Legend of Korra (as they both worked on the story), talking about Korra and Asami being a couple. By this, we know they wouldn’t be opposed to an idea like Klance. We’ve also seen how they are when it comes to asking about LGBT rep in the series, for example;

This can be found in this interview with Tim Hedrick.

Baiting isn’t really something they would do, and they’ve mentioned before how they never intend to do so. It’s important to remember this interview took place just after season 1, so they were still developing the story at the time. It does, however, feel to me like if they had no intention whatsoever to include it in the story, then he would have come right out and said so. 

Now, let’s bring up one of the most famous and heavily referenced scenes when anyone talks about Klance; The Bonding Moment. 

Since the beginning, Lance has had this idea that he and Keith are “rivals”, and it has been confirmed that this so-called “rivalry” is one-sided. During the bonding moment, that’s when Lance really started to see his “rival” differently. This is most likely when he got an inkling for his feelings towards Keith. It’s been said that Lance actually does remember the bonding moment, but he wasn’t emotionally ready to accept it. That’s why he said that it “didn’t happen”.

What does this mean? Well, as someone who actually is bisexual, I can tell you what it seems like to me. It could be Lance being in denial about his feelings towards a boy. He constantly has to remind us he’s all about the ladies, but maybe that’s just him pushing the idea of liking boys to the back of his mind (let’s peek at that big hint in season 6 again, shall we). This whole time Lance could have been mistaking his feelings for Keith as this “rivalry”. I personally like to say the term “rivalry” is a code word for “feelings”. We all know he likes ladies, but liking boys would be something he has to discover about himself.

Before I change to another point, I’ll bring up the bonding moment reference in season 6. One thing to remember about these scenes is when he says this line to Keith, the atmosphere is heavier and more serious, more feeling is put into it than with Allura. Though, showing it with Allura hints these words have more of a romantic implication, both then and now. It’s symbolism, if you will.

We’ve seen Lance’s insecurities surface a lot here lately. When did it start to get worse though? When Keith left. That’s when Lance started to seem a lot lonelier, a lot sadder, and a lot more insecure about himself. He’s expressed his insecurities before Keith left, but it’s started to really take off once he was gone. He’s also tried to express his feelings before, and there was really only one person who would actually listen to him and take him seriously. The next scene that is heavily referenced when talking about Klance is the famous Bedroom Scene.

(Let me specify something before I continue; Allura has listened to Lance too, but it was Keith that Lance actively sought out.)

This scene has very similar vibes to the bonding moment, but it’s a bit more evolved. Lance was in denial during the bonding moment, whereas in the bedroom scene, he’s a bit more open to these feelings. He might not fully recognize what they are yet, but he’s not pushing Keith away this time.

Both of these scenes were prominent and important, there’s no way they’re not going to come back up at some point.

Season 3 seemed to have a lot of prominent scenes with both Keith and Lance together. Unfortunately though, Keith didn’t stick around after this season. When he left, the development between him and Lance had to come to a standstill. There’s actually a reason I don’t get very upset over Keith leaving, but I’ll talk about that later.

Lance does a good job at offering consolation when other’s need it, but hardly anyone reciprocates it for him. Keith so far has been the most prominent one. Not only that, but both Keith and Lance have showed vulnerability to one another, showing just how much they’ve become closer. (Not to be a burden, but I like the idea of since Keith has returned, he’s going to be able to offer comfort to Lance after what happened in the last episode of season 6. Y’know, because Lance thinks it’s his fault about what happened to Shiro...)

Speaking of season 6, I’m just going to shoehorn this in lol, but when Keith contacted them for the first time, Lance noticed something was different about him immediately. His appearance had changed, and that means Lance actually does pay close attention to him. 

He also makes sure to comment on it again, and this time, it’s in the form of an unaware compliment.

Not to mention Lance was visibly happy to hear from Keith again

I’m going to bring up this old thing now, some of you may recognize the quote. What does Lance look for in a future partner? Lauren answers with “I don’t know if Lance knows what he needs. I know what he might look for, but what he might look for is not necessarily what he needs. I think he needs someone who is self-assured and knows herself, so that he can kind of become that same person and know himself.” Joaquim adds, “I mean, I think Lance is evolving. So I think, like Lauren said, whoever Lance chooses, I think what he’s looking for is getting to a place that is maybe very different than where he started in the series.”

Keith has undergone a lot of maturing. He definitely fits this description very well. As I mentioned before, Keith and Lance have been able to confide in one another. Keith would be able to express his words better now than he did during the bedroom scene. He’d be able to help Lance see who he really is and how important he is.

Let me also mention, “I think what he’s looking for is getting to a place that is maybe very different than where he started in the series.” Didn’t we already establish that he’s had a thing for Allura since the beginning...?

Also Lauren may use the pronoun “her” referring to a partner, but she’s been known to stretch the truth and use different pronouns to throw the audience off, namely during season 1, she would, in the beginning, refer to Pidge as “he”.

I’m going to mention now how I’m aware some people are upset over the fact that there wasn’t a reunion scene with the group in this most recent season, namely with Keith and Lance. The best reasoning behind this is simply because there wasn’t enough time for it. Ever since Keith came back, every moment had been spent in action. They didn’t have time to catch up or just sit for a few minutes. Yeah, it would have been great to see, but the writers were just pressed for time and couldn’t put everything in the season. I will reiterate; we still have time.

EDIT: HEY GUESS WHAT I DIDN’T SEE UNTIL JUST NOW, AND GUESS WHAT JUST BOOSTED MY HOPES FOR EVERYTHING I HAVE JUST SAID

EDIT: I’m going to link this post here that will offer some points that show incompatibility between Lance and Allura. I didn’t list them initially, and they are articulated well here, so I’ll let this post explain instead. It sums up my thoughts on the subject pretty well. There’s also some Klance compatibility in it too.

Now let’s talk more about the show itself. This is gonna kind of trail off a little from what I was talking about, but I personally think this is fairly important to remember.

I’ve mentioned it several times throughout this meta that we need to give it more time. This next part is kind of important to know, and since I found confirmation about it, it’s helped me understand why some of the things that happened, happened. In the season 2 finale, as you all probably remember, Shiro disappeared from the Black Lion after his big fight with Zarkon. It seemed like the focus was going to be on finding him in the next season, and it was, kind of. But he came back too quickly, and there’s a reason for that. The writers were forced to bring him back, causing them to rewrite what they had originally planned. This very well may have been a cause of a lot of flaws in the series so far.

I had a conversation with a friend about this not too long ago, and we’ve come to these realizations;

Originally, Keith was supposed to grow as a paladin in Black while Shiro was gone

Chances are, Lance would have had a little more development too

S3 was very good, it was s4 that things started to get a little iffy, story-wise, and that’s when they had to rewrite everything

Keith may still have left the team at some point, but he would have been developed more when he would have

Mentioning the press for time earlier, that’s probably why each season is only 6-7 episodes at a time

Clearly the writers were upset over this, given how blunt they were with their answers

This was out of the writer’s hands, and it was because the executives wanted to make a few extra dollars, therefore; the story had to suffer. 

Don’t blame Joaquim and Lauren for this. Blame the executives and their greedy pockets. I’m sure what they had originally planned was better than what’s happened. The show is still good, mind you! For the hand they’ve been dealt, they’ve handled it fairly well. We can all agree, yes, it’s had its flaws. But I’m sure if it had never been disrupted in the first place, it would have flowed better than it ended up doing. I hate thinking about all the flaws that have been pointed out and all the criticisms people have made (mind you, yes, people are allowed to criticize it), but just thinking about Lauren and Joaquim seeing them and realizing just what happened breaks my heart.

It feels like now, we’ve finally looped back around to where they originally wanted the story to head, and they’ve gotten over the hurdle that was thrown at them. The initial vision they had may be coming back around, and I’m feeling hopeful.

So, yeah! I’ve thought about all of this, I’ve been looking into a lot of things, and to be honest? I’m feeling good about what’s in store. I choose to look at this in a more positive light. I also want to give everyone hope at a shot for bi Lance and Klance.

I’d like to also say there are a bunch of good metas out there talking about this very subject, I’m sure a lot of these points may have been touched on before, but I feel like it’s important to keep all of these details in mind when you get to losing hope. All of this was put in the series for a reason, they wouldn’t do it for nothing.

There’s a lot of things that I’ve not mentioned in this, i.e. Color Symbolism being a major one (the colors of the bisexual flag being used in a lot of scenes involving Lance), but a lot of metas do cover this topic and others, these that I spoke of were ones I wanted to really touch on and remind people of.

And also freakin’ cheers to you if you stuck with this all the way through lol, I ended up writing a lot more than I intended.

[cheritsundere]

Okay so, I’ve read tons of posts and to be honest? I wouldn’t be all that surprised if Black Paladin Lance is end game. It makes total sense from a character arc development standpoint and I feel like it’s been hinted at from the very beginning. I mean, hello? Lance is literally the one who brought the team together. It doesn’t...get more obvious than that.

And trust me, I’m super happy for Lance. In fact, if/when it happens, you probably won’t ever get me to shut up about it. But I just kinda wanted to focus on a detail that occurred to me after the train of thought that Black Paladin Lance:

If Lance becomes the Black Paladin, who’s going to be piloting Red probably? Keith. So what does that mean?

Now Keith is gonna be Lance’s right hand man

Now, hear me out, I don’t mean this in a Klance way (of course it can totally mean that if you want to go nuts) but in what this means for Keith’s character. And yes, I hear you, let’s not make this “all about Keith”. That’s not what I’m intending from this post, trust me, if Voltron wanted to make everything about Lance from now on you definitely wouldn’t be hearing me complain (lol)

It’s just. Can you imagine what this development means for Keith’s resolution to his character arc and growth?

Stick with me here, because I’m going to do some deep character analysis on why I think this is the perfect end to Keith’s arc and that, if this really does play out like how I think it will, I couldn’t be happier with the writers/creators.

Character analysis below the cut:

Every character was given obvious foreshadowing to what they want/need and to what might happen to them as far as character arcs go:

Lance wants to be a leader/the one everyone looks up to = Sharpshooter to Black Paladin 

Hunk wants peace = Finds out that fighting is necessary to free people like Shay

Shiro wants to fix everything/not make mistakes he’ll regret = Finds out he can’t do it alone, step down from leadership and learns to trust in his team (and most likely will have to stand down again after the team realizes that if they liSTENED TO LANCE IN THE LAST EPISODE THEY WOULDN’T HAVE ALMOST HAD KEITH SUICIDE-)

Pidge wants to find her family = Finds out family isn’t only blood deep and is also able to find her brother in space so far. Now Dad :D 

So. What does Keith want?

Let’s take a little journey back to what was made very obvious by the way season 2 and 3 were handled: 

Keith DOESN’T want to be the leader. 

Keith never seemed to be all that interested in “not fighting”.

Keith knows he makes mistakes and trusts his team. He doesn’t even MIND stepping down.

Keith has shown interest in finding his family, but he doesn’t view it as the most important thing.

There has been 3 underlying themes about Keith throughout both of those seasons however: 

Keith wants to be important to someone. 

Keith doesn’t want to be abandoned 

Keith wants to be needed.

Keith wants to belong.

Despite this, it feels like we haven’t made any progress to Keith feeling like he is an integral part to the team. Hell, if anything, Season 4 implies that Keith has never viewed himself as more expendable. He tries to suicide, make himself useful in his final hours, for the better of those important: the team, the universe, literally everyone but himself. In fact...

It almost feels like Keith’s worse off than he was at the beginning. 

Because see, that’s the thing. When Keith was initially the Red pilot, we just accepted it like how Lance was in Blue, Pidge was in Green, etc. We never really thought of what the actual “roles” meant until season 3 came along and put it into a new perspective. We never understood how each person’s position and role in the team made sense to their character other than their underlying traits (Hunk has a big heart, Keith is instinctual, etc.) We never understood the symbolism behind those roles and how important that role is viewed in the eyes of the character themselves.

Think about how Keith piloted Red. He was a fast and confident pilot. The first to unlock his special ability, both with the sword and with the fire powers. He undeniably had the strongest bond with his lion besides Shiro and Black maybe.

Keith was the pilot of the Red Lion, the color symbolized as the Black Lion’s wings, the Lion in charge of Voltron’s sword.

One of the most integral parts of Voltron.

As the Red Paladin, he belonged. 

I think this was how Keith viewed himself at the start of the series. Think about it: We are made very aware of how important Shiro was to Keith. I can only imagine that he was kicked out of the Garrison due to Shiro’s disappearance. We already saw how Pidge went to such great lengths for her family and knowing Keith? I’m pretty sure he was just as stubborn to find his mentor/big brother figure. But by finding Voltron, Keith found Shiro again. And Keith was the Red Paladin. Someone important and needed by Shiro. Or at least, that’s how Keith probably viewed himself. So, of course, it makes sense that Keith is a natural in his role as the Red Paladin. After all, it’s what he wants. 

However, it’s not what he needs. 

Keith is so constantly worried and reliant on Shiro to give him his place in the universe at the beginning of the show. Think about how Keith reacts the second Shiro isn’t there: He panics, forces the team into corners, he doesn’t know what to do with himself. He dependent. Even without himself realizing it. Keith never truly “belonged” or was “needed” before this point. Shiro was always capable of/wanting to do things even without Keith. Sure, Shiro cared for Keith, in fact I’m sure he views Keith as a brother as well, but I wouldn’t say that Shiro needed Keith. Especially not the way Keith needed Shiro.

So. What does Keith need?

Keith needs a leader that needs him as much as he does. Keith needs a team that wants him as much as he does. 

Keith needs to be Lance’s Red Paladin

Season 3 and 4 establish Keith’s worst fears: being abandoned. However, it’s in season 3 that we see some hints of how Keith’s fears can be resolved. How? Lance.

All through season 3, we see Lance being Keith’s impulse control and his foundation. Keith and the team would be way worse off without him there. Keith needs Lance in this season. 

But Lance needs Keith too. 

Lance goes to Keith for advice. Shiro never does.  Lance values and thinks the world of Keith’s skills. Shiro “expects” this of him. Lance fights along side and supports him. Shiro and Keith fight separately and saves Keith when things get bad.

This isn’t going to change if Lance becomes a leader. Lance is always going to need Keith in some way or form. Whether it be relying on Keith’s amazing piloting skills, supporting him in decisions, or even comfort with his insecurities, Lance is going to need Keith.

Keith will be important to someone. Keith won’t be abandoned Keith will be needed.

This is why Keith being Lance’s right hand man would be such an amazing conclusion to his arc.

With Lance as the leader and Keith by his side...

Keith finally belongs somewhere. 

[fantisci]

Divide and Conquer: Voltron Series 4 and 5

I knew that there was going to be this type of narrative in Voltron, but I underestimated how long a game the writers were going to play. The writers are running with the idea that Voltron is being torn apart from within, but rather than getting rid of Keith and going “CLONE SURPRISE!” they’re continuing to steadily dismantle the Voltron team...to the point that the three original Paladins remaining on the team (if we assume Shiro is actually a clone, henceforth referred to as “Shiro) are little more than side-characters in their world-saving narrative. Pidge’s concerns are narrowed and familial, Hunk...has always been terribly treated by the plot anyway, so moving on...and Lance, far from having his moment in the spotlight this season, is increasingly isolated and reined in so tightly that he can’t be effective. Meanwhile, Season 5 turns into the Lotor, “Shiro” and Allura show (with a special guest appearance from the Keith-clan).

Card on the table: My pet theory is that Lotor, not Sendak, is Haggar’s puppet, and they are cutting out the team members of Voltron who will cause the most problems so that they can take over the team. “Shiro” isolates and undermines problem Paladins (Keith and Lance) until they leave, while Lotor flatters Allura into assisting him. Of course, there’s a good chance that Lotor is a double- or triple-agent that may betray Haggar - or even become the mask he’s wearing - but at this moment he’s definitely driven by self-interest, not the greater good.

If you want the long version, it’s under the Read More. Remember: my analysis is from the point of view of the mole/saboteur: it’s not that I think Hunk or Pidge can’t lead, but that, from an outsider’s perspective, they’ve shown little inclination or ability in that area.

First, Shiro goes missing at the end of S2. Showrunners talk as if they meant to kill him off (a recent interview talked of the poor guy as though he was just a plot device for Keith’s Rise To Leadership, and that he was supposed to “exit stage left) , but marketing objected. Of course, the showrunners can be trusted about as far as the Eiffel Tower can be thrown, but poor (real) Shiro surely deserves better than being bumped off so that his protege can prove how special he is. Anyway, back on topic...Shiro is a casualty of war in one form or another, and it’s unlikely that his departure was the result of manipulation...but his absence is a golden opportunity to replace him with a mole/brainwash him. After all, Shiro co-ordinates the team, and has the most offensively powerful Lion

Next is Keith. Apparently there were some real life reasons (voice actor scheduling conflicts) behind his departure to the Blade, but let’s put that aside for now. Keith has some fairly obvious issues once he takes over for Black. He doesn’t really bond with his Lion, certainly not the way he did with Red. He lashes out at everyone. He resents leading, and, true to form, acts out and rebels, going into self-destruct mode in order to prove that he’s right about how terrible a leader he is. However: (a) he’d never treat his teammates’ lives with the disregard he shows his own, and (b) Lance manages to lasso him into some semblance of responsible leadership, and props him up as far as he can. By the time they retrieve “Shiro”, Keith’s taken some shaky first steps into at least being a functional leader, if not a good one. He’s learned the hard way that he has to listen to his team. 

Then “Shiro” is back.

It would take a spy all of five minutes to work out that Keith’s unhappy. When “Shiro” can’t pilot Black, that’s a problem for a saboteur...but not an insurmountable one. For the rest of the series, we see “Shiro” undermine Keith while still demanding that he continues to lead. He doesn’t teach him how to lead (admittedly, the real Shiro was extremely negligent in that respect too), he doesn’t offer support, and he doesn’t step aside. Instead, he uses the team’s by-now-instinctual obedience to Shiro to reinforce Keith’s idea that yes, he’s a terrible leader, and he’s going to get everyone killed. The team don’t make a very good job of reinforcing the new pecking order, with only Lance acknowledging that Keith remains team leader...and even then, Lance will not (yet) outright defy Shiro in favour of Keith. 

Handily for the saboteur, Keith continues his self-isolating behaviour and “Shiro” does manage to get Black up and running. With the distance created between himself and his team, Keith is only too eager to remove himself from the picture entirely. Why he doesn’t take Red back is a bit of a puzzle, but the distance is a factor...as, possibly, are Lance and Allura’s places on the team.

Next on the hit list is Lance. Why Lance? Well, possibly because it’s convenient: he has the most obvious insecurities and, let’s be honest, receives the least back up from the rest of the crew. As the “goofball” (Pidge’s words), they don’t take him seriously except in battle - socially, with his history of flirting and opening his mouth at the wrong time, he remains the team joke. Furthermore, he’s becoming steadily more isolated, as Hunk and Pidge withdraw from him in favour of Matt. It might just be because he’s a soft target, and his emotional reaction to the messages they send home confirms that there really is somewhere else he’d rather be.

However, Lance is the Blue Paladin, and currently the pilot of the Red Lion - Voltron’s DPS Lion. He’s also shown to be capable in battle, a tactician who can spot a trap a mile away and is capable of giving out orders that will actually work. The right side of Voltron seems more forward facing and offensive than the left, who are more thoughtful, so “Shiro” or his puppetmaster may have targeted him as the last remaining member of the original team who was active rather than reactive, and one of the last two who could theoretically take on a leadership role in an emergency. Also? Allura may be the heart of Voltron itself, but Lance is the heart of this particular team. 

Every office or department has a Lance: the social one, the one who organises the parties and the group chat, the one who may not have a specialised role but can always be found helping out others or working behind the scenes. Often they’re not really appreciated - sometimes others find them outright annoying. Yet they can mitigate the effects of an ineffectual or slavedriving boss, and everyone realises just how much they did for their coworkers once they leave and life at work becomes much more difficult.

Lance is the mediator (when he’s not needling Keith). He’s observant, and, unlike specialist obsessives Hunk and Pidge, not so wrapped up in his own projects that he forgets the big picture. He’s also outspoken. If “Shiro” starts bullying any of the other Paladins, Lance is likely to step in.  “Shiro” needs him gone. So “Shiro” publicly humiliates him, berating him in front of his team, who stand by and do nothing (except for Allura, after the fact, but we’ll get to her). Lance still feels superfluous. He doubts his own abilities. Now he’s getting constantly shouted down, his (in his eyes) minor contributions being dismissed. Throw this on top of Blue’s rejection (an emotional hit to Lance’s heart and self-esteem), Keith’s departure (which saw Lance demoted from his vice-captain role), and Lance’s longing for his family, and “Shiro” might have found the straw to break the camel’s back...that is, if the real Shiro hasn’t managed to relay his message to Lance in time.

The final Paladin to be cut from the flock is Allura - and it’s Lotor, not “Shiro,” who’s responsible for this. Lotor adopts very different tactics than “Shiro”: instead of undermining his target, he flatters her. Tells her how oh-so-very-special she is (like the showrunners haven’t established this already...). He plays to her dreams, her insecurities...and her ego. She isn’t shy about her desire to be like her father, to be the saviour of her people - or at least, to ensure that the last Altean standing is an exemplary one. She feels that she has to be perfect, in order to be worthy of the title of “last survivor”.

In the final few episodes, Allura seems to get an awful lot of what she wants: she awakens the compass, proving that she is truly her father’s daughter in the process, she makes it through the white hole, the ancient Alteans acknowledge her and the white lion finds her worthy...at which point the Voice From Beyond confirms how super-special she is, and has been all along. Moreover, suddenly she has a kindred spirit in Lotor, someone who knows of the pressure of being royalty and who claims to want the same things she does.

You know what they say about something that seems to good to be true.

However, look at what happens in order to get her to this point. Lotor singles her out when he becomes emperor, leaving the three original Paladins to wander around aimlessly and entertain themselves. The implicit message is that she (and “Shiro”) are the only team members worth talking to - the other Earthlings are just making up the numbers. Remember: Hunk, Pidge and Lance have been fighting alongside her for at least two years by this point, yet she dismisses their concern for her out of hand on the say-so of a prince who’s been with them for a few months under dubious circumstances. She doesn’t even question Lotor’s proclamation that the other three be left behind while she does Important Royalty Things - does she really think Pidge couldn’t learn anything from the Galra tech? 

We see it even more dramatically in the White Lion incident, where only she and fellow “Chosen” Lotor are worthy of getting past the White Lion. The team is worried...but Allura forces through the plan anyway. She’s riding high on Lotor’s praise and her own recent successes - why should she doubt that she can pull this off?

In short? I think this is Allura’s “Nyma moment”. Blue’s pilots tend to be romantic and trusting. Allura’s romantic ideal of perfect peace across the empire, and her trust of Lotor, could have further reaching consequences than Lance’s joyride.

But Allura thinks she’s covered her bases. She did distrust Lotor. She acknowledged that working with the Galra was difficult. In her eyes, Lotor has proved himself...and the viewer, really, is meant to agree.

It’s obvious why a saboteur would want Allura on side. First of all, she’s a Princess, and the last Altean; she’s a hell of a trophy (we do actually see Lotor referring to Voltron itself as a kind of trophy, claiming that he has “reclaimed” Black rather than admitting to an alliance). Secondly, she’s a threat to “Shiro’s” leadership, and the only person with any clout that could sway the remaining Paladins, or back them up should they refuse his orders. Really, that role should go to Lance, but “Shiro” has undermined Lance’s role of second-in-command so thoroughly that Lotor probably doesn’t consider him a threat any longer. Thirdly, like Lance, she’s sensed that something is wrong, and has shown an inclination to stand up for her teammates (I love Pidge and Hunk, but they’ve been fairly ineffectual in this area). She realised Shiro was out of order and moved to comfort Lance...who, remember, is a Paladin that “Shiro” wants out of the way. Notice the pattern: the Paladin who tries to comfort or protect the current target of “Shiro’s” sabotage becomes the next target. Unlike Lance though, the saboteur knows that she can be charmed by Lotor, and that she’s far more valuable as an ally than out of the picture altogether.

Finally, she’s the last viable Voltron leader - the final right-hand-side Paladin. Lotor knows that Hunk and Pidge won’t follow him, the same way he knew that the Galra wouldn’t follow a non-Galra...but Hunk and Pidge WILL follow Allura. If he can’t take over directly, he may be aiming to make Allura his puppet.

Let’s just hope she’s quick enough off the mark that she doesn’t go from powerful princess to damsel in distress.

[bubblegum-switch]

Louder, My ‘Lee

Enjoy some definitely pre-established!Klance and I-don’t-even-know-when!Shallura.

Title: Louder, My ‘Lee

Themes: ‘Ler/Implied-ticklish!Keith, ‘Lee/ticklish!Lance, ‘Ler/Implied-ticklish!Shiro, ‘Lee/ticklish!Allura, Keith being mean and teasy, seriously there’s lots of verbal teasing, Shallura being fluffy, Shiro and Allura being dorks, Lance being most of the ‘lees in the community, Hunk and Pidge also being bros, Lance being adorable and kind-of insecure about liking The Thing™, the author shamelessly projecting their life onto characters for the sake of writing and being put into Such A Mood because of it, and a contest that would Kill The Author Personally, fuck this is so improbable regardless of anything don’t look at me, but hey thanks for 50 followers i can’t believe how thirsty we all are for klance content, also i’m like 99% sure there won’t be a part 2 because of how similar it would be to this one

Rating: Pretty tame but… Keith is a teasy bastard… it’s all SFW tho seriously

Word Count: app. 2.5k

(A/N: Yes, that is how they catch shrimp, yes that is what they call it, and yes I had to sit through a documentary that it was part of while my father was right next to me so… fun times. But I guess it paid off lmao)

The six – sans Coran who currently had the slipperies – were eating dinner. Naturally, Hunk made the food at this point and their days of Food Goo were long in the past. They’d pushed the chairs closer together so the three chairs on each side were nearly touching, since now it felt weird having so much space between them.

Keith sat in-between Pidge and Lance on one side while Shiro sat in-between Hunk and Allura on the other. They all ate their food happily with little bits of conversation popping up here and there, but mostly the hall was quiet as they were enjoying their dinner.

“Mmm, this is fantastic, Hunk, one of your best dishes yet!” Lance mused as he took another large bite.

Hunk smiled proudly. “I figured you’d like it, Lance. It was the closest to seafood as I could find.”

“If we were back on Earth, I’d never know it wasn’t shrimp! It tastes like home, man,” he praised, taking another chomp.

“It really is excellent, Hunk,” Allura chimed in. “But what’s shrimp?” she asked none of them in particular.

Shiro chuckled fondly. “They’re these little animals that live in the ocean. People catch them with these special nets and then you can cook them in a lot of different ways. I could be wrong but I think they’re one of the most popular kinds of seafood back on Earth.”

Pidge piped up from her bite of food. “Wait, ‘special’ nets? I didn’t know they were any different.”

Lance felt his face grow just a shade pinker, and he heard Keith snicker under his breath next to him, but whether Keith noticed the blush, or merely knew what Lance was thinking was unknown to him. Both were possible. Living on an island with lots of seafood had very few disadvantages, but this was one: Lance knew a lot about catching seafood. The blue paladin was mentally begging for no one to explain it to Pidge.

Of course, Shiro decided to. “Well, I don’t quite remember all the details, but the nets have fronds or extra strings or something on them to, heh, ‘agitate’ the shrimp to pick them up in the net.” He smirked. “They call it ‘The Shrimp Tickler,’ because apparently shrimp are ticklish.”

Pidge, Keith, and Hunk all laughed. Lance forced a few uncomfortable and nervous chuckles from his reddened face, and Allura just looked like she was thinking.

“What’s up Allura?” Pidge asked, smiling.

“I don’t think that ‘shrimp’ – at least the ones I’m familiar with – would have an advanced enough nervous system to feel such a thing.” She looked at the oldest paladin. “Shiro, you aren’t playing another trick on me, are you?”

Lance – who was now of course hyper-alert at this point – saw the predatory grin on Shiro’s face, and would’ve hid his own face if he wanted to call attention to himself.

Shiro turned towards the alien princess. “How could you accuse me of such a thing?” He said with mock-hurt. “I mean if we have to test my statement—”

He reached out and squeezed her side, and she squeaked. “Shiro! I’m not—” but she quickly dissolved into giggles as he ran his fingers up and down her sides.

“See Allura? Shrimps are ticklish!” he smiled, laughing along with her.

“I cahan behe tahahaller than yohohu!”

“Aw yeah, get her Shiro!” Hunk shouted, laughing too.

Lance was trying to ignore it but knew he was staring. He knew it was only a matter of time until someone noticed him…

“Like what you see?” Keith whispered into his ear, and Lance knew that voice very well.

Lance froze and didn’t respond, but a small smile leaked past his lips and betrayed his feelings. He bit his lip to try to hide it but Keith took notice of that, too.

“Hm? Are you jealous of Allura?” Keith said just loud enough to put a teasing tone into his voice, but not nearly loud enough to be heard by the others.

Luckily for Lance, the others were too preoccupied to notice: Shiro was still tickling Allura, and Pidge and Hunk were betting each other on if Allura was going to turn the tables. No one noticed the boy squirming in his chair with a face that almost matched his “tormentor’s” lion.

“Do you wish you were Allura and I was Shiro?” Keith teased in that same voice, and snaked his arm around Lance’s waist and lightly drummed him fingers against the taller boy’s side while pulling him just a little closer. Lance bit his lip harder and tried to not show anything was happening. Keith knew from the silence that Lance was pretty much dying (re: melting) on the inside.

When they were alone Lance wouldn’t even try to stay quiet because he didn’t care if he was laughing during his arguments or not, so he could refute anything and hold his own (more or less). But now? Lance was trying as hard as he could not to do anything so no one would notice.

How funny, Keith thought, amused to no end by it, he loves being the center of attention but now he can’t stand it. He was so proud of that statement he had formed in his mind, that he whispered it into Lance’s ear. He made sure to brush his lips and his breath against the blue paladin’s ever-so-sensitive ears as he did so, just to make him shiver and nearly leak out a giggle.

“Why don’t you laugh for me?” Keith teased softly, then nearly laughed himself as he got another thought. “Maybe Shiro and I should have a contest… who can get their ‘lee to laugh louder?” He saw Lance’s face grow redder than he thought possible, maybe it was the notion of the suggestion itself or the fact that he called Lance his ‘lee. He changed his hand so it was teasing at bare skin under Lance’s shirt, just ever-so-softly tickling above the waistband of his jeans.

Lance may have been yelling “no” in his mind repeatedly after that suggestion, but he loved what was happening. Not necessarily the fact that it was in front of everyone – that was awfully mean of Keith – but… he really loved Keith and he also really loved being tickled so he’d take it. He knew Keith would stop if he could tell Lance wasn’t enjoying himself, so he wasn’t too worried. But also… he wasn’t sure how much Keith was joking about that little “game” that he suggested. He knew that Keith knew it would embarrass him, but if somebody noticed how much “trouble” Lance was having then… oh god he hoped no one would notice. That just might give Keith the opportunity to do so.

Keith’s hand shot to Lance’s stomach as he saw that Shiro’s hand had switched to Allura’s. Allura’s laughter increased in volume as Lance nearly jumped out of his skin, a sharp laugh escaping his lips before he slammed them shut again and was left shaking in his seat. Luckily for him, Allura drowned him out sound-wise. Unluckily for him, Pidge saw the motion out of the corner of her eye and noticed that Keith’s hand mirrored Shiro’s. She met eyes with Keith and smirked. She met eyes with Shiro and raised her eyebrows, seemingly having a nonverbal conversation with both of them. She looked back at Hunk, who smiled a knowing smile.

“So, my little green friend,” Hunk began, much to the blue paladin’s chagrin, “shall we propose a new wager?”

Lance’s stomach dropped. Nooooo…

“And what might that wager be, Hunk?” Pidge asked with mock-innocence, fully well-aware of what was about to happen.

“Well, I bet Shiro can make Allura laugh louder.”

“Pssh no way, Keith can totally make Lance laugh louder,” she laughed mischievously.

Hunk smirked, “hm I don’t know, he’s being pretty quiet right now…”

Keith chimed in with a darker tone, but laughing as well as he still worked Lance’s skin beneath his nimble fingers. “He was just being quiet because he didn’t want anyone to hear him laugh. Give me a second—”

Keith snaked an arm behind him, pulled him closer, and now used both hands now to tickle Lance’s stomach as the blue paladin erupted into a fit of giggles. He tried grabbing at Keith’s hands, but the red paladin noticed that once Lance actually managed to grab a hold of his wrists, he didn’t move them away. If anything, he pulled them closer. Keith tried not to make a sound of endearment at the action, or perhaps lack-of-action, and instead turned it against him.

“You like this, huh? Not even trying to move my hands away?” he teased as Lance’s laughter increased. He looked over to see Shiro whispering in Allura’s ear as well, and the red and black paladins smiled at each other for a moment before returning to their missions.

“You just want me to tickle you,” he whispered matter-of-factly. Lance’s face was beet-red. Keith knew just how much teasing got to him and a part of him almost felt a little bad, but then the sympathy went away when he remembered really how much Lance was loving this, and then Keith’s stomach jumped a little when he thought of how much revenge Lance would be exacting later. But no matter, there were more important things at hand.

“Come on, you can be louder than that,” he whispered again. “I can move to somewhere more… ticklish… if it’ll help.” He drew out the word that he knew Lance would be affected by, before slowly moving the quick fingers up his sides. Lance began to twist and squirm in his seat as his giggles grew into fuller laughs, and Keith heard that he was less-reserved about it now.

“I know how much you love this… being at my mercy, feeling my fingers dance all over you, the electrifying sensations… and I know you love to laugh, Lance.” His hands were coming closer and closer to Lance’s armpits, and all things combined were creating desperate-sounding laughter from the blue paladin’s mouth. Keith knew that even though Lance’s laughter may have made it seem so, he hadn’t even come close to having had enough yet. All their times before had led Keith to know exactly when to stop, and Lance was nowhere near that.

“Come on my ‘lee, laugh for me. You’re so ticklish Lance, I don’t know how you’re holding out…”

Lance’s mind was turning to mush, but he was in heaven. He was maintaining enough composure to avoid curling up into Keith though; he wanted to keep a little shred of dignity. He wanted to keep just how much he liked… that… unknown to the others. He didn’t care that Keith knew, obviously, but Lance himself thought it was weird, even though Keith never made him feel weird about it. But who knows what the others would think?

His heart jumped when he realized Keith called him his ‘lee again… he did like being called that…

At least he knew he could get Keith back for this later.

He was writhing in his seat, and he opened his eyes to try to see Allura, who was in a similar but far worse situation to him. Shiro was using his Galra arm to gently but firmly hold both of her wrists above her head while he used his free arm to tickle her armpits, rapidly switching between them. Her laughter rang sweet and high above Lance’s due to pitch, but they just about matched in volume.

One thing Lance noticed – before Keith increased pressure on Lance’s armpits forcing him to wrench his eyes closed again – was that Shiro had a big, dopey lovey-dovey grin on his face. God, it felt so good to see that man in love.

“Come on Lance, we might win,” Keith whispered. “Thank god you’re so ticklish…”

Keith figured it was time to add another punch, and he pulled Lance onto his lap. Still tickling under his arms, he started nibbling the blue paladin’s neck.

Lance nearly screamed with laughter and covered his face, but Keith persisted. Lance knew Keith wouldn’t push him too far, so by this point he didn’t have anything left to be worried about.

Keith looked over and saw Shiro was slowing his attack. He didn’t ease up on Lance just yet, however, because he wanted to win… but also because of the fact that he knew Lance was absolutely in love with this.

When Allura’s laughter was nearly gone, Keith began letting up. Not because he thought Lance had had enough, he still had a very, very long way to go before that point, but because the blue paladin was probably embarrassed and Keith didn’t want it so all the attention was on him – then he might not actually enjoy it. He stopped nibbling Lance’s neck and started nuzzling it instead, and he slowed his fingers until they stopped. He pulled his hands back, and chuckled at how Lance near-imperceptibly moved back towards his hands in their absence. Keith looked at the others with a big smile on his face. Actually, everyone had a big smile on their face.

“So, who won?”

Hunk and Pidge shared a glance. “Well, it was close for a while,” Hunk began, lacing his fingers together in front of him very seriously.

“But Lance was louder by far,” Pidge finished in an equally theatrical manner.

“Oh, come on,” Shiro laughed, helping Allura sit up straight again and then massaging her shoulders to alleviate any resulting tension.

“It was a good fight, Shiro. We’ll beat them next time,” Allura said playfully, but an edge of seriousness could be heard. Shiro was amazed that she actually wanted to win… and to do it again?

Keith grinned at Lance and slung his arm around the blue paladin’s shoulder. “Oh, so there’ll be a Round 2 eventually?”

Lance’s face reddened again, but he smiled sheepishly. “Oh, shut it, Keith.” His smile brightened suddenly as a light bulb went off in his head. He smirked at Keith, then the princess. “You know Allura, I think next time we should switch it up, and the two of us can see who can make our guys laugh louder. Whaddaya say, Keith? Shiro?”

Lance shoved Keith lightly, and he laughed at how Keith’s eyes widened for a moment before he stopped them. He also saw how Keith twitched his head so his hair fell over a good portion of his face to hide the encroaching blush.

Shiro’s face dusted pink, but Allura chimed in before he could say anything. “That’s a great idea, Lance! Besides, it’s only fair, right Shiro?” She looked up at him.

Shiro stammered out something about… something. It seemed even the notion of turning the tables was enough to render him a blushy, stuttering mess.

Allura giggled at his reaction. “If you’re doing that already, I’m sure we’ll win!”

“Mmm, I don’t know, Princess, I think I’ve got it in the bag. I’ll definitely win,” Lance said casually, stretching his tired muscles and leaning to whisper in Keith’s ear in a manner not unfamiliar:

“I’m sure of it.”