#allura’s design changed quite a bit

[numerous-bees-in-a-skin-suit]

premiering some time this decade

[adobedragon]

“So, the saying goes, ‘Something old, something new…” Allura ticked off each phrase on her fingers. “Something borrowed, something blue?”

“Yup,” said Pidge, picking at a loose thread on the bed’s comforter. She, along with a handful of other women, were in Lance’s parents’ bedroom, awaiting the arrival of Lance’s cousin Ignacio, a hairstylist. Ignacio had the herculean task of doing Pidge’s hair and makeup for the wedding.

“Something blue?” chirped Ezor. “Wouldn’t that be Lancey-Lance? Blue Paladin.”

“I thought he was the Red Paladin,” said Zethrid in her gravelly voice. “It’s so hard to keep track of all the Voltron Lion changes.”

Pidge chuckled, though deep down she found the two alien women’s presence a bit off-putting. They had eventually proven themselves good fighting companions but Pidge still hadn’t quite forgiven Ezor for trying to torture her years ago.

“Katie’s dress has blue beadwork and stitching.” Colleen Holt ran her fingers along the dress’s bodice.

The dress was draped over the bed and Pidge, who was sitting beside it, traced the arc of an embroidered vine with a finger. “My dress is also new.” One of Coran’s designs, its basic form was that of a green, 1920s flapper dress, but fashioned from an Altean fabric derived from spider silk. “‘Blue’ and ‘new’.” She grinned wickedly. “My underpants are new too.”

Veronica, Lance’s sister, arched an eyebrow at her in the same manner her brother often did. “Are you wearing boys’ underwear? Under your wedding dress?”

“Well, yeah,” said Pidge. “They’re comfy.” She shrugged. “Lance thinks they’re sexy.” Remembering that Lance’s mother was in the room, she blushed.

Elvia McClain laughed and winked at Pidge, demonstrating the origin of that Lance gesture. “Relax, mija. I have five children and none of them conceived immaculately. You think I don’t know what you and Lance have been doing in the bunk house? In the barn?”

Pidge smirked and blushed, because, yeah, there weren’t many places on the McClain farm where Pidge and Lance hadn’t had sex.

“Here is ‘old’ and ‘borrowed.’” Allura reached toward her earlobe and with a flourish and a hum of Altean alchemy, removed the gem-like earring. “These were my mother’s. From old Altea.”

“Those were Queen Melenor’s?” said Romelle reverently, the Altean woman leaning in to view the earrings closely.

“Yes.”

As Allura reached toward Pidge’s ear, Pidge leaned back. “I, uh, they’re too nice, too nice for me.”

“Nonsense. I would be honored if you wore them.” Allura held the lilac purple gem near Pidge’s earlobe, and the earring hummed, Altean space magic fastening it so it dangled beneath her ear. “Just don’t let Lance swallow them when you two start climbing each other.”

“Thank you,” said Pidge as Allura attached the second earring. She rose from the bed and studied herself in the mirror over the dresser. In her current, typical Pidge state of scruffiness—green tank top and gray sweatpants—the earrings made her look like a toddler playing dress-up with mom’s jewelry.

The McClain’s house shook lightly as the front door opened and shut. “That must be Ignacio,” said Elvia, hurrying off to meet him. Pidge grimaced, not quite ready for this; primping and preening were not Pidge’s default settings.

Earlier, sensing her nervousness, Lance had said, “You don’t have to do this. If you want, we can wear matching tuxes. I don’t care what you wear just as long as I’m the one who gets to undress you later.” This accompanied with his signature flirty eyebrow waggle.

His offer was why she’d asked him to marry her in the first place. Because he loved her as she was, her boy self, girl self and everything in between.

In the mirror, she saw a tall, dark-skinned middle-aged man enter the room. She tensed, then reminded herself she was a Paladin of Voltron, unafraid of anything, including a guy with a kit full of face goop and hair-taming implements.

Turning, she gave Ignacio a wobbly smile. “Hi. I’m Pidge.”

She wasn’t doing this for Lance or out of any need to cling to tradition. She was doing it because even androgynous Paladins of Voltron want to be a princess on their wedding day.

[aspiringsophrosyne]

The Legend of Vox Machina: Season One and Two Post Mortem

So, season 1 and 2 of The Legend of Vox Machina are now out.

Let's do a post mortem on them.

One caveat: the CRew has said in interviews and behind the scenes videos that they wanted to take future events into account when writing early seasons. This means some things in the first twenty-four episodes aren't meant to pay off until later, or won't make sense except in hindsight. Especially if the story's significantly changed from the stream.

However, keeping that in mind, I think we can still look at what the episodes we've seen so far have done right and wrong on their own.

So, let's get to it!!

Episodes 1-2: The Terror of Tal'dorei

Given that the kickstarter for this series was only meant to pay for a thirty minute special that grew to an hour long season opening, I had certain expectations going in.

Basically, pilot energy.

And I was not disappointed. That isn't necessarily bad, but you could detect an extra hard push in this series' beginning. A push to prove itself, establish that this was a capital 'A' adult animation, and that it had somewhere to go from season one. Again not bad....except that some of that energy may have overstayed its welcome at this point.

But we'll get there.

First, let's talk about the good.

The Good

The VAs of the main cast are of course spot the fuck on, which was a given. They are all talented professionals who made these characters, after all. But it was still a thrill hearing them voice VM again after they'd been playing as the Nein and the Hells for so long.

The guests are no slouch either: David Tenant is in turn affably and menacingly Scottish, Indira Varma and Stephanie Beatriz are perfect as Allura and Kima, and Khary Payton, in very little time, portrays Uriel as a regal and noble ruler. Tony Hale makes for a great red herring, and Sunil Malhotra brings a warm, playful yet sincere portrayal of Shaun Gilmore to absolute life. As much passion and verve as Matt poured into the character, I'm glad he handed the role off to someone who's taking such good care of it.

Emon is beautiful. No notes whatsoever. The palace, the city, Gilmore's Glorious Goods....all of it is like a dream come to life. Art team is killing it.

Character design? For these characters? Pretty spot on. Everyone has great, economical designs that are still very recognizable as the Vox Machina we know and love.

Neil's music is sweeping and gorgeous. He brings such a grandiose sense of scale to the world; a scale which Exandria deserved, but I wasn't sure she would be able to get. His use of Your Turn to Role in the soundtrack is always fun to pick out. And last but not least, the themes of the Iron Storm fights in particular serve to get the blood pumping.

Said fights are also a blast. The second one obviously wins out just by nature of it being more of a contested battle, but both have just the right amount of a struggle to make the survival and eventual victory of Vox Machina feel earned. Everyone building on each other's efforts, one after another, in order to bring down Brimscythe once and for all is just perfection. That was the moment it really felt like Vox Machina had truly come alive in this new medium. It's still so much fun to look back on.

One thing the show devotes itself to frequently (sometimes very well and sometimes quite ham-fistedly) is set up for future events. In this instance, I think this was done quite well in the décor of Krieg's abode, and in the orbs (that, according to the cast, were straight out of the home game) that tie the rest of the Conclave to Vox Machina, and specifically Keyleth to Raishan, for future conflicts.

Alright, so? On to the shitty bits.

The Shitty Bits.

In all honesty, there's not much to write here if only because the two parter that starts things off is such a short, self-contained story. Most of my complaints here are nitpicky and come down to personal preference. My bigger problems are things that have carried over into the series at large, and, as of my writing this, either have not gotten better or have gotten better only a negligible amount. These I'll be addressing in full later, so I won't waste time on them here.

Nitpick: Allura's line about capturing the creature is a little awkward. I would switch it around.

From:

"With all due respect Sir Fince, we don't even know what the creature is. Demon? Elemental? And how do you propose we capture it?"

To:

"And how do you propose we capture it? With all due respect Sir Fince, we don't even know what the creature is. Demon? Elemental?"

And of course the "dumbass" remains unsaid, because Allura, in every iteration, is classy like that.

Nitpick: I'm disappointed that when Vax was accused of being "Too weak to tickle [his] own pickle." Pike didn't pipe up from the other side of the bar with: "No he's not!"

Nitpick: The bit with the sandwich feels very contrived in order to get Vax a toothpick and ruin said sandwich. Just saying, could've done it in a way that felt more natural. Or done something else entirely.

A couple of times in Season One Grog get's knocked out of the fight early. This could be an example of the Worf Effect, where a threat is made to look particularly dangerous if it takes out the big/strong/especially skilled guy in the group. However, if you want to pull this but you don't give the character a chance to prove how strong they are in a challenging battle before you do, it's not going to be incredibly effective. (We only had the tavern brawl before this, and just about everyone had a good showing there.) And even if you do give the character that chance, depending on how you use this trope, it can come off as cheap.

This comes up again later, so I'm just pointing it out now.

This next bit is one that'll come up again as well, so I feel like I need to bring this up here before getting into it again later; Scanlan is the first to declare they're killing the dragon. It's not unlikely that he's just reading the room and realizes that everybody else is turning to the idea already.....but he doesn't try to dissuade them or try to get out of it himself.

This is important for season 2.

That's it for now. On to episode 3: The Feast of Realms.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt 105 prt 1

105

Lance felt as if he’d died all over again. He and Keith had spent the night under the stars after the opera, feeling like he’d died of happiness with Keith, before his boyfriend suggested they head home for the night as the first rays of morning started to creep across the sky. This was not the same kind of happy pleasant death thanks to Keith’s love. The Blades had had a successful mission, according to his boyfriend, but Lance felt too sick to care. This was the “Death warmed up” kind of death that really, really sucked balls. He didn’t know what was wrong with him, only able to reason it was a batch of bad blood, because it was definitely not the nice new slow release birth control capsule that sat in his arm. Keith had held his hand as he’d had it done, Coran springing it on the pair of them the day after the opera. Flushing the toilet, he was in the process of pushing himself off the floor when Matt came to his aid. Pulling him up on his feet, Lance nearly fainted at the change in sudden position

“You need to see Coran. It’s been a week, Lance. Keith is worried”

A whole week without Keith. After spending the night he’d spent the day with his Mami, then headed home. Keith was off desk duty, onto helping in the labs, between surveillance missions . His boyfriend could do anything he put his mind to... apart from be there with him.

“Mmm... I’m fine. Coran said there were side effects”

He was lying poorly. He wasn’t fine. Matt knew it. He’d been on his case about his scent being wrong when he’d come back home

“There’s side effects and then there’s this!”

“Just back off! Go fuck something or... something! Just get off my back!”

Starting to cry, he felt awful for what he’d said to Matt. He didn’t like his moodiness being directed so outward-sly when Matt only wanted to help

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that... I’m sorry...”

“Lance, you’re being stupid. You need to talk to Coran”

“I’ll... I... this was supposed to work...”

“And it’s not. You’re miserable. You’re barely eating and barely leaving your room”

“I’m sorry... I... I need to lay down for a bit... Can I call him once I’ve taken a nap?”

“Can I talk to him when you call him?”

Lance nodded, regretting doing so. He felt faint, but worse still was fact he threw up in his mouth as he nodded. His stomach was so fucking sore from all the vomiting he’d been doing

“Alright. Two hours. If you’re not up in two hours, I’m calling Coran”

“Okay... I’m sorry... This was supposed to work!”

Matt tried to hug him, Lance feeling sicker at the touch, forcing himself back from him. It wasn’t just with Matt. Anyone, other than Keith, made him feel physically revolted

“Coran might need to adjust the dose. It might be something as simple as that”

“I can’t think... I’m really... I need to lay down”

“Do you need me to get you anything? A bucket? You look pale as fuck, man”

“No... I need my bed... and my soil”

“That’s already on your bed, isn’t it?”

“Yeah... I’ll be okay... just give me a bit”

Lance left Matt for the safety of his bed. Blue had been by his side almost nonstop, as if she knew he really needed her and her toe beans. Crawling under the covers, he was buried under his blankets. Barely able to function, he’d been limited to messaging Keith, or falling asleep with Keith on the other end of the phone. His boyfriend was stressed over the side effects, that Lance was hoping would kindly go away before Keith’s birthday weekend. Keith’s present had finally arrived, the blade looked incredible, and well worth it’s price tag. He was super excited about giving it to Keith, knowing his boyfriend would love it.

Sleeping fitfully, Lance woke in a sweat. His clothes clinging to him as his stomach rolled and cramped. Downstairs he could hear Rieva scolding Matt, Curtis laughing at the pair of them. He must have come back from seeing Shiro in Platt. Curtis had been keeping a record of Lance’s condition, and reaction to the medication in his system. As far as they knew this was the kind of reaction to be expected initially. When his body got its shit together, they’d know more. He simply had to hang on until then.

Climbing out of bed, Lance held his stomach as he shuffled from his room. He’d promised Matt two hours, but now he was feeling even worse. The world was spinning. Everything stank like mould and dust. The light in the house was too bright... and his skin was itchy. Making it to the stairs, the room swayed heavily to the right, Lance going to the left to correct the feeling, foot missing the top stair...

*

“Keith, it’s Lance. Matt’s just rushed him in from Garrison. Something’s happens”

Whipping around to where Allura stood in the doorway of the lab, Keith was signing off on the trace reports from their clothes. The Blades had no use for them now that all trace had been collected. They were set for disposal, unless he wanted them, which he did. Not Lotor’s pet get up, no. These were clothes he’d worn as Lance’s pet. Letting the datapad slip through his fingers, his body started moving without thinking, until he was grabbing Allura by the shoulders

“What do you mean something happened to him? Where is he?”

“I don’t know. Coran’s rushed him through for emergency treatment. You’d been come”

Jogging through the halls, VOLTRON’s main infirmary was on the same level as the labs. What was only a few minutes walking felt somehow longer as Keith panicked hard. Lance had only just started on the contraceptive Coran designed for him, and somehow he couldn’t help but feel it was related to that. Reaching Matt, the werewolf was sitting on the floor crying. He’d never seen Matt cry like this... his alarm at the blood over Matt’s hands sent goosebumps across his skin. Whipping his head around, he found blood on the doorframe a little past Matt, feet carrying him towards it, before he was bursting into the medical room.

Laying limp on the bed, Coran and two others worked around Lance. The inside of Lance’s sweats dyed a deep red, blood smeared across his feet

“Allura, get him out of here!”

Keith flinched, pulled backwards from Lance at Coran’s command. His legs giving out in the hall, as the door between him and Lance was snapped closed. What was happening?! He could smell Lance’s blood. His stomach rolled. His lover was far sicker than he’d let on. Anger flaring, he wanted to move to Matt. To grab him by the shoulders and shake the truth out of him. He couldn’t. Allura draping herself around him, softly asking as she sniffled

“Matt, what happened?”

“I don’t know. He’s been sick for days. Throwing up nonstop. Barely eating. I... he wanted to take a nap. He promised we’d call Coran when he woke up... He... This is all my fault. I... I left him to nap... because he needed rest, and I... I heard him get up and then... then he fell down the stairs... There was so much blood. He wasn’t bleeding before. He was just feeling sick. I knew that... he... he smelt different lately... and I... I should have made him come sooner... this is my fault”

Matt started crying harder again, his hands in his hair as he curled in on himself. Keith shaking. He knew there were side effects. He knew it. Lance had been so happy, that he’d agreed. So happy that finally Coran had good news for them. He felt like he was finally going to be in control of his body, despite Keith not minding how he was already... unless there were vampires close to him.

It was a sickening long wait in the hallway. He and Allura curled up waiting with Matt, and Allura had taken Matt to clean the blood off him. There’d been so much... too fucking much. Bringing back watching Lance dive across to save them when Matt wolfed out. Finally the door opened, the three of them looking to Coran who stepped out with a weary sigh

“He’s going to be okay”

Coran was haggard, as if years had been stripped off of him, or his long life had finally caught up with him. Relief flooded through his body, as Keith used the wall to push himself up

“Can I see him?”

“He’s groggy, but awake, yes he’s stable. I’ve removed the capsule from his arm, and I have to warn you, he is extremely weak. I’ll analyse the capsule. I was sure the dosage was correct... Keith, can I speak with you for a moment?”

That didn’t sound good. Looking to Allura and Matt, they both nodded, Matt smiling through his tears

“We’ll wait here, man. Go see him, he’s been missing you”

Heading into medical room, the nurses finished up with Lance, before excusing themselves and closing the door behind them. The bed moved from the middle of the room, to jut out from the right side, Lance hooked up to too many machines. Rushing to his boyfriend side, Keith buried his face in Lance’s hair, wrapping his arm around his chest as he did

“Hey... mullet”

Slurring the words out, Lance was conscious enough to know it was him. Keith couldn’t help but hug him tighter

“You scared the fuck out of me you, dick”

Laughing weakly, Lance’s laughter broke off with a hiss of pain.

“I’m afraid he’s going to be staying with us for the next week. I have something very important to talk to you about”

Keith didn’t particularly care, as long as Lance was alright

“You said he was going to be okay”

“He is. But... I still need to monitor him closely. You see... how should I put this...”

Keith forced himself off Lance, hand sliding down to grip his boyfriend’s hand

“Just spit it out”

“I suppose I should say, I have to monitor them carefully”

What now? He didn’t get it. There was one Lance, not two... He could barely handle one Lance...

“You said you needed to monitor him...”

“Yes, well, you see...”

Lance got there first, slurring again, Keith jumping at his voice. His boyfriend really should be sleeping things off, he was a stubborn little bastard

“I’m pregnant?”

“At this stage. You and Keith are generally quite careful with the use of contraception, though that isn’t always effective. I look the liberty of running the test while the nurses made Lance comfortable”

Keith went wobbly at the knees. Air knocked out of him. Coran sadly continuing

“I can’t say how far along you are, and for today you need rest. I’ll organise an ultrasound for the first thing tomorrow morning so we can get a better view of the situation. I was stupid to accept that you’d been careful and not administer the test before implanting the capsule. For that, I cannot apologise enough”

Hold up. Just. Wait. What? He knew he sounded dumb, but... What?

“How?”

Coran sighed at him tiredly

“I know you know how sex works by now. Pulling out and use of condoms doesn’t guarantee that conception will not occur. In fact, I’d advise against the pull out method entirely, though... I expect you two need a moment to adjust to the news. For now we will keep this amongst ourselves. Lance lost a lot of blood, the pregnancy may no longer be viable. Keith, I’ll leave him in your hands. I want you to monitor him for any bleeding, or unusual behaviour. I need to run tests on the capsule and his blood, but he absolutely needs to stay in bed, no matter what he may say, or how he may act. Matt saved his life today. Had the bleed been sustained, he may have lost control of himself entirely”

Coran was talking a lot at him. The words lodging in brain without processing. They liked them. As them. Babies weren’t a thing they were ready for. That he was ready for. They didn’t even live together and they might as well be on different planets given how much they missed each other when they were apart. Coran moved to fetch over the examination stool, Keith sank heavily on to it. He literally no longer had the strength to remain standing. A baby... They’d been careful. He didn’t know how... He didn’t know what to say.

“I’ll leave you two for now. If anything happens, press the red buzzer above the bed. It’ll alert the staff. Don’t worry, my sweet boys. We’ll work this out together”

What about the fall? What about all the blood? There’d been so much blood? Keith felt numb. Someone had once said that humans only have three main emotions; happiness, anger, and sadness. Every other emotion was like a colour on the spectrum, made from those three emotions. What a load of crap. He didn’t know where his emotions apparently fell, but he did know he wasn’t any of them, and all of them at the same time.

Left alone with his boyfriend, Lance watched him. Keith holding his hand tightly as he had been when he’d first taken it in his

“Babe... dun... worry... ‘m okay”

“How is any of this okay?!”

Lance was hooked up to monitors, two IV’s running into his left arm. His face was bruised, and there was a light weight casting around his left wrist. He looked how Keith had expected him to look after he’d fought Lotor. Not fallen down a set of stairs. Fucking stupid stairs. What was Matt thinking leaving Lance like this?! He’d been so ill. Did Matt not care about Lance?! Was all of this some fucking joke? He should have brought him in sooner. Lance... was having a baby... their baby...

Wearily, Lance squeezed his hand with all the strength of a human, proving how weak he was

“I’m... sorry... I thought... It’d pass... in a few... days”

The words were taking so much effort on Lance’s part. Chest heaving as a machine beeped at them, Keith softly scolding his boyfriend

“You should have told me sooner. You never tell me”

“Got worse today... Keith... I... don’t know what to do... a... baby... I...”

Tears rolled down Lance’s tilted face. His boyfriend sniffling, he didn’t have the strength to wipe them away. Keith knew he probably shouldn’t climb up next to him, but Lance really needed him right now and needed to hold his boyfriend... despite the part of him that wanted to run until his head had cleared and the whole thing had sunk in. It felt so surreal. It wasn’t a near miss. It was the real thing. Letting go of Lance’s hand, his boyfriend whimpered softly at the loss. When he moved the blankets, Lance scrunched his eyes closed, as if he expected Keith to turn on him, or throw him out the bed.

Settling carefully beside Lance, Keith laid on his side, forehead against his boyfriend’s. He knew Lance was trying to work up the strength to apologise again, his hand coming up to cup Lance’s cheek as he rubbed at the tear mark with the pad of his thumb

“You need to rest. Then we can talk about this”

“I’m...”

“You’re exhausted”

And Keith needed to think. He’d been planning on surprising Lance dressed in the same clothes he’d worn as a pet for a laugh. Not having Lance rushed here by Matt, and having to be made to feel useless at the sight of all that blood

“Baby...”

“We’ll work it out”

“I... sorry...”

“Shhh, enough apologising. You can apologise when you’re awake enough to know you don’t need to”

*

Lance fell asleep next to him, Keith unable to sleep. Somehow his hand had found its way to Lance’s belly, his boyfriend whining softly in his sleep when he caught himself and went to move it. A baby was not part of their plans. Not in the middle of all this shit. He wasn’t father material. He didn’t know how that worked. He’d enjoyed having what he had with Lance. He couldn’t be like Krolia. He couldn’t leave Lance with the responsibility of raising a child alone, but he couldn’t turn his back on what was happening.

When Shiro finally arrived, his brother had brought flowers. Keith wondering if Coran hadn’t been able to keep the secret over their news. Matt had probably heard everything. What was he doing now? Telling everyone? Laughing at them for getting themselves into the situation? He couldn’t work out when it would have happened. He prided himself on his ability to take care of Lance through his heats. Carrying the flowers over, Shiro placed them at the end of Lance’s bed near his feet

“Hey, kiddo. Is he going to be okay?”

How was Keith supposed to know? Lance was male, turned breeder because of him. Surely there was bound to be all kinds of complications

“I don’t know”

“Matt told me he drove Lance here. Something about having a bad reaction?”

His brother was probing for information. Keith had the answers but not the desire to disclose them

“Something like that”

Shiro sat on the opposite side of Lance’s bed. Keith nearly slapping his hand away as his brother felt for signs of a fever

“Coran mentioned he’d be here for a few days. Did you know he was sick?”

“A little... Coran said there’d be side effects and Lance just thought it was normal...”

“Krolia’s worried. She got the call before me and left the mission ahead of time. She’s sitting in the hall, no ones allowed in without going past her”

What right did his mother have to be there?

“The flowers are actually from her. She didn’t want to upset you by coming in. She offered to pick up Miriam if Lance was up for visitors”

“Not today. Maybe tomorrow”

Tomorrow when they’d have a clear idea what was going on... hang on

“You saw Matt?”

“Yeah. He said Lance wanted to lay down, then got up again and fell down the stairs. He was burning up, crying for you”

Keith wished Shiro hadn’t told him that. He wasn’t there when Lance needed him... It felt fucking awful. No wonder Lance had made a huge fuss over his accident

“Did he say anything else?”

“Lance was bleeding, and pretty out of it... I know you’re probably angry at him, but right now no one is angrier about it all than Matt. Coran’s got Allura staying with him until Rieva can come up from her shift. Did Coran say anything else?”

More than Shiro could imagine. His brother’s hand had gone from Lance’s forehead to resting on his hair

“We won’t know more until tomorrow”

“Alright. Would you like me to stay?”

No

“Yeah... just... I don’t think I can leave him..”

“You don’t have to. As Lance would say, “I’ll punch anyone in the dick if they try to make you leave””

Keith snorted wetly, appreciative of Shiro’s attempt at humour

“He’s strong, right?”

“Yeah. He’s strong, and he’s going to be okay. The blood bag is a little low, I might let the staff know”

Keith hadn’t noticed. He was supposed to be monitoring Lance’s condition. How could he be a dad if he couldn’t do this one simple thing?!

“Hey, I don’t know what’s going on in your head right now, but this isn’t your fault. Not everyone has extreme reactions to things. Lance is different and he’s special. This won’t keep him down, you know that”

“I’m not so sure”

“I’ll have to be sure for all of then”

Over the night, Keith had too many visitors. Matt came with Allura. Coran popped in like clockwork, insisting he rest or eat. Keith moving off the bed to sit on the stool, falling asleep with his right hand on Lance’s belly and his left holding Lance’s hand, his cheek laying against it. Waking to fingers playing with his hair, he yawned as he blinked, back protesting the awkwardness of his sleeping position. Staring across the room, Lance was the one playing with his hair. Shiro was snoring where he sat against the wall with a blanket up to his shoulders. His brother staying as he said he would

“Babe?”

Shifting his gaze down to him, Lance’s blue eyes hurt to see. He seemed so utterly defeated. Rising from the chair, Keith climbed back into bed beside him, pulling him close. Any other time he’d be making a joke about his coordination without coffee. Yet somehow, he was more awake than he should be. That look in Lance‘s driving away his fatigue

“I’m sorry...”

“Shhh...”

“I didn’t know. I didn’t even suspect. I’ve gone and ruined everything”

“No. No, you haven’t”

“Did... did I lose it?”

How long had Lance been awake wondering that?

“Coran won’t know until he does an ultrasound”

“I’m so fucking scared. I don’t know how... we... were careful”

“I know we were... I know, babe”

“You must hate me... but I didn’t know... I didn’t”

Lance started to weep, drawing his knees up as Keith kissed his hair

“I know. I believe you”

“How could I not know?!”

“Shhh... Stress isn’t good for you...”

Keith swallowed hard, forcing out the words that felt weird in his mouth

“... or the baby”

“I don’t know how to do this”

“You think I do? Fuck. When Allura came to get me... I get how you felt now... not being there. I should have come when you first started feeling sick”

“It... wasn’t... that bad until yesterday...”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“I thought it was just the side effects... then I woke up feeling wrong... I went to get Matt...”

So Lance had tried to do the right thing? He’d recognised, all be it late, that something more was going on

“Shhh... okay. I get it”

“I’m sorry...”

“You don’t need to be sorry. Coran’s going to come check on in on you. Allura and Matt visited. Shiro slept here. None of them think you did anything wrong”

“But I still made everyone worry”

“Idiot. We love you. Of course we’re going to worry”

Lance sniffled

“I’m being so selfish. I haven’t even asked if you’re okay”

Keith could lie. He could lie and comfort Lance by pretending to be strong... yet he couldn’t do that. He had to be honest with the man he loved

“I don’t know what I am... other than confused and scared”

“What do we do?”

“We wait. We see what the ultrasound says... and we figure it out”

“And what... if they’re...”

“Either way, we’ll work it out”

Lance clutched up at him, Keith relieved his lover’s strength had started to return

“I don’t think I can do this. I don’t think... I want to lose them”

Keith swallowed down the emotions choking his throat. He didn’t know if Lance meant it or not, and Lance wasn’t in the right frame of mind to question him

“Okay... okay... I’m here. I’m staying. We’ll figure this out”

“I love you... so much... I wanted this in the future... I feel so guilty for it happening now”

“You’re getting worked up again. Coran wants to you stay as calm as you can. We can’t do anything for now”

“I’m still really tired”

“You nap. I’ll be here holding you”

“You really are the best boyfriend ever...”

[38sr]

I wanna know everything

WHERE DO I BEGIN, VULPES????

Okay okay, I’m just gonna list off the things that I’ve already written for this AU and hope I don’t get into spoilers for the Undercut DJ. To make things clear, this AU is like a mix of canon divergence/fix-it since I’ve been taking the time to rewatch VLD and analyze the story as a whole. So let’s start at the beginning~

Voltron 2020: A canon divergence/fix-it AU based on the 2016 VLD series. I only call it Voltron 2020 since the stories I’ve written/drawn for it so far wouldn’t be out in the public until next year haha.

Where does it start?

V2020 (I’m just shorten it to this) keeps S1 and S2 in canon and kicks off in S3. There’s only one small change I would make to S1 but I’ll get into that when I talk about Shiro in this AU.

These haircuts??? Explain please???

Haha, yes I’m a fan of the idea of Keith, Lance and Allura (yeah you heard me) having shorter haircuts. More so Lance because compared to the rest of the cast’s original designs, his hair maybe be simple but lacks a bit of flair. Lance is the one who get’s his undercut first and the story behind how it happens is covered in a fan comic called undercut that’s slated for release this year.

How Keith and Allura get their haircuts are part of the story as well but doesn’t come until maybe S4 or after (I have to figure out the details on that). But for now, I just wanted to see how Keith looked with short hair and it looks pretty good! 

Keith is in BP suit and Lance is in RP suit?

Yup, one of the things that drove me bonkers in VLD was how they didn’t match their lions. This is more of an OCD thing because I prefer matched colors over mix-match. However, once again changing their suits also has a reason behind it in the story. You can sort of call it…truly stepping into their new roles in the Paladin team. For Keith, becoming the leader Shiro always saw in him. For Lance, becoming the right-hand man and gaining confidence in his skills as a pilot (also becoming Keith’s rock haha).

Okay the real question: Does Shiro die in this AU?

Here’s where things get…a bit interesting? I have two versions of this AU where Shiro does die in his battle with Zarkon and the other where he does not die. So a divergent…within a divergent haha. I have to preface this with I don’t hate Shiro by any means and love his character with all my heart, which is why I made a version where he doesn’t die. Shiro as a disabled, LGBT and PoC character has so much potential that killing him off would be a waste for storytelling. Since the AU takes off in S3 where it was implied that he died, that’s where I took the story and started writing how his death affected the team, mainly Keith. The main point I want to get across is that Shiro needs to lose his connection to Black Lion in order for Keith, Lance and Allura to grow as characters.

In the case I choose to have Shiro die….

As per usual, Keith reluctantly becomes the Black Paladin, Lance becoming the Red Paladin and Allura is the Blue Paladin. We see how Keith is struggling with his loss of Shiro and how he feels incompetent being the leader of Voltron. This would then lead to into the undercut comic and spark a more genuine, supportive friendship between Keith and Lance. I would also keep how Shiro’s conscience remains in the Black Lion, which only Keith knows about cause he’s BP now. This would be great thread to connect Keith and Allura who have lost someone dear to them and rely on technology to keep them alive (when in reality they will always live in their hearts). 

I would also keep the Kuron idea but instead of him joining team Voltron, Honerva and Zakron use the Shiro clones and make their own version of Voltron with the Robeasts we see in S7-8. That way, we could keep The Black Paladins fight since that’s a very emotional and groundbreaking moment for Keith having to face someone cares deeply for. 

In the case I choose to have Shiro live….

I wouldn’t have him be BP again since that prevents Keith from growing into a leader, which then prevent Lance growing as a character and then prevents Allura from growing as a character. If anyone has noticed after watching the series, the character development kind of gets wonky when they decided to bring Shiro back as BP. If anything, it really hindered Keith, Lance and Allura’s character development since S3 focused so much on the dynamics in team Voltron shifted (which would have been super interesting to see as time went on). Since this idea is fairly still new I haven’t quite figured out how I would write the story if I went this route. But, I’m not opposed of having Shiro being involved with the Altean colony…again gotta workshop some stuff here but killing off Shiro is such a waste of potential!

ALSO, if Shiro stays alive, then we need to address Adam in S1 E1. It can be simple like when everyone is at Keith’s shack and Adam’s name gets dropped casually like this:

Shiro: How did you get all this information? This is classified stuff from the Garrison…

Keith: I had someone help me.

Shiro: Someone….?

Keith: …it was Adam.

Shiro: Oh…

Not exact but my point is that could have been a great moment to tell the audience Shiro and Keith have a connection with Adam (more so Shiro because we all didn’t know he was gay until much much later in the series). But lemme move on before I get too into Adam cause so much needs to be written out before I spill it all haha.

Next big question: which ships are canon?

Y’all don’t burn me at the stake but….

Allura and Lotor. 

I KNOW I KNOW! BUT WHAT ABOUT KLANCE!?!?!?!?!??!

Y’all know I will ship Klance until the end of time but right now I haven’t gotten to a point in the story where confirming Klance as a romantic relationship feels natural and right yet. If anything, in V2020 I really want to build Keith and Lance’s relationship as friends and teammates which in turn can lead into something more. But the groundwork needs to be done in order for that to happen.

But yeah Allura and Lotor are confirmed in V2020 cause that feels right and Lotor deserves so much more than what we saw in the show. I’ll leave it at that for now.

Is the ending the same?

HA. NOPE. FAR FROM IT!

This is probably biggest change I made in V2020 but when VLD did this it made me worried for the show as a whole:

Zarkon remains as the main villain and final boss for the entire series.

I would have not killed off Zarkon as early as they did in VLD simply because Zarkon was made out to be such a big threat in the beginning. Don’t get me wrong, Honerva and the war factions are a cool idea as opposing forces but they could have happened first and left Zarkon for last. 

Honevra regaining her memories and going on her rampage could have happened first. Lotor could have found out that she was his mother  and had to confront his abuser. Allura would have to face the fact someone of her own kind was doing horrible things and that evil isn’t determined by (alien) race. All of that could have been presented before killing Zarkon and would have pushed Allura and Lotor’s character development. Also, having Honevra written off first would give Zarkon even more incentive to do what he’s doing cause well, that’s his wife and love makes you do crazy things. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The war factions could have happened after Honerva and that’s where we learn more about the Galra empire and society. Where are there are cracks in the system? How are half breeds like Keith and Lotor viewed? How do factions like the Blade come into play and help team Voltron? All of that could have been explored! Honestly, the war factions arc(?) is an opportunity to further develop Keith and Lotor characters and their relationship since they are both half-Galra. 

As for the final battle and ending of it all, Allura doesn’t die and Voltron (the robot) is the one to be sacrificed.

I wrote a whole theory on it after watching S8, so if you wanna read yet another long post you can check it out here haha.

The point of keeping Zarkon as the main (and final) villain in V2020 is to keep the overarching story simple. Think of ATLA, the story as a whole is really simple: 4 nations based on elemental powers are under the tyrannical rule of a dictator and only one person can stop him and save the world. By keeping the objective of the story simple, there’s room for character development and world-building. Instead of a dark, broody space epic (if that’s what you wanna call it), V2020 focuses more on the characters and world-building that are affected by the main opposing force known as Zarkon. A lot of the stories I have in mind are more episodic but I think that works best for a show where the stage is as grand as space haha.

Pidge and Hunk??

As for Pidge, she kind of….gets everything she wants in the show?? There isn’t really anything drastic I would change since the show fixed her issues…

As for Hunk my baby boy sweet cinnamon roll, don’t worry. I’m making sure he’s more than just a scaredy cat who loves food. I really liked how in the show Hunk learned about Galra diplomacy so maybe I can work with that! 

___

Yeah, I think….that’s everything I can tell you about this AU and I’m so sorry, Vulpes, that I made this answer so long! ^^; Thank you showing interest in my AU!

[shastelly]

Summer - March Klance Prompts from MonthlyKlance - Day 24

Day 24 of March in May...yep...I will not give up!

Also this is some serious fluffy nonsense just so you know before you start :).  The paladins need a vacation :)

Day 24 – Summer

 "Where did they even find those jackets?"  Keith asked bewildered.

 "At the space mall."  Shiro answered in a similar state of disbelief.

 "I fear we may have pushed them too hard."  Allura stuttered.

 "It does seem some downtime might be in order."  Coran nodded flinching as Lance pulled out a blonde wig and put it on for the next "scene" in the musical the youngest paladins had decided to put on for their amusement.

 "Lance isn't good as a blonde."  Keith commented.  "The poodle skirt fine, but the wig is just off."

 "I'm not sure whatever it is that Pidge is wearing is much better.  How many socks did they stuff in her shirt?" Shiro blinked.

 "More than Lance's."  Keith answered.  

 "You'd think Hunk would have taken off the headband, it doesn't match his jacket at all."  Allura puzzled.

 "I'm having trouble keeping track of which part they are playing at which time."  Shiro admitted.

 "I'm pretty sure Pidge is Rizzo.  Lance is Sandy and Kenickie.  Hunk is Danny and Frenchie and maybe Marty.  I'm really unclear on the other parts.  I think they keep forgetting to change clothes."  Keith muttered, earning a surprised look from Shiro who didn't think he'd ever seen Grease before.

 ***

 "Lance, does dance rather well though."  Coran pointed out as he was switching wigs between playing Sandy and Cha Cha.

 The others hummed in agreement, trapped watching the youngest three sing and dance their hearts out.  To be honest for an impromptu musical with no instruments, sets, scripts from memory and a cast of three they were really doing a pretty good job.

 ***

 "Are those real cars?  Pidge!" Shiro hollered over the revving engines, before Hunk and Pidge flew off down the hall in their race.

 Keith laughed.

 ***

 "Is the message of this show that you should change yourself to match your friends?!"  Allura asked outraged.

 Shiro and Keith were not capable of responding given Lance's appearance in the black leather outfit.

 ***

 Coran had happily joined the end song and the four of them were giggling and singing about always being together.

 Shiro, Allura, and Keith sat watching them dance away, clapping mechanically.  

 "So, vacation?"  Shiro asked still staring straight ahead.

 "Vacation."  Allura agreed.

 "Leather."  Keith muttered watching Lance dance away.

 ***

 And so, a week later…

 "I have an announcement."  Allura stood at the head of the table after dinner.  "As it turns out we have no scheduled missions for the next three days and we are near a resort planet that I used to visit as a child called Sabra."

 "What?"  Hunk blinked.

 "I have arranged for us, barring any emergency of course, to have rooms at the very same resort I used to visit.  And no worries, Coran went and made the reservations himself to assure that it is still as nice as it was ten thousand years ago."  Allura smiled at them.

 "Actually, it's nicer.  Apparently, it was rebuilt recently and is the best of the hotels on the shore." Coran assured.

 "Shore?"  Lance asked in awe.

 "Yes, the resort sits on one of the planets many oceans.  Each has a different color.  This one is lavender and was always my favorite.  The entire planet survives on revenue from visiting tourists.  It is considered a non-conflict zone; no weapons are allowed on the planet.  Oh Coran, is the carnival still on the beach?"  Allura asked a childlike gleam in her eyes.

 "Yes, indeed Princess, bigger and better than ever."

 "A beach?  Ocean? Carnival?"  Lance's eyes blinked open and closed like a doll.

 "I think you broke Lance," Pidge snarked.

 "I am soooooo excited!"  Hunk grabbed Lance's arm which seemed to snap him out of his shock.  He in turn grabbed Hunk and they were soon screaming and jumping up and down.

 "Oh, I need swim trunks?  Coran?" Lance stopped jumping and turned dramatically to Coran.

 "No worries, there is an entire section of resort wear in the castle storage, you may come and choose what you like."  He answered with a dramatic twirl of his moustache.  "I will, of course, be able to provide guidance on what is really fashionable."

 Lance jumped up and he and Coran were off and ranting about packing for the trip for everyone.  

 "Don't worry guys, I'll keep an eye on them."  Hunk offered with a wave and headed after them.

 As it turns out someone should have had an eye on Allura as well.

 "Exactly what is in here?"  Shiro asked exasperated as he lifted the universe's heaviest suitcase/trunk into the shuttle they were using.

 "Industrial size hair dryer."  Pidge muttered trying to cram another of the princess’s cases into the back.

 "A princess needs to be prepared for all circumstances."  Allura answered primly batting her eyes before laughing and helping pack another huge trunk into the shuttle.

 "Is there a weight restriction?"  Hunk asked in awe.

 "This is fine."  Coran nodded. "You should have seen her mother pack for vacation."  Coran shook his head then.  "We had to take three shuttles to fit the family and their luggage."

 "Sounds fair."  Lance smiled at Allura.  His own trunk was much smaller, but still twice as large as any of the others. Lance had on a huge pair of blue sunglasses, a white button-down shirt and blue and red shorts that hit near his knee. He'd managed to find some kind of Altean sandals that were brown and wrapped around his feet and ankles.

 "Shut up, tourist."  Pidge snarked.  She was wearing a green t-shirt and long khaki shorts and the Altean equivalent of flip flops.

 "Be nice you two."  Hunk's own bright yellow tank, white shorts, and flip flops made them the post card for beach travelers.

 "Are we ready?"  Coran laughed, his own blue and orange striped attire looked like a bathing suit from the 1800's or something.   He even had a blue hat to go with it.

 "Shotgun!"  Lance yelled.

 ***

 Two varga later…

 They had parked the castle in an asteroid belt, hidden from sensors and well protected. The planet had assured them it would be safe to orbit, but they were unwilling to leave it unmanned like that and they had all deserved the vacation.  However, the three varga shuttle ride was turning out to be a little much for them all in a single shuttle, crammed into two rows of seats due to someone's excessive packing.

 "I called shotgun.  It isn't fair."  Lance complained for the fifth time from the backseat where he was shoved between Keith and Hunk.  Pidge was sitting on Hunk's lap her legs stretched over the top of them.

 "Sorry, Lance, the grown-ups got the front seat."  Allura echoed back, not sounding the least bit sorry.

 "Like you are so much older!"  Lance huffed.

 "At least 10,000 years."  Allura quipped.

 "That does not count.  Keith, quit touching me!"  Lance elbowed his neighbor.

 "Exactly how am I supposed to do that.  We are packed right against each other."  Keith growled elbowing back.

 "Would you quit!  I'm already dying back here.  Shiro, are you sure you can't turn up the air?  I have a Pidge blanket."  Hunk whined.

 "It's all the way up, Hunk, and we are freezing up here.  Coran matches his hat."  Shiro sighed.

 Coran did look an interesting shade of blue just then.

 Pidge shifted in her sleep tickling Lance's legs with her shorts.  He laughed loudly and jerked at the sensation, elbowing both Keith and Hunk in the process.  The other two boys snarled.  Hunk shoved Lance so hard he ran into Keith again.  Keith jabbed a sharp elbow into Lance's stomach making him pitch forward and sliding Pidge's legs into the back of the seat in front of them.

 "STOP KICKING THE SEAT!"  Shiro was close to losing his shit.

 "Ow."  Lance breathed giving dirty looks to both Hunk and Keith.

 Pidge snored and rolled back over onto all of them.

 Lance scooted back and spread his elbows and legs as wide as he could pushing against the other boys.

 "Enough with the man spread, Lance."  Hunk griped shoving his leg over and leaning on him.

 "I'm squished.  You guys keep pushing me around."  Lance growled.

 "Then stay in the middle."  Keith stomped on his foot.

 "OOW!"  Lance yelled and drove an elbow at Keith's middle, which he blocked and pinched Lance's arm.  "OWW! QUIT!  You guys are being jerks!"

 "IF YOU DON'T QUIT FIGHTING BACK THERE I SWEAR I WILL PULL THIS DAMN THING OVER!" Shiro yelled from the front seat.

 Keith, Hunk, and Lance all shared a look before they burst out laughing at him. Shiro groaned.  

 Pidge sat up and yawned, "Are we there yet?"

 ***

 The resort and beach were everything that Allura had promised.  The resort hotel stood fifty stories high, reflective glass windows covered the building.  The pale purple water of the ocean washed onto the shore in waves that had Lance and Hunk yelling about surfing.  The white sands of the beach were pristine and stretched as far as they could see. When they landed the pod several different types of aliens all dressed in the same crisp white uniforms rushed out and began moving their luggage.  Allura said that they had condos reserved along the beach.  They were given three small vehicles that looked like hovering golf carts.  They received a map of the resort with locations and times for activities and a reminder that there was a feast planned in their honor for that evening.

 Shiro loaded into one cart with Allura and Pidge.  Coran tried to take the wheel on the next, but Keith beat him, which prompted Lance to take the third wheel with Hunk at his side and challenge Keith to a race. Unfortunately, or fortunately as it may be, the carts were very slow, and the race was a pathetic tie.

 Allura and Pidge took the first condo, Shiro and Keith the second.  That left Hunk, Coran and Lance in the third.

 Lance walked in enjoying the beach themed decorations, of course it was all in purples and not blues, which he would have preferred, but they were soft colors with bright white accents and wave designs over everything, even some oddly square shells. He noticed two beds and a couch in the main area.

 "I call the couch."  He announced making it sound like a preference, and not a preemptive move to avoid being stuck with it, as the youngest in a family of five this was not an unusual arrangement for him.  Hunk gave him a grateful smile aware of what he was doing.

 "Oh, good choice."  Coran crowed. He pressed a button and the couch cushion lifted to float about five feet from the ground and fluffed out to look like a cloud bed.  "These are supposed to be wonderful to sleep on, though, I'll admit I don't relish the idea of floating in my sleep."

 "It's great."  A huge grin split Lance's face and he rushed over to the other condo to tell Keith and Shiro about it.

  ***

 At the banquet that evening, there was a huge bonfire and lots of food, dancing and music. Hunk said it was like a Luau. Lance said it was like a family beach party.  The others just thought it was fun.  There was some sort of beverage in a red coconut looking thing that Shiro objected to at first, but after a brief discussion with Allura he allowed.  

 Lance took a sip and smiled, "It tastes like a Pina Colada!"

 "Why do you know what that tastes like?"  Keith frowned.

 "My sister-in-law used to let me drink a little of hers, not a lot, just a taste." Lance sipped happily.  "This tastes almost exactly like the ones my brother would make."

 Hunk sniffed and sipped tentatively, "It is good."

 "Please don't get carried away, no more than three or make that two for you Pidge."  Shiro frowned unsure if this was the proper thing to do.

 "Shiro, you are not my parent.  You are like an older brother.  Act like it, be a bad influence once in a while too."  Keith grinned as he sipped.

 "Yeah, be the older frat brother that rolls you over, so you don't choke on your vomit after he gets you to drink way too much."  Lance offered.

 Hunk, Pidge, Keith, and Shiro stared at him.

 "What? Am I the only one that had a life?" Lance chugged the rest of his drink and smiled, "I'm dancing."  He rushed back out to where others were already dancing around the bonfire.

 Hunk shrugged looking at the others, "He's not wrong, we are social rejects."

 "I wasn't."  Shiro objected quietly.

 "Yes, but what are you now, Space Dad."  Pidge snarked.

 Shiro glared at her, downed his drink, and laughed, "Dancing."  He walked away to join Lance, who looked surprised but happy to have Shiro grab him and spin him around.

 "Huh."  Keith offered.

 "It does look like fun."  Hunk decided.

 "Where are Allura and Coran?"  Pidge asked before spotting them lounging at the bar watching the two dancing paladins. Pidge waved them off and headed over to the Alteans.  She was not dancing.

 "So, may I have this dance?"  Hunk asked offering Keith his hand.

 "Why not?"  Keith smiled and they both finished their drinks before heading out to join the other two dancing.

 ***

 Lance woke the next morning sleeping on a cloud.  He smiled and stretched.  He'd danced with everyone he thought, so many smiles and laughs and new dances and Pina Colodas.  He found himself grinning in realization that he had not gotten that drunk and did not have a head ache or naseau this morning, the alien booze must not have been very strong.

 He lowered his bed back to the couch and slipped on a hoodie.  The morning was gray and looked chilly.  He didn't bother with shoes.  He went out to beach and walked along the edge of the water, watching the water come and go and walking in and out of it.  Leaving footprints in the white sand.  The colors were wrong, but it reminded him so strongly of home that he half expected his mama to call him to breakfast.  He closed his eyes thinking of the many mornings he had woke before everyone else and done just this, ever since he was deemed old enough to be trusted to stay out of the water when no one else was around.

 "Lance?" Keith's voice was quiet, but Lance still jumped.

 "You really want to give me a heart attack, don't you?" Lance shook his head, wiping tears on the sleeve of his hoodie.  Keith was dressed in workout clothes and had probably been running as he was sweating and panting a bit.

 "No. You okay?" Keith frowned.

 "Yeah, just really reminds me of home.  It's good, but sad too."  Lance sighed. "I wonder when we will get to go home again or even if we ever will."

 "We will."  Keith stated like it was a fact.

 "You can't know that.  Zarkon has been in power for ten thousand years, do we really think we're going to beat him in a year or two and go home?"

 "Sure, Voltron hasn't been around all that time.  We kick his ass and then go home."  Keith smiled slyly.

 "Sure." Lance shook his head.

 "Seriously though, we have the weapon he has always feared and there has to be a reason. He knows we can beat him.  We will get back home.  It might take a while but we're going."  Keith put an arm around Lance.

 "I like that you're sure."  Lance offered.  He wasn't quite convinced, but it helped that Keith seemed to be.

 "Tell me something you used to do on the beach?  Something we could do today?" Keith pried.

 "Well, sometimes in the summer we would have sandcastle building contests, Mami would judge them."  Lance smiled at the memory and the crazy things he and his siblings had created.

 "We can do that."  Keith nodded. "I've never done that before."

 "You've never built a sandcastle?" Lance asked shocked.

 "Lance, this is the first time I've ever been to a beach like this."  Keith gestured to the horizon.  "It just keeps going.  It's amazing really."

 Lance took several moments to recover, "Okay, so we are building sandcastles, then I'm teaching you to swim in a current like this, and then we are going to make some surfboards.  Oh, and we have to bury you in the sand."  Lance rattled off happily.

 "Bury me?"  Keith raised his eyebrows and frowned.

 "Don't look at me like that.  You cover up like half of the person with sand or maybe up to their neck, depending on what you are doing.  You can just make it look weird like a head in the sand, or make them look like something else, like a mermaid or something.  It feels cool and it's fun and you've never done it so you're trying it. Also, we have to hunt for seashells, do they have those here?  Well even if they don’t, we can still hunt for them and then we'll know."

 Keith smiled in amusement as Lance continued rattling off important things to do as one by one the others joined them.  The sandcastle contest was something to behold.  Pidge had declared that picking teams sucked and had them draw straws. Team one was Keith, Pidge, and Hunk. Team two was Lance, Shiro, and Coran. Allura was the official judge, as obviously a princess knows a lot about castles according to Lance.

 Team One's castle was huge, easily eight feet tall at the peak of the highest tower. It bore a striking resemblance to Cinderella's castle, though not enough to worry about a copyright.  Pidge had created a draw bridge that opened and closed and installed some kind of luminescent shells to the interior to give lighting.  Keith had gathered shells and layered them on the towers to act like tile roofs.  It was overall very striking.

 Team Two's castle looked like a flying alien city.  It wasn't as tall only about six foot at the top of the central spire, but the towers were decorated with glass and there were spirals of glass in different colors that shot up throughout the castle.  Pidge argued it was cheating.  Lance argued it was just hot sand and why shouldn't they make it since they had Shiro on their team.

 Allura declared it a tie over their bickering and told them to come to lunch.  She had a picnic delivered to the beach and they sat on blankets and ate something that looked like peanut butter and jelly - if the peanut butter was made with beans instead of peanuts and the jelly was bacon flavored.

 After the meal they all laid out and took a nap.  It was crazy to relax like this and it had really been too long.  Pidge had started to creep away to a laptop, but Allura caught her by the wrist.

 "Pidge, everything needs to recharge sometime, even you.  Give yourself this time and when you get back you will be more prepared and will work faster."  Allura begged.  "We can't work ourselves to death; there is no one to take our places."

 Pidge paused pondering what Allura had said and then nodded, curling back up on the blanket and snuggling into Hunk's side.  Allura allowed herself to relax again.  This was something they all needed.

 The swimming lessons commenced after.  Keith wasn't a bad swimmer and Lance only had to rescue him once before he listened to his fellow paladin about the dangers of the undertow.  Hunk splashed right along with them as did Allura.  Coran, Shiro, and Pidge stayed on the shoreline. Pidge said she was part robot and water was bad for her.  Shiro waved his own anchor of an arm as an excuse and Coran simply laughed and said they couldn't teach an old warbraxlian like himself any new things.    Lance was an amazing swimmer and Keith had a hard time keeping his eyes off of him.  He even challenged the princess to a race.  He lost, but he claimed her shifting into something with flippers was cheating anyway.

 Keith was shocked at how exhausted he was when he came out of the water and how heavy his body felt.  Swimming in the ocean was really a lot more tiring than a pool, Lance had been right. Lance grabbed him a towel to lay down on and declared it was time to bury him, so he could take a nap.

 When Keith woke to a mermaid tale and breasts he had to clamor out of the sand and chase Lance around the beach for a while until he caught him and dragged him back to the towel and declared it was his turn.  Lance complained he would have been fine with the mermaid body, but Keith gave him the body of a middle-aged man with a beer gut.  Pidge carefully documented both, though the boys were not yet aware of it.  They would be when she needed something.

 They were making preparations for the evening meal when an alarm sounded on a device Allura was carrying.  She frowned and tapped at it, before sighing and turning to the others.  

 "I'm sorry everyone, but we will need to cut this short.  There has been a Galra fleet detected in the vicinity of an alliance planet.  We need to get there and be ready to defend them if needed."  Allura smiled sadly at the paladins, to their credit they all nodded without complaint.  She was proud of them.  "Let's have everything packed and be in the shuttle as quickly as possible.  I would like to wormhole out tonight."

 The packing went smoothly.  They had all been aware that this was a possibility and had made accommodations to allow for quick pack ups.  

 Crowded back in the shuttle on the way to the castle, Lance leaned his head against Keith's shoulder, "How was your first beach trip?”

 “It was good.”  Keith smiled softly.

 “Sorry we didn't get to go surfing or hunt sea shells." Lance frowned

 "It's okay."  Keith shrugged.  "There wasn't anything we could do."

 "I know, but I guess we did a lot." Lance suddenly quirked a smile, “We can go surfing and hunt sea shells when we get home.”

 "I would like that.  I could see myself living on a beach someday." Keith smiled over at Lance.

 "Oh yeah, maybe we could be neighbors?"  Lance smiled thinking about his dreamhouse on the beach.

 Keith hummed and turned so that his violet eyes were staring straight into Lance's ocean blues, "Maybe we could be closer than that."

 "Oh yeah?"  Lance blinked and licked his lips, before grinning mischievously, "So roomies, huh?"  Hunk choked on laughter and Pidge swatted him in the back of the head, but Lance just laughed at the frustrated look on Keith's face, before leaning back against his shoulder and closing his eyes.

 "I could find room for a mullet in my dream house."  Lance muttered as his breathing slowed and evened into sleep.  

 Keith smiled down at him and wondered what he was getting himself into.

[kcwcommentary]

VLD7x13 – “Lions’ Pride Part 2”

7x13 – “Lions’ Pride Part 2”

This is an odd episode to end a season on. Most of this episode is just a mindless action sequence. There is no character connectivity to the fight. There is no internal struggle to mirror the outer struggle. The mysteriousness of the enemy only sustains the action so far. It eventually gets to a point where it feels like you’re waiting for the battle to hurry up and finish so that we can finally start getting an explanation for why we should care about what’s happening.

The transformation of the Atlas from ship to mecha seems so blatantly designed to be something Allura was supposed to cause to happen. But the EPs’ adamant, primary desire to have Keith as Black Paladin, and thus Allura as Blue Paladin, deprives the Atlas transformation of the significant emotional impact it could have had. Not that I don’t love Shiro, clearly, but there’s no explanation for why he was able to make it happen.

The episode begins with the object that entered Earth’s atmosphere at the end of last episode continuing its plummet to the surface. Allura screams out, “No!” without any real reason to. Yes, this does end up being a mecha that they have to fight, but that hasn’t been revealed yet. So, why is Allura acting like it has? Conveniently, the mecha lands really close to Voltron, close enough that a shockwave hits them. Black tries to block some of it, but Hunk and Shiro (at least) are shown tumbling through the air, Yellow coming to swallow them. Keith tells Hunk to “get Shiro to the Atlas.”

This mecha has a long polearm weapon with blades on each end and a rapid-fire wrist blaster. The Black Lion fires on the mecha, landing no hits. Allura says, “That energy spectrum completely deflected our attack.” Really? Because it looked like the mecha deflected Black’s blasts by spinning its polearm. Allura’s comment sounds like the mecha used some kind of energy shield. Not a big deal, but still the dialog doesn’t match the animation. The Lions try using their jawblades, but the mecha parries them.

The Paladins’ conversation establishes that they haven’t a clue where this mecha came from. And that’s the way it is for most of this episode. I remember watching this for the first time and feeling super confused the entire time. I’m not actually against the show varying up the story structure like this. It leads into next season’s story, but it is completely disconnected from this season’s story. It’s an interesting writing choice. But doing this does make something stark to me: This season’s main villain wasn’t narratively significant.

Ending the season with this battle emphasizes that this season didn't really have a main villain. Sendak was sort of put into the position of main villain, but the only thing that could have really connected him to his conflict is the past emotional antagonism he had had for Shiro. None of that past antagonism was turned into current antagonism for this season though. Shiro and Sendak fight last episode, but none of their previous contention is brought up during that fight. There is nothing about Sendak's being in this season that needed it to be Sendak. Everything he did could have been done by nearly any other Galra. The show seems to have been relying solely on name and face recognition, relying on viewers seeing Sendak and remembering him from the first season when he was a threat by himself. His brief appearance in season five was ultimately insignificant, as that appearance placed the source of his threat in Haggar because she had chosen to support him (with hopes of manipulation) to become emperor, and that was a moment that was quickly over. This season relied on Sendak having a past on the show in order to pretend he was relevant to the invasion plot, but he ended up functioning like a generic villain. This shows that the creative team had a plot plan for this season: Galra invade Earth. They did not have an inner story planned for the characters this season.

Keith gives the expected rallying speech. The Atlas joins, Coran stating they’re there to support. The mecha blasts Atlas, knocking the ship’s shields out in one hit. A medic has taken Shiro to the medical bay, but Shiro declares, “I need to get back,” and shoves his way past the medic. Keith asks Atlas to hold off the mecha while they form Voltron. The mecha takes to the skies and continues its attack on Atlas.

When Shiro arrives on the bridge, he asks about their weapons, which are charged, and then he orders their shields dropped so that those cannons can fire. Anyone remember how the Castle of Lions would fire its weapons either through or somehow directly from its shields? I thought the Atlas was supposed to have been designed significantly after the Castle’s technology. So, it makes it odd that the shields have to be dropped in order to fire on a target. I do kind of like it this way, it allows for some play with the progression of tension in a scene or sequence, but it does still feel like a discrepancy.

The mecha spins its polearm, and now doing so causes incoming blaster fire to reflect back at the attacker. Before, doing that just caused the blasts to be blocked. Little inconsistencies like this in a story combine to eventually make it impossible to build the story in one’s mind as one watches/reads it. I imagine that this creative team would think that that’s a good thing, but the audience/readers of a story should be able to anticipate certain things. If a character action produces a certain result once, then, unless there’s something introduced to explain a change, that same action should always lead to that result.

Voltron swoops in and blasts and/or knocks the mecha into the ground. The mecha changes the shape of the blades on its weapon and separates the pole into two swords. Voltron responds by Red and Green opening their bayard ports. I do not understand why Lance and Pidge are animated to scream while plugging their bayard into the port. It’s not really that dramatic of a moment to necessitate that scream, though I guess the creative team thought it was. Voltron produces two swords, and they and the mecha have a brief sword-on-sword fight. The mecha quickly though knocks the swords out of Voltron’s hands, jumps and dives down onto Voltron, even more easily knocking Voltron’s shield in two. I can’t quite tell but I the mecha actually pierces Voltron’s hull with its swords?

Shiro orders the MFEs to launch, the weapons fire of which does nothing. Pidge grabs the green bayard, still in its port, and Voltron manifests a new (at least I don’t remember seeing it manifested before) arm cannon, which Pidge uses to blast the mecha away from them.

Hunk says that the mecha’s blades “sapped our energy.” And Pidge adds, “It felt like the komar.” This would have to be a reference to the battle in 2x13 “Blackout.” That’s the only time I think Pidge would ever have been in position to know what being subjected to the komar felt like. But this does give the episode’s first hint at who’s behind this attack. I know this episode is about setting up next season, but it is narratively weird for the season to have had no Haggar, except tangentially with the Druid, until here at the very end. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t miss Haggar, and I’m not looking forward whatsoever to watching Honerva have so much screentime next season.

The MFEs are recalled to the Atlas, which hits the mecha with a sustained cannon blast. The mecha throws its sword at Atlas, knocking its shields down again. The mecha then charges some large blaster in its chest and hits the Atlas with it. Pidge says that the mecha absorbed Voltron’s quintessence with the sword attack and is using that energy to power the blasts. Keith says that they’ll “have to avoid direct contact,” and then Voltron reforms its two swords. Wouldn’t a sword fight be direct contact? When I hear “avoid direct contact,” I think a return to cannon fire.

The mecha elbows Voltron in the face, knocking Voltron back a bit. The show then throws Hunk’s family and other assorted humans into position behind Voltron so they can pretend that those people are in danger. They haven’t been mentioned once in this battle until now. These mechas have been dashing about all over the place, and never once did their location include risk to humans. This battle was taking place where Sendak’s ship crashed, and Voltron had specifically maneuvered that ship away from any settlements prior to it crashing. Now including this risk to miscellaneous humans feels empty and contrived. Voltron launches into the sky and the mecha eagerly follows.

At this point, ten minutes into the battle, it’s become mostly spectacle with no emotion involved. That’s not really the best way to end a season: empty, emotionless fighting. There’s nothing about this fight that connects it to an inner struggle for any character, so it functions as just a miscellaneous action sequence.

Keith orders Pidge to fire her cannon again, and she does so. The mecha reflects the blast, and the reflected blasts find their way down through the atmosphere to precisely where the Atlas is floating barely off the ground. That feels contrived. The mecha pierces Voltron again and pile drives it into the ground below. It’s weird that Voltron gets pierced by weapons, but it never takes any structural damage from being pierced. It makes the animation of having Voltron be stabbed feel off, like something is wrong with the animation. Voltron’s eyes go dark. The mecha blasts the Atlas, which explodes. I don’t know exactly what about Atlas explodes, but it does. The Atlas has no physical damage depicted, of course, just like Voltron has none from being stabbed.

Everyone is screaming at Shiro for orders, things are chaotic, the sound of voices drops away. Shiro looks at his new prosthetic hand, and everything around him starts glowing white circuit board like lines, then things snap back to looking normal. Shiro orders the Atlas into the upper atmosphere. Everything glows for Shiro again, the camera zooms into him and then cuts to the crystal the Castle of Lions was crushed into. The walls and lines of the Atlas all over start glowing. The Atlas begins its transformation sequence.

This is a huge part of why so many of us have argued that it seems clear the Atlas was originally intended to be captained by Allura, not Shiro. Why does Shiro respond to the Atlas like this? Why does the Atlas respond to Shiro like this? Shiro was not part of the construction of the Atlas. He was not part of providing it with power. That power comes from the corpse of the Castle of Lions. Shiro might have lived on the Castle for some time, but that Castle was Allura’s. It would make total sense for the Atlas, powered by the corpse of the Castle, to react to Allura if she were captain and in this moment of desperation. It would have had so much more emotional impact if this was Allura having a big hero moment, channeling her alchemy through the crystal made from her Castle, to turn this new ship into this new mecha. It doesn’t have an emotional impact that it’s Shiro doing this because he has no emotional connection to the Castle. He has no ability through which this transformative connection can happen. It’s not like a Paladin and a Lion having some kind of transformative moment because they have a bond. How is Shiro making this happen? The EPs and writers never care to explain. They must have just hoped we wouldn’t pay attention to how this would have far better fit for Allura than it does for Shiro. It emphasizes that their primary goal with this show was Keith as Black Paladin, and they were willing to sacrifice the story having emotional impact and resonant meaning to do so.

Also, Mecha Atlas has really big legs. It’s easy to see how a lot of viewers look at Atlas and see feminine hips, which again, suggest Allura was supposed to be the one captaining the ship.

Atlas fist-dives down onto the spot where the enemy mecha was standing. There’s a really weird sound, almost like a deep, airy scream, as Atlas does so. I don’t know why that scream was included. The mecha flies away, while the Atlas punches a bunch of dirt. Given how close the mecha was to Voltron when Atlas punched the ground, I would think the shockwave would have hit Voltron.

Atlas as a mecha is huge. I know that Atlas as a ship is bigger than Voltron, but it didn’t seem like the size differential was quite this big. I wonder if the animation team made Mecha Atlas bigger than ship Atlas. If so, that’s a problem for me. But maybe we just haven’t had enough side-by-side of the Atlas and Voltron for the size differential to be clearer to me. Atlas tries to blast the mecha but just carves a circle around itself as the mecha flies out of the way.

The Atlas and Voltron reestablish communications. Shiro says that he’s “not exactly sure” how he turned the ship into a mecha. I’m really not a fan of this show having so many upgrades happen without the person causing them to happen knowing how they’re doing it. It makes the upgrade process totally random within the narrative and contrived from a writing perspective. And of course the show having Shiro do this without knowing how is made worse given that they had a totally reasonable explanation for how Allura could have done it if she had been in Shiro’s position.

The mecha blasts Atlas, but Atlas blocks it with its hand. The mecha comes flying toward the Atlas, and a ghostly projection of the mecha comes off the mecha and grapples with the Atlas. This projection is the same size as Atlas. It feels like every time this episode advances the heroes’ abilities, it almost immediately counters it with the enemy. What is played to feel like success ends up being negated almost immediately, and that creates a feeling of being jerked around by the plot. It’s not that the heroes deal with one problem only to have a new one, it’s that their successes are negated. The projection knocks Atlas back and then ends, the enemy mecha at its normal size.

The mecha comes around, projects itself large again, and hits the Atlas in its back, in its shoulders, knocking the Atlas to its knee. The regular sized enemy mecha stabs the Atlas in the shoulders and starts draining its energy.

Keith seizes upon the idea (that was actually set up a lot earlier in this battle) that they have to hit the mecha in the opening it uses for its big chest cannon right before it fires.

Fifteen minutes into this battle, and it still doesn’t have any inner struggle brought out by the outer struggle. Why is this fight happening? It just is. What character(s) are connected to it? None. The battle has a total miscellaneous quality to it. And that causes the audience to not have an emotional investment in the development of the fight.

Red starts blinking its bayard slot at Lance. He and Keith bayard up, activating Voltron’s big wings, they fly to the enemy mecha, stab it in the chest, and there’s a big explosion. In typical fashion for this show, that explosion has no physical impact on anything. No hull ruptures or anything like that for either Voltron or the enemy mecha. Voltron has been separated into the respective Lions. They detect a surge in energy, and Hunk says that the enemy mecha must have a self-destruct mechanism. It’s survived tons of weapons fire, it survived the big explosion just now, but it’s going to blow itself up? Oh, whatever!

The Lions push the mecha up off Earth and into the sky. The music is really nice, but I wish the emotion of the story matched the emotion of the music. Keith says, “It’s been an honor to fly with you all,” like we’re supposed to interpret this as a potential final sacrifice of Team Voltron, but it feels empty to me. The narrative hasn’t been leading to a big character sacrifice, so I have no reason to believe that this is one.

They push the mecha into space, and the mecha explodes. One by one, the animation flashes each Paladin’s face, like we’re supposed to think this is everyone dying. But still, like I said, the narrative didn’t actually set up a character sacrifice, let alone the sacrifice of all five Paladins. It doesn’t have the emotional impact that it seems like the creative team of the show thought it had.

The unpowered Lions fall back to Earth. They were in space, why are they falling down like they’re low in the atmosphere?

Miscellaneous humans stand in miscellaneous locations looking up at colorful streaks for each of the five Lions. Red just plummets through air, not shown to hit anything. Blue hits water. Green hits a forest. Yellow hits rocky desert right next to where Hunk’s family is. Black hits near the Garrison, which, despite having been ordered evacuated into the Atlas when the Atlas launched, still has a person there to see Black hit. Since Shiro has a far greater connection to the Garrison than Keith does, the Black Lion landing at the Garrison would have made so much more emotional sense if Shiro was the Black Paladin in this moment.

Most people who write stories want to have an emotional impact on the audience/reader. So, of course, this show is trying to produce that. But moments like this are just blatantly manipulative. Did literally anyone watching this actually think in this moment that the Paladins died?

Cut to the Galaxy Garrison flying a flag at half-mast. Instantly connoting the observance of respect for the fallen. Shiro is giving a speech. “Today is a solemn day.” The show wants us to think that their having a memorial for the Paladins. It’s a fake moment. It’s not that they’re not having a memorial, it’s just not for the Paladins. It’s purposefully framed to be manipulative. And that makes the scene frustrating from the start.

“Today, we look back at the lives that have been lost and the sacrifices that have been made here on Earth and across the universe,” Shiro continues. Clearly visible in the crowd are a bunch of aliens. How are they suddenly here on Earth now? A few days, maybe a couple weeks have passed since the big finale conflict, and the Voltron Coalition is only just showing up now? Where were they when Earth needed help fighting the Galra for the past three years?

There are miscellaneous photographs of the fallen behind Shiro. The only one who is someone actually in the show is Sanda.

“There isn’t anyone here today who hasn’t experienced the tragedy of losing someone close,” Shiro says. The camera cuts to the memorial wall of the listed dead, those from the Garrison who died in the initial invasion. “It truly feels like a light has gone out in our lives, and the sun itself couldn’t reignite it.” The camera spends a moment on Adam’s placard. It makes me wish we had gotten to see Shiro have more time on camera to be upset over Adam’s death. I wish we had gotten to see more of their relationship so that it felt like Shiro lost somebody deeply important to him.

“But that light, that fire, has not gone out completely,” Shiro says. Then we get a still image montage of what has apparently happened over the past few days or couple of weeks. Matt showing up with the rebels. A Balmera is in the sky behind him. “It is fueled within each of us by the memories and the love of those we’ve lost. And now we must move forward in their names—” the camera purposefully pans over the faces of the Lions positioned behind Shiro and then onto Shiro. The episode is still! trying to fake us out into thinking the Paladins died. It’s so obnoxious. “—and shine that light onto a new path for future generations. Today is a solemn day, but it is also a day of hope.” A still image shows members of the Garrison shaking hands with various aliens.

“Earth is now stronger than ever, and it stands as a beacon of light to help guide those fighting against tyranny and oppression.” More aliens arrive, there’s a shot of miscellaneous Garrison personnel and aliens standing behind them. “From here, we will spread peace, and together we will hold strong as the defenders of the universe.”

The camera pulls back from Shiro to reveal that Hunk has been watching this memorial from his hospital room with his family nearby. Shay enters his room and hugs him. Cut to Pidge in her hospital room with her parents, Matt, the android? rebel, and Nyma. Nyma is here but Rolo isn’t? Where’s Rolo? Lance has his family with him in his hospital room. Allura is in her hospital room with Coran, Romelle (now wearing a Garrison uniform), and the mice. There’s a card nearby in Allura’s room that has a really rough drawing on it, and I’m left wanting to know who drew that card for her!! Keith is in his hospital room, unconscious. He opens his eyes to see Krolia and Kolivan there.

So, the fake Paladin deaths have been resolved. They’re not dead after all. Surprise everyone! Is anyone surprised?

It is frustrating to see this sequence of the Paladins each being shown with their families, but that Shiro doesn’t get any sort of moment like that. Hunk, Pidge, Lance, Allura, and Keith all have some form of family, someone important to them. Shiro gets no one. That the EPs and the writers of this show didn’t think we needed to see Shiro having people who care about him is infuriating. There was so much possibility. They could have literally shown us Shiro’s family. They could have had him having parents still living who come to him and hug him. They could have chosen to not kill the main clone and instead have Shiro’s spirit put in one of the other unactivated clones, and Shiro could have had a brother in the clone. They could have not killed Adam and had him and Shiro reunited, which was apparently at one point part of the plan, according to recent interviews. But Shiro has nobody because the EPs and writers wanted him to be alone.

This season ending with everyone having someone, but Shiro being alone is part of why fans were so incensed over how his character was treated this season. Unfortunately, the EPs very narrowly interpreted this upset to mean that everyone just wanted Shiro to have a boyfriend. It’s not like we are against the idea, but we didn’t want it to come out of nowhere. That eventual end marriage to Curtis was so clearly and blatantly tacked on to try to placate fans who were upset that this ending has Shiro being alone. But it shows that the EPs didn’t really understand why fans were upset that Shiro was alone in the end.

Cut to the Lions, humans, and aliens all working to rebuild Earth. Sal from Vrepit Sal’s has come to Earth and seems to be contemplating a pineapple. I don’t know why, but I kind of really like seeing him there. Allura stands looking up at a wormhole, standing at a platform with her hands on two pedestals, generating it with her magic. Olkari help the Garrison with technological repairs.

Keith, Krolia, and Cosmo go to his father’s grave. Axca walks up behind them. This is a story the show completely drops. This suggests that there is something to Axca. We know from interviews and public appearances that there had been plans to have Keith and Axca get together in a romantic relationship, but this is really the last hint toward that, and the relationship never manifests. This moment recalls all the other moments of unexplained connectivity between the two characters. And it feels so weird that this is just dropped, never resolved.

Cut to Sam showing Allura the hangar where they’ve been storing pieces of the enemy mecha as they recover them. Sam says that the amount of time that has passed has been months since the battle. He says, “We never found its power source, until now.”

To Allura’s surprise, it’s an Altean. And the episode smash cuts. The season is over.

This ending episode has such a long battle, and because they were preserving the reveal at the end of the episode to be this last, sudden, surprise twist, the battle, and thus the vast majority of this episode, is a fight against a faceless enemy. It results in the battle feeling like it’s going on too long, and it deprives the conflict of emotion.

Season seven was very ambitious. The first half of the season felt like it was spinning its wheels really, waiting until it finally got around to the Earth invasion and occupation plot. I think it would have worked better if the Earth invasion and occupation had been given more time to breathe. With so many new characters introduced, they needed time to become important, but they often just ended up feeling miscellaneous and like they were taking time away from the story’s main characters. I like the premise and some of the ideas behind this season, I just don’t think they were executed well. Like the series as a whole, this season had so much potential that just wasn’t actualized.

[breeeliss]

.honeymooning

allurance

canon? i don’t know her 

ao3 + masterpost 

// 

Lance and Allura’s wedding was one of the most attended social events on this side of the universe. 

At a certain point, Allura lost control of the guest list as Lance and Coran kept thinking of more people to invite, so eventually they became solely responsible for all of the table settings. They ended up having to change venues three times over until they decided a large ceremony at the palace in New Altea was the most obvious choice. Thanks to Colleen Holt, the juniberry flower gardens in the palace were more beautiful than Allura could’ve ever imagined, and it ended up being a beautiful ceremony. 

They both agreed to a marriage of Earth and Altean customs. Romelle and Nadia  helped Allura design a darling wedding dress in Altean colors but cut to a human style. Meanwhile, Shiro and Coran butted heads for close to two weeks before they decided on an outfit for Lance that was a perfect mix of Altean and Earth formal wear. They exchanged rings, recited traditional Altean weddings vows that Lance had spent weeks learning just for her, and kissed to a thunderous applause. 

After three days of partying, Allura’s coronation ceremony was held so that she would be officially known as the Queen of the New Altea. Allura took Lance to a private room in the royal palace and held an intimate ceremony with just the two of them where he kneeled before her and swore to uphold his duties as her Prince Consort. 

It was a flurry of excitement, and once all of the guests had finally gone home, Allura had decided she needed peace and quiet. Away from everyone. Immediately. 

“Are queens allowed to take vacations?” Keith joked 

“I’m the Queen who decides if queens are allowed to take vacations so yes they’re allowed to take vacations because I need one.” Allura threw her communicator across the table after writing her one hundred and seventy fifth personalized thank you note. “Lance and I haven’t gotten a moment alone together since we got married.” 

"Alright, I think you’re exaggerating.” 

“No Keith. Alone time. You know...” 

Keith groaned and pushed his breakfast away. “Oh come on Allura, I didn’t need to know that.” 

“Listen, back in my day, there was an entire pomp and circumstance around making sure the King and Queen consummated their marriage before the wedding guests went home. Granted it’s an outdated custom at this point, but maybe they were onto something. They wanted to make sure needs were fulfilled. And I have a plethora of needs. Just so many needs, Keith.” 

“Allura, stop talking to me.” 

“He was so handsome, wasn’t he?” Allura sighed. “Just breathtaking. Hair all slicked back, suit tailored perfectly. If the two of us weren’t so tired that night after everything that had happened I would’ve -- ”

“Okay!” Keith threw up his hands. “Okay, I get it. The Queen needs a vacation. Crystal clear. Message received. Why are you telling me this?” 

“I have a surprise for Lance, but I need someone to cover for us. You and Shiro are staying in New Altea for a bit, aren’t you?” 

Keith blinked. “You want us to hold down the fort for you two while you’re off doing who the quiznack knows what?” 

Allura whined and reached for Keith’s hands across the breakfast table. “Pleeaaasse! You two are more than capable and Coran will be here to help you. Just for half an Earth month. Make sure nothing burns down, and if it’s urgent Lance and I will just be a call away.” 

“Does Shiro know about this?” 

“Shiro was actually very supportive of the plan,” Allura said. “I promised him that he and you could use our royal bed chambers while we were away. You know. So long as you change the bedding before we get back.” 

This time, Keith started blushing. “A-Allura, shut up!” 

She grinned. “So will you do it?” 

Keith rolled his eyes. “As much as I hate agreeing to anything that involves me helping Lance get laid, yeah. I’ll do it. But you guys have to actually spend the entire two weeks relaxing. We won’t call to bother you.”

Allura got up from her seat to press kisses to Keith’s cheek. “Oh, I owe you so much Keith, thank you. I’ll go tell Lance to start packing.” 

“Don’t have too much fun. Actually come back, huh?” 

“Huh? Oh! Of course. I mean, we’ll see, won’t we?” 

“Allura!” 

“I’ll see you in a month Keith!” 

“You literally said two weeks!” 

Surprisingly enough, it took a lot of effort to convince Lance onto the Blue Lion without clueing him onto what Allura had planned. He’d thrown himself fully into his royal duties and was actually reluctant to have to put them on hold, especially since one of the first things he’d committed himself to was getting to know all the new Alteans and immersing himself in Allura’s culture as much as he could. When she’d come to whisk him away, a gaggle of Altean children were clinging to his legs and begging him not to go so that they could hear more stories about Earth and his travels. 

“You’ll be back soon, I promise,” she said, piloting the lion while Lance sat on one of the arm rests. “But I thought this would be good for us. What did you say humans called it? Sweetmooning?” 

“Honeymooning,” Lance gently corrected. “And I guess you’re right. I didn’t really appreciate how busy the two of us would be after the wedding.” 

“You wanted to be a prince,” Allura smirked. “Here you are.” 

“I thought watching the Princess Diaries would be enough to prepare me, but I guess not.” 

“Listen, you’re a natural. The hardest part for a lot of people is learning humility and how to listen to their people, and you do that wonderfully. All the political and diplomatic logistics will come with experience. And I’ll be there the entire time to help you out.” 

Lance kissed the top of her head. “I just want to do a good job. I want to make everyone proud.” 

“And you will,” she smiled at him. “But don’t think about that now. I think the two of us deserve to just exist for a little bit.” 

“Yeah, about that,” Lance smirked. “You’re still not going to tell me where we’re going, are you?” 

“Nope!” Allura announced. “And stop staring at the star charts, that’s cheating.” 

“Give me a hint.” 

“It’s a place you’ve been to before.” 

“Well that’s not specific at all!” 

“Too bad. That’s all you’ll be getting.” 

They flew for a full day before Lance gasped from behind her as he looked upon the display in front of him. It must have been quite a shock to see how different Earth looked to him now. Even Allura was surprised when she was shown before and after pictures of the planet. But it was always nice to see the love Lance held for his home reflected in his eyes whenever he got to return back to it to visit his family. But Allura wasn’t planning on taking him back to his family home. No, she did a lot of research with the rest of the paladins’ help in order to make arrangements for their honeymoon. She only hoped that Lance liked it. 

She steered the lion away from the US mainland and, to Lance’s confusion, headed straight for the Caribbean sea. It took him a moment to realize just where they were going, but the moment the Blue Lion landed on a familiar sandy beach, Lance was practically jumping out of Blue’s mouth and flinging his shoes off so that he could race onto the stretch of sand plucked straight from his childhood memories. 

Allura laughed as he ran to the water and looked up at the beautiful, private sea side villa that Veronica and helped Allura purchase when she originally asked her for help. “I thought you’d like to know that Varadero hasn’t changed much,” she told him. “And I believe that this entire section of the beach comes with the house. So it’s all ours.” 

Lance’s hands were buried in his hair as he turned his body around in disbelief. “Are you serious? We own this?” 

“Indeed.” 

He giggled like a little boy before he ran up to her, pulled her into his arms, and spun her around in circles while he pressed kisses to her face. “I love you, I love you, I love you!” 

“Admit it,” she teased. “I’m a pretty great wife, aren’t I?” 

“You are my favorite person in the entire universe,” he swore as he kissed her hair. “I just look at you and I feel like I’m going to explode. This is the best thing anyone has ever done for me.” 

“Well, I love you,” she said, as if it were the most simple explanation in the world. “I’m always wishing I could do more and more for you. But I hoped we could enjoy ourselves here for a couple of weeks. No one else. Just us. Lots of alone time.” 

Lance raised a brow. “Alone time, huh? Are you saying what I think you’re saying.” 

She bit her lip. “There are more surprises inside if you want to come and take a peek with me. The bedroom happens to be my favorite part of the entire arrangement.” 

“What did you do?” 

“Nothing! At least nothing bad...” She jumped down and started to pull him up the hill towards the villa. “Come on. I’ll give you a nice reward if you beat me there.” 

“Babe, you’re going to kill me.” 

“Well, don’t die yet. We’re here for the next two weeks and I have a lot planned.” 

Lance didn’t need to be told twice. He splashed her with sea water before racing through the sand and up into the house. Allura managed to catch up to him and jump on his back just before he reached for the knob and crashed into the house. It was truly beautiful -- a beautiful balcony opening up to the sea, sheer curtains fluttering in the sea breeze, rustic hardwood floors, new furnishings accented with pinks and blues -- but the two of them ignored everything for the time being. Lance was too busy carrying Allura to their bedroom, slipping her out of her dress, and collapsing onto the bed with her in a flurry of kisses and sighs. 

“You’re so perfect,” he laughed. “You keep making me fall for you all over again.” 

Allura kissed the tip of his nose. “I hope it’s always like this. Us constantly surprising each other. And, lucky us, we have a whole lifetime for it.” 

“I love being married to you.” 

“I love being married to you more.” 

“Is this a competition?” 

“I don’t know. How much time do we have before dinner?” 

Lance stared at the clock on the bedside table. “Three hours. Plenty of time for us to have fun.” 

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back down to her. “Then let’s not waste a moment.” 

[eleanor-devil]

First drawing of 2019! The full designs of my Lotura children! The oldest one is Princess Milomne, whom I had already introduced back in October of 2018, but her design suffered some minor changes. And her twin siblings, Princess Athena and Prince Altor.

This world is an AU where things went differently after the events of Season 6, Lotor and Voltron still fought and Lotor still went mad due to exposure of the quintessence field but he was not left in the rift.

Voltron and Lotor still went missing for three years; Team Voltron had conflicted feelings on what they should do with the Emperor of the Galra Empire until they came across Lotor's former generals.

Upon arriving to Earth, still invaded by Sendak, Lotor was kept as a prisoner (which he didn't exactly fight against) but was medically monitored due to the effects of the quintessence still being in his body.

It also took some time for his story and Romelle's about the Altean colony to come to the same conclusion.

Things between him and Allura took time to heal, on both sides, despite eventually Lotor helping them stop his mother from tearing apart all realities (in this AU Honerva wasn't looking for a reality where her husband and son were alive but rather for one where her son did not bear hateful emotions towards her).

Instead of Romelle being the one talking to Luka, the first Altean they fought against, Lotor was the one doing it and despite the reaction of the girl being a tad bit more positive, he still couldn't save her from his mother's grasp.

Milomne was born on the day of the 10th anniversary of the end of the war. She is a sweet, elegant and intelligent girl and is meant to become the next ruler of the Galtean Empire (this name came after Allura's coronation as Queen of the New Altea which happened on the same day she and Lotor got married, uniting their worlds in one). Milomne is definitely Lotor's little girl, he is quite protective of her but does not treat her like something fragile, he teaches her most of the things she wishes to learn, including piloting and fighting.

Five years after Milomne's birth came the twins.

They were born earlier and the labor was complicated which put Allura's life on the line, she was unconscious for almost a week.

Lotor took upon himself to look after the twins and Milomne instead of relying on the babysitters; though he couldn't bring himself to explain in full detail Allura's delicate state to Milomne when, once, she asked if her mother was going to die.Eventually Allura woke up, once she recovered completely and after she got to meet her new children, the names were decided.The boy was named Altor, despite the similarities to his maternal grandfather's name his name is actually a junction of Allura's and Lotor's names. Initially, Lotor wanted to name him Allure, right after his mother, as he wished for him to be as strong as her however it was Allura who suggested the final name, reminding her husband that he too was very strong during her absence as he not only took care of the Empire all by himself but he also looked after their children.The girl was named Athena, after the Earthly Greek Goddess. Since this goddess is the deity of war and wisdom, Lotor and Allura thought this name represented both their cultures: the Galra, warriors and conquerors, and the Altean, wise and brilliant alchemists and inventors.

[chaossheithsideficblog]

Unbound Incubus

Part Two: Clothing Incubus

Fandon: Voltron Legendary Defender

Relationship: Shiro/Keith

Characters: Shiro, Keith, Shiro’s army of cats

          The next morning Keith sits up in a bed he was sleeping by himself in. He was quite annoyed by that. Shiro was a stubborn weretiger and refused the incubus’ advances. There is a small furry body curled up next to him. Shiro told him that cat’s name was Red and she was not a big fan of most beings. Red appears to love Keith though. She follows him around and anytime he was sitting she would jump up and occupy his lap. She has a very soothing purr the incubus found.

         Keith pets the small red furred cat for a moment. “I want to know where he gets this spiritual strength from? Or I am just losing my touch.” Red just purrs away as Keith strokes her fur. He sniffs the air. He smells an aroma that causes his stomach to rumble. He scoops up the furry critter and they both walk into the kitchen.

        Shiro looks up from his cooking. He takes in the incubus and Red. He realizes that the incubus had lost what little clothing he was wearing the other day. He was a beautiful being. He was also naked. He turns his eyes back to his cooking. “I think we are going to have to go clothing shopping.” Shiro hums to himself. “Not that your nudity is not beautiful. You are what you are. Since you are staying a while, human laws dictate the need for clothing while outside of the house.”

        Keith smirks impishly. He takes a deep breath. He can smell Shiro’s interest in him. This man had the self-control of a saint. “Well good morning to you too,” he wanders over to stand next to Shiro. He never saw anyone cook before. “My nudity doesn't bother you?”

       “Nudity is natural.” Shiro points out as he finishes off the omelette he created. He cut it in half. Places it on the plate. Then right next to it he slides hashbrowns that just finished cooking as well. “I have already told you that you are attractive.” He carries the food for himself and his not completely wanted guest to his table. He was a kind soul, it was not the sex demon’s fault that newbie witchlings had messed up their summoning.

       “Yet you will not sleep with me.” Keith picks up a fork and cuts delicately into the eggie thing in front of him. He takes a bite. The omelette melts in his mouth that is almost as sinful as sex. “Where did you learn how to cook so sinfully?”

       Shiro just smiles. “I’ve taken lessons from a friend of mine. I did not want to be helpless in the kitchen. My ex did all the cooking. Once he left. I needed to know how to cook or I was going to be one of that only eating take away guys. That didn't sit well with me. So learned to cook.”

      “Do others know you're a weretiger?” Keith makes his way through the food Shiro had placed on the plate in front of him. This one must be placing some kind of magic unintentionally in his food. For he felt full.

     “Yes, the local Coven does. So does the local wolf pack.” Shiro smiles as he goes on. “The Coven and wolf pack are kinda melded together.” He pauses placing his fork down for he was finished eating. “I’m gonna see what I have that is too small for me. It will still be terribly oversized on you. We need to get you human-style clothing. Then I need to figure out how to tell my friends about you without half of them freaking out.” He stands. “I’ll be right back it will not take me long.”

     Keith finishes eating as Shiro reappears he has what looks like a pair of grey sweatpants and a faded crimson t-shirt that turned small from washing. “I have a pair of flip-flops. They will be too big. Your boots would look too odd with this getup.” Shiro smiles warmly. Keith wants to bask in this warmly like Shiro was the sun.

     “Alright.” Keith gets up. Takes the sweatpants first and pulls them on. He has to pull the drawstring to make sure the pants did not slip past his hips too much. He concentrates a bit and Shiro watches as the wings disappear from sight. Keith then pulls on the t-shirt. Shiro gives a whistle. Keith finds himself flushing.

     “I think you look pretty sexy in these things. Especially the t-shirt.” Shiro nods to both himself and Keith. “We should head out.” Shiro and Keith both slide on flip-flops. Keith realizes Shiro is wearing the same kind of clothing as him. “Put away your horns Keith. In public, you need to appear human as possible.”

    “You didn’t,” his voice trails off suddenly feeling awkward. Keith finds himself blushing for he had not thought of making his horns disappear too. Shiro watches as Keith does as he asks of him. “I’m sorry Shiro.”

    “Don’t be. It's not something you had to think of before. And I wanted to.” Shiro reassures Keith. “This way you will not feel underdressed.” They head out to Shiro’s car. “I’ve fed the cats already. Most of them will also hunt for their food. The local mouse and bird population are feeling their presence.” They slid in Shiro once again behind the wheel. “I will see about getting you a driver’s license.” Keith’s eyes widen. Shiro goes on. “The Coven and Wolfpack are my friends. The witches are Allura, Veronica, Ina, Nadia, Coran, and James.” He notes the eyebrow raise from the sex demon. “You know witches come in either sex.” That got a grin out of the other male. Shiro goes on. “The Wolves are Hunk, he is the one who taught me to cook, Shay, Lance, Pidge, Matt, and Ryan.” He pauses. “There is also a magical beings convocation called the Blade. We will have to inform them of your presence.” He pauses. “I’m only worried about Lance. He is a bit much on most days. I guess I will have to play it by ear.”

     Keith shots him a questioning look. “Okay.” The two listen to Shiro’s classic rock station as they drive in silence. Keith watches as the city blossoms around them. His thoughts drift to the handsome stranger with the strong willpower. He’d never met a person that had not just taken control and demanded things of him. He was not completely sure how to act in this situation. He was being treated like he was a person and not a sex toy or a whore for hire. It was an odd feeling. “When you want. I want to know why you will not just fuck me?” He watches as Shiro’s eye twitches in response to his vulgar use of language. “That is what my kind was designed for. As much as I like to fight it. I am designed for any kind of sex that humanoids can think of from nice to non-consent.”

     “I would never force you.” Shiro watches the road and the cars around them. “Plus I’m a tiny bit old fashioned. I like to be friends with someone before, how did you put it so eloquently, fuck them.” He pauses as they pull into a driveway and he drives up and down the aisles until he finds a parking spot and parks his car. “I’m not the sort of one night stands. I just don’t have the fuck the person and leave them attitude.”

     Keith locks the door after letting himself out of the car and wandering over to Shiro’s side. The incubus pats Shiro’s shoulder. “You are unique then. Most people like to fuck and leave.” The two made their way into the mall. The mall was not too busy even with all the cars that were in the lot.

     “We are gonna stop in the men’s suit shop first. That way we can get your measure.” Shiro smiles wryly. “It will make life much easier. Plus if you plan on staying one good suit is a great thing to own.”

    Keith had to answer Shiro’s smile with one of his own. This weretiger was making him rethink living. It was an odd feeling. “Do you practice martial arts?”

    “Yes I do,” Shiro looks at him with a contagious grin. “Did you wanna spar at home? We can totally do that. I also have a gym membership. I’ll add you to that as well. That way we got things to do together and bond over.”

    They arrive at the men’s suit shop. They walk in. A salesperson comes up. “Welcome to Dillion’s Suit shop. How many I help you today?”

    “My friend here needs a good suit.” Shiro supplies smoothly. “He has recently lost everything due to circumstances beyond his control. So we need to reoutfit him. So a new suit, shoes, the whole ensemble.”

    “Oh that's terrible,” the salesperson takes out his measuring tape and takes Keith’s measure. Keith was impressed by Shiro’s storytelling skills. It was enough of the truth and enough of a lie to be fully believable as the truth. The person helping them makes notes of each thing he measures. “I'll be right back.” He comes back with a beautiful black pinstripe suit,  crimson shirt,  black tie, a white shirt, a crimson tie, tie cuffs, and tie pins. “We don’t have shoes in right now. All of these things should fit. Go try them on.” He motions to the fitting rooms.

     Keith takes the pile of clothing. Hands Shiro the accessories. Takes just the suite and shirts with him. Keith tries them on. He looks at himself in the mirror. He sees a very handsome young man. He comes out to show Shiro. Shiro whistles.

    “You look great crimson is your colour.” Shiro grins. “The white shirt should be fine. Change back and we’ll get this paid for.” Shiro watches as Keith wanders back in then comes out dressed as before holding onto his new things. They get them rang up by the salesperson who had been helping them.

    Next, they hit the shoe store. Keith gets his foot measured for the first time. Shiro then has him try on a pair of biker boots, dress shoes, sandals, and tennis shoes. They get the pairs Keith likes then they hit the next store. It’s a department store a place where they get everything else and quickly. Keith chooses five dark wash and black skinny jeans. Five more t-shirts in different shades of red or black. Five tank tops, boxers, socks, two flannels- one red and black the other black and white, and a black motorcycle jacket. Keith feels a little bad for the amount of money Shiro is spending on him. They head back to the car with Keith’s new wardrobe.

[numerous-bees-in-a-skin-suit]

some of the ideas for my Voltron (Klance centric because You Know What I Am) Dragon Prince AU!

there might be some changes to designs later, but I’m trying to bled stuff when possible and still make it read as what i want them to be, so yeah.

when assigning characters for this, I’m having a bit of a rough time because I have so many ideas that could work for different things but a lot of them have issues.

I could make Allura take Ezran’s role (she wouldn’t be him, a lot would be changed) OR i could make her take claudia’s role. I think both would be fun but I’m leaning more towards Allura in Ezran’s place for a couple of reasons that i can’t quite articulate, and also because I really REALLY want to have Lotor.

If I have Lotor, I think he would be really good in claudia’s role, not her because they are different characters but I think he would be a good fit for that role too. But then who would I make Viren? Should it be Haggar (viren has dark magic, she has her whole thing with quintessence)? And would I have a Soren or would I put Lotor’s generals instead? And who wouod Aavaros be?

And then come the other paladins: who would they be and how would they fit?

I already know that I absolutely NEED to have the other paladins in here to some extent because while this is a Klance centric AU, I want this to be like an actual AU and not just shoving Klance into some roles and calling it a day.

I could make Hunk that baker guy, but should I make his role bigger than it is in TDP? I have a few ideas on what I could do, but I am not a writer for a reason

And Pidge is someone I have a hard time placing. I have no idea where to put her in this. I could make up a role for her in this universe that has no parallel to anyone in TDP, but I’m not too sure.

And as for Shiro, I do want him to be important here. At least in the sense of the plot (that i have not figured out yet). Maybe he would be turned into a coin? And then the team would have to find him and free him somehow? I think that could work but again, I am NOT a writer for a reason.

Anyways, those are some of my 1:30 am ramblings over this AU that came to me in a dream a while ago, I am open to suggestions and ideas!!!

[giogio-golden]

an honest review of voltron (edited)

I know no one asked for it. I know I don’t have to write this. But I want to and I think I need to let out a lot of my feelings in order to feel some closure after the ending to a show that has had such an impact on my life. Prepare for a long post. These are my feelings and I’m open to conversation about this amazing show.

A Summary (in case you don’t wanna read the whole thing) This show has meant a lot to me. I’ve met friends through the fandom, been inspired by the characters and the story and found happiness in times when it felt hard to go on. I’ve never been so invested in a show the way I have with voltron, and even if the ending was a massive disappointment and there were many flaws, it will always have a place in my heart.

I’m gonna miss it

To start off, I’ll just say this review will have nothing to do with shipping or the fandom, because that’s a different rant that I think we’re all sick of hearing. The fandom had both a positive and negative impact on me, but I wanna focus on the show itself and not my opinions on ships or any of that. I will touch on ad@shi and a!lurance but in relation to the fact that both these ships were canon and in the show. This rant is mostly just me letting feelings out, but there will be criticism.

The Characters

Pidge Pidge was one of my favorite characters right from the beginning. I heard her voice for the first time and felt such a strange joy in my heart that I still can’t explain to this day. She was a character that I could relate to, even if I’m not nearly as smart as her. She’s tough and not traditionally feminine, which is so important to represent in a character. I will admit, her search for her family had me in tears, but I do think she deserved to be treated more like an adult who had gone through a traumatic experience of war. By the end of the show, she was around 17 or 18 (correct me if I’m wrong) after all the time skips, and had definitely matured greatly. The scenes where she gives up her video game for Allura and where she is able to see the history of the planet (I’m blanking on the name) were so amazing and made me so happy to see. Not to mention I have a bit of bias towards Bex, because I too am nonbinary as hell. Pidge has meant a lot to me as a character and I’m going to miss her after all this time.

Hunk Oh Hunkie how I adore you. Hunk has always been such an underappreciated character. He’s an engineer and a chef and a goofy scardey cat defying stereotypes of what it means to be “manly.” He’s also strong and tough, aside from all his fear. I wish we could’ve seen more of him, seen more growth, seen him rise and mature the same way the others did. Unfortunately, he was reduced to a bit of a comic-relief character, especially towards the end of the show. I love him all the same, he’s more like me than I care to admit, both of us being chubby and loving food and being scared easily. No one could ask for a better friend than Hunk

Keith It took me a while to warm up to Keith. He’s not the kind of character I usually fall in love with easily, but now he has my heart. Although he stole the spotlight of the show for a bit, his arc really was impactful. Keith went through a lot, finding his family and his self-worth. It was clear that it took a toll on him, but he was still able to be a leader and find compassion for his teammates. He’s shown the most growth throughout the series and it shows. Keith is a well-written character who deserved more love from everyone. Seeing him turn down being the leader of the galra in favor of forming a relief team from the blad was so incredible. Especially considering the fact that he let Lotor’s former generals join him. I wish the show had done more with a sort of “galra-form” Keith and delved more into the whole “not all galra are bad” trope. But overall, Keith has won me over Shiro Honestly, the show did not do great things for Takashi Shirogane. He’s amazing representation, being disabled, gay, and asian. He’s tough and strong and everyone fell in love with “space dad.” Though the show was going to kill him off and decided against it, probably because of his popularity in the fandom. Despite this, I wonder if there was more to him that wasn’t quite established because of this change in decision. I’ve always felt like there was something missing from Shiro (aside from his arm and mental stability), but I can never quite put a finger on it. I’ve always felt so attached to him, and seeing him rise up and survive through all the trauma to become captain of the atlas was so powerful. Especially with the implications of a name like atlas. His portrayal in terms of being a gay man was lackluster, especially in the last season where he barely had any lines that weren’t shouting orders (aside from the filler episodes). Shiro deserved better, he deserved to be a paladin for a lot longer, he deserved some closure, something more to show us all that our struggles and oppression do not define us. I’ll always love Shiro, no matter what his hair or his arm looks like, he means a lot to me.

Lance Lance, my sweet baby boy, my angel. I’m gonna admit I’m a bit biased, but Lance was also mistreated in the show. I’m not talking about being comic relief or getting “bullied” by the other characters. I’m talking about his ending. Lance started off as a cocky fighter pilot just wanting to rise to the top. His insecurities and sensitivity showed early, but he matured as time went on. He saved the lives of the other paladins numerous times, he served as moral support when Shiro went missing, he even learned to admit that he wasn’t quite as smart as Hunk or Pidge, and was not a prodigy like Keith. He had some great development. By the end of season 7, I was ready for him to get some well-needed love and support for all that he’s been through. I didn’t get that. I got a weird, stagnant version of Lance, serving mostly as support for Allura, who didn’t seem nearly as devoted to him as he was to her (but that rant will be later, stay tuned). I was especially with the scene when he was talking to Alfor. All the other og paladins had something nice to say, but Alfor only talking about Lance’s relationship with his daughter. His ending was frustrating, not seeing him flying with the MFE pilots or training a new generation of paladins. It was even a weird tease to see him holding the “LGBT” sign with Shiro and not have any interactions with them about that, while the other pairs all got some sort of plot around their signs. He was destined for greater things and I hope he gets them one day.

Lotor This poor man deserved so much better. I think we all agree that in the end, Lotor was portrayed as an abuse victim who lost to abuse and was considered evil for doing all he knew to do to survive. He was an amazing villain and a lovable character who even tricked the audience into seeing things in a certain light. His generals had amazing designs and they all had so much potential for so many different plotlines. But it didn’t end that way. Lotor succumbed to abuse and was always painted as evil and manipulative, even as a projection to trick Allura. The audience were the only ones who understood what he went through and although that had the potential for some good angst, it turned out to be glazed over in favor of many different angles. Lotor meant a lot to a lot of people, especially abuse victims who saw themselves in him. But it turns out that overcoming a situation like that isn’t possible even for someone as strong and determined and compassionate as Lotor. It was a shitty message to send to what is supposed to be a young audience.

Coran Now there’s not a lot I wanna say about Coran, mostly because I never felt attached to him. But through a conversation with a friend, I realized he should’ve been space dad from the beginning. He could’ve been the father character to all the paladins, could’ve been more that comic-relief, should’ve been given humanizing moments to grieve over his planet and even Allura. This man is so resilient and like a lot of these characters, shows that being a “man” is more than just being tough and strong and bruting, it’s about feeling love and being happy and spreading that love and happiness as much as possible

Allura Last but not least is Allura. Her death was devastating. Unfortunately I never really felt attached to her. Her character didn’t feel very developed. She learned to accept Keith and pilot blue, but the sacrifice she made, in the end, is one she would’ve made from episode 1. She’s always been tough and determined and passionate about her home and its history. I wanted to see her humanized more, just like Coran. I wanted to know more about her loving sparkly things and not understanding human things like cows and milkshakes. She had so much potential and it all felt wasted on a weird plot for revenge and anger and bitterness that was never really dissolved. She’s an amazingly designed character and a lot of people love her, I hate knowing that she was given the ending she was given.

Overall Negatives

Character Development The show was going so strong for a while. Every character was aging and growing and making progress. Then the last few seasons happened and suddenly the focus was on the war and action sequences and getting the plot over with. Many characters started to feel stale, their development stopping or becoming stagnant. Especially in the last season, it felt like a lot was not resolved in terms of how characters grew over the course of the show. 

Character Interactions (This is not about ships or the fandom, it’s about canon interactions in the show. None of this is implying I wanted it to be endgame, that’s not what this is about)

Shiro/Keith Man, these two had so much potential. Keith loves Shiro in canon. He said so. Even if it’s a brotherly love, it was real and there and so powerful it brought Shiro back to life. Their bond was powerful and strong and inspired so many people watching, including me. All relationships are important, and seeing Keith mature and have someone believe in him was so meaningful to those who see themselves in him. Not only that, but Shiro had someone who believes in him too. After being left by his boyfriend and told his disease would kill him, Keith was still there, supporting him and ultimately keeping him alive. They’re such a good example of a healthy relationship, platonic or not. So what happened in season 8? I don’t have an answer. They barely interacted. When Keith was close to death Shiro acted like a soldier, not a friend. There was no closure with them, no expressions of how proud of each other they were, barely even a genuine interaction. It was very disappointing. I could go on about how angry this makes me but I still gotta lot to write about Lance/Allura Once again, so much good potential. These two could’ve developed so much more in their relationship. They had the potential to be cute and loving and strong leaders together. Not only was Allura killed off, but she was also written into Lance’s relationship with a strange lack of love for Lance. It felt one-sided and rushed. Lance’s maturity with handling the whole thing came out of nowhere and felt weird and forced. He wasn’t acting like his goofy self, which in turn can give off a message that he had to change and become more serious in order to gain her affections. Yet another bad message to send to a supposed young audience

Keith/Lance There was a lot going on between these two and a lot of good development. I loved their quiet personal moments in the last season, they were tender and personal and demonstrated the growth of both characters. But just like Keith and Shiro, there was something missing in their ending. No closure. They never seemed to interact aside from these more intimate moments in this season, with Lance’s focus being on Allura and Keith being mainly a leader of voltron. All The Paladins One of this show’s strong suits was the interaction between a found family. Especially this season, it felt lackluster. It felt like characters were being shoved aside for the sake of more plot and story and Allura’s whole arc. Not only that but in the end, they weren’t a family anymore. They went separate ways, Lance mourning Allura’s death, Keith going off to be a lone wolf in the blade, etc. It was all a bit disappointing, especially for someone like me who knows what it’s like to find a family outside of blood. It’s not easy to separate like that.  The Portrayal of the Effects of War A lot of my frustration with characters and interaction and the ending of the show was how it lacked a reflection of how war affects people. The paladins were an obvious example of young people being forced into a place where war is rampant and their trauma should have been made more clear! Lance’s ending would’ve made more sense if they talked about the war affecting him and needing to just be with his family and away from the fight. The weird character development could’ve included that they all have some bits of PTSD and permanent damage due to all they’ve been through, especially considering how young they are. Nothing felt resolved or had an impact in the ways it could have. The show was doing so well with portraying Shiro’s PTSD and pain and then flushed it all away, once again to hurry along a rushed plot. It makes me so upset as a writer and a lover of the show to see such potential themes done away with. 

Honerva and The Finale This show has some amazing villains. People love the galra and Lotor and his generals and Honerva and even Zarkon. They had such good potential and learning about their past was emotional and impactful. But there was no resolution. Exploring Honerva’s mind and the other dimensions/realms of the universe were overwhelming and confusing and didn’t leave much room for development. There was potential in having Lotor be resurrected. He could’ve shown Honerva that you can’t bring back the dead and that abusers don’t get to have their victims given back to them. He could’ve proven to the paladins that being a victim doesn’t mean you will lose to your abuser. He could’ve provided a catalyst for Allura to learn to forgive and understand instead of acting out of anger and bitterness without listening to the full story. He could’ve provided room for Lance to find some self-love and even a chance for Shiro to overcome his own demons. There was so much potential in having him return and still have Honerva be a redeemable character who found family the same way the paladins did. The finale could’ve been so much more. Lotor could’ve been so much more. But he was reduced to a corpse and Honerva lost the potential of being the best villain in the show.

Overall Positives

The Characters I already went in depth on a few characters specifically, but their designs both visually and personality-wise were amazing. Many people connected to each paladin, even more than one. We loved watching them grow, we love their voice actors, we love our own found family within such an amazing story.

The Staff Through thick and thin the cast and team of Voltron have been amazing. There will always be slip-ups and hard patches but they have done such an amazing job supporting the fans and fighting through the drama. All these people are so amazing and kind and I hope to see more of their work in the future.

The Galra and Other Aliens Like I said before, people love the galra. They love their designs, their story, their potential. The galra are cool villains that provide a lot of fun to the story and the fan content that comes out of it. All the alien designs were fun to play with, even Slav and bi boh bee. These side characters are creative and made the world feel even bigger.

The Animation Not only were the character designs visually appealing, but the animation itself improved so much over the course of the show. Characters visually aged, the shots of space became more detailed and beautiful, it was all so impressive. Voltron has one of my favorite animation styles I’ve ever seen.

The Filler Episodes Many people hate these episodes but darn it I love them. They were fun and light-hearted and dove into fun situations we all love to see our characters in. The fair, Kinkade’s camera, the D&D episode, the game show episode. They all made us laugh and remember why we love these characters and why we want them to succeed, while also making them more real and tangible.

The Representation This may be a controversial opinion, but the representation in this show is fantastic. 4 out of 5 paladins are people of color. Allura is a poc. Many side characters are of varying races. Even if we didn’t get perfect LGBT rep, we got some well-needed diversity in cartoons. Although I cannot speak to any inaccuracies or stereotypes people of color feel might’ve played a part, I can speak to the importance of having many different races on screen for all to see.

Show-Stopping Moments While the fandom was good at predicting a lot of plot points, the show was still able to leave us all stunned and speechless. We all have certain moments that made us sob, broke our hearts, gave us chills. From Keith’s blade trials, Zarkon’s death, Shiro’s disappearance and journey home, Keith’s fight with Shiro’s clone, Narti’s death, the reveal of the og paladin’s backstories, Lotor’s betrayal, Shiro transforming the atlas, and so many more, there are so many scenes that shook us to the core.

[icypantherwrites]

Voltron Season Seven: Thoughts and Reactions

As you can see, I am out of hibernation mode ;p Just finished up a bit ago.

My thoughts in no particular order on season seven. Prepare for a few unintelligible spazzes and random questions that like, why were these not answered? Oh Voltron writers, you and your plot holes. Tagged with all of my previously mentioned ones so here goes!

Okay, so Adam? As much as I didn’t care for how he wasn’t supporting Shiro, I was excited by his role and inclusion in the story! Also, haha, I laughed because I named the one character in my Keith and Shiro backstory Adam and he’s a pilot too, haha. They definitely aren’t the same one because mine was a jerk, but I love that somehow I still got that name. (or maybe that’s how he and Shiro got to talking after Shiro confronts him for what he said to Keith? hehe. Look at me ;p)

But then. When they were mobilizing to fight the first wave I’m like, is Adam a pilot? And then we saw him and then his ship blinked out… gosh. Shiro at the wall with his name broke my heart. There’s a lot of regret there. Definitely something I wish had been further explored, but I’m not surprised they didn’t. There’s a lot that has been skipped over already.

So… Shiro has a disease that gets brought up once, never impacted him at all in the first six seasons and… never mentioned again? Er… what was the point of that exactly? (clone body not have the illness?)

Oh baby Keef. I cheered when he punched Griffin. Glad to see Griffin has grown up since then. But uh, can someone confirm for me the new cadet pilot with the glasses. Is her name… Wasabi? Usagi? And while I adore my Keith backstory this one was endearing too. And his dad died in a fire? Gosh. I had a feeling after the fireman refs but to hear it confirmed. Sad.

Where did Axca go? Like, she left the base with the Paladins and they have no resources to provide her a ship. So…? I’m curious with her popping up at the end behind Krolia and Keith at the grave… interesting. Once it was disproved that she wasn’t Keith’s twin I thought she might be Krolia’s sister but no mention when they met so… hmm. Curious and curioser. (does she like Keith? Hehe ♥ I admit I think they’re pretty asthecially pleasing together and I love Axca’s new design.)

Veronica is a fucking badass. As soon as she showed up on screen I’m like, that’s Lance’s sister. My sister was like, no, and I’m like, uh, her name is Veronica, coloring is the same including the blue eyes and in that really crappy family projection photo from season one there was a relative in a military uniform. Damn, I love her so much. Almost cried when I thought she died (twice xD). Also, her teasing Lance about Allura and her little smirk smile there? I died. So fucking cute.

This is my personal preference but I did not care for the game show episode at all, nor the “reason” behind it. There were a couple cute moments in it (all of them choosing each other to leave and I winced when Lance kept being called the dumb one and could taste the angst) but overall, my least favorite filler. And this coming from someone who adores game shows xD

The “lost in space” episode also wasn’t high on my list. I loved the idea of it and them forming a circle (that was so flipping cute) to stay together with the check ins (and a note to Keith and Krolia’s time together) but the words exchanged? I get it and didn’t mind but they never *really* resolved it. Not really. And some pretty hurtful things were said. Also, the fact they have almost fatal oxygen depletion based upon Keith’s indicator and their weary lines under their eyes, but then they literally bounce back full power to fight? Just throw the realism out the window. Just like the castle of lions losing all oxygen in a matter of hours two seasons ago xDD

How have we ever survived without the space wolf? Seriously? I’m bummed his name is not Yorak but I’ll take Cosmo. Very cute! Love how keith is waiting for the wolf to name himself. Oh, sweetie.

The Blade of Marmora luring with the Druids was delicious. Loved that bit. Glad Kolivan made it out. Wasn’t surprised when Krolia left the main cast; it was getting crowded and given that the writers have difficulty managing characters on a regular basis at times the more the less merrier.

On that note, loved Romelle in the first episode but she practically disappeared for the rest of the season. Disappointed. Thought her and Hunk were hilarious.

Same token bummed Matt was offscreen for most of it. But again, see above.

The three year time gap was interesting. Never really explained well either; pretty much I think a way for earth to get completely overrun by Galra. On that note, loved all of the Sam episodes, think the new pilots are pretty neat additions. Particularly love… Usagi? Wasabi? Kinkade too; a man of few words and I adore his name. Iverson too was a pleasant surprise and I loved his apology to Keith later and his constant backing of Sam. Also, Collen is a badass too. I do have to give credit to the writers; they make some amazingly strong female characters and it’s such a breath of fresh air (from watching YYH it was a stark reminder how things have changed over the years in terms of representation across the board on many things).

But one woman I did not care for was the Admiral. Boo hiss. I also hate that I called her turning on them as she was adamant throughout the entire thing about protecting earth in “her way” and I was waiting for this move. She did save the Paladins lives but she endangered them in the first place so… I acknowledge her desire to protect earth but am disappointed in how her character was played out. (and honestly, why the fuck would she trust Sendak to keep up his end of the deal? Why? Bit of weaker writing there).

Speaking of characters… where’s Haggar? At the end with the giant robot my sister and I were arguing who was driving it; I was Team Lotor and she was Team Haggar. Nada to both of us. Very interesting with that result too;  how was one Altean doing all that? Hmmm. And with the colony missing something is definitely up.

The Hunk family feels I was not expecting and loved them. I was glad he didn’t endanger the team anymore after he found his parents were not accessible, but dios I felt so bad. It’s hard especially to see Lnace and Pidge with their families and he with none. Loved his and Keith’s moment too. ♥ Keith was particularly awkwardly sweet and I loved it.

And Lance’s family! Gosh. Him hugging his niece and nephew broke my heart and then his being mobbed by his family stomped it into the ground with love. So. Beautiful. My boy has his family and I am so so happy.

Speaking of the families! Haha, I’m excited that I was write in that both Lance and Hunk’s families are stateside and I am going with my headcanon of Arizona (Garrison location) given how they were *right there* to be rescued. My childhood besties idea for Lance and Hunk when Lance immigrated over is still well and strong!!!

Back to Lance. I was so so so excited to see him getting some really nice shots and pieces in this season. The sword (c’mon broadsword, let’s see you come back too), the giant cannon gun, the amazing sniper shots (hoshit don’t get me started on that part, I love good sniper cover and damnnn ♥) his attempts to seat everyone in Lions (whoops xD), his stepping up to really support Keith and be second in command... just so much good stuff for my boy ♥ I was freaking out when Red didn’t come right away in the summoning thing after he and Veronica went under fire, but I’m like, Red always does things differently. And then she came in like ajdfkajfklda right when Lance was closing his eyes and thinking it was the end and just, so good. Great timing on that part.

Shiro’s new arm… loved the angst and pain as first one didn’t calibrate xD I’m terrible. I will admit I’m not sold on the design; very bulky and I dislike that it’s not attached; that’s not a proper hug! But I am happy he has one so will go with that.

Er, this is getting long. Last few.

How was Shiro breathing in space in fight against sendak? Someone, please tell me. But also yesss, loved that the two of them had a final fight. Brings back memories. When Keith saved him I really wanted a throwback to the “as many times as it takes” but alas, no go.

On Sendak… is he the main big bad? He sure has quite the Galra fleet. How do Ezor and Zethrid’s turn to piracy factor in? Was expecting something else with Lotor given their mentions of him early on. Is space just one giant war out there right now? We never really found out any details and here I was expecting Axca to fill us in.

The Atlas turning into its own Voltron was super cool. Loved all of the fight scenes although I admit I get bored with all the constant blasts so would have liked those shortened down and more character stuff, but it is a show geared for little kids so… boom boom pow.

The very end speech via Shiro had me on my toes as I didn’t think any of our team died but I was legit slowly starting to panic that somehow the new cadets were going to be the new Voltron pilots because ours were unavailable Phew, not the case! Loved the little hospital scenes popping around, particularly Lance’s nephew wearing his helmet and then Keith waking up to Krolia there. Oh, and Matt getting a hug from his mom! (and that ponytail! ♥ I love guys with a nice ponytail, mm, weakness).

Overall giving this season a 7/10 rating. Not my lowest, definitely not my highest. Very much appreciated though having a longer season to watch.

If you have thoughts feel free to comment on the post! I will not be posting any asks with spoilers in the ask until next Saturday though so best way to get a response is comment here. What did you all think of the season?

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten Twice Stupid prt 90

90

“Whoop. Hold up. I’ve lost my chicken fillet again”

“That’s because you keep playing with them”

Sighing at Allura, Lance didn’t know how people controlled their boobs. The fake silicone insert in his bra kept trying to escape off to the side every chance it got

“I’m not trying to play with them, they’re the ones playing with me”

Allura giggled, slipping her arm around his and taking him by the hand

“Just leave them alone. It’ll be alright once we’re sitting down”

“You’re enjoying this far too much”

“Maybe a little. Now please don’t trip”

Having come up to Platt again on the Tuesday, Lance caught up with Allura. He’d wanted to go home that Monday night, so they’d arranged to go shopping together the next day, at smaller shopping centre. Explaining he didn’t know what to wear, Allura delighted in the idea of dressing him up. They could have been twins by the end of it... or somewhat related due to fashion sense. Lance was wearing a long brown wig, brown contacts, and possibly the worst bra ever invented beneath his red dress... that he hadn’t wanted to wear at all. He was a guy... He’d wanted to look manly and shit. Maybe androgynous if he could pull it off? Allura fully jumped on board a complete change in look, Lance’s feet were now crammed into gold high heeled shoes and a dress that aired his junk with each step. His black tiny lace short covered junk that he wasn’t allowed to wear boxers over. At least his bum was covered. One strong breeze and he’d be done for indecent exposure. With the plunging front of the red dress, the bra he had to wear was weirdly shaped tripping down in kind of a U shape, as if the designer had never seen a bra before or didn’t know how the hell they functioned. He’d also been waxed, trimmed, plucked, and “pierced”. Forget laying in the ground for three months, this was the most uncomfortable he’d ever been. The damn fake gold septum piercing was annoying, he kept going cross eyed trying to look at it.

Allura, on the other hand was gorgeous. Her normal long loose white ringlets swapped for a wig very similar to Lance’s. Dressed in a black and red pinstripe skirted suit, she dripped refinement and class. Her accessories all gold, a tasteful dainty little wristwatch on her left wrist, small ruby drop earrings, a gold clutch, and brown contact lenses like Lance’s. None of their friends would have recognised the pair of them... The only one maybe recognisable was Keith, who Lance was trying his hardest not to look at.

Keith... It should be illegal to ooze sex appeal like his boyfriend was. Dressed like the bad boy everyone’s parents warned them about, he looked so damn good in those leather pants that Lance wanted to send him home to change. Muzzled, and on lead, Keith stayed half a step behind Lance and Allura. His boyfriend seemed to be in a mood, his eyes had gone wide at Lance’s ensemble, but that’d been it. He hadn’t commented. They most he’d talked was as Lance adjusted his muzzle and collar to make sure Keith was as comfortable as possible. God only knew how much Lance wanted Keith to bend him over the closest counter and pull his hair... Having a hot boyfriend was hard. Lance knew he didn’t look atrocious as he was. His moves kind of jolted thanks to the stilettos he couldn’t quite operate. On the plus side, if things went south, he was sure his shoes were sharp enough to murder someone touching his boyfriend. He pulled off looking like a girl, which should be a win, and Coran had doused him in perfume to help the natural sweetness in his scent.

Heading over to the bar, the vampire behind the counter had no issues with his teeth and ego hanging out for the world to see. Lance felt nothing for him, which was nice. There were so many scents that something had stuck up his nose and now he worried he was going to pop a semi thanks to a stranger

“Haven’t seen you two around...”

Lance showed his teeth, reminding himself he was supposed to let go of his ego

“We don’t usually like to take our pet out to play, he doesn’t play well with others”

The vampire nodded

“Harder and harder to find a good pet these days. In the market for a new one?”

“Reminding him how lucky he is to be our pet”

“Sometimes they need to be taught the good old fashioned way. What are you drinking?”

“Two Rivata Cassa Rossa. One half and half with A positive. Nothing for the pet”

The vampire nodded, Lance would have preferred to watch the drinks poured, but he didn’t intend on drinking them anyway

“Alright. Take a seat, they’ll be brought over”

Allura picked a booth close to the door so they could people watch, Lance pulling Keith into his lap, possessively resting his hand on the top of Keith’s head. He hated having to talk about Keith that way. Sliding his free hand down, he rested it over Keith’s inner thigh, clearly staking this claim over his boyfriend

“This is nicer than I imagined”

The club wasn’t what Lance imagined either. It kind of reminded him of the speakeasys you’d see in films, other than the electronic music and strobe lighting over dance-floor. Vampire and pets danced, some feeding in their pet as they did. Some other vampires had left their pets to sit on the ground and await their return, a couple of pets sat huddled together in one or two booths. Lance kind of wanted to channel Keith’s bad boy energy and free the pets. Though most pets didn’t have anything in their name or a way to survive without their masters. It was shit. They were fucking people who deserved better. Fucking vampires.

“It’s not what I expected. Do we have any idea what we’re here for?”

Allura shook her head. Stupid Lotor could have given them a heads up

“No. You know, I can’t remember the last time I was in a place like this”

“Does that mean you want to dance?”

Allura giggled, then sobered

“Not quite yet. I’m not sure we should leave our pet alone”

Everyone was listening to everyone else. That’s how these things worked

“If he behaves himself, I might allow him to accompany us. He needs to learn some manners first”

Keith huffed, Lance wished he could take the muzzle off so they could talk properly. Feeling eyes on him, he leaned in, nipping lightly at the top of Keith’s ear, hand sliding closer to Keith’s junk. Keith was his. He felt like he was degrading him, but he had to make sure everyone knew he wasn’t sharing

“I’m sorry”

Whispering it right next to Keith’s ear, he hoped his boyfriend heard. He’d felt so damn stupid about breaking down in Coran’s office that he’d only really talked to Keith in group chat. Matt had tried perking him up when he’d come home, but Lance took himself and his wallowing up to his room, replaying the day in an attempt to reassure himself that Keith hadn’t become anyone’s target. As their drinks were placed down in front of them, Lance broke rules. Other pets had their muzzles loosened, and Keith shouldn’t be punished thanks to their fucked up society. Loosening the front buckles of the muzzle, his boyfriend sucked in a shaky breath, not sure what it was about

“Master?”

A shudder ran through Lance. Keith had to call him that, and his ego approved too much

“You’re my pet. If anyone objects I will remind them I am in control here... plus, it’s stuffy”

“A bit...”

Keith couldn’t talk freely and it sucked. Allura picked up her glass of red wine, grimacing as she took a sip

“I think I’ve got yours instead”

“Swap them over then. I really should have had the first sip, you know”

Allura quirked an eyebrow, moving deliberately as she swapped wine glasses

“Ego?”

“No. Just better at dealing with it if it’s spiked...”

“Ah”

Pretty much. Allura was fae but he didn’t know how that worked. If anything was in there he would be able to taste it. Pulling Keith’s hood up, Lance then moved to lift his glass, his arm around his boyfriend’s waist

“I guess we wait now”

“I’d say so. I wonder what’s going to happen”

When nothing happened after the first half hour, Lance got bored. Allura was doing a good job hiding her boredom, much better than him and Keith. Keith was all squirmy in his lap

“Do you want to sit beside me instead? Or on the floor?”

“It’s hot, master”

“Laura, would you please get our pet a bottle of water? Number two is thirsty”

Allura nodded, sliding from the booth. “Laura” adapted from “‘Lura”. He was “Lana” adapted from Lance... They weren’t terribly creative with names, but easy names were easy to remember. He wasn’t risking Keith by calling him anything close to Keith... and he was a pet... so he was allowed to refer to Keith in such a way... his stupid ego was enjoying itself more than he was. And Keith really didn’t have to keep squirming the way he did. He was basically right up against Lance’s junk... and Lance’s junk knew it

“Sit next to me”

Keith slid from his lap, Lance moving the split in his dress to act like he had some modesty left. Returning with the bottle of water, Allura nearly messed up by going to hand it to Keith. Taking the bottle, Lance twisted the cap off, taking the first mouthful. It didn’t taste tainted. Taking a second mouthful, he pushed his lips against Keith’s, Keith hesitant before accepting, drinking down the offered water. Other vampires and their pets were watching, Lance pulling back to take a second sip, before pushing his lips back against Keith’s. Kissing Keith like this wasn’t common in the club. Someone would have kicked up a fuss if it didn’t risk losing face

“More?”

Keith shook his head, Allura looked ready to gush over them being cute

“In that case you can come dance with us”

Lance got lost in the feeling on the dance floor. He’d loved to dance. He hadn’t had reason to in so long, and it wasn’t something he often talked about, plus he was generally feeling too old and modern music was horrific. Going out to human clubs was better, where he’d dance stupidly with Hunk and Pidge and it was totally fine because they were all as bad as each other and it didn’t matter if he tripped over his own feet. Dancing with Allura, Allura was stiff but she tried. Dance with Keith... Lance wanted to smack him with a piece of wood and tell him to move. Putting his boyfriend’s hands on his hips, he leaned back into Keith’s touch, Allura slinging her arms over their shoulders, leaving him sandwiched between the pair of them, Keith nosing at his neck and Lance hoping his hands wouldn’t wander from his hips.

*

They were still dancing, thanks to half a dozen trips to the bar, when they finally found out what Lotor had sent them there for. Moving from rubbing up against Keith, they’d moved to dancing in a group. Keith had been groped, the vampire snarled at by Lance, fangs showing and nails extending as he let his ego flow. Pulling Keith against him, Lance wrapped his hand around the collar. He knew his scent was coming through the stink of the perfume, because Keith’s hands had been all over his body once his boyfriend finally loosened up. Dancing in a group cooled those feelings, Lance listening to the chatter around them as he alternated between dancing with Keith, and dancing with Allura, and laughing over Allura trying to dance with Keith. Territory stuff and other things he didn’t care for. There was some fighting in the lower ranks. Some of the upper ranks were having trouble keeping face with Lotor around. A lot of general dislike for man. Talk about werewolves causing issues. All this gossip was what Lance thought they were there for... Until Sendak entered the club.

Sendak didn’t do subtle. His scent dropped Lance’s knees out from under him. Within the space of a few moments he’d gone form spinning a laughing Allura, to falling into Keith’s arms. He wasn’t the only one affected. A few other vampires dropped, pets pulled down with them. Other vampires flared their ego. Lance’s ego felt like a pulse. A distinct thudding through his body. Lowering his head in submission, the heel of Lance’s right stiletto snapped, as Keith tried to stand him up, leaving him kneeling on the dance floor. Sendak seemed impossibly massive. Towering so tall he seemed to touch the ceiling. Dressed in a crisp black suit, he wore fur cloak that was fresh out a fantasy movie fastening at the base of his neck. The fur was real, a mottled of greys, blacks and browns tumbling down to Sendak’s booted feet. The vampire didn’t even look the direction of the dance floor as he crossed the space between the front door and a booth towards the back on the right side of the club. Holy fucking shit was his aura strong. Lance instantly sure he was the oldest vampire he’d ever met, or come across. What the fuck was he doing here?!? No one would be game enough to cross him. They all felt like ants under a microscope with Sendak being the heated ray of light threatening to burn them alive if they wandered into his path. Clenching his jaw, the amount of pressure Lance used was hurting his teeth. He was fucking kneeling like a bitch for Sendak.

Shaking her head, Allura seemed to shake herself free of the oppressive atmosphere, before moving to take Lance by the arm, pulling him up to stand properly. Both Allura and Keith were trying to get his attention, but Lance couldn’t focus. Sendak scared the ever living absolute fuck out of him. If he was this bad, he couldn’t begin to imagine Zarkon. Blood hung on the air, dancing threw the air like dust particles, following Sendak’s path. Folding himself to sit, the vampire sat with a hunch, the only sign of weakness he’d shown. This was a man used to taking orders from someone “higher” than him.

Slowly things like the music and the shifting lights finally began to come back to him. His heart beat thudding louder than everything else, and would be for some time. The music might as well be a whisper for all it was worth. How the hell did the Blades think they could kill Sendak? He’d be able to tear a wolf apart with his bare hands... Keith wouldn’t stand a chance. It’d be like him at the hands of Nyma and Rolo. Keith would be the little kid who wasn’t nothing but a bit of strings free fun. Tapping his face, Allura tried to draw his attention, but Lance had no attention left to be drawn. He felt so fucking scared. His body seemed to be getting colder. He couldn’t stand. He couldn’t feel Keith against him... even the pain in his feet had fled in the face of Sendak. Cupping his face in her hands, warmth crept across his skin from Allura’s palms as Lance shivered violently

“We’re leaving. Pet, help your master”

[mexcraziness-art]

Multi-Reality AU: Rosa

WELL, I wanted to re-draw these kids forever (I know, I haven't even finished the original ones, but whatever)! I'll probably delete the old ones, as these are the most up-to-date ones, both design and informationwise!

Just to note: Her first armor is her field commander armor, the second one is her paladin armor (obviously).

Name: Rosalie „Rosa” McClain-Kogane Age: 30 Gender: Female Species: ¾ Human, ¼ Galra Parents: Lance McClain, Keith Kogane Rank: Field Commander, future Red Paladin

History:

Rosa and her twin brother Ace were born a few years after Voltron saved Earth and went back to space to rebuild the Volton Coalition. They were an accident so to speak, at the time Keith didn’t know he could get pregnant due to being half-Galra. They were pretty early in their relationship and they had drunken sex one night after a Coalition Gala and Keith ended up pregnant with the twins. Rosa was named after Lance’s Mom (because Dirty Laundry was a classic, fight me) and she was always close with her parents, specially with Keith, she always wanted to be like him, a great warrior and a leader. However as more of her siblings were born Keith and Lance grew more distant from her, which she didn’t take well. She started to push herself to do more and be better to gian her parents’ attention but in result she became a maximalist and kind of a control freak. She quickly became one of the best fighters as she grew up, passing every test with flying colors, she was only surpassed by her twin brother. In the end she became a field commander of the Coalition Army, however she still feels like she could do more, that she should be more and better. It’s going to take her some time to accept and learn that she doesn’t have to be THE leader, she doesn’t have to be at the top or be like Keith in order to be important and valuable.

Personality: Rosa has always been headstrong and ambitious ever since she was a little kid. She’s very strict, specially with herself, when she sets a goal she always sees is through and only expects the best from herself, as well as others. She has an intense need to prove herself and be the best there is and when that’s not the case or she doesn’t get the required results she becomes easily frustated and tends to close herself off. She may come off as gruff and cold but she’s actually quite sweet and warm with those she cares about. She also tends to be awkward in everyday social situations, where she also tends to come off as grumpy. Growing up in a time of constant military conflict, she’s more used to official businesses and diplomatic meetings, however when it comes to everyday civillian interactions she loses her footing a little bit. She also tends to be pretty untrusting, so she likes to keep her distance from strangers and be on the observing end of things for a while.

Strengths/Abilities/Weapons: Her main strengths are her great combat skills and strategic thinking. She’s a very effective strategist and plan maker. Her stubborness could be considered a weakness however she mostly knows how far to push things or when to step back and think things through.

Her weapon of choice is Gladiator-Bot type of staff, that can change in size and shock, and her bayard also turns into a more advanced staff.

Weaknesses/Fears: Her main weakness is that she tends to overthink things, and doesn’t trust her gut enough, sometimes she has difficulty making decisions on the spot, something that she works on everyday. She’s also easily frustated which causes her to close off and distance herself from others. She doesn’t know how to relax and she usually pushes herself to near collapsing.

Relationships:

Keith and Lance:

They had their bumps while she was growing up, since she felt neglected by her parents as they focused on her younger siblings, but as an adult they have a pretty solid relationship. She still looks up to her parents and idolises them in a way, specially Keith, that kind of gets in her way of being of her own person, but otherwise there are really no problems between them. They confide and trust in eachother both in everyday life and in the heat of battle.

Siblings:

She has a pretty solid relationship with all her siblings. However she’s pretty protective and control-freakish over her youngest three (Akira, Claire, and Chuck) siblings which, specially Claire sees as condescending and bossiness. With her older younger siblings she has a playful and close relationship, they make a really good proffesional team out in the field too.

Thace „Ace”:

Whenever they fight together, Ace and Rosa make a truly fearsome duo, they’re eachother’s better halves, they compliment eachother in the best of ways. They always know when how to help and support the other and always there for eachother. For some time Rosa was conflicted over Ace being so naturally better than her, but with time she learnt that it’s not a competition, specially not with Ace.

Clarisse „Claire”:

She’s the one she has the most difficult relationship with out of all her siblings, she sees a lot of herself in Claire, who also constantly wants to prove herself and be at the top of everything, and she wants to protect her. Despite of things she knows her way of handling things isn’t really good and she wants to keep Claire from going down that path, but her youngest sister sees that as Rosa trying to hold her back and bossing her around. This causes constant tension between them, until eventually Claire will realise they have more in common than she thinks and Rosa will let her do her own thing as well.

Prince Alfor Jr.:

In search of her siblins (and parents), Rosa was the first one to accidentally enter the Shallura Reality, where she met Prince Alfor Jr., Queen Allura and King Shiro’s firstborn son. At first she treated him with professional distance, she didn’t exactly trust him but gave him the benefit of the doubt, since he was the son of her two old mentors, just in another reality. However with time she became baffled with the way he looks at his life and treats his responsibilities, which lead them to conflict on more than one occasion. However with time they grew closer, and in the end they make almost as good, if not, better team than Ace and Rosa ever did. They’re truly eachother’s other halves and force the best out of eachother. Not only Rosa teching Alfor Jr. the meaning of true resonsibility, but also him teaching her to finally chill out once in her life.

Fun Facts: -          Rosa is the only one of her siblings who’s eyes can shift to Galra in distressing situations, much like Keith’s. -          She has a rather lame sense of humor and doesn’t always get jokes, but she LOVES puns. -          Even if she tends to fight more on the ground, she really found a peace of mind while flying Red, flying with Red became one of her favourite pasttimes. That's probably all for now, maybe I'll re-visit this tomorrow with an overview, but so far I'm pretty proud of how this turned out!

Art by @mexcraziness

Multi-Reality AU and Rosa belongs to @mexcraziness

Voltron belongs to Dreamworks

[sol1056]

anons, #1: Keith

cleaning out a bunch of anons that have piled up in the past month. sorry for taking so long -- life fell on my head and it’ll probably be another month before I return to anything resembling normality (or at least what passes for it, around here). 

on the plus side, at least you know this means I don’t have time to churn out another 3K dissertation on anything. so, starting with Keith...

Behind the cut: Keith sensing quintessence, shapeshifting, and leadership.

there's several moments throughout the series where Keith has shown the ability to sense quintessence similar to Allura sensing the compass stone. we still haven't seen any galra show any ability to weild/sense quintessence (unless the druids are galra, but then we still don't know why luxite reacts to them or to galra like it does) ... 

Usual caveats apply that we could later get a whole reveal that contradicts this, but as of the eve of S7, I’m going on the assumption that the EPs/writers only meant to indicate Keith’s specialness (ie heightened intuition). Either we’ve missed the too-subtle non-quintessence examples or the writers didn’t add up the instances to see the unintentional implications. 

After all, this is the same production staff that seems to have been startled to realize late in the game just how many parallels they’d created between Keith and Lotor; combined with Keith’s insistent obsession on Lotor, I wasn’t the only one waiting for a Keith-as-younger-brother reveal. Everything was set up for it, but apparently that was by accident and not design. 

[also] Keith having a canon "galra mode" where his eyes go galra and he possibly turns purple, [when] shapeshifting is known as an altean-only ability. Your thoughts on likely galtean Keith? story-wise, character-wise, or other?

I suspect those flickers of Galra-ness are meant as a visual reinforcement of the peculiar concept these EPs hold about genetics: they consistently blame certain personality traits on one-half of Keith’s heritage, rather than trauma in childhood and adolescence. (I will leave aside for now how much this makes me gnash my teeth, not only because it betrays a fundamental lack of insight as to what trauma does to people, but also because that’s not how genetics works.) It’s yet another parallel between Keith and Lotor, in that both seem to show certain ‘Galra-ish’ characteristics stronger when their emotions are high. 

(Frankly, given that we’ve only seen Allura shapeshift once, and it’s never even been mentioned since, it’s possible the writers have completely forgotten about that. Who knows.)

To me, Keith's leadership arc feels so shoehorned on top of his other arcs. I feel like the parentage mystery had plenty of potential for his series-wide arc, but in the end everything comes too quickly: finding his mother was an "aww" moment but mattered surprisingly little. 

It was perfunctory, at best. Had Kolivan told Keith of his mother’s existence but, say, refused further details as need-to-know among the Blades, that could’ve been a huge reason for Keith to be itching to leave the team and join the Blades. We could’ve seen him work his way up. If not becoming a leader at least learning better team skills, and earn the right to be the one to extract Krolia. And I won’t even get into the issue of ‘leadership’ learned via ‘finally getting a childhood’. Again, that’s not how it works. 

The show has also failed to convince me of Keith as a leader. IMO he's not a natural leader who has doubts to overcome (like Shiro) - he starts out as a lousy leader who must become a great leader because the story says so.

Someone else commented that Keith, as a leader, is just a Shiro redux. I’d say there are subtle differences in Keith between his leadership in S3 vs S7, but they’re far too subtle. It’s more like the rest of the team just stopped complaining, or something. 

And honestly, leadership is freaking hard, especially when it’s an otherwise flat hierarchy, where each voice is equally necessary. A leader in that case is less of the person out front that gets followed, and more of a diplomat who must balance the disparate parts and persuade -- not order -- the parts to become a whole. That’s a skill set Keith’s never displayed, and I’m fine with that. 

Between Keith and Shiro, I actually find Shiro’s leadership conflict to be much more interesting. Shiro does have a natural aptitude for that kind of co-leadership. Given how rare that leadership style is in the wild, our media does tend to put those kinds of leaders on a bit of a pedestal. Having Shiro’s doubts exposed as his own personal demons rounds him out, and makes him far more interesting to me. There’s a literal conflict there, within Shiro, while Keith’s leadership isn’t a conflict in quite the same way.     

[Keith is] actually more interesting as a moody introvert with his identity crises and relationships, daring to trust and open up to others and work as a team, as the focus of his arc. What does it add to his personality [to] become a leader?

I totally agree that the conflicted introvert who must learn to trust is a much more compelling arc, to me. Like Shiro’s self-doubt, it’s a compelling conflict of the thing he’s drawn to do (or be) vs what experience has taught him to fear or mistrust. Adding a leadership arc on top of that -- hell, leadership is a big enough task that it should be its own arc, not piled on top of several others. 

My guess is that Keith’s leadership arc isn’t designed to add anything to his personality, which is why we see the paladins just going along despite nothing really much changing pre-leader and post-leader, in Keith. What it does add is the satisfaction for the EPs with nostalgia goggles, who keep writing to the story that once existed, rather than the one before them.