#like i know there are parallels because Taylor also became her family’s entire focus

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

I’m not defending Billie in the least or anything, and she is an adult and is responsible for her words and actions, but I’m just saying… She was a child star whose family’s entire existence revolves around her career and has since she was a young teenager. Which can be lovely for support, sure, but could also lead to limited outside guidance or perspective on her career. (Look, I know little about her family other than watching her documentary on Apple a few years ago.) I’m just saying there could be an echo chamber of influence in her circle leading to people enabling short-term resentment and pettiness instead of calculating how to play the long game. The fact that her own management was obtuse enough to be liking unsavoury tweets about another high profile artist on a public account is evidence enough that her larger team’s judgment is perhaps not the best to put it mildly.

Obviously it’s not a great look to vocally criticize *checks notes* selling more physical copies of albums, selling special digital editions of albums, releasing long form content and putting on an intricate show for fans when that’s the industry standard that you have to aspire to, and more importantly, even worse to make it seem you’re above it all while actively pursuing some of those things. Eventually she (along with any other artist coming up) is going to have to find that you do in fact have to show you care to have the kind of longevity that the big names have. She might just skate through this one because her fanbase is young and will support her, but eventually, she will have to have the product to back this all up.

I don’t know what I’m really saying here other than who you surround yourself with absolutely matters.

[the-family-we-choose-118]

Why I Think Albert Doesn't Die in 4B: A Meta Post

Maybe this is me reaching or some really wishful thinking, but i don't think albert is the one who dies, though i think he does get seriously injured (explanation below the cut so hear me out lol)

Based on scenes from 3b, 4a, the 4b promos, and some interviews done after 4x08 about 4x09.

In multiple interviews (one example below ⬇), Tim has stressed that there is going to be a divide between Bobby and Athena because he feels that she's too independent and won't let him in when she has issues. 4b is being set up to build off of last season's attack at the storage unit. Athena has made peace with the attack, so it will take something (encountering the attacker, being trapped while looking for a suspect, a storage unit, or experiencing other trauma) to act as the catalyst to trigger her into needing Bobby's help but refusing to ask. Albert dying will in no way drive or affect this plot line and will only really heavily affect Chimney, Maddie, and Buck and maybe Chris and Eddie.

Tim did a different interview where he said that multiple characters will be in life or death situations ⬇

As far as we know from the promo Hen, Buck, Bobby, Athena, May, Eddie, and Chimney are working the crash and Maddie is shown at work going into labor or having false contractions. None are likely contenders for a life or death situation, which leaves the side characters. Since this involves a massive pile-up, and we already know that Albert is in one car, that leaves three others.

The scenario I see best playing out in term of writing and setting up 4b and going into season 5 is this:

Albert gets horribly injured in the crash and has a long recovery. (This plays into 4a when Taylor said Buck was selfish and has no real friends because he doesn't know how to treat a friend.) If Albert gets injured and has a long recovery, he has 2 options for care. He either moves back in with Madney (but they have their hands full with the baby) or he stays with Buck, who has had to recover from a serious injury before. By staying with Buck, he learns how to really care for a friend unselfishly (tho we're gonna ignore the Buddie friendship for a minute bc the writers did). This also gives them the opportunity to set Albert and Buck up in a friendship so Buck can have friends outside the 118.

OR Albert goes into a coma because the writers are playing with a lot of characters right now and I don't think they know what to do with Albert and how to give him enough screen time for anything meaningful to happen. This way, they can revisit his arc in the future. Also, imagine Chimney and Maddie getting ready to take their daughter home and stopping by Albert's room to introduce their baby to her Uncle Albert 😭 Putting Albert in a coma or giving him a long recovery time is something that could be revisited at the end of the season easily.

I think the 3 others in jeopardy are in one car and I think it is Michael, David, and Harry after going to dinner one night or something and I think they are at the center of the crash.

I think the person who dies is Michael or David, mainly because of this interview ⬇

First, they've brought in David, but like Albert's storyline, they can't fit him in enough for it to really be meaningful. We see them meet towards the end of season 3 and by season 4 they have quarantined together (even though David is on the front lines) and are now living together. Most of their story occurs off screen. The only reason we even saw Michael and David in most of 4a was because it was a storyline attached to Athena and Bobby. Killing off David is less characters to deal with and would affect Bobby and Athena, but not to a degree I would see it driving a wedge in their own relationship. It would affect Michael and encourage him to complete his bucket list he referenced in 4a but it wouldn't have an impact on the whole 118.

Both Bobby and Athena are really close with Michael, though I'm gonna focus on Bobby for a minute. If Michael dies suddenly, that "lighthearted and hilarious" relationship "quickly turns on a dime" and suddenly it "ends up being quite emotional" because Bobby is dealing with losing a friend. This could also dredge up those feelings of having lost his family in a fire and not being able to save them because Michael is now part of Bobby's family. Later in the season, it would be easy to revisit if Harry is mad that his step dad and dad's boyfriend weren't able to save his dad. Bobby would be dealing with his feelings of losing a friend while trying to help Athena (who doesn't want help) deal with the loss of her ex husband.

Shifting the focus to Athena, Michael dying would absolutely devastate Athena. They were married for nearly 2 decades and he is still a close friend and confidante. Losing her ex husband at the site of a crash she responded to would be traumatic. And if you compound that with her unresolved trauma from the attack, now you've got Athena trying to deal with everything on her own and not asking for help. Now Bobby gets mad/sad/distanced because Athena won't ask for help and he needs his own support from her. And maybe she is giving that support but she won't let him reciprocate it and now you have a recipe for anger and unresolved grief that begins to drive them apart.

Focusing on May for a moment, she became an operator because she wanted to make sure Athena was never alone in the field. Though I can't imagine her taking the call for Michael because he is on the line when Albert is injured, her dad dying in a crash she responded to would likely drive her out of the field and into college or another path (1 less character to have around to try to give screen time.)

Michael's death was also foreshadowed in 4a when Athena is concerned he gets the telescope and is spying on neighbors. He talks about having a bucket list that he never got to do because the pandemic forced him into isolation. He also talked about how his only concern during the cancer was preparing his kids for losing him.

Michael's plot is stagnant. He is happy and living with his boyfriend and son. He's cancer free. His whole plot is tied up in a nice bow where they could easily kill him off and the only loose threads to deal with on screen are his family members and friends grieving his loss. This would impact the 118 as a whole.

Honestly, I thought they were going to kill off Michael when he first got cancer and he decided to stop treatments but they bad May talk to him and convince him to go through with the treatments.

Now, by killing off Michael, it is 2 less stories they have to tell, and it is less they'll have to include storylines for Harry as much as they were because he was linked to Michael's storyline. And if they have May decide to leave the field to pursue other dreams or complete her dad's bucket list for him, that is 4 less storylines where they can now focus on the Madney baby, Bathena's relationship, introducing friends for Buck (they mentioned brining back Taylor), focus on ending Eddie/Ana, and establishing Albert as a character (based on a quote from the above article, I think Albert's storyline is going to parallel Buck's 1.0 to 2.0 phase ➡ "If you think about how we ended season 2, Buck being smashed by the firetruck. We knew he was going to survive... I would expect something similar here.")

Referring back to that first article, where it says "Then look for a significant source of agitation for the entire 118."

At this point, Michael would have passed and Bobby and Athena are now having marital problems AKA mom and dad are fighting.

Hen would be stuck in the middle because she is good friends with both Bobby and Athena. She is also facing her own loss of Nia being returned to her birth mom and doesn't have time for their marital problems but still tries to help. She can also pull from her experiences from the season 1 cheating storyline to tell them to communicate or it'll ruin their relationship (yes i too hate that storyline but it would work here)

Buck would likely (nonverbally) side with Bobby, but he sees them both as parental figures, so he gets stuck in the middle like a middle child who is just going with the flow. This would also parallel the Buck Begins storyline where Buck feels caught in the middle after his parents face a loss.

Chimney is raising a baby and (if this theory is right) worrying about Albert in a coma or recovering from a massive injury. He has no time for their marital problems but still lets Bobby confide in him and gives advice (maybe this is just cause i wanna see the bobby/chim friendship we used to get in s1)

Eddie sides with Bobby but he thinks the whole argument is dumb. He can also offer advice to Bobby based on his own experience, but it's going to be something about communication, at which point Bobby will start ripping his hair out because why won't she just tell me her problems and let me help?

Lastly, when have we ever known the show to go ahead and give a major spoiler of the episode 2 weeks in advance? They let us speculate about Daniel for like 8 months and imo it wasn't as big of a deal as they made it out to be. It seems more likely to me that they offered the promo to get the viewers with a twist ending when the show comes back.

Feel free to share your thoughts if you made it this far lol

TL;DR Based on the interviews Tim has done, Albert dying would have little impact on the 118 as a whole, but Michael dying would offer exactly what they need to set up season 5 and finish 4b.

[plance-analysis]

Pidge and Lance Analysis: Romantic

While I said I am not biased, it would be a shame to not make my first post anything but a plance post! Below the cut, I will dive into some of my favorite aspects of the relationship and then further evidence that may prove its possibility. 

(This is a long post with many images!)

Relationship Basics

Pidge and Lance were introduced to us as the audience as part of the original trio including Hunk. It started of as a regular group of mischievous kids who just had a knack for getting into trouble. This was mostly true and upon becoming paladins of Voltron, not much changed. Pidge and Lanced dynamic started as classmates, but through their individual character developments (Lance maturing into the role of a paladin, and Pidge finally finding her family) their relationship has a large opportunity to flourish. 

Starting with the first episode, Lance and Pidge didn’t have much problem with personal space, which in itself shows how easily they became friends from the get go. It is known that not a lot of time passed between the time Pidge joined the Garrison and the landing of Shiro, but yet upon seeing Pidge sneaking out Lance was immediately intrigued as to where she was going, following her rather that continuing to sneak out for some fun. Upon finding her, Lance is quickly intrigued by her set up and her ability to pick up alien signals. It’s no secret that Pidge is impressed by her own work, but for a non-science man like Lance to be even remotely interested is a feat she is very easily pleased by. Once in space, they continue to bond in ways similar to the rest of the team and there relationship becomes stagnant and very casual. The perfect base for a deeper connection.

Show Evidence

Protectiveness

Pidge and Lance are both characters who throughout the show grow to become protective of their teammates and friends, but there is evidence of their sacrifices for each other specifically. Their actions in the following scenes are the most pivotal plance moments and therefore I’ll go through each one individually. The first instance is the first Sendak attack.

Upon Pidge’s capture, while Keith and Allura do make moves to take her back, the first move is made by Lance.While this doesn't seem like it would be much different from any one of them rescuing Pidge from Sendak, it is to be noted that prior to, and then immediately afterward, Lance was in critical condition and unconscious. 

He uses the word “apparently” inferring that he does not remember the event and that it was a completely unconscious (literally) decision. What are the chances that the writers would have Lance be the one to rescue Pidge rather than any of the other equally as abled, not to mention conscious and ready for battle, characters?

This moment is almost exactly paralleled in the episode Escape from Beta Traz. She is not as successful, but her intent and persistence is there, as she goes in again for a couple more attacks. This is the first time we’ve seen Pidge enraged, with the exception of anything relating to her family being found. 

In the alternate reality episode, when the team first encounters Sven and Slav, Pidge’s rescue is a scene done entirely in slow motion. Why would the staff have any reason to have the shooting of Pidge’s attack be in slow motion, rather than the actual reveal of Sven/Shiro? To showcase the fact that it was Pidge and not Allura who was directly next to her, with a similarly ranged bayard, taking the shot to save Lance.

We cannot continue without the mention of everyone’s favorite season seven plance moment, the “Don’t you touch her!” moment. This moment of Lance’s protective nature is very different from his usual, and it is an important scene for all future planned development.

The writers chose the phrase “this group of heroes has a soft spot for the small one” specifically for Zethrid, implying that she was hoping to torture the entire team at once. What we got instead, was Lance’s surprising lash out, cutting away from the team to protect Pidge. Lance, having gone through a lot of character growth and maturing, is a very rational and accepting of fate person. He has had many instances where he sacrifices himself for the good of the team, but what sets this moment apart from the rest is his obvious anger. When Lance runs into the face of danger for someone else, he does so as sacrifice, taking the hit to save another, but here, he does not offer himself instead. He runs full force towards Ezor, as though she had crossed some line deep seeded in Lance.

His choice of words is also very important. “Don’t you touch her!” He very well could have exclaimed “Stop!” “No!” “Pidge!” or even “Don’t hurt her!” Single word exclamations are a usual when it comes to Voltron writing, but Lance’s specific choice of the words “don’t you touch her” may reveal something deeper to his idea of Pidge, feeling he may not even be aware of. The idea of Pidge being hurt had no time to register, because his first priority is that no one even touch her.

Jealousy

There have been moments sprinkled in the show hinting to Pidge having at least some feelings of affection toward Lance, shown through the ways of jealousy.

Pidge is a smart girl, who knows that the mission of saving the universe is the most important thing, even before saving her family. She knows that should anything get in the way of her doing her duty, it must be suppressed to a later time. Perhaps she does this with her feelings for Lance. From the very first episode, every time Pidge is around to hear Lance mention girls, she almost instantly reacts. Whether it be through her face, or slapping Lance, she almost always shows her discomfort. Except for when Allura had been busy with Lotor. She was specifically teasing Lance that his chances with Allura were gone, giving Lance more time to spend with her, and possibly return her feelings for him.

Noticing

Out of all the Paladins, the one who gives Pidge the most private attention, is Lance. He has noticed her moods and reacted accordingly, even when she doesn’t seek him herself. Pidge, on the other hand, is a lot more introverted, but despite that, she still notices Lance. Based on the show’s scenes, there have been many more Lance watching Pidge scenes (like the ones pictured above). When she becomes upset, Pidge either stands her ground or isolates herself. In both instances, the scenes show that Lance is visibly upset and cares for her, but something stops him from acting. When Pidge unlocks the green lion’s vine cannon, Lance is the only member to speak out about it. In both the first season and the latest game show episode, Lance remember’s Pidge and her favorite robots, Rover and Beezer. He recalled Pidge loving Beezer more than Nyma stealing the blue lion, who at the time, he was the paladin of. He was the first out of him and Coran to notice Rover without the immediate Pidge attached to it. He even at time’s teases Pidge about all her smart talk and skills, much to her delight.

Blushing

Beside the occasional tech, Lance is the only person that Pidge has blushed at. In her vlog, she states that she’s always been better with technology than other people, so connecting with a person to the point that there was an opportunity to fluster her is a feat in itself. Lance, Lover boy Lance, has blushed many times with many pretty, space girls, but the only Earth girl to make Lance blush is none other than Pidge. As it is most commonly known, blushing is almost completely involuntary. The two are some of the only ones shown to blush in the show, and that they’ve blushed at each other multiple times says something.

Final Thoughts

While the plance fandom started small, after the release of the recent seasons, it has grown at an impressive rate, even making the top ten on @fandom ‘s ranked ships list. There is many a theory that plance can end up canon by the end of the series. Fans and supporters of the show constantly bring up more evidence everyday and with every content. I’ll go through a few that I believe have some footing.

Speculation

In an interview long ago, Jeremy Shada (voice of Lance) opened the interview  with drama of Lance dying, and later it was revealed that it did come to happen, regardless of his joking tone. In a separate interview with Shada and Bex Taylor-Klaus (voice of Pidge), he opened with Lance and Pidge falling in love followed by a “I’m just kidding.” 

In the opening of season 2, Pidge is known to make trash versions of all of Team Voltron, which she takes back with her, along with the puff ball aliens. Many shots of her room and the trash versions of the paladins seem to give focus to the Lance one. At one point, it was shown in the foreground with two, a blue and a green, puffball aliens floating on him. 

Many fans already deduced that Monsters & Mana, an episode of season six, heavily parallel and even foreshadow the series’ plot. Meklavar (Pidge) and Pike (Lance) are given similar markings on their characters. Pike is shown to gain an invisibility cloak when the team enter the room of loot. With many of the members gaining an object similar to their personalities, fans theorize that this is a nod to Pidge and the green lion’s cloaking ability.

In the most recent season, the episode The Journey Within, Pidge and Lance hold on to each others left hands. Left hands are commonly associated with marriage in western cultures. In the same episode, they are shown to never switch their position implying that they’ve stayed linked almost the entire time. A fan favorite moment is when tensions were beginning to run, as the other paladins were unlinking, Pidge and Lance were the only two to remain linked.

Bex Taylor-Klaus is also a known supporter of the pairing, and being that they are the voice of Pidge makes fans go wild. 

On July 2nd Taylor-Klaus tweeted a gif of Lance with the tweet being a plant emoji. Plant emoji’s are a very common motif of the plance fandom.

While many wait in anticipation for season eight at the end of this year, fans only become more anxious for any endgame relationships. Plance has a lot of potential, and it can stand on its feet with a decent amount of evidence to support it. With the end nearing, more content is created everyday with hopes, speculation, and beautiful artworks.

Pidge and Lance don’t need any romance to complete themselves, but with the terms of their relationship, being for the most part only love and understanding, plance has a chance.

What do you think will happen to plance? I would love to hear more ideas!

Have a wonderful day and thank you for your time!