#obsessed with Keith thinking he’s all that and getting his ass violently handed to him

[bluemantics]

Ring, a small bell tinkled, signaling the entrance of someone into the bar.

“We’re closed,” Lance called from behind the bar, rubbing it down with a cloth. Cream-colored towel smoothed alcohol stains off of the deep mahogany, and Lance stepped back for a moment to take a break and admire his work.

“Do I not get an exception?” a thick western accent drawled. Lance’s head snapped up, eyes wide.

“Keith,” he murmured. There he stood, just in front of the door, his whole outfit white and black save for his red boots. Lance loved those. They were proof that Keith could be sentimental, if anything.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Lance said into the silence. He couldn’t help but notice the contrast between his accent and Keith’s, the irony of him telling Keith to leave. “It’s not safe, Red.”

“Pfft.” Keith sidled up to the bar, a dangerous gleam in his deep purple eyes. Lance shuddered. “Since when has danger ever stopped me… or you, apparently?”

Lance froze, halfway turned to clean up the back wall. “Sorry, what do you mean?”

Keith reached over the bar to grab himself a bottle of whiskey and poured himself a glass, staring at it and swirling it under his palm, gaze now turned down to the drink instead of Lance.

“What would the people of this sweet ol’ town say if they knew that their kindly bartender was not just hangin’ round with the fearsome outlaw Red, but was an outlaw himself?” Keith quickly looked up to see Lance, expression flint, waiting for the other foot to drop. “Ain’t that right, Blueshot?”

BANG.

Keith stumbled back, hands scrabbling for purchase in his coats, but Lance hopped over the bar in a smooth motion and grabbed his collar. He quickly shoved Keith back to the wall, pressing his back to the dark blue paint. Keith’s hands came up.

“That,” Lance hissed, pointing to the hole in the wall next to Keith’s head. “Was a warning shot, got that? I’m living a fine life right now, alright sweet cheeks? Don’t need anyone screwin’ that up for me. We clear?”

They were barely an inch apart. Lance’s measures breath mingled with Keith’s fast panting, but despite Keith’s obvious distress Lance stayed stock still. Keith’s eyes snapped to the pearl-handled revolver in Lance’s left hand.

He’d shot that with his left hand.

“Fuck, fuck,” Keith huffed. “Yeah. We clear, Blue, just get off, Jesus Christ.”

Lance just hummed, looking down at Keith with an expression he’d never seen on the previously peaceful bartender.

“I dunno,” he purred. “I kind of like you like this.”

Keith’s jaw dropped, failing to form a coherent word.

After a far-too-long (short?) pause, Lance pushed away from him. The gun vanished somewhere at his side. Keith came away from the wall, collecting himself.

“So now what?” Keith demanded, rubbing at his collar.

“Now,” Lance said easily, rolling up his sleeves to clean up more. “Maybe I’ll let you come back if you keep it a goddamn secret. And maybe I’ll see you around more now that we got somethin’ in common. That is, if you don’t get caught.”

Keith looked down to his forearm. A blazing symbol was on his skin, right below his elbow, a… V, just like his own but in blue.

“Alright.”

“Now get out of the bar, Kogane.”

[ridleytheknight]

Son of a Mafia Part 5

It's Pidge's turn! And thank you to a certain user ThtoneGal66 on Ao3! They heavily inspired this chapter and inspired an alternate ending and a whole new chapter that was never planned in the series with their through, beautifully supportive, and detailed comment that lifted my spirits and watered my crops. Thank you so much starling. You have no idea how much you've affected me with your kindness. Thank you so much.

This is for you. I hope you enjoy it as much as you have the rest :)

(Hope I answered some of you theories too :)

       The hierarchies of the mafia were honestly pretty complex. Lance had to admit it. His family was very liberal and open minded. Having six daughters of varying degrees of sexuality and one son who didn’t care if what he wore was girly or if who he kissed wasn’t a girl tended to do that to their family.

           Family came first over tradition and mindset.

           However, that didn’t mean their contacts were like that. True, they respected that the girls were the eldest and equal to them (Lance’s ex drove that home. They knew what those ‘innocent and dainty’ girls could do) Though in regards to orders and who they looked to first as the heir would be Lance. He was the first son.

Luckily, Lance was a great diplomat and an even better compromiser. While he may be the prince, his eldest sister was to be the queen. Lance would serve as her prince and enforcer. Her right hand. Equals in decisions -It also helped that as much as he loved Emilia, she was more of a shoot first question later, there was a reason he was the one who tortured and interrogated- His other sisters would be the heads of each of their own areas. Excusing Mia and Mya who wanted to run as co-leaders (the twins hardly separated, they even shared a boyfriend, polyamory was not an unknown concept to Lance nor his family)

           There would be some issues of the other families taking Lance’s side over hers should they ever disagree, he would smooth that over. Probably by scheduling family meetings before any conferences to sort out which side they may be on. Lance typically agreed with his family though, or could argue his points out with logic and persuade them to see his view.

           He hoped Mama and Papa were doing well, they were getting up in their years. Lance had no clue when he’d left. He was supposed to take over with Emilia and his sisters as soon as he graduated… but life was strange. He hoped they weren’t too worried, they knew he could care for himself. Even if that wouldn’t stop them from hunting down any lead and obstacle in their way. Including the Garrison if they tried to cover up their disappearance again.

           Though, the idea of his sisters tearing into Iverson for his disappearance was so amusing.

           Lance almost hoped he would be stupid enough to attempt just that.

           Shame he wouldn’t get to paint Iverson’s kneecaps. He’d been practicing.

           Lance’s dainty fingers brushed his left rib cage. They itched. They always itched and burned when he thought of it. The only distraction from it was the raging of blood lust, which was non existent as he headed out of the dining hall. But Lance pushed the burning feeling away, the ink in his skin was old. Any discomfort was past lived and all in his head.

           Right now, what he had to worry about was the baby sibling that hadn’t eaten all god damn day. Gremlin wrangling was not a fun sport and he needed his full attention for it. Not part of it. Lance sighed quietly, but a small smile still tilted on his face. He was the youngest, so he’d never had a little sibling to take care of and hassle. As frustrating as it could be, Lance wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

           His eyes didn’t take long to find the familiar almost ginger-light brown hair in the living hall. A blanket draped around Pidge’s shoulders and a laptop firmly within their grasp. Lance only rolled his eyes and jumped up onto the back of the couch, leaning forward to press his chin annoyingly on Pidge’s shoulder.

           “Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, Lance to computer gremlin.” Lance tapped Pidge on the cheek, getting only a grunt as acknowledgement. “Grumpy-pus. Grumpy cat. Grumpy Gremlin. Hey, hey, hey.” Pidge glared at Lance venomously.

           “What?” Lance brushed off the aggressive tone like water on his skin. Emilia’s murder tone was a lot scarier. Not to mention it wasn’t like Pidge was point a gun between his eyes like some others had. It was like when you tried to compare a dog to a wolf. Both could do harm and even kill. One had more motive and tendency to do it however.

           That being said, having been attacked by a dog as a form of interrogation. Both were preferably avoided.

           “Pidgey, it’s been a solid eight hours since you logged on~ I keep track of this you know. So do you know what time it is? Dinner time~ Dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner time! Get yo ass up and give your computer gremlin ways a break for a solid half and hour and I’ll relinquish my hold.” Lance grinned even as Pidge glared.

           “Screw off Lance! I’m busy and I don’t have time!” Lance only smiled. A little more forced.

           “Pidge, buddy, pal, amigo. Get your ass up. You need food.” If Pidge was surprised by the serious tone, they didn’t show it. “I know you haven’t eaten at all today and you skipped dinner yesterday. Hunk made food.” And Pidge blew up.

           “What do you know about me?!?! Nothing! You know nothing! God, why are you so god damn annoying! Leave me the hell alone Lance! I don’t have time for your games or your flirting or any of it! Shove! Off!” Pidge was left panting after their fit of yelling, lungs burnings and exhausted. But even they weren’t too tired to immediately feel regret welling up and the quick shift in the room. However Pidge didn’t even get to dwell to much on it before a dangerous look passed Lance’s face and shook the younger teen. They’d never though they’d see a look so… cold… not on a guy like Lance.

           “I don’t know you? Pidge. You’re real name is Katie Holt. You’re a technological genius with absolutely no social skills, which is fine. You have a serious obsessive about finding your family, which is fine. Your favorite color isn’t green. It’s orange because that’s the jumpsuit picture you last had of Matt before he disappeared. You love peanut butter. You also don’t need those glasses. You just like to look like your brother because it makes you feel close to him.”

Lance didn’t stop there however.

“I pay attention to you. I know who you are because I care about you and your health and I listen to every damn word you say because I love you and respect you and I want you to be healthy and happy! But god damn it if it doesn’t get frustrating sometimes! I pay attention, that’s how I fucking know you despite what you think. I always listen and pay attention because I care.” Lance paused.

“But you wouldn’t know that about me, would you?” And Lance was gone within the second, storming out like a raging tide retreating back into its home of rough and violent ocean currents. Leaving Pidge shell shocked and quiet as they processed what Lance had just spat out at them. Because it was all true. It was all so true. And it made them want to cry. But it also made their mind race. Because if there was one thing they could pick apart it was Lance. Pidge wasn’t the best with social situations, but they knew the paladins like the back of their hand, right?

Keith, the angry hot head with a mullet and family issues. Shiro, their leader, strong, with family issues of his own and probably PTSD. Hunk, their other tech friend and a master chef, who was a little too anxious for maybe his own good. Allura had a whole set of issues, but stayed strong like a rock. Coran was their actual rock, emotionally balancing them out. And then there was Lance.

Jokester (But he never poked fun in the face of real danger)

Flirty (Yet it never felt real)

Simple (But there obviously was an enigma hidden in the glimpse Pidge had seen)

Stable (Was he really?)

What did she really know about Lance? Pidge knew psychology and knew mental illnesses and how to gauge reactions. It was how they passed mental exams at the Garrison, how they lied through their teeth to get in. And Lance… he never fit in right.

One moment he’d be laughing in the center of the room. The next he’d be silent, diligently taking notes. One moment he’d be smiling with his friends. The next he’d be looking at a bully with pure distain. A cold and cruel shine in his eyes and a blankness that unnerved Pidge to remember it. The more unnerving thought was that Pidge never remembered seeing the bully around after Lance left the room with them. Forced jovial smiles and playful nudges.

There was also the haunting of death that all the paladins faced. Pidge knew they were affected. Shiro had been dealing with it since before Voltron. It wore on him deeply and Pidge had no doubt he’d need some serious therapy after the war was fought. Even Pidge could see his fresh hesitation to end a breathing life however. The imperceptible pause. Keith channeled his anger in the moment. Slicing through the enemies. Only in the quiet of night did she see him looking at his hands in slight horror. The tears she pretended not to see in his eyes. Hunk was a whole slew of anxiety. It was obvious the only reason he ever pulled a lethal shot was to protect Pidge, who rarely, if never was part of the offensive if it wasn’t Voltron.

Lance however… it was terrifyingly mesmerizing to watch him fight. The fluidity that Lance worked between shooting and keeping people from getting close to him or any of the paladins. The silent set jaw that could only be seen out of his lion. Deep concentration. Lance was the first she’d seen to pull the trigger. She couldn’t look away. Watching how Lance pointed the gun at the Galran soldier with fluid and practiced ease and shot. Lance’s face blank with disinterest, eyes lit and dancing with emotions Pidge couldn’t relate or identify to. There was no anger. No sorrow. Only a sorting of acceptance, and another driving force with only the faintest touch of unseen grief. Grief that flickered out to acceptance as Hunk was saved by Lance’s fatal shot.

No one saw Lance take that shot. Pidge wasn’t even supposed to have seen it. She couldn’t look away from the camera however. And Pidge never said anything as she watched time after time. Never mentioned the subtle way Lance always covered his face from sight if he made a fatal blow in front of other eyes. She’d seen that blank look of near satisfaction and accepting pride only one more time after that. In the castle after Allura had been safely recovered from the Galran invasion of the castle. The deadness of a still ocean in Lance’s eyes as Pidge had silently watched his form slink away. Soaked with blood and limping with Coran. Allura had gathered most of Pidge’s attention then, and after that any thoughts of how that much blood got on Lance faded to the normal daily grind of enhancing the castle and finding Matt.

Pidge’s lanky fingers moved quietly and silently without thought. Pushing their other projects gently away. Before they pulled up the surveillance videos of the day Allura was kidnapped slowly. The castle automatically flagged and saved any cameras with movement as a way to conserve memory. Pidge held their breath. Uncertainty weighing with curiosity for the first time in a long time. But, it always won. And they clicked the video feed.

Immediately the video started. The back of Lance’s head already visible, as well as a Galran soldier. Pidge watch in worry as Lance didn’t even break stride. Bayard held tightly in his grasp as he moved. He looked so… different. His shoulders were back and each leg stride held purpose as his chin held up with poise. Lance looked like… royalty. Even as he easily placed the rifle to the back of the Galran’s head and leaned into his ear. Whispering words to quiet for the audio feed before shoving the Galra into the closest room.

           That video led to the whole semi horrifying, semi-fascinating scene of watching Lance torture the guard for information. A wide and almost unnatural grin as Lance nearly, gleefully, brought the Galran to the brink of death while constantly questioning him. Double checking answers and mocking him. Taking sadistic satisfaction in the blood, pain, and screams. The way Lance moved was constant. Almost like dancing.

           Dancing to the sound of screams.

           Like music.

           Pidge felt enraptured as they watched him walk out of the room. The blank concentration and the sickening light in his eyes dimming to set focus as he gunned down the Galra infested halls like they were nothing. Taking the stray bullet or knife in stride. It was like Lance was possessed. Angry with a calculated and calm composure. As if he didn’t feel the pain of wounds. Or the burning of his hands as his bayard began to smoke. Watches as he takes down the Galran soldier guarding Allura with his bare and burned hands and takes her to safety before even considering limping his own way for help.

           Everything he did was for them.

           And Pidge had just spat that in his face.

           More importantly.

           LANCE WAS A FUCKING BADASS!!!

           HE WAS LIKE THE GOD FATHER OR SOME SHIT! God, why didn’t he use that to pick up chicks cause that was so god damn cool!!! Lance had just gunned down an entire hallway of guards like they were toy soldiers in some five year old’s game of battle frontier! Pidge abandoned their laptop immediately and stormed through the hallways. Poking their head through every door they could until they finally found Lance in the lion’s hangar. A knife twisting in the air. Falling and ascending in a deadly and precise arc. Lance’s fingertips barely brushing the knife to cause its renewed ascension every time. It was so deceptively and delicately powerful. Masterfully controlled with effort and ease that only came with practice and knowledge.

           Pidge pointed a finger accusingly at Lance and screeched. “YOU’RE THE FUCKING GODFATHER AND YOU EXPECTED TO HIDE THAT SHIT FROM ME??? WHAT THE FUCK LANCE?! THIS IS MY ONE TIME TO SAY I KNOW A MEMBER OF THE FUCKNG MAFIA AND YOU TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME???” Lance’s body jolted up in the surprise and Pidge almost regretted surprising Lance and worried about the knife until Lance was able to do damage control. Sending it clattering to the floor clumsily. As if he had no way of controlling it.

           Too bad Pidge had seen him using that knife

           Lance coughed into his fist, “Well. No, not really. I’m not going to be saying to leave a firearm and take a pastry anytime soon. Nor am I the head of the family. I’m just the son of my father. Who happens to be the head of the family… so I’m not the godfather yet. I won’t even be a capo for a while…” Pidge threw their hands up exasperatedly.

           “C’mon! You have to make this up to me. Tell me some cool shit!” Lance chuckled as Pidge practically threw themselves onto Lance to make him stay put. Glaring at him like a pouty child who wanted a story. It reminded him so much of his little cousins and his little niece and nephews that his resolve to keep those two sides of him completely separate crumbled.

           “There really isn’t many clue things to be honest. It’s a lot of work. A lot of negotiation. A lot of morally ambiguous decisions.” Lance chuckled ominously. “I am the youngest in my family, but they call me the dark prince of the McClain family for a reason I guess.” Pidge damn near had sparkles in their eyes.

           “I saw you torture that Galran. Have you done that before or was that improv?” Lance gave Pidge a weird look and a bemused smile.

           “Pidgey. I’m the fucking Dark. Prince. Please rethink your sentence computer gremlin. Yeah, I’ve… done that before. In the moment it’s only a rush. Like the most exhilarating adrenaline rush. All you feel is invincible. Powerful. Manipulative. Anything. You feel like what you want is in the palm of your hand. After its done and the high has worn down and you’re relaxing, you look back and you don’t know who that person in your skin was. I had never been guilty. I’ve accepted what I’ve done. I don’t regret it beyond mourning their loss and remembering I had no right in pulling their strings. But you don’t think like that in the act. You only thing after it. When that person is gone. Until you do it enough times and slowly you and that person aren’t strangers. You’re two people. One person really. Always. And if you’re doing it right… or at least… with some ethics. You’re doing it for a reason. I do it for my family, my loved ones, and right now… the rare occasion I lose control.” Lance looked straight to the young teen kneeling on his out stretched legs. Eyes wide and fastened on him with a child-like wonder. Lance smiled, looking Pidge straight in the eyes. Letting the foggy and hard eyes that always accompanied those memories turn warm and soft, just for them.

           “Now I do it for you.”

           Things only rolled on further after that. Pidge seeing the soft kink in his armor and jabbing at it demandingly for more stories. By the end of night having migrated to lay on Lance’s lap. Lance’s delicate and callused fingers carding through Pidge’s hair amazedly. Reverently. That something so young. So pure still. Was so relaxed with him. He was almost afraid he’d get blood in their hair, even when it was long since gone from his physical skin. Lance felt a demanding nudge in his mind. Looking up just in time to hear Blue snort.

           She said ‘I told you so.’

           Lance rolled his eyes, leaning against his beautiful girl’s paws. Looking out past Pidge to the vast space within his sight. Watching over his little sibling like a guardian watching diligently to eliminate any threat or harm to their charge. Space was scary. But he could be scarier. Sitting on his throne with poise and precision.

           He’d die for his family. He’d kill for his family. He’d live for his family.

           Lance looked down to Pidge’s sleeping face. Their glasses were scooting down their face and they’re long eyelashes were fluttered onto their cheeks as shallow breaths fell in and out of their mouth. Sleeping peacefully, dreamlessly, burdenlessly. Lance would keep them like that. Protect them from the world. He’d bring back their family and continue to shield them. Even if they rejected him after they didn’t need him anymore. With their own family again. No need for a killer of a puesdo-sibiling. And Lance’s lips did a rare thing when the monster prowled in place of him in the throne room.

           He smiled.

[velkynkarma]

Season 3 first feedback

Whelp, so THAT happened. Lots of stuff went on in this season! And there’s quite a damn lot to talk about! So here’s some of my initial feedback, below a cut to be safe.

I’m laughing quite a bit because I half called it with A Thousand Burning Eyes, there really was an inter-dimensional eldritch horror that pulled its way through into the world and had to be fought. It looks like it might even be controlling him to some degree, or at least influencing his actions. Is the weird creature the big bad of the show? Hilariously enough though, I also half-called the OTHER thing about Zarkon right, because he’s dead and I fucking called that months ago hahaha. This definitely explains how he breathes in space for sure! Although like...if he was dead and had a funeral and everything, why did nobody take his bayard away from him? But man, the fact that the empire started in part due to a massive misunderstanding is...intriguing. This makes a lot of what the Blade of Marmora said make a lot more sense, too. Ulaz said back in S2E3 that his people were initially supportive of Zarkon’s attacks because they thought it would “bring stability,” and I can definitely see how they might have come to that conclusion if Zarkon is attacking Altea and the other planets for blowing up his own home-world. I wonder how much Zarkon remembers really, or if his mind is just completely controlled now by his thirst for quintessence. He definitely seems to remember the Black Lion—and that does really explain Black’s initial confusion in S2 as well. Her paladin died. Her paladin died violently, trying to save his wife, but then after 10K years he’s back again. I’d be shocked and confused too! It actually makes me wonder if Zarkon would even be capable of piloting the Black Lion at this point, though. He’s sort-of undead. He’s very heavily warped by quintessence. The old him and all the things that made Zarkon who he was don’t appear to even be there anymore. If he got the Black Lion, could he even use it? Also, side note—confirmation that Voltron can operate somewhat even without the black paladin, once formed. Alfor was able to get them out of there as long as the rest of the limbs substituted for the Black Lion’s strength. Zarkon was dead at that point and clearly not responsible for holding the Voltron link together. Interesting... And while we’re talking the past, honestly I would not have pegged Alfor for the red paladin based on the temperament we’d seen of him so far. I’d always guessed on yellow or green since he was always indicated to be the Smart Guy on the team. But hey, finally paladin confirmation. I loved seeing the other paladins too for the first time, you can see where some of their personalities are similar but also different. Also, seeing Zarkon interact with them was interesting, because he was humanized (relatively speaking). He joked with the others, saved Alfor when he rushed in like a moron, got embarrassed when he met his soon-to-be wife and acted like an idiot, and even lacked confidence in combat for a short while (he was unclear if he should even lead at first until Alfor told him to be in charge). It’s even sadder to see him having fallen so far now with this backstory in effect. Although even back then he did have an obsession with power, I don’t think he’d have taken it quite to this degree on his own, when not under the influence of this whatever-the-fuck-it-is. I do not trust Shiro’s return as far as I can throw it. My gut instinct says that Shiro isn’t real, or he’s some kind of clone/plant. I mean:

Operation Kuron. Sounds fancy...or sounds like how you might say ‘clone’ in Japanese

He could barely walk when he first stood up and even collapsed once. Could be that he’s weak/drugged, but we’ve already seen that Shiro can actually fight while drugged, albeit poorly

There was another Shiro on a table when he was escaping—one that looked like our own Shiro that we’re used to, with the undercut. Could be a hallucination like the Galra that disappeared on him right away, but I don’t think so, the image didn’t disappear on him.

On that note, hair that long? Look, I have hair that’s considered to grow very very fast, but getting it that long from Shiro’s length would take at least a year. We know it was only about 7 days between escape and rescue because he says so in his log. On that first day he saw Voltron escaping in time that lines up with “The Hunted/Ep 3″, which means the paladins had only JUST determined the new Lion shuffle. It can’t have been that long since they lost him, they wouldn’t wait an entire year before making that choice. Especially since it looks like Lotor rejoined the empire fairly quickly and started testing them immediately.

“Subject Y0XT39 has normal response to optic stimuli“

The Galra were not terribly shook up when “Shiro” escaped and said it was Stage 3 of Operation Kuron

When “Shiro” comes back he complains about a real nasty headache he can’t quite get rid of. His head also hurts him during most of his escape

He can’t pilot the Black Lion...because the Black Lion knows it’s not really Shiro

His command of the team later, when Lotor was trying to escape, was...weird. It was like he was deliberately trying to stall the whole escape and decision

My theory? This is a clone that’s been growing for a while on the side. He’s had Shiro’s memories implanted, and he thinks he’s Shiro, but he’s a sleeper agent. He’s there to either misdirect, spy on, or ultimately turn on the others at the right moment. That’s why the Lion rejects him—he’s not even Shiro, and he’s not even really a whole person yet. But I’d also hazard a guess that this will eventually turn out to be “Ryou” once everyone figures out what’s going on, they get the real Shiro back, and they manage to clear clone-Shiro of any Galra influence. The Lion Swap was...well. We all knew it was coming. I’m still not really happy with it, but I don’t think it was as terribly handled as I was initially dreading. I like that at least the Lions were the ones that decided on the shuffle all between them; Blue basically telling Lance it was time to move on, Red yelling for Lance to get his ass in there, everyone trying Black and only Keith succeeding. So at least they had some choice in the matter. And I did like that they did show all the paladins clearly had to work to getting used to the new arrangement, between Allura failing to fly properly and whamming into everyone, Lance not being used to the Red Lion’s speed, and Keith complaining about the controls not working like Red’s did in Black. Even Hunk and Pidge, without any shuffles, still had to try and deal with a team synergy that wasn’t normal. I am a little miffed at how quickly Allura picked up on the sonic cannon in Blue, though—I mean she struggled more than Lance did with the Blue Lion, and it still took Lance a full season and a lot of Voltron formations before he unlocked it. And I really wish we had seen some of the fallout from the Lion’s perspective as well, especially on the part of Red. I mean, Red spent all of last season chasing down Keith at every opportunity, and while I wasn’t fond of how often that plot fix was used, it was an establishing characteristic for the Lion. Or—no one was even remotely suspicious that Shiro couldn’t just pick up with the Black Lion again? Nobody sat down for a second and was like ‘okay, maybe this means something?’ Not even from a suspicious perspective (a la the above clone theory) but like—hey, Shiro, what happened, did something break your leaderly confidence or something, do you need help with us working this through? I dunno. The Lions might have arranged the swaps out of necessity but it felt a little ‘eh, okay, whatever’ on the part of everyone, pilot and paladin alike, once the swaps were actually made. (Although I did find that conversation between Keith and Lance really sweet, when Lance was afraid he’d have to step down, and Keith told him not to worry). Keith as leader took exactly the direction I myself had figured on. He tries to do things his own way and he does have the potential, but I was definitely expecting him to still act too lone-wolf and driven on the mission when he took over to the point of getting the others in serious trouble, and I was not disappointed. “The Hunted” delivered exactly on this. Honestly, only way it would have been more like the fic I had been planning out way back a couple months ago was if somebody had gotten seriously hurt, just for the extra guilt factor, and that’s mostly me as a whump fic writer talking. Lotor as villain was actually really intriguing. He’s definitely a different kind of villain than his father, that’s for sure. Zarkon is all about brute force and wrecking anything that gets in his way. Lotor is much more of a chess-master. His first intro was brilliant, and I can see how his form of attack would be far more devastating than Zarkon’s brute-force control tactics. People pushed to the breaking point will either break or fight back. Lotor’s talk of having people “join as allies” is a much more subtle form of control; his slaves won’t realize they are slaves and that’s far more dangerous. I’d have to re-watch again too, but I don’t think the Voltron paladins ever saw him once, just heard his voice and fought his commander ladies...who were also awesome, diverse in powers and skills, and really intriguing. They seem very loyal to Lotor, enough to attack other Galra soldiers...I wonder what he’s done to earn that loyalty? They know he’s manipulative because he’s said as much to their faces: “The masses are easily manipulated,” followed by transferring the guy he just fake-offered a hand of support to to a place where he could ‘rot with the ice worms.’ And he did get very angry with them once, when they failed to secure the piece of teludav. So far he’s mostly had victories, even if the battle comes out to a draw or a loss; everything he’s set out to do so far (test Voltron’s new pilots, test Voltron itself, get the weird ore, get the ore-ship). His one loss was losing the teludav and he was not happy about that. I wonder if he knows his dad is a zombie? Is that where the rift comes from? They said he was exiled for a time...I wonder what happened there? And now that Zarkon’s back, is there gonna be trouble between them? What the fuck is with Shiro’s terrible new outfit. Just another indication that he’s not the real Shiro, srsly. Ew. Lance’s first attempt to get the Blue Lion to open up to him again was to try and flirt with it and I think that’s awesome. Less awesome that “Are you from outer space because your body is out of this world” is his best pickup line. Lance, get better material, srsly. On that note, Allura trying to emulate him by flirting. Terribly. HAH. SLAV. Okay look, I was bitterly disappointed OUR SLAV wasn’t in this entire thing, but at least we got SOME Slav in the form of an Alternate Reality Slav, which is just fitting, really. And he’s a freedom fighter! That works with AU-Sven! They fucking put Sven in, I’m dying. That entire episode was just a whole bunch of “what the actual fuck is going on right now” but man I was laughing so hard. Guns of Gamora. WTF. Haha. BUT SRSLY BRING BACK SLAV D: Rescue the comet-ship and then have him examine it and tell us all about other worlds kthnx. Blade of Marmora: they were in one episode, and they kinda briefly touched on the whole Galra-racism thing and then they disappear. I’m not really sure what to think of this since they were so integral in S2. This has me a bit puzzled and all the more suspicious, but honestly, my wariness of the BOM is an essay for another day. Also, the BOM Naruto-run, and they lost about 50 coolness points because of that, sorry gais. The space-cat thing. First of all, awesome that they brought it in, and I hope the space mice get a show down for it. (BTW...WHERE SPACE MICE? They were only in it like ONCE). But like...how frickin’ old is that thing? It used to be Haggar’s before she was Haggar but now one of Lotor’s commanders has it. Did he get it from Haggar and hand it off to his blind subordinate???? Shiro’s arm can cauterize. CALLED IT. He should’ve gotten really sick after that though, cauterization leads to infection which is why it’s kind of a last-ditch first aid option. Bayards! The question is finally answered. Everyone has a specific bayard-form that fits them, regardless of which bayard they’re actually using. Keith had a black sword, Lance had a red gun, and Allura got that crazy whip thing. So cool! Still wanna know what Shiro’s will be though. There’s probably loads more but I’m too jazzed to think of them. Enjoy guys! Hope you had fun watching!