#or 'allura is being mistreated by being forced to spend time with keith' thing

[words-writ-in-starlight]

Keith (VLD) for the headcanon meme?

For this headcanon meme!

A: what I think realistically

Listen, I see and appreciate the hell out of the generalheadcanon that Lance has ADHD, but I propose ADHD Keith?  Like, hear meout here.  Fixated on aliens for his whole life, hyperfocused when he’sflying (pros in battle: very hard to shake him up; cons in battle: he doesn’talways react emotionally when or how he’s supposed to, which can be rough onthe others during a merge), prickly around most people but also v e r y attached to His People, and that specific combinationof “intense emotions that can burst out at unpredictable times”and “extremely controlled emotions when under pressure” tbh all of it justkind of reads ADHD to me.  Possibly because I myself have ADHD and ambasically just likethis terrible sword boy.  Especially the look on his face after he dumps amassive amount of information about his aliens theory at the start of the firstepisode–it just screams ‘fuckfuck fuck someone please shut me up I can’t stop talking and I can feel you getting annoyed with me’ which, like, same.

Unrelatedly, I feel like Keith knows how to pickpocket peopleand hotwire most vehicles.  He knows how to knife fight and he lives in ashack with no apparent form of income, and he definitely stole that hoverbikein the first episode.  He has some Weird Life Skills.  At some pointI expect this to become pertinent in the show with Keith boosting a spaceship.

B: what I think is fuckinghilarious

Keithscores a solid C in Emotions generally, but more specifically he just fucking sucks at noticing when someone’s interested in him.  Like,in terms of friendship and romance and/or sex, he just won’t notice.  Heand Shiro were hanging out on the regular in their big brother/little brotherrelationship for solidly eight months before Keith looked up from a book andwent “Wait, we’re friends” and Shiro was like “…yes?”

This is pertinent becauseLance, within Not Too Long, realizes that he’s actually pretty into Keith (he’s horrified, they are rivals, he can’t have a crush on Keith).  Once Hunk and Pidge–mostly Hunk, because Lance burstinto the kitchen yelling ‘SOS’ and once they got him to explain, Pidgelaughed so hard they gave themself a black eye on a table corner–talk Lancedown off the ceiling, he spends a while waiting for his feelings to go away andthen goes back to hitting on Keith casually at every opportunity, but WithIntent this time.  Keith, on the other hand, spends months being confused and distressed about the unidentifiablephysical sensations that being around Lance causes and that all translates straight into Prickly Mode.  Two conversations that happenwithin days of each other are:

> Lance telling Hunk,entirely depressed, that he just really thinks Keith hates him?  Like,clearly he has no shot there.  And Hunk is a good friend and they lie onthe floor while he listens to Lance go on at length about Keith.

> Shiro sitting Keith downand asking what’s wrong and listening to Keith’s mildly panicky outburst abouthow he DOES NOT UNDERSTAND what’s going on with him and he feels bad forlashing out at Lance but he can’t??? Stop???  And Shiro is justlike “Oh my god Keith you’re into him, you’re fucking into him and peopleon the other side of the star system know he’s into you, just fucking kiss himand see what happens.”

No one is more confused thanLance when Keith corners him alone and goes “I’m going to try somethingand if it’s a disaster blame Shiro” and walks up to Lance like he’s a wildanimal and just.  Fucking plants one on him.

Anyway, thesisstatement: Keith is a failure, and Lance is a disaster, and Shiro and Hunkdeserve plaques, and Pidge gets nothing because they believe that getting frontrow seats to this mess is it’s own reward. 

C: what is heart-crushing andawful but fun to inflict on friends

Keithhas always wanted answers about the mysteries of the world, but not like this. He has never been so bone-deep sickened as he is when he’s told that he’snot human, he’s Galra,he’s one of the monsters fighting to put the universe under a boot heel. On that shuttle trip back to the Castle, Keith locks himself in thebathroom and sits on the floor until he feels like he can open his mouthwithout hyperventilating or vomiting or both, and Shiro has to coax him out.

“Come on, Keith,” Shiromurmurs, once he’s gotten Keith to unlock the door.  He wraps his fleshand blood arm around Keith’s shoulders as a support, and Keith dimly thinksabout how Shiro tries to touch them with the Galra arm as rarely as possible. He gets it, now.  “Come on, Keith, let’s go.  We should be atthe Castle soon, it’ll be okay.”

“No, I–no, I can’t,” Keithsays, digging in his heels.  Shiro is easily strong enough to move him byforce, but he doesn’t, lets Keith press back against the wall again and makes asoothing sound under his breath.  “I can’t,” he says again.

“It’s okay, Keith,” Shirosays, and his voice is low and soft and calm, soothing even though Keithdoesn’t care to be soothed right now.  Something clutches hard in Keith’schest, and he hears a ragged keening sound as if down a long hallway, and ittakes him a moment to realize that it’s him.  “The others will understand.”

“I–they’ll be so angry,” Keithsays blankly, clutching weakly at Shiro’s vest.  “They’ll be right to be angry.”  His stomach lurchesand he might throw up if he had anything left.  “Allura will never speakto me again.”  He can see the look on her face already, the grief anddisgust and rage that twist over her face every time they face the Galra, andhe can’t see it directed at him, he can’t.

“They won’t be angry. The princess will understand that you didn’t know, and you’re a part ofthe team.”  Shiro gives his shoulders a squeeze.  “Come on, everyoneunderstood about me,” he says, clearly trying to be encouraging.  “Andyou’ve met the Blade, they’re good people.  Our allies.”

Keith can feel tears burningbehind his eyes and clenches his teeth against them.

It takes Shiro another twentyminutes to talk Keith out into the body of the shuttle, and another ten to gethim to walk out into the Castle dock.

D:  what would neverwork with canon but the canon is shit so I believe it anyway

Keith finds Allura a few hours after his heritage comes tolight.  She’s standing alone on the bridge, her hands folded behind her atparade rest, and Keith finds her by accident on his quest to find somewhere tostand alone himself.

“Hello, Keith,” she sayscoolly as he stops dead in the doorway, apparently identifying him withoutlooking away from the starscape.

“Um,” he says, wishing thathe could curl up and die instead of having this horribly awkward interaction. It takes a few tires before he can force another sentence through histhroat. “I can leave, I’m sorry.”

“The Castle is your home aswell,” she says, turning halfway to present her profile.  “Do as you like.”

Keith hovers in the doorway,frozen between the impulse to beg her to forgive him–please, please, he’ssorry, he didn’t know–andthe impulse to run and never come back.  Allura doesn’t say anything, andthe silence is tense and uncomfortable and he hates everything about it. He’s kept his gloves on all night, because whenever he looks down he seeshimself scratching at his arms like he’s trying to peel his blood vessels outof his body and Shiro had quietly recommended that he keep the gloves on sothat he doesn’t hurt himself.

“I’m sorry,” he blurts again. “I’m so sorry.  I didn’t know, that–I didn’t know.  We don’thave to, um.”

“Discuss it?”  Alluraturns her back on him again, but this time her shoulders curve as if she wantsto curl up on the floor too, maybe.  As if she wishes she wasn’t the lastof her kind–wiped out by his.  God, Keith is a monster.  “It is notyour fault, Keith,” she says, stiff and clipped, as if she’s trying to convinceherself.  “And the Red Lion chose you.  We are in a brief pausebetween battles and we do not have time to have elaborate conversations aboutthe finer points of the Galra, so.  I trust that you will not turn on us. Everything else can wait.”

“Right,” Keith whispers. The words should be reassuring.  He feels more like he’s beenstabbed in the gut.  “That’s good.”

After Shiro disappears, hefinds her on the bridge again, in almost exactly the same place.

“We must get him back,” shesays lowly.  

“I know,” Keith says. “We will.”

“Keith,” Allura says, andthis time when she half-turns to him, she beckons minutely, and he hesitantlysteps up beside her.  “I’m sorry, for the way I’ve treated you,” shewhispers, looking away from him toward the stars.  “You did nothing todeserve it.”

“I feel like I did,” Keithmutters.

“You had no hand in whathappened to Altea,” she says.  “It may take me time to let go of my anger,but.”  She sets her shoulders, looking over at him, and offers a tinysmile–the most genuine smile she’s directed at him since they found out. “If you bring Shiro back to us–back to me–that will go far.”

Keith stares for amoment, then allows a tiny smile of his own, and nods.

[darlingsdream]

My Story With Voltron and Season Seven Thoughts

So, this is the first time I’ll be posting something personal on here about my story with Voltron and how I feel about it. It’s going to be long, and yeah, trigger warning.

A year ago, I was in a very, very bad place mentally. I was learning a lot about who I was personally and dealing with a lot of losses and emotional baggage. As a very young child, I was very into the original Voltron. I loved that stuff, however, when I grew older I didn’t stick to it and didn’t hear about the new reboot of it. Last year, one of the biggest things I was dealing with was my sexuality. Hi, I’ve recognized I’m BISEXUAL! And I’m very proud! But, I found it very hard to accept that about myself last year, seeing as my family did not approve of that stuff. I always lost myself in LGBT members in TV shows because I felt like I could relate to the characters and they helped me get through my emotional stuff. I would hyperfocus on them to drown out the very, very bad stuff I was going through.

One day while scrolling through YouTube, I came across a Klance edit. I did not know what show they were from, and genuinely believed they were a cannon gay couple. I fell in love with them instantly and began watching more video of them on YouTube. After my spree, I looked it up and figured out they were from the new Voltron reboot! I was like, woah! A voltron reboot? A gay couple, in a child’s cartoon? I was DEAD SET IN LOVE with the show right off the bat. I watched all four seasons that were out at the time and yeah, realized Klance wasn’t a cannon ship. I fell in love with the plot, characters, ships, and fandom though.

Voltron gave me something to take my mind off how bad of a situation I was in. It gave me something to hyperfocus on and fall in love with. I’ve met so many nice and friendly people through the fandom, people that understand me! The fandom is so amazing with great content? Like, the fics? Amazing! Art? Stunning! I loved the VA’s immediately and even recognized them from shows I used to watch! I became so involved with Voltron and progressively found myself getting happier and happier as I met new people, found myself, found relatable content and happy spaces to put myself into. Long story short, Voltron saved me from a shit filled situation. I’ve loved Voltron so, so much.

For the past three seasons, I’ve stayed up just to watch them immediately. I’ve worked on many fan fictions and read AMAZING ones by BEAUTIFUL writers!

You could only imagine my SHOCK when I heard there would be LGBT rep! Something I personally struggle with, even now! I cried when I found out Shiro had a male fiancé when he was on Earth! It made me so, so happy!

So, here is where my issues start...

You can tell I’ve loved Voltron whole heartedly for a very long time. Yeah?

This season, season 7, hurt me in more ways than one. It was written poorly compared to the other seasons in my opinion. The episodes where a bit everywhere and the villains were out there! The time warps were confusing, and having twenty new characters thrown at you at once is confusing! Especially when the show is close to ending. Don’t get me wrong, there was a lot of good things in this season! An amazing and well deserved Hunk arc, Lance’s strong and smart sister! The Paladins all being with their families! Shiro getting a new arm! Major Paladin and Lion bonding! Keith loves his mom!

But, there was just as much bad things as good things... I’ll start with the plot, so people won’t think I’m shitting on a show I’ve adored for MONTHS because “MY SHIP DIDNT BECOME CANNON”. Because that’s not it.

The plot was, for this season, confusing! The space stuff happening was weird. And, as someone who has an 8 YEAR OLD SISTER who watches this show, she was startled by the hostility Keith began showing the fellow Paladins during their “space madness”. The game show episode, while supposed to be a tension breaker, was useless in the long run and more of an aggravating spit run than anything else. Like, it was nice seeing Zarkon, Haggar, and Lotor! As a family! But odd, we never got an explanation as to how. Then we have everyone bashing on Lance, poor lance, for being an idiot, which he is not. As well, Voltron is captured TWICE this season... never had that happened and the way they always get out of the trouble seemed very OP.

Now, I’ll go into characters. Shiro: a supposed LGBT member, handicap, suffers from PTSD, and is of a different race, gets put through the RINGER in EVERY SEASON. They have done this character dirty, I’m not even going to lie. It’s not “character development” to throw your character around like that and kill it a hundred times but allow it to still live. Poor Shiro has barely had ANY good luck through out this show! Then, they go and say, he’s an LGBT character... They kill off his ex fiancé? They said there would be a major plot with Adam and Shiro, and I feel like they did both characters dirty. No, Adam’s death was far from heroic. It was a flash death, not even sudden, and people were left confused to it. I’m pretty sure they even referred to Adam as PERSON 1 in the subtitles. Shiro’s grieving of his old partner is so rushed too. We got an entire clip of Pidge sobbing her heart out over her brother, but see barely a flinch as Shiro looks at his ex fiancés grave. You wouldnt even be able to tell they used to be a couple if the producers didn’t say something. I’m sorry, but personally, I can’t count this as LGBT rep when it’s so concealed like this... it hurts, because they hyped the rep up so much and I was so excited, and then shit hit the fan.

Then there is Lance, who we were promised would get development. The only development for him has been on his crush for Allura and it’s painfully obvious. He is used as a joke. The other characters mistreat him... and it’s very hard to watch. This, as a kids show, just shows that it’s okay to be rude and make fun of other people. My younger sister even picked up on this and said the way Lance is treated by everyone, especially his sister, is bad! The whole gameshow episodes they kept calling the poor teen Dumb and Stupid. Like, jeez, that’s kind of damaging? They even showed that Lance has many insecurities and yet, they don’t go any further about it. He cries? No one comforts him. He’s worried? People shoot him down. He tries to help others? He gets yelled at that he can’t do things right or disregarded. It goes to show as a regular trope kids are taught today, it’s bad for boys to have emotions! It’s like it doesn’t even matter! It agitates me so much...

Then, Keith. Keith is my favorite character, he’s gotten SO MUCH development. More than anyone else... which, I kind of dislike.. but, his personality was totally screwed over this season! They changed him completely, and it’s sad to see! Sure, he grew up, but there is literally NOTHING left of his old character!

Now, I guess it’s time for the major controversial ship talk.... this, is a fucking WRECK. The producers of Voltron said that romance wasn’t going to be a big thing in the show. In my honest opinion, they shouldn’t have done ANY romance, no Adam and Shiro, no Allura and Lance, no nothing. They’ve gone about it all wrong, and it’s just disappointing and UNCOMFORTABLE!!!

I’ll start with Allurance. I, originally, liked Allurance. But now, it’s so over done, it’s so awkward, forced, and uncomfortable! The past six seasons, we’ve seen Lance have a meaningless crush on her. I don’t see what’s so great about her to him? He said she makes him want to be a better person, but, anyone on team Voltron makes him try harder, honestly! It just seems so stupid! And now, that lotor is out of the way, Allura all of a sudden shows interest in him? No build up? No back story? Just random blushing and caring? It sounds like a rebound! I mean, yes, I understand peoples feelings can change, but this? They’ve gone about it ALL WRONG! As well? They have said Allura doesn’t get an endgame, but Lance does? This makes no sense. They have also said for Lance’s endgame: he ends up with someone he NEEDS, not WANTS, the person he ends up chose him as a first choice! This doesn’t sound like Allura, yet, they keep pushing it on their interviews and it’s just awkward! This ISNT slowburn!!!!

Finally, Klance. Yeah, I’m upset... very upset actually. They make Lance like Allura violently and now Axca is randomly showing up and now Keith is HET? Yeah... I don’t get it. I don’t get why they made all those unnecessary Klance moments now. Bonding moment? Elevator scene? Comforting? The soft looks? The concern? The colors in the backgrounds? The built up from rivals to friends to co-leading? They were getting along so well, it was so nice! I really thought that they were the slowburn relationship the cast was so excited and quiet about! It seemed so right! But then, Keith left for the blade, and in the shipping panel they said Keith and Lance were soulmates and they wished they could have seen that earlier. I was hurt. Beyond hurt. When Keith came back, I was disappointed. They changed Keith’s personality so much... he was rude and snapping at Lance, I was like, woah? And then when Keith was rude to Allura and Lance told him he should have just stayed away? That hurt! During the game show when Lance and Keith picked each other to leave, I felt so happy! I was like, wow, they care so much for each other! Lance was so earnest with his response! He made such a soft expression and said Keith was like the future! But then Keith ruined the entire moment and said he just picked Lance because he didnt want to spend an eternity with him! Like, what? What happened to the Keith that hung onto their bonding moment? Why was he so snappy? I am so confused why they built up a nice friendship and then we get THAT from them! It seems so.. wrong now! I am hurt over it, like, genuinely. I don’t even care if they weren’t going to be in a relationship! They could have been AMAZING friends, but they ruined that! They made their friendship seem so toxic!

After this season, I’ve honestly lost my passion and fire for Voltron... I’m so disappointed and sad. Not just because of ships, but plot as well.

I also would like to say as a side note: it’s okay for people to watch a show just for ships. That’s their interest, let them do what they want and don’t attack them... we all have our personal reasons for stuff!!!

[zharpzhooter]

(SPOILERS) Lance in Season 6

I know another reason that a lot of people are disappointed in s6 is because of Lance’s treatment as a character. Some people are upset because they think his character has been reduced to his pining for Allura, with no depth. Other’s are upset that his continuous arc regarding his self-confidence hasn’t been properly addressed, or that the team is seemingly mistreating him.

And let me just preface this by saying this is NOT ship-hate at all, I actually do like A//urance. There’s nothing wrong with shipping 2 characters regardless of if there is canon backing or not! This is all just speculation, anything could happen at this point in the story.

Also sorry if this gets incoherent, I have trouble putting my thoughts into words a lot.

I’ll start off with the Allura stuff first:

So of course everyone and their grandmother knows Lance has had a crush on Allura since the first episode and it hasn’t gone away

People’s anger about s6 comes from Lance’s rejection from Allura

While she never actually rejected him, Lance knows she’s not interested in him and instead is into Lotor and is understandably upset and spends most of his free time sulking

And honestly I don’t think it’s a bad thing. From the get-go Lance has been very flirtatious while Allura very obviously did not reciprocate. She’s has never had a romantic interest in him, and I don’t think she ever will.

When the mice told her Lance loved her she didn’t blush, she looked sad because she didn’t feel the same and knew it would break his heart.

Even with Lotor out of the picture now, I think if Allura suddenly started developing feelings for Lance it would feel very forced, like Lance was a rebound, a 2nd choice again, like he’d been his whole life. It would bring up a lot of negative feelings and ultimately end messily without adding to the plot

In short, I don’t think Allura will be Lance’s endgame love interest.

But in order for the endgame romance to work Lance does need to move past his crush on Allura first and accept that it won’t happen, which is what I think was the point in s6.

People are upset because they think the writers are reducing Lance’s character to ‘Loverboy’, but it’s the opposite. They’re finally ending the slow arc of Lance pining over Allura by affirming that nothing will happen between them. It’s a painful, but necessary thing in order for Lance to move forward in his development. In season 5 we got to see Lance and Allura’s get closer platonically, which will really help him make the jump from “future girlfriend” to “close friend” in Lance’s head. He’s mature enough to put aside his personal feelings and support Allura when she’s struggling. He feels down now, but I think he’ll be okay in the end.

Now, regarding Lance’s personal issues:

In past seasons we’ve seen Lance have to deal with his insecurities and feelings of being left out largely alone (Allura and Keith encouraged him a little but it wasn’t enough to get through to him really)

He felt like a 5th/7th wheel, like he didn’t belong with everyone else.

You can tell that the stress is getting to him when Lance (a normally sociable person) starts to isolate himself from the others

No one intentionally ignores him or leaves him out of things, he’s just started to push himself to the side before anyone else can

He has vented a little to Keith and Allura but ultimately never really directly addressed those feelings.

I really believe that no matter how much outside encouragement Lance receives, it won’t help his mindset. No one conversation is going to make everything okay. I really think this arc for Lance is about him realizing his worth on his own.

With these past few seasons showing Lance slowly becoming more withdrawn I think there is a pressure slowly building up. He hasn’t been addressing his problems properly and instead focuses on everything happening with the war. The stress he’s under as a paladin coupled with his personal issues is growing and growing and there are a few ways that could go

1. He could snap

And I don’t mean lashing out in anger, I mean Lance having to give himself a metaphorical slap in the face, telling himself he’s worth something and to channel those negative thoughts into something useful:

All the bad stuff keeps getting worse until he reaches his lowest of lows. They’re all in a dire situation and Lance is ready to give up, but he can’t. Everyone’s hurt and it looks like the team won’t make it out. An enemy might be going for a killing blow on another character and Lance is the only one who has a chance to stop it. He’s forced to pick himself up and persevere, to rebel against the thoughts that tell him he’s less than or that he doesn’t deserve to be a paladin. So he gets up and throws his all into the battle, which I think could end up being very cathartic for him and help him let go of those negative emotions. This could also be the first time he uses his sword. He can almost feel King Alfor encouragement as he fights.

He could defeat the enemy or at least give the team enough time to recuperate so that they finish this together. In the end they’re all huddled on the ground, exhausted. They’re all hugging each other, happy to be alive, and praising each other’s performance. The atmosphere is so warm and loving and Lance smiles, feeling for the first time in a long time that he truly belongs with these people.

This is my preferred option personally

2. Lance could receive support from his family

It’s long been known that he missed his home on Earth and especially his family.

Going off the picture from season 1, his family is fairly large and seems very close. Most of his life he’s been used to having a large support system behind him, especially his mother. After not being able to see her for such a long time Lance finds himself waning as we’ve seen. Lance’s mother knows him like the back of her hand and always knew just what to say to pep him up. When he finally gets to see his family again it will be very emotional. There’s been a void in Lance without them that’s finally being filled again. Just being around them will help him mentally and having a talk with his mother could really help him figure out all of his thoughts. She’s always been his biggest advocate and would know just what to say. She might even give him a push towards his endgame love interest.

3. Both

Lance sees his family before shit goes down and his mother’s wisdom is what later convinces him to keep fighting

Ofc there are hundreds of other possible outcomes too, this is just what I have off the top of my head

So what I mean by all of this:

Lance has had a hard time lately and, though subtle, his character development has been happening. Season 6 was a conclusion to his pining over Allura and now leaves space to tackle his personal arc. He’s gained a lot of maturity since S1 and learning from rejection helps him grow as a person so that he can find his niche on the team. Once he stops trying so hard to be something he’s not (aka overcompensatingfor his insecurities) everything will become much clearer and allow him to find inner peace, which I think he’ll need to reach before he’ll stable enough to pursue his endgame romance.

So don’t lose hope, guys! This is a good thing! Like the crew said, Lance’s time is coming, and instead of being disappointed at the slow build get excited! The fact that we’ve had to wait so long Lance’s arc resolutions means that when they happen, it’ll be BIG.