can i be really honest with you? i think shiro had nothing to do with it, and even if shiro finds out, shiro will having nothing to do with it. i’m really frustrated with the way the fandom portrays keith. he’s a minx or he’s emo or he’s being manipulated by the blade of marmora or he’s reckless or he’s suicidal. and more and more, it’s hard to find any paired portrayal of him that gives him his due. especially since season 4 and shiro’s treatment of him:
he’s a really complex character. he’s kind of a dork. he’s into jock things. he’s guided by an incredibly strict code of honor. he makes reasoned decisions based in that code. and most of the time, he’s the most serious person in the room. he’s also characterized by a level of determination that’s almost fatal. if honor requires it, he will find a way to do it–usually at personal pain. and he’s not unfeeling, about any of this. he was scared in that last scene in season 4. that’s marked:
and my tea: nothing he did in season 4 warranted shiro’s treatment of him, in any context. nothing he did warranted the team’s treatment of him. he was off on missions he felt were important, and he had permission every time. he didn’t and never would intentionally endanger anyone. and honestly shiro’s behavior is veering toward something really uncomfortable: shiro tells him to be the leader, and then in the next breath, he completely invalidates any decision keith makes. and he won’t even entertain a discussion on it. he tells keith he will be worthy of the black lion, some day. maybe. not yet:
i’m done debating about whether that’s shiro. the last i’ll say on that is that if haggar–who mind controlled narti this season to watch everything lotor did–has some control of this shiro’s decisions, probably the first big move would be to get him set up as the leader of voltron again. and the best way to do that would be to drive away the one person who is currently leader and close enough to shiro to notice the discrepancies. but regardless of that, keith does not deserve this. and frankly the way people excuse shiro’s treatment of him is bizarre to me. everyone wants keith to be a warm body for lance or for shiro, but he’s more than that.
Here’s a crack theory for you. What if we’ve been looking at Narti and Kova’s relationship all wrong?
We’ve all been led to believe that Kova is an extension of Narti, the cat being her eyes and ears. But.. what if it’s the other way around? What if instead ‘Narti’ is some kind of vessel for Kova? Here me out for a second.
First of all, I don’t think it’s coincidence that Narti can’t speak. If Kova is the operating mind here, then she can’t speak because he can’t speak. And ‘she’ doesn’t have working eyes or ears because ‘she’ doesn’t need them. Or rather, Kova doesn’t need them. He can see and hear perfectly fine. Therefore they aren’t necessary. ‘Narti’ is simply an acting body for Kova to operate behind, a way to blend in and engage in combat.
But who would create something like ‘Narti’ for a cat, and why would it be necessary?
Well. I think Prince Lotor can give us the answers to both of those.
We already know that Kova has been around for a while. He was there before Zarkon and Honerva were even married.
And he stuck around because of his exposure to the Quintessence. It caused him to stop aging. So it’s safe to say that Lotor probably grew up around this cat, or at least spent a lot of time with it.
But that’s probably not the reason he decided to keep Kova around. Let me remind that Kova is Honerva’s cat. And we know that Lotor was fond of his mother because of the way he talked about her when he and the generals were at the rift on Daibazaal.
He kept Kova because Kova is the last physical piece of his mother he has left.
But how would it look for the Prince of the Galra to need to carry a cat around? Probably pretty weak in their eyes. Here’s where ‘Narti’ comes in.
'Narti’ is his excuse for keeping Kova around.
And Lotor absolutely has the means for creating something like 'Narti’ because he most likely has (at least some) of the magical Altean abilities that Allura and Haggar have. This would also explan Narti/Kova’s unique abilities to mind control and such, Lotor could have done anything.
So Lotor created 'Narti’ to give Kova a reason to stay at his side, and at the same time give the Prince another general in the field. And Kova is probably 100% capable of all this, again, because of his exposure to Quintessence. (We saw what it did to Haggar and Zarkon, there’s no telling what all it did to the cat.)
And Lotor didn’t tell any of the other generals about this because he didn’t want them to look down on him.
So when 'Narti’ got corrupted, Lotor didn’t really 'kill her’ because she never existed in the first place. It was just the cat’s vessel. (Dreamworks also made it very clear to us here that the cat is still alive..)
And he didn’t take the cat with him/didn’t give the generals a reason for killing their 'teammate’ because again, he didn’t want to look weak.
I’d also like to point out the look on Lotor’s face after everything has happened. He might just be tired but.. He looks upset to me.
Yes, his Father wants him dead, and his remaining generals turned on him. But.. Maybe he lost more than we realized. Kova probably meant a lot to him.
This theory could be far from true. But dreamworks did say that Narti has a 'mysterious past’, which has yet to be revealed. So we know we’re not quite done with this character, otherwise they wouldn’t have pointed that out to us. (Let me also point out the fact that this is Narti’s data table yet.. Kova is there.)
At this point, anything is possible.
Bonus:
This is slightly off topic, but Kova having been left behind while Zarkons forces take over the base gives him a chance to find his way back to Haggar, and maybe trigger some more of her memories. Like the fact that Lotor is her son.
Wait, i just... I need to ask you 'cause i'm really confused. You think sheith will be canon? Please don't take it as an attack, you can of course ship it in fanon but i really don't see how it could ever happen in canon? It's been mentioned multiple times that Shiro is a mentor/brother figure to Keith (and even said by Keith in the show) and hinted that there's this big age gap, and we actually saw Keith in his student uniform while Shiro's wearing his teacher one in the flashback so?? pls tell
Alright, so–the fact of the matter is, I just don’t see how Shiro or Keith could end up with anyone besides each other in canon. All of their major character development coincides with one another, they’re each integral to each other’s story arcs. They care for one another first and foremost, are closer to each other than anyone else. Keith in canon has this desperate desire to see Shiro–in his trial, Kolivan says as much. Keith’s constant fear of losing Shiro and this sense of longing for him–you don’t see that in a platonic, brotherly relationship. Keith’s fear of Shiro walking away and abandoning him is far more characteristic of unrequited love.
Shiro and Keith’s dynamic is built up like a romantic relationship rather than a brotherly one. It’s written with clear parallels to zaggar,
and the dynamic is noticeably different from Matt and Pidge–two actual sibling characters. This isn’t an accident, it’s very much apart of the narrative. Compare the way Matt looks at Pidge to how Shiro looks at Keith. There’s an obvious difference:
Keith’s overarching quest to save Shiro “as many times as it takes,” is also incredibly romantic. The way Keith mourned Shiro like his grief was the only pain that mattered, like no one else could’ve possibly cared about Shiro the way he did, like he’ll keep carrying a torch even when everyone tells him Shiro would want him to move on, that reads far more like someone grieving a lost lover and a brother. And you could see it in how differently Pidge reacts to losing Matt.
There’s also the fact that Shiro always gets these very personal, tender goodbyes with Keith, something you’d expect from a love interest. Not to mention how Shiro is the only one Keith will prioritize over the mission. And even Shiro and Keith’s first scene would’ve established them as clear love interests if Shiro were a girl. The longing gazes Shiro and Keith share certainly aren’t brotherly either. And so many sheith scenes are very purposefully given a mood, framing, and intimacy of romance. Consider how Keith reunites with Shiro in the first episode compared to him seeing the other paladins. The closeups, softness, and tender way Keith reaches out to turn Shiro’s head closer. Or how they both hug after the BOM like they’re the only two people in the world, with Allura staring on and then quickly turning away guiltily–as if she’s intruding on something very private and intimate.
Or how the reunion between Keith and Kuron was exclusively for them and no one else. No team, no loud excitement or group celebration. Just two people longing gazing out at one another as they slowly drifted into each other’s orbit. Or look at any scene where Shiro and Keith are having a tender heart to heart. They’re usually either under a sunset or lowlight. The bedroom scene is especially telling, particularly when you compare it to Keith’s talk with Lance afterwards.
One shows Keith and Shiro in the dark and vulnerable, there’s a heavy atmosphere and gravity to the scene that you didn’t get with the lightheartedness from Lance. The way Keith and Shiro are so close yet so far, closer to one another than they’ve ever been with anyone else, but still backing away and holding their distance–that’s not brotherly. It seems more like two people who are trying to suppress their feelings and are afraid to make that breach. And there’s always that sense of gravity that draws them together anyway
There is the “Shiro, you’re like a brother to me,” line. But curiously, I’ve never seen anyone say kl/ance was impossible because Hunk throws his arms around Keith and Lance and says, “We’re brothers.” I’ve never seen people say ka/llura or all/urance or sha/llura is impossible because Allura says “I’ve grown to consider you and the paladins my new family.”
I’ve never seen people say you couldn’t ship Keith with anyone on Team Voltron because, prior to the brother BOM line, holo Shiro says, “We’re all the family you need.” We as in, everyone on team Voltron is seen as Keith’s found family. Keith singling out Shiro with his brother line response is interesting though, because–yes, he does see all of Team Voltron as family.
But he only focuses on his bond with Shiro, because it runs much deeper than what he feels for everyone else. Focusing on one line out of context as if Keith and Shiro is the only instance of found family is really transparent to me. If you’re going to discount sheith for that, every other ship between Team Voltron is out too. All of them.
And as a bi guy, I’ll tell you that I’ve pulled the “you’re like a brother/sister to me” card before because I was scared of admitting my feelings for someone and it was a way to backpedal out of the situation without worrying that the other person would leave me for it. And we do know Keith’s worst fear is feelings, know that Josh said “[Keith’s] constantly scared he’s gonna say or do something wrong and he’s gonna lose Shiro.” It makes sense for Keith to hide his feelings. Plenty of people who’ve felt romantic attraction have done something similar. Also–Harry and Ginny, Ed and Winry, Aang and Katara–why is it that thinking of someone as just being like a brother or sister and then having it evolve into something more is seen as a natural progression if you’re straight, but somehow doesn’t apply if you’re gay?
We already know that age isn’t a problem in canon because Matt flirted with Allura. He did that. That was fine. Allura has been said to be about the same age as Keith (who started at 18 and now is either 19 or turning 19) and we know Matt is the same age as Shiro. They were in the same class, and they graduated together. One wears the cadet uniform though and one wears an officer uniform. This is because, despite age, they have different ranks. Shiro has never been referred to as a teacher and has only been acknowledged as a past student at the garrison by staff. And we also know that Shiro graduated only a few years prior to Kerberos. You also don’t go up to your teacher and say you think of them as a brother. That’s not how it works and they’re not student and teacher. And if Shiro mentored Keith a bit in piloting, I don’t see a problem. Katara mentored Aang in water bending, but they still got married.
Staff have repeatedly supported Shiro and Keith in a romantic context, and have done so since the very beginning. To the point where Shiro’s VA came up with the ship name for it and one of the episode Directors drew fanart of it. Doesn’t sound to me like they were trying to push the whole “brotherly” idea very much.
And we’ve been told that the show runners are fighting for lgbt representation, and that it’s something they’ve been working towards since the very beginning, that the start of that has been there since the first season:
Lauren (after being asked about the lgbt rep in korrasami and whether Voltron would ever “take that step”): “We have those first 13 episodes and if we ever went beyond that, we would like to push the envelope.” (source here)
Will we be seeing any lgbt representation?
Lauren: “It’s super important to us.”
Joaquim: “Just know that from our prospective, we’re fighting to create as open and broad a spectrum of characters as we can.”
Lauren: “We can’t give you any definite answers, but just know that–”
Joaquim: “We’re fighting for as broad and open representation as we can.”
The only possible relationship I can think of that could’ve grown between two characters since season 1, that the writers have been steadily growing and still supporting, that has even a fraction of a chance of happening and would be worth fighting for in how prominent and well written it would be–is sheith. I know people like kl/ance too, but the writers have already said point black it isn’t happening and have only used female pronounce to describe Lance’s future love interest:
Interviewer: “I feel like there was a little tease? It seems shippers want to ship Lance and Keith together, so are there gonna be any hints of that at all? Or is it just more like–okay, they’re friends, they’re starting to become friends.”
Lauren: “I think we had a very natural arc in mind for those two. Which is, they start out at odds, but then they grow to kind of respect each other. And if that leads into people being like–they’re spending time together! Then that’s a ‘thing,’ but…We’re not trying to cater to or bait anyone into anything, we’re just trying to do what’s right for the story.”
Joaquim: “We also try not to be overtly affected by what popular opinion might be.”
Lauren: “And we’re working in animation. Our schedule is so far in advance for that–even if people shipped Keith and Lance, we couldn’t go back and just change the story–to be like and now they’re in love!”
Joaquim: “There’s just no way. We’re already years past that storyline, you know?” (source)
Interviewer: What would Lance look for in a future Mr. or Mrs. Blue Lion? I’m gonna guess she meant Red Lion now. I think she’s trying to fill out her space Tindr profile. But yea, what is Lance’s–And I like this, because Lance is kind of all over the place. He hits on anything that moves and is pretty, which all the aliens are pretty. But what would he look for, really, in a partner or a soulmate?
Lauren: I don’t know if Lance knows what he needs. I know what he might look for, but what he might look for is not necessarily what he needs. I think he needs someone who is self-assured and knows herself, so that he can kind of become that same person and know himself. (source)
So if there’s going to be any lgbt relationship, I’m certain it’s sheith. Recently, Lauren has also talked about fans pointing out the sheith cameo at the garrison, and excitedly said, “I put that shit in there!” And added that, “Shiro was still his guiding light. It was good.” I honestly think part of why she got so enthusiastic over it was because they’re coming closer and closer to revealing a relationship they’ve worked very long on and fought hard for and have kept under wraps. This was also teased when Jeremy said, “Hey, backstory guys. There’s more of it.” And Joaquim added, “It exists!” So there is a big story there, and we’re definitely getting it. (source)
Unlike Matt and Pidge, any inkling of Shiro and Keith’s backstory prekerberos is something the narrative’s always very secretive about it. Why keep that hidden unless it was going to reveal something monumental about their relationship? Like say, Keith harboring feelings for Shiro? Even just throwing in this little cameo like that, people might say it’s nothing. But we saw a similar background cameo with Zarkon and Honerva in the Black Lion’s flashback–and that leads to a whole love story. It honestly makes sense to me if they were planning something similar with Shiro and Keith.
