help, i've fallen into the keith/lotor ship and i can't get out! xD something a bit silly because most stuff i see for that ship is dark and we need more fluff: team voltron (with original shiro) and lotors gang are shopping at the same time in the same space mall, everyone is busy looking around and by chance keith and lotor meet, impromptu date ensues?? :D
Okay, so normally Keith would start a big brawl with Lotor on sight, but the thing is… Keith has never seen Lotor before and has no idea what the prince looks like. Keith’s seen Zarkon before, and he knows that Prince Lotor is Zarkon’s son, so he kind of assumes he looks just like Zarkon Jr.
Lotor, on the other hand, knows exactly what Keith looks like thanks to the security footage the Empire has collected of the paladins over time. So when they first cross paths at the Space Mall, Lotor recognized him on sight, but of course he doesn’t want to tip his hand too soon.
Espionage, anyone?
While Keith is window-shopping at a clothing store (he could use some training clothes that aren’t tight jeans), Lotor comes up and starts chatting with him about the garments he’s eyeing. He’s pretty knowledgeable about common space fabrics, which Keith appreciates since he has no idea what would be comfortable and breathable other than cotton (which, as far as he knows, only grows on Earth).
At this point, Keith is long past the point of assuming that all galra are evil, even if he still gets a bit tense around unfamiliar galra. So he’s not put off by being approached by one. He’s a bit surprised, however, by how handsome this galra is. And not in the rugged, chiseled way that some of the Blades are, but in a more aristocratic way.
Keith’s a bit suspicious about being approached out of the blue like this, but he’s also a bit curious to meet galra outside the Blades. He hasn’t spent much time with galra who live under the Empire’s rule who aren’t enemy soldiers. So when Lotor offers to help him pick out a comfortable training outfit - helping him navigate the confusing mix of sizes, materials, and fasteners - Keith accepts.
Lotor tells himself he’s only pleased because this will give him a chance to wheedle information out of the Red Paladin. He also tells himself it has absolutely nothing to do with how cute the hybrid boy is up close when he’s not trying to kill someone. (Though his mind is already turning over the possibilities. What chinks might exist in the Red Paladins armor? What thread could he pull to draw him away from his fellow paladins and into Lotor’s sphere of influence?)
They end up having a genuinely pleasant conversation. Keith asks Lotor what it’s like living under the Empire, and Lotor answers honestly (while omitting his rank): the Empire serves some well, but not all, and Lotor believes there’s room for improvement. This provides an easy opening for Lotor to ask Keith about where he’s from that the Empire doesn’t reach. Keith keeps his answer vague, but explains that he’s from a pre-FTL world and only recently made it out into the wider universe.
They talk a bit about training attire as Lotor helps Keith pick a few things out to try on and shows him how the fasteners work. (Lotor intentionally picks a few items he knows won’t quite fit the bill, but do wonderful things for the Red Paladin’s… posterior.) Keith finds a few things he likes, but he quickly realizes that money will be an issue. Good clothing is more expensive than he anticipated.
Lotor insists on covering the cost.
“Consider it payment for a most pleasant conversation.”
Keith’s a bit hesitant to accept gifts from someone he just met, but Lotor forges ahead and makes the purchase.
“The expense is a minor one, besides…” And here, he leans in close, letting his hand linger against Keith’s as he hands him the bag. “Perhaps this way, you’ll think of me when you wear them.”
The hybrid paladin’s hitched breath and the little shiver he gives from Lotor’s breath ghosting against his ear is deeply satisfying. Has he ever been with one of his own kind before? Lotor could almost certainly teach him a few things.
He presses a slip of paper into Keith’s hand with a fake name and a real number.
“Call me.”
And with that, Lotor walks away, because he knows how to leave an impression.
(And he spends the next few days pretending the only reason he’s eager for Keith to contact him is for the information-gathering opportunity it represents.)
(Keith tells himself that they’re in the middle of a war, and he doesn’t have time to even consider dating someone, and it’s not like he’s any good at that sort of thing anyway.
But he can’t quite bring himself to throw away the other galra’s contact information or the possibilities it represents.)
Being a minor doesn’t exclude you from consequences. Being a minor doesn’t excuse you being abusive or harassing people. Being a minor doesn’t excuse you suicide baiting. Being a minor doesn’t mean you shouldn’t or won’t be picked up for your shitty behaviour online. Being a minor doesn’t mean you can harass adults online with no form of consequence.
Stop trying to use the fact you’re a minor as a get out of jail free card or as a way to play the victim. It doesn’t work that way. Being a minor doesn’t mean you don’t have to face up to the consequences of your actions. You will still be picked up on things you do and people have every right to pick you up on these things. Being a minor does not make you untouchable when you do something unacceptable. If you’re old enough to talk shit on the internet you’re old enough to face the consequences of doing so.
because some minors don’t seem to understand:
once upon a time a teen jokingly tweeted they were bringing a bomb onto their flight on twitter. American Airlines twitter saw the tweet and alerted the police. the girl followed up pleading “I’M JUST A TEEN IT WAS A JOKE YOU CAN’T DO THIS” and all kind of nonsense.
did she have a bomb? no.
did she mean her threat? no.
but does her age, or the fact she joked, disqualify her from punishment? NO.
the same thing goes for suicide threats, death threats, rape threats, bomb threats, and assault threats. (assault threats being “i’ll come find you and beat you up.”)
being a minor doesn’t exclude you from that. if someone decided to call the cops and inform them that you are threatening their life, and they genuinely feel they are in jeopardy? the police CAN find you. they don’t have to be in your area to do so.
and you CAN be arrested. you CAN be detained.
and you CAN be tried in court for cyberbullying, cyberharassment, stalking, and a slew of other things. (put “hate crime” in there too but i doubt that’ll be added.)
the cops may not enjoy that they’re taking a kid to court for something ridiculous being said online, but you know what? you said it. and they don’t want to run the risk that you MEANT it. and hopefully, you’ll learn your lesson, and so will everyone else.
death, assault, rape, and violence, in ANY CAPACITY, is ILLEGAL, even if you joke about it.
you, your friends, your parents, your neighborhood, and your partner(s) (if you have any) will know you got arrested. for making a joke.
call that overreacting. but let that sink in.
all you did was make a joke, no big deal, right?
you won’t be laughing in the court room.
(and in case you think i’m exaggerating, type in “kid goes to jail for online harassment” into google. read all the articles you come across. notice how recent they are. then try and talk to me.)
While we all know that that isn't Shiro, I have to wonder what people will think it'll be like if the real Shiro returns? He's a natural leader, that is a canon fact, Keith struggles more in that role, another canon fact, so yeah I can still see him stepping into that role and butting heads with Keith? The real one wouldn't just sit in the back and twiddle his thumbs while everyone else does the fighting either. I know that's what y'all HOPE he'll do, but it isn't what he would do either.
Oh! I mean, I certainly didn’t hope that?? D: If that was the real Shiro I think there would be a lot less conflict though, and for a lot of reasons. For one thing, I don’t think Shiro would be back at the base at all. He’d be right back in Black’s seat where he belongs. Because unlike Kuron, Shiro is a a paladin. After seeing through his lion’s eyes and traversing the astral plane, after learning so much give and take when it comes to trusting her instincts and building up a mutual bond after everything Zarkon’s done–I don’t see all that just crashing down. And I mean, Keith’s entire link with Black has always been rooted in Shiro. His drive to protect Shiro, to carry on Shiro’s will after he’s gone–his motivations for taking on Black have always been singularly focused on Shiro. And even when Black locates Kuron, it’s not him she’s drawn to. It’s his memories. Shiro’s memories.
So if Shiro were really back, I don’t think Black would have any reason to reject him in the first place. So right off the bat, things would run a lot smoother. You wouldn’t have this disconnect of one person piloting the head while someone else leads. Things could easily fall back into step. They obviously wouldn’t be the way they were before, but I think they could work something out. If Shiro were really back, I imagine he would still insist on Keith piloting though, so maybe we really do get a true co-leader scenario where they trade off piloting and providing direction from the base.
The real Shiro was also a lot more trusting though. He wasn’t breaking up the team left and right. He knew to trust Keith’s instincts, even when it led to choices that he dreaded, such as letting Keith shut down Zarkon’s base alone. Kolivan calls it a suicide mission and tells Shiro he would never command someone to take such a risk. Keith snaps back, “No one’s commanding me. I’m doing it.” This is a noticeable callback to when Shiro’s in the astral plane–“No one commands the Black lion.” Just like how he had to learn to trust Black, he lets go of his fear and relies on Keith’s instincts as well. Even though it looks like it’s killing him to do it
So, rather than shutting down Keith every opportunity he gets, I think the real Shiro would let Keith take a chance. More importantly, Shiro would never risk the safety of his entire team, even if it was for the mission. Shiro lectures Keith about how he has to learn to make hard decisions, but Keith does do that. Don’t rescue Allura because you can’t risk Voltron. Fight Zarkon one on one. Hold hostage the guy you were supposed to “rescue.” Split from the team so they can’t be tracked. Go on a suicide mission alone. Keith can make harsh calls. Shiro has always been shown to be more careful, more cautious. His leadership style often ends up being a bit softer than Keith’s (and that’s not a bad thing). And the person who reacts like this when his teammates are seriously injured–
they would never just sit by and say, “deal with the consequences,” and put everyone in jeopardy.
And again, when it comes to this “disconnect”–Kuron practically gaslights Keith. He spends the whole episode overruling Keith’s decisions every chance he gets and then tells him good job. He leads with, “I’m sorry I had to step in back there”--I’m sorry you were too incompetent and I had to take over, not I’m sorry I completely took over, made everyone question your leadership, and then made a rash call that got you all hurt. But then when Keith agrees and says, “I’m no good at this,” Kuron completely contradicts that line of thought with, “Yes you are,” and compliments his “quick thinking.” The quick thinking that wouldn’t be necessary if Kuron hadn’t fought him every step of the way and forced Keith into that position.
I don’t think he’s intentionally trying to mess with Keith. Not at all. But even still, Kuron obviously doesn’t understand him. His “advice” is confusing and contradictory, and only makes Keith further question his position. When Kuron tells Keith he’s the true black paladin, he does not look comforted. It’s obvious Kuron’s words have brought him no relief, and he’s left looking even more despondent than before. Kuron obviously cares for Keith, and he still approaches him for a quiet heart-to-heart the way Shiro would. It’s his way of checking in and offering support. But he can’t quite replicate Shiro’s level of intimacy and understanding.
There are a couple of things about current shipping culture that confuse me.
1. The focus on whether or not a pairing will become canon as a reason people should ship something or not. Do you not understand what the “transformative” part of “transformative works” means?”
2. This idea that saying “I ship that” means “I think that, as presented in canon,this is a perfect, healthy relationship that everyone should model their relationship after.”
Sometimes shipping something does mean that. Sometimes shipping something means “Person A is a trash bag who doesn’t deserve person B but I would love to explore how Person A might grow to deserve Person B.” Sometimes it means “I want these characters to live together forever in a conflict free domestic AU.” Sometimes it means “I want Person A to forever pine after Person B. Nothing is beautiful and everything hurts.” And sometimes it just means you like their faces and want to see Person A and Person B bone in various configurations and universes.
Listen to your parents, kids.
This really should be one of a handful of Public Service Announcements randomly and chronically inserted into one’s dash.
Hell man sometimes it means “these two are TERRIBLE and I want to watch them burn like a catastrophic forest fire as a proxy for all the shit I don’t actually want in real life (like to light my own apartment on fire and scream) and then laugh at the destruction at the end.”
