Krolia: (flying the ship in contemplative silence)
Keith: (hesitantly approaches her from behind) (quietly) Can we talk?
Krolia: (immediately sets the ship to auto-pilot and faces him) Of course.
Keith: I… I’ve been thinking about what you said. About why you had to leave. (stares at the space over her shoulder and licks his lips) And I understand why you left but I don’t- I don’t forgive you. (he turns and meets her eyes directly) Because I’ve spent my entire life thinking that you didn’t l-love me, or that you left because I’m not good enough, and even though that wasn’t why you left I still thought it, and no one told me I was wrong because no one was ever around. Dad was gone and you weren’t there. You weren’t there.
Krolia: Keith-
Keith: No. No! You weren’t there! And I- I’m a Blade now, okay, I get it, the mission always comes first, but you weren’t there, and- I was alone. On Earth. Did you know I was alone?
Krolia: I’m sorry.
Keith: If you’d known, would you have come back?
Krolia: …
Keith: Right. (he scrubs at his eyes) Right, of course. The mission. Okay. Okay. (he presses his palms against his eyes and tilts his head back) Right. Fuck!
Krolia: Keith, please look at me. Please. (he reluctantly does) I know that I’ve done nothing to earn your trust, and I know that my opinion means nothing to you, but don’t you ever for a second believe that you aren’t good enough. Because you are worth far, far more than anything I ever gave you. I have loved you, Keith, from the moment I knew I carried you, and I fell even more in love with you the first time I held you, and I turned away from that love even as I thought I was protecting it the second I walked away from you. I sometimes regret becoming a mother, (Keith flinches) but never because of you. I have never regretted you, Keith. I regret the mother that I have been to you. I regret the choices I have made, and the life I have given you, and I wish- I wish you’d had a happy life. I wish I was a mother who made you happy. I’m sorry, instead, for the world I chose to bring you into; and I’m sorry for the hurt I chose to give you. I know you’re not ready to hear it, but I-
Keith: Please. Don’t.
(They stand in silence for a moment)
Keith: … I don’t know where to go from here.
Krolia: Whatever you want. Whatever you want, Keith.
Keith: If I told you to leave, would you?
Krolia: (closes her eyes)
Krolia: If it would make you happy, yes.
(Another pause)
Keith: Right. Okay. That wouldn’t make me happy. (Krolia gives an audible sigh of relief) But I just want to make it clear that, that we’re not just gonna be some big happy family. Okay? Because- I had to learn to live without you. So even when I wanted you, I didn’t- I don’t need you. I don’t need a mom. Understand?
Krolia: (swallows once; twice) (quietly) Yes. Of course. (she makes to move past him) I- You wanted us to pilot in shifts, correct? I’ll take my leave now-
Keith: (he hesitates, before grabbing her wrist) Wait. Wait. I don’t… I don’t need you in my life. But I think- I’m willing- I want you to stay. Or at least stick around, for a while. But don’t do it because you think you have to, okay? Because I’m not your obligation, and I’m not- I’m not your second chance. But I want- You’re a Blade, so I trust you, but I’d like to get to know you better. If that’s… if that’s also something you want?
Krolia: Yes! Yes, of course Keith. I’d love- I’ll stay as long as you’ll have me. (she gestures for him to sit) Besides, I owe you some answers, don’t I?
Keith: Yeah.You have no idea. (he pauses before sitting down) And thank you, Krolia.
Krolia: What for?
Keith: You broke mission protocol to save me. And I know it’s because I’m your son, but thank you-
Krolia: I didn’t do it because you’re my son.
Keith: What?
Krolia: (staring straight ahead) A long time ago, I had to leave someone behind for the sake of the mission. I was told that I had followed protocol and done the right thing. But I realized, then, that everything we do- every mission we take, every chance we seize to undermine the Galra Empire- none of it means anything if someone fails to come home. Since then, I’ve refused to leave anyone behind; not if I can help it. Kolivan hates my change of heart, calls it a liability. (snorts) It’s why he assigns me so many solo missions, I suppose.
Keith: …
Krolia: Keith?
Keith: Why did you join the Blades? I mean, uh, if you can tell me that is…
Krolia: All the questions in the world, and you choose that one? … Well, I was younger than you are now, just a cub, really…
me: callout culture is dumb and i dont like it when people make callouts on their friends that they could have solved in like four seconds if they just talked to them, some shit is personal and doesnt need to be aired
some dumbass demon who got called out for shipping incest / pedophilia and drawing art for it: yeah lol when i got my callout-
i am finally back at my computer & can now say i literally only knew this because like. 2 days prior knife had sent me like a Wall of his comics and specifically the Face One………small world
the universe and fate itself came together so i could make that shitpost
so im thinking about how AGAIN one of keith’s major storylines this season was centred around quintessence. but god. guys…. im really sure it’s coming. something big w keith and quintessence soon.
to surmise very briefly and quickly:
S1:
1.01 after being booted from the garrison following the kerberos crash, keith “can’t explain it really” but something called him out there to the desert. he starts meticulous research on the energy, tracking it down. it’s the blue lion.
is the only paladin who has no aid to find their lion. no map or directions and signs. keith relies solely on “feeling” the red lion to find it. by comparison, everybody else had visual cues and some kind of guidance.
1.10 is compelled to follow ‘that scary dude’ right into where quintessence is being bottled up and shipped out. he’s compelled to steal some of it.
when he gets hit by the druid, his hand turns purple and the yellow quintessence seems to restore it. as if he kind of absorbs it??
even when shiro and other characters have been hit by druids/haggar/magic their markshave never looked like keith’s did.
1.11 immediately senses when shiro and also by extension the black lion is in trouble. which had everything to do with zarkon trying to take control and the quintessence of the lion is bound to have been affected (especially as allura says in pilot the quintessence of a pilot is mirrored).
S2:
2.09 “something tells me they died an unnatural death” . we’re looking at dead planets that have been harvested by the komar, this is in the absence of quintessence. and look how deeply troubled his expression is. i think about this line all the god damn time.
2.12 keith declares that he will go on the mission once it seems thace may be apprehended. co-incidentally, keith is also walking right into where the druids and haggar are.
keith gets hit directly in the chest by a druid.
let’s compare:
also, just watch the way he moves in this fight. he doesn’t ever predict the druids, but at times he knows exactly when to move and it’s just really eerie. that will take too long for this post though, it’s on my bigger one.
2.13 when voltron was hit with pure quintessence, keith’s face is the only face we do not see.
3.03 it’s literally pointed out to us so many times that thayserix seriously disturbs communications and navigation. on multiple occasions, keith is able to figure out where lotor is.
“i know he’s here” *is literally right there*
at one point the team rely on keith to sense where lotor is. and he finds/senses lotor every time.
3.06 is able to sense exactly when they’re going to get hit in voltron and manoeuvres them out the way.
Overall in S3, keith is hellbent on following Lotor and pursuing him. Keith has always been driven the cause and the mission, but this is near a restless obsession. As we learn later in the season, Lotor’s work entirely revolves around quintessence.
S4:
4.01 whilst looking for clues for lotor - who just so happens to be…. surprise surprise working and dealing with harvesting….. QUINTESSENCE and working with the comet - entire BOM missions are focused around tracking supply lines of a new form of …… quintessence. keith is insistent he has to be on that final mission.
4.06 “i can’t explain it” but keith knows there is something terribly wrong. he automatically senses where they need to be, what they need to attack. it’s not his sharp instincts and intuition coming into play here, it’s too precise and eerie. it’s the same innate ability he demonstrates time and time again to just know and be completely 100% right about a ‘feeling he can’t explain’.
S5:
5.04 there’s not any indication the other blades had picked up on the black lion’s arrival. and they were all inside planting bombs. but keith is right there and he’s frantic and desperate in his endeavours to get there and piece it together (latter has less to do w quintessence. we don’t know for sure if keith was able to hear the roar from where he was originally. but given how he’s sensed the black, red and blue lion before many times - it’s not at all a stretch to suggest that could’ve been the case here):
5.05 even if we then focused more on the person he meets on this mission, the mission has everything to do with quintessence. a weapon/creature created by quintessence and experiments with quintessence.
TLDR: this is definitely heading somewhere it has to be. and considering THIS and the current shift in quintessence in the story, i am excited and afraid.
not to mention this
on that new promo posted….. which arguably looks an awful lot like the mark on keith’s hand in 1.10 tbqh.
