Another sequal of my HBD Keith comic! Now with the wedding!
Told you it’s super cute uwu
For those who new and don’t want to dig my old post; Lance and Keith have a fam. Lance determined to make every special events of the family on Keith’s birthday and then he died on Keith’s birthday. (I didn’t draw my version of older lance here thanks s8 for giving me inner conflict.)
Kit. Keith had been hearing that word a lot since he came to the Blade of Marmora headquarters. He didn’t know what it meant. Maybe it was their way of saying human? They did say it to him or about him, instead of saying his name. He was ‘the kit.’ It was getting annoying not knowing what it truly meant though. Perhaps he could get it out of one of the Blades he routinely sparred with, Regris.
He skipped breakfast like he usually did and went straight to the training hall. He stepped into the familiar room and was surprised to find it empty. That was strange. There was usually someone in the room, no matter what time it was. Keith was a bit earlier than normal but didn’t think that was a factor.
%%%
Kolivan, Antok, Thace, and Ulaz liked to think they were observant beings. There were only two lapses in judgement since Kolivan became leader of the Blades. Those two lapses resulted in Regris and Keith becoming Blade operatives when they were actually kits.
Speaking of the kits, only one was present for breakfast. Regris was sitting between Antok and Thace. It was his favorite spot, since he didn’t like sitting between either pair of mates. After taking a bite of food, Regris looked around their table and then the hall, slightly confused. He swallowed and asked, “Where’s Keith?”
Thace ran his hand down Regris’s spine, a comforting motion. “We’re not sure, kit. He’s definitely on the base though.”
“He better not be training,” Antok grumbled. “The kit trains more than any other Blade.”
Regris whined softly. He considered Keith a younger brother and didn’t like the fact that he didn’t act like a kit. Ulaz leaned across his mate and stroked Regris’s headfur. “It’s okay, kit. We’ll find your brother. Just eat.”
Regris went back to eating, earning him some pets from Antok. He briefly purred to him in between bites. Kolivan stood up. “I will go find our errant kit and bring him here. He needs to eat.”
The leader of the Blade of Marmora was not usually one for searching for errant members. For him to volunteer to look for Keith, it meant that he was worried about him. Kolivan was indeed worried about Keith. He was too short, skinny, and skittish, especially for a kit. He was also way to proficient with a sword than kits even twice his age! In fact, kits Keith’s age should still be prone to clinging to their parents and taking long naps.
Kolivan briefly stopped at the room Keith was originally assigned since it was on the way to the training hall. He knocked and called through the door, “Keith? Kit, are you in there?” After not receiving a reply, Kolivan said, “I’m opening the door.”
He opened the door, revealing an empty room. Kolivan’s ears drooped at the state of the room. He expected a messy room with a comfy nest in the middle, but what he saw was a room that barely looked lived in. The only thing that told Kolivan that this was someone’s room was Keith’s red and white jacket hanging in the closet and an extra pillow on the bed. It was so barren and cold, it hurt Kolivan’s heart, and this being a kit’s room made it hurt even more. Kits should be surrounded by soft things and pack members. Keith didn’t have any of those things in his room.
Kolivan snagged Keith’s jacket (and found his Marmoran uniform in the closet and taking it as well) and the extra pillow from the bed. He carried these things to his pack’s nest room and set them to the side. The other kit was joining his pack; he didn’t have a choice. The kit had to be suffering being alone. He made his way to the training hall, mentally berating himself for having another lapse in judgement. He thought the kit was okay and enjoying himself when he wasn’t on missions, but that apparently wasn’t what happened. The kit wasn’t taking care of himself, which shouldn’t have been a surprise given his age; he was a toddler, but Kolivan had thought that his human DNA had been in control more than his Galra DNA was. Apparently, it was only in appearance.
Kolivan entered the training hall and stopped when he saw the kit in question training. He knew he had been, having heard the clang of metal against metal from outside the room. He let the doors close behind him before he growled loudly.
%%%
Keith froze when he heard the growl, blocking the gladiator bot. He let his eyes flick over to where the growl originated from and was surprised to see Kolivan. Keith decided to quickly end the bot and see what his leader wanted. Keith sliced through the bot and sank to one knee. “Leader.”
Kolivan stopped growling and approached Keith. “Rise, kit. Why are you in here so early? Everyone is still at breakfast.”
“I don’t usually eat breakfast.”
“Kits should eat breakfast.”
Keith paused. “What’s a kit?”
Kolivan stared at Keith. “You don’t know what a kit is?”
Keith shook his head. “I’ve heard the term many times, but no one ever told me what it meant.”
“You never knew what it meant?” Kolivan swept Keith close and held him against his chest.
Keith closed his eyes and relished the contact. He liked how Kolivan was holding him. “No. What does it mean?”
“Kit is the term for a Galran child.”
Keith opened his eyes and looked up at Kolivan. “But I’m not a child. I’m an adult on Earth.”
“That may be true, but in Galran terms you are a small kit. Now, how long have you been training?”
“Uh, I woke up early. I don’t really know how long I’ve been in here.”
Kolivan nosed his hair and started grooming it. Keith froze before he relaxed against him. “That feels good.”
Kolivan didn’t say anything, just kept licking his hair for a couple more doboshes. Keith felt his eyes close, and he started purring. Kolivan wasn’t that surprised to hear the kit purring. Most kits liked getting groomed; he figured Keith wasn’t any different. When he was done grooming, Kolivan scooped up the kit, who was half asleep. “Come along, kit. The others are waiting for us to join them at breakfast.”
“So…sleepy.”
Kolivan paused. It wouldn’t do to have the kit eat when he didn’t have the energy to stay awake, but it also wasn’t good for the kit to miss a meal, especially when he was so skinny in the first place. Kolivan pulled out his data pad and typed out a message to his pack to make a plate for Keith and bring it to the nest. He didn’t wait for the inevitable reply. He put his data pad back into his pocket and secured his hold on the now dozing kit. He carried Keith out of the training hall and into the nest room. He stepped into the nest and sat down, reclining in the nest. He settled Keith on his chest, stroked his hair, and softly rumbled to him.
The door to the nest room opened, admitting the other four members of his pack. Thace held a container in his claws, clearly it was meant for Keith. He placed it on the table before entering the nest with the rest of the pack behind him. They gathered around Kolivan and Keith.
“Is he okay?” Regris asked.
“He was training again. He grew tired when I groomed him. I only intended to get the sweat out of his hair before going to breakfast, but being such a young kit, it was inevitable. Speaking of which, he didn’t know what the word kit meant.”
“He didn’t know? We have been calling him a kit since we found out,” Ulaz mentioned.
“He asked what it meant when I called him kit. He was insisting that he was an adult on Earth. Antok, could you hand me that pillow? The one with Keith’s jacket.”
Antok snagged the pillow with his tail and handed the soft, red, round pillow to his mate. He watched as Kolivan put the pillow next to the kit. “Where is the rest of the kit’s stuff?”
Kolivan’s ears drooped at his mate’s question. “That’s all he has. He didn’t have a nest. His room was as barren and empty as it was before he was assigned to it.”
“What? Why?” Regris looked distressed.
“Because I was launched into space with nothing but the clothes on my back and whatever I had in my utility packs.” Keith cracked an eye open before he saw his pillow. He snatched it up and hugged it to his chest. “Where am I?”
Kolivan carded his claws through Keith’s hair. “You fell asleep back in the training hall when I groomed your hair, so I took you back to the nest I share with my pack. We want you to be a part of our pack.”
“Pack?”
“It’s like a family, kit,” Thace answered. “You need a pack. It’s one of those Galra needs that you deny yourself of, one of many.”
“Wha-?” Keith was fighting to keep his eyes open.
“Shh, kit. It’s okay. Get some rest. We’ll talk when you’ve rested,” Kolivan stroked Keith’s hair some more.
Antok laid down beside Kolivan with Regris in his lap. Regris snuggled closer to Keith and wrapped his tail around his right leg. Antok’s tail was wrapped around his mate’s waist. On Kolivan’s other side was Thace and Ulaz, the latter on the former’s lap. Thace was nuzzling Ulaz’s neck and stroking Keith’s cheek. Kolivan knew his pack was going to need to take the rest of the day off to tend to their new kit’s needs. They also needed to stop by a space mall soon in order to get more supplies, not just for the base but for Keith as well. The kit was going to be taken care of; Kolivan was going to make sure of that.
Hey!! I really like your blog and I do hope me sending this doesn't turn into a shitstorm. Youre 110% entitled to your own opinions but I'm just wondering why so much vemon towards bp l@nce?? You even ended your rant with "if you support bp lance, unfollow me" I mean, I'm completely fine with people disliking what I may like. I have no problem with your hating bp l@nce at all but you just seem so against it like do you want me to unfollow you becuz i support it? (1/2)
I’m really not hear to hate your for not liking it because like i said, that’s completely fine but how you complain about it makes it seem like the Worst Thing, which i really dont understand?? I’m okay with people preferring Shiro as bp or even keith or whatever but I dunno? I hope you get what im saying? I’m not good with words ahhhh. Bottomline just say the word and ill unfollow if you want!! Sorry if this ask came off as rude or bad in anyway, I really didnt mean it that way!! (2/2)
You do not have to unfollow me by any means anon; my statement in the post was one of the few I did not literally mean. However, I would like to point out that my post against Black Paladin Lance is the only one I have ever personally made. It’s not a reoccurring source of salt on my blog until very recently, and I’ve been bottling up my frustration about it for a long… long time. Numerous inboxes of my friends who are also into Voltron can attest to this. So, let’s delve into my history with Black Paladin Lance, and how it’s evolved.
Seasons One to Three: This theory was popular even in season one, and honestly, I didn’t mind it. Lance had shown some good tactical strategy and Shiro’s place as Black Paladin wasn’t as established. It was a cute theory and headcanon and fans weren’t as fanatic as it actually happening in canon. Enjoying things purely in fanon is possible, and healthy, tbh, and I do it as well (ie. I have some theories or headcanons or even ships where I like it in fanon, but would never want nor expect for it to happen in canon. It works, shocker I know.)
And then season two hit. And among the cries of “Lance didn’t get enough screentime!!” and “precious boy uwu he’s not a seventh wheel!!” and so on, there was a growing want for Black Paladin Lance to be the outcome of season three. Season two also gave rise to a strange occurrance in fandom for the sake of Langst, which is that Shiro either hates Lance or acts like he does, or constantly puts down his achievements because “Lance is underappreciated by the team!!” even though it’s completely untrue. Shiro notes and supports Lance’s sharpshooter skills, and the scene where Shiro supposedly diminishes Lance is one in which Shiro is actually being extremely patient with him (analysis in the link). But it doesn’t paint Shiro in a negative light and Lance is a precious boy who can no wrong, so it’s gotta get kicked to the curb, right?
And then the age discourse came for Shallura and antis dropped it like a hot potato (and the distinction between antis and other factions of the fandom do matter, but we’ll get that later). And in season three, Lance and Allura got some friendship development and Lance/Allura rose in popularity… right as Shiro disappeared and Shallura was labelled a Nasty Ship. I don’t think the correlation is too hard to see.
And still I didn’t mind Black Paladin Lance. The season three trailer purposefully hadn’t revealed who was going to pilot Black, only that the lion was roaring, and while I was hoping for Black Paladin Allura, I didn’t mind the thought of it being Lance. The reason? Because I always wanted the vacancy of Black Paladin to be temporary, no matter who piloted Black. I wanted Shiro to come home and be the Paladin he was meant to be and be happy and safe and with his team.
But the rest of the fandom didn’t see it like that, as Shallura shippers retreated more fiercely into our corner after being shunned, laughed at, and hated by antis and shaladins alike.
Black Paladin Lance stans wanted Shiro gone permanently, or never seemed to care about what would happen to him if he did come back. They lauded co-leadership Klance as the best possible thing that could happen, that Black Paladin Lance would be exactly what Lance deserved and had earned, somehow. I’ve talked about the Klance fandom’s fascination with using Shallura tropes while klantis (klance focused antis) shit on actual canon Shallura and discredit it before, so I won’t go into detail here, but yeah… it’s hella transparent.
Lance in fanon spaces also has a habit of basically being turned into Shiro, whether through characterization, trauma and Langst-fics (losing body parts, being captured and tortured by the Galra, brainwashed, having Keith’s undying devotion… sound familiar to anyone?) in addition to being given the title of Black Paladin because “he’s perfect” and “deserves it”. Post detailing more examples of how many Lance stans and fanfictions basically turn him into Shiro at any given opportunity. If you read Lance or Klance centric fanfiction at wide, I guarantee you’ve seen more than a few of these tropes or AUs used. Although to be fair, Lance also gets a lot of what Allura has too, namely her uniquely Altean heritage to be better paired up with Galra Keith (X) and the popularity of Lancelot before and after season three rather than Allura/Lotor, which had far more basis in VLD and Go-Lion canon. So yeah, the fandom at large loves to take Allura’s culture and Shiro’s arc/trauma and slap it onto Lance, yet largely ignore, mischaracterize, be hateful towards, or infantilize Allura and Shiro as actual characters.
Because the fact is, Shiro is the closest thing VLD has to a Main Character. His backstory and decisions of leading the team, whether against the Galra all the way to Zarkon’s central command, form the crux of season one. His capture by Galra and crash-landing on Earth form the catalyst that propels the whole show forward. His decision to trust Ulaz and the Blade of Marmora, and to strengthen his bond with the Black Lion opposite of Zarkon drives season two forward, and his victory over Zarkon is the conclusion of the season. His absence creates season three, his reappearance (or his clone’s arrival, depending on your theory) creates and resolves conflict in season four. Kuron/Shiro’s decisions drive the conflict in the first half of season five, and let the latter half of the season even exist by: giving Lotor the Black Bayard to kill Zarkon, an action which earned Allura’s trust of Lotor in the first place, and his decisions lead to Lotor becoming emperor which is what causes Voltron to seriously ally with him.
So now, we’re heading into season six, and people are frothing at the mouth for Black Paladin Lance more than ever. Because despite Black passing Lance over twice, and Black having two other pilots in the narrative (Keith, and then Kuron – Shiro, if he’s a sleeper clone), both of whom were chosen over Lance, they somehow still think he deserves it. And it’s this issue of something that really has only ever had substance in fanon being demanded of and pushed and shoved in canon where it just doesn’t fit anymore.
Lance can pilot Black, they cry, Shiro’s Lion who he earned the trust of, and trusted, who’s trauma of being used and abused by Zarkon’s hands mirroring his own. Shiro can pilot the White Lion, they say, which during the time the theory was popular, was non-existent, largely implied to have something to do with Allura, and completely ignores Shiro’s arc and development.
Shiro, who found worth and purpose and always enjoyed being the Black Paladin. “Defenders of the universe, huh? Has a nice ring to it.” Shiro, who always took the war seriously even while everyone else, especially Lance, was goofing off (or flirting). “The princess is right. Let’s get to our lions and start training.” Shiro, who was tormented about Sendak to the point of a complete mental breakdown unlike anything we’ve seen, and it related to him being a paladin of Voltron. “You really think a monster like you could be a Voltron paladin?” Shiro, was hit the hardest by Allura not telling them the truth about Zarkon, Shiro, who Allura trusted and always reaffirmed as the Black Paladin. Shiro, who fought Zarkon in the astral plane and submitted to the will of his Lion, who saved him, trusted him, showed him traces of her trauma. Shiro and Black, who bonded immediately (the eye-glow thing that only happened with Red and Alfor) and Black, who helped him defeat Zarkon and gain back her bayard, who looked at a worn, beaten down man and chose him.
Because people want to throw away two whole seasons (not six episodes, not seven, thirteen episodes each) of development of Shiro and Black’s bond. People want to throw away Shiro always being devoted to Black. People want t throw away Shiro being Zarkon’s clear foil: the prisoner and the emperor, Haggar’s champion and her husband, trust versus power/control, both of them disappearing after the same battle.
Because if Shiro isn’t the Black Paladin, then he believes he’s the monster Sendak says he is. Because BP Lance stans claim that Shiro, a mentally ill man, “isn’t fit” to be the leader and it reeks of ableism. Because BP Lance stans are overtly critical and don’t realize their fanon theory will never be canon because they don’t understand how narrative structure works. Because if Shiro isn’t Black Paladin then everything he’s fought for in seasons one, two (and four and five, again, depending on your theory) is for nothing. Because if Shiro isn’t the Black Paladin then Allura was wrong to choose and believe in him. More meta on the development of Shiro and Black’s relationship here&here,because it’s beautiful and underrated and ignored because it – the literal canon – doesn’t prop up Black Paladin Lance. The most developed relationship between a pilot and a Lion we have in the entire show is Shiro and the Black Lion. They get two seasons’ worth of plot driving, dramatic development. Whereas we get Red rescuing Keith, and Lance complimenting the Blue Lion and being defensive over the thought of anyone taking her until season three, in which case the original Lion bonds have been completely left, and in season three, four, and five, we never ever see Keith or Lance bond with their new Lions whatsoever.
And let me tell you, Black Paladin Lance fans don’t give a single flying fuck about Shiro as a character when they make posts with lines like this, and it’s a widespread attitude too:
the black lion after keith who didnt even want to be bp and the mcskunkhead clone bs: “finally a good fucking pilot” (because shiro, her first chosen pilot that she opened up to after zarkon used her and betrayed her doesn’t count or exist at all…)
bp lance with an undercut…oh y es.. (GEE I WONDER WHAT OTHER CHARACTER IS ALSO THE ACTUAL BLACK PALADIN WITH A FUCKING UNDERCUT)
black: “lance im so glad youre my pilot now i couldnt stand that clone ass bitch” lance: “yeah me t-wait what clone?” black: “oh this shiro is a clone lol” lance: kill bill sirens (x)
the black lion came to me in my dreams and told me that lance was ideal black paladin material and she’d love for him to fly her bc “finally. someone with clear fuckin conscience.” (X)
[lance is] the only black paladin since zarkon who actually wants the job (X)
Like honestly, the sheer hatred the klanti and lance stan portion of the fandom has towards Kuron is insane. Kuron, who’s lost and confused and knows it, knows in his bones that something is wrong but doesn’t know what and is searching for answers. Kuron, who has Shiro’s memories and misses Black but is trying to step aside when Keith’s her pilot because Black didn’t accept him, and how much that rejecting must have fucking hurt. Kuron, who gets angry more quickly and snaps at Lance, but apologizes for it later (…unlike Lance or Keith, who almost never apologize for their outbursts or rash decisions; Lance being frustrated/angry at Shiro, flirting with Allura at inappropriate times, Keith ruining her diplomatic banquet in 3x01 and never apologizing to her). Kuron, who makes one mistake and is therefore the Devil.
So I hate Black Paladin Lance because it ignores Shiro, degrades him, acts like he isn’t good enough, like he doesn’t have a place in this story, like he’s a temporary stepping stone, that he’s hated and vilified and the heaps of canon evidence that don’t support Black Paladin Lance is adamantly ignored. I hate Black Paladin Lance because it means Allura, who has lost and sacrificed so much over and over again, who chose Shiro and always, always trusted him, is wrong. I hate Black Paladin Lance because its stans act like it’s the only possible character arc for him, rather than him learning to grow and give up glory, to grow up and be more responsible and to appreciate what he can do at the level he’s already at. I hate Black Paladin Lance because people are taking what’s only a twisted account of fanon and act like it’s undeniably going to be canon and it’s everywhere, and it’s bullshit.
So yeah, you don’t have to unfollow. But if you, and anyone else, honestly care about Shiro as a character, and his life and arc, then I hope you really reconsider your stance on whether Black Paladin Lance should be a canon permanence or not, because if you do, then you really don’t care about Shiro at all, and he deserves better than being shit on to build up a fake deep fanon fave.
Real talk though, I really like Keith ending card (is it called that?) where he's shown to keep on working to help others and also that he's got the ex-generals with him too. He managed to become an inspiration to them and changed things around for the better. I love imagining the friendship that must gave grown between the 4 of them and I feel sad that I can't find more work out there that focuses on their relationship with each other.
