Starlight

thAT FEELING WHEN I SEE VULNERABLE SHIRO’S AND HAVE THE VERY VISCERAL URGE TO CUDDLE HIM AND KEEP HIM SAFE IS INDESCRIBABLE,, luckily Keith has usually got that covered for me

thIS IS THE TRUE EXPERIENCE OF MENTALLY ILL MLM WHO ARE IN LOV WITH SHIRO BECAUSE I TOO FEEL THIS,, every time I see other mlm or queer fans, mentally ill fans, chronically ill fans, physically disabled fans, or Asian American fans really connect with Shiro or his experiences I’m really happy for them,, Shiro endures so much, but he still always perseveres, and that kind of representation means so much to so many different people!!!

Especially right now when I constantly see people trying to erase his identity or act like VLD didn’t give us a canonically onscreen mlm lead, like–that’s so amazing!!! I’m so thankful for him,, and he’s really relatable to so many of us. 

Lauren: “And the exact same thing for Shiro. Him being a gay man hasn’t changed anything of what he’s done in the show up to this point and it’s not gonna change anything that he’s gonna do in the future.”

Joaquim: “When we look at that lineup and we see that Shiro is clearly the more G.I. Joe-type character, the hyper-masculine soldier guy, he’s still very much that guy. We just love that. We think that’s the coolest thing in the world. If you’re talking to the 1980s toy execs who are like, ‘Yeah, this is the guy who all the boys are gonna like. He’s gonna shoot all the guns!’ And he still is! He’s still that guy and he’s gay and he’s our Shiro.” (source)

And the fact that Shiro has Keith–someone who will always be there for him no matter what, who continually reassures and defends him, who is always willing to go the distance for Shiro and loves him unconditionally even as we see scenes like Shiro’s own former partner severing ties with him do to how he coped with his illness–that’s something a lot of us dream of, having that kind of total support and stability in a relationship. 

Like, Shiro’s mlm and his best friend is a man that’s completely comfortable with all aspects of Shiro’s identity, who wholly supports him despite Shiro’s constant struggles and so many others aiming to tear him down. He’s always there to protect Shiro, confesses his love for him, holds him close–it’s really rare to see two strong male leads who are so openly vulnerable and intimate with one another like this, who absolutely obliterate toxic masculinity. Particularly in a show that focuses on giant robot mechs. And I’ll always be incredibly thankful for this iteration of Shiro we got and how beautiful his relationship with Keith is. There’s definitely a reason why I think this particular relationship in the narrative resonates so strongly with many mlm viewers. 

Red tulips meaning include eternal love, undying love, perfect love, true love, etc.

Three times Shiro means to say I love you and one he doesn’t need to (but does it anyway)

The first time he said the words, he knew, was too late. The L curled on his tongue, and the You had come to his lips in a whisper. He’d meant to say it before. Should have.

and the black paladin of his heart okno

I try to not to invalidate anyone’s thoughts on this since it’s something that a lot of people really care about. I personally see it as just that,, they’re both Shiro, but different aspects of him–and the beginning of season 8 is the joining of those aspects and they become one. But both are still in essence Shiro, always have been, and always will be. 

I think if Keith just saw the seasons 3-6 Shiro as a clone, he wouldn’t have cared so much about saving him in The Black Paladins. Keith didn’t go for any of the cases of hundreds of other Shiro’s just waiting there, he was dedicated to saving that particular Shiro–because that time Keith spent with him was real, Shiro’s memories of him were real, and that bond they shared was real. In essence, he was Shiro. And Keith loved that Shiro just as he loved the first Shiro he meant, and it’s pretty clear that the feeling’s mutual. 

Keith didn’t forsake one over the other either. He was willing to die with the second Shiro, and is incredibly relieved when they’re both saved by the first one. Keith suggests the soul transplant because, as he said, the second Shiro’s body wasn’t going to last much longer. He was dying, and needed life. Shiro was a lost soul in need of a body. They needed each other to survive, and by being combined into one, they’re able to both be reborn and have the new chance at life they both longed for. It’s also their love for Keith that is their common point of singularity, the thing that eventually truly binds them together and keeps their new life stable. So yeah, Keith loves both Shiro’s–because they’re Shiro–and they both love him in return. It’s only natural for them.