Ruth's Art blog

Saw a post talking about how Lance and Keith are actually more like the other's element and is a really interesting but I found myself disagreeing though I didn't want to argue in OPs post.

I remember there was a part that said that Keith had to mold himself for survival, and, for what I remember, Keith very much does NOT do that.

Someone who molds himself to fit better would have gone into the Garrison to become a model of a perfect cadet, instead Keith is rebellious, and is not afraid of confrontation. He challenges Iverson and fights James and doesn't care if he makes an enemy out of the rest of the other cadets. They don't like it? sucks to suck because he is that good and he knows he is good.

In that same Garrison flashback, Lance actually tells Keith that if Keith keeps messing around he will be stuck as a cargo pilot, Lance tries to follow instructions, molds himself to be a good cadet because that's what is expected for him to be a fighter pilot, only that, things don't go that way, Keith is the one becoming a fighter pilot instead.

Even in his role as Black Paladin, Keith doesn't mold himself as much as he grows into it, like a flame growing to consume space.

Keith is a very straight forward guy, and rarely if ever, tries to hide his feelings, he is very sincere in what he does and means and he does things because he thinks is the best for everyone.

Take leaving the team for the Blades, while I do think he also did it so Lance didn't have to feel left out, I think he also did it so he could go and find more about his origins and himself, making what he thought was the best decision for both the team and himself.

What i'm trying to say is that t I never got the impression that Keith was afraid of showing himself. Just like a fire that doesn't change itself to fit in one place. He can be abrasive and powerful and hurtful like a wildfire and can also be warm and comforting and protective from the harsh circumstances like a fireplace. The presentation is the same, he just needed to learn to channel it better.

And that's why I think Lance had a bone to pick with him, or at least one of the reasons.

The previous description fits Lance to a tee, he can be downright mean and bitchy when he wants but also will give you friendly words and comfort when needed. Just like water can be overpowering and traitorous like the ocean while also bringing life and cleansing.

The thing is that while Keith didn't feel the need to mold for others, Lance does it with a lot of ease.

Being either a friendly welcoming face for the aliens they encounter, an emotional support for his team, a goodball to lift spirits for his friends, or a right hand man to two different leaders.

There is a reason he was usually referred as a jack of all trades just like Blue, not the tankiest or the fastest but it will be hard to find a place he won't be able to fill.

That's also while I support the sun Keith/moon Lance dynamic.

No matter how emo or mysterious he is, Keith shines bright not caring who may end up burning on his path, he is powerful and brilliant and good luck trying to ignore that. He burns but knowing he exists gives you hope for a new day. "He is the future" just like Lance said.

While Lance is the moon, who is always the same but will take on different faces depending the situation, the fact that you can stare directly at him doesn't mean he is letting you see the full picture. He shines in the dark offering guide in hard times but also caring for his team from afar as the resident sniper. Nurturing and kind, always tied to the waters and Earth.

They are still very similar, that's why they are a duo but I still think Keith at his core is fire just like Lance's is water.

The true leaders of Voltron!

My lovely attempt at fake official art :D

so, we never really see lance in a formal leadership role in the series, but we do see a lot of hints about what kind of leader he would be given the right opportunity.

from what we’ve seen, back in the garrison days, it doesn’t seem like there was a formal leader position in the sim teams. however, lance is the pilot, and i've been on enough roadtrips to know that the person who controls the vehicle has a decent amount of say-so in most situations.

now, this is s1e1 stuff, so things are not going well for the team at this point, but we see lance trying to look after the team. he jumps in between pidge and iverson rather than leaving her to deal with the fallout of her outburst alone. he takes the responsibility of social coordinator (even though i'm pretty sure hunk and pidge both wish he wouldn't) because he understands that team cohesion is important, even if he doesn't understand how to achieve it.

lance is a people focused leader. i think the most important thing about lance's leadership style would be how different it is from either shiro or keith. where shiro and keith are both more action oriented, lead from the front, set examples and inspire types, lance cannot be that. he tries to be, and that's when things don't work out.

lance is at his best when he steps back, not forward.

there’s a bit in the comic run where pidge cites his strengths as being able to team up with others for cooperative attacks and having a good team awareness. this makes sense (and is kind of really necessary) for a ranged weapons specialist. the 'good team awareness' comment is in the context of a chess game, so it speaks to his understanding of the flow of combat from a holistic perspective. a sniper needs to be able to see and understand the chaos of a battlefield and ensure none of their teammates accidentally end up in the crossfire. the sniper also has to assess inbound threats and give warnings and support to those on the ground. despite the physical distance, it's a very team focused role.

we see this in action in s7 when lance is guiding the ground team through a complex environment, allowing them to complete a high risk mission with no losses. not that he couldn't handle it if he needed to but he would be less effective in the ground unit, and the team comp as a whole would be worse.

even outside of strictly combat situations, lance is really focused on other people; what they think, what they want, what they expect. and this is both a strength and a weakness from different angles. on one hand it makes him act out, leads to a lot of shallow interactions because he wants to look impressive to the people around him. to meet their expectations of what a hero should be. on the other hand, it let's him understand and empathise with people's struggles. he's given legitimately very effective pep-talks to both allura and keith at different points. but, again, this requires him to step back and let go of his own ego for a second.

lance's main struggle is finding his place in the team, and having the confidence to genuinely fill it (i imagine a lot of this comes from being a younger child in a large family and the struggle to be heard and find a niche to claim). a matured leader lance would have an in depth understanding of himself and his team, and how those two concepts interact. what his strengths and weaknesses are and how they work with the strengths and weaknesses of those around him.

i imagine lance as a leader would be very personable and approachable. totally unintimidating. he’s the kinda guy you can just chat with and really feel heard. his approach would be about building people up, getting them into advantageous positions, and ensuring he’s able to have everyone’s back.

Stop making Lance and Hunk Cinnamon Rolls/Golden Retriever boyfriends. They are silly but also bitchy af.

Hunk is quite the savage, like man, he is sweet but is also very confident in his skills and will make sure others know it.

Lance can get very snappy. Like Hunk, he is a sweetheart but will definitely hiss at you if you catch him in a bad mood

You can see second in command Lance as early as season 2. He just had to mature a bit more.

He kind of shared that role for Shiro in early seasons and tbh I think Keith wasnt really a right hand mand for Shiro, more like a student.

Hunk and Pidge seem to be the ones that take the most hits in their lions.

Still side eyeing Shiro about just making the decision about Keith leading without talking to the rest of the team

Makes sense that Shiro didn't have a concrete right hand man in the beginning. The paladins were rookies with zero field experience so of course he had to take the reins. But after he was gone they gained experience and learned to work together so now they can push back a bit against Shiro's/Kuron's (?) orders and that made the team have some friction.

Beside the jokes, Hunk is always a very solid character. His stories are short but sweet and show a lot about how he may be anxious or easily scared but he is a solid foundation for the team and has low patience for bs.

Or, "Yes, there was a Space Mom"

Some time ago, I made a post saying that, the closest thing to a "Space Mom" the paladins ever had was actually Lance and I wanted to make a post elaborating more on why I thought so.

Now this is not me saying that we have to put this Team in neat nuclear family boxes, even Shiro, the one who the fandom collectively agrees to call "Space Dad" doesnt fit perfectly the Team Dad trope, but what I mean is that, this role is one that most of the time it appears naturally in any group of friends/people.

So, lets start with seeing how TVTropes describes what is a Team Mom:

"In an ensemble show, especially of the fighting kind, there needs to be someone to hold this Ragtag Bunch of Misfits together before they kill each other or wander off into the woods like so many Player Characters."

"The Team Mom basically acts as the mother figure for everyone else in the group, regardless of age or family relations."

"Although the role itself is traditionally female, the overprotective dad or older brother can qualify for Team Mom"

"They are by definition never the loner, and will in fact tend to be the one who pulls them into the cast's orbit as a Sixth Ranger. If anyone can break through and bring about a Heel–Face Turn or Cooldown Hug, it's them"

"if any of their surrogate children or siblings are threatened, they can snap into angry Mama Bear mode and kick some ass"

Basically, this role is less about gender and age and more about how the character threats the rest of their peers.

It is hard to imagine resident flirty goofball Lance as fitting in a role like this since, usually, characters that are referred to as the "Team Mom", seem a bit more responsible and mature.

And, admittedly, it is a role that he has to grow into a bit, but even in the first episode he already had some shades of this:

Covering for Pidge and taking the brunt of Iverson's anger, running to aid someone who had fallen from one of the pods (before knowing it was a pretty girl) and protecting Coran from a explosion.

Overall through the show, Lance actually ends up being very caring and protective towards his teammates.

I was unsure on how I wanted to do this analysis since, there is actually quite a lot I want to talk about, so I decided to highlight how Lance acts with every member of the team from this angle.

Or, the Team Mom Lance Agenda

We are in part two where we continue the analysis of Lance's relationship with Keith

Keith pt 2

We ended the last part with the observation of two times where Lance used calm voice to calm Keith.

At thos point in their interactions is fair ro say that while Keith does get annoyed at Lance and can snap at him. He does show he has confidence in Lance's capabilities to the point he choses him to lead the team to safety when he is gone (even with Shiro and Krolia present)

And while Lance does protest (as he usually does when Keith goes on his own)

He does lead them just as Keith asked.

Allura pt 2

We continue with how Lance was a support to Allura after Keith left.

First we got the scene where Lance finally unlocks his sword. Allura says that Lance has "greatness in him" and Lance makes a comment about how Shiro has not noticed it.

Allura agrees that Shiro has been difficult lately, and Lance immediately forgets his own disappointment to assure Allura about Shiro's good intentions and how its normal to disagree since both are under a lot of pressure.

COMMISSIONS OPEN

if you are interested please all for MD

“Pull over.  Let me drive for awhile.”

“It reminded me of you.”

“No, no, it’s my treat.”

“Come here.  Let me fix it.”

“I’ll walk you home.”

“Have a good day at work.”

“I dreamt about you last night.”

“Take my seat.”

“I saved a piece for you.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“You can have half.”

“Take my jacket, it’s cold outside.”

“Sorry I’m late.”

“Can I have this dance?”

“I made your favourite.”

“It’s okay.  I couldn’t sleep anyway.”

“Watch your step.”

“Here, drink this.  You’ll feel better.”

“Can I hold your hand?”

“You can borrow mine.”

“You might like this.”

“It’s not heavy.  I’m stronger than I look.”

“I’ll wait.”

“Just because.”

“Look both ways.”

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to.”

“Try some.”

“Drive safely.”

“Well, what do you want to do?”

“One more chapter.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

“It looks good on you.”

“Close your eyes and hold out your hands.”

“That’s okay, I bought two.”

“After you.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“Can I kiss you?”

“I like your laugh.”

“Don’t cry.”

“I made this for you.”

“Go back to sleep.”

“Is this okay?”

“I picked these for you.”

“I’ll drive you to the hospital.”

“What do you want to watch?”

“You can go first.”

“Did you get my letter?”

“I’ll do it for you.”

“Call me when you get home.”

“I think you’re beautiful.”

“Are you sure?”

“Have fun.”

“Sit down, I’ll get it.”

“I made reservations.”

“I don’t mind.”

“It brings out your eyes.”

“There is enough room for both of us.”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

“Wow.”

“Happy birthday.”

“I’ll pick it up after work.”

“It can wait until tomorrow.”

“Cross my heart and hope to die.”

“It’s two sugars, right?”

“I’ll help you study.”

“Stay over.”

“I did the dishes.”

“You didn’t have to ask.”

“I bought you a ticket.”

“You’re warm.”

“No reason.”

“I’ll meet you halfway.”

“Take mine.”

“We can share.”

“I was just thinking about you.”

“I want you to have this.”

“Call me if you need anything.”

“Do you want to come too?”

“I’ll still be here when you’re ready.”

“Is your seatbelt on?”

“Sweet dreams.”

“I was in the neighbourhood.”

“Stay there.  I’m coming to get you.”

“The key is under the mat.”

“It doesn’t bother me.”

“You’re important too.”

“I saved you a seat.”

“I’ll see you later.”

“I noticed.”

“You can tell me anything.”

“I hope you like it.”

“I want you to be happy.”

“I believe in you.”

“You can do it.”

“Good luck.”

“I brought you an umbrella.”

“I’ll pick you up at the airport.”

“Take a deep breath.”

“Be careful.”

  And…

🌟LOVERBOY LANCE🌟

a dating sim where the protagonist, lance, can get to choose over 6 people who gradually can fall head over heels for him!