#ashrayus

collab with @ashrayus

Aw man I like u too 🥺💖💕

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She

@deetheteadrinkingdragon thank youuuu!!!! :’D ♡

Hi I forgot this was in my box I apologize for not doing this earlier???

22- Would you ever want to swim with sharks?

Yes. Definitely. I mean it depends on the kind of shark because I do have a reasonable fear of being eaten (like I don’t wanna encroach on big shark’s territory, I love them but do not wanna be eaten thank) but small sharks??? oh yes def I love them

24- What do you want right this second?

Uhhhh to have the motivation to get up and sew lol

28- What is the last thing that made you laugh?

...and, my last answer for @ashrayus‘s ask for the Voltron ask meme ! As a follow up to that one about Hunk !

Thanks a lot for tagging me, by the way, I’m having way too much fun doing this !

Sooo. I didn’t think I would get that much attached to that guy that fast. Oops.

(Me : “oh, you think you’re cool ? I’m not impressed. No way I’m getting attached to a character like that”. Narrator’s voice : “it didn’t go as planned...”).

So yeah… the one that really grew on me was Keith, to the point that I think he’s probably my fave now (well I love him different ways that I love Hunk, if that makes sense ; it’s hard to compare). This is funny because when he was introduced, for some reason, I really wanted to hate him (lol).

He had this epic introduction scene and I just thought “Ok, here comes the cool guy, he’s gonna be the leader and overshadow every other character... and I liked the others, damn ! So annoying.” Which is funny considering it was Shiro who first was set up to be the leader and it became explicitly so pretty soon. But, even without the leadership, he had this sort of Main Character aura. Well I thought he would be the 80’s hero stereotype, and the others would be kinda reduced to side-kicks, and it rubbed me the wrong way. But then he kept surprising me.

His soft, worried expression when he saw Shiro caught me off guard. Then, when Lance interrupted, and he wasn’t able to recognize him despite having been in the same class, and clearly trying honestly hard to remember, got me chuckling despite myself : “OMG, not good with people, are we ?” lol.

And him begrudgingly saving the garrison trio along with Shiro, and then being salty when they had the guts to complain about  how he did it was… more relatable than I expected. Also, it was pretty cool to see him using the fact that his hoverbike was overloaded as an advantage to gain speed. And when he excitedly drove of that cliff, it was kind of endearing.

Then he brought them to that shack in the middle of the desert when I expected to see his family or at least a somewhat decent flat, and I started getting intrigued. Added to that heartfelt dialog with Shiro (“good to have you back”) and when he then admitted how lost he had felt when booted from the Garrison…  How his voice breaks, the sad look Shiro and him exchange… I started connecting the dots about their past. And getting really invested in it.

But a voice in my head was still saying “well of course the cool hero has a tragic back-story ! Don’t fall into this trap !”. I don’t even know why I was so stubborn about NOT liking him lol. But I couldn’t help but being fond of this emotional and vulnerable side I was starting to see in him, and that I really didn’t expect (same goes for Shiro, but I really liked Shiro from the start).

(you all took that decision together as a team, Keith !)

And the moment I let go of that curious mindset of “I don’t like the stereotype so I’m determined not to like this character” was when, at the Castle of Lions, out of sheer provocation, Lance tells Allura that them being attacked has to be Keith’s fault. Keith starts sarcastically “Say whatever you've got to say to make yourself feel better.” And, as much as I actually enjoyed the reply, I was still thinking, a bit annoyed “yeah of course he would be more mature and not react to the provocation”. But then… Keith explodes. And I realized that he was not being mature, but trying to appear so by bottling up his emotions and that they had just...blown up on him. And that was such a good character flaw that it completely scraped the “cool guy” stereotype I had seen at first. And I started really liking him.

And he just kept growing on me.

Basically, what really got me with Keith was this struggle he has, with desperately wanting to belong… But also being terrified to let himself get attached, because then it would hurt too bad if he gets rejected again. And how that ends up being a self-fulfilling prophesy. Because the way he keeps a distance by trying to protect himself doesn’t allow him to grow deeper bonds with others, or communicating properly with them. Which, in turn, results in misunderstandings and conflict. He ends up running away (come on, it was not the only reason why he left, but I bet this was at play too), isolating himself from the people he cared for.

(Canonically his greatest fear is being rejected by Shiro...)

(...and of course it ended up happening… or well, not really, it’s complicated, but it must have felt pretty close to him)

And it makes complete sense that he struggles like that , it all comes from his childhood trauma ; and honestly he keeps getting traumatized  again, like losing Shiro not once but twice already, and being there not only for Ulaz’s death, but also for Thace’s after having fought alongside with him, and Regris’, who was his teammate and with whom he had at least been on several missions ; that doesn’t help ! And the growing tension with Shiro after finding him again ; and the gap that has been slowly widening between him and the team (his “found family”), culminating in his decision to leave. Heck, even having to leave Red, with whom he had such a great bond, to pilot Black in season 3. And then, leaving Black too for Shiro’s benefit. So far, the story keeps feeding his narrative of “I’d better not let myself get attached” : it seems each time he bonds with someone, they end up separated, or, in worst case scenarios, that person even dies.

It just breaks my heart and I really, really need him to solve this issue. He deserves to be loved, and for that he needs to learn to accept that love, too. Because more than once, we see him dismissing it or misinterpreting it when others try to show concern or support. I kind of hope the tide will turn now that Krolia is in the game. And I really cross my fingers for Kolivan to not being killed off, and forging deeper bonds with Keith as well, although I’m really worried about how that will turn out.

Also, I like how deeply emotional he is, but how he tries to bottle it up, and how that doesn’t work at all. Please Keith, please open up to others.

I’m also extremely curious about all the secrets that surround him. We found up about his galra origins, we finally met his mother, but there is so much more I want to know. For instance, I’m dying for his back-story with Shiro. I need to know more about his family history, how his parents met, what happened to his father. I wonder if Acxa could, indeed, be related to him. I want to know more about this weird connection he seems to have with magic and quintessence. I want to see if those visions of galra invasions (both in his dream in “the Ark of Taujeer” and in his visions in “the Blade of Marmora”) could be repressed memories, like some theorize.  I want to know what happened between his father’s disappearance and the garrison, did he hop from foster family to foster family like many of us headcanon ? How did he get into the garrison ?

(I don’t thing that’s what Kolivan meant by “undetected”, Keith !)

Another thing I like with Keith is how he is balanced. Yes, he is extremely talented in some fields. He’s an amazing pilot and a great fighter, and it’s really cool to see him improve in those domains. He’s also pretty good at improvising on the spot in dangerous situations. He’s extremely focused, loyal, dedicated and resourceful.

But at the same time, he can be pretty awkward in social situations. He has a hard time managing his feelings. He might be really good with blades and in close combat, but struggles when he has a gun. He gets caught almost every time he tries to be sneaky, which is both endearing and worrying, considering the risks of this while he works with the Blades. He is the worst liar ever and it’s hilarious (I hope Kolivan has given up any expectation to make him go undercover, that would be a disaster).

Anyway, some characters are well balanced by being moderately good at everything and being a jack of all trades (Lance for instance). But Keith… he’s amazing in a few domains (flying, fighting with a sword…) but pretty bad in others.

So despite his obvious talents, he is quite far from the cool, flawless character  that I first thought he would be.

Although he has a quite eventful and compelling arc, I don’t feel he overshadows the other characters as he’s often (and sometimes painfully) out of focus… We barely saw him at all in the last two seasons. And honestly at this point I’m invested enough in his story that I wouldn’t even complain if he hogs the spotlight a bit more at times.

I ended up getting way too attached and it’s hard to watch him getting hurt by the story all the time. I really hope he gets some good comforting moments soon (same goes for Shiro, by the way).

Here is, as planned, a follow up of @ashrayus‘s ask for the Voltron ask meme ! :)

And here you start to see why I had to split the answers in separate posts...

So : Weblum: What is your favorite Voltron episode?

Haha, this is really a tough question. I really can’t chose just one.

Crystal Venom

I think, one of the episodes I always go back to is “Crystal Venom”. I just love how spooky it is. Allura’s situation in particular is both chilling and awfully tragic. Shiro’s panic attack is really upsetting. Lance has every right to freak out at the really scary stuff happening to him. Keith’s fight with the corrupted Gladiator is pretty epic, and how he wraps up the fight and saves Lance in one move is a really cool moment. And I really enjoy those moments where Keith and Lance put their differences aside and work together ! I love seeing Pidge and Hunk help each other too, and Hunk’s initial response to Pidge asking him to kick her :  “what ? No, we’re friends !”. Keith immediately worrying about Shiro when they realize what’s going on. And no one blaming Shiro for ejecting Sendak, but rather being worried about him. The scene where Allura has to destroy her father’s AI is really emotional to the point of being hard to watch.

Across the Universe

“Across the universe” is another favorite of mine. It has such a great balance between heartwarming and suspense / angst :

- I just adore Keith’s and Shiro’s interactions here. How much they care and worry for each other, how they try to reassure each other (the gap between what actually happens to them and how they downplay it when talking to each other is so funny and yet endearing). Keith admitting to Shiro how important he is to him. Keith being able to pilot Black so as to save Shiro. Seeing Shiro being himself, letting down all pretense when only Keith is around. His dark sense of humor (his joke about his wound got me laughing so hard the first time), how he admits he’s afraid not to make it out alive, and asks Keith to lead Voltron in that case. And Keith being so upset at the idea and reassuring him again. Haaaa.

- Allura and Coran’s loop, both really funny, but really scary because Coran comes pretty close to disappear. Allura admitting that Coran is like a second father to her. Awww.

- Poor Pidge, stranded all alone, missing her friends so much that she does mock ups of them out of trash. But at the same time, the little space fluffy creatures are there to keep her company and the scene with the “trash buddies” is so funny and cute. And it’s nice to see her regain hope and actually save the day.

Hole in the Sky

“Hole in the sky” : here I find that spooky atmosphere that I enjoy in “Crystal Venom” too.

I find the concept of alternate realities really exciting but also really scary when you see that in the context of a war. It would have been really bad if the alteans of this reality had been able to spread “peace and stability” to other universes as well. And just imagine if the Galra empire had access to other realities and could find allies, slaves, even more resources (quintessence)… What it would mean for the war. And how it would destroy the peace in other realities. It means the war spreading to every reality and makes it hard to have any hope of peace.

The concept of “noncogs” is deeply unsettling.

Also, seeing “evil alteans” is really interesting as it is another step further away from the manichean view of the universe the series conveys at first, and one step more in the direction of more nuanced shades of grey (just like the BOM and Keith’s origins show that Galra are not inherently evil). It’s really about the choices the characters make and not about being altean or galra.

This is also one occasion where we see the team has finally found a good way of working together with Keith in the lead.  

And even if I haven’t seen the 80’s version of Voltron, I knew of Sven and really enjoyed the reference. Seeing him team up with a bad-ass Slav, when Slav was the one person Shiro couldn’t get along with, is cute and hilarious. The team’s reactions to Sven when they think he is Shiro are also quite heartbreaking.

Coran being worried sick about them is really nerve-racking, too. And when they come back and are unconscious and Coran calls for them.

And Lotor’s plan is so clever. Using an altean distress signal was sure to lure them, of course they’d check it. And as he said, he wins either way : he either gets the comet, or gets rid of Voltron. And his plan works.

Also, Keith’s and Allura’s little dialogue at the end is sweet.

I just.. can’t make up my mind !

I also get why the ask is named Weblum because damn, I also love that one. The teary goodbyes at the beginning, the famous sheith hug is just so so good… and then, it’s Hunk and Keith interacting and it’s so. nice. To see them getting to know each other better. I love it.