Well, 1,900 words worth of a fic to at least make an attempt to fix “The Feud” and all of the dumb comments made towards Lance (among another point that needed addressed) with a heavy dose of platonic Hance and platonic Klance and angsty fluff ♥ Enjoy! (season seven spoilers)
Read all of my snippet/drabble fics over on Battlefield on AO3! Feel free to drop a comment if you enjoyed ♥
xxx
“You’re not dumb.”
The words hung in the air, heavy with conviction and at the same time a plea, a wish, a desperate hope that the recipient believed them.
Lance did not react, his head remaining stationary on his upturned knees while his arms hugged about them, making a pitiful image next to the dying remains of their campfire.
“Lance--”
“I know.”
Lance’s tone was sharp and dull and bitter all at once. This close, even in the barely there glow, Hunk could make out the faintest sheen on dark lashes before Lance angled his head, pressing his face fully into his knee.
“I know,” he repeated, muffled.
Hunk didn’t believe it for a second.
He joined his best friend on the bumpy ground, settling himself into a cross-legged sit and throwing a handful of loose kindling onto the fire.
Lance had been quiet all day since their “visit” to Bob’s game show, not even cracking a smile when Hunk and Coran had together concocted a sort of s’more or offering up a complaint when Keith ordered them all to jog the perimeter of their camp for the night (which, despite knowing the training and exercise were good after being cooped up all day in the Lions, Lance normally dramatically protested before doing it anyways).
Hunk had a feeling he knew why and his stomach curdled.
Garfle Warfle Snick had been all anyone could talk about at the group dinner as Coran had demanded details of the legendary encounter and the team had been full of laughs in describing the faux-Galrans and Keith’s drawing abilities and Lance’s bi-boh-bi-ing and the shenanigans of the set.
But Lance had not been smiling. Not really. He’d bared his teeth in a false version of one, laughed at himself when Pidge ribbed him about not knowing any of their allies’ names, and had weakly chuckled when it came around that he’d been chosen to “escape” because Keith didn’t want to be stuck for him with eternity.
It took a few pointed looks and subtle shoves from Hunk and then surprisingly Keith, purple eyes narrowed in thought, for them to move on from the topic and instead they got Coran telling one of his stories about the Paladins of old that then had Krolia one-upping him with a Blade mission and the two of them went back and forth for a good varga with a seemingly entranced audience.
And they all probably would have been except for the fact that Lance… Lance was not partaking in it. He instead had his head propped up as he was now, firelight dancing across his face but his eyes not seeing it.
When Lance had excused himself to feed Kaltenecker and get her settled for the evening, Hunk had been a little surprised when he found himself the attention of a bunch of concerned and confused gazes.
He’d quietly told them his suspicions and had watched as Allura’s expression had shuttered and Pidge sucked in a harsh breath, guilt flashing across her features. Keith’s lips had thinned into a line and he’d looked to Hunk and he could see an apology on his lips.
But it wasn’t he who needed an apology for being laughed at. He more than understood how it felt to be the butt of a joke, to be laughed at, but even with his stint as “Humorous Hunk” in the Voltron Show he’d known still then (mostly) that it had been an act.
Lance did not have that.
He instead had a history of kids teasing him as he learned how to speak English, of teachers belittling him as he struggled to understand more complex math and science formulas, of instructors telling him he was only in the fighter program because of a drop out.
Lance had been told his whole life he wasn’t smart enough, not good enough. And he was. Lance was smart. He was people smart; he understood them in ways Hunk envied. He saw things about others; he read emotions and intentions. He was tactical and a great leader and reflexive and could change direction on a dime and make those quick-second decisions that Hunk knew he’d be agonizing over still a day later.
But those things didn’t matter, not to Lance. Not when he was so used to being compared to others not on his strengths but his “weaknesses” and finding himself wanting.
And now…
Now he’d had to suffer that all again, repeatedly called dumb, called “the stupid one,” and had Hunk not been so overwhelmed by all that was happening at the time of the show he’d have nipped that in the bud (or, tried to) before Lance had been repeatedly humiliated when he heard the quiet, disbelieving and now realized hurt tone of Lance asking for clarification if the host meant him.
Hunk felt like the stupid one.
He had to try and fix it, somehow.
He’d told the others as such, knowing the last thing Lance would want to do is feel cornered, even if this was a positive intervention. They’d all reluctantly agreed to let Hunk handle it, Shiro quietly telling him, “he knew best,” and had retired not long after to their sleeping arrangements, Keith noting he’d be up in five varga for a watch change.
And now here they were and Hunk’s more blunt approach -- no way for Lance to dodge it, to laugh it off, to weakly protest he didn’t know what Hunk was talking about -- had not quite gone as well as he’d hoped.
He should have known it would not be that easy.
Lance rolled his head free a moment later, smeared tear tracks down his cheek, and kept his eyes averted towards the fire.
Hunk’s heart broke.
“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” Lance asked quietly after a pause, no judgment in the question but only a sort of tiredness that Hunk recognized. It was the tone he took when even a hug couldn’t make him feel better, when he didn’t want to burden another with whatever was troubling him.
He wanted Hunk to leave.
He was going to have to do a lot better than that.
“Nope.”
Lance finally looked his way then, a crease of confusion to his brow.
“I can’t sleep,” Hunk admitted and that had Lance sitting up although he remained curled over his knees. “Not when I know you’re upset.”
Lance turned back to the fire. “I’m not upset.”
Hunk didn’t bother that with a response.
“I’m not,” Lance insisted in the growing quiet. “I’m…” His hands tightened around his legs, knuckles turning white. “I just…” He let out a soft sigh. “I thought… I thought things were different now. Guess not, huh? I’ll always be the dumb, stupid one no matter what.”
“Lance--”
“It’s fine,” Lance cut in, hunching further over.
“It’s not,” Hunk retorted sharply. “It’s not fine, Lance,” he lowered his voice. “And you are not dumb or stupid or any of that. That was a stupid game show and a stupider host. Don’t listen to anything he said. He was wrong.”
“Keith doesn’t think so.”
Lance flinched as soon as the words were out of his mouth, clearly not meaning to say them. Hunk’s eyes narrowed and his, “What?” came out flatter than he’d ever heard himself speak.
Lance flushed. “I… forget that.”
“Like hell,” Hunk snapped, and the curse felt as foreign on his tongue as it apparently sounded to Lance as dark blue eyes shot over to him, widened in shock. “What did Keith say?”
Hunk had thought the two of them had reached an understanding. He’d have have to be blind to not see the way Keith implicitly trusted Lance to have their backs, to be his second in command. Although the two of them still exchanged insults and barbs Hunk had thought at this point it was mostly out of habit, in jest.
He’d thought the two of them had become friends but…
“You heard him too,” Lance said quietly, barely a whisper. “He picked me to get out so he wouldn’t be stuck with me.” His words began to become quicker, higher. “So the four of you would be there and you guys are all so smart and you’d figure a way out, I know it, while I would just hold everyone back because I can’t contribute anything because I am the stupid one and the host was right and I am dumb and I wouldn’t want to be stuck with me for eternity either.”
“You’re not the stupid one. I am.”
Hunk barely contained his yelp of surprise as Keith sounded above him and Lance stiffened next to him, even moreso as Keith dropped down on Lance’s other side.
“Keith,” Hunk protested weakly, eyes flicking between Lance’s bowed head and clenched jaw and Keith’s resolute stare.
“I need to say this,” Keith said. He reached out a finger, let it hover in the air for a second, and then firmly poked Lance in the shoulder, who curled away from it as though somehow expecting something worse. “Listen,” Keith commanded, voice low but strong all the same.
Lance didn’t say anything but Hunk could see that Keith did have his attention, his head turned ever so.
“I’m not good at talking about things,” Keith said. “I have… have trouble talking about my feelings. And what I said during that stupid show… that was wrong of me. And stupid. Really stupid. But I…” A flush was creeping up the back of Keith’s neck, embarrassment and awkwardness warring, but he grit his teeth and continued.
Hunk felt something uncoil inside him at the display. Keith had really grown up.
“I don’t take back my pick,” he continued. “You’re who I would want to get out of there, Lance. And it’s not because of what I said. It’s… you called me the future but you’re wrong.” Lance winced and Keith plowed on. “You are. The future. You… You bring people together, Lance. You make them care. You are the one who has the best chance to unite the universe in this fight. That is why I picked you.”
“Keith,” Lance murmured, picking his head up fully. “You…”
Hunk chuckled as Lance launched himself sideways at Keith, wrapping his arms tightly about the now ramrod form.
“Er, okay, we’re hugging now,” Keith muttered, lifting his arms up and tentatively patting Lance on his back.
“That’s not a proper hug, Keith,” Hunk advised, scooching over and wrapping his arms around both of them and squeezing so hard Lance gave a little squeak. “This is.”
Lance relaxed almost bonelessly in the embrace. “Thank you,” he whispered, voice thick.
“None of that,” Hunk chided. “There’s nothing to thank us for. Just do one thing for me instead, okay?”
He could feel Lance’s head tilt against his arm.
“Believe us when we tell you that you are not stupid or dumb. Believe us instead we we say you are smart and kind and one of the most amazing people that exists in this world. Got it?”
“Hunk…”
“What he said,” Keith put in, earning a wet laugh from Lance.
“Okay,” Lance agreed quietly, tones soft but sincere and the earlier melancholy gone. “Okay.”
Hunk let out a contented sigh and squeezed both Lance and Keith tighter.
Ok before I start with this I need to clarify that this is not a rant for some sort of "queerbaiting" or me being mad that the ship didn't happen, I’m not going to talk about that.
I only want to share my point of view of this scene because I haven't seen anyone write yet the topics I want to point out.
Now, I'm going to explain why this death scene was very poorly received by the viewers, putting aside the "kill a lgbt character that was just introduced" problem, there are other issues that I see in that scene.
To make my point clearer, I will actually compere it with an other scene from the previous seasons. MATT'S GRAVE. This scene is one of my favorite emotional scenes of the entire series and here is why:
I big problem I had with season 7 was that it was very plot driven, and it's fine, but they didn't let the viewer have a moment to let all those events sink in, they just happen. They even make fun of that in the first episode with Romelle pointing it out.
There was no moment of Shiro really thinking about Adam, yes we saw him in front of his grave but it was not as impactful. (aside of the flashback in the first ep I mean)
For me it wasn't tragic nor bittersweet and the reason behind that is that we as the viewer lack of information to feel the loss too. (as much as it could have been). We know Adam was his fiancé but apart from that we don't really know what type of bond those two had.
That is an entire different story for Matt.
We saw Pidge's memories of them interacting, we saw how much Pidge actually missed her brother and how she would have done everything to have him back.
We got to know Matt as a character before he got saved, and because of that we as a viewer wanted him alive too.
After the memories, after all the events where Pidge put herself in danger to know just his location, we felt the need to see this character alive.
That's why when she saw the enormous graveyard we, in the meantime that Pidge was running, were starting to let the idea of Matt possibly being dead slowly sink in our heads. And Pidge does the same thing to, reviewing her memories because she knows that she maybe will never see him again. There was perfect suspense and pacing in those seconds.
But because accepting the death of a loved one is so difficult, you still have a naive kind of hope that the person is still out there. But that's why coming to Matt's gravestone it hit's you rock hard.
Every sigle moment coming up to this point where preparing for this climax, and Pidge's scream just amplifies those emotions even more. Her saying that she was too late was 100% felt by us too.
This is the reason why I loved this scene so much, the music, the character interactions, the pacing, Bex's voice acting and also the artistic choice to let Pidge be alone in the graveyard, makes the scene as impactful as it is. And that is what a death scene should be, a lingering moment not just shock value.
In Adam's case we sadly didn't get any of that, we didn't really see Shiro take his time to think about his family during the series. (more than one that is)
We have scenes off all the other paladins do it but not Shiro, and I understand that he is the one the most mature paladin and he needs to have his head clear to be a leader.
I'm aware that this is a show about a long lasting war, but as a human it's normal to think about the people you are fighting for. Also I know Shiro is not fighting just for Adam, he fights for the entire galaxy, but still I think it is a point worth having.
That is what was missing. Of course it doesn't need as much screen time as with Matt's case but at least let us have a memory or see this leader that is always strong, break down a little in front of his fiancé's grave.
Shiro was alone and had just saved earth with the other paladins, he can have that moment for himself. Even tho the relationship was over it's clear that Shiro still cares for this person.
So my conclusion is that Adam's death had maybe a reason to exist in the plot (being that war is an horrible time), but not an emotional one. And for me it was kind of a let down because I've seen the show handle it better in the other seasons. I also think this was not intentional form the creators that it came out this way. It’s super hard to write these type of stories, so I have huge respect for them.
Again, I don't hate season 7 and I won't drop voltron because of it, but I need to admit that it had some flaws and that season 5 and 6 were better.
Sorry for making this post this long, it was my first time writing something like this, I would be happy to see what you people think about it, if you're respectful :)
Thanks for reading.
NOT TO MENTION THERE WAS NEVER ANY BUILD UP TO THE FACT THAT SHIRO AND ADAM WERE TOGETHER!! WE NEVER GOT TO SEE “More of Adam (:” HE SPEAKS FOR 8 FUCKING SECONDS AND BOOM, THAT’S ALL FOLKS. LEL HE DED. WTF!!!
As you can see, I am out of hibernation mode ;p Just finished up a bit ago.
My thoughts in no particular order on season seven. Prepare for a few unintelligible spazzes and random questions that like, why were these not answered? Oh Voltron writers, you and your plot holes. Tagged with all of my previously mentioned ones so here goes!
Okay, so Adam? As much as I didn’t care for how he wasn’t supporting Shiro, I was excited by his role and inclusion in the story! Also, haha, I laughed because I named the one character in my Keith and Shiro backstory Adam and he’s a pilot too, haha. They definitely aren’t the same one because mine was a jerk, but I love that somehow I still got that name. (or maybe that’s how he and Shiro got to talking after Shiro confronts him for what he said to Keith? hehe. Look at me ;p)
But then. When they were mobilizing to fight the first wave I’m like, is Adam a pilot? And then we saw him and then his ship blinked out… gosh. Shiro at the wall with his name broke my heart. There’s a lot of regret there. Definitely something I wish had been further explored, but I’m not surprised they didn’t. There’s a lot that has been skipped over already.
So… Shiro has a disease that gets brought up once, never impacted him at all in the first six seasons and… never mentioned again? Er… what was the point of that exactly? (clone body not have the illness?)
Oh baby Keef. I cheered when he punched Griffin. Glad to see Griffin has grown up since then. But uh, can someone confirm for me the new cadet pilot with the glasses. Is her name… Wasabi? Usagi? And while I adore my Keith backstory this one was endearing too. And his dad died in a fire? Gosh. I had a feeling after the fireman refs but to hear it confirmed. Sad.
Where did Axca go? Like, she left the base with the Paladins and they have no resources to provide her a ship. So…? I’m curious with her popping up at the end behind Krolia and Keith at the grave… interesting. Once it was disproved that she wasn’t Keith’s twin I thought she might be Krolia’s sister but no mention when they met so… hmm. Curious and curioser. (does she like Keith? Hehe ♥ I admit I think they’re pretty asthecially pleasing together and I love Axca’s new design.)
Veronica is a fucking badass. As soon as she showed up on screen I’m like, that’s Lance’s sister. My sister was like, no, and I’m like, uh, her name is Veronica, coloring is the same including the blue eyes and in that really crappy family projection photo from season one there was a relative in a military uniform. Damn, I love her so much. Almost cried when I thought she died (twice xD). Also, her teasing Lance about Allura and her little smirk smile there? I died. So fucking cute.
This is my personal preference but I did not care for the game show episode at all, nor the “reason” behind it. There were a couple cute moments in it (all of them choosing each other to leave and I winced when Lance kept being called the dumb one and could taste the angst) but overall, my least favorite filler. And this coming from someone who adores game shows xD
The “lost in space” episode also wasn’t high on my list. I loved the idea of it and them forming a circle (that was so flipping cute) to stay together with the check ins (and a note to Keith and Krolia’s time together) but the words exchanged? I get it and didn’t mind but they never *really* resolved it. Not really. And some pretty hurtful things were said. Also, the fact they have almost fatal oxygen depletion based upon Keith’s indicator and their weary lines under their eyes, but then they literally bounce back full power to fight? Just throw the realism out the window. Just like the castle of lions losing all oxygen in a matter of hours two seasons ago xDD
How have we ever survived without the space wolf? Seriously? I’m bummed his name is not Yorak but I’ll take Cosmo. Very cute! Love how keith is waiting for the wolf to name himself. Oh, sweetie.
The Blade of Marmora luring with the Druids was delicious. Loved that bit. Glad Kolivan made it out. Wasn’t surprised when Krolia left the main cast; it was getting crowded and given that the writers have difficulty managing characters on a regular basis at times the more the less merrier.
On that note, loved Romelle in the first episode but she practically disappeared for the rest of the season. Disappointed. Thought her and Hunk were hilarious.
Same token bummed Matt was offscreen for most of it. But again, see above.
The three year time gap was interesting. Never really explained well either; pretty much I think a way for earth to get completely overrun by Galra. On that note, loved all of the Sam episodes, think the new pilots are pretty neat additions. Particularly love… Usagi? Wasabi? Kinkade too; a man of few words and I adore his name. Iverson too was a pleasant surprise and I loved his apology to Keith later and his constant backing of Sam. Also, Collen is a badass too. I do have to give credit to the writers; they make some amazingly strong female characters and it’s such a breath of fresh air (from watching YYH it was a stark reminder how things have changed over the years in terms of representation across the board on many things).
But one woman I did not care for was the Admiral. Boo hiss. I also hate that I called her turning on them as she was adamant throughout the entire thing about protecting earth in “her way” and I was waiting for this move. She did save the Paladins lives but she endangered them in the first place so… I acknowledge her desire to protect earth but am disappointed in how her character was played out. (and honestly, why the fuck would she trust Sendak to keep up his end of the deal? Why? Bit of weaker writing there).
Speaking of characters… where’s Haggar? At the end with the giant robot my sister and I were arguing who was driving it; I was Team Lotor and she was Team Haggar. Nada to both of us. Very interesting with that result too; how was one Altean doing all that? Hmmm. And with the colony missing something is definitely up.
The Hunk family feels I was not expecting and loved them. I was glad he didn’t endanger the team anymore after he found his parents were not accessible, but dios I felt so bad. It’s hard especially to see Lnace and Pidge with their families and he with none. Loved his and Keith’s moment too. ♥ Keith was particularly awkwardly sweet and I loved it.
And Lance’s family! Gosh. Him hugging his niece and nephew broke my heart and then his being mobbed by his family stomped it into the ground with love. So. Beautiful. My boy has his family and I am so so happy.
Speaking of the families! Haha, I’m excited that I was write in that both Lance and Hunk’s families are stateside and I am going with my headcanon of Arizona (Garrison location) given how they were *right there* to be rescued. My childhood besties idea for Lance and Hunk when Lance immigrated over is still well and strong!!!
Back to Lance. I was so so so excited to see him getting some really nice shots and pieces in this season. The sword (c’mon broadsword, let’s see you come back too), the giant cannon gun, the amazing sniper shots (hoshit don’t get me started on that part, I love good sniper cover and damnnn ♥) his attempts to seat everyone in Lions (whoops xD), his stepping up to really support Keith and be second in command... just so much good stuff for my boy ♥ I was freaking out when Red didn’t come right away in the summoning thing after he and Veronica went under fire, but I’m like, Red always does things differently. And then she came in like ajdfkajfklda right when Lance was closing his eyes and thinking it was the end and just, so good. Great timing on that part.
Shiro’s new arm… loved the angst and pain as first one didn’t calibrate xD I’m terrible. I will admit I’m not sold on the design; very bulky and I dislike that it’s not attached; that’s not a proper hug! But I am happy he has one so will go with that.
Er, this is getting long. Last few.
How was Shiro breathing in space in fight against sendak? Someone, please tell me. But also yesss, loved that the two of them had a final fight. Brings back memories. When Keith saved him I really wanted a throwback to the “as many times as it takes” but alas, no go.
On Sendak… is he the main big bad? He sure has quite the Galra fleet. How do Ezor and Zethrid’s turn to piracy factor in? Was expecting something else with Lotor given their mentions of him early on. Is space just one giant war out there right now? We never really found out any details and here I was expecting Axca to fill us in.
The Atlas turning into its own Voltron was super cool. Loved all of the fight scenes although I admit I get bored with all the constant blasts so would have liked those shortened down and more character stuff, but it is a show geared for little kids so… boom boom pow.
The very end speech via Shiro had me on my toes as I didn’t think any of our team died but I was legit slowly starting to panic that somehow the new cadets were going to be the new Voltron pilots because ours were unavailable Phew, not the case! Loved the little hospital scenes popping around, particularly Lance’s nephew wearing his helmet and then Keith waking up to Krolia there. Oh, and Matt getting a hug from his mom! (and that ponytail! ♥ I love guys with a nice ponytail, mm, weakness).
Overall giving this season a 7/10 rating. Not my lowest, definitely not my highest. Very much appreciated though having a longer season to watch.
If you have thoughts feel free to comment on the post! I will not be posting any asks with spoilers in the ask until next Saturday though so best way to get a response is comment here. What did you all think of the season?
Are you going to write any fic with all the calling Lance dumb thing? When I watched, I was all like “OH NO THEY DIDN’T”, but then I was like “muahaha this is gonna be a GREAT fic” (yeah I’m evil like that)
Keep your eyes peeled for a little later today ;) Not a full fic but a nearly 2k “snippet” fixing this episode; or at least this part of it.
I surprised myself a bit with this one, but it’s been pushing at my brain since the season ended and I felt that Adam and Shiro’s relationship deserved a better ending then it got. So here. Season seven spoilers, obviously xD
Our Farewell
Summary: “I never got to say goodbye,” Shiro whispered. “Or say I’m sorry. Or… Or…” His hand unclenched around the ring, the metal catching the teal light from his arm. Matt’s breath caught. “Oh, Shiro…
Read it on:
AO3
Fanfiction.net
Story snippet:
He’d finally found the courage to ask Sam how he’d died, and more of an answer than what he had been given before. Adam...Adam had been one of the first casualties Sendak’s forces claimed, Sam had relayed, voice heavy. He had been one of the pilots Admiral Sanda had ordered deployed when they were first attacked, despite Sam’s desperate pleas for her to reconsider as their fighter ships were no match for the Galran forces.
She had refused and…
And Adam had died protecting them, Sam had consoled.
Shiro had shaken off his hand. No.
Adam had died for nothing.
His death had been for nothing except one woman’s pride and refusal to listen to reason.
Adam had died because of her.
So, so many had.
And she was dead now too and there was no one for Shiro to vent his anger, his grief, upon.
But he knew deep down it wasn’t Sanda he was truly angry with.
I was going to ask if you support the LGBT+ community, but I guess you do (?) because of your Shadam thing. Still, what are your thoughts about that?❤❤
I have answered this before, but not something that you can ever really repeat enough.
I am a strong supporter and ally of the LGBTQ community, always ♥ I have always been of the belief that love is love and who you choose to love or be attracted to (or not be attracted to at all) is a single aspect of your person and I, as a separate person, have no right to judge or say how you should live your life. Most importantly is that *you* are happy... so long as being happy does not mean being a psychopathic murderer, I do draw the line ;p
I have quite a number of friends and acquaintances (mostly from my connections at anime conventions and the artist alley) both in real life and online who identify in the LGBTQ community (be that transgender, gay, bi, ace, questioning, magical unicorn) and knowing them has really made me an even stronger supporter and I’ve realized how “lucky” I am to fall into the straight white girl category and the privileges it offers me.
I can’t change my own orientation but I can learn more about others and be an advocate, a safe space. I don’t ever want anyone to feel uncomfortable or that they can’t be themselves around me; again, unless you’re a psychopathic murderer I have no judgement. If I ever say or do anything to offend anyone here please let me know; I can only learn and correct myself if I know there is an issue.
So while I tend to in fandoms only really ship het pairings as that is what I like I am entirely supportive of what VLD did with Shiro’s character and actually *really* like how it was revealed so that everyone got to know him as a character and hero and leader and this amazing *person* without any pre-conceived notions or judgement because no matter who you love or are attracted to at your core you are a person and that’s what matters.
I am not going to get into the discourse here over Adam’s quick intro and exit of the series, but I am sad we did not get to see more of him. I do hope it is more addressed next season (I don’t hold out much hope though as on the whole the VLD writers tend to drop the ball on most plots they introduce xDDD) which is why I wrote my own piece, Our Farewell, to give both Shiro and Adam the tribute their relationship deserved. Waving my Shadam flag now and forever ♥
