I’m finally able to share these pieces I did for a Lance-centred Zine
last year which unfortunately didnt work out BUT here’s my contribution
to it anyway! As you can see its water-themed, which is my favourite to
draw!
OH ALSO I’ll be selling prints of the first one at Leipzig Book Fair this month!
So both Hunk and Lance are “supports”- they’re people who are driven by caring about the team. Both are literally and figuratively, stabilizers and there’s some overlap in what they’ll do as compassionate people who care about their friends.
Part of this is that Lance and Hunk have a fantastic synergy between them. They’ve been friends for a long time and this frankly shows, obviously, in how their thinking and attitudes can near-effortlessly slot into each other. They’re something our other team of heroes, the arm pilots (Keith and Pidge) can frankly stand to learn a lot from.
The Yellow and Blue Lion both care, but they care in very
different ways. Where Blue is arms spread wide open for a warm
hug- “it’s gonna be okay! I’m here and I love you!” Yellow cares in the
way of someone who steps in front of the people they care about, stares
hazards down and goes “Not on my watch.” One is a warm blanket to keep
out the cold- soft and reassuring- and one is a wall to stave off wind
and fire, comforting in its own way for its unyielding, unbreakable
strength.
GodDAMN what a great summation of these two’s personalities and roles on the team.
Honestly, though, I think the Blue Paladin being a looked-down-upon position and the impetus to try and cast Lance as another- mainly Black, but some people are eager to see him stay with Red or interpret him as a sort of secondary Right Hand figure rather than a Heart figure– boils down to a couple of things:
Heroism that puts supporting others above personal glory is seen as unheroic. Dull, uninteresting, this isn’t the sort of thing we tell stories about- we want to see heroes who take the front lines and take charge and have specific victories that were all them. An example of this is s4e6, where Lance personally inspired and empowered Allura in a very big dramatic manner, impossible to miss- and people don’t consider that a heroic moment for Lance. Only Allura- because Allura’s making the magic happen.
If you’re a character that supports others, there’s a common assumption that only the characters you’re supporting are important here- that you are accepting a subordinate or less important position because of prioritizing your connection over personal glory.
Because oh, sure, nobody actually wants to be without the Heart,
but nobody wants to give them the time of day or actually admit that any
of their rough tough cool guy heroes need something as wimpy as, y’know, emotional labor or anything.
Pidge built a mini version of the castle’s galactic map. They were so exited about all the features that they didn’t even notice Shiro amazed face.
Hunk made a birthday cake with nothing but alien ingredients and was a bit nervous about the outcome. It turned out amazingly good of course.
Lance offered Shiro one of his personnal skin care product. Shiro was a bit reluctant at first but then completely drown into it and would gladly join Lance again. And Lance bragged for a week for being the only one to have witnessed Shiro stupid relaxed face.
Keith got Shiro a new pair of gloves since he’s the one who got Shiro most of his current clothes anyway. He told him he didn’t have to wear them just to make him happy if he don’t like them, like, it’s just gloves anyway.. Shiro loves them.
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