[voltron] A question that I'm really hoping gets answered in season 3:

That escape attempt Shiro remembers towards the end of season 1, where he memorized the sentry routes, that obviously wasn't an actually successful attempt, right? Because his actual escape was when Ulaz freed him. So, like, what happened to fuck that one up?

I mean, it could just be that he mistimed things a little or he ran into somebody alive that he wasn't expecting, but MY BET is he blew it to help somebody else escape, because damned if that isn't the most Shiro possible thing to do.

Put all this fucking time and effort into a plan to escape this torture and misery he's endured for nearly a year, a plan that could only possibly work once, and just chuck the whole thing into the shitter for somebody else's sake, he absolutely would.

Yeah there's a bit where he avoids some sentries, but it looks very reactionary, he's not shown tapping out the timing like he does in season one.

Also the Ulaz escape was not planned (by him) so it's dubious he could get the right timing starting from scratch like that especially considering that he was kind of drugged at the time.

Something I also wonder is how close together the two escapes are. :|a There's no real evidence for the timing, but it sure would be tidy if what Ulaz was supposed to be doing was punishing him for trying to escape.

I'm kind of toying with the idea that, like, it could be something to do with the Blue Lion instead, though. :|a Like... we know the Galra found out the Blue Lion was on Earth, Ulaz said as much, and considering that the original Takashi Shirogane piloted Blue, Shiro is probably compatible enough

to pilot it, or at least, certainly more so than, like, any Galra would be, considering the likely traits Blue looks for in a pilot, so it makes me wonder if maybe Ulaz was supposed to be doing something to... idk, ensure Shiro would get Blue for the Galra.

idk I'm not sure about it. I'm a long way off yet from getting to this in this fic I'm working on, but I definitely need to figure something out to go with. Hrm hrm hrm.

Well, Lion compatibility is based mostly in the nature of one's quintessence, so you can guess at it without actually having the Lion in question handy, /gestures to Allura assigning the Paladins right away, and Haggar can probably figure out the nature of a person's quintessence, so /gestures

I don't think you can test positive for lion piloting in "general" though? Like, each Lion has its own things it looks for in a pilot, the compatibility is very specific.

I think she's keyed into quintessence enough to at least be able to generally profile people.

I never got the impression it was much of a secret. :|a Certainly at least Zarkon should know and be able to pass that info along, right?

OK NOW THAT PLURK'S BACK, I'm not sure I'm following where the problem is? Do you think the compatibility is more complicated than, like "Hunk has a kind nature (i.e. quintessence) so he gets the kind lion, Pidge has a curious nature, so she gets the curious lion"?

Isn't that just a point in favor of it being that simple, then, though???

I don't think it's that there weren't any compatible Galra, I think it's just that Red rejected them, regardless of whether or not they were compatible, because Red is picky like that.

Compatibility doesn't mean the Lions have to agree to be piloted, or else Keith would've been able to get into Red right away.

He's compatible with Red regardless, but he still had to prove himself to it.

Compatibility is a potential, not a guarantee.

I mean, it's not like any joe schmoe could pilot Green just by being smart enough, there's probably, like, a degree of how strong someone's quintessence would have to be to it, too, that's also part of the compatibility.

Anyway I poked at this fic a good bit while plurk was down and I'm finally actually getting into the medical torture bits and I'm like

Only took me 6 entire pages....