Lance McClain/Princess Allura
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Lance McClain/Princess Allura |
| Alternative name(s): | Allurance, Lanllura, Cotton Candy |
| Gender category: | Het |
| Fandom: | Voltron: Legendary Defender |
| Canonical?: | Yes |
| Prevalence: | common |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Lance/Allura or Allurance is a pairing in Voltron: Legendary Defender between Lance McClain and Princess Allura. Their canon relationship begins in S1E1 when Allura quite literally falls into Lance's arms after waking up from a 10,000 year slumber.
Canon
In the original Voltron series, Lance was a ladies man. He flirted with Allura and seemed to have a crush on her but neither took it seriously. Lance supported Allura's piloting but also poked fun at her incompetence. They were good friends and Allura kissed Lance on the cheek a few times. At first Lance was jealous of how close Allura and Keith were but eventually grew out of it and he came to support the relationship when they got together. Due to Lotor's creepy obsession with Allura, Lance despises Lotor and fights against him to protect the team although not to the same extent as Keith who is Lotor's nemesis.
Lance and Allura's relationship gets much more focus and is played seriously in Voltron: Legendary Defender. Lance and Allura first meet when Allura falls into his arms. Lance develops a crush on her immediately but she isn't interested. His casual flirting with her continues for a while, but it only gets on her nerves. In later seasons the ship receives some proper teasing with the two bonding more after Allura's transition to paladin. The pair are able to confide in each other about their doubts regarding Shiro in Season 5, Lance supporting Allura to pilot Blue and Allura admits she enjoys Lance's company. Allura deeply admires her father Alfor and continuously compares Lance to him when Lance ends up piloting Alfor's Red Lion and wields his Altean broadsword. In Season 6 Lance confesses his love for Allura to the mice, who subsequently tell them to Allura, who does not appear to return his feelings at that time. Lance is the first one to support Allura after her heartbreak from Lotor's betrayal. In Season 7, Allura blushes at Lance and tells him to stay safe. Lance's sister Veronica teases Lance by telling him that the princess likes him. In Season 8, Lance and Allura get together before their relationship is cut short.
Lance was jealous of Keith and Allura being alone together and in the comics thinks Keith is jealous of him when he flirts with Allura. Lance is always very suspicious of Lotor hanging around Allura. He was also angry at Matt expressing interest in Allura.
Fandom
Lance/Allura was the fourth most popular pairing in the original Voltron DotU series after Keith/Allura, Allura/Lotor, and Sven/Romelle. In Voltron Force fans usually shipped Lance/Allura in a Keith/Allura/Lance threesome because Keith/Allura were now in a relationship and Lance was the couple's closest friend. Upon watching VLD, a good number of fans re-watched the original Voltron to find any moments between Lance and Allura; it helps that in the original GoLion anime, Allura's counterpart Fala and Keith's counterpart Akira were platonic friends, with Lance's counterpart Isamu having more overt ship tease with the princess. However, the bond between Akira and Fala is emphasized more in GoLion than it is in DotU.
Many Allurance fans were delighted with season 8 up until the final episode, in which Allura sacrificed herself to repair the realities shattered by Honerva. Many were heartbroken by the couple's last scene together, but were eventually soothed when an AfterBuzz interview with Lauren and Joaquim had them state that Allura wasn't gone forever and that she could definitely return.
"Launch Date" is one of the most popular episodes for fans of the couple.
While the pairing has a dedicated following, it has a strong contingent of critics. Many fans were dissatisfied by how the relationship was portrayed in season 8, unsatisfied with how Lance's character had changed from their pre-conceived notions of him or feeling the romance got too much focus. Some detractors even treat the pairing as non-canon or declare it a "sunken ship" due to Allura's departure in the final episode. Unsurprisingly, a decent number of these fans are Klance shippers. Other critics are Lotura shippers who openly dislike Lance, who they feel was "unworthy" of Allura. There are also complaints from Kallura shippers, bitter that this ship is canon in LD instead of their ship, long considered the franchise's "Flagship".
Common Tropes in Fanworks
- Fix-it fic for the series finale, where Allura never sacrifices herself.
- Allura returns after her time away repairing the realities.
- Kidfic
Example Fanworks
Fanfic
- Keep a Close Watch (ties that bind) by Chronolith; a canon-verse hurt/comfort fic.
- sights steady on you by breeeliss; a Galaxy Garrison all-human AU.
- Starbucks in the City (and Soap Operas in the Park) by phoenixyfriend; an AU post-canon fic.
- Glimmer and Glow by mikuridaigo; a short canon-verse get-together fic.
Fanart
- Allura/Lance art by x-unky-x
- Allura/Lance traditional art by AnnaSabiNoKami
- homesickness by cherryandsisters
Fanvids
Other Fanworks
- Cotton Candy Heart, an Allurance zine