Somewhere a Clock is Ticking is a fic by Seven league boots (Memphis) and is a Voltron: Legendary Defender fanfic.
The fic follows the perspective of James Griffin and for a while, is an unknowing time traveller. Shenanigans ensue as James navigates the timeline, interacts with his family and tries to save the world.
Can be read here: A03
The fic contains examples of:
- Affectionate Nickname: Jimbo which James only allows his Pops to say. It's what triggers his memories when a young Keith says it when saying goodbye
- Been There, Shaped History: What James is doing essentially by being among the MFE pilots who will help save the world.
- Birds of a Feather: Lance and James get along well due to them being both Cuban, able to speak Spanish and have various overlapping interests like playing the guitar. In fact Keith gets jealous of this closeness and snaps slightly at James for it.
- Deadpan Snarker: Tons of characters in the fic, but a special shoutout goes to Keith and James' relationship which is practically all snark.
- Can't Hold His Liquor: While Veronica definitely can. Lance and his son James can't. In fact its through this that James accidentally reveals to Adam that he is a time traveller.
- Conveniently an Orphan: James technically at the start of the fic. It what allows him to meet Keith.
- Cool Aunt: Veronica embodies this.
- Exact Words: James is honest in saying he only hung out with Lance his friend and hasn't seen "Taylor" all weekend. Taylor is what Keith thinks is Lance's actual name.
- Gratuitous Spanish: Tons considering that Lance and his family are Cuban. Lance speaks it all the time, as does Veronica and James.
- Heel Realization: Played for Comedy: When in the middle of eating cereal James remembers a conversation with his dads and them playing thumb wrestling. James realises years later in horror it wasn't actually that.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: James, at the start of the fic, doesn't remember he is a time-traveller and only has vague and brief memories of his dads and life before.
- Lifesaving Misfortune: Invoked by Shiro to save Adam. The letter given to Adam contained strains of flu which made Adam sick on the day he was supposed to fly out during Sendak's invasion and die
- Major Injury Underreaction: Pidge barely showed any reaction during her pregnancy or her delivery with James.
- Memento MacGuffin: Patches the Hippo. When James remembers his past. It allows him to reconnect with his parents in the future.
-
Never Live It Down: Keith mistaking Lance's name for Taylor. It's also the password for Keith's safe which the older Lance is aghast over. - Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Not at first but James has only vague recollections of his past. He does gradually gain them back as he gets older.
- Saying Too Much: James when he is hungover drunk. It takes Adam walking in the room that he realised he made an oppsie
- Secret-Keeper: Adam who accidentally discovers James is a time traveller.
- Shared Family Quirks: James and Lance share quite a bit of similarities. Both can speak Spanish and play the guitar. James and Keith also have a few both being great pilots, like hippos and are deadpan snarkers.
- Skewed Priorities: Pidge's main reaction after giving birth to James is shouting at Lance and Keith for nearly getting James' initials wrong in reference to to James Tiberius Kirk. They fix it to James Tiberius Kogane Mcclain.
- Shout-Out: To Star Trek. James' very name is a shoutout to James Tiberius Kirk being James Tiberius Kogane Mcclain and Lance constantly references it. He even mentions when meeting James he would love to name his kid after Kirk.
- Stable Time Loop: What James fears he might be messing up. But in fact the timeline is so stable James remembers seeing Adam as his uncle after saving Adam's life, which didn't occur in the OG timeline
- Sustained Misunderstanding: Before James has his memories, he accidentally sabotages Lance and Keith's relationship. Keith thinking Lance's name being Taylor and Lance having some interest in him. Which James inforces to Lance that Keith is an asshole who doesn't know his name or who he is.
- Womb Horror: Played for Comedy completely by Pidge, who was James' surrogate mother and describes James affectionately as a parasite and leechling. She even dressed like John Hurt from the Aliens franchise during the delivery to reiterate the point.
