A Drug Called Time is a Voltron: Legendary Defender fanfic created by dailyandgaily.
Cursed by aliens, Lance discovers he has the ability to change time and uses it to assist with his team. Along the way Lance finds other uses for it including confessing his feelings for Keith without consequence. However Lance is destined to die and it is unknown when that will be so Lance does his best to make up for the time he has left.
If he can confess to Keith over and over without him ever remembering or dying without Keith knowing the truth he will be fine with that. However things don't turn out as planned.
Can be read on Archive of Our Own here
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Tropes include:
- All for Nothing: Keith after trying to plan and get Lance to open up to him has it all rendered null and void after Lance resets.
- All Love Is Unrequited: What Lance believes his love for Keith is. Subverted in that Keith actually returns his feelings unbeknownst to Lance.
- All There in the Manual: All there in the author's notes is more information about the story and backstory not in explicitly mentioned like the Ims backstory, Cupid (Cue) and Bob's involvement. How many days and time Lance spent trying to save Rolo and failing. Also on the ring Coran gave Keith that can counter the resets to some extent. Along with Keith's predicament over Lance's resets.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Keith and Lance.
- Cool Uncle: Outrighted stated in the
Author's notes that Coran is this. - Can't Spit It Out: Lance at times and even when does, he usually resets it.
- Cursed with Awesome: The premise of the fic is Lance getting cursed with time travel abilities along with the fact he is destined to die soon. Lance naturally decides to make the most out of it. The other aliens who warned him, also have this ability.
- Courtly Love: Lance with Keith. Lance flirts quite a bit with Keith in the fic but doesn't expect to get together with him. Averted by the End when it turns out Keith reciprocates his feelings
- CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable: Keith does this with Lance after he stops breathing after drowning in the Blue Lion.
- Crazy-Prepared: Keith figures out contingencies to stop Lance from outright resetting and canceling their interactions with each other. Too bad after Lance confesses he will die soon and kisses Keith, apologising for it undoes all of Keith's efforts.
- Curse Cut Short: Upon discovering Lance remembers the Bonding Moment Keith's reaction is cut short by Lance's rewind.Keith: "You little sh—"Lance: "Rewind"
- Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: Lance several times when he blurts out something he didn't mean to quite often to Keith.
- Dramatic Irony: Early on Allura mentions to Lance she better not kiss him without her permission and use the Reset Button to evade consequences. However, not only is Lance appalled at the idea of it. See below but the person he does actually kiss is Keith and Lance asks for his permission to do. So much so that when Lance feels guilt for taking advantage of Keith despite having his permission to kiss him and have sex with him. Keith is shocked that Lance would feel guilty despite having his express permission.
- Everyone Has Standards: Lance is appalled that Allura thinks he would use his newfound ability to kiss her without her consent and is slightly dismayed that is what his friends might think of him.
- Face Death with Dignity: Upon discovering there is a leak in the Blue Lion, along with no escape and unable to reset while Lance is terrified, he is also exhausted and resigned to his fate. Also not informing his friends because he doesn't want his last memories to be tainted with their worries or concerns.
- Gratuitous Spanish: This is Lance we are speaking here. It is what draws him to discover his fate.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Lance suffers from this big time. As Keith says in the fic.Keith to Lance about himself: “You’re awful to yourself. You’re your own exception.”
- Innocently Insensitive: Allura in particular, when it comes to Lance's time travel abilities to gather more intel and take more risks in the war unaware of the mental toil Lance goes through to do the resets at times. When she does apologise for her thinking, Lance resets not believing in her words but also due to his own insecurities and doubts.
- Jerkass Gods: Bob. He was the one to curse the Ims with time travel.
- Love Confession: Lance does this with Keith a lot
- Mundane Made Awesome: How the aliens describe to Lance how to use his abilties they use a riddle.“Your unilateral descent. Think with intent. With a moment in mind. Say the word, ‘rewind.’”
- Prophecy Twist: Lance does die but he is quickly brought back to life soon after.
- Oblivious to Love: Lance to near stupid degrees with Keith even after getting permission to kiss him several times still believes Keith doesn't love him.
- Occam's Razor: Word of God confirms that Keith goes by this in relation to Lance going off the theory he possibly already confessed to Lance because he wants to confess deep down. He also scared he already confessed to Lance and Lance reset rendering it pointless.
- Rage Breaking Point: Lance reaches this after his team comes back successful after a failed mission that resulted in a reset and their confusion over how Lance knew the information. Lance's angry and worry breaks out and he ends up snapping at them.
- Reset Button: Lance's ability is this. He does all sorts of things with it from helping his teammates on their regular issues, in battle and oh yeah, confessing to Keith and immediately reverting back. This is Deconstructed as his team discusses how to Weaponized this ability.
- Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Lance and his resets. It is also Exploited by Lance and in confessing to Keith because he is aware Keith won't remember. When Lance dies and is brought back to life the rest of the team remembers the resets too.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: On the first mission that goes wrong and Keith gets critically injured, Lance rewinds time thus applying this trope and warns the rest of the team and advises them on what to do. when it comes to Rolo however no matter how many times Lance rewinds and Lance spend days. He finds he can't save Rolo despite his best efforts. It's made even worse when Allura berates him unbeknownst of his efforts to save Rolo.
- Status Quo Is God: Justified Lance's confessions to Keith don't stick since he deliberately resets before hearing Keith's responses to them. Lance continues to avoid and acknowledge his own mental issues from all the other Paladins who despite trying to reassure him, Lance deliberately resets, ignoring and retaining his unhealthy mindset about himself about being weak and useless. Additionally after Lance dies like the Ims fortold, he loses his ability to reset. This semi-status quo is destroyed and everyone remembers the times which Lance reset.
- You Have to Believe Me!: Originally the other Paladins don't really believe Lance is being serious about being able to turn back time.
- Wham Episode: Chapter 16 Memento Mori: Where to start with this chapter. First Lance is unable to reset and is trapped, drowning in the Blue Lion, which doubles as an Ironic Death considering Blue's element is Water. Lance is resigned to his death and even removes his helmet and doesn't mention to his team about this problem. The Paladins find out on their own thanks to their bonds with their lions and after Lance's comms stop receiving from his end. In horror, they realise what is happening to Lance and Keith uses the Red Lion to quickly get to Lance thanks to Allura and the trackers Pidge had. Keith has to administer CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable after he discovers Lance has stopped breathing and upon giving Lance the Kiss of Life. Keith remembers everything.
