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redrightarm:

“I don’t know that much. I don’t really know how to find OUT, either. I was gonna go looking after this whole Zarkon business is over.”

Of course, there’s always the possibility he won’t live that long, but Keith is certainly not a quitter. There’s no thought towards failure in his mind ( the only negativity was spared on concerns in regards to his teammates reactions ) so in between all this preparing to fight Zarkon, he’s busying himself with trying to figure out just where to begin his search.

Pidge’s voice pulls him from his thoughts, and with a blink he gives the shorter Paladin his full attention. The question stuns him for a second, and he actually has to spend a moment to think about it.

Physically, he’s just fine. Mentally? It’s taking quite a toll.

Of course there are good Galra, and his mother… she had a knife from the Marmora gang, so whoever gave it to her must’ve been good— but it’s not WHO the Galra was that’s bothering him, more the fact he feels like he’s been LIED to his whole life.

So is he okay? No. But—

                                                 “—I will be.”

And in efforts to assure her, he plasters a small smile onto his face.

     “…Do you want to run some tests?”

Because maybe it’ll provide answers that they undoubtedly BOTH crave.

He stares at her when she asks if he’s alright, and somehow that explains Keith even more than words can. Humans (Half-humans?) aren’t as easy to pick apart as code, but sometimes - rarely - they read as simply as boolean logic. The Red Paladin, so focused on her reaction, hasn’t really sat down to think through his own.

There’s a silence that isn’t characteristic of Pidge when there’s not a laptop in front of her face. She knows what he’s thinking. Knows the wide expanse of space that stretches out before him. 

“If we haven’t found my family by then...We could go looking together. If you want.”

She can’t imagine what it will be like to leave everyone, (All the paladins, Coran, Allura, the castle, even Green) but if Keith were to come...The idea is enough to stir faint hope.

A smile she doesn’t feel easy about pops onto his face. Like he’s putting on a mask for her benefit. And yes, she’s dying to understand Keith being Galra, but she’s not a doctor (or even all that versed in human biology) , and she’s not about to ask him to submit himself to her amateur examination.

“Do you want me to?”

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I’ll seek the stars above the worlds to be the guide

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jawblade:

Seeming to pick up on the direction his train of thought is headed, Pidge cuts it off to assure him that’s not the case, allowing Shiro to release the breath he hadn’t realized he’s been holding. Relief flows through him, enough to clear the fog that had started to fill his mind so he can refocus. Listen to the elaboration.

…Taken? Somehow, that’s more surprising to hear. They’re the only ones who have been breaking Galra prisoners out, aren’t they? With the exception of Ulaz rescuing him, Shiro hasn’t even heard of the Blade going in for prisoners. That doesn’t rule the possibility out, of course, but it makes the situation all the more confusing.

“Someone took him,” he repeats, as though he needs to hear the words again to make sure he understands them. Most of the fear in his expression replaced with shock, Shiro takes a few ticks to process and, once he has, Pidge’s tears, shaking voice, and body language all draw him back into composure.

“He was okay enough to walk, that’s something.” A big something. The way the Galra treated those in their captivity, Matt being healthy enough to walk was a good sign. …But ruling out continued Galra captivity means it’ll likely be harder to find him, and impossible to know if he’s somewhere safe now. 

“Was there a date on the video? Do we know how long ago this was?”

Shiro’s expression changes, and she feels the squeezing in her lungs start to subside only for it to surge again when he starts to repeat himself. He doesn’t deserve to have this level of pressure on him, but if he doesn’t look okay, she doesn’t think she can summon a decent level of calm either.

And then he asks about the time stamps on the video.

“No.” Her voice is tight, constricting, small. “The Beta Traz computers had the dates encoded, and I couldn’t even begin to figure out how.” 

She’s supposed to be the tech expert. That was even how Shiro introduced her to the Olkari. But the encryption was too difficult and she had too little time and too little resource. “I couldn’t even bypass the system to download it.” Pidge’s gaze narrows in on her orange shoes. “I’m sorry, Shiro.”

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◊@redrightarm​

Cracked that medical repository we stole. Half of it’s beyond me, but some of it looks useful.

That marshmallow allergy may actually have something to do with Galra in-species biodivergence. If I’m reading this right. Also, you may be immune to cancer.

I’ll be with Green if you want to look over what I’ve found. 

-Pidge

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◊ @jawblade​

Saw you rubbing your shoulder at dinner tonight - is your arm bothering you? Hunk and I can look at it if you want, and Coran might have some suggestions.

Take care of yourself. Don’t spend all your energy looking after us.

-Pidge

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◊@bluetailored​

Hey,

I got that USB you found in your jacket pocket to sync with the Castle systems, but it wasn’t empty like you thought.

I’ll be in Green’s bay if you want to come take a look. There are too many photos here for me to go through by myself

-P

Your siblings look just like you.

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//Announcement

//Unfortunately, my primary source of internet has, without warning, blocked all Tumblr blogs. This means I cannot type in URLs to view posts, even on hologramandahardplace, and I might have some difficulty in seeing your replies to get back to you.

//However. I can still see my dashboard, make posts, and can still see my “activity” page.

//As a workaround, could everyone please @ me in their replies, even if it isn’t the first reply, just to make sure I’ve got access to it/can get back to it without going to your main blog? 

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Put a "◊" in my ask for a sticky note left on your fridge in the morning by my muse.

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redrightarm:

That— …is not what he was expecting to come from Pidge.

The pinched expression he wore falls away, leaving him to blink owlishly at the Green Paladin.

“I—what?” And yes, he hadn’t actually expected anyone to SHUN him, but Keith had anticipated at least a little trepidation.

But instead, here’s Pidge grabbing him by the wrist and yanking him down, bringing him closer so she can—scrutinize him, he guesses. Assess him from up-close. He lets it happen, giving her the patience she needs to find what she’s looking for.

“Um—marshmallows?” Which, while rare, is not unheard of. He remembers looking that up one time after a very stressful camping trip with Shiro. In the time it takes for the thought to run through his head, Pidge has asked another few questions.

“Hang on, hang on,” his words come out breathy, with a soft laugh, and he raises his free hand in efforts to slow her down. “Take it easy, there’s no rush.” 

( Well, he has to tell the others, but for now he can enjoy that at least PIDGE doesn’t have a problem with him. )

But he knows how she gets when trying to figure something out, all eager and determined to get all the answers. Rolling her questions over in his head, he answers them and ticks off his fingers;

“I get sunburned, like everyone else. My blood is red. I was once in the hospital for a broken arm, but that was completely my own fault. And, uh—I guess there’s just not enough to pick out the differences? Or—maybe the machines didn’t know what to look for? …Most of my important documents disappeared with my parents.” Some with mom, the rest with dad.

“Typical human biological reactions. Except the marshmallows, but that doesn’t sound impossible for a human either. I’ll need to see if I can find a Galra medical database on the next ship we raid- Or maybe the healing pods might be able to give us more information. Do you know what the ratio is? Like, how far removed?”

Sure, Keith’s lived as a human up until now, and sure, human medicine hasn’t failed him yet, but she’s got no doubt H.G. Wells had a point. And what if something they tried ended up hurting him instead?

(It’s not a new worry, though this is the first time it’s directed at someone else. If someone at the garrison had tried to treat her as a male, it could have had disastrous consequences, and that was within the same species.)

And then, as if on a delay, Pidge recognizes his change in expression. She tilts her chin upward, hand still closed around his wrist, and her glasses slide back into place.

“Wait, are you okay?”

(Matt used to play aliens with her sometimes, when they were little. More than once she’d pretended that she had non-human blood pulsing through her veins. But this is different. The Galra aren’t Kryptonian or Vulcan or Gallifreyan.

They are empire. Death. Zarkon.)

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jawblade replied to your post: // Replies incoming! // Also, I’ve been thinking...

AUs YOU SAY? /slides on in here

// y e s AUs.

// Are you interested? Have anything you’re considering?

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// Replies incoming!

// Also, I’ve been thinking about AUs lately, so if anyone’s up to do some AU threads, I’d be totally down for it.

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jawblade:

A prison database. That makes sense, given it was a prison itself. He hadn’t even considered such a thing though, far more focused on the task at hand, but the very moment Pidge mentions it… he has an idea of where this is going. It’s not as though this would be the first time she’d tried accessing a prisoner database looking for her brother and father.

It’s hard, watching her curl in on herself like that, and it makes for concern revolving around what she must have found. Shiro doesn’t cut her off to ask any questions though, rather waits and listens quietly for Pidge to continue.

Her words… don’t inspire a lot of confidence. For a tick, all he can do is stare back down at her as his brain processes what’s just been said.

“–They don’t?” He finally manages. “What do you mean by that, exactly?” Concern and, much more clearly, fear etch their way into Shiro’s expression. That could mean so many things, and the first that springs to mind, especially given the tears dripping from Pidge’s chin, is that he’s… That Matt’s dead.

Did they wait too long? Should they have put more importance on finding him? God, he doesn’t even want to entertain the idea that Matt could be gone – it’s been hard enough knowing that he’s been with the Galra, and dealing with the guilt of not being able to really rescue him. If it’s all led to his death–

The guilt Shiro feels over the very possibility is overwhelming.

The horror that creeps onto Shiro’s face stalls her for a moment. Shiro doesn’t think- “No! Shiro no, no, that’s not what I mean. They took him.”

 She tries to keep her voice from trembling, but it shakes anyway. Is it relief? Confusion? The stress of the Beta Traz break-in? 

“He was in a Galra prison and someone took him. They blew a hole in the wall.”

This is not coming out as coherently as she hoped, but she’s crying and she can’t stop and she knows her tears are only going to make this worse. “I couldn’t tell who it was. The facial recognition program only picked up on Matt. It...Might have been the Blade of Marmora. The video wasn’t clear. I didn’t see anything like Keith’s knife.”

Pidge wants to be hopeful, but without the Galra prison records, they have no way of actually finding him. And no way of knowing if he’s safer now.

“...They took him. Had him by the arm.” She breathes. “But he was healthy enough to walk out.”

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redrightarm:

With slight trepidation Keith lifts his gaze to his friend, afraid of what he might find in her expression ( will he see fear? Rage? ). He’s already considered all negative outcomes, and he hopes there might be some way that NONE will be the reality.

—Turns out, his statement has done what he never thought possible. It seems he’s made Pidge short-circuit. That’s not something he ever thought POSSIBLE where Pidge was included - she ran like her machines. Precise and quick, ready to take any situation and break it down in a way she could understand, could use to her advantage.

So to have her repeat that word back to him, seemingly not knowing what to do about it, what to make of it, it… actually lessens his anxieties a little. She isn’t eying him weirdly. Isn’t hiding from him. So, so far, it’s going better than most of his anticipated outcomes.

“I-I’ve got Galra blood in me, Pidge.” With a soft tone, one laced with insecurities, he lifts his hands and stares down at them, as though he could see the veins under his skin; could find the offending fluids and point it out to her. “There’s—a part of me related to them.”

Galra blood. Galra biology. 

Are his genes really blended with those of their enemy? Pidge’s brown eyes narrow as she scans Keith’s entire form, hunting for any sign, any indication. 

His build is strong, but not the hulking frame of the Galra commanders they’ve seen. His fingers are rounded, not clawed. His eyes are not the full sclera glow of their enemy.

He is Keith. Edgy mullet, fiery heart, defender of the universe. Who is apparently part alien. Holy. Crow.

“You’re saying...You’re saying you’re like Spock?”  (She thinks it’s a fitting comparison. Half-human, half-alien, all incredible.)

Moving with her usual deftness, she snags his wrist and pulls his hand closer to her face, squinting at it as if it contains some secret to his origins “Are you allergic to anything weird? What happens when you’re in the sun too long? I just thought you were pale like me, but maybe not. What color is your blood? Did you ever go to the hospital for anything serious? How did they not notice your biology is off if you’re part alien?”

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jawblade:

The mission had been exhausting in far more ways than just one. Shiro is wiped mentally, physically, and emotionally by the time everyone exits the Blue Lion. It’s about time to recharge – or at least try to recharge. He doubts much sleep is likely, but even just a bit of time to sit down and maybe relax…

Exhaling a heavy sigh as the last few things are taken care of (and Slav is finally out of his hands), he steps out of the hangar, helmet tucked under his arm. Though intending to head to his quarters, the sight of someone standing off to the side draws his full attention and has him pausing in his steps.

“Pidge?” He asks, blinking in surprise as he turns to face the younger paladin. She’d left a while ago, so what’s she doing out here? It looks like she’s waiting for something. Did… something happen? She should be getting some rest now that the mission’s over.

“I thought you’d have gone to your room by now. Is something up?”

She inhales, and it catches in her throat.

“The prison had access to a database. A Galra prison database. One I’d never been able to access through the other ships.” Swallowing, she wraps her arms around herself as tightly as she can with the breastplate of her Paladin armor on.  “I only had time to run one recognition scan, and... Since you at least saw him after you were captured, I thought it would be best to try...to try Matt.”

Tears trail down her cheeks as she tips her chin up to lock eyes with Shiro. “He’s...The Galra don’t have him anymore.”

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@jawblade Pidge wipes the sweat from her brow. She’s still wearing about half of her armor - her helmet and gauntlets have been cast aside - but after the prison break, she’s too weary to finish the job.

She really shouldn’t be tired. Lance and Shiro did all of the legwork, and Lance piloted them home, but as a Paladin, she’s learned that not all exhaustion is physical. Every time she closes her eyes, she sees Matt’s face. 

Pidge waits outside of Blue’s hangar. What she’s discovered is too much to hold. 

She needs to give it to someone, anyone else.

Only, there’s just one person who can help. One person who can understand. And he’s already carrying so much.

But maybe it won’t just drain him. Maybe, it’ll give him a glimmer of hope.

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redrightarm:

For the first few moments Keith can’t even bring himself to look Pidge in the face. Shame, over something he can’t even CONTROL, twists in his belly, mixing with the fear. How will she take it? Keith’s no different than he was yesterday, or two days ago, or so-on so-forth, but Allura had frequently voiced her impressions to them that all Galra are inherently bad. Be it by their actions, or lack of. A Galra wasn’t to be trusted.

“You… might want to be sitting down for this.” Crow, HE wants to be sitting down for this.

The words don’t wait to give her a chance— from where they’ve been held in the back of his throat, closing up his airways and making him CHOKE, they now come spitting out in a garbled mess. Keith NEEDS her reaction immediately, because he needs to get this over with.

                                “—I’m part-part Galra. We… found out when Shiro                                        and I went to the Marmora base. I’ve… I’m…”

A shuddering inhale, an equally shaky exhale, and he hangs in head. Really, he’d wanted to tell her with his posture perfect - back straight and jaw set, let her see that he was still the same old stubborn Keith who wouldn’t let the tough things get to him, but considering what the Galra took from her, it’s hard to be strong when having to come clean about the fact he’s - in a way - tied in with them.

Sit down? What could Keith possibly have to tell her that could-

                 Galra?

The word is ugly. A snarl. A growl. Guttural, echoing in the back of her mind. Galra is unsteady breath and wild, wide eyes as she searches for a place to hide. Galra is adrenaline flowing through her veins and her blood roaring in her ears as she throws Green into a nose dive. Galra is distance, desperation, loss.

                  Not Keith.

He's the attack that splits their foe in two, the fire that blazes through their enemies. He’s impulsive decision, he’s her fellow night prowler, a friend who will shield her body with his own.

He’s not that hateful word that clicks into her brain. Which is why, when he says the two words together, it takes her too long to process it, to understand.

“...You? Galra?” The two ideas don’t belong together. Her glasses slide forward on her nose, but she doesn’t look away or stop to push them up again.

“What do you mean?”

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//Space Pigeon has returned. S2 has my creative juices flowing, and my workload has eased up considerably with the new year. HMU for threads!  //Also I just got ahold of photoshop again so if anyone has good icon tutorials...