#( .. . . those are the only ship names i know for keith? ? )

[kiisaes]

tell us about vld 👁️

(only if u want to)

i'll spare you a truly unhinged ranting for perhaps another time (even though this is gonna be long anyway) but tldr: vld is a show that could have been really good if it just stuck to its direction from the first two seasons!!! and also if its crew didn't accidentally breed the worst possible fandom ever!!!

it had a really good identity at the start— its characters were entertaining, its art and animation were charming if anything, the VAs were genuinely excellent picks and in terms of story it was simple (considering it's a kids show) but effective. the first two seasons focused on one-off, character-driven episodes that gave room for a lot of character writing, team bonding, and tone establishment. i believe that the reason why vld shipping was already so aggressive since s1 — without crew interference — was because the character writing was like, actually good. good enough where people could take their starting characterizations + team dynamic and run wild with it

vld was never going to be an enlightening, mature, groundbreaking show about anything super deep; it's a Y7 show about robot lions in space. but i'm sure most ppl going into vld didn't expect a piece of art, they just wanted to have fun with an atla-adjacent show, or they watched previous voltron iterations. and for what it was, it was very successful at the start! and one of the more popular netflix originals at its time!

but then vld tried taking itself more seriously in s3, and changed its primary storytelling method. now the episodes weren't usually problem-of-the-week, but each episode's plot had to feed into the next episode in line. which would've been fine, if the crew planned ahead and kept track of its characters and plot

but since the lion switch was also conveniently during this season (which inevitably implied switches in character arcs), keeping track of everything suddenly got way harder. also, the lion switch was ass. breaking my silence: that shit made no sense. why didn't they make allura the black paladin??? why do all those mental gymnastics with moving keith from red to black and lance from blue to red just to give allura blue, which was a lion that didn't even really fit her??? (i know the reason was cuz dotf did this lion placement, but is vld dotf? are the characters archetypes the same? no? i didn't think so!!!)

anyway because of the new serialized storytelling format, vld had to follow this really serious, high-stakes, even occasionally dark narrative to keep viewers engaged, and it just .. wasn't the same? like not only are characters' arcs dropping like flies, we're introducing new characters with barely any development or even personality, and it's not even that fun to watch anymore. what happened to my silly guys. what happened to goofin off in the castle. what happened to episode-long missions. this is not avatar. if i wanted to watch avatar i would just watch avatar.

and! in later seasons i think the crew caught on to how fans loveddd the episodic narratives in s1 and 2, so they tried bringing back one-off lighthearted episodes (dnd episode, game show episode, clear day episode, etc.) in an attempt to relive the old glory— and they were fun to watch on their own, sure, but were completely detached from the rest of the story atp. literally the only reason why i even remember these episodes is because they weren't a part of the narrative's incomprehensible sludge

don't even get me started on how the crew hated its audience. don't get me started on the ship bait, the weird canon queerbait situation(s), the irresponsible encouragement of parasocial fan relationships with VAs, artists, creators, you name it. it's how we got one of The worst fandoms in recent history. it's how vld was one of the newer fandoms that started an whole new era of fandom etiquette — namely, disregarding all previous fandom norms in favor of the most childish, pearl-clutching, moral-panicky discourse you'd find daily, and consequently you wouldn't EVER dare bring up to a normal person who exists in the real world.

the crew hated its audience so much, it essentially punished its fans by shutting down all fan theories, purposefully writing AROUND plot twists THEY SET UP, leaving a really messy and plot-hole-filled final script. they especially hated the shippers so much that they shut down BOTH main camps — klance and sheith — for canon allurance, a truly horrible way to end both their character arcs since neither character gets all that satisfying of a conclusion (lance becomes a farmer, allura fucking dies)

this is already long enough but i hope this gives you a general idea :') i have so many emotions about vld. someday i'll make the retrospective video essay of my dreams. this was my nonstop fixation for two straight years. i wasted two years on this shit.

also this show's 8 seasons were released all in a span of 2 and a half years.

[kismetconstellations]

@sockdooe Are there legitimately, truly, and genuinely people who fight about that?

I'm pretty sure that the Black Lion, herself, definitively answered that question.

She came to Shiro's aid by awakening and allowing Keith to pilot her when Shiro was being attacked and on the verge of losing his life to those raptor creatures in the second season's opening episode.

She severed Zarkon's connection to her in favor of bolstering her bond with Shiro, because Shiro understood that the relationship between Lion and Paladin is "not about power. It's about earning each other's trust."

And, she cherished Shiro enough to hold onto his essence after his body was destroyed.

Shiro was the first to master seeing through his lion's eyes, all the way back in Season One.

He and Black had a deep enough desire and willingness to fully understand one another that she showed him her history and abilities that she and Shiro had yet to unlock together.

There's no debate to be had, here. Shiro is the ultimate Black Paladin, as determined by the Black Lion, herself.

I can only guess that there's an element of ageism, perhaps even ableism, and undoubtedly superficial vanity at play when it comes to the fandom's preference for Keith, Lance, and the pairing of the two of them that shall not be named. Keith and Lance are skinny, elfin-faced twinks with a cliche rivalry and certain vulnerabilities that appeal more to the younger demographic. Shiro is a square-jawed, six-foot-tall adult man with bulging biceps and abs of steel, and the sort of trauma that would take years to even begin processing, let alone healing from, who seems to be much more popular with the older, adult fans, and Eastern audiences. The younger, American fans took to calling Shiro a "dad", after all, despite him being twenty-five years-old; nowhere near old enough to be a father to any of the teenagers he finds himself put in charge of. I've also seen Keith/Lance shippers calling Shiro "Keith's dad", which feels vaguely racist, and arguing that Shiro "raised" Keith, which is ludicrous. It doesn't help at all that the show, itself, feeds into the ageism and ableism by sweeping Shiro's trauma under the rug, sidelining him when he's down an arm, and sequestering him and Coran off with the other adults while the teenaged- sans Keith, who was at least twenty-one throughout the latter half of the seventh and whole of the eighth season- Paladins go off on their adventures.

I know the intention was to kill Shiro off permanently before the producers vetoed it due to Shiro's popularity and status as the show's only (living, explicitly confirmed, and relevant) gay character. Perhaps because he has no one-to-one equivalent character in the original series this was a remake of, and Keith was the leader in that same original series, so he was destined to be the leader, here, as well. Or, because the VLD showrunners were under the- delusional- belief that they could have Keith redo what Shiro had already done, only better, somehow, because they prioritized spectacle over narrative substance. Regardless, it's apparent that Shiro is only still around out of obligation, come the eighth season, and there was no desire on the writers' parts to further explore or develop his character. Hence him having no family, and, by extension, no real support system, being largely isolated from everyone, only really getting to shine in an episode that's half filler and unintentionally perpetuates more ableism, and then being married off to a "character" who might as well be a glorified piece of set dressing for all of the personality and importance he's given.

It's absolutely mind-boggling to me that,

1. The majority, or at least the most vocal parts of the fanbase cared more about shipping and complaining about being "queerbaited" over Lance/Keith when Shiro is right there.

And, 2. It seems like Josh Keaton, Shiro's voice actor, was the only member of the crew who truly appreciated Shiro, enough to offer his personal headcanon about Shiro's family- that Shiro was raised by his grandfather- state that he intentionally gave the clone's voice a harder edge compared to Shiro's softer, gentler tones in order to distinguish between the two of them, showing his implicit understanding of Shiro's character, and even made a video tribute to Shiro after the show had ended.

Aww, thank you for enjoying my angry rant on Shiro's behalf. Believe me, it burns that Shiro is overlooked entirely as the stepping stone he was on the path toward gay representation in children's media, purely because this show's quality plummeted so hard, and the fandom earned itself a reputation as one of the worst in recorded history. He deserves to be honored and celebrated, as not only a proud gay man who told Pidge that "owning who you are is going to make you a better Paladin", but also as a trauma survivor who strove to remain gentle, patient, and kind, and devote his life to saving others.

And, yes, he also deserves the best therapist in the universe, and all of the cuddles. ❤

[silentwillowwhisperer]

Okay do you agree with me that we were severely deprived of Ezor, Zethrid, Axca, and Veronica content? Because they would be the ultimate lesbian squad like

Do not even. Get. Me. Started.

Too late.

(warning: this is a loooooong post.)

My poor girls, they were so perfect! And don't forget Narti (blind lizard gal) because as much as I think Lotor's whole villain arc thingy was dumb, I will NEVER forgive him for killing her. Never ever ever.

I do refer to them as Lotor and the Lesbians in my head, so I think it's pretty clear what I think about them. (Small note: If they were a band that would be their name.)

And Veronica! She was so cool! You know she steals all the girls her brothers bring home. Like, 'Oh you met someone cool at work? I'm just gonna take her off your hands...' Let's be real, if Veronica was not a fictional character, she would be a notorious lady charmer.

And COME ON. Ezor and Zethrid were LITERALLY DATING. I will take NO ARGUEMENTS. Do we not remember that whole episode where Zethrid went berserk on the paladins cuz she thought Ezor was dead?? And how they looked lovingly into each other's eyes? They had an END SCENE together! Well, it wasn't about them, it was that thing about Keith taking over command of the blade but WHAT-EVER. They were 2 feet away from each other because they were inseparable and in. love.

look at them.

Wait I can do better:

I'm gonna scream.

And, yeah, they were technically canon but this doesn't count. If Shiro and the dude he married (..Curtis?) get a canon kiss then so do Ezor and Zethrid.

Before I start my little spiel and Veronica and Acxa, I'm just gonna leave a picture of Narti here for those of you who don't remember her.

She was the one without eyes who could see through the eyes of her cat (honestly so real in a fictional way, love that for her).

Ringing any bells? Yeah, I cried when she died. (I made a rhyme!)

NOW.

Veronica and Acxa. They would have been SO CUTE together. And even if they didn't get together, at the very least they should have been best friends. Like the kind of best friends where Acxa is adopted into the McClain family to the point at which she can always be found there just chilling in their house like she owns the place. The kind of best friends that finish each other's sentences and know EVERYTHING about each other. GUYS. This was the VISION.

And you know what? I gonna put a picture of them here in just a sec, but you ALL know what I'm talking about when I say that they had a klance-style bonding moment.

Do not even try to tell me that they did not have potential. They're making awkward love eyes at each other.

(Also, the limited fanart that exists of them is SO. CUTE.)

Honestly, if the show really wanted to show representation that bad, then why couldn't these ships be real? Adam is great and all that, but if we're going to introduce a queer relationship in the name of representation, then maybe don't kill him off for the sake of drama after only about 5 minutes total screentime.

In fact, Shiro's whole thing was messed up. Yes, I get that he's a queer icon, but why are these things being forced on him? Instead of putting him with another character that also only got 5 minutes of screentime, maybe his end scene could be something like, 'Shiro went and finally got the therapy he deserved' or 'Shiro and Keith spent quality time together now that they were no longer separated' or even, 'Shiro retired from military business and built a comfortable life for himself as a coffee shop owner.'

He. Does. Not. Need. No. Man.

Based on the fact that he still has that Garrison-issued arm, he is still in relations with them in some way. And maybe he quit and just got to keep the arm, but that needed to be specified. Are we forgetting his previous trauma? His periodic flashbacks? The fact that his body was taken over by alien life and used to INJURE HIS YOUNGER BROTHER? The very same brother that he was a role model to?

And maybe we could have kicked Lance's scene out and instead shown him with his family? That would have been a great place to insert Veronica and show them actually bonding like family. Did anyone else find it weird that we got basically no scenes of them interacting in space? With their personalities, they should have been gossiping and having spa days left and right, but there was nothing of the sort.

Wait, I'm sorry, I got off topic.

Where was I? Oh yeah.

The most talked about example of queerbaiting is always Klance because as main characters, they're in the spotlight, but these closeted lesbians do in fact exist.

Why did we get Allurance but not Ezor and Zethrid? They were SO CLEARLY compatible and they weren't toxic to each other like Allura and Lance. My main argument against that ship is because of Klance, it's because Allura had just lost someone important and rebounded to Lance, and Lance constantly tried to be the rock for her that she wasn't ready to lean on. He finally had what he wanted from day 1, and realized that if he really wanted it to continue, he would have to change in ways he wasn't ready for.

If that kind of relationship gets a kiss, then Ezor and Zethrid should get one too. They spent their whole time on the show supporting and relying on each other.

[killxz]

03 ━━ 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞

Pairing: Keith Kogane x Fem!Reader

trigger warning(s): confrontation?

The group perches on a small cliff jutting out, giving you a perfect view of the containment bubble. The crashed ship is beside the metal bubble, with scientists checking the wrecked ship. Pidge zooms in with her computer thingy and scans the area.

"Whoa, what the heck is that thing?" you point to the crashed ship on the screen. Pidge then zooms into the entrance of the containment bubble. A pretty, slim officer walks out of it and salutes the guard at the entrance. "And who the heck is she?" you hear Lance swoon. 

You whack the back of Lance's head. "Lance!"

"Ow!" he complains. "Right, alien ship. Man, we'll never get past all those guards to get a look."

"Aw man, yeah, yeah, I guess there's nothing to do but head back to the barracks, right?" Hunk tries. You pat his back encouragingly.

"It's alright, Hunk. Worst-case scenario, we all get found by the alien in that ship, and it kills us mercifully," you shrug. "Totally painless."

"Not helping, Y/N!" Hunk whimpers.

"Wait. They set up a camera in there, and I grabbed its feed. Look!" Pidge pushes her computer towards you.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" A familiar voice shouts.

"Calm down, Shiro. We just need to keep you quarantined until we run some tests," a scientist says.

"S-Shiro?" you whisper, eyes wide.

Shiro struggles against the restraints. "You have to listen to me! They destroy worlds! Aliens are coming!"

Lance points to the screen. "That's Shiro! The pilot of the Kerberos Mission! That guy's my hero!"

"Guess he's not dead in space after all," Hunk marvels.

Pidge frowns. "But where's the rest of the crew?"

The voice of one of the scientists comes out. "Do you know how long you've been gone?"

Shiro struggles again. "I don't know. Months? Years? Look, there's no time. Aliens are coming here for a weapon. They're probably on their way. They'll destroy us. We have to find Voltron!"

"Voltron!" Pidge exclaims. You aren't paying attention, still stuck on the fact that Shiro is alive. Shiro had been your mentor, your only father figure in your life.

"-what are they doing? He's a legend. They're not even gonna listen to him?" Lance's worried voice breaks you out of your thoughts.

"W-we have to help him!" you blurt out.

"I hate to be the voice of reason, always, but weren't we watching on TV because there was no way to get past the guards?" Hunk reasons.

"We've just got to think." Lance taps his chin. "Could we tunnel in?"

"Maybe we could get some hazmat suits and sneak in like med techs." Pidge suggests.

"Or we dress up like cooks, head back to the dorms, sneak into the commissary... little late-night snack." Hunk tries.

"No. What we need is a distraction." you interrupt.

As if on cue, explosions light up the space behind the containment bubble. Hunk shrieks. "Is that the aliens? Is that the aliens? Are they here? They got here so quick!"

"No, those explosions were a distraction, for him!" Pidge points to a speeding hover ship.

"The Garrison's headed toward the blast, and he's sneaking in from the other side." She finishes.

"No way! Oh, he is not going to beat us in there!" Lance jumps up, ready for action.

"That guy is always trying to one-up me!" He snarls.

"Who is it?" Hunk asks. You spot a familiar head of raven hair and his favored cropped jacket.

"Keith," you whisper. You begin to run towards the containment bubble.

"Who?" Pidge asks, confused.

"Are you sure?" Hunk asks, running beside you.

"Oh, I'd recognize that mullet anywhere!" Lance shouts.

"Who's Keith?" Pidge yells, running behind you. You slide down the cliff and run towards the bubble. When you get in, you see Keith supporting Shiro, and the scientists lying in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Nope. No, you... No, no, no. No, you don't. I'm saving Shiro." Lance grabs Shiro's other hand.

"Who are you?" Keith asks.

"Who am I? Uh, the name's Lance. We were in the same class at the Garrison." Lance says, incredulous.

"Really? Are you an engineer?" Keith asks.

"No, I'm a pilot! We were, like, rivals. You know, Lance and Keith, neck and neck." Lance tries to jog Keith's memory.

"Oh, wait. I remember you. You're a cargo pilot." Keith clicks his tongue.

"Well, not anymore. I'm a fighter class now, thanks to you washing out." Lance brags.

"Well, congratulations." Keith deadpans. He looks at the entrance and sees you. His eyes widen. "Y/N?" He breathes. You look away, your heart clenching. Anger sparks in your gut. You continue down the hallway to his hovership.

"Do you mind if we caught a ride with you?" Hunk asks, not waiting for an answer before climbing onto the back. The ship tilts backwards, hitting the ground.

"Is this thing gonna be big enough for all of us?" Pidge adjusts herself.

"No." Keith groans. You stand on the ground, not knowing where to sit. There isn't any place for you. Keith notices your hesitation and grabs your arm, pulling you up behind him. Your cheeks flush at the close proximity to him. Dang it. "What do you think you're doing?!" You demand.

"Oh shut up! Would you rather get left behind?" Keith shouts back.

The Garrison's vehicles are coming towards you. Keith revs the engine, and you speed off away from the Garrison.

"Why am I holding this guy?" Pidge demands.

"Hey, we did all fit." Hunk cheers.

"Can this thing go any faster?!" Lance demands, looking back at the vehicles gaining on you.

"We could toss out some non-essential weight." Keith snarks.

"Oh, right!" Lance agrees and looks around before catching on. "Okay, so that was an insult. I get it."

"Big man, lean left!" Keith shouts.

Hunk leans left, and two of the vehicles crash into each other. "Aw, man! Mr. Harris just wiped out Professor Montgomery! No, no. He's fine."

"Big man, lean right!" Keith shouts again. Hunk leans, and the whole ship careens off the side onto a thin road on the side of a cliff.

"Whoa!" Hunk, Pidge, and Lance scream.

"Guys, i-is that a cliff up ahead?" Hunk points a shaky finger.

"Oh, no no no!" Lance screams.

"Yup," Keith leans down and speeds up. You yelp and instinctively grab onto his waist as you shoot down the cliff, squeezing your eyes shut, your head against his back.

"What are you doing?! You're gonna kill us all!" Lance shouts.

"Shut up and trust me!" Keith increases the speed, and you are suspended in the air for a moment before crashing back down harshly on the ground and speeding away.

---

Soon, you reach a small shack in the middle of nowhere. As the three of them carry Shiro into the house, Keith turns to face you and quirks a brow. You realise you're still clutching on to his waist and quickly let go and jumped down from the speeder.

"Don't say a word." You snap before marching to the shack, cheeks warm.

You settle in to wait for Shiro to wake up. 

It's about dawn when Shiro wakes up. He trudges outside for fresh air. It's not long before Keith follows him out.

You all sit in silence as the door closes.

"Okay! Now that he's gone, Y/N, I thought Keith broke up with you a year ago! Why was he flirting with you back there?!" Lance demands. 

"Huh?!" You demand. "Shut up! We were not! He could go fall inro a ditch for all I care!"

 Lance continues to pester you about Keith until the door opens, and Keith and Shiro walk in.

Keith motions for you all to follow him, and you walk in front of a covered board. Keith removes the cover with a flourish.

"What have you been working on?" Shiro asks, awestruck.

"I can't explain it, really. After getting booted from the Garrison, I was kind of lost and found myself drawn out to this place. It's like something... some energy was telling me to search." Keith replies.

"For what?"

"Well, I didn't really know at the time... until I stumbled across this area. It's an outcropping of giant boulders with caves covered in these ancient markings. Each tells a slightly different story about a blue lion, but they all share clues leading to some event, some arrival happening last night." Keith explains. "Then you showed up." He looks at Shiro.

"I should thank you all for getting me out. Lance, right?" Shiro shakes Lance's hand.

"The nervous guy is Hunk, she's Y/N. I'm Pidge." She introduces.

"Y/N?" Shiro's eyes widen. "You've changed so much!" He pulls you into a hug. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, Shiro." You hug him back tightly.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Lance asks, confused.

"Shiro used to care for me all the time. He's something like a brother to me." You smile.

"So, did anyone else from your crew make it out?" Pidge asks hopefully.

"I'm not sure. I remember the mission and being captured. After that, it's just bits and pieces." Shiro says apologetically.

"Yeah, sorry to interrupt, but back to the aliens. Where are they now? Are they coming? Are they coming for us? Where are they at this very moment?" Hunk bites his thumbnail.

Shiro sighs. "I can't really put it together. I remember the word 'Voltron'. It's some kind of weapon they're looking for, but I don't know why. Whatever it is, I think we need to find it before they do."

"Well, last night, I was rummaging through Pidge's stuff, and I found this picture." Hunk holds up a picture of Pidge and her brother. "Look, it's his girlfriend."

"Hey, give me that!" Pidge snatches back the picture. "What were you doing in my stuff?!"

"I was looking for a candy bar. But then, I started reading his diary-" Hunk now holds up a red notebook. 

"What?!" Pidge spluttered.

"-and I noticed that the repeating series of numbers the aliens are searching for looks a lot like a Fraunhofer line." Hunk continues like nothing happened.

"Frown-who?" Keith looked confused.

"It's a number describing the emission spectrum of an element." You answer. Keith looks towards you with a surprised look and you look away.

Hunk nods his approval. "Only, this element doesn't exist on Earth. I thought it might be this Voltron, and I think I can build a machine to look for it, kinda like a Voltron Geiger counter."

"Hunk, you big gassy genius!" Lance exclaims.

Hunk smiles bashfully. "It's pretty fascinating, really. The wavelength looks like this." He pulls out a piece of paper with a graph on it.

"Give me that!" Keith snatches the paper and scrutinises it carefully. He turns around and holds it up in front of one of the many pictures on his board. The picture was of a rocky canyon, and the many hills looked like the wavelengths of the graph. 

"Looks like that's where we should start," Hunk mused. 

"Okay, let's rest more before we head out tomorrow." Shiro, ever the team leader, instructs everyone. As the group voiced their agreement, they spread like water, Lance flopping onto the couch while Pidge and Hunk start planning their 'Voltron Finder'. 

As everyone settles down, you find a quiet corner of the shack to collect your thoughts. The sudden reappearance of Shiro has thrown you into an emotional whirlwind, and on top of that, there's Keith. You can still feel the heat of his touch on your arm, and it frustrates you.

You stare out the small window, lost in thought, when you hear footsteps behind you. You don't need to turn around to know it's him.

"Y/N," Keith's voice is low, almost hesitant.

"What do you want, Kogane?" you reply, not turning to face him.

"I think we need to talk," he says, coming closer. "About...what happened between us."

You don't look at him, instead pretending to focus on the makeshift sleeping area you've set up. "About what?" you ask, your tone clipped.

He sighs, clearly frustrated but trying to keep his cool. "About what happened between us. I know it wasn't the best way to end things—"

"You don't have to explain anything, Keith," you cut him off, finally turning to face him. Your eyes are hard, even as you feel the sting of old wounds threatening to reopen. "You made your choice a year ago. I don't need closure or whatever you think this is."

You cross your arms, the anger bubbling up inside you. "And don't tell me, you thought ghosting me was the right way to handle it? You didn't even give me a chance to understand, Keith. You just vanished, left me to figure out where the hell you went and why." Your voice is steady, but the hurt is evident.

He sighs. "It's not that simple. I didn't want to leave you, but—"

"—but you did," you cut him off, finally turning to look at him. Your eyes meet his, and for a moment, you see the old Keith, the one who made you feel safe, the one you thought you'd spend your life with. But then, the memory of him walking away from you, leaving you without so much as a proper explanation, crashes back in.

"So, whatever reason you had, it doesn't matter now," you continue, your voice firm. "You left, Keith. You don't get to just walk back in and expect everything to be fine."

Keith looks at you, clearly struggling to find the right words. "I never wanted to hurt you. I thought... I thought I was doing the right thing."

"Well, congratulations," you say, your voice laced with sarcasm. "You succeeded."

You see the hurt flash across his face, and for a split second, you almost regret your words. But then you remember the sleepless nights, the unanswered messages, the pain of realizing he wasn't coming back, and your resolve hardens.

Keith looks down, guilt written all over his face. "I thought it would be easier that way, for both of us. I didn't want to see you get hurt."

You scoff, shaking your head. "Well, newsflash, Keith, disappearing hurt more than anything else could have." You take a deep breath, trying to rein in your emotions. "But that's in the past now. We've got bigger things to worry about, so let's just focus on that."

His shoulders slump slightly, and he nods. "Yeah. You're right."

As he leaves, you let out a shaky breath, your emotions swirling. You'd thought you were over it, over him, but seeing Keith again has brought everything rushing back. But you push it down, reminding yourself of the mission ahead. There's no room for personal feelings when the fate of the universe might be at stake.

[maplesyrupptarmigan]

Chapters: 3/3 Summary:

Pidge stared at Shiro, as if waiting for a message. "We're not leaving. Not until—"

The door swung open, hinges screeching. "She's right. You're staying here, all of you. Get some rest." Keith waved toward the couch, seemingly ignoring the fact that Shiro's six-foot-tall body barely fit on it.

Lance looked at Pidge, then glared at Keith. "Not until we get some answers, Mullet."

"You'll get answers in the morning. About everything, I promise."

- - -

yippee! it's over (for now). author's notes/infodump under

let's talk about krolia. in this continuity she not only found the blue lion, but also left a record of it for keith to find. she's connected to it in ways i am hesitant to mention here since 1) i don't know if i want to commit to them and 2) if i do end up getting there it would be a bit annoying to spoil it here. also, he doesn't know she's an alien

i always thought the fraunhofer line thing was a bit silly with it matching the rock formations yadayadayada. here the rock formation line thing is meant to be a signal (!) from the blue lion, but it's not the fraunhofer line thing they're tracking to pinpoint it. idk, i wrote this months ago and any amount of research i did into that has been effectively erased

fun fact: i originally wrote it so the galra warship was replaced by two smaller fighter ships, under the idea that a giant fucking alien warship in the sky (as well as a flying mechanical cat) would set off some alarms on Earth. i put the warship back in because i want those alarms to go off. the drone fighter is just so lance can have an "oh shit, did i just kill a dude" moment that i think should happen in most kids tv shows

up next is the (as mentioned before) hunk's interlude. after that, i'm not sure. i mean i have a roadmap but nothing after that is concrete. namely, i need to wrap up The Rise of Voltron (what a pilot episode) while also figuring out how to manage keith's and shiro's interludes. the former should be manageable with the next planned major story (akin to signals and messages, tentatively titled 'pilots'—also, messages was originally called pilots), but to include both keith and shiro as interludes (well, shiro's is more of an epilogue like the three-body problem is more of a prologue), i need a fourth major story, which i only have vague ideas about. doesn't really matter, since i'll probably never get to it (hence why this lengthy write-up exists at all)

thanks.

[isleofair]

🍄🪐❄️

:)

😍😍😍 thank you for the ask!!! 💙💙💙

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

🤩 Obviously, since it's me, this has to be about FireSky! 😅 I have two that I'm not, like, overly attached to, but that I find interesting/cute.

One is at least partially supported by a couple of very tiny canon details (there's a post I've been meaning to make for ages), and it's that Nathan and Keith might have actually joined the Hero TV roster at the same time (if so, probably, five years before the start of the show). They would have been the most unlikely pair of rookies ever (with neither of them having true rookie energy, to boot) and I live for the cute shenanigans that probably occurred in this scenario as they got to know each other and everyone else 🤭

The other, quite simply, is that since the cooking class was Keith's idea, he was also the one who signed them up for it... and he inadvertently picked a couples' class for them and just never realized 😂

🪐 ⇢ name three good things going on in your life right now

Mh. The people and pets I love are in good enough health, and so am I. I have some really awesome friends who make me feel cared about. And my writing energy and inspiration are coming back and I think I'll be putting words to (digital) paper again very soon.

❄️ ⇢ what's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best?

I've already answered this (in a most conceited way, admittedly), so I'll go for another dream fic concept that isn't one of those I want to write myself (and which I've only just come up with, but that I already love): Tiger & Bunny, with of course a focus on FireSky, in space. Probably a Star Trek fusion? I can just see Keith being the too-selfless captain of a ship, and Nathan as the officer who worries about him and doesn't quite fit perfectly in the rigid structure of Starfleet, and... and I'm now headcanoning Trek races for half the cast and I think I should stop here, lol.

As for who would write it best... anyone who has the patience to, really. Which is definitely not me, alas 😂

(the ask game)

[callmelyc]

Written for Twitter julance

#2023JuLance

Week 1: sharpshooter PART 2- Life of the Title

Pridge groans "there is it AGAIN, that's the fifth time this week!"

Lance pauses his game from his place hanging upside down off the bed "there's what again?"

"Is it that code name again?" Hunk ask coming in with all their movie snacks leaning over to read pidges screen.

"I think so?" She's typing again trying to get to a good stoping point "we don't actually have any proof it's a name, the galra just talk about it alot...it keeps coming up & its in almost all the logs now."

"What's the name?"

She huffs "again, no proof it's a name- and it's Ghost Rite"

Lance snorts "that's so lame for the galra no way that's a name"

Hunk just frowns a bit "well whatever it is isn't invited to this sleepover, can we just watch the movie...please?"

As movie night goes off without a hitch lance can't help but feel like this won't be the last time he hears that name.

~*~

They're having a meeting with the blade today to discuss Keith's return to team Voltron when the name gets confirmed as a name.

"Kolivan, do you happen to know why the Galran keep discussing a Ghost Rite?" Allura says since she knows everyone has been worried about it and knowing something like this could be beneficial to them.

If lance had been daydreaming before he sure wasn't now, the moment the not name was mentioned the blades behind kolivan stiffened.as miniscule as the difference might have been lance has good eyes for a reason, he noticed things he knows no one else will. His focuses zeroed in on them, they knew something and based on kolivans pause at responding he'd say they might even know more than they'll let on.

"The Ghost Rite has become a marker of fear for the galra these last few pheobs. Their name alone has become a threat of sorts..." Kolivans eyes stay forward but some of the men behind glance briefly towards lance so quickly most wouldn't notice "has...Voltron not heard of this?"

Shiro frowns a bit "we've only been picking up on the name in the data we've collected from missions and stray com signals. Until today we didn't even know if it was a name."

This time kolivans eyes look towards lance "This individual is a key player in this war, we only ask Voltron keep him in check."

With a few more subtle glances noted and diplomatic goodbyes the meeting ends with only more confusion. No one comments on the way the blades kept looking towards lance but one thing they do focus on is the confirmation it's a name.

"Do you think it's a vigilante?" Hunk ask nervously "y-you don't think he's a bad guy right? The blade asked us to keep an eye on this guy and the galra fear him he's gotta be terrifying!"

Shiro pats his shoulder "calm down hunk, I'm sure whoever this Ghost Rite is will be a good ally if we ever meet. He might even be part of the resistance."

"I can ask mat to keep an eye out for the guy?" Pidge suggest.

Shiro smiles "that's an excellent idea"

Lance watches everyone from afar unable to shake those glances the blade gave him. He feels like he's missing something...oh well, how important can it really be?

~*~

That thing lance thought he was missing? Yeah, turns out it was really important.

They're on a mission split into three teams: shiro and allura handling the diplomacy, Keith and hunk handing evacuation, and pidge and lance doing some sneaky infiltration to rescue some stray prisoners that managed to get captured and sent off planet. Easy right?

/Wrong/

This ship was a maze, unlike any they'd seen before and the only thing bringing comfort to lance right now was the fact he had red who could get them out of here the fastest. It was eerily quiet, full of upgrades and still far too easy to sneak into.

"You think this is a trap?" Lance whispers to pidge while she hacks into the door systems "I mean...this is too easy, right?"

"That's what ur here for loverboy, your the fighting force here-" her fingers fly across the keys then there's a audible click to go with her triumphed woop "and I'm the brains!" Pidge swats at lances arm "let's go!"

The moment they get to where pidge needs to be all hell breaks lose. The galra aboard the ship come rushing down the halls flanked by sentries "pidge lock yourself inside the control room, I'll distract them while you get ur data-"

"Oh it!" She shouts "and lance?...good luck"

Lance is flying around the corner listening to the door latch itself shut with an override faster than you can call him sharpshooter. He's ready to face these galra head to head, ready to be the wall protecting pidge a meer wall away!

But when those galra get around to face him and lance materializes his Bayard into his trusty blaster? they stop rushing forward. Lance holds his position, Bayard pointed directly towards the line of galra that came to a stop and a stare down commences.

Not letting his gaurd down at this strange behavior, lance observes. This is when he starts to realize what that important thing was.

The galra before him aren't just at a pause, they're terrified. Their hands are trembling, faces pulled into a defensive snarl, some even take cautionary steps backwards to get further away.

The back of lances mind is itching with an answer, it's right at the top of his tongue-

"It's the Ghost Rite" one whispers, voice as shaken as his clawed hands that grip his polearm. Then it clicks-

All the times they've talked to the Blade glances have been thrown lances way, every time they go on a mission the mentions of the name increase. When pidge asked her brother to keep an eye out for the Ghost Rite he looked confused-

It's him, God lance can't believe they all missed this! He can't believe the galra gave him such a lame name when he's been trying to get sharpshooter to stick- /no, focus! Now is not the time!/

Looking back at these men and seeing how shaken they are about lance standing here, he thinks maybe....maybe he should test the waters a little?

Ya know, for science.

Lance steps forward making them step back twice the distance. He repositions his gun causing the weaker to flinch while the rest to either drop their weapons or hold theirs unsteady.

He smirks....someone whimpers.

/Oh/ lance thinks trying not to laugh /this will be fun/

The rest of the mission goes off without a hitch, with lance using his newly acquired info to get them to bend to his whims a little things went faster than usual. Data collected, prisoners saved, planet freed and another win for voltron all the while lance is the only one to know about the Ghost Rite.

Of course, he didn't tell anyone about it not when he has no proof. Who would believe him anyways? His entire team thinks he's great with people, super kind and an all around great guy! Of course they think him capable, they saw what went down on Euble and all the other missions they go on, but that doesn't mean they'd think him a sign of fear for the galra.

So with every mission they go on lance watches the galra freeze or stutter at spotting him, he smirks or lets them know it would be on sight- they drop things or put up much less of a fight, then they all go on their merry way!

It's been a lot of fun. Some ships don't even leave actual galra stationed anymore, there's been more and more sentries and less intense battles. Lance counts it as a win.

The name even spreads past the galra, soon enough any criminals in general know about lance, even the ones trying to take over part of their own home planets. All lance has to do is stand behind his lovely team during diplomatic missions and the secretly horrible ones will glance towards him, freeze up and excuse themselves.

He's becoming a master at subtle threats too. When these people recognize him he just has to wave his hand a certain way and they blanch faster than the vegetables Hunk preps.

In the end these people are almost always working with the galra...but still lance is having a blast with it. There's nothing quite like being the secret weapon.

When doing meetings with the Blade he can tell they've noticed that Lance is...aware of his title. The next time it's brought up lance smiles at their inevitable glances his way, kolivans eyes alight with recognition then things continue forward as if a revelation didn't just occur.

The next time the blade are physically aboard the castle kolivan pulls lance aside alone "you are aware now."

It's not a question this time "I am" lance confirms meeting kolivan eye for eye.

"I trust we are in your good graces?" He ask lance reluctantly as if worried for his response.

It's the first time lance remembers the blade are all galra too "yeah, you guys are on our side...I trust you."

Kolivan looks at him a little longer like he's making sure lance isn't just lying to have an edge "this will be beneficial then."

Lance watches him leave wondering just how deep this all goes.

~*~

He's protecting a small group of civilians in a diplomatic mission gone wrong when their hiding spot he chose is blown. Well...sorta.

The galran throw down a group the planets higher ranking individuals right Infront of lances hiding spot. Each and every one of them is tied up, disarmed and panicked. Standing before them is a huge burly beefcake of a Galra, seriously this guy is massive, all snarls and glower.

And this guy Is clearly not happy, nor are his little henchmen.

"Where is he?" The burly one lance has dubbed boss man ask, brandishing his sword.

"Where is who?" One of the council members voice, he's terrified lance notes but the Galra man only growls.

"The Ghost Rite!" He shows his teeth "we know he's amongst you and we want revenge"

The civilians next to lance start to shake "We don't know who that is!"

Lance lays low, calling his Bayard to his side.

"Lies! He's rumored to be a member of Voltron, where is he!" A blade is held to the counselors neck now and that's when lance decides to act.

He ignores the hushed begging from the people beside him asking him not to leave. He steps into the open.

"I heard you're looking for me?" Lance says with a smile

Boss man turns eyeing lance up and down taking notes of the V on his chest and blaster in hand "So it's true then, the sniper of vld is Ghost Rite"

"You've killed almost all of my men-" he takes a fighting stance growling at Lance "you've ruined everything!"

"What, like it's hard?" He distantly hears the few of the prisoners off to the side curse under their breath but that's ok they don't know how good lance is at games like this "maybe you should've trained them better to not get spotted so easily"

He watches the henchmen start to tremble and shoots them a smirk. If he can buy enough time maybe his team will be able to get here, either way the prisoners will be freed even if he has to do it himself.

The Galra growls and tells his last two men to stand gaurd for the prisoners. He charges at lance "they only fear you because you can kill at a distance!"

He's clawing at lance viscously, at every dodge he makes "you are NOTHING in close combat!"

Lance spins changing his stance to go towards the galran coming at him. Everyone shouts terrified before a light zings through the air a sharp polearm taking its place and stabbing through the commanders chest.

"The Ghost part of my name comes from people never getting away to tell others I can defend myself upclose too" lance says low enough that only the one infront of him can hear "I won't be the only ghost here."

"You-" he gargles in response.

Lance pushes him off the polearm with his leg before spinning around to the final two "do you wanna try me or will you yield for arrest?"

When he turns ready to free the prisoners he finds his team looking back at him slack jawed in a mix of pride and shock.

The final two men are detained, practically begging to be away and that was the day his team discovered he was the Ghost Rite all along.

(it also meant them freaking out bc the galra are afraid of him "lance! Even the blade are a little scared of you wtf!")

(Allura taught him the polearm she's so proud)

Part 1

[deluxewhump]

Erik's Journals pt 6 (2022)

Content Warning for entire series: institutionalized slavery of a minor (11-18), emotional abuse and manipulation, dubious comfort, pet whump, disordered eating, violence, guns, mutilation (off screen, no main characters), corporal punishment, sexual content/dubcon ( character is 18+), broken bones, death of a parent, unreliable narrator

12. If You Are Fire, Than I Must Be Wood

November 2022 

Perhaps you've noticed several years have passed since my last entry.

I am writing this addition in a new notebook, as I sent the others off in a package to Carlo’s new keeper, Max Svenson. I never imagined I’d have parted ways with Carlo, but I had legal troubles from 2018-2020 and decided to cut ties with him. 

It is not an easy thing for me to say that I regret. I believe now I should have sent him to Martin or Mathilde. I should have kept him close. I would not have been able to keep him from testifying if the prosecution wanted it, but he would’ve survived that. I believe (I have no way to be sure) I could have had him coached well enough to stand up to a cross examination, and to omit information on the stand for me.

But, on the night I received a tip-off that the police were coming, probably early the next morning, for my arrest, I called Stella Abend about one of my accounts she oversaw. I mentioned that I needed to be rid of my pet, before they detained him and used everything he knew against me.

Apparently moved by the thought of Carlo thrust into some unsavory situation, she asked me how much I wanted for him. “To hold him for me?” I asked, too rushed and agitated to be amused.

“To buy him. I’ll take him.”

She didn’t take him herself, though. She was out of town and I needed someone to meet Keith and get Carlo off my property that very night. She worked something out, though, and told me an hour later where Keith could drop him off in exchange for cash. 

I was convicted for arms dealing and tax evasion, money laundering and a litany of other charges that eventually add up to not giving Uncle Sam enough of a cut. I wasn't among those who armed Al-Qaeda and the Taliban before we decided they were an issue, for example. But I digress. Carlo is my pet, and nothing I have done to him would be under scrutiny by the prosecution, as it was and still is all legal.

Still, he might know things - people and places, remembered trips that align with the prosecutions timeline of my activities. He is too smart and has been with me too long to not understand the extra curricular activities in the warehouse are not directly related to O&H shipping. And I told him outright about the acid once, what it was for.

Now that I’ve served my time it doesn’t matter what’s in writing. I moved weapons easily by packing them in the warehouse on my property and loading them in O&H trucks. I would hand pick the drivers for those loads, people I had used before and who I trusted. I made a lot of money for a lot of years.

Either way. It’s the dull and lifeless past now. To avoid the headache of all that, and frankly also because I was fed up with his antics, I let my little redheaded lawyer take him off my hands. I honestly didn’t ask what she was planning to do with him. I didn’t care.

When I found out who he’d been pawned off to like a stolen bracelet, I was surprised to find I recognized the name. Samuel Svenson is a fairly well known name in Foxfollow and even Baltimore. An ex-military Colby alumni, he has a few park benches dedicated to him for his generous contributions. I met him once or twice in our younger years at gubernatorial dinners for Adam Chrishall, long before he was a Senator. At first I thought it was the senior Svenson who had scooped Carlo from Stella Abend, and only later did I realize it was Max Svenson, his twenty-or- thirty-something son, and that Samuel Svenson has retired to Arizona. 

In a petty sort of way, it delighted me that such a straight-laced family man such as Sam Svenson had a son who would pay cash for an eighteen year old boy-pet at a moment's notice. Was this Max kid a garden variety pervert, a sadist? Abolitionist, philanthropist? I did a little investigating as I sat like a prisoner in my home and awaited trial (on a ridiculous two million dollar bond) and found he had no record to indicate either. As a feeler antenna, I sent him my journals on Carlo— with a friendly letter on top like the proverbial cherry. 

He had the nerve to never reply. I found his personal cell number and texted him, and he never replied to those either, though his read receipts were, cheekily, on. Realistically, I realize he was probably afraid. Of me, of my lawyers, of my intentions, my connections, how far I might go for something as messy and personal as a beloved pet. Before I met him I had no way of knowing if he treated Carlo like a pet, like a prisoner, or a project. 

I know now it was the latter. I even convinced Stella Abend to come by so I could wrap up a few loose ends with her about my accounts. I plied her with Johnny Walker Blue and eventually asked her about Max Svenson. Women like Miss Abend love to be offered a glass of expensive liquor in a man’s office. They feel they’ve finally made it into some elite club, into the smokey billiard room of influence and action they were shut out of for centuries. 

She stiffened when I asked her about Max. She averted her eyes, reflective of the lamplight as new pennies. I thought of Carlo’s, dark as polished mahogany, nearly as black as his pupils in low light.  A blunt lacquered fingernail tapped the edge of her glass. 

“You don’t strike me as the type to hand an innocent boy into to harm in order to make a quick buck,” I said, using an expression I hated. Buck has the muddy mouthfeel of a curse word.

“You didn’t want him,” she said, carefully defensive. The timbre of her voice was always more dulcet than one would expect from first looking at her, like an actress from an era long gone whose name my mother could have remembered better than I. 

“I didn’t want to lie awake at night thinking of him in someone’s DIY torture chamber,” she said. “I acted.”

“It was an impulse,” I stated, rather than asked. Stella tipped her head to one side, neither agreeing nor challenging me. 

 “Max Svenson meets your standards, I take it? Have you done a house visit? Played social worker and interviewed your charge?”

She blinked slowly, like a cat, which she did whenever she was annoyed. “I’ve known Max a very long time.”

“Yes,” I sipped my drink. “I know his father.”

Something clicked in her head. I could see it behind those penny-bright eyes like a gear slipping into place. That’s how I knew where to send the journals. I’ve known Carlo’s exact location this entire time. Yes, Miss Abend, our evening star. Good work. 

This also led me to believe Max had shown her, or at the very least told her about the journals I’d sent him. I was forced to learn of Carlo’s new master through threads of information I gleaned from second, third hand evidence. 

“I know you don’t think much of me in this regard,” I said. “But I’m actually quite pleased Carlo is with someone who is taking good care of him.”

 In a way, I was. In another way, I would have liked him with someone rougher and crueler than I, someone who would sell him back to me for a profit of ten or fifteen grand so I could bring him back into my home, my protection, and he’d be like he was when he would come in cold from the warehouse. But Max seemed to be every bit his father’s self righteous son I thought he might be. He wouldn’t sell Carlo back to me for a profit of three hundred thousand, because it wouldn't be a boy he’d be surrendering but his own pride, his own moral convictions. I’d never get Carlo back from him in a fair sale.

 I’d have to take him back by force or trick, bill of sale be damned. My passions cooled when I thought of the energy and resources that would require. One thing I was not willing to do with my trial imminent was bring any more legal trouble on myself. 

I did want to see him though. I wanted to see Max, too. I wanted to see them in the same room as one another. What dynamic did they share? Was it impersonal, awkward? Loving ? Did he pretend Carlo was a citizen, or had that pretense dropped? Carlo is perfect for the job, craves it, wants it. He knows how to submit with dignity, and most of the time I am generous enough to let him keep it, as a reward. Many who own pets are tone deaf to this,  and mishandle a good specimen with unchecked sadism or just outright clumsiness. Does Max know how to play the right chords? Does he hear the music? 

Eventually it was the promise of citizenship paperwork for Carlo that got him to condescend to respond to me. Birth certificate. Social security card. I had found the weak spot, the cornerstone on which to apply pressure. 

True to my word, I procured those papers for him, mostly as a parting gift of good will to my Carlo, who seemed to have hung all his affections and moon-eyed loyalties on this idealist, this prodigal son returneth, Max.

I admit I gave him some new scars on his hands. I wanted to push Max, and the easiest way to do it was to hurt Carlo in front of him. He won't hold it against me. Not for long.

This is why, Max, if you are ever reading this, you should be neither offended nor surprised to learn that when I invited him to have coffee with me last week just off his campus, he accepted immediately.

I know him in ways you have never seen, never will. I raised him. I gave him everything he has, made him everything he is. I held him when he cried for his dead mother as a boy, I gave him Christmas and trips to Europe and rules to follow. I gave him my family name, an education far better than any public school in the country, and his first beating. We have a stream that runs underground, he and I, and only the two of us know how to listen for it. 

13: Guilty Is Too Grand

November 20, 2022

I waited for him in a café set into one of the old downtown buildings two blocks from his campus, a warehouse upon its inception and a drugstore until twenty years ago. Now the brick walls were painted white, the exposed plumbing that ran along the thirty-foot ceiling strung with lights and the vines of plants, gentrified and pretentious.

I saw him before he saw me. He was tall, just shy of six feet I would guess, dressed in a cobalt blue winter coat. He was flushed from the cold, his hair framing his face in soft curls around his forehead, the nape of his neck and his ears where they could stand for a trim. He would be twenty-two next month. An image of him crossed my mind unbidden, clear as day. I had consciously practiced this in prison, so I could watch memories and daydreams like films in my head. I pictured Carlo for a striking moment as I first took him in, timid and still small, and looking at me like I hung the moon, like he looks at Max now.

He saw me and froze, only for a moment. A skip on an old record down the hall, a shadow passing over the sun. He didn’t smile. Neither did I. I wondered for a moment if he would change his mind, turn around and walk out. I knew his heart was beating faster, old scars tingling his palms like a lightning-struck landscape. 

I pulled one of the cafe's chairs from the table with a scrape on the concrete floor. Come. 

He came to me, as he always has. He looked grown, Max, not the underfed boy I presented you with a few short years ago. You probably would have thought I starved him that way, if it were not for the entries I sent you. Now he looked well fed, strong and healthy. I guess he would eat for you. 

He had no bruises, of course, no midnight blue rings under his eyes. He looked polished, cared for. He sat down next to me, eyes glancing off everyone in the place as if he was afraid to be seen with me by someone he knew from campus. 

“You look perfect,” I told him immediately. “So very grown.”

It caught him off guard, as I intended. I saw a little of that color I loved so much rise in his cheeks. He lifted his chin an inch, his old way of telling me I wasn’t affecting him as much as I’d like to. 

“You look older, too.” There was a sardonic edge in his voice, which I’ve heard before. Back then it was tinged with childishness. It lacked that quality now, leaving us with just his cynicism and pleasure at saying something he thought would cut me.

“I am,”  I answered, feeling my smile grow fond, despite myself, as I looked at him. “Two years may as well be ten in prison.” 

“Maybe they’ll make a documentary about you,” he offered innocently.

I gave him an amused hum for his joke. I was unruffled by his initial needling attempts to annoy me, to size me up. Perhaps I’d have played this game with you once, Carlo, but not anymore. “ They ’ll make a documentary about just about anything these days, won’t they?” I answered. “Maybe they’ll invite you to interview. Some pushy producer will ask you all sorts of very personal things about growing up in Manor Holstrom as the only beloved pet of a… what would they paint me as these days?”

“Millionaire egomaniac who’s bad at organized crime?” he offered. 

I smiled indulgently. That was generous compared to a few things he could’ve said. I wondered whether he’d throw me under the bus to a clipboard clutching producer. I wondered if Carlo would lean into this imagined producer's leading questions, going for the audience's shock and disgust and sympathy. Or if he’d get defensive, angry with the oversimplifications and insinuations. If he’d become frustrated with trying to make someone understand him who would not, could not, no matter how beautiful and articulate and educated he’d become. 

He was always a sensitive, respectful thing. That’s why when he was rude, I knew it was calculated and deliberate. It was meant to cut. Yet I always sensed the blade he held was double-edged. 

A milk steamer hissed behind the counter. A barista called out my name across the tables, shrill as a drill sergeant. Carlo flinched.

“Do you still like your chai?”

A flicker of a memory crossed his eyes, black as scrying mirrors. I saw the outline of myself in them, against the light of the window behind me. I used to order him a chai with milk anytime he was out in the world with me. In Baltimore I  would bring him a hot cup with a scone, or a muffin. 

He loved the sweet breakfasts I’d feed him in Paris, buttery croissants and pastries that left his fingers sticky with sugar as we sat on our shaded terrace. In Copenhagen he made his way curiously through dense rye bread, dark as molasses and topped with half an inch of jam the color of congealed blood. Once in Makassar, a bowl of congee he’d picked at dutifully while watching gulls circle the bright bay with a pair of pocket binoculars I’d bought him in an airport. 

Carlo went to the counter and brought our order back to the table. He thanked me for the drink as he set them down. I don’t think he meant to, or that it even registered he’d said it. 

“So. Do you still live with Max Svenson?” I asked, as if I’d never met the man. 

“I do.”

“As what?” I took a sip of my drink. 

He looked me evenly in the eyes. “Probably exactly what you think.”

“Hmm.” I leaned forward, elbows on the table we shared. He did not lean back to be further away from me. “As a house pet in everything but name? As his adult child, with only ten years separating you?”

Carlo took a slim wallet of expensive leather out of his jacket pocket, slid out a driver’s license and placed it on the table facing me. The holographic seal on the corner caught the string lights above our heads. 

“Carlo Svenson,” I read. 

He took the card back and put it away. 

“Did he really now? So you've swapped one Scandinavian surname for another. I guess he intends to keep you.”

Undeterred, he held my gaze. “Guess so. Did you?”

Still swinging. Alright, then.  “Yes. That’s what I had always intended. Right up until that night.”

I reached out cautiously and touched his hand, just covering his knuckles with my palm. He blinked twitchily, but didn’t pull it away. Gently, discreetly, I turned his hand over by the wrist and opened his curled fingers. The scars I left on his palms with a belt were silver and faded. I imagined Max tending to them when they were fresh, playing nurse to the damage I had done.

“You missed the tendons,” he said, hardly above a whisper. Was there a tremor there? 

“I know.” 

I massaged the meat of his thumb. His lips parted, and he tensed as if he wanted to pull away. Yet he didn’t. I pushed my thumb across his palm— under his soft, uncalloused fingers, noting in particular the finger Keith once broke that I had set and made him scream like a wolf cub in a steel trap. 

I made sure my touch felt good, no matter how tense and wary he was of me. I knew the pressure points, and his favorite spots. His eyes closed, which felt like an animal bearing its neck, showing its belly. He was as helpless for me as I was for him. I kneaded and caressed, blocking the view from other patrons with our cups so at a glance it would look like nothing.  

“I don’t hold it against you,” I said. “I did what I did and these are the consequences. But I gave you those documents as a gift. I would never take that away from you now.”

“Sure. You’d just keep me in a cage,” he murmured, eyes opening just enough to watch me massage his palm. “If not literal then figurative. You’d keep me under your thumb.”

“Only if you wanted to come and rest there a little while.” I stopped and tapped the table twice. Not missing a beat, he lifted the other hand and set it palm up, returning the other to his lap. His drink cooled, forgotten, next to his forearm. A casual glance around confirmed no one was paying us the least bit of attention. I began to caress the fresh hand, just brushing over it at first and then slowing down, applying pressure with my thumbs. His breath caught at the first pass over his scars. I stopped. 

“Does that hurt?”

“No.”

I continued, pressing hard enough to leave the skin bloodless and white for a moment in my wake. I wanted to quicken him again to my touch, flirt with the edge of pain but lean into the inertia of pleasure so that it left him euphoric. 

“What do you mean, ‘rest there a while’?”

“Whatever you’d like it to mean, Lo,” I answered, using his old nickname, coincidentally the same as old Humbert-Humbert had called his Lolita. Though very unlike Humbert, I have never raped my charge, statutorily or otherwise. 

“Come by for an afternoon. A drink. Or I’ll take you out, if you’d feel more comfortable in public.”

“And do what?”

“Whatever you’d like. You used to starve yourself to spite me. Let me feed you. Do you still have an ear for music?  I’ll get us our own balcony at the orchestra. We can talk without disturbing anyone.”

He was silent, and soon I stopped massaging. I folded his fingers back over his palm and he retracted it sharply, taking a deep inhale as if he’d been in a trance and required the oxygen to wake up. “I’d have to be stupid to even get in a car with you.”

“Why?”

He gave me a knowing look. “You still have plenty of money, even after the case. You were right that they could’ve had me testify. I remember the offshore accounts. I remember your conversations about the failsafes, the caches. The foreign investments? I was there. You always knew what could happen. You planned for it. Except for what you’d do with me, I guess. And you have agency again, now that you did your time. You’re not as… disgraced and dismissed as you pretend to be. It’s just a sheepskin cloak you like to wear. You could do whatever you want with me, and no one would ever see me again. You could sell me to your trafficker friends in Romania just to punish my disloyalty one last time.”

My, but what a smart smart cookie you've become. I tilted my head at him.  “You truly think that of me? Even when it comes to you ? Or is that someone else talking? The sheepskin cloak bit, I know that’s you. That has Carlo all over it, plucked straight from your favorite twisted bedtime stories. I know you. What is the rest?”

He opened his mouth, but whatever words were on his tongue failed him. He looked lost in that moment, torn between reason and desire, where most of us spend the better part of our lives.

Where was the boy who followed me into Viper’s pits, the homes of my less reputable colleagues in countries he’d never heard of, fearless because he was at my side? Where was the boy who let me set his broken bone without a second thought, who bared his wounds to me, trusting that I would make them better? 

“I am offering you a truce,” I said. “You’re Carlo Svenson, resident of Maryland and a US citizen. I acknowledge and respect that. I gave it to you, remember? I don’t want to hurt you, or humiliate you, or possess you. I only want to see you once and a while. To talk with you. To touch my hand to your face as you once let me.”

It was working. I could see the defenses he’d walked in with splintering like thin ice. 

“Why couldn’t you have been like this before?” His voice was one of quiet defeat. “Just a little bit more?” Then, almost to himself, “I would’ve done anything for you.”

I suffered a pang of affection, accompanied closely by my new constant companion, regret. 

“I’m sorry, Lo. I’d do ten more years, if I could exchange it to redo just that last year I had with you. Let me make it up to you. Let me do this one thing before I retire from this miserable, ugly city. Before I light out for the proverbial territories and leave you alone forever, like you want.”

He took a steadying breath, sat up a little straighter and glanced around, as if he’d momentarily forgotten we were in public. “Max won’t have it.”

“What Max doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Or does he have you on GPS?”

He gave me a look of reproach and finally took a sip of his drink. “Of course not. He’s nothing like you.”

“I know. That’s why you love him. But it's also why you came when I called.”

I thought that might incite him to argue, but he only looked at me as sadly as I had looked at him a few minutes before. He shrugged one shoulder in quiet acknowledgment. 

So, I thought.  I hadn’t even had to say it. 

Next

[autisticlancemcclain]

I did not realize how many fics i had in my list worth recommending, but i literally could not narrow this down if i tried (and i did).

https://archiveofourown.org/works/40548453

By idas_library

"Coran, what’s happening?” Lance didn’t like how Shiro's voice shook. Was something wrong with the wormhole?

“The integrity of the wormhole has been compromised,” Coran yelled. “We’re breaking down!”

Lance sucked in a breath, eyes wide. Compromised? Breaking down? “What does that mean?!” He asked into the comms.

“It means we have no control where we’re headed!”

Oh no. Oh no no no no no no no.

After narrowly escaping the Galra, a corrupted wormhole leaves Lance stranded on the other side of the galaxy. With no team, no lion, and no idea what to do, Lance must fight for survival and show the universe just who Lance McClain really is.

 

Asterism (noun): a prominent pattern or group of stars, typically having a popular name but smaller than a constellation.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/38455249

By ErinWantsToWrite

“¿Vives en algún lugar aquí?” The father points to the map, his hand circling some areas, but Lance shakes his head. His chest hurts, he realizes, as he stares at the map. It burns, even. The pain was aching, and his eyes stung hot.

He points upwards, not at the map.

Marco nods knowingly. “¿Ves, Papá? Te dije. Es un extraterrestre.”

-

Prince Lance is torn between two homes: his home planet, or the world he crash-landed on. In order to get his family all in one spot, he has to find his brother. Easier said than done. He has to infiltrate the Galaxy Garrison and act as unassuming as possible. And before Lance can get anywhere near a real Earth ship, Lance is chosen as the Blue Paladin of Voltron.

Destined to save the Universe.

He ends up with a third family, one he'd die for just the same.

-

AU: Lance is NOT from Earth, but might love it more than where he grew up. He didn't know having two loving parents felt so nice. Updates on Mondays

https://archiveofourown.org/works/40664997

By Minimelo

At first, Lance thinks nothing has happened, and then all at once, something does.

Blue screams, an agonizing pain stabbing across the bond and then all around him. The comms go dead, he thinks, but he wouldn’t know. He isn’t sure of much of anything except their torment. His back arches as he feels everything tear apart down to the cell, his skin splitting from muscle and his muscle from bone. His hands split from the controls that disintegrate to atoms, Blue unraveling under the power just as he was, and for an anguishing eternity, Lance can only watch as they become nothing.

-

After Lance get's captured by the Galra, nothing is the same. Literally.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33829567

By A_Fools_Errand

The only constant in life is change. Sometimes it's subtle, it creeps into your life and moves so slow that you can’t see what’s happened until it’s over. Other times, it hits you like a freight train. No warning, no bracing for impact. Only the sudden contrast between before and after.

Finding your own disassembled body in a Galran lab, Lance finds, is the latter version of change.

(Or: Lance is a robot AU)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/35197180

By IcyPanther

Keith is forced to make a call on a mission gone wrong that ends with Lance hurt and both of them captured by the Galra Empire. Keith has no doubt in his mind that he’s going to keep the attention on himself, especially when he finds out that the Black Paladin was the original target. Except what they want from Keith is not something he can do and Lance is forced to pay that price of refusal in blood. But it's a sacrifice he's willing to make to protect all those he loves and he makes sure Keith knows that. Except then they find out what the real cost to keep the universe, to keep the rest of their team safe is… and it’s not something either of them can afford.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/39424269

By 8Pearl8

Fifteen year old Lance tries to tell his family that he wants to become a space pilot, but they don't want to hear him out. His job is to stay at home and watch over his younger sister, nieces, and nephew. After this failed conversation he comes to a realization, Lance doesn't care any more.

A story in which Lance finds the Blue Lion a different way.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34071046

By A_Fools_Errand

Lance accidentally gets dislodged from this plane of existence in exponentially longer time increments. Spoiler alert: This will not, in fact, be good for his mental health.

(Or: Lance is slowly disappearing little by little and the team needs to figure out why.)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31068977

By jilliancares

After an incident at a banquet, Lance and Keith are forced to convince everyone that they're dating, including their own teammates. Apparently, the fate of their newly-formed and highly volatile alliance depends on it.

--

Another daily update fic! This time, the chapter's prompts were submitted to me and randomly ordered :)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24439498

By IcyPanther

Lance has a problem. Maybe. He thinks so at least. It’s sort of hard to remember things these days. But it feels like something is off. Wrong. He thinks he needs help. But… help for what? Wait… Why does he need help again?

Or; Lance develops amnesia that starts as short term memory loss and steadily grows worse. The team can only watch with rising despair as the Lance they know fades away memory by memory with the cruel knowledge that unless they come up with some miracle cure Lance will forget how to function, how to live. And then… Lance will die.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25120222

By jilliancares

If it were anybody else, Lance would think they’re messing with him for fun.

But Keith is Keith, straight-forward and guileless. If he’s touching Lance more, it’s only because he’s gotten more comfortable. And on one hand, that’s great, that’s—Lance feels very honored. His heart is doing backflips and aerial stunts and everything. On the other, this is really not helping with his raging crush.

His breaking point turns out to be when Keith, exhausted after a day of subspace meetings, drops his head onto Lance’s shoulder and sighs.

It’s a sigh that says, now I’m comfortable, that admits, I’m recharging, that practically screams, you help.

Hands in his pockets, he lets Lance bear his weight as if he trusts Lance to handle it. Great. That’s just—how dare he. How dare he be so vulnerable with Lance? Who does that?

It’s so enraging that Lance just blurts out, “I’m going to need you to stop doing this before I fall in love with you even more, asshole.”

Keith freezes.

-

Or, five times Lance acknowledges his feelings for Keith and one time Keith reciprocates.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24242998

By assassinating_octopus

They got back to Earth after everything, and things are returning to normal.

Except Lance was a teenager once, with a huge libido so he had a couple (a lot) of overnight visitors (wink wonk)

Only problem is, one on of them was James Griffin, Keith's tormentor from the Garrison. Lance, quite understandably does not want to cross paths with him.

But when James is being a shithead? Lance knows a thing or two about taking down someone's overinflated ego.

-

Or, alternatively, because I suck at summaries; Lance sucked Griffin's dick once upon a time, and now Griffin thinks that he can be friends with the paladins after being a bitch. So Lance exposes him.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21374422

By ChocolatePecan

When Lance is ambushed by a Galra fleet, Blue is temporarily put out of action. Lance is trapped in her cockpit, in deep space, with no communication devices. He's freezing, and his oxygen supply is rapidly dwindling. All he has to accompany him in his urgent situation is the click-clika-tick of a faulty light.

To add to his woes, a flash behind him appears to be the Castle of Lions exploding - with all the other paladins, Coran, and Allura all still inside.

The only thing he has left is hope - that he'll be found, that his space family isn't dead, that Blue will somehow recover and carry him to safety. He just has to keep breathing.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21108578

By IcyPanther

When an attack goes wrong Lance ends up trapped in a dimensional plane separated from his team. But he’s not alone. The Druid they’d been fighting is there too. Lance’s bond with his fellow Paladins is the key to getting home, but the Druid isn’t going to let Lance so easily escape and leave him behind. He needs to subdue Lance, to use him as his own ticket back. And when you pit a Druid capable of teleporting and summoning magic against an injured, near defenseless human? Let the hunt begin.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18894214

By astralgolds

Everyone thinks Keith and Lance are vying for Allura's affections. They are wrong.

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1162583

By YukiSetsu

A trilogy of College AU oneshots dealing with Lance being naively optimistic and the rest of the crew protecting him from a stalker getting drastically more dangerous.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15749187

By IronScript

When Lance is captured during a mission with the MFE pilots, he wakes up aboard Haggar's ship, though the witch herself isn't there, so he figures why waste an opportunity? Then he finds something that he definitely hadn't expected.

All the while, he has no idea that back at the Garrison, his team and a few select others are watching his every move.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11278587

By tommino

Lance glances over his shoulder at the approaching Galra, then stares back at the Red paladin desperately. Keith pounds at the glass and yells for him to move, to turn around and fight, but instead the Blue paladin pauses and looks him dead in the eye.

Sorrow slips away as Lance pushes the warmest, most gentle smile to his face, affection flooding into his blue eyes. It’s like looking into the sun. Keith inhales sharply as he realizes what Lance is thinking.

This may be the last time. The last smile.

--

Sacrificing himself to save Keith and Pidge, Lance is separated from the team and captured by Galra. The druids want information of course, and try to use their hostage to taunt Voltron into a confrontation.

The team will stop at nothing to get him back, but the paladins are forced to watch Lance unravel at the hands of his captors while they search.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14072181

By Redfox_Raine

The Castle of Lions stop by a planet named Drakma to form an alliance. The local Drakonians seem friendly enough, in fact they look very similar to humans (minus the sharp canines and bird legs). But what happens when the Drakonians make a request in return for making an alliance with Voltron? Their request: save a group of Drakonians who were enslaved by the Galra.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13942176

By ginger_writes

A thought strikes Lance sideways, and he nearly topples over with it.

Keith saw. He saw Lance get stung; he knows that he was the first thing Lance saw. Maybe...maybe for one week Lance could just...not hide it. Maybe for a week Lance could just let go for once and let all of his feelings for Keith come tumbling out of him. And at the end, all he had to do was blame the words on the stupid bug and he was golden.

(Has companion piece that is just as excellent)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13678143

By IcyPanther

Lotor had planned to capture the Princess of Altea and use her to bring down the Voltron Alliance in one fell swoop. Instead he ensnares one of the human Paladins. But Lotor is not one to despair. He can rewrite the script and turn this tragedy into a real headliner. After all… the show must go on.

“He is rather aesthetically pleasing,” Lotor purred, hand gripping Lance’s chin. “Almost Altean, really. However,” a knife pressed below Lance’s eye. “He is missing something.” A shark-like grinned adorned Lotor’s face as dark ocean eyes widened in realized horror. “Come,” Lotor leveled the knife. “Let us see if red is your color.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11641935

By SeventhStrife

What is it?" Lance asks.

The alien smiles wider, excited. “A love potion!”

“What,” says Keith, flatly.

On their yearly visit to the space mall, the trip is cut short when an overly-friendly shopkeeper decides to help Lance out with his love life.

If Keith were conscious, he wouldn't approve.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10379589

By FaeQueen40

After an ambush on a strange planet, Lance gets captured in Keith's place. Will the others be able to rescue him before Lotor breaks his new prize?

*Now with art!*

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11808543

By ArchetypeOfAdespota

In which Keith gets bitten by a Love Bug, and Lance is less okay with this than anyone honestly expected.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11877840

By galaxymilk

Lance becomes the vessel for a high-tech Galra weapon that will detonate at the mere mention of its existence. The clock is ticking, Lance, you better think fast.

THANK UOU SO MUCH OMG. i’ve read about half of these, but i’m super looking forward to the other half!!

[toastess-with-the-mostess]

Let's Rewind! Toast Watches Voltron: Defender of the Universe (1984)

Season 1, Episode 41: There Will Be A Royal Wedding Season 1, Episode 42: The Sand People

Episode 41: There Will Be A Royal Wedding I think I recognize this episode title, PART THREE LETS GOO

recap timeee

THERE HE IS SVEN IS SO BACK

"I am a wild man, I live in this tunnel eating roots and mushrooms!" SVEN PLEASE

Romelle recognizes him!

Oh god, he's breaking down over his trauma for getting hurt and trying to heal but then he got enslaved all over again without being able to fight and still hurting

the start of the only couple ever, Keith and Allura could never happen because Keith would never stop self sabotaging himself and Sven is willing to be a malewife

he's so scared to call the force because he's scared of them seeing him broken like that he's calling them anyway

WHY IS ALLURA IN A TAN DRESS?? WHAT HAPPENED

oh an escaped slave ship full of slaves is getting recaptured

"do you think princess Ro-MEAL could survive down there?" Zarkon PRONOUNCE HER NAME RIGHT

oh also they're planning to take over Pollux while she's gone

WHY DO THEY KEEP CALLING HER RO-MEAL

new robeast, it's literally an iron woman that they called iron maiden pretty cool though OH GOD IS SHE CRUSHING PEOPLE IN HER HANDS?? THAT'S HORRIFYING

Romelle is trying to stop it, but Sven is stopping her because if she shows herself then their whole plan is fucked time to steal another slave ship to get her home!

The doomites have worse aim than storm troopers

poor Romelle she's crying for the other slaves who helped her and Sven escape, nobody else was able to make it with them BUT THEY GOT IN CONTACT WITH THE TEAM AND THEY'RE MEETING UP

voltron formed up early,,, it's getting serious folks

"so she wouldn't have me, but she runs away with some slave!" WHY ARE YOU SALTY ABOUT THAT LOTOR

Romelle and Bandor finally get to speak again, JUST GET THOSE BABIES TOGETHER DAMN IT

space battle with the iron maiden guys please you spoke too early now the real fight is starting with her gold form instead of her silver one

that's a cool attack, the crown tied up voltron after it hit his head

WHY IS BANDOR OUT THERE WITH A SINGLE SHIP THIS IS WHY HE GOT HIT

oh wow Voltron is taking such a bad beating Sven doesn't even want to help but Romelle is girlbossing so hard he can't help say yes

Voltron is freed by dumb luck, formed up blazing sword and the fight is over with a lot of explosions

Now they're back on Pollux and Romelle and Bandor finally get to hug again! Sven is officially Romelle's malewife "she gave me back my life" GOD HE'S SO IN LOVE

this episode went by so fast

/episode end

Episode 42: The Sand People oh man I remember some stuff from this episode

OH NOW YOU WANNA CARE ABOUT OTHER PLANETS CORAN

sand people lore: they're timid and sweet people and look like turtles Zarkon wants to turn them into weapons

"my horoscope tells now the time to be nasty" ZARKON'S LISTENS TO HIS HOROSCOPE?? ASTROLOGIST ZARKON CONFIRMED

PIDGE OSTRICHED INTO THE SAND AS GREEN THAT'S SO CUTE also Keith told him bless you after he sneezed, they're adorable

how are the team getting sand peoples tracks to scan on it accurately so can the lions 'smell' in order to do scans?

UNIDENTIFIED MY ASS, THAT SHIP HAS SKULL ON IT, IT'S FROM DOOM oh cool underground base- NO PIDGE GOT TAKEN DOWN BY SNAKES

ARE THEY UNSCREWING GREENS LIMBS FROM HER?

PIDGE STOP QUESTIONING PEOPLE WHO ARE GIVING YOU ADVICE ON HOW TO GET OUT OF AN ATTACK I KNOW ROMELLE ACCIDENTALLY BETRAYED YOU BUT STILL

oh the sand people definitely died if they got taken by those snakes

Pidge saying he needs to call them team, but Keith was already running towards his location He knows when his son is in trouble,,, there was a disturbance in the force

what are they even riding, I think those are the most alien looking things we've seen in this show ever

wow they really are like turtles, digging underground Allura is already treating them like puppies

I know they're trying to make the sand people humanized, but they're treating them like toddlers or animals

Allura wore a bracelet under her gloves this whole time? Well it's a gift to that one sand person now

"all sand tanks in formation!" all tanks are for the sand dipshit,, they have caterpillar treads

god now i'm humming one of the themes of the show

LMAO DO THEY KEEP COMMS OPEN SO LOTOR AND THE FORCE CAN TALK SHIT TOWARDS EACH OTHER SO PETTY

wow just like the first episode, everyone as their heads in the sand after being smacked back into the ground

THE TANKS CAN FLY?

Is avalanche just a word for snow? Because the team is getting covered with a ton of falling sand and I feel like avalanche fits for these scenes

Lotor grabbed one of them to turn into a robeast OH NO THE POOR BOY IS SO SCARED, AND HE'S THE ONE WITH PRINCESS ALLURA'S BRACELET

does yellow lion have fire breath?

How do the doomites know what Earth moles are

HOW ARE YOU GONNA STOP GIANT ROBOTS BY SHOOTING AT THEM WITHOUT A SHIP

THE COCKPITS HAVE SAND PEOPLE IN THEM NOW, THEY'RE SO CUTE

how is that bracelet still on the sand person, that some weak ass magic if it can't break metal Allura named him sandy

she's trying so hard to call out to him, but they have to form voltron anyway, this is going to get so depressing

oh they realized the S on him was keeping that robeast transformation on him so they ripped it off, and now he's in a "coma"

nobody ever dies in dotu

/episode end

[shadesofnavy]

It's so nice to see a fellow short Pico & GF and tall himbo BF enjoyer! Could I hear some trivia about your trio there? Oh, and are you a shameless shipper who ships them with yo friends' versions of the trio? If so you're very based. ;]

Aw thank you :) yes I'm a bit of a shameless shipper here, just love pairing those who'd get along with my trio here lol. I'll give a little in-sight on these three fellows here so y'all can get to know them more: -Boyfriend is 35, Girlfriend is 34 and Pico is 36 -I gave them legitimate names since they're from a more "normal" world compare to other AUs--Keith Burlington, Cherry Davis and Pico Dankworth--however I honestly don't think it's that big of a deal to call them bf and gf for simplicity's sake. Wondering if I should make those tags now tho.. -Cherry is actually not a demon here... surprise..? -Keith used to go to the gym every few times a week since he was a teenager, however he's stopped ever since he started working on making music and preforming on local gigs around Newsground City -Cherry serves as a full-time cook at a casual restaurant (the best in town so far) -She has a culinary degree -Keith dropped out of college after trying to get a music degree. He claims it was "too finicky" for him -He wouldn't have graduated high school if it weren't for Cherry urging him to try -Keith and Cherry have known each other since early high school (he was 16 and she was 15) -Pico is a surreptitious hitman known only to the world of crime going about the city. He's been living tied to it since he was a deserted teenager just after surviving the infamous school shooting -Pico is actually a good cook himself, however he has a very low appetite and rarely ever feeds himself a decent meal -He's mildly malnourished because of that and is schizophrenic -He's also caffeine intolerant and addicted to smoking -Keith is alcohol tolerant and loves any food with juicy meat -He can grill and cook any kind of meat and make pancakes. Other than that, it's a disaster -He leaves the kitchen a mess whenever he cooks -Cherry does not approve of the statement above -They're all more or less bisexual -Pico gets cold very easily, so he always wears a turtleneck, hoodie and jacket. In the summertime he'll only stick with his turtleneck and maybe a sleeveless hoodie -Despite his frail appearance he's as firm as a log -Pico's gun is the MAC-10 submachine gun; he uses a suppressor with it. He also owns a glock -Cherry's dad once called Pico to try and assassinate Keith (unbeknownst to the ginger who it was), but her mother managed to stop him in time before anything was settled -Edit: I forgot to add that Keith also has ADHD, but I feel as though every Boyfriend has that so yeah lol

[tgarnsl]

tagged by @chiropteracupola — thank you, my friend!

rules: post the last line/snippet of what you wrote and tag as many people as there are words.

I will not be doing that, as there are more words than there are people I know, but I will tag @sanguinarysanguinity, and anyone else who would like to join in, please consider this your invitation!

from the flight of the heron fake married au:

—

A bitter wind was sweeping across the Beauly Firth, threading its way through the streets of a still and miserable Inverness. It was a week past that fateful day on Culloden Moor: only a mere sennight, but to Major Keith Windham it seemed an eternity. Cumberland in his victory had not been merciful, neither on the battlefield nor off it, and in that week had been committed such unkindnesses as to make an honourable soldier almost ashamed of the uniform he wore. It was certainly a hard-hearted man who could walk past the wretched and overcrowded little prison beneath the bridge and not be moved by pitiful voices crying for water. No less desperate were the men in the churches and gaols of the town, and the ships in the harbour. The day before last, Keith had gone out with a quorum of other officers to take down the names of prisoners, and what he had seen had been enough to nearly turn his stomach. For two days the prisoners had been given neither food nor water, and many lay, half-dead, in their filth and misery, as they waited for the inevitable, for their surgeons and bleeders had seen their tools confiscated, and there was no surgeon from the town to tend to them. Yet of all the cruelties that had been witnessed thus far in this defeated little town, the most senseless was that taking place before him now on this cold and grey Sunday morning. The order had been given just hours before that all prisoners were to be reviewed publicly, and now, between the two rows of troops lined from one end of Bridge Street to the other, they were made to pass muster, many in their shirts or less. Major Windham, mounted alongside General Hawley and a number of other officers in the market square, watched the shambling little parade with considerable distaste. The wounded men as well as the hale had been made to come out, and those unable to wake or stand were carried by their fellow prisoners. This provoked uproarious laughter in Hawley and a number of the other officers, for to them there was no finer amusement than watching a lame man stumble and crawl before them, or see another spill his precious half-pound of meal which he carried in the fore-skirt of his shirt. Listening to the laughter of Hawley, as sharp and cruel as a parrot’s, and the jeers of the officers and men, Keith’s stomach turned, and he was about to turn his horse about and feign trouble from his wound of Fontenoy, when he heard another of the company — Mr David Bruce, the judge-advocate — hail a triple of prisoners, two of whom half-carried, half-dragged the injured third between them.   “Ho, there,” cried Mr Bruce. “You!” The two able men stopped, their faces pale with fear beneath the grime. Their injured fellow made little motion to indicate he heard Bruce, his head hanging down and his face obscured by a curtain of dirty auburn hair. Unlike his companions, who wore only their shirts, he had on only a kilt, beneath which the lower end of a filthy bandage around his left thigh could be seen. Another bound his sword arm — evidence enough of where the man’s shirt had gone. His tartan, Keith noted a moment later, was that of the Cameron — that, of all tartans, was one he knew without question, having once worn it himself. Despicable, thought Keith to himself, his hands tightening on his horse’s reins, the creature shifting nervously in response.But the judge-advocate was not finished. “Get him on his feet. He is to march,” he ordered, pointing at the injured man. who was in no state to stand. Yet with his companions’ coaxing he struggled to his feet, and stood there a moment after they had released him, before his injured leg weakened, and he collapsed.“Far better had he died on Culloden Moor,” murmured a lieutenant to Keith’s right, and Keith gave a slight nod of assent. Any Highlander would surely wish a good death in battle over struggling in the muck like an animal, trying to gain footing that would surely not hold. “Get him up,” intoned General Hawley, evidently bored, but the injured prisoner raised a hand to ward off his companions, seemingly determined to stand once more. Slowly, slowly, he got his feet under him and assumed his full height, lifting his face towards the officers in grim defiance. Yet it was clear from his trembling leg that he would not be able to stand for long, no matter how strong his will, and a small trickle of blood was already beginning to run down his injured thigh. His ashen face was dirty and unshaven like all the other prisoners, but his eyes—“Good God!” exclaimed Major Windham aloud, throwing himself from his horse. All gazes fixed on him, save for Ewen Cameron’s, who had gone very grey indeed, his teeth set in his lower lip as if he might overcome his disability by force of will alone. He wavered once, half-stumbled, regained his footing for a moment, but his strength was gone. The wounded leg gave way once more, and he fell, into Keith Windham’s waiting arms. “Major Windham!” called General Hawley, riding forward as Keith knelt with Ewen, his face red with anger. “What is the meaning of this, sir?”  Keith looked down at Ardroy, at that gaunt face with its eyes half-closed and unseeing. His hand, pressed to Ardroy’s bare chest, found a faint and sluggish heartbeat. Half-dead already. It seemed unlikely that he would live out the week. But what could he do? There was nothing Keith could say that would save Ewen from his fate — nothing save…“Major Windham!” shouted Hawley, apoplectic with rage. “Sir, step away at once—”Keith met Hawley’s withering stare, his heart beating rapidly in his throat. “I cannot, sir,” he said, as calmly as he could. For a moment time stood still, the moment between the spark of steel on flint and the explosion of the pistol. He had set his course, and he would be damned if anyone would forestall it now. “You see, sir,” he continued, holding Ewen close, “He is my husband.”

[silentwillowwhisperer]

Day 4- Black Paladin

-_-

I cannot for the life of me remember when they find out about Zarkon and Haggar's whole quintessence backstory, so let's just assume that the team already knows about it.

-------------------------

Keith changes a lot in the time he flies the black lion. Not because he wants to, but because he is expected to. It's an honor to lead Voltron, right?

Ever since he first set foot in the lion the day Shiro disappeared, he's been hearing whispers. They come from Black and infect the whole hangar.

Sometimes it sounds like someone calling out to him. That one he does not fear. Whoever it is sounds just as afraid as he feels. Honestly, that voice can be almost comforting at times. If he sinks too far into his thoughts, he'll even feel something like a ghostly but firm hand on his shoulder.

Yes, he can now officially say that he knows what a ghost's hand feels like. It's warm only on the very surface but cold seeps out from within it, like someone tried to wrap an ice cube in a warm paper towel.

Other times, the voice is deeper, more like a growl than anything else.

Keith isn't stupid. He knows that this was Zarkon's lion and that there's still some of the emperor in it. It worries him to think that he is being spoken to by a Galra like that. He's grown to like the blades, but Zarkon is just a bitter husk of a person, and Keith doesn't know if he'll be strong enough to resist, should Zarkon try to manipulate him.

He notices the concerned looks he gets from his friends. He can't blame them, seeing as he spends all of his time now training and sparing off into space.

Sometimes, when he's too afraid to go to his room, which is placed directly next to Shiro's vacant one, he'll wander the halls aimlessly.

Well, he never really has a destination in mind, but he always ends up in the same place.

Tonight, he's been up for a while. He just couldn't deal with waking Lance up and giving him some pathetic reason for bothering him for the 500th time. So instead, he decided to smash some robots.

He is lying sprawled out on the training deck. His limbs finally locked up and refuse to move after a solid 6 hours of training. Even a twitch of his feet sends pain stampeding all over his body, but he doesn't mind it. He feels accomplished. At least now, he has no choice but to get some rest, though he'll get yelled at for this later.

He thinks he's all set, no one's going to bother him in here. His eyes start to droop and his mind finally stops chasing itself in circles. He'll just take a quick nap and then spring right back up...

"Keith?"

His eyes fly open. Why is it that everyone on this ship must have the worst timing? Right when he was finally getting tired.

He sees someone lean over him, taking in his eye bags and wild hair. Keith is sure he looks utterly fantastic right now.

The person conveniently places their body so that they are silhouetted by the bright lights above, and Keith can't figure out who they are through his bleary eyes.

"Ugh, you idiot." Hmm, this seems familiar. The only person who calls him that more often than they use his actual name is a certain blue-eyed paladin.

"Hey Lance," he yawns out.

Lance sputters for a second before finding a response. "Hey? That's all you have to say? Why are you here? When you didn't turn up at my door I figured that you just fell asleep in your room, but then I realized that you're too hard-headed to take care of yourself." He sighs heavily and shakes his head. "I was right, wasn't I?"

Keith just blinks up at the light. He still can't get up on his own, and he desperately hopes that Lance will figure that out himself or just leave Keith behind.

Oh wait, Lance isn't capable of either of those things, is he?

"Fine. Yes. You're right. Can you please help me up now, your royal righteousness?"

Lance laughs at that. Keith hears him mutter out something like, 'It's about time' but he ignores it.

"Alright Red, let's get you out of here."

Keith smiles a bit. Lance is the only one who still calls him that, they both prefer to ignore the lion switch when talking to each other.

Lance pulls Keith up and his brow furrows when he sees Keith cringe in pain. His mother-hen mode is activated as he checks Keith over for injuries. "I thought we talked about this. What is it with you and overtraining?"

Keith just leans most of his weight on the taller boy. They stumble forward a few steps before Lance gives up and scoops Keith up into a bridal carry. Keith shrieks in a very dignified way and wraps his arms around Lance's neck, despite his protesting muscles.

They are silent as Lance walks down the dimly lit halls until Keith notices they are headed in the opposite direction of his room. He raises an eyebrow at Lance, who just continues until his own.

Keith is placed gently on Lance's bed while the other boy grabs an extra set of nightwear. This one is more of a shortened sleep gown than anything, but it's better than his tight jeans and jacket.

He changes quickly while Lance stops by the bathroom, probably for some kind of complicated skin care that Keith will never understand.

The lights switch off, and Keith feels the bed dip as Lance settles in next to him. Before, he would have found this embarrassing, but it's become routine for them. It makes them both feel a lot more relaxed with a team member close by.

Lance slides closer until their legs touch and bring his arm up to drape it over Keith's side. They face each other in the dark and Keith knows his face is flushed, he's come to accept it.

It's Lance who speaks up first.

"Why are you doing this? Can't you see that we're all worried about you ? That I'm worried about you?" He whispers it out like a prayer, soft and sweet, like he's afraid to shatter the silent air around them.

Keith makes a questioning noise, even though he knows exactly what Lance is talking about.

"Please Keith. Let me know what's wrong. I've tried giving you space, but you're only getting worse. You know I only want to help. Talk to me."

Lance's hand slide up to rest on the curve of Keith's cheek. He knows Keith is about to break, he knows that there's only so much hiding the black paladin can do before he spills.

And still he does.

He sobs out about how he doesn't want this role, it's too much, how he doesn't know what to do. He tells Lance that he wants to go home, wherever that's supposed to be, that he's too tired. He whispers out that he just misses his brother, that he feels lost, that all he wants is to have Shiro's strong presence there to guide him. He tells Lance about how he's been spiraling, that he's been having darker thoughts than ever, and how purely afraid he is. He even talks about the voices that have almost constant.

"Do you- do you think I'm going to turn Galra?"

This is the first thing that catches Lance off guard. "What you you mean, Red?"

Keith fumbles for the right words. "I fly the Black lion now. It's first paladin was Galra, and look what happened to him."

"Shiro isn't Galra though. That was just one paladin."

"Shiro is entirely human. Not only half," he huffs out.

Lance's eyes seem to glow for a moment, and Keith can make out his pointed gaze. "You know what? Yes. You are Galra. Keith, you are Galra and you have to accept it sooner or later. Either way, you don't have to worry, because no matter who you are, I'll always be right here. Okay? You could be Zarkon's long lost brother for all I care, it will never matter to me. You're still you."

Lance pulls Keith up to his chest tightly, and their breathing falls into a pattern so that their stomachs rise and fall smoothly.

"It's always going to be you. Just like I'll always be me."

He pauses to think for a moment before saying, "And if you want to talk to Allura about the Black paladin thing, I'll back you up. Someone else can take Black and you can go back to red. Or we can stay like this and I'll make sure to be better at supporting you."

Keith feels a happy giggle building up.

"Thanks, Blue."

"No problem, Red."

They fall asleep together like that, and Keith feels a whole lot safer trapped against the other paladin, safer than he's felt in years.

-

This planet is jagged with mountains and it's people can dance like you've never seen before. They throw great parties, too.

Keith walks among the crowded room, thankfully not too stressed out by all the people.

Someone taps him on the shoulder. He turns to see a small alien child holding out a pretty pink flower.

"Hello. Are you the Black paladin?"

Keith smiles softly, but before he can answer, someone places a hand on the small of his back.

"Well, you can't forget about his dashing partner! I'm Lance, and this is Keith. We're the Black paladins."

-----------------------------------------

Shhhh I know this concept is iffy but I like Keith and Lance sharing Black. Allura would take Red, and Coran is the perfect fit for Blue.

I tried to spell disappeared as dissapearded. I actually went through and fixed most of my errors for once, WOW I have bad grammar. I think it's because I type this one finger really fast. I hit the wrong keys a lot. Oops.

[justmenoworries]

I saw you reblogged an alphabet based ask meme so do you mind answering

J U S T M E O W R I N

Sorry but your url repeated some letters haha

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr. (You don’t have to care about it or follow it; it just has to be something that Tumblr made you aware of.)

What We Do in the Shadows. Honestly, I still don't know much about it. From what I've gatjered it's a parody reality show with vampires instead of normal humans.

And one of the characters shares a name with my favorite director, is a vampire hunter but also dates one of the vampires, I think?

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

Soundwave from Transformers. Because he's cool and his bond with his little cassetes is adorable when it's done right. Even Evil has Loved Ones at its finest.

Shadow the Hedgehog from the Sonic franchise. He's cute and I love him and he's my blorpo and Sega hasn't treated him right since Sonic 06. Fingers crossed for the third Sonic movie.

Undyne from Undertale. Cool knight-fishlady who gets overshadowed by funny bone man a lot of the time. She's a badass, I wish the fandom would treat her as more than a one-off joke. Justice for the Murder Mermaid.

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

Ummm, my personal headcanon is that Pokémon can communicate verbally with their trainers and their trainers will be able to understand them just fine.

This isn't based on anything, I just write my Pokémon ocs that way because it's easier than playing Lassie-pantomimes in-story.

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?

Not really.

All of my headcanons are pretty malleable.

(M was already answered in a previous ask.)

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?

Not that I know of.

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

I Really Want Go to Stay At Your House by Rosa Walton

Reminds me of White Tiger, an OC ship of mine.

W - A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom.

Easily Forgiven.

I hate snapshot redemptions with all my heart.

Let redeemed villains face consequences for their actions instead of portraying them as misunderstood woobies who just need to have a good cry to make the heroes forget all the orphanages they burned down.

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

Papyrus/Undyne.

They're both dorks, but one is also a jock. It's a really underrated dynamic.

I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

The Klancers (Keith x Lance shippers) really soured Voltron: Legendaty Defender for me.

They made practically everything about their ship and harassed anybody wo just didn't see it.

I'm glad Allurance got canonized.

Reading the dozens of salty Klancers crying about it was funny. Which is probably the only positive impact those people will ever have on my life.

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

I'm picking the Undertale fandom, just because.

I'd like more AUs that revolve around characters other than the skelebros. I've recently come across Undying Determination, an AU where Undyne in her Undying form goes up against a genocidal human after Sans dies and I loved reading it so far. More of that, please.

I want people to stop demonising Toriel. She's not perfect by any means, but she really doesn't deserve the hate she seems to getfrom the majority of the fandom nowadays. People seem to forget that at the end of the day she is a traumatized mother trying her best. She's not some heartless harpy out to ruin Asgore's life and I wish people would sop portraying her as such.

Also, I wish people wouldn't use Undyne solely to prop up other characters. Whenever she shows up in AUs you can bet it's only to get upstaged. Mostly by Sans, because even five years later the fandom is just obsessed with him. Undyne is a badass in her own right, stop reducing her to the hypeman or the character who gets beaten up to establish the severity of the threat. My girl didn't whoop the players' asses with nothing but her own determination in the genocide run to be disrespected like this.

[gooddayfellowgays]

I’m in a mood to fight some fangirlies so welcome to...

THE CIRCULAR HELL THAT IS FANDOM!!! (a mini essay)

yes I’m taking this too seriously shut up.

When I was about 12 I had a surgery that got infected and was put on bedrest for 6 months, right up until my birthday. For a lonely 12 year old there was nothing better to do than catch up on a show my bestie suggested and browse Wattpad tags about it. And that show was Voltron. 

For anyone who doesn’t know, Voltron was a kids animated show that ran for two years and six months, with EIGHT seasons. EIGHT! It was my first proper fandom and if I had to describe the environment in one word, it would be unsupervised. The show itself was a simple space opera/ comedy.  It was fun, it was quirky and it gained a following really, really, quick. 

Because of how quickly the fandom built itself (and the fast release dates) Voltron became a hot bed for the worst sorts of discourse. Now I’m 1000% sure there was extra context from where these people came from before that would give some explanation but I’m only aware of this; A toxic mix of older fans harassing others and younger fans learning from them led to fans actively harassing a voice actor to the point they had security protecting them at cons. More than usual.  

But before I tell you that story; we must know what led up to it. What convinced fans to harass this poor actor? Well.

Within vld (Voltron) there was this huge shipping war  between Klance and Sheith. All you really need to know about those too is that a character named Keith was involved in both of them and there is only one Keith. The actor shipped Sheith. And Klance shippers had been harassing Sheith shippers for as long as they both lived. If you look at any posts from back then you can see just how violent the threats got. 

This actor shipped Sheith. And I still remember the open letters big name fans posted begging people to treat the actor like a person. 

But then Voltron ended in the worst way possible (honestly, look it up) just before my 13th and suddenly a whole bunch of disillusioned fans need somewhere to go, to try and heal.  And where did they go? 

She-ra and Dragon Prince. 

I really recommended watching the Choledoesthings seires on voltron to get an idea of what the fandom was like during its running and after. 

Now heres the circular part. The older fans came from places like Miraculos Ladybug, Hamilton ect. all the bad ones. And then they went to anime and queer kids shows (qks) fandoms, keeping there bad habits and teaching newbies how to act and, in the end, causing the burgeoning toxicity in the Owl House fandom. 

I’m writing this just before  my 18th. I, like so many others my age, got pulled into the same set of QKS fandoms with barely a second thought. Except I watched two season of She-ra and saw it was doing the same thing vld did and got out before I got hurt. 

I like to think I learn’t from my experiences on Wattpad (and boy do I have some stories). Namely that I don’t argue with people on the internet about ships or fanfic or whatever. I keep to myself and if I don’t like something I suck it up. 

But I know for a fact, if you go far enough back on some Owl House fans accounts, you’ll find VLD. Everytime. 

This is the problem. Fandom is great, but only if we work to maintain it. Personally, I'm probably gonna bail on the Owl House if things keep getting worse. But I really don’t want too. I’m going to keep my little buble as it is and recommend you do too. 

Stay safe out there loves. And remember, ships aren’t worth the harassment 

[pokckygamewithbatman]

Voltron Rant about Allurance

In my incredibly unbiased and uneducated opinion, I think Allura and Lance was an insult. I haven’t watched most of Voltron mk, Like maybe a few seasons and then it got boring, and then I just watched like the last episode or two of season 8 and was so pissed??? Like they were queerbaiting and also not? Whatever his name is, Shiro or sumn, the guy with like 4 clones, he gets like a piddly little wedding during the end credits of the show to some dude that I’ve never met and suspect that said dude was shown like, a couple times in random ass flashbacks and then the writers were like “oh people liked klance, let’s not give them that and throw together this atrocity of a relationship instead” like ok if dude man was significant, he would’ve been shown more, then it would’ve been believable.

Lance and Allura could’ve totally been the besties where all the heteros are like why aren’t they together it doesn’t makes any sense, they’re friends so they must be boning. Like no, it could've paved the way for a delightful dynamic where men and women can be awesome friends. ALSO Allura goes and fucking dies and Lance gets all depressed????

Like hello have you not been here for the entirety of the series Lance is a happy-go-lucky puppy who makes the best out of situations, gets into trouble and never gives up. That’s what makes him significant. He’s like Hal Jordan, not too much is going on but he has a can-do attitude that you just can’t stay mad at. I don’t know how Allura dies but now Lance is depressed, has eye bags, and is a lame ass farmer??? No thank you both he and Keith are kinda miserable at the end of the show. Keith is like, a nurse or something I don’t remember, one of those disaster relief people, bringing supplies to those in need and I am DISGUSTED that he and Lance aren’t together.

Like ok, was klance one of the first ships I was ever exposed to? Yes. Is klance the classic red and blue, gloomy and happy, moon and sun ship? Yes. But it worked so well. Voltron could’ve totally done something for the fans, because I’m sorry, even if not many were shipping klance because it takes a very special (demented) type of fan to do that, I promise you that no one was shipping Allurance (which is a crap ship name btw). It just doesn’t feel right there’s something about it, the chemistry was all wrong, they just didn’t mesh well together as characters in a relationship yk? Also the whole thing where Lance becomes Altean too, I just didn’t get it? Was he secretly Altean the whole time?? Did the kiss turn him Altean??

It started out good, everyone was besties, Lance was flirting with Allura (but I mean how could he not she’s gorgeous), but was also giving some heavy bi vibes which was exciting for the audience. It ended with depressed farmer Lance, depressed nurse Keith, and and a queer bait wedding during the end credits. I don’t remember what happened to Pidge tbh, it turned out she was a girl, but that was many seasons ago. Hunk was seemingly the only one who looks genuinely happy, and that’s because he stuck to his guns. He’s good at food so make him a chef. It would be completely wrong if say, they made him a war hero or something. Yk, something that doesn’t mold at all with his character and personality and values.

Voltron is good, last few seasons are mid, revelation in last season was terrible.