#Keith Bates

[scholarofgloom]

[klanced]

when adam met 11yo keith he immediately knew that keith was gay and was like i have GOT to support this kid!! (runs into traffic) meanwhile shiro spent years operating under the assumption that keith had like a gender thing going on

[whoishotteranimepolls]

"Who's Hotter?" Animericans

[theshineegirl]

rewatching dexter is so funny to me after seeing so many actors in other shows over the years like oh rita's ex husband is lucifer but also that guy who held eddie diaz hostage that one time and huh debs dating young john dorie senior and oh there's bobby singer being a deadbeat dad and omg baby finn wittrock?? wait isn't that the guy from bates motel hunting down hannah??

[cantsayidont]

July 1983. Accidentally transported to the 30th Century, Ambush Bug runs amok in the Superman Museum as the Legion of Substitute Heroes tries and fails to stop him. The ridiculous thing about the above exchange from DC COMICS PRESENTS #59 (which has been stuck in my head for years) is that it's not even a joke: The girl with the antennae is Infectious Lass (Drura Sehpt of Somahtur), and that really is her power, as explained in her first appearance in 1974:

Not the hero we need, surely, but perhaps the hero we deserve.

[jt1674]

[beyondthespheres]

Stephen DeStefano & Dave Hunt for Video Jack #6, by Cary Bates & Keith Giffen, 1988

[adamwatchesmovies]

Gargoyles the Movie: Heroes Awaken (1994)

Back in 1995, I distinctly remember seeing a VHS of Gargoyles: The Movie at the video rental store. I picked it as my movie of the week and was disappointed when I realized it was only the 5-part series premiere edited together. This means we’re not really talking about a movie here, but we sort of are as well. Let's consider it a made-for-TV movie for this review's sake. As that, how does this fare?

In 994 A.D., Scotland, Castle Wyvern repels any invaders thanks to its stone gargoyles, which come to life at nighttime. Despite his frightening appearance, their leader, Goliath (voiced by Keith David) desires only cooperation between his clan and the humans who defend them while they are petrified during the day. Following a betrayal from within the castle walls, most of the gargoyles are destroyed and the few survivors are frozen in stone until the castle they defend rises above the clouds. A thousand years later, in Manhattan, billionaire David Xanatos (Jonathan Frakes) has moved the castle above his headquarters. Awoken in an unfamiliar world, they find a friend in Elisa Maza (Salli Richardson), an open-minded police detective.

Don’t expect the visuals to rival a theatrical production or even something like Nickelodeon’s The Last Airbender. While the characters are consistently on-model, I spotted at least one coloring error in the second half of the picture and there is more than one instance of the stone gargoyles looking pretty different from their awakened state - the "statues" are painted as static background elements so the stone texture and the angles of their muscles/limbs are much more detailed than anything in the moving foreground. Finally, this is a pilot so while it is self-contained, many threads will only pay off in later seasons, such as the gargoyle eggs Goliath leaves with Princess Katharine (Kath Soucie) and her wizard (Jeff Bennett) (not sure why he did that, in hindsight). That said, this is a strong debut.

There are many characters in this story and the gargoyles other than Goliath - they name themselves Lexington (Thom Adcox Hernandez), Hudson (Ed Asner), Brooklyn (Jeff Bennett again), Broadway (Bill Fagerbakke), and Bronx (Frank Welker) - are more established than given character arcs. This makes Goliath the protagonist and the others supporting characters. I’ve found that in most children’s television series, the leader turns out to be the least interesting member of a team but that’s not the case here. Goliath is at once trusting of humans and wary of opening up. He can be calm and collected but is also prone to fits of rage and frequently talks of vengeance against those who’ve wronged him. He adapts well to his new setting but shows no affinity for modern-day tech like some of his comrades. He's many things at once, which keeps you watching and wondering what's next. There are no obvious character arcs within him.

Gargoyles rather elegantly uses the limitations imposed upon it as a boy’s property to its advantage. All of the gargoyles in Manhattan are male, guaranteeing there won’t be any weird “should we start repopulating?” discussions. It also adds an extra level of tragedy to the story by making them the last of their kind. Conveniently, this makes Elisa the lone female hero of the show/film without making her a token. If there’s a secondary protagonist, it’s her (which gives you a bit of a Beauty and the Beast vibe) and unlike other shows, her status as a colored woman does not make her feel like a quota. It should also be noted that Xanatos is a person of color as well, making this a show with more POC than Caucasians. It may be because most of the cast are non-humans but that’s still something I feel is worth noting.

The story features plenty of varied action. There are battles set in 994 and others in the present as well - some of which don’t include the gargoyles at all and allow the human characters to shine. There are twists and turns as allies become enemies and new partnerships are formed. The general tone is tragic and adventurous with a few bits of comedy thrown in here and there. Best of all, this is a wholly original property. The show was conceived as an answer to Batman: The Animated Series but rather than dig up some available superhero property (this was years before Disney acquired Marvel), it's is something new.

My favorite scene of the film is an interaction between Goliath and his mate, Demona (Marina Sirtis), who managed to survive the thousand-year slumber. During a mission for Xanatos, she prepares to throw an unconscious guard out of an airlock to his death but is stopped by Goliath. “The centuries have made you weak, Goliath,” she says. The thing is, very little time has actually passed for the winged warrior. He’s been frozen in stone. He HASN’T changed but that one sentence shows how much she HAS. It’s a nice subtle exchange.

I am coming into this review biased. Though I haven’t seen the show in years, I remember it well and certainly, remember how it made me feel in 1994. It played right into my fascination with mythology & monsters and I attribute my affection for Shakespeare (the series draws inspiration from Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, among others) to the show. It had a lasting impression on me and I believe it has the power to enchant young audiences once more. (July 28, 2022)

[gameofthunder66]

'Revolutionary Road' (2008) film

=watched 7/14/2024- 2 [1/4] stars- on DVD

[mariocki]

Man in a Suitcase: Blind Spot (1.20, ITC, 1968)

"You know what I have in here?"

"Your lunch?"

"A confidential report concerning you."

"Confidentially, I don't care."

[onlylonelylatino]

"The Grape-Crushers" by Trina Robbins

[cateyeswrites]

it's always insane to remember how much the writers hated Lance

lance professors talked so abusively to him

he never got to confront them

they gave him his best friend blue to just snatch her away

they made him switch lions by having blue reject him

he never connected with red

Keith abandoned him after they had connected and made Lance feel like shit because he already felt like the 7th wheel keith leaving to make space for him did NOT help

they never talked about this

he had no real pot arc after season 1

his friends froze him out of their trio

no one bated an eye at shiro screaming at him

he got replaced by matt real quick

oh yeah HE DIED

no one ever knew or talked about it

he was alluras second choice

allura died and MADE HIM ALTEAN?

he almost died again and his lion didn't even save him

He threw away all his dreams, was consumed by grief, and became a farmer never able to move on from the pain and no one AGAIN bated an eye.

[aquagirl1978]

Hello, aqua! May I please have chevalier and "cupping his cheeks and calling him cute"? I want to see his reaction :)

Thanks!

Hi anon - thank you for this request. I am always happy to write my favorite

The Exchange

A/N: Part of my Naughty or Nice event Pairing: Chevalier Michel x Reader Prompt: cupping his cheeks and calling him cute Word count: 1071 Tags: fluff

It was just another day in the office of the foreign affairs faction – Chevalier was seated regally at his desk, quill in hand, while Nokto, who was seated nearby, was reviewing trade agreements. Clavis was off somewhere, presumably the garden with Cyran digging traps. Luke was likely napping in the gardens, a menagerie gathering on his sleeping body.

You had just returned after visiting Sariel’s office, arms ladened with papers the king needed to sign. Chevalier looked up, his gaze softening upon seeing you, his smile gentle as you approached his desk. His eyes never left yours as you placed the stack of papers on his desk, waiting for you to take your seat next to him at his desk.

You worked seamlessly as a pair, barely a word needed as you pointed with a fingertip where he needed to sign. He quickly scanned the documents placed before him, pleased with your diligence in reviewing them. He’d then silently pass the documents back to you, his gloved thumb barely grazing the back of your hand.

“King Highness, the Jadean delegation will be here in a few days. Prince Keith will be arriving with them.”

“I’m aware,” Chevalier replied, his gaze fixed on the paperwork before him. Nokto sauntered over, winking at you as he leaned against his brother’s desk. 

“Then you know they will be looking for…”

“Yes, I know,” he said with a sigh, setting down his quill. His eyes flicked up, blue meeting red. “If they want me to entertain their demands…” he added with a wicked smirk.

“How’s three?” Nokto asked with a tilt of his head.

For all his frivolity, Nokto was quite adept not only at his job but handling Chevalier. While the king of Rhodolite was notoriously stubborn, known for not doing a single thing he didn’t want to, it was a poorly kept secret that he could be bribed – with books – to do those things he didn’t particularly want to do.

You watched your love, waiting with bated breath for his reaction.

“Four,” he replied, his gaze averted. “They still owe me one from the last time Prince Keith was here.”

*******

A few days later….

It was already dark when there was a knock at the door to the office. You glanced at Chevalier, the only other person in the room with you, wondering who it could be at this hour.

Rising from your seat, you walked around the desk and opened the heavy door. “Prince Keith, what a pleasant surprise,” you greeted, inviting him to enter.

The tall man bowed his head. “Forgive the intrusion, Your Majesty,” Keith said, “but I just ran into Prince Nokto who reminded me of something.”

“Yes?” Chevalier asked, resting his chin in his hand.

Keith approached his desk, his long legs swiftly taking him there; the moment Chevalier saw the books Keith was carrying, a soft smile spread on his lips as his gaze lingered on the treasure Keith was holding.

Leaning against the wall, you quietly observed Chevalier, your gaze never leaving his.

“On behalf of Jade, I’d like to request an audience with Your Majesty…” Keith stood tall before the king, a slight tremor in his hands as he gently held the books. 

Chevalier waved a hand, his gaze fixed on the leather-bound volumes cradled in Keith’s hands.

“There’s five,” the king said softly.

“My sincerest apologies, Your Majesty. I brought an extra since I was so delinquent in getting you that book you requested on my last visit here. I am so sorry,” Keith replied. “May I?” he asked, seeking permission to place the books on the desk. Chevalier nodded, his gaze still on the books. “This one,” Keith said, proudly pointing to the book on top, “was recommended to me by my friend, Maeve. I hope you like it as much as we did.”

Chevalier steepled his fingers, silent in thought. “The others, they’re all by the same author.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Sonia is my friend, she is quite the popular author in Jade and I thought –.”

“Your friend?” Chevalier interrupted, eyes widening.

“Yes, I feel like I’ve known Sonia forever. She’s always wanted to visit Rhodolite. If she ever does get to travel here, I could arrange for you to meet her.” Keith stopped, and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I’m being far too presumptive…”

“I’d like that,” Chevalier said simply. “I’ll meet with you and your delegation tomorrow afternoon.”

“Thank you,” Keith mumbled while bowing his head, somewhat stunned things worked out as easily as Nokto had told him. “Thank you again for your graciousness.” Keith, head still bowed, bumped into a chair behind him. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered to the chair before escorting himself from the office.

As soon as the door closed, and with a bright smile, you made your way over to Chevalier’s desk. You didn’t wait to be invited; you took it upon yourself to sit on the king’s lap. Cupping his cheeks, you tilted his face towards yours.

“You’re so cute when you get excited. Like when you see books.”

Chevalier scoffed,  his eyes gleaming with mischief. “I get excited with you.”

Your cheeks flushed with warmth. “That’s not the same,” you said softly, slowly stroking his cheek with the pad of your thumb. “ It’s different when you see new books. Your eyes sparkle and your face lights up like a child on Christmas morning.” 

“It’s a rare joy I don’t often see you express,” you continued, tracing his lips with your fingertip, “but one that I carve into my heart every time I bear witness to it.”

“Are you done yet?” he asked with a laugh. The corners of his lips twitched, curling into a smile, while his gaze drifted towards the pile of books lying on his desk. Your hands fell from his face and settled on his shoulders, his quickened pulse easily felt by your fingertips grazing his neck. 

Leaning closer, you tilted your face so you could whisper into his ear. “I know you’re itching to read those books. Let’s retire to your room.”

Your words – or perhaps it was your warm breath on his skin – caught his attention. He wrapped a clumsy hand in your hair, pulling you close for a kiss. 

“After I’ve had my fill of my books,” he whispered between kisses, “I’m devouring you next.”

His ice blue eyes warming as he gazed into your eyes. 

Tagging: @redheadkittys @alixennial @rhodolitesroseforclavis @chaosangel767 @queengiuliettafirstlady

@queen-dahlia @ikehoe @ikemen-writer @talfollowingstuff @kpop-and-otome

@drachonia @ranhanabi777 @silver-dahlia @keithsandwich @lunaaka

@kisara-16 @altairring @lucyw260 @lordsisterxotome @umi-adxhira

@crypticbibliophile @lancelotscloak @scorchieart @tele86 @nightfoxqueen

@nightghoul381 @maries-gallery @xbalayage @xenokiryu @alydra

@melodiousramblings @wendolrea @aceuuuu @randonauticrap @aria-chikage

@portrait-ninja @sh0jun @ikesenwritings @kalims-pessimist-bestie

[the-monkey-ruler]

American Born Chinese (2023) 西游ABC

Director: Destin Cretton / Ding Tai / Liu Deren / Zhang Peng / Cheng Yu / Lucy Liu / Erin O'Malley Screenwriters: You Chaomin / You Chaokai / Vali Chandrasekaran / Warren Xu Renard / Aaron Izek / Lawrence Day / Wu Kai / Lana Zhou Starring: Wang Ban / Liu Jing / Michelle Yeoh / Guan Jiwei / Daniel Wu / Yanyan Yeung / Chin Han Huang / Sidney Taylor / Mahi Alam / Qian Xinyi / Leonard Wu / David Blum / Larry Bates / Stani Blyden / Liu Bo / Josh Duvendek / Celeste Dun / Meg Schimmelfinney / Wu Hanzhang / Ouyang Wancheng / Jiang Jinan / Marty Ma / Ethan Ritchie / Xu Weilun / Jennifer Irwin / Lu Yan / Brian Hirsch / Derek Yates / Tory Keith / Gloria Reno Genre: Comedy / Action / Fantasy Country/Region of Production: United States Language: English / Mandarin Chinese Date: 2023-05-24 (USA) Number of episodes: 8 Single episode length: 30 minutes Also known as: ABC Westward Journey / ABC / 美生中国人 / 美国出生的中国人 / ABC大话西游 IMDb: tt15552018 Type: Continuation

Summary:

American Born Chinese tells the story of teenager Jin Wang (played by Ben Wang), a son of Chinese immigrants, who for the most part is a typical high school kid. He collects manga, tries to join the soccer team, and is on a journey dealing with his own identity as he tries to figure out who he is. One day, Wei-Chen (Jimmy Liu), an exchange student, arrives at Jin's school. Unlike Jin, Wei-Chen didn't grow up in America, is loud and open by nature, and doesn't exhibit Jin's self-doubt and insecurities. At times, this causes Jin to feel embarrassed being associated with Wei-Chen.

Wei-Chen is revealed to be the son of Sun Wukong (portrayed by Daniel Wu), commonly known as the Monkey King, a legendary figure in Chinese literature. Wei-Chen had a dream that the mythical Fourth Scroll can stop an uprising against Heaven. The dream also told him that an ordinary teenager is destined to aid him in his search. So Wei-Chen stole his father's magical staff and is now, disguised as a high schooler, searching for the scroll in earthly California, convinced that Jin is the ordinary teenager from his prophetic dream.

Source: https://movie.douban.com/subject/35618427/

Link: N/A

[gilyoungroach]

I feel like if Keith had Twitter he would get bated into so many arguments, like he'd be in replies for hours yelling over the most pointless shit and then he'd bring it up to Shiro like "can you believe this fucking guy??" in which Shiro would respond by making Keith delete Twitter and unmoot all his mcr loving friends

[lmaowatermelon]

Heartlines

Klance / 3.5k / T

Contains moments of pining and Keith and Lance being gone for each other while they go on a silly mission gone wrong

Contains mild injury and torture

Updated link for @catsushinyakajima

Maybe it’d be easier to start from the beginning when explaining why Keith is missing.

Lance has no trouble recalling Pidge’s life-changing discovery: a planet similar to Earth.

“This is perfect,” Pidge elaborates, radiating excitement. “With such similar soil and atmospheric composition, we can probably count on getting more food here. We won’t have to wear air masks, either.”

Shiro sighs and nods. “The food supply is getting lower. We should give it a try. Do we have leftover money from the last planet, Hunk?”

Hunk winces but pokes around his touchscreen for a while and scrolls around. The paladins watch him with bated breath, and he eventually nods.

“Looking good Shiro,” the yellow paladin notes. “We just need to find an exchange post for the local currency. Trade for their coins.”

Pidge does a tiny fist pump and Lance looks like his life has changed forever. Which, he’d argue, it totally has, because he thinks he’ll cry if he sees space goo for the thousandth week in a row.

The supply mission goes off without a hitch — at first, anyway. Everyone splits into pairs/trios: Coran and Allura, Keith and Lance, and Pidge, Shiro, and Hunk. Shiro ignores Lance’s weak protests and orders them to enter the food market first once they have the right currency. Thanks to technology, they understand the language better through the little screens on their comms devices.

“This guy is selling two Galantis Peaches for the price of one!” Lance calls out to Keith. “Or what about space seaweed rice balls? 4 for the price of two!”

Keith almost snaps that they don’t have time for this, before realizing that buying food is why they’re here, and Lance is very much staying on task. He shakes his head to prevent a small smile from forming.

“Wait, they have onigiri here?” Keith inquires. He raises an eyebrow and strolls over with his arms crossed. “That’s just like…”

…what my dad used to make me.

Lance knows Keith well enough to fill in the blanks, though he thankfully doesn’t push the issue, and instead asks the guy at the stall for the whole batch. Keith tries to stop him with a weak raise of his hand but relents upon seeing the beaming smile on Lance’s face.

“Why don’t we share some before we keep going?”

The taste makes Keith almost tear up. It’s been ages since he had something like this because he never really had regular meals as a kid, much less any knowledge of how to prepare basic food. He goes silent and eats with almost meditative slowness, as if eating it too fast will make it disappear forever.

He doesn’t realize Lance is watching him until he gets to his very last bite.

“What?” Keith questions, mouth full of rice. “Is something wrong?”

Lance shakes his head with a shameless grin. “Nah, just happy you’re happy.”

Well, that’s not a sentence I’ll dwell on for the rest of my life, Keith’s brain thinks for him as he swallows his snack-lunch and stands up.

The duo makes their rounds around their sector of the market for a while after that, picking up anything resembling Earth food and counting coins together in the corner, determined to be smart since they want to make the best of it.

Sometime later, Keith is busy staring at nothing and standing somewhere off to the side.

“Well, hello there,” Lance drawls, his signature flirtatious tone bouncing off every nearby surface.

The sudden change in Lance’s demeanor whips Keith’s attention back to reality. He’s leaning over the table of what looks to be a fortune-telling booth, and Keith sighs, hoping to get this episode over with.

The girl at the booth giggles and covers her smile with her tentacled hand. She asks if he’d like his fortune told and Keith tries to pretend he doesn’t know Lance to get out of it. He fails when Lance calls him over by name, and Keith grits his teeth, put off by the sight of Tarot cards on the velvet tabletop.

The girl shuffles the cards and fans them out face down, gesturing to Keith, her eyes gleaming mysteriously. “Go ahead, young hero. Pick one.”

Keith squints at Lance, who playfully bumps his shoulder, giving Keith the kind of look that makes his heart sputter. He turns away and selects a card the fortune teller picks up to read.

She raises an eyebrow and then smiles with a knowing expression. “It’s the Two of Cups, upright. Did you have someone on your mind when you chose this card?”

Keith reels in confusion at that. He was thinking about Lance for about a second before he chose a card, but he didn’t think that counted, or, at least, it probably didn’t—

“That’s crazy,” Lance exhales with excitement. Keith swears he can see sparkles flying off the guy while he speaks.

“What, do you know what that means?” Keith asks. He’s trying to play along, but in the end, he’s not super into this future prediction or crystal-magic stuff.

Lance nods and stares at Keith like he’s just realized something life-changing. The red paladin scratches his head and flushes at the direct eye contact. The fortune teller, to his dismay, smiles even wider.

She gestures towards Lance with a flourish. “Go ahead and elaborate, sir.”

Lance picks the card up and shows Keith the art on it. It shows two people holding golden goblets and facing each other at a rather intimate distance, with a beautiful blue sky behind them. It gives Keith a rush of nostalgia to see that horizon, even when he feels on edge about the situation.

“Listen, Keithster,” Lance says, ever energetic. “This is one of the love cards. Depending on the reading you’re getting, anyway. It means loving yourself, and also— uh, a-anyway, it’s a good card!”

Keith wonders what Lance is about to say, but decides to end this nonsense before it goes any further. He turns back to the lady with his arms crossed. “Um, thank you for the card reading, but we need to get back to our friends.”

Keith lets out a low growl when he sees the fortune teller stand up instead. He’s trying his best to keep it together and be polite, but the more she smiles like that, the less safe he feels.

“Oh, but dear,” she says with a sultry tone, “your friend here hasn’t gotten his reading yet. Since you two are interesting I’ll let you have a more in-depth reading in my back room, plus a palm reading. All free of charge.”

Keith tries to decline, but the words barely leave his mouth before Lance agrees, his hand reaching back to drag him inside. Keith is overwhelmed by Lance’s warmth as it seeps into his skin. 

It overrides his reason until it’s far too late.

In all fairness, though, the inner room is beautiful. It’s draped with rich purple velvet curtains that cover the ceiling. Elegant lanterns illuminate the space from each corner of the room. On the ornate wooden tables, stacks of stones, cards, and astronomy gadgets are piled on each other. It looks exactly how Keith would have imagined it, but he refuses to let his guard down and stands beside the table instead of sitting with Lance.

“Go ahead, please,” Keith urges, eager to move on and get out.

Lance rolls his eyes, though it’s clear he’s still cheerful, happiness painted in bright shades across his face. The fortune teller begins to shuffle the cards, quick as lightning and slow and methodical, in a rhythm that almost lulls Keith into closing his eyes to sleep.

Entire minutes pass until Keith realizes he’s too drawn in and the flames in the lamps have gone out. The room is completely dark and Keith tries to feel around for anything to ground him. A sinking stone in the pit of his stomach fights with his usual tough nature, filling his entire body with dread.

When the lights come back on, he’s not in the marketplace anymore.

Not even close.

Keith is surrounded by a giant pink bubble that stretches far above his head. Beyond his odd prison are a bunch of formations that look like the inside of some sort of gigantic cave, with rich brown and red streaks curling around the sharp stalactites and stalagmites, and water dripping rhythmically from the ceiling.

He glances down at his feet and almost throws up when he sees that he’s also very high up off the ground. Keith is not a huge fan of having a paper-thin bubble solution between him and the cave floor.

The red paladin curses himself for not listening to his gut and letting this happen. He checks around him for signs of Lance and fails to spot anyone. After a few experimental pokes at the bubble cage’s surface, he sits uncomfortably on the floor of his pastel prison, going over his options in his head, one-by-one.

It doesn’t take much longer for Keith to register footsteps in the distance.

Then, he hears a voice: Lance.

“I don’t know where the heck you’re taking me, but you won’t get away with this!”

Oh, god.

The fortune teller from earlier no longer hides her shrill movie villain laugh. “Just to see an old friend. Look, isn’t he a lovely decoration for my back rooms?”

Lance gazes up and they make blistering eye contact. The blue paladin gasps and rushes forward, determined to reach Keith in record time. Keith flushes at the sight of Lance’s concern and is suddenly grateful for the distance between them.

Lance doesn’t make it very far, though. The tentacled fortune teller lady can, in fact, stretch like bubblegum, because she lashes out and extends her right arm until it wraps around Lance and freezes him in place.

“What the—” Lance cries, incredulous. “Let go of me!”

The fortune teller shakes her head. “Do you think I’d let my prized decoration go for free? No, we should play a game. Winner keeps the hero. Forever!”

She prances around the room with Lance dragging behind her, still trapped in her chokehold, and unable to reach his bayard or anything that could help. By the time she’s found what she’s looking for, Lance looks like he’s on the verge of passing out, and Keith isn’t far off from doing the same.

And, actually, Keith is starting to feel very, very lightheaded. He feels his chest struggle to contract for air as it warms up to an uncomfortable degree around him. The world starts to blur and double and he can’t remember if he’s called out again or not, or if he even decided on an escape plan.

Yes, he thinks drowsily. Escape, that sounds nice. Escape and a big bowl of food goo.

One more second passes before he collapses and starts to shut down.

“KEITH!” Lance shouts in concern. “Hold on, I’ll get ya!”

“Get who? You’re stuck with me, brat!” The fortune teller cackles. “Unless you want to start playing. I might as well introduce myself if we’re going this far, hmm? What if I told you I’m Erosia, planetary goddess of the future, love, and chaos?”

Lance just sighs. Normally, he’d be all for the grasp of a hot, strong lady. But the tug in his chest and the rage boiling in his stomach are hard to ignore. He won’t let this crazed goddess get anything good out of them.

Or so he thought.

“There’s only one way to get him out of there, and it doesn’t involve anything you can do with a cute little bayard. Just answer one question for me, brave warrior: how do you feel about Keith?”

Lance grits his teeth. “None of your business!”

Erosia snaps in reply and Lance turns his head to see Keith starting to gasp for air. Lance’s heart drops into his feet and he whirls on his foot, still stuck in her stupid arm.

Erosia tightens her grip. “Tell me, or. Keith. Dies.”

“Let me go, pendeja!” Lance screams.

The way Erosia looks at him makes his skin crawl. “You can at least admit how you feel. You’re not a person with a closed-off heart. Except for things like this, that is! I should warn you that Keith won’t last much longer.”

Lance’s face drops into full-blown panic. He doesn’t want Keith to get hurt or worse, but he also doesn’t want to give Aerosol (or whatever her name is) exactly what she wants. He spits on her arm and glares at her with all the animosity that he can muster.

“How about I make a trade?” Lance proposes, projecting his voice. “Our bayards in exchange for leaving both of us unharmed. And getting us out of here.”

Erosia purrs and shakes her head. “You’re so silly. I don’t care about the Galra and your galactic robot nonsense! Instead, why don’t we trade you for him? I’m sure any Paladin of Voltron would look just as good on my mantle.”

Lance crooks his head and sees Keith passed out on the floor of the bubble. He can’t even see the rise and fall of his chest anymore. The sight makes him take a shaking deep breath.

“I’ll do it.”

After way too long of a pause, Erosia starts to quake with hysterical laughs. “Just KIDDING! Watch this, Paladin!”

Lightning starts to arc around the inside of the bubble with no obvious source. Lance’s eyes widen in horror as Keith wakes up. He looks dizzy and unfocused, with utterly messed up hair and exhausted eyes.

Lance could almost tease him like always until he heard Keith’s screams from the horrific pain of a sudden electric current.

Keith’s desperately mouthing something at Lance and waving at him even through all of the torture.

It seems like he’s begging Lance to run away.

Lance starts to whimper. He tries to think of a solution but comes up dry without being able to use his hands. Then, he remembers something. 

He has teeth, doesn’t he?

The blue paladin opens his mouth wide and chomps on Erosia’s arm like it’s a fresh beef roast. She howls and shakes him out of her grip, and that’s Lance’s cue to jump her and hold her down with his body weight. He thanks the stars he learned some martial arts in his younger years and listened to his brother Marco.

“Let him go!” Lance roars, a force and volume in his voice that he’s never heard before.

Erosia is pinned, but it’s obvious that she delights in their pain. “Aww! Are you worried about him? All of a sudden?”

Lance snaps in a single second. “Shut up! Of course, I give a shit about him! He’s one of the reasons we stand a chance out there! He means a lot to me! More… more than I show him. But that’s none of your business. So, how about you stop your weird magic and let us go?!”

Erosia nods. “Good, keep going! If you want him free, open your heart, paladin!”

Lance is breathing so hard that he might pass out from his fury. Tears are in his eyes and he can barely think with Keith struggling to breathe and crying out as lightning hits him repeatedly. Erosia is laughing in his face about his feelings and about Keith getting hurt. It’s all so much that he covers her mouth and looks at her with disdain that could chill blood.

“If you’ll let him go, I’ll say it all,” Lance whispers.

Erosia’s crooked enjoyment only intensifies and she shakes underneath his grasp.

“Keith, you can’t hear me,” Lance yells, with a sliver of hope that the red paladin can hear him, and will remember every word somehow. “I was scared that I’d never catch up to you. So, I got on your nerves like it was my job. But now look at us! We’re sharing lunch, we’re laughing, we’re working together and we’re doing amazing things. Sometimes… sometimes I catch myself wishing I could keep you to myself. It sounds dumb. But I see how great you are, with a much, much tinier green monster of jealousy. I swear! You’re cool and I can’t see life without you now. I honestly want to take you out sometime when I don’t want to rip your hair out! I also think your whole look is kind of hot, so I’m a huge liar, and— ugh, I think I’m stopping here!”

Lance is very glad that Keith might not be able to hear him. But he also feels an intense pang of guilt at the possibility that he’d only have the guts to say this in this situation. Or that he’d only ever say any of it once.

He lets out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding as he sees Erosia destroy the bubble. Keith’s body is limp and burned, but when he’s brought into Lance’s arms, he at least has the barest pulse and breath.

“Are you happy? Can we go?” Lance asks with an impatient stare.

Erosia just turns her back to them and waves with a casual chuckle. “Of course. Good luck.”

—

When Lance brings an injured Keith to the castle ship, the rest of the paladins begin to pummel him with questions, but he ignores them all and puts Keith into the healing pod himself.

Keith wakes up 4 days later to find Lance passed out on the floor of the pod room. He’s snoring with a soft mumble here and there, swatting his hand around the room at invisible, imaginary things. Keith can’t help but notice that Lance looks thinner than usual.

He flops onto the floor with as much grace as he can manage. Lance is 100% in a deep sleep because he misses the howl of pain from Keith hitting his weak body on the side of the pod.

The red paladin makes the short crawl over to his friend after taking a breath and hesitantly taps his shoulder. “Lance?”

Lance responds in seconds, though he’s still very groggy. He rubs his eyes and pauses in shock when he realizes who woke him up. To Keith's surprise, the blue paladin just lays there and bursts into tears.

“L-Lance, what’s wrong?” Keith implores, concerned.

Lance can’t stop crying. He’s shaking and holding onto Keith’s wrist like a lifeline, his spirit thin as a thread. “It wasn’t worth it. The cards weren’t worth it!”

Keith’s eyes widen as everything comes flooding back to him. The torture, the weird bubble cage, the way Lance tried to help him with everything he had…

Keith gives him a tender smile. “Thanks for saving me anyway, sharpshooter.”

Lance is surprised that Keith references the nickname. He sniffles and tightens his grip on his fellow paladin.

“Of course, man. I couldn’t let her hurt you like that. She made me do weird stuff to get you out, so I did them, but by the time you were out you were burned everywhere and I didn’t know if you were still alive—”

Keith’s eyes are suddenly intense and angry — protective. “Lance, what did she make you do?”

Lance jumps in his skin at the question. He blushes and looks anywhere but Keith’s eyes. Then, his sadness seems to hit him again like a punch to the face, because the silent tears just start to pour.

Keith is startled. He reaches forward with a hesitant hand and brushes some of Lance’s messy hair out of his face.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Keith manages, guilt washing over him.

Lance shakes his head and gives Keith a crooked, heart-wrenching smile. “She made me talk about how I feel about…. uh. Someone important. She’s some sort of goddess of love and chaos or something, she’s insane!”

Keith frowns. The blue paladin looks so thoroughly broken, and it hurts so much that Keith forgets all his injuries for a second. He’s fine now, he thinks, and it’s clear that something bad happened while he was knocked out.

“You didn’t want to say anything?” Keith asks.

Lance’s expression tells him that he hit the jackpot. “Kind of. I didn’t want to tell her, the crazy demon lady, and I only said it because she was trying to hurt you. That’s all. I wish I had said it over a cute coffee date, not a mission gone wrong!”

Keith’s brow furrows. It’s obvious that he’s curious and not following, but he doesn’t say anything else for a while. All he does, and all he ends up needing to do, is sit beside Lance while he calms down.

“I don’t know if I can help. But do you want to eat?” Keith finally asks.

Lance is about to say no when his stomach grumbles. He flushes and tries to make up an excuse while Keith laughs and helps him stand.

“Space goo pancakes?” Lance proposes.

“Sounds good,” Keith shrugs with a grin.

When they get to the kitchen, Lance speaks up without turning around.

“I plan to say what I said back there again. My way.”

Keith raises an eyebrow, but soon enough, nods warmly. “That’s good. Take your time. I’ll be here.”

Lance finally turns his head, affection evident in his eyes. He nods, too, and hands Keith his plate.

“You want any syrup?”