#Pidge Ship Week

[kismetconstellations]

@sockdooe, I think that person was attempting to argue, with some exceptionally odd choice of words, that Sheith shippers are "nasty", because Shiro and Keith first met when Keith was a child. I assumed, based on the seven year age-difference and the fact that Shiro and Adam were cohabitating and headed toward engagement, that Shiro was at least twenty-one and Keith was fourteen and a high school freshman, when Shiro came out to Keith's school.

Not Shiro eighteen and Keith twelve.

Steven Yeun's voice was pitch-shifted in the flashbacks, but not enough to suggest that Keith hadn't even started puberty, yet. And, I don't think even fictional military academies recruit middle schoolers to be communications experts, data analysts, engineers, and pilots.

The majority of Shiro/Keith shippers only ship them in the context of both of them being legal adults, anyway, so I thought we were largely past the Keith/Shiro shippers are "pedophiles", angle.

Evidently not.

I guess I was giving this fandom too much credit.

[snowstories]

I saw a post that reminded me of this which is why I'm talking about this out of the blue but whenever I see the 'do canonically male characters you headcanon as trans girls count as female characters' debate pops up I remember this one event from the Voltron fandom where an f/f ship week banned genderbending and people lost their SHIT about it, SPECIFICALLY because the mods were like 'we want people to actually focus on the female characters and not submit already popular m/m ships but genderbent'.

This was years ago obviously so standard 'my memory may be fuzzy' disclaimer, but while I believe part of the reasons the mods banned genderbending was bc they believed it to be transphobic (which you could actually argue against and is a stance I don't agree with), and ppl were using that as leverage to argue, but that's not what ppl were actually angry about. Also, I believe the event was run by antis, who had a 'no age gap ships' rule in place, and people were mad about that, but like. The only f/f ships at the time with even kind of an age gap were ones involving Pidge, (which, again, for the record, I never personally gave much of a shit about), and yeah I do believe those were banned and ppl were pissy about that, but most of the ppl arguing with the ship restrictions were doing so in combination with the genderbending restriction, bc what they were mad about wasn't actually about a major female character being banned from the f/f ship week for Ship Discourse Reasons.

What they were angry about was specifically being told their genderbent m/m ships didn't count because they did not, in fact, contain female characters. Arguments were made that, because it was genderbent, it was now f/f and should be allowed in the f/f ship week. The mods went no, those are still canon male characters and popular m/m ships, and we're trying to run a week about the female characters and f/f ships because they don't get enough attention. The mods were fending accusatory and argumentative asks for ages and told people to create their own f/f ship week if they didn't like how theirs was run, which. People did.

A counter f/f ship week was organized but with less restrictions, specifically the restriction on genderbending was lifted. Now, I never followed Ship Week B, because I don't care about shipping and I was there to see more attention given to the female characters, which allowing genderbent m/m content seemed pretty anathema to. But I did check in on it out of curiosity, and to no-one's surprise, Ship Week B contained very large amounts of mostly genderbent sheith, with some shiro/lance and lance/keith thrown in. Like, I'm sure there was also actual f/f content (I remember there being some Pidge/Allura specifically), but I remember very little of it.

And as I alluded to in the large Nuance Disclaimer paragraph: yes this was the Voltron fandom, yes the Disk Horse was involved and made everything far more explosive than it probably would've been otherwise, and also, if the mods hadn't explicitly put the genderbending restriction in the rules list they probably would've gotten maybe a few genderbent m/m submissions tops. It's pretty obvious that a large motivation for Ship Week B was spite, and as someone whose username is literally spitecentral on AO3, I can confirm there is no stronger motivation for fan content than spite. I don't actually think that genderbent m/m is such a major problem in f/f spaces that it needs to be explicitly banned to avoid having it overrun ship weeks.

But even taking all that into account, this whole thing was completely fucking bonkers. Regardless of your opinions on the mods' opinions on genderbending and the Disk Horse, asking ppl not to submit genderbent m/m content on account of it not containing canon female characters is completely reasonable, and the fact that people got mad enough about it to create a whole seperate f/f ship week SPECIFICALLY to allow genderbent m/m content is insane. All the f/f ship week asked was for people to pay attention to female characters for once, and people threw a fucking tantrum about it and not only point-blank refused, but created more content for the male characters out of spite.

So yeah that was kind of a formative fandom experience to me that taught me:

People will take any excuse possible to avoid paying attention to female characters.

People will make literally anything, up to and including female character-centric fandom events, about men.

And that's what I think about any time I see people get offended when others point out that headcanoning a canon male character as a trans girl isn't the same as engaging with female characters.

[j-esbian]

ok here is my hot voltron take in 2024*

it’s all right. it’s not a masterpiece but that’s ok. it holds up and i still think it’s fun

i feel like it suffered from a lot of factors while it was coming out. the rushed production (76 episodes in just 2 years), fandom expectations exploding and exceeding what the show had ever planned to do, the creators running their mouths and people putting more faith in word of god than what made it into the actual show, etc.

it’s not the pinnacle of television. i think a lot of people had high hopes when it came out; i remember a lot of folks talking about how the people who made it had worked on the last airbender, so they were expecting a similar caliber. i think a better analogy would be that this is a mech anime for western audiences where mech animes aren’t really a thing. but it struggled to deliver on that

i do think the biggest thing it suffered from was the production schedule. i still don’t understand why it was divided up the way it was, into a bunch of small, unevenly distributed seasons. there’s a lot of things that could have been executed better, but didn’t get developed in the way they should have. and the final product (for a lot of the character stuff specifically) feels like a line of tropes strung together rather than a coherent narrative, and the plot had very little thought put into it long-term (there’s almost entire seasons that give no screen time to haggar/honerva and like. maybe we could have spent a bit more time showing her pulling the strings and manipulating zarkon/sendak/etc. rather than Only focusing on them, in the seasons where they’re the villains). this is generally something i associate with things that lasted past their expiration date (like supernatural lol). i would have to look more closely into the development of the later seasons, because it really gives the impression they just had to run with their first thoughts and didn’t have time to flesh things out properly, especially in contrast to the seasons with lotor because they were almost cooking with that

for example, they almost sold me that allura had developed feelings for lance, but then in order to make it clear, they started making her all blushy and awkward around him because That’s A Trope People Understand That Means A Girl Likes A Boy, when that was really never who she was. they reached for it as shorthand to signal to the audience but didn’t really think too deeply about Who they were applying it to. the whole thing with shiro’s partner (and ambiguous autoimmune disease that exists only for one scene) would have been nothing if the creators hadn’t hyped it up so much beforehand, and if a little more time had been given and a little more care had gone into the scenes where that mattered, and if there had been literally any indication of it in the previous 6 seasons. they could have thought about how audiences would interpret pidge’s gender fuckery and done something to address that to avoid accusations of queerbaiting. it just added drama to season 1, they made a bathroom joke in season 2, and then forgot it was ever a plot point. whenever keith is on screen he’s the main character. he has the most developed arc out of any of the paladins (finding his family, becoming a leader, learning to not be such a loner) but again, whole swathes of episodes go by without him. and in his absence no one else really takes the spotlight. it just focuses on plot. hunk doesn’t really get anything to do until season 7, and it’s a very good scene where he’s jealous of lance and pidge for having their families back but it also feels like the first time he’s taken seriously in 60+ episodes. et cetera.

*big caveat that i just finished season 7, and season 8 was where i lost interest and never finished. i know The Big Thing that happened in season 8 and i can see where they were coming from. i’m sure they were thinking about doing a Big Damn Sacrifice and making some statement about the loss of the Old World to give birth to the New. i just don’t think they were mindful of 1) who they were sacrificing or 2) the fact that they were telling this story in the real world, where there’s countless other stories about black women being denied happiness in order to further someone else’s story. i don’t think this show Uniquely Hates Women because it has the same level of sexism that’s present pretty much across the board in modern sci-fi. they didn’t need to shoehorn in the romance but they clearly tried to be more mindful than the original (instead of Zero female paladins, there were two for most of the show.) they definitely had huge blind spots and i’m not excusing that but i do think that doesn’t cancel out everything else. it seems to be due to obliviousness rather than active malice. but again, i have yet to watch the final episodes

[moonkoiluv]

Do you ever think Lance gets insecure about being "too much"?

Too loud, too excited, too passionate, too - everything? People are constantly telling him to quiet down and relax, that he's being too much and just needs to stop. Eventually, he starts to quiet down and reel it in a bit but constantly feels sad he has to cover it up.

Then there's Keith who's haunted by the quiet. After his Dad died it was just always quiet. People didn't talk much around him, left him alone, kids didn't play with him. There was always just an uncomfortable quietness around him.

Now they're in space, trapped together in the castle of lions, which really isn't that big once you've been pacing for weeks, months.

Lance wanders off on his own after Pidge kicks him out of the lab and Hunk kicks him out of the kitchen. He walks for hours just talking to himself and being loud since there's no one around to see. No one to tell him he's too much.

Keith also wanders off on his own. Everyone on the castle-ship thinks he just likes to be quiet, so they usually leave him alone. Shiro is a bit of an exception, but there's only so much time he can spend with Keith before he needs to do something important for the war effort or whatever. So Keith wanders. He ends up stealing a pair of headphones from Pidge and listening to music while he walks, it's one of the only times he let's his guard down because it's the castle-ship. It's so big there's no one around to see him or judge him, he can just exist.

One day, Lance walks along, laughing to himself about some alien pun he made (that really isn't that funny). He decides to take a different turn today. Why not? After a while he hears something, a slight twang of an old country guitar and a deep voice. He goes to investigate because who would be out here and who would listen to that?

He rounds the corner, and there's Keith, headphones blaring, eyes closed, walking in time with the twang of the guitar. Lance hides back behind the wall, scared that Keith would see him.

Keith's completely in his own world, the voices of Jane Carter and Johnny Cash ringing in his ears. Jackson is a great song, he hums along every time it plays. One of Keith's favorites from his Dad's old records, it's a miracle that he could get it digitized and out here in space. He lets his eyes drift open as he rounds the corner, and suddenly, he's face to face with Lance.

"AHH- Lance, what the hell?!" He shouts, why was Lance out here? He's walked this hall a hundred times before and never heard the other boy.

"I didn't do anything! Don't yell at me mullet-" Lance leans into Keith's face with a scowl, "I have every right to be here is that a problem?"

Keith frowns for a second and pauses his music, his mood spoiled anyways. "No that's not a problem. You can be anywhere I don't care, just why here? No one ever walks here."

"I just decided to go for a stroll. What do you OWN this hallway?" Lance leans back but his face is still in a fixed frown. It seems that's the only face he ever gives Keith.

"No Lance I-" He sighs, "you were hiding around the corner. Why were you hiding?"

Lance stutters over his words for a second before answering, "I just heard something and thought the castle could be haunted again-"

Keith scowls, "Lance that-" he sighs again "nevermind." He puts the headphones around his neck, the phone in his pocket and turns to leave.

"WAIT!" Keith turns around, "what uh- what were you listening to? I didn't know you listened to anything other than the sounds of- of- ... emo-ness" he looks so proud of himself while Keith just rolls his eyes.

"Johnny Cash."

"Johnny who?"

Keith pauses for a second. Lance could make fun of him, laugh and leave him on his own again but Keith knew deep down the other boy wouldn't do that. Out of everyone, Lance was the only one who actively sought him out to talk. It may be mostly teasing and half-assed insults but it took away that heavy quiet.

So Keith hands over the headphones for Lance to listen. That's how it all starts. The next day they happen to bump into eachother again, Keith shows Lance a new song and Lance talks about the music he grew up with. Every day they have a routine, they bump into eachother and walk together.

Lance hops around from topic to topic, and Keith opens up about things a little bit at a time. Lance was never too much for Keith, and Lance took away that quiet.

They take walks every day together on the far end of the castle-ship while they're in space. Just to pass the time. No matter what the team sees or thinks, Lance and Keith are a lot closer than they know.

They're never too much for eachother, it's never too quiet or too loud. It's just right.

.

Note: this ended up being SO MUCH longer than I thought it'd be 😅 please let me know if you like this and want more cause I actually enjoyed writing this 👍

[violethowler]

Timekeeping in the Voltron Universe

This post is a guide of all the information that I’ve discovered or calculated over the course of writing my various analysis posts about the VLD story on how the intergalactic timekeeping units that are used throughout the series compare to those of Earth. I've been putting this together for a while as a resource for me and anyone else who intends to write VLD fics so that those who plan on incorporating the differences in time measurements into their stories can have a baseline to build off of.

(I'm aware that others in the fandom have made similar posts, but I haven't seen any that have done the math on some of the time comparisons)

Ticks

Ticks are established early in the show as the equivalent of seconds, and the Let’s Voltron podcast actually timed the team’s little ticks vs seconds comparison from S1E06 Taking Flight and found that a tick is 1.399 seconds.

Dobashes

Dobashes are the equivalent of minutes. How many ticks there are in one dobash is not something than any official sources have provided any indication of.

Vargas

Vargas are the equivalent of hours, and S3E03 The Hunted implies that they are very close in length. When the paladins are pursuing Lotor’s ship at the start of the episode, Pidge says “At our current rate of speed, we’ll be in attack range in an hour.” When we cut to Lotor’s ship barely a minute later, Acxa says “the lions will be on us in one Varga.”

While the number of dobashes in one varga is unknown, it at least gives us an indication that the amount of time elapsed is still about sixty minutes in Earth time.

Quintants

Quintants are the equivalent of days, and the show actually tells us how many Vargas are in one day. In S2E08 The Blade of Marmora, the path to the Blade of Marmora’s base is said to close for two Quintants once Keith and Shiro reach it. When we cut back to the Castle of Lions in the middle of Keith’s trials, it’s been “roughly ten Vargas” according to Coran, and when Allura asks how much longer they have to wait, Lance correctly estimates “thirty more Vargas.”

This means that 2 Quintants is the equivalent of 40 Vargas, meaning that one Quintant is 20 Vargas long.

In Earth time, this means that a Quintant is only about 20 hours compared to the 24-hour days of Earth. Dividing 20 by 24 to find the percentage establishes that 1 Quintant = 0.833 Days

Movements

Movements are the equivalent of weeks, and while it’s never explicitly confirmed, Coran’s mention of the paladins forming Voltron “six times a movement” in S1E02 Some Assembly Required implies that there are 6 Quintants in a Movement.

Since Quintants are only 20 hours, six of them would be the equivalent of five 24-hour Earth days.

Phoebs and Deca-Phoebs

Phoebs are the equivalent of months and Deca-Phoebs are the equivalent of years. The Deca indicates that there are 10 Phoebs in a year, and I actually managed to figure out the comparison to Earth years while crafting my second VLD timeline guide.

When Shiro and Allura are detected during their infiltration of a Galra cruiser in S1E10 Collection and Extraction, the computer identifies Shiro as “Fugitive prisoner 117-9875.”

The format of his prisoner ID number indicates the year on the empire’s calendar that Shiro was captured, meaning that the Galran calendar places the beginning of Season 1 in imperial year 9876, since the discovery of Voltron occurs a year after Shiro’s capture.

Initially, I thought this meant that the references to Altea being destroyed “10,000 years ago” were a generalization and that it wasn’t exactly 10,000 years.

However, Coran’s insistence on correcting Hunk that the Castle of Lions is 10,600 years old in S1E01 indicates that it was indeed exactly 10,000 years between Altea’s destruction and the return of the Blue Lion.

So, dividing 10,000 by 9876 to compare gives me the math of 1 Deca-Phoeb = 0.9876 Years.

Since 1 year on Earth is 365 days, 365 times 0.9876 gives me 360 days in a sincle Deca-Phoeb.

And since there are 10 Phoebs in a Deca-Phoeb, 360 divided by 10 gives us approximately 36 days in 1 Phoeb. Since 1 Quintant is 0.833 days, 1 day is the equivalent of 1.2 Quintants. 1.2 times 36 gives me approximately 43 Quintants in a Phoeb.

This means that there are a total of 7 full Movements (or 5 7-day Earth weeks) in a Phoeb with one extra Quintant at the end, and 1 Deca-Phoeb is approximately 430 Quintants.

Final Time Comparison Chart

1 Tick = 1.399 Seconds

1 Varga = 1 Hour

1 Quintant = 20 Vargas = 20 Hours = 0.833 Days

1 Movement = 6 Quintants = 5 Days

1 Phoeb = 43 Quintants = 7.167 Movements = 36 Days = 5.14 Weeks

1 DecaPhoeb = 430 Quintants = 71.67 Movements = 360 days = 51.4 Weeks

[deconstructing-klance]

The Hypocrisy of the Klance & Plance Age Differences

I'm a Plance shipper. I think Lance and Pidge are perfect together. I'll get into that a different day, though.

The main gripe I hear from Klance shippers about how Plance is "creepy" and "doesn't work" is because there's a 3 year age difference between the two.

Alright then, let's look at ages.

The VLD timeline is convoluted at best. I literally spent about 3 hours one night trying to figure out the timeline and eventually came to one that I think works out pretty well. A HUGE shoutout goes to Greg Tyler who wrote several blog articles about this confusing conundrum.

The ages of the Paladins when they leave in the Blue Lion:

Keith - 18

Hunk - 17

***This is where I demonstrate someone can have their own head canon but still respect canon when it comes to official VLD issues. I personally believe his age is really 18. Hunk is listed as being 17 with his birthday is in January. Due to Hunk's looks, size, and maturity, I don't think the year they left in the Blue Lion he turned from 16 to 17. I think he turned from 17 to 18. So in the VLD fan stuff I create, Hunk is older than Lance, not younger. But we'll go with what the creators said and also because Hunk's age is 17 in the guidebook.***

Lance - 17

Pidge - 15

***Pidge's age has been disputed over the years, with some incorrectly saying she's 14. The guidebook states she is 15. I think some of the misinformation is spread so people can look down on the Plance shipping.***

To keep the mathing simple, let's assume Keith was born in the year 2300. Birthdays will be thus:

Again, the year is arbitrary to make mathing easier. I still can't figure out what year VLD takes place.

In S1 E1, there's a calendar on the wall in Keith's shack that has the number 2 on it. Assuming Keith kept up with his calendar, we know the Paladins left in the Blue Lion on the 2nd.

Picture courtesy of Violet the Howler

I go with Greg's timeline, because he's pretty much a Voltron scholar of all the different Voltron branches. Greg worked out that the Paladins left in May, which looks accurate from the scenery.

Note: I live in the desert, and yes, there is a difference between Spring and Fall. The sun light in S1 E1 looks much more like Spring light than Fall light.

So, the Paladins and Shiro left Earth in the Blue Lion on May 2nd, 2319.

Seasons 1-6 take place roughly throughout the rest of 2319 and I believe into 2320.

This is where things get complicated.

By December of 2319, these are the Paladins' ages:

Going along with the timeline, Keith does his two year age jump in the Quantum Abyss sometime in the first half of 2320.

So, the first half of 2320, the ages are:

And at the end of 2320, the ages are:

Take a good, long look at those ages for the second half of 2320.

Most people will be hung up on the fact that Lance is 19 and Pidge is 16. It's a 3 year age difference.

But what is Keith's age minus Lance's age? 22-19?

3 years.

Let's repeat that.

22-19 = 3.

Keith is 3 years older than Lance due to his two year jump in the Quantum Abyss.

Now before y'all come at me, finish reading the entire post.

Pidge and Lance are only 2 years apart for roughly 3.5 months, from April - July.

Lance and Keith are only 2 years apart for roughly 3 months, from July - October.

Thus, because of Keith's time jump, Lance and Keith are as far apart in age as Lance and Pidge.

Actually ... Pidge and Lance are technically closer in age by roughly two weeks.

"But 22 and 19 are better than 19 and 16 because 22 and 19 are adults!" I can just hear some of y'all screaming this at the computer.

Here's a fun little fact:

Just because someone is 18 and a legal adult does not necessarily mean it is okay for them to date another legal adult.

Someone at 19 can still be in a very predatory relationship with someone who is 22.

Klancers who are saying that their ship is more "moral" are just wrong.

It's not more moral. Either Klancers don't know how to math or they're willing to look the other way when it comes to what they want.

And before my words are twisted and taken out of context, I'm not saying Keith and Lance would have a predatory relationship. But the logic that their three year age gap is better than Lance and Pidge's because it's "more moral" doesn't hold any ground and is flawed.

Do Klancers honestly think a story with a 23 year old Pidge and 26 year old Lance is worse than a 23 year old Lance and 26 year old Keith?

Make it make sense.

If Pidge having a crush on Lance when she's 15 and he's 17 and then turns 18 is bad, then no one should have celebrity crushes - or just crushes in general. Ever. Until they're at least 21.

Do you really think a 19 year old Lance would date a 16 year old? I don't think so. Where are your morals if you think Lance would do that? And, quite frankly, neither of them are ready to date at the end of the series (before we get the 5 year in the future photo). Lance is still mourning the loss of Allura and Pidge is focused on improving the Garrison.

Not to mention all of the trauma and therapy everyone needs to go through. They need time to process and work on themselves. But I can see a Pidge and Lance in their 20s connecting with each other. They're a perfect balance of each other.

But, again, that's another post for another day. Don't worry - it's coming.

Right now, though, I'm gonna go water some Plance - I mean, plants.

[the-lightning-strikes-again]

Lotura Week 2024, Day 2: Sci-Fi Fusion

The Woman in Red

Rated: T

Pidge holds out a small, ear-wrapping device to Allura, babbling along. “Yeah, so it’s called the DC Mini. It helps you enter someone else’s dreams so you can extract information.” Her voice rises with scientific interest. “Which in this case means obtaining the security codes for Zarkon’s command ship.”

The princess grabs on without hesitance. “Did you make this yourself, Pidge?”

“With a little help from Hunk,” she admits, jerking her thumb to the side. On the other side of the lab, a man stands in an orange coat, humming to himself happily as he types away on a laptop before dripping a strange, glowing liquid into a test tube. “But you have to be careful, alright? This’ll make dreams feel like real life, and I’ve heard stories about this guy you wanna interrogate with it. It took twenty robot soldiers to hold Prince Lotor down, and that was after he made both Lance and Hunk cry with some psychobabble stuff.”

Hunk looked up with a pout. “Hey, I did not cry.”

Pidge crosses her arms and quirks an eyebrow. “He told you that your modulation techniques sucked, and you sobbed for three hours.”

“Uh, it was two-and-a-half hours, not three.” Hunk raises up his goggles and points to his bloodshot, brown eyes, which gleam with hurt. “And the man doesn’t have taste when it comes to modulation. That’s what hurts most of all.”

Allura quirks an eyebrow, spinning the strange device in her hand before fitting it over her elfin ear. The smooth, cold metal streaks against her cheek and brow. “Modulation tastes or not, Lotor’s our only successful enemy capture. We have to make this count if we want to defeat Zarkon.”

Pidge hesitates. “Are you sure you want to be the one to go inside his mind? I mean, given you’re a princess and all?”

She huffs, straightening her shoulders. “I am a princess of Altea,” she declares. “I am a descendent of the Life Givers. And I am incredibly, utterly pissed off in the name of my people and all the other planets decimated by Galran rule—yes, I want to do this, even if it means traversing the polluted thoughts of Prince Lotor.”

-------

The mentioned Prince of the Galra Empire rests in a deep sleep upon a heavily secured infirmary bed, nodes streaming from his purple temples and white locks of hair. Like this, the hellion of a man seems peaceful, his face slack. If she did not know his long list of crimes, Allura would dare to think he was almost handsome, from the strong features of his face to his lithe form—so oddly silent in sleep.

So strangely familiar.

Allura sits down in the chair next to the bed apprehensively, adjusting the DC Mini. “You’re certain his restraints will hold true?”

His long, clawed fingers occasionally tick against the bed.

Pidge flutters around Allura, sticking a node to her forehead. “He’s also being kept under with some pretty heavy drugs right now, so he won’t be waking up anytime soon.”

“What control will I have inside of his mind?”

“Ah, I think you’ll be able to manipulate space, but the more you change things inside his mind, the more it could raise attention. You know, like his defenses. So you’ll want to try blending in.”

“Right.” Allura inhales and closes her eyes, leaning back into the chair and settling in for the long nap. “Do you think the codes will be something I must manipulate him to obtain, or could they be some physical object to find in the landscape?”

Pidge makes a face, pulling back. “Honestly, Allura? I have no idea what you’re gonna find in there. But given that he’s, you know, Zarkon’s kid—I’d expect it’s probably gonna be weird. Maybe a lot of blood.”

Just as the DC Mini activates, Hunk calls out, “Rumor says he’s a big nunvill fan. Manipulate him with nunvill!”

-------

The landscape of Prince Lotor’s mind fizzles into view as a stark, gladiatorial training court, with the swirling of blades and the rousing cheer of crowds. Allura looks down at herself in surprise, noting the odd way that her own subconscious has altered her paladin armor to the red of a Galran soldier’s—blending into the new environment, just as Pidge had recommended.

As she walks along the fencing, she spots an active Prince Lotor fighting against a great beast. His tall shadow looms as he raises the Black Lion’s bayard.

It is a glowing purple sword.

Her mouth drops open in surprise, and she flinches as the beast collapses to the floor, nearly cut in two. “What in the—?” she whispers to herself in panic at the sight of her father’s technology in Lotor’s hands. “How did he—?”

Prince Lotor steps atop the beast’s belly with a graceful flair of his white hair, raising the sword.

The crowds roar with approval, chanting, “Emperor! Emperor!”

And it is then that Allura realizes she is witnessing a day dream.

A wish.

“Oh, right, because you are not the emperor,” she remembers, scratching her cheek in curiosity at how fuzzy the real world is compared to the realism of Lotor’s dream world. “You are a prince only, and likely covet my father's weapons as well."

The moment she whispers it aloud, Lotor’s sharp, blue eyes land upon her. His expression is that of an alert predator’s, and she freezes in his gaze.

He lowers his blade, the metal manifesting back into a smooth, rounded bayard. “You there,” he calls, his voice petulant and decadent all at the same time. “In red.”

Before she can react, Lotor blurs in front of her.

She squeaks and steps back in surprise, her back hitting a barrier wall.

He steps forward, curiously inspecting her. This close, the sweat upon his brow gleams beneath the lights, and his slit pupils expand to intake more of her. “What a curious thing you are, appearing here,” he murmurs. “After all this time, and without wounds.”  

Allura makes another noise as his hot fingers circle hard around her throat, pressing her back against the wall.

She instinctively grabs onto his vambraces before reaching for a dagger on her belt.

“Ah, ah,” he admonishes her. With a jerk of his chin, her own weapon clatters to the floor. “What fangs you have this time.” Something flickers unsteadily in his face the more he inspects her. “I thought I eradicated all images of Princess Allura of Altea from my memory—you should not still be the woman in red disturbing my thoughts.”

As she rasps for air, Allura manages to wrench breathing space from his fingers.

He allows it.

Lotor’s breath puffs against her face softly. “Why are you here?” he demands, searching her face. “What more could you possibly want from me now?”

Her voice strangles. “What do you mean? I’ve never even spoken to you before this moment.”

He releases her, and in the silence, he glances down at his own hand as if it does not belong to him.

All the spectators of the gladiator courts have disappeared.

It is only them now, along with a strange silence.

Prince Lotor’s voice breaks with a frustrated huff. “I watched you die all those years ago. And you have haunted my every dream, traversing these fences at least once a movement until my father’s witch suppressed you. What have these paladins of Voltron done to me in the waking world, that you would return to haunt me now?”

Allura holds onto her throat, which burns from the tightness of his hand. She eyes him warily, mind racing. “I don’t understand,” she says hoarsely.

With increasing trepidation, Lotor backs away from her, his white hair and armored cape swinging. “You died three years ago.” Something in his face breaks harder, a strange vulnerability and panic pulling the line of his mouth. “The witch said she could cure me of your ghost.”

It is then that Allura realizes the DC Mini is still attached to her ear. Another voice crackles in, as if from a dozen galaxies away. It is Pidge. “—llura? Can you hear me?”

She presses a shaking hand to the device, calling out, “Yes, I hear you. and it is very strange in here.”

“—hurting you?”

Allura’s breath hitches as she stares at the broken man before her. Within the landscape of Lotor’s mind, his own emotions are an oppressive weight in the air, burning tears in her own eyes. “No,” she whispers. “No, it’s much worse than that. It’s very confusing.”

Lotor reaches out to the device, yanking it from her ear. “Paladins,” he hisses, voice breaking. His own eyes brighten with tears. “You absolute bastards. You have clearly undone the witch’s great work—at least kill me with honor before you raise the image of Allura of Altea to me."

She reaches for the device, only for him to pull it away.

“I’m not dead at all, you silly fool,” she argues, but for the first time, a strange uncertainty arises within her. "I'm not dead."

He gnashes a sharp, white fang into his bottom lip, eyeing her hard before he presses, “Allura, do you even remember what you were doing before these paladins of Voltron spoke to you? Where you were?”

Allura tilts her head, face tight. “Of course I do! I was, um…and you were—” Words fail in her throat. “Um.”

Her mind is oddly silent, all her memories gone besides murky impressions.

Lotor reaches out again, daring to stroke her cheek with an intimacy that leaves her breathless and unsettled and wholly unable to reconcile him with the stories that the Paladins had told.

(If they had told any stories at all?)

“I hate the paladins for this,” he whispers, voice quivering. “And my heart soars at the same time. The only way they could possibly manifest you through a device such as this one is if they have you. Some—some preserved body perhaps, some active synapses.” He tilts his head, his calloused thumb stroking her pink Altean mark. “You are far too solid than all the ghostly iterations before you. And so very different. Whole and with weapons."

His touch lights something familiar within her.

Tears bubble in her eyes, and his image blurs before her. “I’m not dead,” she whispers again. “I was—I was in a lab. And…and you are an evil and cruel prince, slaying entire civilizations in the name of your wicked father.”

Lotor huffs at her brokenly, pulling back. “By the ancients,” he breathes. The landscape of his mind transforms entirely from the courts to a lovely field of juniberries. He points brokenly to the distance, where a tall vault stands. “I buried you. I carried you. And I died with you that day.” Tears slip down his cheeks. “I died with you in all the ways that mattered. Do you not remember, Allura?”

Allura stands in horror at the name upon the vault.

The prince grabs onto her hand, pulling her back. “They must have desecrated your grave,” he whispers to himself. “That is the only way you could stand here so solidly as you are, without the wounds that ended your life.”

Her armored fingers reach out to the vault, tracing the scripted A—

Lotor grabs onto her shoulders, desperate. “Wake up,” he demands. “Allura, wake up and find me in the real world. Do you understand?”

-------

Back at the lab, Pidge sits before the computers, adjusting her glasses with a flash of light before she hums. “Our evil plan is working,” she murmurs. "This is awesome."

Hunk leans over her shoulder, narrowing his eyes at the multi-level dream sequences, from the simulated lab where Allura believes herself snoozing beside the restrained body of Lotor, then over to the next level of the dream simulation, complete with juniberry fields. “Don’t you think that, like, maybe we could have given her some more information before tossing her in?”

“…Nah.” Pidge glances back at the pod behind them, where a fully regenerated Allura lay connected to a variety of nodes and health monitors. The heart indicator beats at an increasing rate. “She’s doing great.”

Her colleague huffs. “Literally three seconds in, Lotor knew she wasn’t a natural mind projection, and we don’t have codes.”

Pidge taps her fingers on the keyboard and waggles her brows. “It’s not about her finding the codes. It’s about us turning a prince by giving him the one thing that would stop his campaigns. And then we’ll get the codes, and his armies, and him too. She’s the lady in red. The distraction. You know what I mean?”

“She’s gonna wake up pissed off,” Hunk warns. “And I’ve heard stories about Altean strength, Pidge. I really think we should talk to her before she wakes up for real.”

Pidge hesitates as she watches the signs of wakening appear within the regenerated princess in the pod. “Or we could wipe her memory and try this again, and keep doing it until we get Lotor to totally break down. And then she’ll wake up without a care in the world, and Lotor will be ready to do anything we want him to.”

Hunk gives her a look. “That’s kinda putting the evil back into our evil plan.”

She argues, “We have to consider all the options. Lotor’s been on a murder bender for three years because his fiancé got assassinated. There’s a lot of planets in the balance, and I don’t wanna screw it up just because we got soft.”

It falls silent between them.

Hunk sits down, pulling off his gloves and staring at the simulations with a hard expression. “No,” he says. “We tell her the truth. We wake her up, and we do the right thing by reuniting her with Lotor. Those tears are real, man. We got proof to know this is gonna work.”

In the regenerative pod, Allura’s fingers twitch while in the simulation, and she reaches out to Lotor, flickers of her true memory bleeding through.

Hunk’s voice rises with conviction. “It’s going to work.”

@loturaweek2024

[voltrontranscript]

VLDS4E1: Code of Honor

Season 4, Episode 01: Code of Honor

Transcript by @violethowler

Summary: Keith’s divided attentions cause tension within the team at a time when unity is crucial. The Blades investigate a Galra supply route.

[Google Doc]

Galra Officer: “This is Galra cruiser Beta Nine. We are within range and requesting permission to dock

Second Galra Officer: “Proceed”

Second Galra Officer: “A Priority One level shipment is enroute. Activate the docking station immediately.”

Guard: “I can’t believe we’re stuck here. This base predates the Zyperium Siege. It’s amazing this equipment remains operational.”

Second Guard: “We’re lucky to have it since the rebels overran the Sigma-Three Quadrant. It’s all we have left in the system.”

Kolivan: “We destroyed the Komar. How are the Galra still producing such vast amounts of Quintessence? Find out where it’s coming from and where it’s going. Get a reading on that shipment. Remember. This is purely intelligence gathering. Do not engage.”

Kolivan: “Impossible. It’s overloading my monitor. I’ve never seen these kinds of readings before.”

Kolivan: “The Op is compromised. Abort. Extraction point in two dobashes. This is a hard out.”

Keith: “He’s not back?”

Kolivan: “He’s got thirty ticks. Begin preparations for takeoff.”

Keith: “Will he be alright?”

Kolivan: “You broke protocol.”

Keith: “I had to.”

Kolivan: “You didn’t consider that something could’ve happened to you. That would make two men down instead of one. Every member of the Blade of Marmora understands that the mission is more important than the individual. This isn’t Voltron.”

Keith: “I understand that. In Voltron, we would’ve gone back in to save Regris. I went back to save the mission. Regris had the intel. Getting him and it back on the ship was worth the risk.”

[scene change to the bridge on the Castle of Lions]

Shiro: “Keith. Good, You’re back. The team’s on a mission. You need to get to your lion and join them immediately.”

Keith: “I will. But I think we just discovered a new form of Quintessence. Its readings are off the charts. Kolivan says it could be a link to Lotor.”

Shiro: “Okay. We’ll discuss it when you return. The team’s escorting refugees out of the Phim system.”

Keith: “This is Lotor I’m talking about. He hasn’t been seen in months. This might be our chance to track him down.”

Shiro: “I said we’ll discuss it later. Right now I need you to focus on the mission at hand.”

Keith: “But-“

Shiro: “This isn’t a request, Keith. Get to the Phim system. That’s an order.

[scene change to outer space]

Pidge: “Well, look who decided to show up.”

Lance: “Yeah, are you even taking this seriously?”

Keith: “Sorry I’m late.”

[scene change to outdoor landing pad on Olkarion]

Keith: “Were you able to speak with Kolivan about the intel?”

Shiro: “I did. And we need to find out all we can about that Quintessence. But more importantly, Voltron needs a strong leader.”

Keith: “I know they do. And it should be you.”

Shiro: “Keith, we’ve discussed this before. Besides, we both know that the Black Lion has chosen you.”

Keith: “You only tried once. You had a connection with the Black Lion and I know it’s still there. If you just give it another shot-“

Shiro: “Keith, we all have a part to play. This is mine now. I’ve come to terms with that, now you need to. I support your decision to continue with your Marmora training. But not at the expense of the team. They need you, Keith. They need you to be their leader.”

[Scene change to the bridge on the Castle of Lions]

Coran: “Okay, everybody. Today we’ll be heading to Riphod, a planet recently liberated from Galra forces.”

Keith: “This is embarrassing. We’re basically the grand marshal of a parade.”

Coran: “Not a parade, a show of arms.”

Pidge: “Whatever it is, this is the second one of these we’ve done just this week.”

Allura: “I know it’s not exactly battling the Galra. But believe it or not, this actually boosts morale and strengthens alliances.”

Lance: “Right, right, stronghold, blah de blah de blah. Now, I say we go over our lion choreography one more time. I don’t want a repeat of what happened last time, Hunk.”

Hunk: “I thought my lion had more room.”

Kolivan: “Shiro. My apologies for interrupting, but I believe this is an urgent matter. A Galra supply ship has been spotted passing through Quadrant Omega-Ralar-Six.”

Shiro: “What’s it doing so far from the normal supply routes?”

Kolivan: “We can’t be certain. But taken together with the fact that Lotor hasn’t been seen in quite some time, and the emergency of this new form of quintessence, we feel compelled to investigate. Normally, we would wait for better intel. But I believe we should act on this now.”

Shiro: “I’ll send Voltron to intercept.”

Kolivan: “An infiltration mission makes more sense. We can plant a tracker, and see just how far the supply route extends. With all the Galra activity as of late, my agents are spread thin.”

Keith: “Not anymore. Count me in.”

Lance: “Hey! What about our performance? We can’t razzle dazzle the crowd with just four lions.”

Keith: “This mission is more important than a show of arms. Shiro!”

Shiro: “How long will it take?”

Kolivan: “Not long. But we must act fast, or we risk the ship jumping to hyperspace.”

Shiro: “Go. But when you’re done, meet us on Riphod.”

[scene change to planet Riphod]

Coran: “Citizens of Riphod! On this day, we honor you for your perseverance! Your refusal to bow down in the face of such adversity is a testament to the fighting spirit of your people. You put aside your differences and united to dispel the oppressive Galra regime, bringing freedom to all! We thank you for joining the Coalition and continuing the fight against the Galra that began with the reemergence of the five Lions of Voltron!

Coran: “Right. Uh, four lions.”

Lance: “I thought Keith said he was gonna be here. He’s going to ruin our show.”

Allura: “Lance, this isn’t just about putting on a good show. It’s about uniting people, and bringing them to the coalition to help in the fight against Zarkon.”

Lance: “Fine. I don’t even know why I try.”

[scene change to a Galra cruiser in deep space]

Kolivan: “Triangulate positions around the ship.

Keith: “Not detecting any biorhythms.”

Kolivan: “Could be a crew of sentries. Let’s get in and find out.”

[scene change to aboard the Galra cruiser]

Regris: “I completed the sentry scan. There are none on board.”

Keith: “The entire place is empty. Have you ever seen this before?”

Kolivan: “Something’s not right here. We should leave.”

Keith: “We came all this way. We should at least plant the tracker and find out where the ship ends up.”

Kolivan: “Let’s make it quick.”

[cut to the crusier’s bridge]

Regris: “I’ll check the logs.”

Keith: “Planting the tracker.”

Regris: “I’m locked out of the system.”

Keith: “It’s rigged to blow.”

Kolivan: The ship’s a decoy. Everyone out!”

Regris: “Attempting to override.”

Keith: “There’s not enough time. Come on!”

Regris: “Just a few more ticks.”

Keith: “Regris! No!”

[scene change to planet Riphod]

Coran: “By joining the Voltron alliance, you are joining up with the defenders of the universe. Who will do whatever it takes to spread peace and freedom to every galaxy.”

[cut to the wreckage of the Galra cruiser]

Keith: “Hello? Kolivan?”

Keith: “Anyone? [] must be broken.”

[cut to planet Riphod]

Lance: “They’re loving us! Razzle dazzle!”

[cut to the wreckage of the Galra cruiser]

Keith: “The ship.”

[cut to Riphod]

Coran: “And just as Voltron shows what can be done when five individuals combine their powers together, so too can we combine our powers with those of planet Riphod, and grow ever stronger. For it is the individual willing to take up arms that strengthens the whole! And with that strength, we will be unstoppable! And cue Voltron with sword…”

Coran: “Oh, quiznak. Only four lions. I keep forgetting that. Well, when he’s together, he’s like a big man. Like this. But you have to imagine it with a sword. And a big laser cannon. Pew. Pew. Look out, Zarkon. I’m Voltron. I-I’m the biggest, baddest robot around. No- now he doesn’t actually talk like that. But that’s what I imagine him saying if- if he did.”

[scene change to the Castle of Lions]

Keith: “Allura, I know you’re mad at me, but I’m not in the mood for a lecture.”

Allura: “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I heard what happened on your mission.”

Keith: “Thanks.”

Allura: “I know how important the work you’ve been doing with the Blades is. They are incredible allies, and have been instrumental in our victories over the Galra. And while the news of a new Quintessence supply line is deeply troubling, I cannot help but feel-“

Keith: “I said, I didn’t want a lecture.”

Allura: “Keith, since our battle with Zarkon. We’ve been able to bolster our forces by uniting those previously ruled by the Galra under a common symbol. Voltron. It’s so much more than a weapon. It’s become a symbol of freedom and hope for the oppressed to rally around. I suppose what I’m trying to say is, the Marmora can go on without you. They have for thousands of years. Voltron cannot. We cannot.”

[scene changes through various shots of the lions escorting refugees to Olkarion and the refugee housing complex on the planet’s surface growing outward, and then transitions to the bridge of the Castle of Lions.]

Kolivan: “The fact that the Galra are using decoy ships proves that there is something larger going on. We’ve been tracking shipments of this new Quintessence. It’s running along a previously unknown route which we’ve partially identified here. We believe the next stop could be in the Karthan-Sigma quadrant. Keith. You’ll need to get onto the ship undetected and set a series of explosives.”

[scene changes through Keith observing the paladins delivering food to refugees on Olkarion and Shiro looking up at the Black Lion, then transition to Lotor’s flagship]

Acxa: “Prince Lotor, High Priestess Haggar requires your presence.”

[cut to the bridge of Lotor’s ship]

Haggar: “Lotor. While you distance yourself from central command, rebel forces have taken entire star systems from our hands.”

Lotor: “You think clutching onto worthless outposts strengthens our empire?

Haggar: “Your father knew that those outposts would one day become strongholds.

Lotor: “My father is on his deathbed, and I’m in control.”

Haggar: “You say you rule, yet you remain hidden. An emperor must be seen. His absence diminishes his-”

Lotor: “I don’t have to explain myself to you. Now do not bother me again.”

[scene change to the bridge of the Castle of Lions on Olkarion]

Allura: “What’s going on?”

Coran: “We received a distress signal. One of our convoys has been ambushed by a squadron of Galra cruisers.”

Shiro: “Our medical supply ships. We can’t allow the Galra to get them.”

Allura: “We must leave immediately. Voltron can keep the cruisers occupied long enough for the supply ships to make their escape.”

Pidge: “Actually, Voltron can’t. Keith is gone.”

Shiro: “They’re probably on a mission. I knew this would happen sooner or later. You’ll have to go without Keith. The convoy needs you immediately. I’ll send him to help as soon as I find him.”

[scene change to rebel ships under attack from Galra cruisers]

Lance: “We gotta get that ship out of the tractor beam.”

Hunk: “I’ll try to ram it out. Cover me!”

Hunk: “Never mind! There’s too many! I can’t ram that many!”

Hunk: “Someone must have called for backup!”

Lance: “They’re everywhere!”

[cut to Castle of Lions bridge]

Pidge: “There are more fighters than we’ve ever seen!”

Lance: “Allura, I need your help! I’ve got two on my tail!”

Allura: “I’m sorry. I can’t get to you. They’re all over me!”

Coran: “What’re you doing?”

Shiro: “Whatever I can.”

[cut to the Black Lion]

Hunk: “I take out one but two more replace it!”

Allura: “The supply ship is almost captured! Can anyone get to it?”

Lance: “I’m trying!”

Hunk: “Where are they all coming from?”

Pidge: “Watch out behind you!”

Allura: “Do the rebel ships have a shot?”

Lance: “I have a visual on them. They’re dead in the water!”

Allura: “We can’t do this without Voltron.”

Lance: “Where is Keith?”

Shiro: “Please. People’s lives are at stake. You trusted me once. Trust me again.”

[cut back to the battle]

Hunk: “There’s no way we can beat all these fighters with only four lions!”

Shiro: “You don’t have to.”

Lance/Pidge/Allura: “Shiro!”

Hunk: “No way!”

Shiro: “Converge on me. It’s time to form Voltron!”

Shiro: “Rebel craft, you’re safe. We’ll escort you the rest of the way to Olkarion.”

[scene change to the Castle of Lions bridge]

Keith: “Guys, I… I heard what happened. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help.”

Allura: “You keep saying you’re sorry, but your actions say otherwise. Do you realize that your absence put the team in jeopardy?”

Lance: “And not just the team, the refugees as well!”

Pidge: “Matter of fact, the entire quadrant was in danger.”

Keith: “This is not the way I wanted this to happen. But if there’s a bright side to any of this, it’s that my absence allowed Shiro to re-establish his bond with the Black Lion. He can finally be the leader I was unable to be. I’m not meant to pilot the Black Lion.”

Allura: “Is that why you’ve been pulling away from us?”

Keith: “Yeah. I suppose that’s part of it.”

Hunk: “Part of it? What’s the other part?” 

Keith: “The Blades have been making real headway tracking the source of this new Quintessence. They’ve been able to piece together a large network of hidden supply lines that have been secretly transporting it for… who knows how long. And there’s good reason to believe it could lead us directly to Lotor. A mission is being planned to infiltrate the supply line. Could take weeks, maybe months to pull off, but… If there is a chance, we have- I have to take it. I need to be on that mission.”

Keith: “Shiro, you are the rightful leader of this team. And you proved it today by reconnecting with the Black Lion. It was always meant to be yours.”

Shiro: “Keith, if this is what you feel is right, then we won’t try to stop you. But just know that we’re here for you whenever you need us.”

Keith: “I know you are. And I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”

Hunk: “I can’t be left out of this.”

Pidge: “We’re really gonna miss you.”

Lance: “Yeah, who am I gonna make fun of?”

Allura: “I know you’ll make us proud.

End.

[anonymouszephyrus]

Keith's really smart but doesn't fully understand humor so he'll pretend not to know some pop culture thing or extremely essential piece of knowledge for the bit and everyone takes him seriously and now everyone on the ship thinks he not only doesn't know what Legos are but also didn't know the difference between blue and green until Voltron.

Now... At first, I couldn't whether this was supposed to be a request for me to write until I actually started reading it and my little brain processed the damn thing. So here it is <3

(I may have gone way too off the script but oh well. I really liked it NFKJAN It's short but oh well, whoever wants to use it- go ahead. Have fun!)

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

"Keith."

Lance stared back at him with a perplexed, almost offended look in his eyes. The red paladin was almost tempted to stop the act and laugh in his face at how gobsmackingly stupid he looked right now. "Don't be fucking with me right now."

The blue paladin looked so serious and so utterly cute as he stared down at Keith on the floor, "What?" Keith answered, tilting his head a bit as he looked up at Lance.

"Are you colorblind?" He asked, moving closer to him, "Or just actually clueless?"

Keith couldn't help but give out a small chuckle, "I'm not colorblind, Lance. I'm quite sure of that."

It had been just a few weeks since the 'reveal' that Keith didn't know what Legos were.. that was fine, apparently. Not everyone had the option of having those little foot-breaking blocks... no, the thing Lance was so offended and disgruntled by was the fact that Keith mistook his blue lion for Pidge's. Not only were they different sizes, but Lance was so offended that his beauty of a lion was being compared to Pidge's snarky and "know-it-all" one. No offense, Pidge. He said before.

He might have chalked it up to Keith being slightly colorblind or his Galran heritage having something to do with the way he sees color... but the red paladin have proved before that he did know the difference between the two lions.. and now, Lance was utterly convinced he was just doing it to fuck with him.

"You're such a bitch." Keith laughed at his reaction, the very nerve!

How could he just sit there and laugh and look so beautiful?! It seemed as though Keith took pleasure in tormenting him, mocking him with his laughter and leaving Lance feeling foolish and inadequate. The audacity of that little shit...

This infuriatingly bossy, annoying, devious, stubborn, hot-headed, irresistible-

The blue paladin stared at him. Stared at how Keith laughed, realizing he didn't do it very often. He sat there and stared at him, for a long time he now realized.

With a sudden gesture, Keith waved his hand in front of Lance's eyes, jolting him out of his daze. Lance's gaze locked onto the red paladin, realizing that Keith had stealthily closed the distance while Lance was lost in his thoughts. As Lance stared back, mesmerized by Keith's captivating eyes—a mesmerizing blend of swirling black and purple, sprinkled with specks of dark blue—he couldn't help but think how stunning Keith looked up close. However, Lance's mind abruptly snapped back to reality. Wait.

Oh dear.

Oh no.

Oh fuck.

[autisticlancemcclain]

prev chapter

———

One thing about fights that are fought in their lions, at least, is that they always feel safer. They’re still life-threatening, of course. And in fact they lost Shiro for months in a lion-fight. But there’s still something innately more comforting about being surrounded by an armoured war machine, and said war machine offering a comforting mental presence in the back of your head, compared to fighting face-to-face with people three times your size who have a penchant for blood. 

There’s the added bonus of difference, too, that’s helping Keith calm down. He’s still pretty high-strung, and he still keeps a carefully eye on Lance and Red, but there’s enough of a visible difference between today’s mission and the mission in his nightmare that he feels slightly less like he’s going to throw up. 

“Head in the game, Mullet!” Lance crows, startling the hell out of him. “I’m beating you 32-20! What, are you shooting with your eyes closed?”

“That would be a pretty good score, in that case,” Keith says, and for the first time in hours and hours a smile tugs on his cheeks. Figures, that Lance is the one who can put it back on his face. 

“Oh, yeah right. Pay attention, dork. Or don’t. If I smoke you again then I’m the winner this week, and you are beholden to me.”

There’s a scoff over the comms. “Yeah, I’m sure he’ll be so sad about that.”

“Can it, Pidge,” Keith snaps, scowling. God, nothing like an annoying sibling to take your mind off everything. 

Lance laughs, though, and it wipes the grouch right off Keith’s face. “Mhm, he is kind of obsessed with me, huh? Loves to give me special treatment. I’m simply that irresistible, aren’t I, Samurai?”

“The only part of me that is irresistibly attracted to you is my fist to your face.”

“Okay, dearest. Whatever you say.”

Keith rolls his eyes, face still flushed, and refocuses on shooting ships out of the sky. He manages to shoot one seconds before Lance’s laser hits it, filling his comms with angry Spanish cussing. 

“What’s wrong, Sharpshooter?” Keith taunts. “Not fast enough?”

“Eat my bullets, you doo-doo head!”

“Doo-doo head? Are you seven?”

“Seven seconds away from astral projecting into your lion and smacking the shit out of you –”

“Alright, Luke and Lorelei,” Hunk says drily, “I’d love it if we could maybe focus on killing space Nazis and not on whatever the hell you two are doing.”

Keith can hear the pout in Lance’s voice. “Mean. You ruin all my fun, Hunky.”

“Yeah, yeah. Focus.”

They do cut the banter, though. Slowly but surely, they reduce the swarm, picking off the fleet ship by ship, driving them away from this planet for the first time in what’s probably been centuries. Keith really starts to feel light, finally. The nightmare is already fading to the vestiges of his mind, Lance is fine, and they’re wrapping things up. Maybe tonight he and Allura can spar. There’s nothing like getting his ass beat concave to get his mind off any possible stress.

The worst part about it is that no one knows exactly when it happened. There’s space for banter on missions like these, of course there is. They’re not sitting in miserable and stressed silence unless it’s real bad. But they’re also focused on their own shit. Shooting lasers really isn’t as easy as it looks. One second they’re clearing the last few dozen ships. Then Hunk is calling out a warning for a Zaiforge cannon. Then they hear it fire. 

It’s – Keith doesn’t look. He’s spent the whole fucking mission with a half-eye on Lance, terrified, but the Zaiforge cannon fires and he doesn’t look? He doesn’t fucking look? 

“Fuckin’ – finally,” Shiro mutters. “God, they do not give up. Everyone good?”

“Ugh,” Hunk groans. 

“I’m going to sleep for nineteen hours,” Pidge agrees.

“It wasn’t too horrible,” Allura tries.

“No, it sucked,” Keith says, finally allowing himself to collapse back into his seat. He waits for Lance’s inevitable teasing, his agreement with Allura – he always agrees with her, especially when she disagrees with Keith, because he thinks he’s funny – but it…doesn’t come. 

Keith sits ramrod straight. “Lance?” he shouts, and there’s no masking the desperate fear in his voice. “Lance, come in!”

He hears a choked noise come over the comm. A wave of déjà vù is so intense it’s like a bucket of ice water dumped over his head. 

He ducks his head, bowed, chin trembling.

He’s never prayed before. Not once in his life.

“Please.” A chill ripples down his spine. “Please,” he begs, choking on a sob. “Please, please, please.”

When he finds the strength to look up, into the space in front of him, littered in debris from their fight, he sees Red.

Parts of her. In pieces. Her leg, a claw, her jawbone. 

There’s not even a body for them to recover.

———

next chapter

[saturn-valleys]

The last time I was this optimistic and 100% positive about a ship going canon was back in 2018 with Pidge and Lance from Voltron.

With that information, I might either be 100% crazy, or 100% correct.

We'll see the outcome next week.

[girlboypersonthingy]

I'm not sure if you only do x readers but if you do ships could you please do headcanons for klance when keith is away at the blade of marmora?

feel free to ignore it if you don't like klance or don't do ships that's completely fine :)

I love your writing btw!

OMGGGG THANK U SM UR SO NICE 😘 AND YES KLANCE OWNS MY WHOLE ENTIRE HEART. I’ll do pretty much any ship as long as the characters aren’t far apart in age. Ah little space boyfriends 😩 ENJOY~

Klance- When Keith is way with the blade of marmora

First of all, Lance is sooooo annoying when Keith is away. Bro will not shut up about his super hot grumpy emo boyfriend. Keith’s name leaves Lance’s mouth at least 199 times a day, if not more.

Second of all, Keith is the complete opposite. He gets really really quiet, more quiet than he normally is. He doesn’t mention Lance at all but his name never leaves Keith’s mind. He only really gets talkative around Lance so without him, Keith doesn’t talk unless he has to.

THEY TOTALLY SWAP JACKETS BEFORE KEITH LEAVES EVERY TIME!!! Keith has literally turned around and come back to the castle just to get Lance’s comfy green jacket. Keith likes Lance’s jacket bc it smells good and actually keeps him really warm. Lance likes Keith’s jacket bc it’s small and scuffed up and worn but he prefers to hold Keith’s jacket close to him rather than actually wear it all the time. He’ll just walk around the castle with the red jacket thrown over his shoulder or clutched tightly in his arms.

When Keith is only gone for a couple days, Lance gets sooooo excited when he returns to the castle. He goes running through the halls with red cheeks and the biggest grin to meet Keith in the hangar when he arrives.

“KEEF!!!” “I told you to stop calling me that.” “I missed you! Did you miss me? Oh my quiznak, you totally missed it! Pidge caught a piece of equipment on fire yesterday. It was so crazy and-“ Cue Lance talking Keith’s ear off while he just smiles and nods along.

If Keith is gone for longer than like a week, bruh it’s so dramatic when they finally reunite. Just picture a teary-eyed Keith on his knees, still in his blade suit, clutching a happy crying lance in his arms. They just miss each other sooooooo much.

The whole team is like 🥹🥹🥹

Pidge specifically is like “I’m not crying, you are…”

Pretty much every time Keith is traveling back to the castle, he’s exhausted. There’s a lot of pressure on him, a lot of weight on his shoulders right now. He’s always on high alert, super tense and barely getting sleep. BUT when he finally sees Lance again and hears his voice and feels his embrace, he gets a sudden rush of energy. Now he wants to pull another all nighter just to catch up and spend time with his bf.

Oddly enough, Lance spends a lot of his time in the training room when Keith is gone. No one’s really sure why but Shiro thinks is bc Keith is always training and so being in that room makes Lance miss him less, ya know? Pidge is like 99% sure it’s bc he wants to actually practice so he can impress Keith with a super cool new move he learned when he gets back. Pidge is correct

If Keith has any down time while he’s away, he likes to just daydream. There’s not much else he can do so he stares off into the distance and gets lost in thoughts about his tall dreamy boyfriend and the last time they made out and how he can’t wait to feel his thin arms around him again and how he misses the smell of his nightly face masks and the sound of his voice and the texture of his hair and the freckles on his tan face. I could go on for days.

The second Keith leaves, Lance begins planning 😈 He racks his brain with cute date idea and nice things he can get/make for his bae. Every time Keith returns, after the initial hugging and kissing and excited smiles and small talk, Lance is giving Keith something nice or trying to take him out for a space picnic or some sappy shit like that.

Pretty much every time a date is planned, it never happens. Keith first complains that he’s too tired to go anywhere and then convinces Lance to makeout cuddle with him in bed instead.

But Keith does get really flattered and smiley and red when Lance gives him a pretty rock he found on a planet close by or a stuffed animal from the space mall or something like that. He just feels so special and he thinks Lance is just way too cute and pure for this world. He’s like ‘aww he was thinking about me’.

While Lance runs his mouth all day about missing Keith and anticipating his return, the night time is different. Lance cuddles Keith’s jacket or pillow in bed and lays awake for a while wondering exactly what he’s up to at this very moment. Is Keith thinking about him right now too? Is he safe? When will be be back? Poor baby boy is stressed about the love of his life.

Lance often has nightmares when Keith isn’t in bed beside him. It’s almost the same bad dream every time, just slightly different. It’s always Keith is on a mission with the blade and ends up hurt or lost or…worse. And Lance wakes up in a cold sweat every time. He wouldn’t know what to do with himself if Keith never came back to him.

Keith will never mention it to anyone ever but he has bad dreams when he’s away from Lance too. He often dreams that he returns to the castle to find the whole team gone, Shiro Lance Pidge, everyone. It scares the hell out of him, he loses sleep over it a lot.

That’s why they’re so intense when they reunite after a long time away from each other. The longer they are apart, the more they both worry about the other and the more these terrifying dreams occur. So when they finally see each other again after like a two month mission, they’re so overwhelmed with happiness and relief that they are both brought to tears.

When they finally sleep beside each other again, OH MY GOD THEY BOTH SLEEP SO GOOD. They feel so comfy and content and safe.

Keith snores pretty much every night but when he comes back after a long mission and finally gets to fall asleep next to the love of his life, his snoring can be heard from Earth probably. He’s just finally relaxed enough to get some good sleep again, he can’t help it. Lance thinks it’s cute and he knows it’s bc his poor baby is sleep deprived.

Long story short, these two are so deeply and madly in love. I don’t think two people have ever been this in love before. Throughout this entire space war, the thought of each other is what really keeps them both going. They’re fighting for the safety of the universe…but they are each other’s universe 💙❤️💙❤️

[comfortlesshurt]

Skyler's November 2024 AO3 Recs

Doing another one of these even though I spent all my free time writing this month, so it's short! Again, in order of least to most hits to try to get the less popular fics the attention they deserve.

As always, I enjoy stuff that triggers others, so review the author's tags and warnings if needed.

More Whump-Focused

Keith Whump Snippets by actress4Him: gen. series of snippets, incomplete. I haven't gotten a chance to finish yet, but what i read so far... *chef's kiss* and this does NOT have the hits it deserves, so top of the rec list, it goes. keith-focused, but a couple chapters are about Shiro, Lance, and Pidge.

found you in my head again by existwound: Klance. complete oneshot. again, it's astra. what more do i need to say? this is the perfect level of toxic for klance. basically canon.

A Million Miles Between Us by existwound: Klance. finished chapter fic. when i tell you i was SHOCKED there was something left by astra that i hadn't read yet???? the klance is there, the whump is excessive, it is literal perfection. 10/10, no notes.

Life is Hard and the Living Rough by DeerstalkerDeathFrisbee: Klance. complete oneshot. some whump, some getting together. 10/10.

Even the People in Your Dreams Will Lie to You by popering: "skyler, you rec'd this last month--" STFU, i read it again this month and it still fuckin slaps. also new chapter dropped. incomplete, but only one chapter left and while sometimes the wait is long, it is so worth it because op drops beefy 20k+ chapters.... if i do not have the will to work on my own writing, op's fics always put me back in the mood to write canon compliant fic. anyway, if i haven't convinced you to read this by now, you're beyond saving :(

Blast Zone by mareepicurean: gen. complete oneshot. possibly baby's first langst fic? I know i've started a couple, but this is the first i remember getting into enough to finish. (the others were good! lance is just not my typical blorbo!) lance is temporarily deaf from a bomb during a mission and there's a bit of angst before the team figures that out.

More Ship-Focused

throw a wrench, solve the puzzle by likeadyingstarr: Klance. EXPLICIT. modern au. unfinished chapter fic, but appears to be active still! gotta out myself for this one, fellas ._. I'm a trans Keith & pregnant Keith enjoyer. I'm sorry you had to find out this way. pregnancy is a major focus for this fic but it's also def a klance fic. this was 30k words when i found it and i binged the whole thing in a single day.

competitive spirit by bfys: Klance. EXPLICIT. complete oneshot. look, this is straight up pwp so i will say nothing more beyond: recommended.

no effect by jilliancares: Klance. finished and older but I just read it for the first time recently so there. lovebug au where keith gets bitten BUT he and lance are already secretly dating, so he's out here pretending to be affected. flawless, no notes. nice little oneshot.

Like Devo by surveycorpsjean: Klance. EXPLICIT. modern au. complete oneshot and definitely old for the fandom but someone just showed me this for the first time like a week ago so... excellent. even though it was published during the 1st season, the characterization is THERE.

[kidge-planet]

Krolia ships Kidge krolia: Ok son, now that war is over, you've got to find yourself someone to procreat.

keith: tooooo whaaaat now?!

krolia:you are a man and you are 23. Don't waste more time.

keith: hold on, what age did you had me?

krolia: that is not important. now, you've got to know that galrans are having kids has soon as they can. generally, galrans have huge famillys but unfortunately, war destroyed that aspect. I couldn't have more kids. but now that you can, im pretty optimist. what do you think of axca? she is a beautiful woman, a great fighter and she is half galra, just like you! plus, you two seem to have a thing!

keith: EWWW! what!? me and Axca?! no thanks! she is sure all you said but not my type! she is just a friend I guess and I had never had a talk that wasn't involving war with her. plus, she seem pretty pessimist and too serious. not my cup of tea!

krolia: Ok! so you want someone that is optimist.. WHAT DO YOU THINK OFF ROMELLE?!

Keith: Romelle? are you serious? I mean, she is nice and everything but do you really see me with her ?! I know I said the opposite before but I would like someone more serious then Romelle. like, someone that know when to be serious and when to not.. also,I think that I want someone smarter then Romelle. Not that she is not, but you knowwww... I feel like she is still a child in her mind somehow. I think I'd want someone that is smart enough to know what they want and where they're going. you see what I mean? like, someone mature enough.

krolia: serious only when the situation involves it ....smart... knows what they want and where they're going.... mature enough... I don't know anyone like it.

krolia:...

krolia: WAIT.

krolia: What do you think of Katie!? Colleen told me that she wanted grandkids too! keith, she is exactly coressponding to your descriptions! She is pretty and smart! perfect to have beautiful and smart babys!

Keith: MOM IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BABYS! IM NOT PLANING TO BE A FATHER YET!

Krolia: YOU DIDN'T SAY NO FOR KATIE (and you are blushing hard) ! IM CALLING COLLEEN TO PLAN YOUR WEDDING NOW! I CAN'T WAIT!

Keith: WEDDING?! MOM NO!

Krolia: MOM, YES!

bonus:

colleen: KATIE, HONEY! I HAVE GREAT NEWS! pidge: What is it? colleen: you are getting married next week! we've got to find you a dress and everything! IM SO EXITED!!!! pidge: WHAT THE QUIZNACK ?!?

[esile-pr23]

secret dating klance but one of them is kidnapped or some shit but the rest of the team doesn’t know so the remaining one is losing their mind and either completely despondent or enraged. think like s1-3 vibes and bonus points if Keith, mr. impulse control issues himself, is left behind and forced to sit by and wait.

And imagine lances captors are sending video proof he’s alive, each transmission showing him more bruised and bloody than the day before and it’s been weeks but he still snarks his kidnappers. eventually they have enough of him and just fuckin stab him or something on video and he’s screaming and Keith just goes ballistic. And he’s yelling and throwing shit and pidge and hunk are terrified and shiros frozen and corans trying to calm him down. And the video and lances screaming cuts out and suddenly it’s quiet Keith just starts sobbing and he’s still trying to fight, trying to do something, and shiro rushes up to him to restrain him and he just. falls apart. and the teams never seen him like this before and they have no idea what to do.

and later the team starts to pick up on Keith’s feelings too; pidge finds Keith staring out the window of the observatory, lances blanket around his shoulders, and she just knows. And she sits next to him for a while and then says, “you love him, don’t you.” And Keith kinda freezes bc he really didn’t wanna do this w/o Lance, they were gonna tell everyone together so he’s abt to say some shit abt how ofc he loves him, he loves everyone on the team-

“don’t even try to deny it man, you’re literally wearing his shirt right now” and Keith kinda stutters but starts to laugh a little and says “yeah i really do” and they go back to looking out the window.

fast forward to them finally getting Lance back. the team rushes to meet him in the hangar and they see him emerge from the ship on shaky legs, arm around shiros shoulders, and him and Keith see each other and the tears immediately start pouring. Lance shakes off shiro and he’s walking to Lance and Keith’s running and they crash together, sobbing and clutching at each others clothes and Keith takes lances face in his hands so gently and presses their foreheads together and whispers “I love you I missed you so much” over and over and over

anyways that kinda got away from me WHOOPS

[dawnrider]

32 kidge ❤️💚

#32 is Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye. My first reaction when I saw the song was "Oh no..." because obviously the song is not exactly about a happy couple. But I persevered! Some Voltron Keith x Pidge for you, my dear @flannelfangirl (This ended up longer than I planned. 😅)

It had been months. Keith knew it by the ache in his chest. He clutched the vid screen in his hand desperately as he moved through the ship that had been sent to collect him. Finally. He had been assigned quarters in the back end of the ship. The noise from the engines was welcome after the near constant silence during his assignment and the isolation would help him reacclimate to being around other people.

The screen whined faintly as he turned it on in the privacy of his own room. He waited impatiently for it to “load” his profile, including his messages. Of which there were many. It took him ages to scroll back until the first one that arrived after his deployment. From Shiro. He skimmed it and marked it to read later. A few from Hunk, another from Shiro… Then the ones he was looking for. Hoping for. Pidge had obviously been unsure of what to say at first. Her messages were almost perfunctory. Awkward. But then she seemed to relax, telling him about her days working in the lab, teasing him about how she’d have to kill him for telling him about her projects.

There were moments where he could feel her longing, the fact that he hadn’t responded making her doubt what she was doing. What they were doing. Keith felt his breath catch when he got to the first message from after he was first supposed to return. Her tone was anxious, questioning. He completely understood. He had been thinking about her constantly, and when the day came and went with no signal from the retrieval team, his first thought had been worry that she would think something happened to him.

The messages after that became less frequent, and stiffer. Someone had obviously communicated to her that he was still on assignment but neglected to tell her why or what was happening. At the time, he hadn’t known either. Another few weeks and it was clear that no one had told her anything. It was protocol, he supposed, but it also meant that as far as Pidge was aware, he had chosen to stay incommunicado. It was around the time he had finally learned that someone would be coming to get him that he saw the change in her responses completely.

Sadness. Loneliness. She regretted trying to make “this a thing. Whatever it was.”

Keith felt his chest squeeze so hard he almost couldn’t breathe. He was punching buttons and desperately waiting for the response on the other end. Nothing. He hit the vid screen version of “redial.” Still nothing.  Had she disconnected her line?

Through eyes he didn’t realize were so blurry, he looked again at the screen and realized that in his panic, he’d hit something wrong. Taking a sharp and shuddering breath, he cleared it and started over.

Ringing.

Or the subspace equivalent, anyway. 

“Keith?” He let out a gust of air, immediately rushing to apologize, to try to explain.  “Hold on, hold on. Are you alright?” her voice was gravelly over the distance, but he realized that on her side of the planet thousands of lightyears away, it was something like three in the morning. “I thought maybe you were…” She couldn’t say it. He wouldn’t let her.

“No. No, I’m alright. My extraction got delayed because another team’s mission went sideways and they needed out. I’m sorry I couldn’t let you know what was going on.”

There was a long pause. The light in her room flicked on as the view changed. He realized she was sitting up now. “Keith… I… I can’t handle…” She took a breath, her lower lip quaking. “After Matt and my dad.” Another breath. “Not knowing what happened to you was more than I could take.”

Keith swallowed hard. He had been thinking about it for the last few weeks while he was stuck in his assignment and unable to do much else. “I’m coming back to Earth.” Pidge blinked at him. “I told Kolivan when they picked me up that I was done. This mission was one too many times I got stranded.”

“Keith… this isn’t something you just… quit.” He shook his head. He explained how long and hard he’d been thinking about it. How little he felt the Blades needed him anymore. It was time. Had been time. It was just that much cleared now, when he was faced with what he stood to lose. What he may already have lost…

“I’m on my way back now. It will take me a couple of days, but I’ll be there.” He took a fortifying breath. “Can we talk about it again when I get there?”

The video quality was not the best, but he thought he could see her nose screwed up in thought. Her shoulders fell slightly. “Alright. Yes.” Keith nodded in relief. She stared at him hard for a long moment and he waited for her to decide what she wanted to say. “You sure you’re alright? You weren’t hurt out there were you?” Not this time. He wouldn’t tell her about the many other times. Yet. Once they figured things out again. Once they got the chance to talk. Then he would come clean about how dangerous his work had truly been.

“Get some sleep. I’m sorry I woke you.”

She smiled a little. “It’s like I’m a whole different person now, huh? Sleeping at four in the morning. Who woulda thought?” He couldn’t help a relieved chuckle at her teasing. She was both the person he used to know and the one he had grown to love. The one who might actually make Earth feel like home again.

“You’re Pidge, Katie. That’s what matters to me.” She grinned. “Good night. See you in a few days.” She nodded, wiggling her fingers at the screen in farewell.

Keith collapsed back on his berth, a sigh leaving him. Bone tired and yet boneless, he fell asleep.