#Shiro and Allura are planning an intervention

[empty-blog-for-lurking]

You are mistaken, you hc Lance as bi to ship him with male characters, i hc Lance as bi to project and also because i know he has universe's most terrible taste in men. We are not the same

[rueitae]

Writing Roundup 2020

This is a writing reflection I’ve been doing for myself every year for the last four years. Its a positive boost to myself see how far I’ve come and look back on my progress for the past year and look forward to the new year. 

Everyone is welcome to use this same format if they’d like to do the same! 

~~~~~~~

Stats:

Words written:

330,000, which is nearly half of all the words I’ve written on Ao3 in the last three years. 

One Shots Posted (all fics plance unless otherwise stated):

In the Arms of the Ever(pink?) Tree (4463 words)

For the Plance Secret Santa exchange. Post s8 date/not date on a snowy moon. Love confession. 

Birthday Treats (2129 words)

For Pidge’s birthday this year! Domestic family fluff, breakfast in bed, plance kids.

Begin Again (Together) (4805 words)

Canon divergence from before episode one! Pidge and Lance are established dating when alien intervention brings them to where they are supposed to be: with the Blue Lion. Just a brief look into what the AU would look like. 

Common Ground (4521 words)

A treat for my friends who introduced me to Magic Knight Rayearth and pointed out some fun character parallels. There is this beautiful art Arya made to go with it because we’re all trash for both series. Plance meet up with Fuu and Ferio post series for both couples. 

Bonded To You (1808 words)

For the Langstron Halloween Exchange! Established plance with a baby Lance is trying to keep safe from a witch who would take advantage of the child’s heritage. 

It Tasted Good (6785 words)

Pikelavar for Pikelavar Month! The premise is crack, but it's mostly treated seriously. Pike ate the Jewel of Jitan by accident and doesn’t realize it until Haggar finds them. Meklavar gets Protective.

The Remainder of Days (3188 words)

Part of my Bad Things Happen Bingo. Fantasy AU where Pidge is a minor forest goddess and Lance is her neighbor mortal farmer. 

I Love You a Lily More Each Day (3232 words)

Another of the Bad Things Happen Bingo. Canon compliant where Lance is undercover at a flower shop and knee deep in an illegal smuggling operation. 

Lease on Life (4978 words)

This one was also part of Bad Things Happen Bingo and was an experiment. It’s POV of an oldest plance kid, canon verse. Her parents’ Paladin days come back to haunt them one night. Some cute family stuff too in there. 

Ready to Dance (4135 words)

For the Valentine’s Day exchange! Post series. Lance tries to get back into the party scene and Pidge rescues him from a disastrous night. 

Loopholes (5476 words)

Technically I didn’t write this fic this year, but a very kind reader asked if I would post this to Ao3, so it was my first fic of the year on Ao3. It’s Lotura! Originally a gift for a dear friend I’ve had since elementary school. It’s a fantasy AU where Lotor stumbles into Allura’s kingdom needing help. 

Next to Me (7311 words)

Also for Bad Things Happen Bingo, this is probably one of my favorite fics of the year. This is the canon verse AU that went all wrong in s7, and Sendak succeeds in destroying Earth. Lance and Pidge end up not only his prisoners, but also two of the last humans in the universe. Ends open ended, but it became a series in the end!

Into Me (14248 words)

The sequel to the above fic. There are two versions, this and the one below. The title tells all. Lance and Pidge come to terms with their new life aboard Sendak’s flagship and do their best to keep the other comforted.

Into Me (non-explicit version) (7228 words)

Exactly the same as the fic above, only this one is SFW

Sunshine (3831 words)

A Bad Things Happen Bingo! One of my favorite concepts. Canon verse. Pidge gets sick while she and Lance are on a scientific mission. 

Showoff (635 words)

A really short fic for a friend on their birthday, featuring their plance kids!

Respite of the Heart (4181 words)

A fic I have been wanting to write for a very long time. I love the concept of Pidge as a Disney Princess in the sense she has the forest guardian theme and all these animals love her. So there’s some play on that as the Paladins stop for lunch on their journey back to Earth in early s7. Lance comes to a realization and they have a chat surrounded by the animal friends. @anchoredtetherart did a phenomenal piece to accompany it. Please look at it in awe here.

The Hardest Part (3960 words)

For Bad Things Happen Bingo! An AU of the episode The Reunion where Pidge doesn’t return when she’s supposed to. 

A Planned Sacrifice (4988 words)

Another Bad Things Happen Bingo. Canon verse. Pidge assumes that being a sacrifice for the ‘forest god’ is strictly ceremonial and at worst a wild animal. It’s actually Sendak, who no one has seen since Shiro shot him out of the Castle. He remembers Pidge and is far too pleased to see her again, tied up on a silver platter. 

Almost Forgotten, but Not Gone (3946 words)

Bad Things Happen Bingo. AU sometime in s1 where Haxus isn’t as dead as Pidge thought. 

Touch (7519 words)

Written for the Lance Goes Boom bang! It was inspired by @fenixseraph ‘s amazing art here! It’s a different take on The Way Forward, where Pidge and Lance are separated from the rest of the team and placed in their own cell. And the Red Lion causes issues. 

Chaptered Fics started/added to:

Wolf In Thieves’ Clothing (4516 words)

An AU of The Castle of Cagliostro from Lupin the Third series. Lee, you have my thanks forever for making me watch this finally. Pidge is a literal princess whose kingdom is in the middle of an internal coup. Lance is a gentleman thief who rides with his best buds Hunk and Matt. Their paths are destined to cross again when Lance goes back to the castle he used to call home. 

Game of Love (4593 words)

The most crack of the bunch. AU of Fall the of the Castle of Lions where Sendak and Haxus get away with it all. Pidge and Lance are prisoners on Haxus’ new ship, and Lance finds an opportunity for eventual escape when he learns that Haxus has a crush on his second in command. Operation matchmaker begins. (happy ending planned for all)

What Tides May Bring (20704 words)

Collab with the fantastic @anchoredtetherart for MerMay! Established plance as mermaids and guardians of their elements with adorable mer child. Then angst because they are all captured by a ‘research’ institute. 

Seasons of Magic (16546 words)

I actually added a chapter this year! Ongoing collection of one-shots with mage Pidge who lives in the country and cultivates her plant magic and makes potions with the assistance of her dragon familiar, Lance. Mostly domestic fluff. 

Too Soon and Not Soon Enough (11438 words)

Added another chapter this year to my Keith-centric AU. It’s basically VLD but five years early and they’re all literally child Paladins. Keith gets to meet Krolia earlier and its fun to go into tween friendships as they try and navigate the reality of their situation. 

Seeds (48833 words)

Added a ton earlier this year. A collection of plance fics all or mostly under 500 words. All meant to be adopted by others if interest strikes. Covers many genres.

Chaptered Fics Finished:

Resolve to Fly (75799 words)

Written for the Pidge Angst Bang. My artist @alchemie0 did an outstanding job capturing the feel of the fic. Look at the art here! Canon verse AU where Pidge encounters Haxus, who has crashed on Earth. She helps him repair his ship in excitement and good faith, which he pays back by kidnapping her. For two years she survives as little more than a housepet on Sendak’s ship. Gen.

Who's Protecting Who? (28989 words)

Also technically not written this yeah, but posted. A collab with Hush waaaay back in 2018. It's a plance Altean AU with Pidge as distant royalty and Lance as a bodyguard.

A Dish Served Cold (21533 words)

Finally finished this one! Canon verse in which Pidge accidentally runs into Sendak on an isolated planet. Sendak takes advantage of this encounter and tries to return to the Empire with her in tow. Much Pidge whump. Gen

Reflections: 

Best title 

I still really really love Too Soon and Not Soon Enough (11438 words). Because it's too soon for the Paladins to be Paladins, and for Keith it's not nearly soon enough for Krolia to return. It just feels like it has a lot of heart to it. I hope I can keep it going, but my ideas are incredibly scattered for it. 

Worst title 

Touch (7519 words). Yeah it’s a play on ‘Don’t you touch her’ but it feels soooo dry. 

Best/worst last line

Best: This was really, really hard choice this year, but ultimately, making up for the terrible title, its Touch (7519 words) 

“It feels good to escape the ship with all of his teammates, secure in the knowledge that he has a way forward not just as a Paladin, but also with Pidge.” 

- Not only did I manage to fit the title of the episode in there, it's got that hopeful tinge to it and reflects on personal growth both internally and with Pidge. 

Worst: This one isn’t necessarily bad from Begin Again (Together) (4805 words), but it could be better. It didn’t get quite the epic sense I was hoping to pull from it.

“Okay,” he smirks, hand firmly on the throttle. “Operation save Earth starts now.”

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

Definitely wrote way more. Even with posting two fic that are essentially the exact same, I still ended up writing nearly half of my total Ao3 word count this year. (330,000/670,000). Doing Bad Things Happen Bingo was a bit part of that - I was very inspired at the beginning of this year - but also there were many events I participated in (8 total!!) on top of my personal projects. 

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

A really hard decision this year, because there are several that make me really happy. I think oddly enough though, it’s Game of Love (4593 words) because of its potential and how much crack it is. It has such whacky rom-com energy to it but also that underlying angst of the situation I can fall back on. My favorite trope to explore is what happens to the characters when they’re captured. I just really enjoy the concept and the challenge to make such a concept believable with minimal suspension of belief. 

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

Using kudos as my gauge (and not counting the chapter fics), the winner is: 

Respite of the Heart (4181 words)

Not surprising because Ivy’s art is STUNNING.

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

I think that’s It Tasted Good (6785 words), the pikelavar fic. Pikelavar is underappreciated in general

Story that could have been better?

For all I was excited to write Sunshine (3831 words), it didn’t quite fall the way I had imagined in my mind. I don’t know if it was the structure or I was running out of steam or what. All i know is that I wanted more but all I could concentrate on was that scene where he’s caring for her in bed. Maybe I was just too ambitious.

Sexiest story?

No brainer it's Into Me (14248 words). Literally. Which really shocked me that it happened. Didn’t think I’d write any smut at all, let alone this year. This particular fic just kinda called out for it 

Saddest story?

The prequel to the above fic: Next to Me (7311 words). How much more sad can you get than Earth being destroyed, being Sendak’s prisoners all while trying to tell each other ‘i love you’ without seeming weird because you’re the last humans in the universe. 

Most fun?

I think it's Ready to Dance (4135 words). Just Valentine’s fluff and impromptu slow dancing in the park at night. 

Story with single sweetest moment?

I’m picking What Tides May Bring (20704 words). Listen, mer Lance and mer Pidge playing with their mer baby in their domestic paradise is probably one of my favorite things I’ve ever written. Dad Lance has my heart. 

Hardest story to write?

The last chapter of A Dish Served Cold (21533 words) was like pulling teeth. I’m pretty happy with it in the end but at the time man it was so hard. 

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

I wrote smut. It was...weird? But also strangely calming. I wrote more for another fic but it's still a WIP. I definitely need to be in the mood to write it. 

Proudest Achievement:

The Pidge Angst Bang. Resolve to Fly (75799 words). Look at that word count. I only wanted something under 3k at first, so it was just going to be Pidge meeting Haxus. But by the time I finished that part it was already 10k. So even though I was going through a rough part of my life, I just kept going and it ended up being my therapy. I’m really proud of the fic and I love my artists’ pieces. It really lifted my spirits. (You should all really go check out the Ao3 collection of all the bang stories and art they are AMAZING you won’t regret. If you love Pidge angst they are all must reads.)

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

I’d like to finish my Bad Things Happen Bingo card and then focus on my current WIP, that includes the Seeds collection. There are days I still feel a bit overwhelmed, and I’m still trying to find a routine after moving. I’d like to do more events too, but I think I need to be more selective about which ones I do. I don’t want to burn myself out. 

Apart from that, I’d really like to try and give back to the community more. I’d like to start consciously writing fics for others without an event to go by. 

Past Years:

2017

2018

2019

[seeds-of-the-garden]

Lance is a doctor and after Pidge goes in for an appointment they end up going out on a date afterwords.

*shifty eyes* Well, they had a date planned anyway...

Edit: I know its Monday. I legit thought it was Tuesday I am so flustered and off schedule right now.

~~~~~

Pidge glares. Oh she wishes she could talk right now, wipe that smug look off of his face, but the thermometer in her mouth means her protests come out in mumbles. 

“I hope you’ve been taking those supplements,” Lance says, holding his clipboard up importantly as he rounds the examination bed that Pidge sits on. Curse him, wearing that white lab coat like it's a second skin, purposefully wearing those glasses even though he doesn’t even need them with his perfect vision.

She mumbles, pointing to the clock on the wall. It’s nearly five o’clock and she has places to be.

“Oh I know,” he says with a devilish smirk. “But you’re my most important patient, so I don’t mind staying a few extra minutes.”

She says his name, long and exasperated, but it only comes out in muffles.

Blessedly the thermometer beeps and Lance pulls it out… slowly. 

“Careful,” he warns before she can say anything. “Think of the baby.”

“Yes, Lance,” she practically growls. “I am well aware of how utterly pregnant I am. I need to get back to work now.”

“Ah ah ah,” he says with a wag of his finger. “You’re in my section of the building so I get to be in charge here.”

Pidge groans, throwing her head back. “They are literally waiting for my approval to go ahead with the Voltron project. Five minutes and I will be off for the weekend,” she promises.

Lance makes a great show of thinking about it, before flippantly telling her, “No.”

“No?” she practically shrieks.

“You promised me a date at the end of the day,” he says much more seriously, almost pleading. “Pidge, you can start maternity leave any time you want now.”

Her heart flutters just a bit the way he looks at her so tenderly. It makes her feel like giving in. 

He must sense it, because he continues. “Come on, Pidge. Let me carry you away to your chariot. Coran already knows I’m taking you out, so don’t worry about the project.”

Pidge’s jaw drops. “Coran’s in on this?”

Lance nods. “This is an intervention Pidge. So is Allura and Hunk and Keith and Shiro…”

“Okay I get it!” she insists. “You hoodwinked my coworkers and friends into getting me to rest.” She sighs, though not angrily. In surrender, she holds her hands out for Lance to take. “Surprise me, oh husband of mine.”

Giddy as a little kid, Lance takes her into his arms and helps her off the examination table, planting a kiss right on her nose. “One for you,” he says, then kisses her belly, “and another for Lance Jr.”

“Or Pidge Jr!” she reminds him, but then gives him a leery eye once she thinks of it. “You better not have snuck a peak.”

“On my honor, my dear wife, I have not looked,” he promises. “So, where would you like to go first? I have a reservation at the Castle of Lions and a nice sponge bath ready at home.”

Without warning, a sharp pain overtakes her abdomen and the liquid grossly starts to soak into her pants. Eyes wide, she gasps. “I think I need to go to the delivery room.”

[tybalt-tisk]

.phase two, Keith

// Lance is tired of waiting for Allura and Shiro to make a move, so he decides to throw a house party to help them along. Pairing: Shallura. Background Klance. Rating: T Warnings: Flirting, Drunkenness, Implied Sexual Situations AO3 This is a super crazy late birthday gift for @definition-of-awkward ! Hope you like it!  ~~

“Okay, soo...” Lance said slowly after he took another swig of whatever liquid was in his bottle as he stared at the scene before him. “Remind me exactly who’s idea this was, again?” His tone held unbridled excitement, anticipation, and just a tad bit of narcissism.

Keith rolled his eyes and casually brought his legs up to rest on the small table with a hard thud. “Why do you keep asking us whose idea it was when we all know it was yours?” he responded dryly. He reached out to take Lance’s drink and took his own sip before he quickly handed it back with a sour look.

Lance snorted at Keith’s face. “I like the validation,” he said truthfully, waving the half-empty bottle in Keith’s direction. “I like the glory. But most importantly, most  importantly than anything else, Keith...” A shit-eating grin crept to Lance’s lips as he turned to look his teammate in the eye. “I like the fact that my plan worked and yours didn’t.” He thumped Keith’s chest with the bottle as he spoke.

Keith folded his arms over his chest. “You call throwing a space house party and getting them trashed a plan?” Keith moved over a bit more into Lance when Pidge wedged her way onto the couch beside him. It was only a matter of time before Hunk joined them.

Lance downed the rest of his beer before he stood to get another one from the fridge. “Yes, Keith. Yes I do,” came his distant reply from the kitchen. His tone was full of the confidence he knew he deserved. He came back with four distinct bottles and placed each one in front of a different spot; one for each Paladin. Keith took the bottle from Lance and eyed the foreign logo cautiously. If this is what Lance was drinking, he didn’t want anything to do with it.

“Try it, it tastes more like a cider than a beer,” Lance reassured him as he popped his bottle cap before he popped the other’s one by one. “Also, your plan was going to take too long and honestly, my guy, ain’t nobody got time for that. Not anymore. Nope. Not after years of sexual tension and-and of just them doing that-that thing they always do.” He waved his hand around trying to fill in the blank.

Keith raised a brow. “What thing?”

Lance threw his head back to face the dimmed lights of the ceiling. “The pining, Keith,” Lance said slowly as he spoke with his hands and it caused the alien beer to splash around. “The. Mutual. Pining. Keith. It’s like some shitty rom-com where every time you think that they are going to kiss, but then some jackass interrupts them with some convoluted bullshit. And usually, that jackass is you.”

Keith looked offended. “Me?”

“Yes, you because you don’t know how to read a room!” he clarified aggressively. He lowered the pitch of his voice so he could mimic the boy beside him. “Hey, Shiro, can you come take a look at this? Allura, Kolivan wants to discuss something, you got a minute? Oh, Allura, Shiro what are you guys doing up so late?” His voice switched back to his own. “Bonding, Keith! They were having a bonding moment!”

“Oh, so you can recognize their bonding moment, but you can’t recognize your own?” Pidge mocked as she fiddled with an electrical box.

��Not the time, Pidgy!” Lance yelled in the girl’s directions. “Anyway, I’m tired of it. No more pining. No more missed connections. No more interruptions. Keith! Ya know why?” His head whipped around to face his teammates. “Ask me why. Go ahead. Ask me. I’ll wait.”

Pidge and Keith sighed in unison before they answered together sarcastically. “Why?”

“Because tonight is the night, Keith.”

“Why do you keep saying my name? Katie is right here, too.”

“Because I’m serious and you need to realize that, Keith.” He pointed to the couple sitting on the couch across the room. “Just take a look at them and I dare you to tell me that I’m not a genius. Pidgy, back me up.”

Pidge had her eyes glued at the couple in front of them. She’d never seen them look so...comfortable. So relaxed. So laid back.

So happy.

“He’s right; you can’t read a room to save your life.”  Keith folded his arms over his chest with a frown. He could so read a room. He could read the ass out of a room. He graduated with honors in Room Reading. Top 10% if they were being technical. “And also, enough is enough, Keith,” she continued, not realizing Keith’s inner turmoil. “We gotta get those two together and if getting them hammered is the only way to do it, then I say fuck it. Let’s do it.”

Lance shook his fist triumphantly. “That’s my girl!” he hollered. His head whipped around looking for their missing teammate. “Hunk! Baby boy, Hunkalicious, where are you? It’s time to move on to phase two.”

Keith looked confused. “Phase two?”

“Phasefuckin’two,Keith,” Lance said so quickly, it came out as one word. At this rate, Keith was sure that Lance wasn’t too sober himself.

“I’m here, I’m here!” Hunk said hurriedly as he appeared with a tray of finger foods. To make room for Hunk, Pidge moved over into Keith and Keith, in turn, moved more over into Lance. Sitting shoulder to shoulder on the small couch wasn’t something all that comfortable to say in the least. Without thinking, Lance moved his arm to rest around Keith’s shoulders, creating more shoulder room but eliminating all personal space. The raven-haired boy felt his face heat up at the closeness and it was then that he realized that he needed a drink to get through this. He brought the bottle to his lips to take a few sips and was surprised to find that he actually enjoyed the beverage.

“Told you you’d like it,” Lance whispered into his ear suddenly and it sent a chill up his spine. Did Lance’s voice have to be so low and...sultry? Keith told himself that it was just the alcohol combined with the heat of his body peeking through because Lance’s voice shouldn’t have this kind of effect on him.

Hunk passed down the snacks. “Did I miss anything?” he asked in a tone that was on the edge of excitement as he watched their leader give their commander another drink from across the room.

Lance shook his head. “Nope, you’re just in time.” He took another swig of his beer before he snapped his fingers in a way that only he thought was cool. “Pidge. Do ya thing, baby.”

Pidge rolled her eyes, but immediately closed the electrical box she was working on before she tinkered with the protruding knobs on the sides. Within seconds, the music gradually became louder and as predicted, the quartet watched as Allura moved closer into Shiro so she could speak to him over the loud music.

“This is going to be my greatest achievement,” Lance absentmindedly said to himself as if he had just learned the secret to eternal life. “I’ll go down in history as the ultimate wingman and my name is going to be written in the stars. Just you fucking watch, Keith.”

“Can’t wait,” Keith grumbled in return.

“Okay, you guys,” Hunk said through bites of his puff pastry, “we just can’t sit here and stare at them the whole night.”

“I can and I will,” Lance stated, staring stubbornly ahead at the couple. “I did this. I deserve to watch. You guys can alternate or whatever. Or – OR, you can even watch me watch them and I can give you a play-by-play if that’s what you really want to do with your life. Hunkleberry, I love you. You know that. You know I’d take a bullet for you, but baby, you got me fucked up if you think I’m taking my eyes away from this blatant act of divine intervention.”

“Are you calling yourself a god?” Keith said before he popped a piece what he could almost classify as popcorn into his mouth.

Lance sunk deeper into the couch and the action dragged Keith along with him. “Bitch…” he started slowly before he took a long drink of his beer. “I just might be. Now, càllete so I can watch these bi disasters fall in love.”

“They are already in love, they are just too stubborn to see it,” Pidge spoke up. “You, on the other hand, you just want to watch them make out.”

Lance shrugged to the best of his abilities with Keith in his side. “Ya damn right. I would pay top USD dollars to watch that.”

“You do know that the D in USD stands for dollars, right?”

Lance turned his head slowly to stare at the teammate that was settled into his side. “...Keith, I’m so tired of your shit,” Lance said in a tone that walked the line between agitation and boredom but tightened his arm around him, effectively negating his words. When Lance got drunk, Lance got clingy. “No more talking. No màs. We’re going to sit here, we’re going to watch them, and we’re going to enjoy it.” He brought his feet up to rest beside Keith’s on the table and he took another drink and the others followed his lead wordlessly.

.~.xXx.~.

Shiro was having fun.

He’s more than sure that he’d never heard Allura laugh so much in his life. It was such a beautiful sound, like church bells in the middle of war that called him to sanctuary. The sound resonated through every nerve in his body just so it could set his soul on fire and build him anew from the ashes that remained. But if that’s what it took to keep her voice ringing, then he’d happily burn. His mind was hazy with some sort of alcoholic beverage and he couldn’t exactly remember why she was laughing as hard as she was, because he knows he’s not funny in the slightest, but he knows that her laughter is contagious in all the right ways. Maybe he said a joke that was funnier than he thought, or maybe she was just as tipsy as he was.

Read the rest on Ao3! (Sorry, the Read More feature never works for me.)

[hailqiqi]

2019 Fic Round-Up

Writer buddies, let’s do this (as in, if you haven’t yet, do yours too!)

Stats:

(I’m going with a random quote from each one because I’m a fan of long summaries.)

Fics Posted (Gen): 3

A Little Taste of What Should Have Been

And that was how Pidge found herself kneeling sideways on the couch, face inches away from Lance’s shoulder as he disinfected first two sewing needles and then the earrings with a professional air.

Wriggle, Jiggle, Bake!

“Okay, so you’ve been magically de-aged — because apparently that’s a thing. Why is that a thing? Whatever. Of course it’s a thing out here."

Here

“Don’t make it weird, Lance,” she huffed, already tugging him into the room and closing the door behind them. “C’mon. I’ll help you wash all that off.”

Fics Posted (Plance Oneshots): 7

2 x 100 word drabbles

(Domestic Fantasy & Kabedon)

The Advantages of Being Small

“I couldn’t help it! It was just too tempting!”

Untangle to Wait, Unravel to See

Of course a fortune teller would appear as soon as he started talking about one. They were on a magical world with magical aliens and Lance was like, the hero of the story, so it made sense that events would be tied to his dialogue. Most importantly, it was not creepy at all, and anyone who said Lance was creeped out could go suck it.

the world is out there, my dear, but we're in here

Pidge froze. The reaction was so subtle that Lance would have missed it if he hadn't been watching for it -- she relaxed herself almost immediately, eyebrows raised in casual challenge -- but she'd reacted, all the same.

so it turns out I kinda missed you

Grumbling, Lance crossed his arms and sunk back into his seat. “I could’ve come to get her on my own, you know.” “Yeah, but then you wouldn’t be able to make out in the back seat on the way home.”

The Stars Aren't the Same for You and I

Dancing with Pidge was fun.

Fics Posted (Plance Chaptered): 2 (1.5?)

Skirting Katabasis

"So... Do you think you could put it back together?" Pidge tilted the tablet towards her and looked at him hard. His expression was hesitant, but his eyes were soft...almost pleading. She smirked. "Who do you think I am, Keith?”

The Future in Snippets (Chapters 3-5)

In truth, she had no idea what was fine. Her brain had switched off several heartbeats ago, but she couldn’t really find it in herself to care.

Fics Posted (Plance Collabs): 2

Smack, Kiss, Fall in Love (even chapters)

The prince doesn’t ignore the princess for the nerdy sidekick. Even if that sidekick was a badass fighter who’d saved his life countless times. Or a genius who constantly left his head spinning. Or totally into the same video games that defined Lance’s childhood, and the owner of a smile so blinding it made the stars look dim.

(shoutout to @sp4c3-0ddity​, my co-conspirator who made Pidge’s star so bright!)

It's Beginning to Look a Lot like A Christmas Carol  (Prologue & Chap 1)

“An intervention?” “Sure. Have you ever seen A Christmas Carol?” His mind freezes. “You mean the Dickens book?” “Uh…” Keith’s dad trails off, blinking. “No, the movie. With the little green man? I think they made a version with the grouchy duck, too.”

(shoutout to the awesome @rueitae​ and @sp4c3-0ddity​ who brought both the crack and the tears essential items for any Christmas party all we’re missing is the food fight and divorce)

Total Fics Posted: 14

Oooh wow. That’s more than one a month!

 Ship/Character Breakdown:

Ship Breakdown: Plance, with over 75%

[colleen image]

Character Breakdown: Pidge and Lance are in 100% of my fics. Hunk is next in 5 (with 1 POV!), then Keith and Allura both get 3 (both even get POV parts and Keith’s a major focus in Skirting Katabasis), then Shiro, Coran and Lance/Pidge’s families are more bit players.

I only just realized that the chapter in Smack, Kiss, Fall in Love is the only time I’ve really written Shiro. And now I’m horrified because Shiro was my first love.

Characters that had the Main Focus: 6 +1 Lance POV, 4+2 Pidge POV, 2 Switching POV fics and then the drabbles don’t count.  I actually started out the year tearing my hair out because I related to Pidge so much more, but now I really enjoy writing Lance. It’s actually a little tricky to get into Pidge’s headspace to work on my chaptereds sometimes.

Specifics

 Best/Worst Title?

Best Skirting Katabasis. C’mon. That’s like, literary (Katabasis being hell or destruction in Greek mythos). Worst Untangle to Wait, Unravel to See. I had help with it but this fic was just so hard to name.

Best/worst last line?

Best I tend to structure my chapters/one-shots around the last line so…this is hard.

"What took you so long? I've been waiting for you."

(Untangle to Wait, Unravel to See)

My personal favourite, though, is from so it turns out I kinda missed you:

Luis laughed. “Hi, Not-My-Girlfriend. I’m Not-His-Brother, Luis.”

Worst

Hunk just laughed. “You can’t fix that right now, so you might as well have some fun!”

(Wriggle, Jiggle, Bake!) So cheesey.

The last line that gives me personal arghs is from Here:

He buried his face in her sodden hair and cried.

...because a day after posting I realised that I should’ve written wept, dammit, and now it annoys me every time I see it.

Honourable mention to The Advantages of Being Small for winning the no-context award:

“Reckon I could fit three fingers up there?”

 General Questions

 Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

Way more than I thought!  I think I had planned out about 8? Of those I wrote two (zine fics), started but haven’t finished 2, and the other 4 are still pending.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

None, my obsessions are long-lasting and constant.

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

Skirting Katabasis or It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like A Christmas Carol. Though TBH I enjoy re-reading most of the stuff I posted in the last 6 months.

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

In every single metric on AO3 it’s The Future in Snippets. Y’all like your porn (even if there’s not much of it).

On tumblr it’s Wriggle, Jiggle, Bake! by like 100 notes.

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

If this is a roundabout way of saying ‘What’s your LEAST popular story?’ it’s The Advantages of Being Small, but TBH that’s a very short crack-ficlet so it doesn’t bother me (same with the drabbles).

If the question is “What fic do you think people should like MORE?” the answer is Skirting Katabasis. It’s fifth on the list for bookmarks and 9th for Kudos, and I’m not sure why?? Does it sound too gen? Do you not like Platonic Adventure Kidge? Honestly y’all are missing out it’s like the best thing I’ve ever written. Hands down.

Story that could have been better?

The Future in Snippets. Hands down. It was started on a whim, as a practice fic for another idea I’ve been nurturing for even longer, and back when I was newer at this writing thing. It wasn’t very tightly plotted – in fact the plot was expanded upon and changed multiple times before I settled on what I have now, several chapters in – and certain things that should have been seeded were left out of earlier chapters because I wasn’t experienced enough to figure out how to work them in and foolishly thought ‘oh, it won’t matter! Such a small detail!’, so now I’m scratching my head trying to figure out how to compensate.

I tend to work off very tight outlines, but Snippets was missing that for a large part of the process and I think it shows. I do think I’ve done a good job nailing the emotion in it, though, and that’s like 95% of the fic so as long as I keep that up it’ll all be fine.

Sexiest story?

The Future in Snippets is smut so… First place for SFW sexy goes to the world is out there, my dear, but we’re in here.

Saddest story?

I think The Stars Aren’t the Same for You and I wins because it’s a heartbreaking situation with no good resolution. There’s no comfort to be found there.

Most fun?

A Little Taste of What Should Have Been. It’s just…fun!

The most fun I had writing was Smack, Kiss, Fall in Love, because it was challenging, and I’d wake up every day excited to find out what had happened in the last chapter overnight.

Story with single sweetest moment?

The Future in Snippets (Chapter 4) 

“Um…” She turned the brush in her hands over again before holding it up sheepishly. “Do you remember how you said you’d braid my hair?”

Lance’s whole face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Really?!”

A giggle escaped her lips and she smiled, nodding. “Really.”

Hardest story to write?

The Future in Snippets. The emotions in this fic have become a convoluted mess and it is growing exponentially harder to write as I continue. I simply don’t have the level of skill required, but by God I will find it so that I can finish it properly.

Easiest/most fun story to write?

Skirting Katabasis!  The outline for this fic is tight, and I freaking love writing this fic. Like I just feel like smiling the whole process. I don’t know why. It feels like the wrong answer because it’s a fairly involved fic, but I just enjoy everything about it.

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

Smack, Kiss, Fall in Love actually gave me a much better understanding of Lance. Skirting Katabasis made me really look at Keith and realise that hey – the dude is actually very emotional, very chatty, and very soft (he’s so often typecast as the ‘moody loner’ because that’s what they call him in the show but he really doesn’t act like that).

Most overdue story?

Uh. The Future in Snippets was originally scheduled to be finished in January 2018, so… I also have a soulmate WIP which was meant to be for V-Day 2018.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

I started to play about with other POVs, and discovered that I can write other POVs? I also did two collabs!  The first one I discovered that Reem really is a sweetheart, and with the second I discovered that either I’m really bossy or really persuasive or both maybe I should go into politics.

I also did a couple of events and zines and exchanges. I discovered that piece-writing – like writing with a target/deadline/outside expectation – does not agree with me, and I will no longer sign up for events/zines/exchanges.

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

1.     Finish my WIPs.

2.     Write my Pidge Makes Bad Decisions fic!

3.     That’s about it really. Can you take over the world by writing fic? If so, that’s going on the list.

[titaniumsnail]

Galra Reverse Bang

Me and @pyrestoneatelier were paired up for the Galra Reverse Bang and they created an amazing fic to go with my picture!

Please right click -> view image for best quality.

The premise: What if Haxus survived his fall and Pidge found him first?

Strategem

Chapter 1: "You're the one causing all this trouble? A child?" Haxus seethed. Their plan was almost at its fruition, and with it their redemption. Commander Sendak had practically declared their victory the moment he conveyed the scheme to him, promising reward and praise from Emperor Zarkon himself. They would rise from the mud and emerge victorious...if not for one infuriating obstacle impeding their every step. A young menace in green armor, standing before Haxus after sabotaging them once more. This time it had been overloading the central energy chamber’s engines, debilitating the Castle’s liftoff and electrocuting him in the process. "I'm not a child. I'm a Paladin of Voltron." came the young menace’s rebuttal, their bayard drawn and stance ready to engage. It was almost comical, the idea that this small, youthful brat was a Paladin of Voltron. No, they couldn’t have been. The greatest power in the known universe next to Emperor Zarkon, being piloted by a child? Haxus laughed deeply as he stood, drawing his plasma sword, "Let me tell you something, child. I'm a soldier of the Galra Empire. Nothing stops me but triumph or death."

With a yell Haxus lunged forward, swinging forcefully above the child Paladin’s head. They ducked, just barely recovering long enough to dodge the second slash of Haxus’ blade as they were pushed back across the catwalk further. On the third swing they jumped into a roll, turning quickly to launch the grappling hook of their bayard straight at Haxus. Haxus’ reflexes were much faster, however, and he was able to grab the hook and yank it to the side, using the blade of his sword to tangle the plasma rope for leverage as he launched the Paladin through the air into the computer stand. They landed with a harsh thud, rolling to the edge of the platform. A smug crossed Haxus’ face as he stomped towards the Paladin, towering over them as they tried to right themselves. He grinned widely as their eyes locked. "Nowhere left to run. Nowhere left to hide." he sneered, drawing his sword back. As he prepared to drive the finishing blow straight at the troublesome child, a sudden, loud beep caught Haxus by surprise. He reflexively turned his head, coming face to face with the corrupted drone the Paladin had repurposed. It was a fatal distraction that lost Haxus a few ticks, and within those lost moments the Paladin had managed to duck between his legs and catch their hook’s rope against his leg, throwing him off balance and stumbling towards the platform’s ledge. Haxus caught his foot just in time to keep from falling over, but he was left scrambling to keep his balance. Before he could right himself the corrupted drone came barreling towards him, slamming into his face and finally pushing him over the edge. No, he couldn’t die. Not like this; not at the eve of his triumph. His hand darted out and grabbed hold of the drone, dropping his sword as one foot slipped off and dangled in the air. "Rover!" the Paladin screamed. The drone pulled against Haxus’ grasp, and perhaps foolishly Haxus hoped it would pull him just close enough to where he could get back onto the platform. However, it seemed the drone was in no mood to cooperate with the lieutenant. It whirred loudly and lit up, shaking as something built within itself before going dark and shutting down completely. The drone had burned itself out, and with it the levitation system keeping it and Haxus from plummeting into the black pit of the engine chambers below. “No!” the Paladin yelled as they rushed towards them, but it was too late. Haxus felt his body descend in a rapid whirlwind, screaming as the blue light of the energy orb above him grew further and further, and the world around him faded into the void of nothing. Death, then. ✦ The first thing one feels when they regain consciousness is their own breath. It’s shallow, painful even, but its there. It’s the first symptom of life that slowly seeps into your muscles and brings with it a wakefulness that is unlike coming out of sleep. It’s almost as if you’ve been reborn, but in a less than perfect state. Haxus lays still as his body comes back to itself, trying to wade through the murky fog that is his thoughts. He decides to focus on his breathing, inhaling and exhaling in a timed rhythm. After a few moments he opens his eyes. It’s dark, but there is some shapes he can make out through the blur. He looks this way and that, blinking as his vision becomes clear. He’s on the floor of the Altean ship, in the engine block he guesses. No, he knows it's the engine chamber. The memory begins to come back as well, and he clenches his jaw in anger. Of all the battles and all the enemies Haxus had faced over the kilo-phoebs, his first palpable defeat came at the hands of a mere child. It was a shame not many Galra of his calibur could even begin to comprehend, let own bare. And yet here he laid on the cold, metal ground of his would-be grave, broken in spirit. Focus, he berates himself. The time for self-pity would come later. For now he needs to continue his self diagnostic check. The next step is to test his locomotion. He wiggles his fingers first, and there’s a numb tingling sensation in his left hand he knows cannot be a sign of anything pleasant. Toes next, then legs. Those seem to be in working order. Finally, the forearms. Haxus shifts and pushes himself up with his right, and while he feels something pop back into place it is otherwise functioning. The same cannot be said for the left, however. As he sits himself up and examines the tingling limb, he can tell something has broken. His hand is twisted at an angle too far to be normal, and when he lightly touches it through the armor a searing pain radiates up his shoulder. Broken in body as well, it would seem. Must’ve broken when I landed on it, he thinks. He stays sitting there for a good long while, examining the room as more of his senses recuperate and he attains some level of normalcy. The chamber is large and pitch black, save for the tiny spec of light from the orb high above. He blinks at it and laughs weakly. What marvelous luck to have survived such a fall with only a broken arm and perhaps a concussion. Marvelous, dumb luck. His head falls back down to look around the chamber once again, and he finally spies not far from where he sits the dreaded drone that led him to this pitiful state. Its unbroken, but unresponsive. All the same Haxus snarls at it, forcing his legs to support his weight as he stands to leer over it. He’s still wobbly on his feet, like a newborn foal, but on sheer sprite and determination alone he finds the strength to kick the drone clear across the chamber, hearing the sweet clang of it hitting the wall. However the action has made his head swim, and Haxus presses his good hand to his eyes to rub away the stars clouding his vision. He mustn't pass out again, not here at least. There is no indication of how much time has passed or where he can go from here, but all Haxus knows is that he has to move. So although his thoughts are muddied and he cannot navigate the darkness of the engine chamber, Haxus wills himself to start walking. He walks until he finds the wall, and using it to support his weight he keeps moving till he finds a hallway and goes down it. Time and consciousness black in and out, with only the sensation of movement keeping him from dissociating fully. As Haxus meanders down the corridor his returning awareness begins to wander further than he his feet carry him. It was apparent some time had been lost between his fall and his awakening, but how much? If neither Sendak nor the Paladin brats had found him yet, then they must’ve believed he perished. A forgivable conclusion; Haxus himself would assume the same had it been anyone else. Perhaps it is not dumb luck, but rather some great divine intervention that has kept him alive. Ridiculous. The only thing close to divine in this universe was the Emperor, and not even he would find it permissible to spare the life of a fractured, failed lieutenant. Yet even death did not claim Haxus, so what was he then? Victory or death, and neither had be attained. Pathetic, that was what he was now. Life was a punishment and this body of his would serve as a prison. Until he was found by Sendak or the Paladins, at least. A more suitable prison made of four walls would be waiting for him once he had escaped these lower depths. If he could somehow find his way out of them. He knows he has made several turns down new corridors, and he’s aware he’s transversed a flight of stairs. Haxus blinks wearily as he finds himself in another hallway, head swaying as it pounds and buzzes in pain. There was the great probability that he had been concussed before reawakening, but there was no way to tell unless he received the proper medical diagnoses. His hand moved from his eyes to the side of his head as he groaned, finding a rough, flaky substance sticking to his fur. Haxus unintelligibly picked at it until he felt a warm, wet sensation dribbly from his scalpt. Pulling his palm away and examining the crimson stains coating his claws confirmed the aching suspicion. Blood. “Ah, so I did hit my head…” he mutters weakly, sliding down against the wall to the floor. He blinks several more times before he succumbs to the weight of his eyelids, finding himself slipping back into the depths of oblivion once more. ✦ “Ok Shiro, I’m making my descent now.” “I still think one of us should come along with you, just to be safe,” came his reply through the helmet’s comms. “I promise I’ll be fine. Besides, you and Keith need to check the rest of the Castle while Allura and Coran work on replacing the crystal.” “At least take Hunk-” “Hunk is looking after Lance. Shiro, all I want to do is see if Rover somehow survived the fall, or if there’s enough left of him I can fix. If I get stuck down here I’ll call for help right away.” “You know that’s not why I’m worried, Pidge.” She sighed deeply, looking down from the catwalk into the abyssal darkness below. “Haxus isn’t a threat anymore. There’s no way he could have survived a drop like that from this height, not even if he managed to reach terminal velocity, which I doubt.” “Haxus being a threat isn’t the issue here, it’s the fact that what you might find of him will be...disturbing. I don’t want you to have to see that.” Pidge winced, but set aside the ill gut feeling as she activated her jetpack and leap from the platform’s edge, drifting down slowly into the seeping black of the engine’s lower levels. “Pidge?” Shiro asked after a silent moment. “I understand that I might find a corpse and that it’s really going to gross me out, but if Rover’s down there and I can save him...I just- I just really need to do this, Shiro.” she replied with resolve. Shiro inhaled in contemplation before giving a soft sigh. “Alright, I trust you can handle this, but if you do find Haxus’ body just leave it for me to deal with later. You’ve already gone through enough already.” “Thanks, Shiro,” Pidge said as she activated her helmet’s lights, “I’m halfway towards the bottom. I’ll let you know what I find.” “Good luck.” Shiro cut off the communicator and left Pidge on her own. The lower decks of the engines were surrounded by a wall of darkness that not even the lights from her suit could pierce through all the way. It was thanks to her blueprints of the castle that Pidge was even able to tell where she was going. A small screen within her helmet lens beeped with every passing meter, indicating how much further she would have to go before touching ground. She glanced between it and the air above her, watching the light from the energy sphere grow dimmer and dimmer. Pidge hummed in thought as she looked back to the pool of black beneath her. She was reaching ninety meters now, and the idea that perhaps Rover could still be in one piece was starting to seem illogical. However, even if the drone was in multiple pieces, Pidge could still find a way to repair it. After all she was a tech-wiz; if she could figure out how to work the Castle she could figure out how to fix her drone. All she had to do was find it first. “Alright Rover, let’s see where you are,” Pidge mummured to herself as her boots touched ground, pulling out the computer screen built within her suit’s arm. Searching for Rover while he was powered down or broken would’ve been difficult had it not been for Hunk’s foresight. He had been the one to suggest Pidge trace the drone through it’s signature power reading, akin to tracking a lost phone through the battery. It was just like how they found the blue lion with the use of the Fraunhofer lines, only much more simplified. The radar booted up and began to bleep, an arrowing pointing to the left of the inner chamber. Pidge pointed her lights in the indicated direction, trying to see if Rover was in her immediate view. Unable to see him yet, she cautiously walked where the radar was leading, remembering Shiro’s warning about stumbling upon Haxus. A shiver ran up her spine, as she thought about it. Of course it was not as if she was guilty about Haxus dying, the Galra had tried to kill her after all, but she didn’t want to see his lifeless body. The only dead body Pidge had seen was in a horror movie she and Matt watched a few years ago, and even then she felt sick to her stomach despite knowing it was fiction. Haxus wouldn’t be fiction; he would be a real, mangled body. And nothing in the universe could prepare her for that. “Ugh, focus, Katie,” she beratted herself, “Rover should be right about...here!” She shined her lights towards the wall of the chamber, scanning side to side until the gleam of metal caught her eye. The familiar pyramid shape gave away what Pidge had hoped to find, intact and unscatched. “Rover! There you are buddy!” she ran to the drone and picked him up, looking over his frame for any sign of trauma, “Come, let’s get you back up and running.” After setting him back down gently, Pidge ran through a series of sequences on her computer screen until the drone’s eye turned on, and its whirring booting noise filled the chamber. Rover was back online in a matter of seconds, hovering in front of Pidge and making a happy chirping noises. She laughed and patted him carefully. “I’m glad to see you, too. I was afraid I lost you there.” Rover beeped. “Thanks for saving me from Haxus, by the way. He sure had us on the ropes there for a second, didn’t he?” Rover made a series of beeps and whistles. “Come on, let’s get back to the top before we accidently trip over him down here. I know I told Shiro I could handle it, but between you and me I’ll probably barf.” She feigned a queasy expression, trying to hide her nervousness. Rover didn’t respond this time, instead drifting past Pidge towards the other side of the chamber room. “Rover? Wait, come back here!” Pidge called after, racing to keep up with the drone as it traveled further away. The drone led her through a series of corridors that had even worse visibility than the main engines, the inky darkness making the lights from both of them appear dimmer, if that was even possible. Pidge tried to stay as close to Rover as possible, pulling up another series of blueprints in the hopes of figuring out where they were going. It appeared as though Rover was leading her back up into the Castle via old engineer passages, and yet there was no need to do so given that her jetpack was repaired. They walked for what seemed to be an impossibly long amount of time, climbing several staircases and taking several turns before Rover finally began to chirp once more. He stopped and turned to Pidge, beeping and flashing excitedly. She blinked in confusion, unable to tell what it was he was trying to tell her. “Why’d you bring us here? Is there something wrong?” Rover whirred almost irritably, turning around and racing down the hall. “Rover!” Pidge called after, running as fast as she could to keep up. She chased him down the long corridor until finally he stopped, allowing her to catch her breath. “Geez, what’s the matter with you?” Pidge barked at the drone. He didn’t face her this time, only beeped and clicked his eye at something in front of him. Pidge stared at the drone in confusion before following his line of sight, her flashlight coming to lay upon a prone object against the wall. No, not an object. A body. Haxus. Pidge gasped, hands coming to cover her mouth as her stomach clenched. She turned away and forced back the bile that dared to rise in her throat, desperately trying to get the communication line open. Shiro was right, she shouldn’t have come down here on her own. She didn’t want to see a body; didn’t want to see Haxus’ dead body- Rover’s excited beeps caught her attention and Pidge warrily turned back to look, finding the drone hovering over Haxus’ form. She wanted to look away again, and yet something about the body caught her attention: it was moving. Pidge pulled out her bayard as she eased closer, squinting as she saw the weak signs of breathing that shifted the Galra’s armor. He was alive after all, but just barely. Pidge gave a deep sigh of relief, already feeling the sickness in her gut going away. But soon it was replaced with a troublesome combination of anger and dread. Although Haxus appeared passed out, how long would it take for the rest of the team to arrive before he awoke? Was he weakened from their fight? Could she hold him off again? There were too many questions and variables for her to contemplate at the moment, right now her priority was contacting Shiro. “Shiro, can you hear me?” Pidge called. The line buzzed then clicked as Shiro answered, “I hear you, Pidge. Everything ok? Have you found Rover?” “Yeah, I found Rover, but there’s something else-” Pidge cut herself off as she heard Haxus shift, eyeing him anxiously. He gave a weakened groan before going still once more, and Pidge was left with Shiro’s concerned voice snapping her back to to their conversation. “Pidge...did you find Haxus?” he asked with a grim calmness. Yes. “No, just some old corridors that seem to reach further into the Castle. I just wanted to let you know so we can do a more thorough perimeter check.” “That’s good to know,” Shiro said, “Get back as soon as your able and we’ll make a plan of action. Allura and Coran have finished installing the new crystal, so Lance will be going in the healing pod soon.” “Great, I’ll meet up with you guys shortly.” She cut off the communicator and stared at Haxus. Why did she lie to Shiro? She should have told him she had found Haxus and that he was very much indeed still alive, despite all the odds. Her heart beated against her chest as she crouched down to examine the unconscious alien. He looked pained, and although she couldn’t be sure with all his armor on Pidge was suspicious of the way his arm was twisted against his chest. Was it broken? She stood up once again and began to pace, hands clutching her helmet as her mind raced. I should tell everyone, she thinks, we have Sendak locked up, we need to lock Haxus up, too. Something else comes to mind as Pidge contemplates and she freezes in her tracks. She looks back over to Haxus and the invasive thought grows louder. What if I don’t tell them? She shakes her head, yelling in frustration, “Augh! No, we’ve got to let Shiro know that he’s alive, and we need to lock him up before he wakes up.” Lock him up, like the Galra did to Matt and dad? It was that diabolical question that made Pidge stop debating with herself completely. The Galra were ruthless, tyrannical, and evil incarnate. Their own Emperor would throw prisoners into gladiator rings and use torture to get what he wanted. Allura wasn’t like Emperor Zarkon, though.  Allura would never stoop to such levels, Pidge knew. Already she held Commander Sendak in a hibernative state, safe and untouched although he had tried to kill them only hours before. Haxus would end up in the same way, and probably have his arm tended to as well. It was the sort of mercy only someone like Allura could afford her enemies. But could Pidge? Her brother and father weren’t shown any mercy by the Galra, so why should she show mercy to one of them? Afterall it was not as though Haxus was just some random Galra grunt. The man had tried to stab a sword into her chest, that made it personal. However, she was a Voltron Paladin. And as a Paladin she had a duty to uphold, and a team she now realized she needed and trusted. She had to trust that Allura had other plans for Sendak other than keeping him in stasis, and that Haxus would also get whatever was coming to him. But on the other hand… “What should I do?” she asked no one in particular. Rover hovered over to her and whirred sadly, unable to comprehend the moral turmoil Pidge was going through at the moment. She gave Rover a reassuring smile and patted his metal shell. The action was more or less to comfort herself, and yet it made her eyes light up as a the flicker of an idea burned its way into her brain. “Wait...that’s it!” She said, “I was able to get you onto our side with a little reprogramming, maybe I can do the same to Haxus? Although Haxus isn’t exactly a drone and you can’t really hack a brain…” Pidge glanced between Rover and Haxus, her mind still battling with the consequences of the big mistake she was about to make. Was she just trying to dress up a petty scheme of revenge as some roundabout recruitment strategy? It would seem like that to the others if they found out what she was doing, not to mention decimating all trust between them. And what about Haxus? How was she going to keep him from trying to claw her throat out and somehow taken care of while also keeping him hidden from the others? Besides, it wasn’t as though there was any place to keep him- “The storage units,” she blurted. Ah, so she had already made up her mind. Pidge’s heart sank as guilt began to bubble up, but she tried to push it down as best as she could. Haxus was going to be a prisoner either way, she rationalized. Either forced into stasis by Allura or locked up in a secure room somewhere by the rest of the team, there really wasn’t a great deal of difference between the two. At least with the second option, Pidge had the chance to confront Haxus directly. What, then, to do about any attempts he might make at escaping? The answer to that question came just as quickly as the other, which in and of itself should have been a major red flag. Pidge inhaled sharply, activating her bayard and pointing it at Haxus’ leg. She gulped hard as she braced herself for what she was about to do. No going back now. “I’m glad you’re passed out for this.” Pidge squeezed her eyes shut as she shot the hook, hearing the scathing sound of metal armor being torn through. When she dared to look she saw that it had been a clean cut straight across the back of the leg, severing the major tendon there. And as she had predicted, the plasma blades of the hook had cauterized the wound. Now Haxus had no use of his leg, nor was he going to bleed out. A grim win-win. After putting away her weapon, Pidge hoisted one of of Haxus’ arms over her shoulders, groaning as she struggled to pull him up. This was going to be the most difficult walk of her life, but even if she had to drag him all the way she was determined to reach those storage containers. Everything else would come in due time. “Come on Rover, lead the way.” ✦ When Haxus awakens once again, it’s to his shallow, pained breaths. His eyes peel open slowly, and he blinks his vision clean of sleep. He’s on a makeshift bed, comprised of an elongated container with a shabby pillow and single sheet. So, it appears he had been found. He sits up slowly, finding it much easier than before to move and keep himself upright. The aching in his head is minimal, granting him full faculty of his senses. He looks down at himself, finding his armor stripped down to his fatigues. The next revelations of note are his wrists; bound and secured with a pair of handcuffs. His eyes trail up and spy that someone had tended to his broken arm rather crudely. Wiggling his claws reveals that same numb tingling, however it’s less than before. At least whoever set it was competent enough. Haxus look up and peer about the sparse room. It’s dimly lit, and somewhat spacious. There are several other, smaller containers stacked against one another in the corner, and a desk of some sort directly across from him. It’s not a cell, but a storage unit. Haxus snort a crude laugh. Did the Paladins think the prison block too good for his use, or were they just incompetent? When he decides to stand, Haxus finds a new pain shooting from his left leg, forcing him to sit back down. He moves his arms out of the way, and sure enough he spies his leg has also been mended. He stares at it in bewilderment. There was no way he could have stood and walked before if it had been hurt, it just wasn’t possible… The sound of the door hissing open pulled him away from the puzzle of his injury, and he squint into the billowing blue light that flood the room and his vision. There’s a figure which fills the doorway, their short silhouette the only thing he can make out against the harsh lighting. It’s only when they speak that Haxus is able to confirm whom it is. “Hey there, Haxus,” the green Paladin greet in mock friendliness, “Hope you’re feeling better, because you and I are going to have a very, very long talk.”

[ganymedesclock]

IGN has released clip from S6. It looks like Haggar is at Oriande and Shiro sees the White Lion attacking him. What do you think this means for him?

Anonymous said:idk if you have seen the clip, but if you did, do you think shiro can "see" trough haggar's eyes too? not see exactly, but maybe the "conection" is now going both ways?

So this is a really darn interesting clip. For a lot of reasons- Hunk derailing a mutiny, the “radiation belt”, and the evidence that Haggar, once again proving herself the far more dangerous adversary than Zarkon, totally defied my expectations and wasted absolutely zero time making for Oriande. Which doesn’t like her.

As far as Shiro being able to use Haggar’s eyes, albeit by accident- that’s really interesting to me because I can pretty much guarantee she’d never plan that. And the way she uses Shiro requires a specific setup which Shiro, by the necessity of him being totally oblivious to what, exactly, Haggar did to him, 

For Shiro to be able to turn the tables on her without even knowing there’s a table to turn could be a product of his black paladin virtues- just ask dear dead Zarkon why fighting Shiro in a battle of the mind ain’t a good idea-  and it could also be a direct intervention on Oriande’s part. After all, White doesn’t seem to be focusing on Haggar- White seems to be focusing on Shiro.

But I suppose the other possibility is since Black uniquely has a purple aura- even though the Lions run on cyan energy. That would seem to imply that Black is able to use the energy of its opposite number- the energy Haggar does. So it could be, in effect, that Haggar might have gotten herself in a bit of trouble if there’s a revelation about the Black Lion Zarkon never had- if one of the associations of the Black Paladin is being able to wield “dark energy” as a force for good.

That might be what’s letting Shiro get this insight into her- and that might mean that Kuron is going to have longer plot ramifications than just a hoop for Shiro to jump through. It’s not that Haggar didn’t put the right safeguards on this connection- but rather Shiro’s starting to be able to use her power against her, much like Allura did.

[thereferenceisuniversal-blog]

#IWatchedVoltronSeason6AndIBarelySurvived (Spoilers Ahead)

This season?? Was a wild ride, but I personally think this was one of the most important seasons so far, and here’s my wild take on why:

1. Character development for Hunk. From the first episode alone, we were able to see his eagerness in learning more about Galra culture. He was able to showcase his engineering skills and made two Galrans settle their dispute, and saying this very important line: “Do you fight for yourselves or do you fight for the Galra?” (ALSO, LANCE WAS BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE. VERY IMPORTANT.) 2. Keith and Krolia’s backstory. The use of flashbacks was very effective in showing us moments of Keith and Krolia’s past and future. Krolia being badass and leaving to protect the people she loved the most were integral moments. Keith bonding with a wolf-like creature was adorable, especially when it teleported just to jump on him.(Important note: KEITH WAS ALMOST NAMED YORAK.) 3. Shiro insisting on being a paladin. Every. Single. Time. It could be seen as a comedic intervention, but it could also symbolize a deeper meaning. I.E. SHIRO THINKS THERE’S NOTHING BETTER THAN BEING A PALADIN.  4. Romelle’s Backstory. This was important because we were able to see how Lotor’s grand scheme was planned out and learn the fact that there were other Alteans. 5. Lance’s suspicions, “How do we know you’re the real Keith and not his bigger, cooler, grizzled older brother?” And Keith brushing him off by telling him that he didn’t have time for this? I’ll admit that the situation called for a quick exchange of information because of Lotor’s betrayal, but there was no mistaking Lance’s hurt. Just keep in mind that they haven’t seen each other in a while, and hopefully there’ll be plenty of time for proper communication after. 6. Krolia extending her hand to Shiro and saying, “Keith has told me all about you,” really shows how much Keith looks up to Shiro and admires him.  7. Allura throwing Lotor onto the ground. BECAUSE HELL YEAH, SHE’S A STRONG INDEPENDENT ALTEAN WHO DON’T NEED NO MAN (Or at least, she can make her own choices about who she likes.) 8. Keith’s leadership skills. Comparing Keith from Season 3 to Season 6 really gives us a sense of how much he’s matured. He used to be so reckless and impulsive, and he still has those characteristics now, but he’s got a much better hold on them. He listened to the team and looked after their welfare whenever they got hit. 9. Keith and (Clone)Shiro’s fight. This was a very significant part of Episode 5 because we could see how desperate Keith was on not giving up on Shiro. He uttered the words, “Shiro, please. You’re my brother. I love you.” (Which was very important, because there are various types of love, and we should all be able to express them in our own pace to the people that we love, regardless of gender.) We see Keith refusing to let go of Shiro, even though they’re already in free fall by that time. We also see Garrison flashbacks (BABY BOI KEITH IS ADORABLE), and the utter faith Shiro has in him.  10. Lance giving Allura a shoulder to cry on, and telling her, “Let me tell you, as someone who’s made a million mistakes, all you can do is get up and try and make it right. You can’t doubt yourself now.” 11. Lance’s reaction upon seeing Keith. “Keith! You’re ok!” He smiles as he says this and there is so much relief in his tone, that it’s clear that he was genuinely worried about Keith’s safety. (POTENTIAL KLANCE, AMIRITE) 12. Coran’s idea of setting off a bomb inside the main turbine. (The whole explosion sequence was hilarious, and the idea was great.) 13. Allura refusing to listen to Lotor. As he continues to plead with Allura to trust him, she finally tells him, "You betrayed and used me. You're more like Zarkon than I could have ever imagined!" And Lotor appears to be visibly shaken, because he considers being compared to his father one of the worst things imaginable. (So many missed opportunities for a Lotor redemption arc. Kind of sad.) 14. Keith’s desperation to get to his team on time. We were able to see how Keith and Shiro conversed in the Black Lion’s consciousness and how Shiro helped Keith see the team through the Black Lion’s eyes. (Important Line: “Patience yields focus.”) 15. Allura restoring Shiro’s consciousness from the Black Lion to his physical form. His hair turned from black with a white forelock to gray, which may represent his mental or physical age, or it may just be a side effect of the whole process. Whatever the reason, it’s clear that the whole team is relieved to have him back. (Translation: YAS BOI, SHIRO IS BACK, I REPEAT, SHIRO IS BACK) 16. “We’re going home.” THEY’RE GOING TO EARTH, WE MIGHT FINALLY GET TO SEE LANCE’S FAMILY, OR OBSERVE THE OTHER PALADINS’ FAMILY INTERACTIONS, AND MAYBE THEY CAN SHOW ALLURA SOME EARTH CUSTOMS, AND THE HYPE IS REAL GUYS.  True, there was not a lot of shipworthy moments, but the character development was a really big deal in this season. And the plot moved along so well, that you’d find yourself on the edge of your seat more than once. Keep in mind that Voltron has a 78 episode commitment with Netflix, which means there’s plenty of time for ships to sail (or sink). I’m still just emotional over the fact that they’re all together again. (But it would be really great if Lance has time to talk to someone about his insecurities,or if he’s happier on Season 7, PLEASE MAKE OUR BOI HAPPY)

[therecusant]

VLD S8: Keith vs Haggar

This week I started seeing some posts about how Haggar might go after Keith in season 8 and that Acxa might be secretly evil and still aligned with Haggar. While I’m pretty sure these are more from a shipping angle (likely out of a dislike for Kacxa), I started thinking about how a Haggar/Keith dynamic might work in season 8 and actually found it to be really interesting.

Where this first drew my attention was in rewatching season 7 episode 5, ‘The Ruins’. In that episode we see Keith having a rematch with the Druid from season 1 episode 10, ‘Collection and Extraction’. During the rematch, Macidus (the Druid’s name) says something very interesting to Keith about Haggar.

Treachery. The Druid specifically refers to Keith’s actions as traitorous. At first this was confusing because, obviously, Keith never was aligned with the Galra Empire. It had me scratching my head when I first watched and others were too.

Now the obvious implication is that Macidus is accusing Keith of being a traitor since he’s half-Galra. Why this was so weird to viewers though is that this is first time in the show (to my understanding) that a villain has addressed Keith’s Galra heritage (Zarkon did in season 1 during their fight but that was more to hint at the Galra hybrid twist for the audience than for any actual in-universe implication).

Why this is significant is that then we are finally having the lineage addressed by the antagonists and its specifically the Druids. This made me ask the question, what is Keith’s connection to them in the story? From there, I started going back through the show for moments that would lead to the discussion/analysis I’m now presenting which is:

Haggar blames for Keith for everything and wants revenge.

Let’s start off with the first interaction Keith has with Haggar/the Druids.

As mentioned above, in season 1 Keith ended up in a battle with the Druid called Macidus, interfering in his quintessence work and starting a long list of conflicts that lead to Haggar wanting revenge.

In the following episode, s1e11 ‘The Black Paladin,’ Keith prevents Zarkon from taking the Black Lion by knocking it away and then defending the lion in a battle with him in the Red Lion. In doing so, Keith prevents Zarkon from fulfilling his desire to reacquire his lion, a goal that becomes self-destructive by season 2.

In season 2 episode 12, ‘Best Laid Plans,’ Keith sneaks onto Zarkon’s ship and, with the help of BoM spy Thace, manages to kill two druids and turn the central hub into a bomb that shuts down Zarkon’s ship to allow the Coalition and BoM to infect it with a virus.

This forces her to abandon her previous work, powering Zarkon, and try and stop Keith and Thace in the Central Hub. Keith manages to escape with instruction by Thace who holds off Haggar and the sentries in the meantime, leading to their plan succeeding as the bomb goes off and nearly kills Haggar.

As the season 2 finale (s2e13 ‘Blackout’) begins, Zarkon decides to face Voltron himself against Haggar’s suggestion. He’s endangering himself, just like in season 1′s battle with the Red Lion and Paladin, to regain the Black Lion. She knows it’s a bad idea and also knows this would never have happened if Keith didn’t interfere back in season 1 when Shiro was expelled from his lion. Similarly, if Keith had not worked with Thace in activating the bomb, Zarkon would not need to make himself so vulnerable.

Like she suggested in the beginning of that episode, Zarkon is left nearly dead by the end of season 2, with Keith being the one to add the extra touch of shoving the blazing blade into Zarkon a second time at the end of the conflict.

Her husband is on the brink of death and it’s Voltron’s fault but more specifically the intervention of Keith and the BoM.

Following up on this is Keith and Haggar’s conflict in the season 4 finale, ‘A New Defender,’ where she and the other Druids have trapped the Paladins on Naxcela and Keith leads the Voltron Coalition to stop her.

In this space battle, Keith attempts to sacrifice himself to stop her before Lotor interferes. Now, while the series has only used this moment for Lotor and Haggar’s relationship and his later alliance with the Paladins, we still need a follow-up on Keith’s attempted sacrifice and a new conflict with Haggar could bring this to light. At the very least, it is worth acknowledging how Keith lead a battle against her and the Druids.

This is then followed up with season 5 episode 4′s ‘Kral Zera’ in which Haggar, Lotor and other factions of the Galra Empire arrive at the Kral Zera ritual in order to take over the throne in the wake of Zarkon’s death.

Haggar arrives in order to establish Sendak as the new emperor but things go bad quickly as the BoM and Keith set off bombs that send everyone into chaos and leads to Haggar having to give up on her plan. It’s very possible she sees Keith specifically to blame because he’s fighting without his mask in the latter part of the episode wherein Acxa helps him against a Galra general.

The potential Haggar/Keith plot point then escalates in season 6 episode 4′s the Colony when she activates Kuron, a Shiro clone allowing her to spy on the Paladins. This lets her learn about Keith’s work with the BoM and specifically the Altean Colony.

After she manages to get Kuron and her generals to abduct Lotor from the Castle of Lions, Keith interferes in her plans yet again by managing to pass through the wormhole in the Black Lion and attacking the ship harboring them. She does manage to lead him away though, using his connection to Shiro.

This is significant because the dialogue reveals that she knows who Keith is. She knows it’s the Red Paladin in the Black Lion, knows how deep the connection to Shiro is. Some of this is just from Kuron’s vision of course, but remembering Keith was the Red Paladin when she saw him in the BoM outfit just before? Sounds like he left an impression on her in those first two seasons.

Kuron vs Keith happens, like she plans, and it seems things have worked out. Kuron is Keith’s worst fear, knows all his insecurities, and seems impossible for Keith to beat.

But Keith does manage to beat Kuron and in doing so he’s indirectly defeated Haggar.

Lotor gets free and nearly kills the other four paladins before Keith and Black arrive and stop him in s6e6 ‘All Good Things’. This interruption leads to Keith leading the team to defeating Lotor and leaving him in the Quintessence field.

Now she’s lost her son too.

Through every foiled scheme, Keith manages to stop Haggar, Zarkon and Lotor and destroy their family. He’s a member of the Blade of Marmora, meaning he’s a traitor to the Galra Empire. He’s the Black Paladin, meaning he’s stolen from her husband the thing he’s been trying to find for thousands of years. According to some fan theories about Galra Keith, Kacxa, Kallura, etc. Keith might have stolen Lotor’s place in the universe too, if not just his life.

Keith.

Haggar blames Keith for all these things and in season 8 will do her best to get whatever revenge she can. Targeting Shiro? She’s done it countless times before, it’s possible she’ll try to make death stick this time. Maybe Allura or Acxa? Depending on if and how those relationships develop, maybe they’ll be her targets. Potential lovers as revenge for Zarkon. But, there is an even more frightening possibility.

What would be a bigger blow to Keith, a more satisfying revenge for Haggar, than taking from him the very same thing he took from her: family. All Keith has left is his mother. Surely killing Krolia would be the perfect punishment for his constant defiance, his treachery, his stealing the Black Lion and killing her son?

It’s a frightening thought, for sure.

I hope you like that little analysis, I’ve got a few more thoughts somewhat separate and others I’m just not sure if they should be added to the main point so I’m adding them at the end here

Keith is Quintessence Sensitive:

A lot of people have talked about this, particularly after his managing to detect Macidus in season 7, and I think there’s a possibility people haven’t mentioned (or at least I haven’t seen yet):

Back in season 1, in his first fight with Macidus, he was contaminated by quintessence harvested by the Galra Empire and Druids. Now, at the time people thought the Quintessence healing him was all there was to the scene and I did too. Others thought it was covering up the Galra skin underneath which we now know isn’t the case since Macidus himself says Keith’s hand was injured (I believe the ‘Form Podcast’ creators on for that episode similarly said that was the case).

While that scene seems to be foreshadowing the effects of quintessence, what if it’s more than that? What if being contaminated by quintessence gave Keith...abilities? It’s why he ends up having such a strong bond with Red, is able to bond with Black so easily, is able to link with Allura to enter the Quintessence field immediately and is, aside from Allura, the only paladin who does not become violent due to its effects? What if that douse of quintessence is what made him be able to sense Macidus in that moment and kill him? It’s just a thought but it’s possible and I honestly love the idea a lot.

Haggar and Druids vs BoM:

Multiple times throughout the series, Haggar or something connected to her have gone up against the BoM.

Ulaz takes out her Robeast, Thace and Keith kill some Druids, Kolivan is captured by Macidus, etc.

There’s one particular interaction I want to address, from s4e1′s ‘Code of Honor.’

There’s a Galra ship Keith, Kolivan and another BoM named Regris intercept and try to plant a tracker on before finding out it’s a bomb and nearly dying. For me, it’s unclear if that was Lotor or Haggar’s doing. For a while, I thought it was Lotor and assumed the show would address him nearly killing Keith, killing his comrade and the like. It hasn’t which makes me wonder (and also hope because otherwise Keith letting Lotor be around the Paladins is weird, as well as the BoM trusting him enough to reveal their identities) if maybe that was Haggar instead.

Not to mention, if what Macidus said was true, Haggar’s last order was to kill all the Blades of Marmora, (especially Keith?).

If so, this adds to the Keith/Haggar possible dynamic moving into season 8.

[sol1056]

Hi. about the generals and Sam, I had thought it was part of Lotor's "two steps forward" plans. Lotor apologized to Ezor and Zethrid for deceived them but not to Acxa, as if they would have discussed they would get separated at some point and what the generals should do in that case. In the same way, Lotor knew Narti was a clon when he kill her and Acxa knew when he did it, the time for a trojan horse was getting close.

That’s an exceedingly complicated plan, to put it generously. There’s far too many moving parts and variables, not to mention the necessity of being omniscient enough to know all those dominoes will fall in exactly this way at this time. It beggars belief. 

The trick is to make sure the explanation is actually as simple as possible, once all the pieces are revealed. Unfortunately, from Narti’s death to the generals’ reunion post-Shiro, Lotor’s success hinges on writerly intervention. 

The biggest question is this: what, exactly, does Lotor get from all that back and forth? Was his goal to kill Zarkon? No need to send the generals with Sam; Lotor could’ve sent the time and place and Zarkon would’ve shown up. Was it to gain the Paladins’ trust? Why not just present Sam right off the bat, then, rather than ‘forget’ to mention it for some stretch of time? Was it to get someone close enough to Haggar to know what Haggar was up to? Again, easily done: Ezor was doing it when we first met the generals, and Haggar seemed completely unaware of Ezor eavesdropping. 

The only things Lotor seems to have gained from all that noise are rulership (the thing he technically had as emperor pro tem and still couldn’t be bothered to do) and getting Allura to help find Oriande and power up Sincline. Getting there requires we believe the generals were all faking their concern over Narti’s death, that Zarkon would abruptly forget his two-season obsession with the Black Lion in favor of hunting down his own son, that Lotor could somehow win the paladins to his side despite trying to kill them and/or using them at least twice, that Lotor could convince Shiro to support Lotor’s claim to the empire and that the rest of the team would fall in line, that the paladins would willingly set aside all their allies in favor of Lotor as emperor… That’s a whole lot of coincidences to make it all work, along with serious characterization bastardizing. 

The generals’ own flip-flopping is clear sign of writerly manipulation; they go from wanting to use Lotor to buy their freedom, to somehow knowing of Sam’s existence, to attending the ever-paranoid Zarkon despite being complete (and mixed-race) unknowns, to assisting Haggar (despite all her other resources), to suddenly forgetting Narti’s death and throwing their lot back in with Lotor. 

The only conclusion I can draw about Lotor’s arc from S3 to S6 is that the writers were aiming for a Really Complicated Villainous Plan that the audience wouldn’t figure out too soon… and the result was a plan that no one can figure out, even after it was supposedly revealed.

[chillafqueen]

My thoughts on Voltron (especially season 8)

As a collective, the series was great. I’m not going to shit all over it and denounce it for the rest of my life. I’m gonna rewatch it, write fan fiction, follow artists and writers who will continue to do amazing work. I’m still in the process of buying more merch. It’s in my top 5 favorite shows. That said:

I’m extremely disappointed in the show’s ending. From about season 5-6, I feel the writers were way in over there heads. They had so many ideas and characters they wrote and put into the show. Yes, there was some important moments its just uggh.

Imma just get into it.

First off, Takashi Shirogane He’s been through hell and back. He was an amazing character the writers just tossed to the side when they wanted to follow the original plot more. I mean, in the original series Shiro was never the black paladin. The original Shiro was the blue paladin and was killed off. Then was kinda, kinda not Sven afterwards. VLD’s Shiro was poorly planned. They make him the black paladin for what reason? To give us a spacer until the writers were ready to make Keith the leader and then we just push Shiro to the side. His clone doesn’t suffice. Clone Shiro/Kuron is just bullshit honestly. Real Shiro is actually dead/stuck in the inner quintessence of the black lion while his clone is fucking up Shiro’s image. Yes, Kuron is just a pawn in Haggar’s evil plan to defeat Voltron, but before we know that, we just see “Shiro” fight with Keith over how to lead Voltron, and yell at everyone. To make things worse, Shiro never gets to pilot Black again because Allura needs to be blue, Lance red, and Keith black to follow the originial series. The writers just shit all over Shiro. They take away his arm again, kill off his ex fiance, don’t give him anytime to mourn him really, season 8 doesn’t even ever mention Adam. Nothing.  Adam was there just to say “gay rep”. And Shiro is given the Atlas to pilot which is just Castle of Lions and Voltron’s love child. They think they can just take away Shiro’s claim on the black lion and just toss him a new ship to make it up?

Shiro had to constantly fight for the control of Black because Zarkon still had a connection. Shiro earned his right to be the leader. I love you, Keith, but Shiro deserves Black.  Shiro didn’t go through all this shit to hand it over to someone else. They hand him this ship that seems awesome but is overkill. Castle of Lions is gone what are we going to do? Oh, just make a new one except it turns into a thicc voltron. 

Then season 8 comes around and Shiro isn’t given any real new development. In fact he’s just a face at this point. He captains the Atlas but all the spot light is on the current paladins and Allurance. 

Like Keith and him are distant friends now???

And in the end we just throw him a rando to marry and call it good?

Next we have Pidge, who I don’t have as much to rant about. She’s my baby and I will protect her at all costs. The only real problem I ever had about my little Katie is the constant cliche thrown around every time she starts explaining science or math things using smart big technical terms and you get someone to say “in english this time” or “Just get to the point”. Like Pidge, you is smart but too smart omg just dumb everything down for us dumbs is a constant joke thrown into the show. Just let my girl use her big words and be proud of her intelligence. While she has a very great role, she deserves more instead of deus ex machina-ing everything.  

Now Allura. Oh boy here we go.  I love my beautiful strong black girl. She’s smart, resilient, and a fighter. They did her dirty.  I mean we just kill her off? I was rooting for her. WE was all rooting for her. She’s a grounded princess who just wants to end the war and do Altea some justice. instead we throw her into romance like there isn’t the constant threat of the Galra just waltzing in any moment? My girl deserved better. She becomes the blue paladin, and struggles with learning how to work with blue as one. And watching her over come that obstacle was amazing and I’m a proud mom. But we just kill her off? Like Altean Alchemy is a fictional practice in a fictional show. Why did it take both Honerva and Allura to fix it all? Why did it have to take their lives? Why couldn’t Allura just take a deep breath close her eyes like she’s done with everything else and then do her blue glowy stuff and boom, lets go home.

They made the rules so her death wasn’t necessary. They could make easier less mean rules

Was it the writers trying to find a way please more than one ship? Like they wanted Allurance but killed her off to make Lance single and ready to mingle with Keith or Pidge to make fans happy? Did they think after fixing all realities once more that Allura had no where to go? They didn’t want her to help bring all the planets together? Did they not want her to marry Lance? I mean, we ask how do we form Voltron without Allura, and she answers Voltron is no longer needed. Like is there really not going to be any rebellion that needs Voltron intervention? Who says someone in the Galra empire isn’t satisfied with the ending? Or someone in the Altean colony wants revenge? Voltron could still be used. plus just because Voltron is no longer needed why can’t Allura be needed still??  I also can’t stand the writing they did for her. I’m looking at you, Allurance.  Allurance isn’t one of my favorite ships just because of how it turned out. Lotor and Allura was even then a bit iffy, although was healthier than Allurance. With Lotura, Allura and Lotor bonded, had their Altean heritage in common. A common goal. They weren’t rushed together. They were amazing together, until the very end where Lotor goes insane with quintessence. Allurance is just forced. In the very beginning until about season 7 we see Allura ever showing any feelings for Lance. All this time it was Lance being a cheesy lover boy who was hot for the princess and in return Allura rolled her eyes or ignored his advances. Up until season 7 where Allura all of a sudden blushes and whabam, has a full blown crush on Lance. OUT OF NOWHERE. Sure, theoretically Allura could’ve just hid her feelings very well until that point.  This newfound love just mocks Allura’s character. A strong woman who needs no man, but you know that hot suave prince who no one could resist. Then all of a sudden right before a mission, Allura becomes a little school girl blushing and stuttering.  Anyway, Allura deserved better than being a martyr and a rushed relationship.

Next on my list is Lance. My very precious boy who I will end myself to make smile. HE IS A BEAUTIFUL BOY WHO DESERVES EVERYTHING. including Keith  Lance, a cocky pilot, a terrible flirt, a lover not a fighter. He has one of the best arcs in my opinion. He’s a star example of growing up. He is first just a goofy boy with no care in the world except to show up Keith and get the ladies. As time progresses he matures so much. Goddamn should I even write about him because I just love him so much. He becomes a ninja sharpshooter, gains confidence, fucking earns himself the title of paladin.  though, he is constantly used as an object for comedy or plot continuance. He is the stupid one of the group who doesn’t understand anything. He’s the classic funny guy. Makes jokes, big flirt, doesn’t understand the big words the smart ones make. But I gotta admit, I think Lance eventually realizes that character and that’s him. Once “Shiro” comes back Lance thinks someone has to give up a lion. The old Lance would’ve voted Keith off the island, but Lance at this point came to terms that Keith isn’t just his rival. Keith is a vital part of Voltron. Lance has faith in Keith as the leader, and a paladin in general. And Allura at this point made some amazing progress with Blue, the lion Lance prided himself on the one Blue picked. Lance was willing to give up Blue for Allura and give Keith back Red, the lion Lance also really wanted in the beginning as well. Lance questions his own worth. He realizes he’s the goofy flirt. He’s not as smart as Pidge or Hunk. He’s not as skilled of a pilot and fighter like Keith. He’s not a leader like Allura or Shiro. Lance eventually realizes his importance later on when he finally gets some recognition and praise. “That’s why we bring our sharpshooter” Lance also develops a huge real crush on Allura. While he always had a thing for her, he also had a thing for literally any other female being he had come across that was remotely attractive. His not so serious hard on for Allura turns into something beautiful. He sees her for more than her looks. He knows how fucking incredible she is and he knows he’s not worthy. 

But season seven fucks him over as well as everyone else. Forced Allurance. Lance had a big crush on Allura for years and waited patiently. Allura falls for Lance out of NOWHERE. That’s all fine and dandy cause I love my boy and he deserves happiness.  But in season 8 with their relationship, Lance becomes just the boyfriend. A complete opposite of his usual self. He’s serious and at Allura’s side 24/7 being her emotional support even though she really takes him for granted. Allura never really shows this compassion to Lance.  Lance is just the kid who got his feelings returned. But that’s all it is. The whole season is Lance being with Allura there is no Loverboy Lance. It’s just sullen boyfriend who is giving his all for this relationship. And Allura isn’t like this at all. She returns the hand holding, the hugs, the kisses, but she doesn’t give the emotional side back. Which I understand is because she has way more important things to worry about. That’s another reason why I hated their untimely relationship. This is not the time for a blossoming relationship. Allura isn’t in the mindset to give her all to this relationship. She’s busy with Honerva. allura doesn’t have time to be all uwu for some guy. And in the end Allura gives her life to save all of existence. she kisses Lance one last time, and gives Lance those marks which is never explained further. Like are those marks there to signify only the relationship that lasted a few months? Lance’s love for Allura or Allura apparent love for Lance? Do those marks give Lance some Altean abilities?  Lance the sharpshooter fighter pilot ends up just being a farmer on his family’s farm? Like maybe the harsh cold truth of war might’ve made him want to retire the spaceman dreams??? The writers also just plain lied to us about Lance. Lance’s endgame was supposed to be a slowburn? that Lance wasn’t going to be someone’s second choice? And in the end he’s just sad and depressed over Allura. At this point he’s just there to spread the gospel about Allura. I mean who knows? Maybe they left everyone without a significant other (besides Shiro) to keep it all up in the air. Like maybe Lance’s slowburn endgame is Keith but we don’t see it? 

Then my boy Keef.  My boyfriend, my husband, my child.  What a mess. They gave him EVERYTHING. He gets childhood flashbacks, childhood trauma, mommy issues, a loving parent relationship, a backstory, his mom even got a backstory. He’s an amazing fighter. He is a great leader. He has some good connections. He’s smart, an excellent strategist.  He also has trust issues, a lone wolf type of guy, and he has some problems sorting out his feelings. He learns patience, compassion, love, trust. He’s the whole enchilada until season 8, where pretty much everyone is thrown out the window except for Allura and Honerva.  Literally the only problem I have with the writing for Keith was season 8, him and Shiro have literally no interaction for shit?  “Brother, I love you.” Bitch where?

Keith traveled galaxies for Shiro. And season 8 they’re just two co-workers. 

Hunk I’ve had problems with since the very beginning. He doesn’t get enough love. He’s the big guy so he is always hungry, always thinking of food, gets tired easily, has little stamina, scared of everything. Sometimes I forget he’s literally a genius engineer? 

Romelle had more potential than to be one of Hunk’s chefs. I’m sorry. 

Coran is perfect. Don’t ever change.

In the beginning of the series, they weren’t writing characters well enough, and in the middle everyone had something, but in the end there wasn’t enough time to wrap things up nicely. It was rushed. The last season was a poor excuse for an ending.  Lotor deserved better. They hyped us up for Lotor’s return but it was pretty much just his corpse in the sincline??? We get his back story a bit. But in the end he still doesn’t get the mother he deserved?? And Allura and him never got some closure????

Krolia who? We spent all this time getting to know her and build her relationship to make her a background character.  Keith and her have no interaction in the last season?? 

They should’ve made Veronica and Acxa lesbians. Ezor and Zethrid deserved some wlw screentime. More than what we got at least. Not enough Colleen.

Definitely needed more of the mfes. Especially James. Like I wanted some interaction between Keith and James???? Something at least?????

Also, Bae Bae should’ve been made into a main character. 

Though with all my complaints. I’m really gonna miss the show. I didn’t spend as much time with it as a lot of you guys did. I finally watched it right before the 7th season came out. So I haven’t had as much time to analyze it or to experience every season like all of you. But I’m gonna miss this show. I’m really beating myself up over not watching it early on. Like I’d see it on my instagram, or here on tumblr, but never gave it a second thought. It was just some mech kids show that was gonna be hella cringey. But it ended up being a big part of my 2018 and I’m gonna be carrying it into future years. 

I never made any friends because of the show. I’ve never reached out, no one ever reached out. Seeing all of you interact, or reminisce over the times you all had over Voltron moments. While I’ve only known it for months and I’ve never have that time a lot of people did.

I have discovered many great writers, artists, cosplayers because of Voltron and I’m so fucking happy that I was able to find people who express their love for the show so much that they present it to the world in different ways and I get to experience it. 

I loved the show. And I will continue to love it. I want to thank all the cast and the people who made the show. And I’m gonna go rewatch this whole entire thing over and over again even if I’m not 100% on board with how they decided to end it, but who ever really likes endings?

[rueitae]

2018 Fic Roundup

I did this last year and it was nice to do some self reflection and make some goals for 2019. I encourage all my writer friends to do this! No tagging necessary, just tell each other to do it. <3

It’s long, so putting the rest of the fic and reflection questions under the cut.

Stats:

Fics Posted (Gen): 6

Space Birthday (9,595 words): Hunk can feel it in his bones; it’s his birthday. He wants to have a nice one... and does... after accidentally raiding a Galra outpost with Lance and Pidge.

Pilot (4,340): Shiro finds himself in a different reality post s2. Here, the mechs are called Gundams. (Shiro in the Gundam Wing universe/reality)

Code (7,321): Pidge and the others keep fond memories of Earth through oldies musical trivia. It comes in handy on a mission.

Self Insert (6,357): Lance reads a story to his niece and nephew on the eve he leaves for school at the Galaxy Garrison. The kids have Opinions on how it should go.(i totally still need to change their names to the canon ones)

Too Soon and Not Soon Enough (1,796): Keith is 13 and is supposed to go to the Galaxy Garrison next year at Shiro’s encouragement. Until the Galra invade and plans change.

Welcome to the Neighborhood (2,237): Allura gets used to being not dead and that includes meeting her cosmic neighbors.

Fics Posted (Plance): 17

Wrong Diamond (2,384): Gentlemen thief AU. “At midnight, I will steal the heart of Voltron,” the note says. Pidge has a thief to catch.

Diamond in the Rough (8,045): prequel to Wrong Diamond. How they meet!

Road Trip (4,710): Lance and Pidge are back on Earth. Zarkon has the others and the two are on the run from a bureaucratic Galaxy Garrison that doesn’t want the world to know about aliens yet. Oh, and Lotor is with them.

Exsanguination (16,255): Pidge is a vampire hunter captured by Haggar. She finds some unlikely help in the vampire’s similarly undead servant.

Power Up! (3,500): Pidge is on the cusp of finding out where Zarkon is holding her father using less than legal methods. She’s caught in the act by her lab partner (Lance, a superhero in training).

Plance on Ice (2,300): A figure skating AU! Pidge and Lance are former competitive partners having a date free time on the ice

Being Plance (3,900): Pidge and Lance pull a personality switch prank over on the rest of the team. Canon verse.

Keeping Cool (3,098): Mermaid AU! Pidge is in trouble with pirates and gets some unexpected help from the sea.

The Cake (839): Canon verse, Lance gets a cake for his birthday and assumes it’s from Hunk.

Frostbite (6,109): Pidge is a renowned super villain. Lance is a hero in training with something to prove. Lance over uses his powers one day and Pidge has some soul searching to do.

Crystal Clear (5,516): Another superhero AU. Lance is captured by his arch nemesis. They have a heart-to-heart, taunt, and flirt.

The Secrets of Beasts (2,007): AU canon verse. Years down the road, Green keeps Pidge from going on a mission with the others. It takes Kosmo to find out why.

See You Yesterday (8,132): Lance works nervously as a bartender for a 1920s mafia when all he wanted to do was leave the farming life. One night he gets a strange patron who changes his life - and his perspective of the world. Time travel AU

Shot Through the Heart (1,087): post canon AU. Lance and Pidge keep Nadia and Sylvio entertained.

Seasons of Magic (11,744): Pidge is a mage. Lance is her dragon familiar. Series of domestic-ish one shots. Not in sequential order.

Between Rocks and A Hard Place (8,144): Canon verse. Pidge and Lance are trapped due to a caved-in mine, with pirates waiting for them on the other side. And Pidge is hurt.

Cow-parent Trapped (1,099): s8 canon continuation. Pidge visits Lance at the farm and does not expect Kaltenecker to make them talk to each other.

Lotura 1

Birthday Prompt #5 (5,500): Oh gosh I never named it. Fantasy AU in which Lotor is essentially Rapunzel and Allura is Aurora with a better (depending on who you ask) birth-prophesy. Tiny hint of Shallura in this as well.

Collaborations: 3

First Encounters for the (Altean Plance AU): Pidge is an independent noblewoman and Lance is her bodyguard. Writing done with @hushman and @pidge-suggestions

To Sail, To Break, To Earn (Plance - 10,268): Lance is a pirate and Pidge is a mermaid. There’s also a curse involved. With @sp4c3-0ddity

It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like A Christmas Carol (Plance- 14,384): post s8 canon verse with @hailqiqi and @sp4c3-0ddity. Exactly as the title says. Lance is the subject of a ghostly intervention. Crack treated seriously.

Fey AU (Plance): with @vivalachocolate this was @sp4c3-0ddity ‘s prompt to Viva but I was nosy and added a chapter and I’m so glad she wasn’t mad at me for it. 😅

Ship/Character breakdown:

Ship breakdown:

I guess the 17 Plance fics speak for themselves. I did write one Lotura fic as a special birthday prompt because @ritsykitty is such a good friend.

Character breakdown:

I have a gen fic for each Paladin, but then the Plance fics outnumber those, so Lance and Pidge would be my go to.

Characters that had the main focus:

So for character POV, each Paladin has one, then within Plance, Pidge has 12 and Lance has 7. Interesting, I thought it was more even. Hunk had a POV in a Plance fic too briefly!

Specifics:

Best/worst title?

Best title: Urgh I liked a lot of them. Too Soon and Not Soon Enough probably. I like how it summarizes the story without telling you how, but by the end you know.

Worst title: Seasons of Magic aka I tried to come up with a clever title when I realized I wasn’t done with it. It’s so bland to me. I’m also basically trying to rebrand from mage/familiar AU. I don’t think it’s working 😅 (not that I care I’m trying to make it easier to reference but I’m too late)

Best/worst last line?

Best: “I love you too, Pidge,” he [Lance] says, nestling her head to his chest and not bothering to correct her. “You’re the best nemesis a hero could ask for.” - I love that line so much, from Crystal Clear. Enemies to lovers is such a good trope.

Worst: Pidge groans. At this rate her double life is definitely doomed to unravel. - for how much I love Frostbite, I really hate how lame it ends. Like I totally could have said that better or continued the scene a bit but I am LAZY.

General questions:

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

I wrote waaaaaaay more than expected. I figured I’d write something every few months. Now I can write a 2k fic in a setting if I’m on game.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

I was just doing gen fic last year, never would I have expected to be so taken by Plance that it became my main muse.

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

Honestly? Probably Pilot. It was one of my earliest VLD fic ideas to do a Gundam Wing crossover and to actually finish a one shot early in the year (when I was still dipping my feet into fandom again) just made me so so happy. I still smile thinking about the continuation possibilities. One of my favorite parts of Shiro’s character is that he is the ace pilot. Because of Keith’s role that sometimes gets overshadowed. I was so pleased to get to highlight that.

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

On Ao3, that would be Exsanguination. No surprise there, it was my first posted Plance fic and I continued it.

On Tumblr it’s First Encounters, the first of the Altean Plance AU based on the art and headcanons. I was just struck with a clear opening image one afternoon and wrote it all right then and there. I had no idea it would be so well received.

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

Space Birthday. It may have been a bit of a mess since it was my very first VLD fic, but it has everything I love. Hunk bonding with an ‘enemy’ over cooking, Team Punk, Plance in distress, Hunk saves the day thanks to mechanics. Also heartfelt stuff with Keith. And he’s the only Paladin besides Lance to get an actual birthday themed fic from me.

Story that could have been better?

I really hate to say Wrong Diamond, but I totally could have done much better with it. It feels skimpy. Probably why I am still writing in the AU.

Sexiest story?

Ha. That would be a tie between Crystal Clear and Exsanguination. The first I actually tried and the second completely by accident. I’m not sure it worked though.

Saddest story?

All my sad fics have a bit of crack to them. Pilot is pretty melancholy. Crystal Clear has a good Plance argument that gets heated. Road Trip in general though might take the cake. It’s full of angst amid some humor due to the premise.

Most fun?

Shot Through the Heart in terms of tone.

Story with single sweetest moment? Space Birthday

"Uh, Keith, hold up a tic."

Confused, Keith turned back around. "What?"

Hunk rubbed the back of his neck. "So uh, you know we're friends right? Like, I meant what I said we're like brothers. We're tight. I mean, we share a mind inside of a giant robot."

Keith blinked, clearly surprised. "Yeah, I kinda got that from the hug you gave me back then. It was nice," he said with a smile. "And we work well together."

"Yeah so - wait what? No, I'm supposed to be giving you the pep talk here."

"It's fine, Hunk. I'm doing important work and so are you. I already had this talk with Allura."

"Oh. Well, what I'm trying to say is that we're friends. I care a lot about you and your feelings. So if I say something that's weird or you don't like, you gotta tell me. I'm a terrible and nosy person and I'm sorry."

Keith stood silent, processing the words, and then smiling. "I've accepted the side of me that's Galra," he said simply. "It's still a little weird, but I've always had this feeling that something didn't add up." He smiled a bit. "I don't mind a question or two, but I'm still learning myself."

"Deal, no Galra questions for a while then. Just as long as you come visit more often, okay? We all miss you.

"...hug it out?"

Keith snorted and obliged into Hunk's waiting arms. "Always."

Hardest story to write?

I struggled with the ending to Exsanguination. It took forever to come to me.

Easiest/most fun story to write?

I wrote The Secrets of Beasts in one setting and I still can’t believe how easily it came out. I blame the Plance discord folks for putting everyone on a baby craze.

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

Not particularly? I write based on my existing understanding of the characters and nothing really surprised to that note.

Most overdue story?

Welcome to the Neighborhood. I wanted to write that Allura gen fic all year (as I wanted one for all the Paladins) and I hoped s8 would give me the motivation. It was not worth the cost.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

Collaborations! And participating in a zine! And signing up for events (exchanges and bangs)! I learned that it’s not that scary. People are chill and so easy to get along with. Also the task isn’t as daunting as I think of it’s an idea I love.

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

This is hard because I’m already doing above and beyond what I ever expected to be doing writing wise. I suppose it will be to finish my gen fic since I’ve been writing a lot of plance lately.

[orcawardseal]

Klance Fic Rec

Man do I ever read a lot of fics ha..ha…ha… Pretty much all of these are in canonverse, or with slight tweaks. Categorized by rating but otherwise in no particular order. Will be updated occasionally 

—General/Teen—

We’ll Make it, You and Me - asexualrey (T/6,421) “Keith, if we make it out of this alive, I’m going to kiss you.” Awhh so sappy and fluffy I love it; hurt/comfort that is so endearing

Time to Intervene - nadagio (T/6,588) The Red and Blue Lions are sick of their paladins bickering all the time so they do something about it. How long does it take for two stubborn boys to break? Lolol this one is a fun read, lions be staging an intervention 

Downtime - pairagoose (unrated but I say G/7,158) When the castle needs repairs (following ep Crystal Venom) they are forced to land on a secluded planet and while Keith and Lance are on patrol they discover their true feelings. This is really fluffy :D  

A for Effort - amcw177 (T/10,441) The team thinks Lance and Keith need to get their act together. They decide to help speed things up, but heir attempts at matchmaking backfire spectacularly, which Shiro could’ve told them right from the start. Omg so funny I couldn’t stop giggling throughout..the characterization of all the other Paladins sure are spot on

Blaming Space- venpast (T/4,665) in which lance is sick of space and keith is sick of fighting and both of them are more lonely than either cares to realize So much langst and very well written

Dream A Little Dream of Me - exmachinarium (T/1,949) Lance was making out with someone in his room. Which is exactly how he knew it was a dream.

mi casa es su casa - Qitana (G/8,461) “Do you wanna do something fun?” Ho snap this is so good so adorable and yes it is a perfect slow build and so much fluff and asdfghjk happy ending 

No Hetero- hayleythewriter (T/1,413) The Voltron Gang plays Never Have I Ever. What could go wrong? And what could go right?? THIS WAS A LOT OF FUN 

Red is the Coldest Color - englishcivilwar (T/17,427) In which Lance is an epic fail at flirting, Keith is an oblivious walnut, and the rest of the team collectively groans and sighs. Someone’s gotta come to terms with their crush and it’s real damn fluffy 

Can’t Cover Up - dear_chaton (T/2,744) Or the one where Keith battles with feelings, particularly for a blue paladin This is so sweet, going from angst to fluff real quick

Slowly, And Then All At Once - quartetship (T/2,051) He was in love. With Keith. Total fluff

 Power-cuts and Sparks - rosacanina6 (T/12,513) Lance had assumed that his evening stuck in the castle with Keith would be highly uneventful. However, space has other plans when a seemingly inexplicable power-cut causes a series of unexpected antics.

Laws of Gravity Need Not Apply - yuu_chi (T/11,117) It’s a difficult thing to go from secretly crushing on your school rival at a distance to sharing a tentative psychic connection with him, an audience of three other people, and an assorted collection of sentient machines. I feel like I’m gonna have an aneurysm with all this build up haha. Emotions, and dealing with the feels and then it finally all comes together (lots of fluff)

Huddling For Warmth - WhisperElmwood (not rated, but I give G/3,162) After ridding a planet of it’s Galra invaders, Keith and Lance literally have to huddle for warmth. Keith is jealous, Shiro is proud and Pidge gets all nerdy. There may also be mutual pining. The description of this planet is way cool (heh) and the klance is really fluffy 

Cuddles - dreamcp (G/783) Allura walks in on something a little unexpected. Wow so cute 

the path to paradise begins in hell - corydalis (T/3,068) “Were- were you about to-”“No,” Keith lies.“You were!” Lance accuses, his tone borderline hysterical. “You were totally going to kiss me!”

Pick-Up Lines - LC_wolfe (G/2,785) In which Lance uses bad pick-up lines and Keith is oblivious. I have a great fondness for bad pickup lines 

joke’s on you, loser - zxrysky (T/5,692) I love the trio banding together so cute  

—Mature—

Blueprints - underthesilentstars (M/43,055) WIP “While soulmarks themselves were common, it was rare for someone to have anything other than the name of their other half…and Lance had a red paw print.” Still a wip but it’s so well written and the incorporation of the soulmark with canonverse? SO GOOD 

Dumbass and Fishboy - sweatpantz (M/4,954) Lance finally finds something he’s better at than Keith. It doesn’t end how anyone expects. Teaching someone to swim can get real touchy (it appears this work has been hidden :()

Blame it On the Lions- deecherrywolf (M/3,626) They need to bond extra hard in order to fix their damaged lions i love it

Rapid Escalation- lysapadin (M/3,095) Pidge and Hunk finally give Keith a hint to explain Lance’s behavior, and after that, things escalate.

Gay Space Nerds - lexiachieves (M/2,732) Keith goes to rescue Lance who is handcuffed to a tree after retrieving the stolen lion. Hmmmmmm handcuffs  

Lonely In Love - Warmybones (M/2,110) He could go, avoid all the temptations that made his breath shorten and his gaze linger for too long, but he felt warmer with Keith. Safer. He belonged right beside him, filling the cracks in his armour and keeping him from crumbling. Damn. This is so soft and fluffy

Bottle Episode - themoistplinth (M/13,014) Everyone is sick of Keith and Lance’s constant bickering yet they still insist that they’re friends. The gang bet that Keith and Lance couldn’t spend three days locked in a room together without hurting each other, and they’re not entirely wrong

Entangled - Purpleneutrino (M/101,859) When Keith found himself mentally linked to Lance of all people, he never thought that it would end in anything but irritation and misery on both sides. This fic is amazing I don’t think I’ve ever finished 100k words faster….Great mind meld fic and I love how all the other characters are so involved (just like in the show of course)

—Explicit—

Acceptable Behaviour - eso(cazzy) (E/3,147) Keith’s chest heaves with the exertion of dueling a killer robot while simultaneously managing to open the air lock door in order to save his fellow paladin’s life, and Lance thinks, Oh, fuck.

Heatwaves on Autopilot - whatthebodygraspsnot (E/56,327) Keith and Lance unknowingly inhale an alien aphrodisiac during a simple resource retrieval mission. Excellent work with the confusion and all that goes with these sex pollen fics haha. And of course there are feelings because I also need the fluff

Imagination is Power - deecherrywolf (E/17,209) “I am greatly offended you think I was offering to perform such an atrocity. No, but I have something that may help you” Lance misses having porn like back on Earth so he’s got an alternative haha

Driving Me Wild - arrafrost (E/7,095) Keith and Lance aren’t able to get more than a few minutes of alone time, sometimes less, and are always interrupted by their teammates whenever things start to progress in their relationship. They are more than a little frustrated and it’s only a matter of time until one of them snaps. 

Keep On Coming Back For More - arrafrost (E/3,303) An overconfident Lance boasts that he is better at everything, including kissing. Normally he’s shot down, doubted from the start, so when he’s challenged to prove it… things get a little complicated. Um yeah, their competitiveness knows no bounds lol

Far Away From Nothing - ikira (E/12,552) When Lance is the last of the paladins to be recovered after their separation through the corrupted wormhole, everyone is a little concerned for him, considering how much Lance likes to be around people. Surprisingly, Keith seems to be the most concerned of all. Worried keith can be so sweet awhh

Unconventional Seating - talinor (E/4,697) “What the fuck are you doing?” Keith hissed.“You and your fantastic ass got me into this mess,” Lance told him. “And you’re not moving until the others go.” ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

sugar and peaches, frozen mangoes and grenadine - cattchi (E/5,466) it’s their last night on a rescued planet, and Lance is in Party Mode™ but Keith doesn’t want to dance Is pwp and absolutely hilarious lol 

Standing in the Eye of the Storm - erisgregory (E/1,828) shameless pwp set in the training room after a fight. They had to let out steam somehow

Something Just Like This - erisgregory (E/1,794) Lance puts himself in uneccessary danger and Keith is having none of that. Like the sweetest pwp you’ll read what the hell lol

Midnight Purple - hiat (E/5,421) Keith is jealous. Lance is an asshole. It works out in the end. So wonderfully descriptive ;D

[halspur]

@flashedarrow sadfjksdfj okay i’m thinking team voltron sells culinary supplies & the bom sells home appliances so they merge & zarkon™️©️®️ buys out both businesses so lotor brings in his crew to help run the place:

kolivan & coran are co-managers

sendak & haxus were their old bosses & everyone hated them

this is one of the only things kolivan will genuinely laugh out loud about

coran is the peppy cheerful boss who plans bday parties for everyone obvi

kolivan is silent

...but he brings in donuts every monday so they all love him

antok & allura are their assistants second in commands

they surprisingly get along perfectly and even hang out outside of work

i.e. they get plastered together 

pidge & hunk are in marketing

pidge buys cutlery & pots/pans for both birthday & holiday gifts

colleen & sam have so many plate sets, so many

hunk is addicted to ordering from their own product magazine & lance and pidge have to hold an intervention at least once a year

he has every type of wafflemaker & smoothie machine you can imagine

lance & pidge still plan movie night & sleepovers at his house because they want gourmet food

ulaz & thace are in accounting

they’ve been married for 8 years but nobody knows (until)

shiro sees them holding hands at lunch and tries to act cool but ends up sprinting out of the room to find keith because diD YOU KNOW

anyways they bring lunch they made the night before every day  & eat together

lance & keith are in customer service

lance is naturally great at his job & allura loses a bet to coran that he was going to quit his first year there

jokes on her because he’s the only thing that makes her laugh at work

this was the only position open when keith applied + shiro was already working with allura & coran so could keith complain about an easy job inning??

he could & he does, especially about his coworker across from him

regris & shiro are in sales

regris wears headphones most of the time & shiro hates trying to get his attention

they rarely speak at length to anybody (shiro is better than smalltalk than regris though) but if they do it’s only to keith

this leads to a general confusion about if keith is dating either of them

he’s not but he’s been flirting with shiro for the past 6 months to no avail

matt is the receptionist & he abuses that power daily to pass notes, prank call, & commit general tomfoolery and/or assist in shenanigans

lance & pidge usually claim him (hunk tries to warn them from the sidelines) against keith & shiro

it always ends with allura either scolding them or shiro & keith pulling off a heist back at them under the radar

axca, ezor, narti, zethrid & lotor have no clue what they walked into when assigned to this office

rest assured, they’re integrated almost seamlessly into the office ecosystem

[ohahahahaha]

Prodigy Lance Fic Part 11!!!!!!

The team rushed to the healing pods, just in time to see Lance stumble out, as if he were half asleep. Keith stepped forward, catching Lance as he began to fall forward. Lance cracked open his eyes, peering at Keith. "Am I...alive?" Keith pushed him back, causing him to stumble and almost lose his balance. "Yes, you're alive! But not for long is you don't answer our questions!" Lance looked at him with his head slightly tilted. "...our?" Lance looked behind Keith, noticing that the others were with them. "Oh, uh, hiya guys! Long time no see, heh!" Keith snarled and grabbed Lance by the collar, pulling him right into his face. "Lance, if you ever pull something like that, I swear on Pidge's laptop that I'll kill you myself, got it?!" Lance held up his hands and nodded. "I hear you loud and clear. Besides, I never wanna go through that ever again." Shiro stepped forward, clearing his throat. "We're glad that you say that, but we still have a few questions to ask you." Lance quickly swallowed and cleared his throat. "Oh, uh o-okay. What questions do-" "DID YOU REALLY CREATE THE BEX TAYLOR-KLAUS CODE?!" Pidge shouted, interrupting him. Lance's eyes became as wide as saucers and he slightly paled. "W-what?" Pidge gave him a hard look. "Did you create the Bex Taylor-Klaus code?" "And the Shada Plan?" Keith added, crossing his arms. Lance continued to stare at them, until he nodded his head a murmured a small "...yes." Pidge floored. "What?! You really created all those strategies and codes without any help? Lance, do you know what that means? To come up with plans like that, you'd have to be a-" "A genius? A prodigy? A freak?" Lance's eyes turned cold. "I've heard them all, but yeah. I created them on my own. But what I can't seem to figure out is how you guys even figured all this out." Lance peered at all of them, eyes landing on Hunk who had started to slightly rock on the back of his feet. Lance and Hunk made eye contact for a few mere seconds and Lance had already figured him out. All Lance had to do was arch an eyebrow and Hunk cracked. "I'm sorry, Lance! I told them about the notebook and what I saw and the pages of codes and the Shada Plan. I didn't think it was that big of a deal because I mean, that makes you super smart, you're like a real prodigy and a genius so-" "Hunk! You're rambling again." Lance chuckled. Hunk wriggled his fingers, a nervous habit he had developed. "You're not mad?" Lance sighed and ran a hand across his face, slightly wincing from still being sore. "No. I mean, you guys were bound to find out eventually, right?" Allura tilted her head to the side. "But why wouldn't you tell us right away?" Lance opened his mouth, but Shiro gently cut him off. "Let's move this to the living quarters, okay? Let's all just sit down and talk it out." The team nodded and made their way to the couches. When they made it, Lance plopped down, comfortably sinking into the cushions. The others took the opposite facing couch, leaving Lance by himself. "Okay, this isn't turning into an intervention, right?" They answered him with silence. "Geez, tough crowd. Alright, alright. I'll answer all the questions you have." Allura was the first to speak, repeating the same question she asked before. "Why didn't tell us if your talent? Do you not trust us?" Lance rubbed the back of his neck. "No, no! It's nothing like that. It's just complicated. In the past, I was proud of my abilities, but when others found out, they would call me all kinds of names. Freak was their favorite. They made me think being different was a bad thing. So, I tried to be normal. Never told anyone, never stepped out of line. I was never bullied again." Lance answered, ending with a slight shrug. Coran leaned forward, propping his arms on his knees. "So, your abilities...what are they exactly?" Lance threw his legs on the couch, lying as though he were in a therapy session. "Well, basically I'm a prodigy at strategies. I can create plans and escapes route almost immediately. I can look at a strategy and tear it apart, seeing it flaws and making it better, or creating a plan that would destroy it. My brain sees the world as the puzzle, and it constantly creates ways to solve it. Because of that, I can learn things quickly, and have a photographic memory. That's how I learned how to speak so many different languages." Pidge rested her hands on the top of her head. "How many languages do you speak fluently?" Lance listed them off, lifting up a finger with each language. "Spanish, English, Japanese, Korean, French, and most recently, Galran and Altean." The team gazed at him with wide eyes. Lance blushed and rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Really guys, it's not that big of a deal. Anybody could-" "Lance, don't sell yourself short. What you can do is a gift, an amazing one at that. Give yourself some credit." Keith spoke up. Lance blinked at him as his blushed spread across his face. Keith blushed slightly, crossing his arm and sinking back into the couch. There was a small moment of silence. Lance shook his head and sat up straight. "Well, if that's all the questions, then I should really-" "Oh no." Shiro stated, leaning forward and staring at Lance. "We've only just begun."

[klanceficatalogue]

Do you have any hurt lance/ keith (preferably bc the other has a partner or crushes) with a happy ending? If the request is too specific, just jealous stuff! Thanks for trying your best!

Yeah! Here’s some jealousy for you - Vallie

Lance Stages an Intervention (for himself) by mybrainproblems (1/1 | 1,837 | General)

Keith has a boyfriend. Lance is homophobic jealous.

Genius Plans by Mardiaz173 (1/1 | 5,731 | Teen and Up)

“Wow, how different. What, the guy gives a half-assed apology and now we’re going to bend over backwards to help him? We can’t trust them!“

“We’re not bending over backwards, we’re just helping,” Keith responds, taking a bite of his food, not looking at Lance. “And we’re not trusting them either.”

Lance glares at him. “Oh, I’m sorry. Am I being mean to your boyfriend?”

Keith chokes on his food, face reddening, and Shiro whacks on his back to help Keith. “What?” Keith yelps.

“Your bounty hunter boyfriend, that’s what. You were lecturing me about Nyma before we knew they were gonna steal our lions, but now you and Rolo are suddenly chummy.”

Or, in which Pidge, Hunk, and Allura have the grand idea of getting Keith and Lance together by making Lance jealous

kiss me on the mouth (and set me free) by beautifulbane (1/1 | 8,309 | Teen and Up)

“Well,” Allura started, “When an individual has strong feelings for the one the spell is being cast towards, the spell can’t overcome those emotions. I’m guessing the spell didn’t work on Keith because he already has strong feelings for you, Lance.”

Lance looked at Allura, who was smiling brightly, and then at Keith, who was very pointedly not looking back at him.

“So what you’re telling me,” Lance said, hating the way his heart felt like it was breaking into a thousand tiny pieces, “Is that Keith hates me so strongly that the spell didn’t have an effect on him?”

(Or, a witch casts a love spell on the paladins of Voltron, making them all fall in love with Lance. The only one unaffected is Keith, so naturally Lance assumes Keith’s feelings of hate are so strong that not even a love spell can overcome them.)