#Shiro is really my peak little control freak

[squeakyleftsneaker]

Watching Voltron for the 1st Time: S2 Ep. 5-7

I am having a very productive weekend. If you're new here, hi, Epic Backstory HERE, but if you're not trying to read allat, I'm Shoe and I fear the disdain of a 12yo more than I care about my spare time so I am watching this show so that the 12yo I tutor will Believe In Me. I'm making progress in my show viewing! We're doing this!

I MIGHT Be An Enjoyer

Keith and Lance's pool adventure is MAGNIFICENT.

2 guys up a shaft together half naked. Hm. Maybe don't plug that into google. I won't be held responsible for your search history.

I've never heard Steven Yeun deliver a line on this show more passionately than "Stupid Altean pools." THE PATHOS!

I need a language learning app that tries to kill me, maybe that's how I'll finally learn Arabic

I just noticed Shiro's winged eyeliner looks particularly fierce in this episode teach me your ways king

"Color-coded of course, because what are we, animals?" PIDGE YOU ARE MY GOAT

Did had a giggle about the Taujeerean being UNCONVINCED by this 4 lion business

KEITH AND ALLURA HEART TO HEART ABOUT GALRA "One life means nothing to Zarkon"/"It means a lot to me"

I like these two as a duo, they're both very similar crazy people with 0 forethought and high emotional intensity. They match each other's freak in insanity. That's where they help each other realize why this is so stupid. "You're irreplaceable to the team!" "But so are you" yeah dumb dumbs. Now go grab your damn friends! (Oh whoops they blew up their ship)

AHHHH THE RED LION GOING TO NAB THEM? SICK

WAIT THE CALLBACK TO THE FIRST EPISODE "Good to have you back"/"Good to be back" but with the roles reversed STOP THAT'S SUCH A CUTE NOD

Shiro is really a little bit of a control freak eh? Love the Black Lion saying "Fuck you and your comfort zone"

MALLLLLLLLLLLL MALL IN SPACE SPACE MALL? MALL COP IN SPACE? THEY'RE COOKING WITH GAS ON THIS I FEAR

WOW THEY BACKGROUNDS IN THIS SHOW ARE STUNNING

Wow Shiro finally opened up and trusted the Black Lion and accepted he couldn't just command her AND THEN SHE BACKED HIM TF UP THAT'S SO FUCKING NICE

Lance's fountain dophin adventures gave me joy

COW

But This? This I Do NOT Enjoy

WHY IS HUNK ALWAYS THE BUTT OF THE JOKE MAN

So. They just give the game away with how Zarkon is tracking them immediately. Which. Again. WHY? It ruins all the tension! That's something you could have us as an audience come to a slow creeping and unsettling realization with the Paladins, not just tell us straight up. Having some mystery and intrigue is good! We don't need to know everything all the time! We can learn and theorize too!

10000 years being the timeframe of this show is crazy and I wish they'd delve into it more than they do. 10000 years is. We have no conception of what humans will look like 10000 years into the future. I know the show won't delve into the batshitness of operating on this big a timescale and I wanted to whine about that

This episode really fails to make us feel for the plight of the Taujeereans. Which I think sucks! I wish they'd been a bit more sympathetic to them, I get that it's hard to humanize a creature designed to be very different from humans but like. Try! It's your show! And the stakes of Keith and Allura not being there to help would feel so much more REAL when the people in peril are given narrative importance and care.

GAHHHH THE RED LION BIT WOULD'VE BEEN SUCH A FIERCE REVEAL OF HOW ZARKON WAS TRACKING THEM IF THEY HADN'T GIVEN IT AWAY RIGHT THEN THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING. Like. I WISH we hadn't been shown Zarkon + Witchy Legend In Sick Outfit talking about how they were using the Black Lion because it took oomph out of the Red Lion going to grab Keith AND the subsequent realization that they were using the Black Lion.

There's a lot of great moment to moment details about this show. I think it's got a lot going for it in that sense. But there's just such a struggle with pacing and exposition and escalating stakes and all of those are connected! I feel like parts are really rushed, parts are really dragged out, and it just feels like a lot of the overall planning here could've used a few more passes.

Another minor pet peeve. Planets are round because gravity crushes em down. There is 0 way that planet where Zarkon is from would be that shape and then STAY THAT SHAPE???? I NEED HELP

Why are there 2 genres of bathroom in space ALIENS SHOULD NOT CONFORM TO BINARY GENDER THEY'RE FUCKING ALIENS

I've noticed a lot of stuff gets brought up and then never comes back. I hope they're playing the long game but I am beginning to fear for the worst.

PLEASE SHOW LESS LORE DUMPS AS LONG DETAILED EXPOSITION FROM CHARACTERS, MORE LETTING THEM DO THINGS AND NOT STAND AROUND AND TALK! TRUST IN YOUR STORYTELLING ABILITIES AND AUDIENCE!

Very excited to see the Blade or Marmots again. I love marmots (I'm joking), very excited to meet Keith's alien parents, these next episodes will be GOOD FUCKING FOOD I CAN FEEL IT

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt.43 prt.1

Keith slept like a log. When Lance had left so suddenly it’d taken Matt to make him realise what was happening. Forced into conversation, it’d been nearly an hour before he headed upstairs to check on Lance. Finding his boyfriend asleep and the sweet smell lingering in the room, he grabbed a blanket off the bed and stuffed it along the bottom of the door to keep the scent in. Shooting Shiro a quick text to let him know Lance was “sick”, Keith hoped that Shiro got his implied message. Stripping off to his underwear, Keith slid under the blankets where Lance immediately moved to cuddle him, mumbling his name as he wrapped an arm around Keith’s waist. Why couldn’t Shiro see this side of Lance? Sure, he might be a vampire, but he really was stupidly sweet. Not used to sleeping with someone like this, Keith had expected to spend the night tossing and turning, or even to be plagued with nightmares as usual, instead he woke to find himself spooned up with Lance curled around him.

Letting Lance sleep a little longer, Keith wasn’t looking forward to crawling out of bed. He would have stayed with his boyfriend but his bladder had other ideas, Lance stirring as he lifted his arm from around his waist

“Keith?”

“Bathroom”

“Mmm... ‘kay”

Using Lance’s bathroom felt like a privilege. Keith making sure he hadn’t made a mess before stumbling back to bed. Lance had woken up properly, but that didn’t mean he’d gotten out of bed. Crawling back onto the bed, Lance automatically reached for him, Keith too uncaffinated to feel embarrassed or protest as he climbed into Lance’s hold. Kissing his cheek, Lance sighed as he leaned against Keith

“Good morning”

“Mmm...”

“I know. You haven’t had your coffee yet. Do you have enough energy for me to cuddle?”

“Mhmm”

Lance kissed his cheek again

“Thanks for being here when I woke up. I know you’re not used to it and I’m not used to it, but I really needed a hug”

Turning his head, Keith pressed a kiss to Lance’s lips. Lance blushing slightly as he did

“It’s okay... are you okay?”

“Yeah... I slept like the dead”

Keith groaned at Lance. It was too early for his shenanigans

“Didn’t like that one? I’ll keep it in mind. Let’s get you your coffee. Everyone else is already up”

Lance laughed at him as Keith struggled into a pair of the vampire’s jeans and a shirt. Though he would have been fine wearing the clothes he’d had on the day before. Keith glaring the best glare he could manage, mind firmly on his coffee, as Lance went about getting dressed, Keith made to not peak as he changed underwear. Not that he was going to peak. Lance had nothing to be ashamed of down there, but there was a fresh wave sweetness that lasted a few seconds, making them both blush for no damn reason. Keith wasn’t a natural born blusher, yet it seemed to just happen around Lance. Managing to look far more presentable than Keith did, his boyfriend was annoying like that.

Yawning as they entered the kitchen, Keith ignored everyone as he made a beeline for the coffee machine, only to be irritated that his normal cup wasn’t where it was supposed to be. Sharing a house was already proving annoying. He didn’t like it. That wasn’t to say he didn’t like Matt and Rieva... he just liked things better when people didn’t interrupt his coffee routine. Glancing back to Lance, he found he’d already ducked out, leaving him with no support over his stolen cup

“How’d you sleep, kiddo?”

Keith grunted at Shiro. He didn’t deserve words until Keith got his damn cup of coffee

“It’s like watching Pidge in the morning”

“Keith isn’t functional until he’s had his coffee”

“Pidge is like a demon. She’d literally bite ankles if she could get away with it”

“Keith is too. He bit me once for moving his coffee”

“Oh, man. That’s just too good”

Matt and Shiro both seemed in excellent moods as they talked about him. That was something. Yesterday had been draining and he didn’t want a repeat.

“What are we talking about?”

Keith felt himself blushing as Lance walked in. His boyfriend didn’t need to know he was being teased

“Keith is acting like Pidge”

“Pidge is worse. Keith isn’t as snarky as she gets. You guys eat?”

Lance seemed happy enough replying to Matt. Hopefully that was a good sign

“Yeah. We helped ourselves. Is that okay?”

“Yeah. I meant it’s your house too now. If there anything in particular you don’t eat or we need, let me know. I promise I don’t bite���

Matt laughed, even his laugh sounded like Pidge’s. Keith now wondering if she was on her second cup with her laptop in front of her. It seemed highly likely

“Honestly, there’s not a lot we don’t eat. What about you?”

“Blood three times a day and I eat. I think there’s a conversation we need to have too over what happened last night”

Keith froze. He felt like Lance was pushing himself when it came to the subject he thought his boyfriend had in mind. It meant confiding in strangers, which he wasn’t good at. He didn’t dare turn around as he watched his coffee finally coming out the machine and into the inferior cup he’d taken off the hook

“Did we do something wrong?”

“No. It’s just... It might make things complicated and hearing you react last night really drove home how awkward this might be”

“Man, you’re scaring me now”

There was the scraping of a chair, meaning Lance had sat. Keith felt like he should do something, but he didn’t know what

“It’s not you, it’s me... Wow, I didn’t think I’d be using that line so early in the morning... so... um... I’m not a normal vampire”

“You can’t turn into a bat or hypnotise humans to do your will?”

Lance snorted

“I can turn into a bat... not a very good bat... No, it’s, um... I’m a vampire, but... um... I get flushes like a werewolf... in heat. It’s from drinking human blood. Well, from drinking Keith’s blood. You know what it’s like when you turn, so I’ve been trying to live as humanly as possible... I didn’t go out of my way to find out much about that side of things. I thought I had a handle on it... but Keith was the first human I ever drank from... and his blood changed my body. You caught my scent last night... and fuck this is embarrassing. I’m a breeder...”

Lance’s words hung in the air, Keith finally able to move again. Turning, he found himself walking to Lance’s side, and placing his hand on his shoulder to let him know he wasn’t alone

“... and I’m kind of dating Keith”

Matt gaped at the pair of them. Shiro didn’t say anything, which Keith was grateful for

“Pidge never told me that”

“Pidge doesn’t know. That I’m a vampire or that I’m dating Keith. I don’t want to make a big fuss out it. But I really wanted to explain so there wasn’t a misunderstanding on why I left the room the way I did”

“So you go into heat?”

“Basically... My body is still adjusting to it. I didn’t think I could get any weirder but here we are. That’s why Curtis is here. In case I get sick again, or turn into a bat again. It’s not something I can control”

Matt snorted. Keith felt like punching him until he shook his head, he must have been glaring at the man

“Lance, dude, that’s not that weird. You’re in a room with two werewolves, and a cursed guy. We get it. We don’t really talk about heats outside of with our mates, but now things make sense. It’s cool, dude. We’ll show you a good time if you ever...”

Rieva slapped the back of her boyfriend’s head

“Ignore him. He doesn’t get it. If you need help managing your heats, we can talk”

Keith felt like he was invisible. He was the one trying to help Lance with that

“Hey, does that mean you’re boning Shiro’s little brother?”

“We’re not having sex... and that’s fine. My body isn’t stable”

“Damn Keith, you’ve got some balls being with a vampire. Make sure you keep his fangs away from your junk. Shiro, you didn’t let me know about this. You must be freaking out”

Shiro sighed

“Keith and I talked, then Lance I talked. They both know I don’t want either of them going through something like what happened to Adam”

“What happened to Adam was messed up, but Lance seems to have his shit together better than any of us. Plus, he can cook, so Keith isn’t gonna starve, and he’s got a house and job. At least he’s not doing crack in some back alley”

“This is true...”

Matt pulled a face at Shiro

“You’re a right royal arsehole when you travel. You should have seen him in Platt. Zero patience. I thought that orange haired dude was gonna have a coronary”

“I wasn’t that bad”

“You punched the elevator wall because you tripped into it”

That sounded like Shiro was stressed rather than just being cranky from a long flight

“It had it coming”

“Basically you were a dick and now you’re embarrassed. I can smell it on you”

“Fuck off. He’s my brother. I’m allowed to be worried”

“As long as you’re not dooming things. Patience yields focus... so focus on having some patience and not bringing the vibe down”

Keith had to hide his smile behind his hand. Shiro was being put in his place by Matt the same way Adam would have. It was easy to see the absolute worst in people after the shit they’d seen. One time they’d been on a hunt and the vampire caught wind of them. It left its human pets behind, Keith taking months to get over that. There was something even more fucked up about it feeding on children. The memory still made him queasy and his nightmares had been out of control over it. Back in their old apartment there’d been a bullet hole left in wardrobe thanks to him leaving his gun beside his bed before falling asleep. Adam had been pissed for days over it. Keith then forbidden from having his gun in his room, instead it went in to the safe in the hallway.

“You’re making me feel old here”

“Don’t start with that. We’re the same again”

“Technically I’m the older here, so you’ve got nothing to worry about, Shiro. There’s hope for you left”

With how negative Shiro had been, Keith expected him to snap at Lance. Instead his brother shook his head, looking like he’d been ganged up on. It wasn’t so funny when the teasing was happening to him

“I don’t know if that makes me feel better?”

Lance shrugged as he undid the cap on his bag of blood

“Whelp. I tried. Keith, your coffee’s going to get cold. Now, Matt, please tell me I don’t have to lie to Pidge for much longer. She always comes by on the weekends, she’s actually past due for a visit this week. I want to let Hunk know ahead of time, so he can be here too”

Keith went back to his coffee, some one had been at his milk. He had enough for two coffees left despite the fact they’d been shopping with Curtis. He wasn’t happy as he rationed his milk carefully, before carrying the cup over to the table to sit by Lance. His boyfriend was still on guard but Keith could tell he was feeling better now that he’s confused his secret. Keith quietly proud of him

“Tomorrow morning. Call Hunk and let him know. I probably need your number too while I’m at it”

“Sure. So what are you planning on doing today?”

“Shiro insisting on training to better protect ourselves. Maybe we can answer that age old question?”

“Which is?”

“Are vampires really that strong?”

Lance rolled his eyes

“Remember you said that when I’ve wiped the floor with you, Fido”

“Hey, Keith why don’t you stick your hand up his arse and count to ten. This over stretched muppet’s got no clue”

Lance groaned at Matt

“Dude... don’t bring the muppets into this. Though Curtis would be the Chef. No idea what he’s doing in the kitchen and I’m sure he’s make copious amounts of spaghetti if he could”

Curtis sighed, not wanting to be dragged into this

“You kill one toaster and they never let you forget it”

“Nope”

*

Keith wasn’t sure about this. Curtis warned Lance not to push himself, Lance simply declaring this to be “his weeks worth of physical activity”, before starting to stretch. Sitting in the backyard, Shiro and Rieva sat by him. Curtis would be the referee and Rieva would jump in if Matt got too carried away. Keith was quietly trying not to interfere, telling himself that this was Lance accepting how Matt wanted to bond. Catching his eye, Lance winked at him. Keith realising Lance hadn’t taken his glasses off. The idiot was on his way to breaking another pair

“Lance, glasses!”

Practically smacking himself in the face, his boyfriend pulled his glasses off, jogging over to Keith

“Good call. Look after them for me”

“Don’t make me regret this”

“Look at as a chance to make you fall for my fine Cuban arse all over again”

Keith wasn’t having it

“You hate combat”

“Yeah... but it’s an ego thing... Besides, we’ve got rules. No breaking anything and no going for the throat. Oh, you better take my jacket too”

“Fine. But don’t come crying to me when it hurts later”

“I will”

Lance looked like a video game character as he bounced on the ball of his feet. Curtis didn’t seem pleased to be between two supernatural creatures

“Ready?”

Lance nodded, Matt adopting his own pose. Keith waited for the video game announcer voice to come from no where... unfortunately it didn’t

“Yep”

“Bring it Dracula”

“No changing shape, wolf boy”

“I won’t need to”

“Remember that when Rieva’s patching you back up”

“That’s some pretty feisty talk from a virgin”

“What can I say? I believe in true love... and kicking your arse”

“I’ll believe it when I see it”

“Oh, it is so on”

Curtis retreated half a dozen steps backwards

“Okay. Don’t kill each other. Fight!”

Both males circled as they sized each other up. Matt growling at Lance, Lance’s fang emerging as his facial expression changed. His eyes changing from their brilliant blue to something darker, almost completely black as pupils dilated. Keith felt a stab of fear. Lance looked as if he’d let his ego go completely, Matt baring his teeth at the threat

“All bark and no bite?”

“You’re not going to beat me”

“No. You’d have to throw a punch first. If you wanna tuck your tail between your legs and run along, I won’t tell”

“Arsehole!”

Matt let Lance provoke him into the first swing. Lance blocking as he leapt back

“You’re going to lose if you can’t hit me”

Starting to circle again, it felt like a weird dance between the two of them. Lance could be a pain in the arse, practically an expert at avoiding physically attacking. Keith was worried that his boyfriend wouldn’t know what to do. Lance’s fighting experience of late had been fighting him

“Fine. I won’t hold back. You don’t hold back either”

Not holding back put everyone in danger. Matt and Lance going for each other too fast for Keith to catch up. One stage Matt was on the defence and the next he was throwing Lance across the yard... which Lance didn’t take too kindly too. His whole feel changed. His teeth bared as he smiled, nails elongated, and he seemed taller than Keith remembered. He was cold. And he was distant. This was the side himself that Lance feared. The two were back at it again, Keith had a mind to stop this. Lance hated senseless violence and this couldn’t be good for his mental health. Catching Matt as he lunged, Lance wrapped his legs around the man, head butting him hard. Matt grabbing Lance by the waist to slam him down, only for Lance’s legs to end up wrapped around Matt’s neck, hands pulling on the werewolf’s hair. Matt’s hands found their way to Lance’s throat, dropping to his knees as smashing Lance’s head against the ground. Beneath him, Lance went limp as Keith went cold. They weren’t supposed to do serious harm to each other. Matt immediately releasing Lance’s neck, only for Lance to draw himself backwards, kneeing Matt in the chin as he did. Keith hadn’t even seen how Lance managed it. The Cuban joked about being flexible, but this was something else. Snarling, Matt’s internal chain on his wolf snapped. The man changing shape and lunging at Lance. Rieva was tackling him down before Keith could shout in warning.

Laying on the grass, propped nip on his elbows, Lance watched as Rieva changed into her wolf, pining Matt down and snarling at him. Changing back to his human form, Matt looked a little sheepish as he cranes his neck to see Lance

“You good man?”

“Yep. You?”

“Yep. Tie?”

“Yep”

“Okay. Babe, you can get off me now”

Rieva turned back, Keith looking away from where she and Matt were. Both too naked and too casual about the whole thing

“Idiot. What have I told you about you wolf?!”

Matt whined pathetically

“I didn’t mean too”

“I don’t care. You need to control yourself”

“I was having fun. We were having fun, right, Lance?”

Lance flopped back, hand coming up to shield his eyes

“Sorry, you’re own your own with this one. I don’t like fighting at the best of times. Between you and Keith I’ve learned so many new moves I don’t think I wanted to learn. I like peace and not exercising... ugh... I think I’m dead”

“Dude, you’re already dead”

“Fair... I’m going to take a bath”

Keith watched Lance climb to his feet. His boyfriend swaying a little before limping over to him. Something inside Keith coiled away in fear of never having seen Lance like this. His heart was racing from raw power of the fight

“I won’t touch you, there’s blood and that’s dangerous. Can I have my glasses and my jacket?”

“Oh... sure... do you need help getting to the house?”

“Nah. You say and enjoy the sun”

Keith didn’t know if Lance had seen the fear in him, but he hoped he hadn’t. The fight had stirred up other emotions in him, other than his fear over Lance’s mental health. Taking a deep breath, he couldn’t quite catch it. Emotions over Adam too strong to stomp down. The fight has been so fast. The grass torn up from the force behind each twist and move. Adam never would have stood a chance... but if Adam had survived the turn why couldn’t he fight back? How had Shiro survived with simply getting scarred?

“Keith?”

Shiro’s voice was gentle, his brother asking if he was okay in just the use of his name

“I’m heading back up to the house”

*

Keith could hear Blue yowling as the sat himself down on the stairs. Burying his face in his hands, he fought to control his breathing. He hasn’t pushed Shiro on the death of Adam. He hadn’t pushed him and now all these questions wouldn’t shut up. Blue sounded worried, her cries getting louder and louder, Keith feeling he needed to find her, even if it was just to make himself feel better for doing something. Heading upstairs, Keith followed Blue’s unhappy cries to Lance’s bathroom door. Scratching on the wood, the feline was begging her human master to be let in, Keith crouching down to scoop her up where she immediately bit his hand

“You don’t want to go in there. There’s water in there”

Blue protested hard, Keith opening the door and the cat immediately jumping from his arms to the tiled floor

“Keith?”

“Sorry, Blue wanted in”

“I heard... Hey, can you come in here for a moment?”

It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to be.

Slipping into the bathroom, Keith closed the door behind him. Blue was standing with her paws on the edge of the bath, Lance buried in a mound of bubbles. Keith wasn’t sure if he was supposed to look at his boyfriend or not

“What’s up?”

“Can we talk?”

“Aren’t we already?”

Lance huffed, turning his head towards him. The vampire sporting a rather impressive black eye, Keith’s breath catching at the sight

“It doesn’t hurt. Just... I need to... I need to talk to you and I’m worried”

Keith swallowed, nodding before heading over to sit on the toilet on lid

“What is it?”

“I... I want to apologise for upsetting you”

“You...”

“I did. I did and I know I did. You’ve been worried about me since this morning, but I still went ahead and fought with Matt, like I didn’t respect your feelings. I kind of want... I want to explain things to you”

Keith shook his head

“You don’t have to”

“I do. I do because you’re important to me. What you saw today, that was ego. Matt losing control, me losing control. That was ego. Last night I was pretty upset at the situation. About everything. Me. Us. This body. While you were getting dressed I was gathering up my bravery to tell him. You know that drive. How you train yourself until you feel satisfied and you hurt in a good way... feeding my ego is kind of like that need. It’s not but it is. My ego and his would kept clashing, so I told myself that if he suggested it, I’d agree. What I didn’t think about was you... and I feel like a douche for it. I know I scared you... I scared me when I saw my face... and I’m... I’m sorry”

Keith blinked half a dozen times. Feeling mad at Lance for not talking to him ahead of time. He had scared him. And he’d been scared for him. He’d thought his heart was going to stop when Matt changed shape. Lance was prepared for it, and he wasn’t

“Why couldn’t you talk to me?”

“We kind of...”

“You didn’t make the effort before deciding everything yourself”

“Keith...”

“No. You let yourself be hurt knowing it’d hurt you more than physically!”

Fuck. Fuck. He didn’t want to snap, but he couldn’t get the right words out

“I’m sorry”

“I was worried about you and now you have other friends here to talk to instead”

That’s not what he wanted to say. He wanted to question why there couldn’t have been another way. Lance didn’t need to train with other people when he had him

[loveafterthefact]

Love After the Fact Chapter 57: Wasting Time with a New Friend

Lotor makes some new friends. Together, they discover that word of Lance and Keith's union has reached video game developers in the worst, best way.

Featuring Leakira in the role of comic relief (Not to offend Leakira fans, this is meant to be a fun, happy place. I just thought it might be funny little detail) XD

First  Previous  Next

Lotor finds them sleeping in a hallway. A much-needed distraction.

More specifically, it’s an adolescent Olkari with orange feelers, dressed in green and white garb stained with red dust. They’re incredibly small, even for a smaller species. Pretty adorable, like a wolf cub.

So obviously he nudges them with his foot.

“Can I help you?” the kit growls, amber eyes glaring up at him.

“You’re sleeping in a hallway.”

“And? What’s your point?”

“... You know what? I’m not really sure.”

With a groan, the kit sits up, tugging on their feelers. “So what are you up to, Mr. Prince?”

“Oh not much. Wandering around, looking for trouble.” He’s actually looking for a distraction, but that’s almost the same thing as trouble.

“Trouble, huh?” The Olkari smirks. “I’m Pidge. Lance’s resident tech genius and vent crawler- I mean spy.”

“Ah-haha, I see. You’re one of his ‘associates’.” Lotor grins, helps Pidge to their feet.

“Yes. Working for Lance usually involves some level of trouble. What are the princes up to today, anyway?”

“Lance is with Allura. She’s having a hard morning. Keith is with Thace, our emergency medic and reproductive specialist.”

“Oh, really? Making sure his junk works?”

“That’s the idea. Why?”

“It’d be awesome to have some dirt on Keith. He’s just so perfect.” Pidge skips down the hallway, a curious prince following behind them. “The worst thing he’s done is drink a bit too much, find his happy place at a party, and get really snuggly with Lance.”

Following Pidge into what should have been an old, empty storeroom, Lotor’s eyes widen in surprise. The typically ignored room is set up with monitors and a work table covered with Balmeran crystals and a few other tools.

“Where did you get some of these tools?” he asks, eyeing a choice laser of Galra design.

“I crawled through the tunnels underneath the actual labs and stole them. I’m welcome in the labs, of course. I just don’t want to share my work with them. The field of science is rife with thieves.”

“You found the tunnels already?” Lotor stares. There are tunnels all under the mountain, his ancestors making the massive peak into an insect hive. There are escape tunnels and hidden caches and underground pools and even a forge made of volcanic glass that he discovered as a small boy.

He still likes to go down there on the rare occasion he can find the time. Someday, he’ll take his children down there, and tell them all about the stories carved into the ancient walls.

“Yep! Anyway, let’s see if I can hack into Thace’s equipment. And by that I mean give me like, thirty ticks because I can definitely do it.” While Pidge types away on their computer, Lotor sits himself on the floor, eyeing a faint square cut into the stone. Most people don’t notice, don’t know to look for the fine edges carved into the floor. “Ooh… Interesting.”

“What’s interesting?” Lotor asks. “Is Keith okay?”

“You really care for him, don’t you?” Amber eyes smile at him, intuitive.

“Of course I do! He’s my cousin! And my friend!” And he has more than his fair share of health problems. Lotor himself was not a healthy kit, so he understands the worries that his cousin might have.

“Aw-w. You’re just a big ol’ sweetheart, aren’t ya?” Pidge turns back to their computer. “What’s interesting is that Keith is… surprisingly healthy. His weight and body mass index are good… Thace is optimistic about a successful pregnancy.”

“Why is that interesting?” Lotor scratches his head, frowning a little.

“Because our boys requested contraceptives, probably due to health concerns.”

“Miscarriage risks are higher for him. That’s partially due to his sex, and partially due to his condition. Do you think they’ll use contraceptives?”

“Pfft. No. They’re young, they’re stupid, and they both want pups. I doubt Lance can keep it in his pants.”

“What about Keith?”

“He’s shy.” Pidge shrugs like that explains everything. It kind of does. Keith’s priorities are probably more of the cuddling variety than the ‘aggressive hugging’ variety. “Can I have some of your blood?”

“Hm? Uh… How much blood?”

“I dunno. A few vials? Maybe I’ll swab your cheek too? It might help with my experiments.”

“And what might those be?”

“I’m trying to invent Altean-friendly prosthetics. It’s not going well. Alteans are stupid inside and out.” Pidge gathers their tools to stick him, and Lotor stares. This tiny little Olkari is far more than they appear. “Who do you think will kill Lance for getting Keith pregnant? Krolia or Shiro?”

But they're young, still playful and carefree.

“Hm… My money’s on Krolia. Or the creepy friend.”

“Adam? Oh, he’s softer than he looks. More likely he’ll live vicariously through their children and terrorize anyone who tries to mess with them.” Pidge sticks a swab in his cheek as they fill a second vial with his blood. “Your fangs are adorable.”

“Thanks?” Lotor regards them. “So you do science, you do people… What don’t you do?”

“Relationships.” Pidge cleans the crook of his arm, bandaging the spot where they bled him. “And genders. Those are for more primitive individuals.”

Lotor laughs. “More highly evolved, are you?”

“Exactly. Unlike Alteans. Stupid, scaley assholes with stupid, cranky cells.”

“I don’t get it. What exactly is the problem?” Lotor peers over Pidge’s shoulder as they examine his cells under their microscope.

“Not sure, but Alteans have some odd properties that make their biology incompatible with metal, coral, bone, wood, and other prosthetic materials. When used, the Altean’s cells refuse to accept the forgein material, even if it’s biocompatible. Hence, their cells are stupid.”

“So it would seem. How are my cells?”

“Hm… I'll have to run some of my own, secret tests. I may try to culture your skin cells to figure out how it all works.”

“Have at it. Can I interest you in a secret?”

“Always!” The young Olkari’s eyes shine, eager to learn. To know. A person after his own heart.

“Most of Altea’s technology is rediscovered. Thousands of decaphoebs ago, there was what’s known as The Forgetting. The Altean’s powers were quite suddenly drastically altered, and their society descended into chaos. Much of their technology was lost, then rediscovered within the last few milophoebs.”

“No fucking way!”

“Way. This includes their lauded Teludav technology.”

“Those fakers! How have I not heard of this?”

“I know! It’s their best kept secret. Also, beneath Mount Sil’brana is a petrified forest.”

“Oh, that’s so cool!” Pidge makes a note on their datapad. “I wonder… I don’t know if I could interface with that or not. Probably not, since it’s no longer organic, but then again perhaps I could reach the echo?”

“Echo?”

“All organic life leaves behind an echo. Sometimes, I can reach that echo. I’d be great at solving murders!”

“Well, if ever I am murdered, do find my killer. I’m sure my wife would appreciate it.”

“Unless she did the murdering,” Pidge snickers.

“Some days, it wouldn’t surprise me at all. She’d say it’s my fault, but…”

“Pregnancy.”

“Yeah. How do you think Keith will be when he gets pregnant?”

“He’s relatively mild-mannered as long as Lance keeps him happy, so either unbelievably psychotic or unbearably sweet.”

“He is really sweet. I honestly didn’t expect it when he first arrived. Lance is a little… He’s reserved, but also high-strung at the same time?”

“He definitely can be. But he can also be very playful. Those two are either quiet and reserved together, or cutting up and goofing off together. But Lance is the high-strung one, for sure. Keith just wants to know whose head to crack open. Lance wants to know every single little detail about everything.”

“So he’s a control freak.”

“Little bit, yeah. We’ve all got our thing.” Pidge smiles. “But Lance gave me a home when mine was lost. He had no reason to do that. He didn’t know what I was capable of.”

“I had assumed you were on Altea for research?” Lotor's curious, but won't push.

“No. Though I do enjoy research. For example, I have the new Phantasm Killbot game. I just got to the first visual novel part where they introduce the characters and their little side plots and all. Wanna help me out? For research?” The Olkari holds up a controller.

“Yeah alright. Anything for research.” Lotor takes the controller, waits for the character introduction screen. He’s played this game before. “Player one… Leandro.”

“Player Two… Akira.”

The screen loads.

“Uh… That’s… Interesting. Is that- Does that look like Lance to you?” It really does, at least to Lotor. The only difference is that ‘Leandro’ has brown hair and his scales are a very pale blue.

“Wow, that’s weird. Okay. Let’s see where this goes- Oh my fuck, this is going to be good.”

Lotor can’t help but agree, staring at a screen of a smirking ‘Leandro’ lounging with a wide-eyed Galra presumably named ‘Akira’. The Galra has purple hair and golden irises, dressed in what might loosely be referred to as clothing.

It’s exceptionally weird, even weirder given that Akira is the name of Keith’s father, Lotor’s uncle.

“I cannot wait to tell my cousin about this,” Lotor breathes, coming to the realization of exactly what’s before him.

“Yes! We have to! Right now!” Pidge stands, tugs on his arm.

“Well, let’s not be too hasty.” Lotor stares at the screen, that mischievous part of his brain clicking and whirring. “I mean, we have to do our research, right?”

“You know…” Pidge taps their chin. “You might be onto something.”

“I mean it’s just courtesy, right? Making sure we can give them all the information we possibly can?”

“You’re absolutely right. Okay, so you get first choice for dialogue and it looks like Not-Keith has a prompt for us.”

“Oh, gods. Okay, I am so sorry, Keith… Let’s see, here.”

…

Akira: We can’t keep meeting like this. What if people find out?

Leandro: I’m a prince, my sweet. I do what I want.

Akira: But you could be killed!

Leandro: You’re worth dying for.

Leandro: It’s my fault, anyway. I just couldn’t resist you.

Akira: It’s not your fault. I let you have me.

Leandro: You should let me have you again.

Akira: Please… I need it…

*Kiss Passionately*

Leandro: Oh, my sweet. You’re in season!

Akira: Make love to me, and I will give you a son.

…

“I feel dirty,” Lotor mutters. “This is what’s passing for entertainment right now?”

“It’s so bad! I love it!” Pidge snickers.

“Lance is going to be mortified.”

“No, he won’t.” The two new friends turn to see Adam leaning in the doorway, smirking.

“And why, pray tell, is that?” Lotor asks, one eyebrow almost reaching his hairline.

“Lance is bigger than that. He’ll be filled with a sense of… well-being.”

“Oh, gross! Adam!” Pidge chucks a wrench at the Altean’s head, the trio laughing as he dodges, then retrieves it for them. “I don’t want to hear about my friend’s dick!”

“Am I wrong?”

“No, and I hate it.” Pidge drags Adam to the floor, sits in his lap. “Okay, you can help us. What should Leandro say next? ‘A daughter would be fine’ or ‘Honor me with the gift of your flesh’?”

“Who the quiznak wrote this?” Adam mutters. “And we want ‘Honor me with the gift of your flesh.’”

“I don’t know, but I will find out. And kill them,” Lotor mutters.

“Easy on the instincts, Mr. Prince.” Pidge continues to the next cut scene.

“It’s nothing to do with instincts! I just hate that I had to read that!” Lotor sighs. “At least that cut scene is over. Now we have… Brothers, Sven and Kuron? Lots of new characters for this one.”

Adam blinks, gaping at the screen. “What. The fuck-”

...

Allura sighs, running a hand through her loose curls. It's been a rough morning, one that doesn't promise to get easier. A howling chorus of laughter cuts through her stressed thoughts. Cracking open a storeroom, she spies her husband, Adam, and Pidge laughing away at a video game.

"I wOuLd DiE fOr AkIrA," Pidge mocks, cackling.

"Leandro, please!" Lotor laughs, cutting through a false simper as he pretends to swoon. "I couldn't live without you!"

"That's such a toxic sentiment, honestly." Adam shakes his head, but his eyes are glittering bright.

Shaking her head, Allura leans in the doorway, settling a hand on her slightly protruding stomach. Life is never perfect, not for anyone. But seeing her husband playing around and having fun with their friends -his new friends- suggests that everything might still turn out alright. Or at least, not as awful as it sometimes seems.

[keithxhappiness]

Voltron Season 7 In-Depth Review *SPOILERS INCLUDED*

I can't believe Pidge and Lotor made out in the Green Lion.

JK. But seriously, spoilers ahead, stay away if you haven't watched the season yet! Then, come back, and read my thoughts on it :)

1. Let's start by discussing the beautiful Keith. With his beautiful scar, and his beautiful "flippity" hair. I watched the first two episodes separately from the rest of the season, and I am so happy to see how far he's come. Certainly, season 6 was much more Keith-centric, and it seems that he's more or less completed his maturation then. This season was a chance to display his leadership skills and the product of that maturation. Although, of course, he did have lapses in his patience, where he lost control of his temper, in that space-madness episode, but what can you do? Space madness gets everyone, even Shiro probably. Anyhow, I almost shed a tear when he told his mom he loved her, and I am so so so glad that their relationship was designed to be one filled with optimism and hope, in place of resentment, guilt or regret -- which was another direction the writers could have gone. And it brings a smile to my face knowing that he was reunited with her again at the end of the season, and that their promises to each other were fulfilled. So, overall, I'm just happy that he's happy. I really only ship Keith with happiness and this season that ship became canon :) Also, can we start calling Keith "The One With the Flippity Hair"? What does flippity even mean? :') I love it.

2. Kosmo. Yorak. Whatever you guys want to call him. The space wolf. First off, I can't get over the fact that Keith thinks the wolf will tell him his name when he's ready. Keith, the wolf can't speak English! HE CAN'T SPEAK AT ALL FOR THAT MATTER, BABE. Kosmo is a bit cliche, but it's not bad. I really did like "Yorak", as given to him by the fandom. So much that I actually started referring to him as Yorak in my head. BUT, names aside, Kosmo was A BEAST this season. I was just thinking how he didn't serve much of a purpose the previous season except to give Keith a canine companion, but this season, he was fucking awesome. He saved their lives a BUNCH of times. Not to mention, the fight with that druid would have ended much sooner had it not been for Kosmo's teleportation abilities. Seriously, his teleportation was so so useful this season. Did you see how quickly Keith and Pidge got through that cruiser? Damn. Not only does the space wolf look cool, sound adorable, but he was an amazing addition this season. Keith and Kosmo does have a nice ring to it :)

3. Matt's HAIR. IS. SO. HOT. Every time they age up a character, they become a quadrillion times hotter. Who knew 3 deca-phoebs could do so much. If Keith ages up another 3 deca-phoebs by the end of the show, the universe may just implode from the heat.

4. OK, um, what's next? HMM...how about ships. I know Voltron is not too focused on romantic sub-plots. The one romance that actually took place went up in fiery flames very quickly. Personally, I like romantic subplots, whether in books, movies, tv shows. For example, I loved all the little romances in Avatar, and even though my ship never became canon (rip Zutara), I was happy to see everyone with someone. Of course, I hate it when they take up too much story space, but I think a sprinkle of romance on top of the adventure, drama, humor, and mystery can make a story more delicious. That was a weird metaphor. Anyhow, it appears to me that the show is pushing Allura and Lance as the main couple. This season showed us sure evidence that Allura reciprocates his feelings, and that his feelings are still there. You know why? Because their cheeks were animated red. When an animated character blushes around another animated character, they're basically canon. But there is still another potential ship...and no not Romelle and Hunk (although I'm into that)...

5. Acxa. What's her deal, you guys? What exactly is her connection to Keith? Is the show making her his love interest? But, how, there's no time! I mean, it only took a season to bring Lotor and Allura together, but still. I've read theories that she is related to Keith, seeing as she is also half-Galra. This is an interesting theory, and I did believe it for a while before this season. I mean, they both have pointy chins. If they are in fact related (e.g., half-siblings), they'd have to be connected through Krolia. However, Krolia and Acxa were together in the same place with Keith and Krolia showed NO indication of recognizing Acxa, or being unsettled by her presence. If Krolia was Acxa's mother, but didn't feel it was the right time to tell Keith, there'd at least be a shot of her face looking disconcerted or unsure around Acxa right? Or, some kind of awkward Krolia-Acxa interaction. I don't know, the siblings theory just doesn't hold up anymore after this season. So, that leaves the romance theory. Personally, I'm into that too. Acxa and Keith would make a good couple, connected by their Galra heritage, which conflicts with their own desire for peace. Both having to forge their own paths, Zuko-style, and both having been the leaders of their respective group. I though their fight with the other generals was really awesome (and the banter kinda cute), and I really believe Acxa's sorry for what she did. Also, we did see her at the end of the season watching Keith and Krolia. Yeah, I think a Keith-Acxa relationship is quite likely, especially now that Keith is at the peak of his maturation as an individual (evidenced by his ability to comfort Hunk in his own time of loneliness).

6. Next topic: LOTOR. I know Lotor wasn't in this season...like at all...and that still makes me sad. Keith said he was dead, and I'm wondering if we should start believing that to be true. I had hoped he could still be redeemed in some way, or at least return as a foe for the paladdins, but it seems that he's just as a gone as Zarkon. But Lotor is a million times more interesting than Sendak as a villain. I really didn't like Sendak as the villain this season. He's so cliche...with his evil laugh, and his giant weaponized arm. It's hard to take him seriously when there seems to be no actual motivation behind his actions except that he likes to be powerful by crushing other planets. Lotor had a backstory, and good intentions, despite the nefarious means he was using to achieve them. Lotor had a goal...to see Atlea restored. His goal may have been perverted, but still, we could sympathize with him, and some of us are still on his side. I really think it was mistake to throw Lotor away in favor of Sendak. But at least, Keith sliced Sendak open at the end of the season and we won't be seeing him again. The real enemy this season I think was hinted at at the end of the episode which brings me to the next point...

7. THE ALTEAN POD. WHAT. WHAT. WHAT. We knew the Altean colony had disappeared. The culprit seems pretty likely to me. Haggar. The motivation, on the other hand, eludes me. What reason would Haggar have to try to kill the paladdins? Is she mad at them for killing her son, maybe? They technically didn't kill Lotor...just left him, but as Keith said, he did choose his own path. And Honerva seems to have regained her rational mind, seems hard to believe that she has resorted to blind vengeance. No, I do hope her motivations are slightly more complex than revenge. But the ending did give us an indication of what the next season will be focused on...the Alteans...while still being a REALLY GOOD ENDING...which brings me to...

8. This ending was GREAT. For a second, I started to hyperventilate because I really thought all the paladdins had been killed off, and that the GG pilots & Veronica would be replacing them, but thankfully, the writers are NOT THAT merciless. I don't know if I could handle even one of their deaths, much less ALL OF THEM AT ONCE. OMG. I am freaking out just thinking about it! No, instead, we had beautiful reunions between all the paladdins and their families, as well as some of their former allies. Earth is safe, everyone is home, and Shiro has a new arm. Things wrapped up pretty happily this season, which I really like. It makes the wait for the final season much more bearable, and peaceful. If you believe that fictional characters continue to live on after you close a book, or turn off the screen (which I do), then I'm happy to know that they're together, and they're living in relative peace (with a little bit of unsettling mystery yet to be resolved) but no immediate threat anymore.

9. I enjoyed all the new characters this season! Veronica was a bad-ass, and I'll be really curious to see a Keith-James confrontation in the next season, I could FEEL the tension between them this season, but I'm glad they both held their tongues in order to work together.  Anyway, Voltron is back at it again with a diverse set of pilots, and there wasn't a lot of opportunity for them to shine (a problem that any show with a large cast has), they did sparkle in their own way. I'm excited to see a bit more of them. Still, I can't help but ask the question:

10. WHY ARE THERE ONLY 13 EPISODES LEFT? I understand that the show must have an end. Every good show has a solid ending, planned from the beginning. They shouldn't keep churning out episodes just because people are continuing to consume them. But I still think ending it now, in only one more season, is a mistake. There is still so much of the world that I feel needs to be explored, and that can be done more adequately with at least 3 more seasons. They can continue to age up the characters, and delve deeper into the NEW characters. 13 episodes is just NOT enough time to do that. It's not! The universe is still in shambles. Earth needs to be completely rebuilt! Of course, a graphic novel series continuation is a viable solution to this, as is being done with Avatar, but animation is just so much better. I'll be really sad to see the show end, so please, Voltron creators, take your time with its release, but at least, even if this creation is ending, those same people will continue to create new stories, and I'll be totally on-board for whatever the animators work on next. Hopefully, it's 2D animation though, cause I gotta say, I am really not into the 3D animation taking over cartoons these days. That is one technological upgrade we could do without.

Overall, awesome season, awesome characters, awesome animation and fight sequences, especially action-packed, and the one word I think I'd use to describe it: REFRESHING. The new environment, and new situations.

Also, Keith is still very hot. That is all.

PEACE OUT, FOLKS.

[reminiscingdreamer]

Uninvited Guest

Rating: G

Pairings: None

Warnings: None

Summary: The most interesting stories about Glasycus Mountain, said to be the gateway between Earth and the Abyss, were the ones about the black dragon that guards it. There was no end to the people stupid enough to try to find Shiro and Keith would do anything to protect him and help hide his existence.One evening, 

Keith comes home to someone already inside.

Part of the Tales From the Odvirkast Mountains series

You can also read it on AO3

The Mountains of Odvirkast averaged twenty-two thousand feet tall and spanned about three thousand miles long. It was freezing during winter but flourished come spring. It was known as Horizon’s End where the planes of the Earth and the planes of the sky met, beyond which was a dark void of nothingness that dropped forever; the end of the world.

The tallest mountain, Glasycus, which quietly loomed thirty thousand feet over the world, was considered the gateway between Earth and the Abyss, and the Üntēr Tunnel, which was supposedly located somewhere on the mountain, the connecting keyhole.

But the most interesting of the stories was the guardian of Glasycus. Somewhere in its mysterious heights dwelled a magnificent black dragon with scales of starlight and wings of night. It saved the stranded and the dying who wandered astray its mountains and guided the lost and the foolish back home. It controlled the weather, coaxing rain from clouds and commanded furious blizzards. It protected the lands and the inhabitants around it and punished anyone who harmed them.

Keith heard the stories surrounding the mountain, but he knew the facts. For instance, he knew the euphentasias were the most beautiful during early spring but smelled sweetest during late winter when they went from shimmering crystalline rainbow to blank white. He knew gluker birds were just as delicious seasoned with lemongrass as they were annoying to wake up to. He knew ringt berries tasted awful but made wonderful headache relievers when combined with pine, and he knew there was an outcropping of rock overlooking the river that made an excellent hunting spot. But most importantly, he knew Shiro.

Shiro was intelligent and calm in that careful sort of way that allowed him to consider more than the immediate effects of certain actions or consequences before deciding on a course that should be taken. But it was also the sort of intelligence that didn’t prevent him from almost getting stuck in a narrow chasm to obtain some medicine and really Keith, it was fine, he’s okay.

Shiro would do anything to protect what he cared about and stood for and in that, he was deeply fierce and sometimes even strict. Still, he was disposed to bouts of silliness which included holding Keith over a large mud pit and pretending to contemplate whether to dump him in or not after a bit of impulsiveness involving a lērus that nearly dislocated his shoulder. He decided not to. He flung him in anyway.

He was strong in a way that was as indomitable as the mountains and as all-encompassing as the sky. If he wanted, he could probably lift off the entire peak of Odvirkast, but it was the strength of his heart that defined him. It was what found Keith and it was what he stayed for. But it was these same things that hurt Shiro the most when a freak blizzard and the resulting avalanche wiped out an entire village overnight. He didn’t sleep the entire winter after that patrolling the land.

Shiro provided things for Keith that he couldn’t easily get and Keith helped make life a little less lonely for him. Shiro was Keith’s family and Keith was his. He was also a great, big trumping dragon.

It was that last part that was the most troubling.

Though Shiro was well-known as the Guardian of Glasycus, Keeper of the Odvirkast Mountains, Protector of Caeris and whatever else had you, he remained in people’s stories and not as a fact for the reason that no one was actually sure he existed.

While Shiro helped when he was needed, he did so magically from a distance and those that were so close to death or unconsciousness that they needed his direct intervention woke up in the nearest safe haven never certain whether they hallucinated him or not.

Shiro was strangely reticent when it came to his reasons for that but from what Keith could piece together, he thought he understood.

As long as he remained a myth, no one would fight for his “favor”.

No one would seriously try to hunt him.

Still, that didn’t stop the overabundance of people stupid enough to try to climb Glasycus to confirm Shiro’s existence (Keith ignored the fact that he had been one of them but by then, he’d known about Shiro).

Keith saw it as his duty to turn those people, and anyone else who was uncomfortably close to the area they lived in, away. Besides, Glasycus was his home. Next to Shiro, he knew its dangers better than anyone and he didn’t want people with no respect for his home to waltz in.

Which was why it was so surprising when one evening, as Keith was returning with Red from an excursion for supplies, there’s light spilling from his windows and smoke coming from the chimney.

Red had pulled her lips up to reveal one large pearly-white canine, throat rumbling with the beginnings of a growl, but Keith put a hand on her side and a finger to his lips and she quieted.

He set down his and Red’s bags and they crept towards the house with Red slipping, deft and noiseless for her size, from his side to circle back to the yard where the garden was (Shiro thought it’d be a good way for him to learn attentiveness).

When he reached the porch, he pressed himself flat against the wall and peeked through one of the windows.

The fireplace was indeed roaring and in front of it sat a small figure in his chair with what looked like a knife.

Keith clenched his sword harder and gritted his teeth, irked.

They sure were making themselves at home while waiting to kill him.

For a second, the thought that the Caeris Royal Guard had sent someone to find and retrieve him flickered through his mind, but he quickly shot it down. No, he’d made it explicitly clear that he’d cut ties with them already and it’s been years. Even if they did find out he lived here, they wouldn’t risk sending someone up Glasycus just for him whatever he did and the best knight they had or not.

So who the inferno was intruding his cabin?

Keith made his way to the door and studied the wood.

The hinges of the door squeaked since he lived alone and it was so unlikely anyone would find his house and break in, something which he was going to fix after he was done with the intruder, but that also meant there was no silent way to enter.

So he sucked in a breath, got ready, and with one smooth motion, shoved open the door and charged with a yell, sword flashing as he slashed through the chair.

There was a high-pitched yelp and a rustling sound as the figure managed to dart away in time seconds before a ball of light hit him in the face.

With a cry, Keith squeezed his eyes closed, trying to rid of the excess light blinding him, but he held his sword up defensively, preparing for another attack.

A magic-user?

“Hey! What’s the big id—WHOA!”

The resulting noise of impact and low growl told Keith that Red had successfully managed to sneak in and pin the trespasser to the floor.

“Good job, Red,” Keith praised as he blinked, finally recovering his vision enough to make out the blurry shapes of Red standing over…

Keith rubbed his eyes and drew closer, squinting as he knelt over the fuzzy green mass trapped underneath one of Red’s enormous paws and ran his fingers through it, disbelieving at the feel of long, smooth softness on his skin.

There was an exasperated sigh before an irritated voice informed him, “Yes, those are feathers. You’re not seeing things.”

Keith’s attention snapped up to the intruder’s face, neck craned to meet his eyes and by now, his sight had fully resolved itself to be able to make out the dirty look written on the boy’s features.

Keith snorted and decided he didn’t really care that there was somehow an Aviaer all the way out here and instead asked, “What’re you doing in my house?”

“I’ll answer whatever you want but first, tell your lion-wolf thing to get off of me. My bones aren’t exactly strong y’know,” the boy said, moving his arms pointedly where his wings grew underneath them as best he could beneath Red’s heavy feet.

“I don’t know if I trust you not to use magic on me,” Keith said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously to which the kid rolled his own.

“You don’t get a lot of visitors here, do you?” he asked blandly. “What would using my magic on you do for me anyway? Kill you and steal your shack so I could live the rest of my life here in your place? No thanks.”

Despite himself, Keith couldn’t help but feel defensive over his house. He knew it was kind of shabby but it was his. “There are resources here.”

“I’d have stolen them and left long ago. Magic, oooo,” the kid countered, wiggling his fingers before shooting him a flat look that conveyed how unimpressed he was at him.

The kid’s attitude kind of annoyed him, but he guessed he had a point.

“Try anything and I’ll cut you apart,” Keith warned before standing up with his sword and nodding to Red to let up.

Red bared her own warning before doing so, moving over to sit on the kid’s other side across Keith, watching the boy’s every movement with alert eyes as he sat up.

He rubbed at his inner elbows before standing up, shaking out his wings and brushing off his sleeveless white woolen sweater.

He was rather short, coming up to about Keith’s shoulders. Maybe it had to do with the bird’s legs and the way they bended back at the knees before bending forward again.

“Thanks, I guess,” the kid said as he straightened out his glasses, which thankfully remained intact. He casted around the floor and located his knife and a carving, which Keith hadn’t noticed before, near the fireplace.

Oh. That must’ve what the knife he’d spotted through the window was for. He hadn’t seen what he was doing with it in the angle he peeked through.

The kid went over to pick up the knife, sheathing it in the scabbard on his hip, before picking up the carving as well and pocketing it in his trousers that went down to his knees. He gestured at the ruined chair. “Guess you’re the attack first, ask later kind of guy, huh?”

“Only when there are random people making themselves at home here,” Keith shot back, sheathing his own weapon and crossing his arms.

The kid nodded. “Okay, fair enough.”

“So, what’re you doing in my house?” Keith asked again. “Kind of far from where you live, aren’t you?”

Aviaers lived mostly in the northernmost part of the Odvirkast and they don’t normally venture outside of there, let alone this far south.

“I’m just traveling through, I guess,” the kid replied, sitting down on the chair again despite its missing back. “The sun was setting and I saw your house. I knocked and no one answered. I tried the door and it wasn’t locked, so I thought why wait around outside in the cold when I could wait inside? I figured someone’d be back soon anyway and stuck around hoping to ask if I could stay the night. I really didn’t think they’d skip the ‘who are you?’ and go right into the ‘I’ll kill you’.”

“I attacked out of defense,” Keith gritted out.

“Whatever,” the kid said flippantly, sounding like he really didn’t actually care that he was nearly sliced in half and then trapped under a four-hundred and fifty pound lērus. “So can I stay here for the night?”

Keith sighed. It was kind of annoying, but it didn’t exactly feel right to kick him out. “Alright, fine. But you’d better be gone by morning.”

“Great! Looking forward to dinner then!”

Before Keith could do much more than scowl and open his mouth to retort, a cold wind buffeted through the still-open door and tussled with the fire, making it dance wildly, followed by a hefty thud.

Keith froze, staring wide-eyed at the boy, who stared right back at him with equally wide eyes.

“What was that?” he asked.

“Keith?”

Keith didn’t waste any time. He scrambled to the door and slammed it shut just as the boy jumped out of the chair, looking for all the world like he was shocked out of it.

There was a confused noise on the other side that sounded a bit hurt and it tugged at Keith’s heart.

“No, I’m sorry, Shiro. I’m not mad or anything. It’s uh… I’m kind of occupied,” he called through the door, never once leaving his plastered position against the exit or taking his gaze off the kid, who had collected himself from his surprise and was now standing in some kind of tense readiness, lips pursed and brows drawn down in determination. Keith didn’t like that look.

Red also sensed the change in demeanor in their uninvited guest and had stood up again, warily tensing her muscles in preparation to pounce.

“Can you come back another time?” Keith continued, hoping against all hope that Shiro would say yes and quickly leave.

There was a pause.

“Are you sure? I thought I sensed a flash of magic coming back here and your supplies are outside.”

Shiro sounded genuinely worried for him and Keith couldn’t help the small smile from coming on his lips.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m coming around to getting those. You go get some rest. I’ll see you later,” he said firmly before switching gears and glaring at his overnight guest. Right after he made sure he left. He was really regretting agreeing to let him stay now.

“Alright. I’ll see you later.”

There was a whoosh that rattled the windows once more and the sound of flapping, which grew fainter and fainter the further away Shiro flew until silence was all that remained save the crackling in the fireplace.

The kid had yet to relax from his stance and if he didn’t, Keith and Red wouldn’t either.

They stared each other down.

“That was the dragon,” the kid stated, deadpan.

Keith curled his mouth in a stubborn glower. “No.”

“You’re lying!” the kid burst, surprising Keith at the force of it. He was suddenly full of fervent energy in the way his whole body shook, fists clenched at his sides as though in an effort to contain it all. His taloned feet dug into the floorboards and there was a gleam in his eyes that almost seemed feverish. “If that wasn’t the dragon, then what was it?”

“None of your business,” Keith sneered. “You’re in my house. I don’t have to answer your questions.”

The kid fell silent at that, expression unreadable, but after a tense while, he slowly unclenched his hands and relaxed his feet and frowned at him, still clearly angry but at least calmer now.

“Fine,” was all he said before he stalked to Keith’s bed of furs in the corner and nestling in them, back turned to the room.

It was kind of suspicious how fast he let it go but as long as he didn’t try anything, like running out after Shiro, he didn’t care. The kid was too young to be a hunter, but Keith never knew. He started young himself when he took up the blade. He didn’t want anyone who could potentially harm Shiro within even a mile.

Keith mouthed over to Red to watch the kid because he didn’t believe for a second he was going to sleep before heading outside to haul in the bags he left lying around on the cold, hard ground.

Once he got everything inside, he made a simple dinner of stew for himself and gave a rabbit for Red, not even bothering to ask their unwelcomed visitor if he wanted some. If he did, he’d stop sulking and ask for a bowl.

Keith spent the rest of the night organizing and putting away the supplies and maintaining his weapons before settling against the wall beside the bed with Red curled around him for warmth and going to sleep.

---

Keith woke the next morning to an empty bed but somehow, it didn’t alleviate the anxiety settling in his gut like oil.

Behind him, Red was stirring as well and she gave a yawn that showed off her impressive set of teeth. She shot Keith an inquisitive look and he got up, allowing her to stretch.

Keith left her to it and went over start the fire for breakfast but stiffened when he caught sight of the view through the window.

Wasting no time, he rushed to the door, slammed it open, and charged outside where Shiro was lying on the ground watching the sparks the kid, now sporting a dark green cloak, was throwing off his hands with a look of amazement and delight on his reptilian face.

“What’re you doing?” Keith demanded, stomping up to him.

“Good morning, Keith,” Shiro greeted as though there was nothing wrong with letting some strange kid see him when Shiro was avoiding just that for the past few decades.

“What good morning?” Keith snapped. “Whatever happened to not wanting people to see you?”

“Hey, it’s not Shiro’s fault,” the kid spoke up, undaunted against the brunt of Keith’s angry look when he directed it towards him instead, standing tall. “I remembered he said he detected my magic even though it was so small so I snuck out and did like a show and then Shiro turned up because he was worried something happened to you.”

“I know what I said about people sighting me, but Pidge here wanted to find me for a reason,” Shiro informed. “He’s looking for his brother and his father, who disappeared about a year ago in an expedition to this mountain.”

“Yeah, their names are Matt and Sam. Matt looks exactly like me.” Pidge turned cautiously hopeful eyes towards Keith. It was clear he wasn’t really expecting a positive answer but nonetheless he asked, “You haven’t happened to see him or an older man with gray hair and glasses, have you?”

Keith frowned, his anger all but disappearing. “No, sorry.”

Pidge crumpled in disappointment, head hanging. “Oh, that’s okay. This mountain’s huge anyway. And it’s been a year already so…”

Shiro nudged the tip of his tail against Pidge. “Hey, it’s too early to give up now. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for them. Keith too.”

Shiro glanced at him and Keith nodded.

Pidge gave them a wobbly smile and patted the tail. “Thanks, I really appreciate it.”

“In the meantime, I suppose you’ll need somewhere to stay,” Shiro drawled, looking at Keith square in the eye.

Keith stared at him in alarm. “What? No. You’re not suggesting—”

“Then where else is he going to stay?” Shiro inquired, arching his eye ridge.

Keith let out a sigh, his breath coming out in a rush of misty cloud. “Fine.” Turning to Pidge, he said, “But you’re not staying here for free.”

“Don’t worry, I’m more than capable of pulling my own weight,” Pidge assured. “Anyway, I don’t believe we’ve introduced ourselves to each other. I’m Pidge. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Keith,” he returned, taking the hand. “Nice to meet you too.”

They shook once firmly before letting go.

“Great. Now with that out of the way, how ‘bout some breakfast? I haven’t had dinner yesterday and I’m starving.” Pidge put a hand to his stomach in emphasis, which rumbled in agreement.

“Fine, but after this, you’re hunting for your own meals,” Keith allowed. He waved at Shiro as he left, heading back to the house.

“Bye, Shiro! It was really nice to finally meet you. I’ll see you around,” Pidge said with a wave of his own before following after Keith. “I’m an Aviaer! We were born to hunt!”

With a grin, Shiro took off from the clearing to find his own breakfast to start the day.

[squeakyleftsneaker]

Watching Voltron for the 1st Time: S2 Ep. 8-10

Hi so in this post I have a mild to moderate case of headloss in the extreme. Just a fair warning! I WILL lose it! MORE THAN ONCE. Anyway if you want the lore on why I'm watching this ancient show on a sketchy website in 2025, CLICK HERE! But if you don't want to read The Lore then the short version is that I am Afraid of middle schoolers. These episodes have been some of my favorites so far, and so this post is going to be A BIG ONE.

DUDE THIS SHIT RULES

Shiro said "I'm taking my emotional support Keith" and good for him

I keep singing "The Real Blade of Marmalade" in my head to the tune of Lady Marmalade by Christina Aguilera.

Keith and Shiro heart to hearts are the backbone of this show dawg. And Shiro's winged eyeliner. He really kills it there.

"Ulaz had a penchant for ignoring orders and following impulses" HM THAT SOUNDS LIKE KEITH and Shiro thinks so too because Shiro is immediately defending him. Based, true, etc.

I LOVE that Shiro has never seen this damn knife and for all he knows Keith stole it and Shiro is still willing to fucking blow it all up if he has to. For such a control freak he's got his limits

Wow Keith is SHORT I guess his alien parent we're still pretending is a surprise didn't impart the tall genes onto him

Shiro has an unshakeable faith in Keith which. I would like to see shaken for The Plot but also would love to see reinforced in a way that Saves The Plot.

Bye ofc his hallucinatory dream of deepest desires is Shiro. And ofc Shiro is deeply disturbed by this. AND THE FACT THAT HE CHANGES HIS MIND ABOUT DIGGING DEEP INTO THE KNIFE TO FOLLOW SHIRO AT THE END?

I'M. HIS DAD IS A FUCKIGN. COUNTRY BOY? A FUCKING YEEHAW ASS. WHAT

I'M .

THE FUCK YOU MEAN HIS DAD IS. A FUCKING ALIENFUCKER????? WHAT IS HAPPENING

KEITH'S MOM GOT THIS YEEHAWASS COWBOY PREGNANT AND I'M SUPPOSED TO BE OKAY WITH THAT???

KEITH'S UNNAMED MOTHER FUCKED THIS YEEHAW MAN???? WHAT IS HAPPENING DAWG

I LOST MY MIND SO HARD I POSTED ABOUT THIS I CAN'T COPE WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT KEITH IS THE PRODUCT OF A YEEHAWASS KENTUCKY FRIED ALIENFUCKER AND AN ALIEN AND HIS NAME IS FUCKING KEITH

I'm. Reeling. I've lost it.

Shiro murking everyone and starting a whole diplomatic incident to get to Keith is such Keith-coded behavior. Cute.

"It doesn't matter where I come from, I know who I am" Yeah you're Shiro's... whatever they are.

Lance getting a mousie smooch got me to crack a smile I am growing fond of him

Hunk and Keith are a fun duo when they stop making Hunk the butt of a cruel joke.

AND having Hunk be the one to figure out how to get the scaultrite? GOOD. LET HIM BE SMART FINALLY FFS

Keith getting betrayed by some mf he helped poor dawg

STOP KEITH IS DOING SOME BABY LEADER SHENANIGANS WITH HUNK???? CUTE. CUTEEEEEEEEE. SHIRO WOULD BE SO PROUD

Shiro with Slav is me with the writers of this show. My god. The headloss. Next level. I love. I also love Slav, who is almost at my level of compulsive ritual doing. I can match his freak I fear. Shiro absolutely losing it over this guy is like. Peak to me.

Lance's insecurity moment NAUR I SURE HOPE THEY EXPLORE THIS FURTHER AND DON'T JUST RESOLVE IT OFFSCREEN

Shiro finally feels like he's around my age and not aged 80 years by space jail and all it took was someone who matches my freak in disordered thought I COULD FIX HIM MAMA

There Is Still Some Factor Of Suckage

These trials were concocted in a way that I think was. Hamstrung. I think they could've done a little more! No shame in taking inspo from the many many tests for Jedi/force sensitives in Star Wars. The "You are not meant to go through that door" fighting is cool, but there could've been something transitioning from that better into the Acid Trip Dream

Really disappointing that Keith didn't get a magical girl transformation into an alien when his knife got a magical girl transformation.

HOW THE FUCK DID THEY THINK IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO NOT SHOW US THE FUCKING REVEAL TO THE TEAM THAT KEITH IS AN ALIEN

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM

THEY FIND OUT KEITH IS ALIENISH AND WE DON'T GET TO SEE IT???? THIS BIG PIVOTAL CHARACTER MOMENT WHERE WE CAN SEE CHARACTERS REACT IS GOING TO HAPPEN OFFSCREEN FOR W H Y

I'M SO

MY HEAD IS ON MARS FIRST THEY GET ME A HALF-ALIEN HALF-COWBOY NAMED KEITH CUNTRY NO LAST NAME AND NOW THEY DO ALL THE PIVOTAL CHARACTER RELATIONSHIP SHIFTS COMPLETELY OFFSCREEN?????? I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE DAWG I AM SEETHING

THIS IS LIKE THE ONLY SHOW I CAN THINK OF WHERE THIS WOULD HAPPEN

Would it kill these writers to stop making Hunk the butt of a cruel joke every 2 seconds it's really genuinely so grating

I'm sorry I'm still not over it tfym they had a key moment happen completely offscreen and just moved on from that

Are they

Stupid

What

This episode really felt like a nothingburger filler beyond giving us Shiro going insane with this annoying little predetermination creature, because it set up Lance feeling insecure and then we just have to. Pretend it's resolved? When it's not? Like him having one good shot isn't like... an actual resolution and. Why. Why are we. I might go insane if I keep thinking about this.

WHY DON'T WE GET MORE SHIRO AND PIDGE BONDING OVER KNOWING HER FAM

Speaking of did Keith know Pidge before? Presumably Shiro knew of Pidge because like. If your other 2 mission partners are related and have a smart lil family member they would talk about them. And Shiro seems like he'd defend his Emotional-Support-Stray-Cat-I-Mean-Keith at all costs so like.

ACTUALLY NVM THESE WRITERS WOULDN'T GIVE A FUCK

THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF THIS SHOW GO FUCKING CRAZY BECAUSE TFYM WE HAVE MORE THAN ONE WELL THOUGHT OUT EPISODE DETAILING THE DEGREE TO WHICH KEITH AND SHIRO RELY ON EACH OTHER AND THE WAYS THAT TRUST IS ESSENTIAL TO THEIR SURVIVAL BUT WE CAN'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE FUCKING HAPPENING ON SCREEN AND HUNK AND LANCE HAVE TO BEG FOR SCRAPS

MY HEAD IS ON MARS

NO

MY HEAD IS ON KERBEROS ATP IDK HOW I'M GOING TO MAKE IT THROUGH 8 SEASONS OF TS

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Of Fellinweres and Curses prt 7

*** Of Fellineweres and Curses. Prt 7

Premise: When a transportation spell sees Shiro, Matt, Sam and Allura go missing from the Magic Academy and not safely delivered at the Whitecliffe Tower, Keith, Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and Coran, all find themselves on the hunt for their missing friend.

Scene: Omega Lance. Necrotic Magic. Curses. Heats. Monsters and Mana appearances, except they’re all Magic users. Teacher Coran. Loner Keith. RIP Adam, I prefer working with Curtis. I should probably tag gore… yeah… let’s go with gore.

*

It was happening. It was happening and Lance was freaking the heck out. They’d found a village. They’d found a very creepy half destroyed village with very creepy vibes and too much stone. They’d also been walking in circles thanks to Coran… So had wasted a day and a half of walking which no one was impressed with. Now they were camping in said destroyed village and Lance was panicking. He felt as if from the moment they’d arrived they were being watched. The fact he only had one night left before the full moon was also freaking him out. He didn’t know this place. In his head they’d be somewhere safer by now, preferably reunited with everyone and back at academy, buuuuuut, the goddess weren’t showing any mercy, nor were they cutting him any slack.

Lance had no idea how he was going to survive tonight, the first night he’d shift, when he just had too much on his mind. Keith still wasn’t talking to him. He’d tried making conversation, only for Keith to walk off. Allura and Pidge were fast becoming even firmer friends… And Hunk… Out of them all, Hunk being hurt scared him the most. He didn’t really need to worry about Coran’s safety… but he kind of did seeing that if Coran lost to him, he’d never be able to keep Lance away from everyone else.

With a few hours left until sunset, Lance couldn’t sit still. The beast inside his head itching to shed its human skin. His tail, teeth, and ears already starting to grow as he found himself a good spot to skulk while the others practiced their magic. He could tell from how long he’d suppressed his beast that it wouldn’t be on its best behaviour. Neither of them wanted to be stuck with each other, yet thanks to the curse they had no choice. For the better part of the afternoon he’d tried to get a moment alone with Coran, but for some reason it was only once he’d found a good spot to hide that Coran finally seemed to notice him. Coming up to him, Lance had his jacket over his head to hide his ears, peaking through the gap between the edge of it and his knees

“Lance, what are you doing, my boy?”

For someone so knowledgeable, Coran was kind of an idiot. Either that or he was ignoring the vibe about the teen

“My ears are out”

“Your ears? Your ears are always showing my boy. What do you mean your ears are out?”

“Not those ones. My curse. It’s the first night I’ll shift. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten”

“Not at all, my boy. Just a little joke to cheer you up”

“I don’t want cheering up! I want not to turn!”

Thanks to his beast he was moody. He’d chewed his nails back to bleeding stumps but because of the curse they grew right back

“Ah, my boy… I think it’s time…”

“I’m not telling them”

“You don’t need…”

“Coran, I’m not telling them. Look at them. Pidge could end me in a heartbeat with her magic”

Allura was showing Pidge how to make a spinning wheel of “fireworks” in the air. Hunk laughing and clapping along, with Keith standing there all broody trying not to show how interested he was. They were all happy for the moment. The town might be deserted but there were a few crops still growing, meaning a proper meal for dinner

“Then what’s the game plan, my boy?”

“I don’t know. Normally the Garrison keeps the curse down… Can’t you do something?”

“I’m afraid not. Your curse can break just about any barrier”

“I can’t hurt them! You have to do something. I don’t know, put them to sleep or something. I can’t control it”

“Maybe it won’t be so bad?”

Scowling at Coran, Coran shrugged at him. Coran had had an adventurous life and had seen curses, but he’d never seen Lance at the height of his

“You have had a handle on it for some time now”

“That’s not me. You have no idea how mad it is about that. It’s already making me jumpy. I’ve got too much energy and I keep biting my nails… I feel like I need to run and the sun hasn’t even set yet. You… you have to keep them safe. Even if you have to stop me”

“You’ll be fine, my boy. I still think you should tell them”

He wasn’t going to get Coran off his back about that so easily

“Can I revisit the issue once I’ve changed? You know, see how bad it is first? Hopefully it’ll kill a few birds and wear itself out”

“Lance, you should tell them”

“If we’re not home by the next month’s moon then I will… I just want us to be focused on the others right now”

“Alright, my boy. I’ll do everything I can on my end. But I’m going to be very disappointed if the time comes and you haven’t told them”

“I know… I’m going to go off on my own for a bit before I transform… I’ll try to be back by morning. If I’m not I’m sure you can cover and say I got lost or something”

“Be safe. May the Goddesses bring you back”

“We’ll see”

*

“Ugh…”

Waking unhappily, Lance wrinkled his nose as he wiped at his mouth. He’d missed the first rays of morning, waking late with the tasted of dead old leather shoes in his mouth. The previous night was a blur, after screaming in pain at transforming, the stupid cat inside of him had run free.

“What the quiznak?!”

Finding a half chewed boot next to him, Lance knew better than to go around swearing but the boot wasn’t his and his cat had seemed to really enjoy chewing on it. Feeling something in his teeth, he expected it to be leather, instead it was the stub of a feather. He hated this. He hated this so much. Sometimes he had visions following “catting out”. Himself reflected in his preys eyes before he went in for the kill. Sometimes the curse didn’t show him anything, Lance confused as to how that worked seeing his cat loved its dead things.

Looking himself over, blood and scratches ran over his arms and legs, but thankfully he seemed okay. He’d shed his clothes before he’d shifted, not that helped Lance in any way. His cat had found itself a nice ledge with a not so nice long drop off the side

“Really? You do know if I die, you won’t be able to use this body anymore”

He got the feeling from his cat that it couldn’t care less

“I know you don’t like me, but I’m not the one who cursed us. You’re as stuck as I am with this… and now I’m going to be even later joining up with everyone. Was it really worth it?”

Lance’s tail flicked on its own. His ears forward, listening for any signs of potential threat

“Who the goddesses steals a boot? Where did you even find a boot? You better not have been making trouble. We’re not in a friendly place. If they catch us you can bet they’ll do everything they can to figure you out without killing us. You suck cat. Stop ruining my life!”

Gathering himself up, Lance hadn’t expected to start his day damn near scaling a cliff to escape. His cat not so smug as he figured his way down without falling. It’s paw marks clear as his beast couldn’t just be a normal cat. No. It had to be some big thing with a fair bit of weight behind it. He’d never really gotten out of his family what he looked like when he was a cat, and mostly when he saw visions of dead stuff he’d see his yellow eyes but not the rest of him. He didn’t even know what colour he was seeing cats only saw in blue, green, and yellow, tones. Once down and free from the cliff, bringing the boot with him simply because he didn’t know what else to do with it, his morning only got worse when his magic wouldn’t work properly meaning he had no chance of using a tracking spell. He’d have to do things the hard way and follow the paw prints back to his belongings. Coran was dead wrong. There was nothing good about this curse at all. Him and his newly acquired boot were in for a long walk.

By the time Lance found his clothes, cursed his cat again, got his tail under control and hid his ears under his hood, he found he was lost. Still carrying the chewed boot around, he nearly jumped out of his skin as he was tackled from behind by Hunk, narrowly avoiding falling fast first due to the impact

“Dude?! Where were you?! We’ve been looking for you since sunrise”

“I went for a leak and I may have been directionally challenged…”

It was better than telling Hunk he’d turned into a giant cat with apparently a shoe fetish

“Don’t do that to me again. What’s with the boot? Keith is missing a boot…”

Quickly cutting Hunk off, Lance pulled away from his best bud

“I found it out here. Something got to it”

“That’s so weird. What kind of a creature would steal a boot? You don’t think we need to be worried, do you?”

“Probably not, but we should head back to camp to make sure. Did you hear anything last night?”

“I think Coran put us all to sleep again. I can’t think of why”

“Maybe because Pidge is hellbent on finding her family and he thought she needed the rest?”

“I dunno, man. Anyway, you’re right. This place is so creepy. I feel like I’m being watched”

“You never know. Maybe the trees are alive?”

Wiggling his fingers at Hunk, Hunk paled on the spot

“Don’t, bud. I’m seriously creeped out here. Next you’ll tell me the rocks are too”

“That’s because they totally are. Here, I’m not getting blamed for the condition Keith’s boot’s in. He’d try and say I did it on purpose”

“Unless you turned into a giant slobbering dog, I don’t think he could blame you”

Hunk was sooo close. Too close. But then again

“That’s crazy. I’d at least be a giant cat and take advantage of those afternoon naps in warm places”

“You do like to be pampered…”

“Right?! Anyway, let’s get back to the others. Pidge is going to give me hell”

“I think she’ll be more relieved you’re okay”

“We’ll see. She’s become a total gremlin”

“As long as it takes her mind off things, it seems okay”

“Remember that when she’s stealing your ears in the middle of the night for the gold. Lead the way, Hunkeroonie”

Hunk wrinkled his nose at the pet name, but his best bud did take the boot from him. That night he’d have to make sure they buried their gear or something similar so his damn cat didn’t go getting him into trouble.

*

Spending the day camped in the ruined village, Pidge had given him a dead arm for worrying, before hugging him tight. None of them seemed to know he’d snuck off, catted out, then come back like nothing had happened. Keith was livid about his boot, so Lance was careful to give him a wide berth. Finding himself a good spot for napping, he was excused from practicing magic with the others. Coran having decided they needed to learn more attack magic as they were in a hostile environment. Learning new spells seemed as natural as air to Pidge, who’s impatience was quashed a little by the fact she could learn new spells to show off in front of Matt. Keith excusing himself from practice with the others on account that he needed to mend his boot which meant practicing mending magic that he wasn’t great at. Stealthily trying to watch him, Lance promptly closed his eyes and rolled away when the fellow teen pulled a knife out of nowhere. If he was going to be stabbed, he’d rather not see it coming.

Passing the day lazily, Lance went off again when dusk started showing in the sky. Keith had both his boots, so as long as his cat behaved itself he was fairly hopeful that they wouldn’t be stealing off with it again.

Only… It didn’t turn out that way. Nooooo. He found himself in a much worse state than what he’d been in the morning before.