#also included an old one where Jet gets drunk cuz | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ptw30 · 7 years ago

Note

For the Blade!Shiro universe: What happened to Shiro's birth mother? What happened to he and Keith's dad besides him becoming a drunk? Where did Keith's mom disappear to?

TBH, until you asked this question, Shiro and Keith’sparents were pretty tame – albeit with a minor miscalculation on my part.

Before you go any farther – please read “Galra Culture 102,”which was written to answer this.

Hold on. I’ll wait.

…

Done? Okay, so…potential spoilers to the whole series. JustFYI.

My original headcanon was – Shiro’s dad and biological momwere in the Galaxy Garrison. Ryou was kicked out for some reason (maybe thegarrison was hiding alien prisoners or something, and he broke them out…?).Before he was kicked out, though, he had a one-night stand with Shiro’sbiological mom, and when he left, he didn’t know she was pregnant.

He goes out to the desert shack and lives there for sevenyears, more or less alone, until Shiro’s biological mom finds him, bringing intow a six-year-old Shiro. She was chosen for a prestigious garrison mission,which will have her in space for three years. While the garrison has greatchild care, they won’t raise your kid, so Shiro’s mom drops him off with Ryouand takes off toward the stars.

(My main pet peeve with this is – I really wanted“Shirogane” to be Shiro’s mom’s last name, not his dad’s, but I realized that Igave his dad the name “Ryou” to tie him back to the canon – and so “Shirogane”can’t be his mom’s last name. My new-new headcanon is Shiro’s mom is Japanese, andhis dad is Japanese-American.)

Ryou isn’t the best dad, but he tries. And so for two yearsor so, Dad and Shiro have a decent life. Then, one day, an alien ship crash-landsin the desert, and Ryou – knowing how the garrison treats aliens – gets to theship first and helps the person to the shack.

The alien is, of course, Moira, who ends up being Keith’smom. She’s a member of the Blade of Marmora and came to Earth in search of alion of Voltron. For another two years or so (Shiro is now ten), she searchesand comes up with nothing, and in that time, she becomes close to Ryou andShiro. She really becomes Shiro’s mom, taking care of him, soothing him afternightmares, letting him fall asleep against her.

Of course, she’s a bit concerned that Shiro sleepwalks atnight, and while Ryou always thought it was weird, he usually caught the kidbefore he got too far into the desert. So no harm, no foul. However, as Shirogets older, it’s a bit harder, and the parents end up finding Shiro again andagain in the same cave, passed out among these weird ancient markings.

Moira and Ryou eventually have Keith, and the problemcompounds. Shiro, still asleep, takes Keith into the desert, too, and then, asthe markings begin to glow, Moira decides she’s had enough.

She and Ryou steal her spacecraft from the garrison and takeoff into space. Why? Because she was sent to find the Blue Lion, and shebelieves she’s found paladins, too. And the paladins are her kids, which meansthey’ll be conscripted into the future war and placed in direct opposition ofthe most evil being in the entire universe.

No thank you. She did not sign up for this, and she’s notsticking around for the Blue Lion to reveal herself to Shiro and Keith andstart the universal war. So she takes her kids and gets the hell off theplanet, hiding her little paladins away on a faraway planet where theempire/the war/the lions will never find them. Yeah, right. Like that willstop destiny.

Moira informs the Blades, including Kolivan and Ulaz, herclose allies, about the Blue Lion and paladins, and Kolivan says the only wayto save the boys is to take down the Galra Empire. As she was once a commanderfor the Galra Empire and defected to the Blade, Moira decides to go back andhelp take down Zarkon from the inside.

Ryou is devastated when she leaves. He copes by drinking.Eventually, in order to find Moira, Ryou takes their sons to Drule Central, thecapital of the Galra Empire, the only place he can think to look. He gets anapartment in the seedy part of town since he can’t get a good one as anundocumented citizen and a lower lifeform.

One day Ryou leaves and doesn’t return.

And thus begins Shiro’s struggles.

Where Ryou is now – to be honest, I’m not certain. I have athought where he works at a bar at a space port, one that Moira frequents, andhelps to pass messages to the Rebels of Pollux or the Blade of Marmora forMoira. And then one day, Shiro and Keith come in with Kolivan, and Kolivan justgives Ryou a look like, “I can split you in half with my blade.”

As for Moira – I’m going to get back to her in a moment, butI want to circle back to Shiro’s biological mom. My original thought was – shereally didn’t want to be a mom but got Shiro in the one-night stand (not thatshe was a bad mom, cuz she took care of her kid, but y’know, not cut out forit), and so when she gives Shiro to Ryou, that’s the end of her story.

However, upon further examination, I wondered if she had toleave, too, for some reason. And why would that be?

Perhaps she had come to Earth searching for the Blue Lion aswell. Perhaps she joined the Galaxy Garrison because she thought if anyone onEarth would know about an alien warship, it would be this organization. Perhapsshe hadn’t meant to get pregnant and have Shiro, but Ryou was hot and well…it’sbeen a while since she shared a bed with someone who wasn’t, y’know, an evildictator. Side note: apparently Dad Shirogane has game to land two beautifulalien women… Of course, Shiro’s mom hadn’t meant to give birth to apaladin. Imagine her heartache when she saw her son’s strange behavior, whenshe realized she was part of destiny and had damned her adorable six-year-oldbundle of joy to a life of strife. Imagine how she felt, knowing she would one dayhave to hunt her son and kill him for her boss.

This wasn’t on her life agenda, either.

So to save him, Shiro’s mom returned from where she came,reported that she hadn’t found anything, lest of all a Paladin of Voltron, andresumed her duties as High Enchantress of the Galra Empire.

Yeah, Shiro’s biological mom might be Haggar.

I’m not sure if I want to go down that route because theparts of this series where Shiro is a captive of the empire will changeDRASTICALLY, and the focus wouldn’t just be on Sendak/Shiro but alsoHaggar/Shiro. So…I’m not really sure where I want to go with thisthought-process at the moment.

As for Moira – [this takes place sometime after Shiro andKeith become paladins]

Keith made sure to always have Takashi’s back duringmissions. His older brother tended to get himself into trouble, so much so thatKeith was certain Allura’s hair wasn’t white from her genes but from Takashi’s“brave” antics. So Keith stayed close, always kept Shiro in his line of sight,and readied his bayard for any attacks.

He wasn’t a fan of this plan – sneak into the Galra CommandHub in Drule Central, steal a map of the empire, and sneak out with no onenoticing. Sure, it all made sense in theory – knowing the Galra’s trooplocations would allow the Voltron Force to strategize more effectively andtarget the most important sectors. However, something about the whole “let’s goright in the heart of the Galra Empire” just rubbed Keith the wrong way, but hecouldn’t refute it. They needed this intel.

With Takashi’s hand upon the console and Pidge currentlyworking on the download, there wasn’t really much for Keith to do but wait. Andperhaps, that unhinged Keith the most. He always felt better when he couldpound something.

A boot knocked against his own, and Keith glanced over hisshoulder to see Takashi smiling back at him with an indulgent grin. “It’salmost done. Then we can get out of here.”

Was he really that transparent? Well, no one would neverknow him as well as Takashi.

And could you blame him worrying? He lost his brother for anannual and a half. He wouldn’t lose Takashi again.

Their helmets prevented Keith from reaching out and nuzzlingTakashi’s jaw, but he could wrap his tail about his brother’s waist, whicheased some of his discomfort.

Takashi laid a glove upon it, stroking it in a soothingrhythm. “Just a few more ticks.”

“Well, look what the lion dragged in…” a sinister voiceechoed through the silent room, and Keith whirled toward the door to see threeGalra fighters blocking their path. The middle one wore the garb of a highGalra commander, complete with red accents and glowing yellow eyes just aboveher chest area. Her long jet black hair tumbled halfway down her back in afishtail braid, though her bangs curved about her cheeks in a familiar pattern.

Keith should know. His bangs fell the exact same way.Perhaps that was a trait of Galra women? But the ones at the Blade headquartersnever looked quite like that.

The commander’s stance intimidated, bringing Keith back tothe present. She held a lance that glowed purple on both edge – the same coloras Takashi’s arm when activated – and pointed it directly at Takashi andhim.

“When I present you to the emperor, try not to whimper tooloudly,” she hissed, sharp teeth gleaming in an unveiled threat.

As Keith reluctantly uncurled his tail from his brother’swaist, Shiro disengaged his arm from the console and turned toward the Galra,body tensing for combat. Ironically, his voice carried a soft tenor. “You don’twant to do this.”

Keith spied his brother’s anxious gaze, and that worried himmore than Takashi’s fury.

The Galra commander laughed. “Oh. Pray tell, Champion, why would I not wish togift-wrap two Paladins of Voltron for my sire?”

Keith could give her a few choice reasons, starting with hisbayard and ending with a massive red beast who could tear her apart, but Shirocontinued, “You don’t want me to say anything in front of your twosubordinates.”

Now the commander gripped her staff tighter, eyes narrowingas she glanced at the two lieutenants as her side. “I saw many of your matches,Champion, and was impressed by your ferocious nature. You disappoint me byattempting to appeal to my emotions.” She paused, waiting for Takashi tocontinue and when Takashi refused, demanded, “Tell me what you do not wish tosay in front of an audience.”

Takashi’s gaze softened, tender and longing in a way Keithhad seen only a few times before, and when he spoke, his raw voice barelycrossed the distance to the Galra commander.

“It’s good to see you…Mom.”

Keith started.

Mom?!

The Galra held Takashi’s entire rapt gaze, so Keith swung tosee the commander’s own distressed expression, her eyes blown wide, mouthparted in shock. Her edge of staff dangled just inches from the floor,trembling.

“Commander – ” one of the sentries prompted, and in asecond’s time, the staff slammed into his head. She dropped to the floor andknocked out the second sentry’s legs. A single blow ended the fight.

The staff rang against the silent floor, and when thecommander rushed Takashi, Keith took a step in front of his brother, only to betossed to the side like a doll. By the time he recovered, Moira had Takashipinned against the console. Towering over Keith’s rather tall older brother,she ripped off Takashi’s helmet to see his face. She ducked her snout to taketwo long inhales.

“…Takashi?” her wounded voice called, sounding frightenedand unsure; tears shimmered on Takashi’s cheek.

“Hey, Mom,” he choked, and then the commander swept him upin a fierce embrace.

For a moment, the universe stopped. Keith’s breath caught inhis throat, and he watched as the commander’s hand came up to cradle the backof Takashi’s head. Takashi’s face pressed naturally into her shoulder, his armstight about her waist like a vice, and they stayed like that until Pidge’s franticvoice rang in Keith’s helmet.

“Keith! The download stopped, and I can’t reach Shiro. Areyou guys okay?”

“We’re…” He watched as the commander pulled away, justslightly, to seize Takashi’s cheeks, offering him the traditional pack greeting.“We’re okay. We just met someone.”

“Who?” Lance demanded, jealous as ever.

Keith breathed, “My…mom…Ithink…”

“What!” came everyone – from Allura on the castle ship toHunk in the getaway lion.

“I’ll explain later.”

As he stepped forward, ready to interrupt, the commander tuggedTakashi against her again, murmuring, “I attended the gladiator games. If Ionly would have known – ”

“Ulaz wanted to release me, but I promised Sendak – ”

Moira snarled, “Sendak!”

And that was Keith’s cue. “Sorry to interrupt, but we needto get the information and get out before we’re discovered – again.”

As soon both sets of eyes turned upon him, Keith gulped atthe dual expressions of affection and sympathy. How was Shiro not part Galra,too?

Takashi reached out to him, lifting off Keith’s helmet,despite his sputtering protest. “Mom, it’s Keith. This is Keith.”

In a blink, Keith found himself yanked into a smotheringhold, the commander’s fur brushing across his jaw. “My cub. Oh, how you havegrown.” A beat passed, then another, and Keith waited for the relief to hit, forthe tears to overwhelm him after finally, finally finding his birth mother.

Instead, rage soared. The hands at his thighs trembled intight fists, and as Moira whispered, “How are you not even taller than yourbrother?” Keith broke.

“Let go.”

Moira stiffened, her claws tightening in his hair and uponhis back before they slid down his arms and reluctantly released him.

“My cub – ”

“You might have given birth to me, but you are not my mother.”

Takashi stepped forward, hand coming to rest on Keith’sshoulder. “Keith – ”

“No. You-You leftus.” Keith ignored Moira’s flinch and her eyes darkened and ears drooped – the wayTakashi always said Keith’s did when he felt guilty. “I don’t care why. I don’tcare that you’re here now. We went through hell because of you.”

Even if he hadn’t known at the time – Takashi suffered.Takashi gave everything for them to survive.

The hand on his shoulder tightened, desperate and pleading,and Takashi’s voice was pained. “It’s okay, Keith. Really. We made it. That’sall that matters.”

“But it’s not.” Keith glared up his brother, resentful andenraged before he saw the look of utter dismay in Takashi’s countenance. Hereleased a sigh, though he refused to embrace Moira, who stared at him with aglistening expression of regret and sympathy. “If not for the Blade of Marmora,Takashi might have – we might nothave made it. I can’t – I can’t forgive you.”

Moira’s claws reached out to him again before recoiling. “Iwould have given anything to have been there for you.”

“But you didn’t.”

The truth hung between them, painful and raw and true. Therewas nothing to say to make it better. Nothing to do but get the information andleave, no matter what Takashi wanted. He wouldn’t let the Galra Empire reclaimhis brother, and if he had to pry Takashi away from Moira, he would do it byclaw, by blade, by lion.

No one would ever harm Takashi again, and his tail wrappedabout his brother’s waist again, tugging him close.

Takashi grunted in embarrassment, in alarm. Keith ignoredhim.

Something broken and devastated reformed in Moira’s gaze,and though it was tearful, her smile was bright and relieved. “I’m glad you hadeach other.”

That was probably the only thing they could agree upon.