#and i wanted to finish my big midterm before answering bc i love having an excuse to talk about my OCs | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

scandeniall · 4 years

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ri’s self ship

Self ship tag:

Listen I was tagged by mother Sam @samwrights almost 3 weeks ago and this shitshow has been sitting in my notes since then. To the point where the original tag is long gone in my notifications so I cant even the low it 😭

Anyways let me clear this out and say I ship me with my original number one hq boy: Kuroo

Alrighty eye suppose

Ok so me and kuroo most definitely met our first year of college. First day of class in some random ass gen ed like history yeah that works. And y’all know how profs be like “get to know the person next to you and exchange numbers.” Now I’m like—- wow he’s hot but I know how to play it cool. Anyways so we do a quick intro and then he complements my hair

“I like the decorations,” and I do my general awkward but friendly laugh and say thanks. Anyways that’s how it starts. We finish that awkward ice breaker where it’s like “tell your neighbor why you’re taking this class” and bc we’re both sarcastic dummies it’s like “bro cause it’s fucking required”

Anyways it’s now class two and I’m one of them bitches who gets to class early (in the beginning of the year) bc I like picking my seat. So the seat I picked was in the middle row off near the end on the first day so I sit there again and then kuroo comes back and I’m shook bc i didn’t expect him to sit back there. /Alright so ima use an example of how I met one of my guy friends this past year/ so let’s say this is one of them annoying ass classes where there’s like some mini assignment due every class. So kuroo suggests how about we take turns doing the assignment and sending the other the answers. And I’m like yeah ok I could use that break every other day. So yes that’s how we get each other’s numbers

So that’s basically how the first half of the semester goes. Over time we both make some slight convo with other ppl in our class around us but still sit our unassigned assigned seats next to each other. But now it’s nearing midterms. And at this point yeah I dont come to class early anymore like I’m there like 5 minutes before but history class bro kuroo always makes sure a seat next to him is saved bc at this point he knows I’m like rushing.

Anyways I nearly knock him out with my big ass bag as i squeeze past him in these tight ass aisles and he’s all dramatic saying I’m trying to kill him and got me laughing but also frantically apologizing. Anyways he’s like “yo do you wanna study for this exam together.” I love friends but I’m actually so shy so I say yeah and we make a plan. We’re gonna link like 3 times before the exam next week. The first time being that same night.

Alright so we go about the rest of our day until it’s like 8pm and we’re both done with our own other club commitments and stuff so I’m like walking around the library looking for him slightly nervous bc attractive ppl make me nervous and we’re meeting up for the first time outside of class. I walk around in a circle like 3 times until his y’all ass pop up behind me (note I’m 5’0). “Didn’t see you there” and I’m one of them bitches that be like “woooooooow ok”

Anyways we find a little table in the back of the crowded library and yeah the first 20 minutes were not doing shit. We pull out our laptops and notes but really we’re just talking. He’s the type to as you about your day and since I’m like perpetually tired I’m like “yeah I’m ready for bed I just got out of a meeting and it was sooooo long.” And then we actually kinda find out one another’s campus involvements and he finds out I’m in a retail and food club and I find out he plays for the intermural volleyball team and his a science loser

Anyways yeah from there our friendship blooms and continues on into the following semester where we sign up for another two gen eds together and I end up meeting his old high school friend y’all and watching them mfs argue is the funniest shit. I’m always catching their dumb arguments on Snapchat

Yeah let’s fast forward to our junior years. Over the past 2 years our friendship grew from platonic to just flirtatious friends and by now we’re flirtatious friends whose touches linger just a lil longer to be platonic. By this time we’re both living in apartment buildings (it ended up being the same one) and are both hella busy with upper level classes and both have like 5 campus involvements plus jobs.

Whenever we see each other one of us is always like half dead. But we still find time to hangout even though it’s mostly at one of our apartments. Since we live in the same building and kuroo is in a bigger 3 bedroom over my 2 I tend to go upstairs to his more often.

So Its like 9pm on a Thursday night and i don’t have Friday classes and I’m finally home for the day and as soon as i shower put in my comfy sweats, wipe off my eyebrows and put on and bonnet here comes kuroo FaceTiming me. Yes we’re at the point in our friendship where we only answer with half of our faces. “You don’t have any other friends come keep me company”

Bc he’s hit and my friend I’m like yeah whatever and go up the 2 floors to his place and he’s literally at his desk doing homework. “You made me get out of bed to watch you do homework” and he just does that stupid smirk before telling me I can just chill on his bed. So listen I think he’s the type to keep his room fucking freezing so I’m like getting under his covers and he asks me to play dj.

Now ok my music taste is all over the place but my main genre is rnb so yeah. Kuroo knows this and over the years I put him on to a lot of it so yeah I’m gonna turn on Brent faiyaz and he’s just over at his desk working and vibing. He tells me he likes my music taste (and bc I throw in a lil bit of everything for him)

As two Scorpio’s were both used to lowkey subtly making people do what we want them to do. So like it’s the cat and mouse type game with us and we keep tryna make the other person take it further

We don’t even know when we start dating shit it’s just one day “y’all dating?” “Yeah” so much for an anniversary date

I’d hang out with him way too much bc my lack of friends is sickening. And I like doing random shit so let’s go to the park at 3am and hope we don’t get in trouble

I’m hungry at 3am let’s go a store that’s open 24 hours and deliriously roam the half stocked aisles

At this point kuroo just invites himself over on my Sunday wash days bc he knows that shit is gonna taken hours. ESPECIALLY when I’m taking my braids out

Kuroo the type of bf to help me take my braids out and not be completely grossed out at the dirt residue from the hair style. “Baby what if I put this under a microscope” yeah he’s disgusting though

He’s also the bf to try and help me detangling every time but my scalp is v sensitive so at some point I’m just like “yeah I’m gonna need you to STOP”

We’re both chaotic is this even a relationship or are we just besties? I’m that annoying friend that tries to record everything but he’s so tall in comparison to me that he gets cut off the camera half the time

We’re both annoying and stay ready with witty comebacks so we playfully bicker way too much but it’s fun and we’re still inseparable

Idk what I’m doing here so ima end and sum up and say kuroo best boy. Best boy also dates and is your best friend and that is LITERALLY my vibe 110%

idk im very late to this trend so um i tag anyone who wants to do this

#ri rambles #this is terrible and i literally did zero editing and i hope its coherent #im not good at shipping myself smh i need to be objective #is this going on my masterlist? girl idk

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notesofarichlycolorednight · 6 years

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Get to Know the Writer Tag Thing

idk if that’s the actual name lol, i just copied and pasted the questions and came up with my own title ^_^;

was tagged by @queen-of-ice101, thanks babe. these are always fun to do

1. Pen or Pencil

i don’t think i’ve written fanfic on paper in forever wow, but when i did (or occasionally will do), i always used pen. i hate making mistakes and having to clumsily cross it out, but pens are smoother and don’t make noise. honestly writing with a good pen on a thick pad of paper is a stim for me

2. Have you ever drawn your OC’s?

twice. and of only one of my ocs. both for inktober 2018. other than that, not really. i’d like to get into drawing more, but i’m just really more of a writer at this point in my life. also drawing ppl??? is so hard???

3. Does your writing ever make you cry?

not that i can remember. chapter 49 in i need another story almost made me cry, but mostly when i’m thinking abt painful scenes, my heart aches. even then, once i’ve envisioned it a lot, the ache eventually disappears. unless i forget abt it, then come back to it, or if it’s just a really painful scene, then the ache never really goes away when i’m thinking abt the scene

but no, bc i guess they’re my ideas. i’m expecting them, i’m writing them, and eventually become desensitized to them

4: If your Muse was a person, what would they look like?

okay so i’m confused by the wording of the question. bc at first i thought muses could be anything. then it occurred to me that they might only be ppl??? or at least take human-like shape bc they’re, i’m assuming, based on the nine muses of greek mythology, who take human shape/form.

maybe i’m reading too much into the question. anyway, my muse has never been a person/taken human shape if i’m honest. it’s been more of an amorphous blob that i haven’t really felt the need to give shape/form to. so to tell you what it would look like as a person...don’t know if i can do that lol

my muse is way more abstract, and i’ve never felt the need to make it concrete in any way

5: Which of your pieces would you choose to be remembered for?

like most writers, i’d like to be remembered for a published book of my own work. read riordan gave me an idea to base a book around chinese mythology, and which takes place in china. who knows, i may even write it in chinese first bc i’d like to become that fluent. the trick to this answer is that right now, this idea is also just an amorphous blob rn lol. i don’t have the time to do the research or flesh out the plot/characters (i don’t even really have those two things lmao). much too busy for that i’m afraid ;_; there is a one-act play i wrote for my creative writing class i’m particularly proud of currently

if i were to pick my fanfic i’d prob have to say itps--the oc pjo story. but only bc i’ve worked so long and so hard on it, and on my oc. if you asked me again in five years, i’d probably tell you smth different.

and i mean that’s the thing to this question. i’m still super young, and i have so much time to write more and continue to grow as a writer, so to choose smth to be remembered for so young almost seems unfair, tbh

6: How much have you written or worked on your WIP so far today?

LMAO ZIP, ZLICH, ZERO

my amorphous muse has gone dormant. i wouldn’t say fled if only bc i think i’ve unconsciously made it dormant so i can focus on finishing my master’s thesis

like would i love to write??? YES OF COURSE, I WOULD BE DOWN TO WRITE ANYTHING AT THIS POINT

but when i go to write, i find i physically cannot (bc smth psychologically is going on up there; could be stress, could be writer’s block, it’s probably those two and a multitude of other things). bc part of me knows that i can’t involve myself in such a big project (even small one-shots) bc i need to be completely focused on my thesis. the other part of me feels unable to control this ability to start writing. which is the worst part

schrödinger’s amorphous muse: when will my muse return from war? my muse has already returned from war.

woe is me

7: Have you ever based a piece (or a portion of a piece) on a dream?

don’t think i have. my dreams tend to be too weird to base a piece or portion of a piece on. if i was writing a fantasy story, it may fit in better. but currently, i write stuff that is based in more realistic-fiction worlds so

like i have very weird dreams. also many of them are stress dreams related to bathrooms (ugh) and school (ugh x2). as if i want to base smth that brings me joy on smth that stresses me out

8: Do you prefer silence, a little noise (music, ambient noise, fan etc) or a lot of noise when you’re writing?

it really depends on the mood i’m in

sometimes i’ll want to listen to talking, but it has to be smth i’ve watched a million times or don’t care abt at all if i am to concentrate on writing. they could be tv shows or video essays, etc. but that’s mostly if i’m not writing like fun/fictional stuff with plot and storyline, bc the talking then just interrupts my train of thought. unless i’ve seriously watched it so much/couldn’t care less abt what i’ve put on

mostly i’ll listen to music. i don’t have playlists, as much as i wish i did. my music library just isn’t that big. i’m such a picky person when it comes to music. and also i have so many other things i want to do than make playlists honestly. like i’m envious of ppl who make playlists, and i’m not saying that those who do make playlists have nothing else to do like at all. not my intention at all. however, at the same time, making them isn’t one of my top priorities

anyway, depending on my mood i’ll listen to the same song(s) on repeat again while i write. sometimes the song matches the mood of the scene i write, but it doesn’t always have to

sometimes i’ll start a song but get so into the scene that when the song ends, i don’t turn it back on anymore bc i don’t need it. sometimes some scenes require a lot of concentration that i can’t listen to anything. i actually need/prefer silence

i’ll only listen to ambient noise if i’m trying to drown out other noises, and only when i’m writing academic papers lol

9: Do you have any routines before you sit down to write?

nope lol. some scenes i’ll imagine for weeks before sitting down to write them bc thinking abt how the scene will play out helps me fall asleep, but also helps me figure out exactly how the scene will play out so when i do sit down to write, it flows so easily onto the page

unfortunately this doesn’t happen with everything i write--only the big, emotional scenes. and even then, i imagine these scenes as movies scenes, so when i go to write, there’s a lot more detail i have to think abt and add in ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

other than that, i don’t really have any routines i absolutely need to do before i sit down to write...i mean does opening all the folders i need, including the folders on my flashdrive so i can easily save and then transfer the saved document to my flashdrive count?

10: Have you ever participated in NaNoWrimo or a Camp?

i wish! but no. never had the time. like WHY NOVEMBER DO YOU KNOW HOW BUSY STUDENTS GET DURING NOVEMBER THAT’S LIKE THE ABSOLUTE WORST TIME TO HOLD IT FOR WRITERS WHO ARE STUDENTS

and like i get that the whole point of it is to get ppl who say things like “never had the time” to write. but that’s the thing, it’s not like inktober, where it encourages a very armature artist (i.e., me) to draw at least one thing everyday. i already love to write and i already write when i can if i don’t have writer’s block and my amorphous muse wants to cooperate

so when i say “i don’t have time” it’s bc it’s in the middle of the fucking semester and i’m swamped with midterms and papers and my ga-ship which requires me to help everyone else who are also scrambling on midterm papers like jeezums i’m not bitter or anything

i know that camp tho has other sessions that aren’t in novemeber, so we’ll see if i decide to participate in those. i can really only focus on one story at a time, esp if it’s a big story i’m really invested in. so participating while i’m researching and writing fanfic would be difficult for me. also the pressure to do the research i want to do in such a short amt of time would probably not be conducive for me, just personally. esp on top of another story where i’m researching and writing (even if i do put it aside to focus on camp) but since i’ve never participated, i wouldn’t know if any of that is necessarily true

thanks again for tagging me! i’ll tag two ppl i know who are writers lol; and as always with these things, feel free to fill this out or not: @talking0fmichelangel0 @lucifers-favorite-child

if you follow me or we’re mutuals and i have failed to realize you’re a writer, feel free to fill these out but tag me so i can read your answers

#about me #dat writing life got me like #fun stuff

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pennyfynotes · 7 years

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8.17.17 // 4:00pm // guide to freshman year of college

so... you've finally finished high school and you feel like you're on top of the world. then you realize you're going to college, where you'll be a super small fish in a very large pond. which is totally ok. here are some tips to make your transition to college easier. good luck! xoxo, m

ps. i also have a post about making friends here.

1. contact+coordinate with your roommate. your roommate will likely be one of the first people you meet at college and your are going to have to live with them for at least a year (unless something goes terribly wrong). take the time to reach out to them and figure out a little bit about them. from a more practical standpoint, you might want to find out what time they're planning on moving in and also figure out how you're going to split the cost+share the larger items.

>>>when are they moving in? there are a couple ways to approach this. you can try and move in at the same time so you can have equal input as to how to organize the room and who gets which bed/desk etc. you can also move in at different times to minimize the amount of people and mess in the room at once. if one of you really doesn't care about their bed being next to the window or stuff like that, this might be a good option. if you've gotten really close with your roommate after talking to them, maybe have them call you and take a picture so you can hash it out. that is if they get there first. you could also reverse the roles.

>>>who's bringing what? there are items that you both don't need to purchase. these might include: a full length mirror, microwave, fridge, coffeemaker/electric kettle and other things of that nature. try to figure out how to evenly split this. if one person gets the fridge (probably ~$100), then maybe the other person can get a couple of the smaller, cheaper items. there is also the option to just "split the bill" but (my mom brought up an excellent point last year) then there is the hassle of determining ownership at the year's end, especially if you don't plan to continue rooming together.

2. read as much as you can about move-in day. it's always going to be chaotic, that's a given. however, try to figure out where you need to go and how you're going to get there. and don't just look at a map and say "so my dorm is here, we can just unload in this random parking lot". chances are the university will have a system set up and it's a pain if you try to go to the wrong place. be as knowledgeable as you can to minimize frustration and chaos. if there isn't a lot of information available, pay super close attention to any signs around campus. now is not the time to be watching netflix on your phone.

3. get the important stuff done first. unpack your stuff, get your ID and all that jazz. it's important to be friendly and get to know people, but don't get too sidetracked and wind up with no way to get into your building because you didn't get your student ID. a way to combine making friends and getting things done is to go as a group to get important papers.

4. savor time with your family. if you're lucky enough that your family has come with you, don't blow them off. say proper goodbyes and the like bc you probably won't see them for a while (unless you like super close to your college).

5. get to know your roommate in person (+ maybe set some ground rules). your roommate doesn't have to be your best friend. but at least try to get to know them, they are putting up with you for 2 semesters after all. if there are things you know that will annoy you, try to address them and put down some rules. you might have to make so accommodations, but they will probably have to too. the way i see it, rooming together isn't about friendship (though it can be), it's about peaceful coexistence.

6. figure out how things work. common things that are a little tricky are: where are things/facilities/buildings, how does the bus system work + how does the meal plan work. you will likely have some sort of upperclassman advisor/counselor person, so get these questions answered before class starts. you don't want to realize you went to the wrong building or are on the wrong bus 5 minutes before class begins. it's not a big deal (profs are pretty understanding), but don't give extra stress the opportunity to arise.

7. get your textbooks. this is so important. some teachers will start using the textbooks right away and it's always easier if you've gotten them in advance. however, be smart about getting textbooks bc those things are damn expensive.

>>> rent from amazon. this is so amazing. a lot of the time you'll be able to save a fair amount of money by renting rather than buying. there's always the option to buy at the end of the rental period. if you find out you don't need the book you can return within the first 30 days with a prepaid shipping label for a full refund.

>>> buy older editions. chances are, you'll be able to get away with using the older edition of a textbook. some profs might be really picky or assign hw out of them without providing an edition conversion chart (tho you may be able to find one online), but you can probably do it. exhibit a: there was no option to rent y orgo textbook and the newest (recommended) edition was $100. i got the second most recent edition for about $6.

>>> google for pdf versions. sometimes you get super lucky and find pdfs of textbooks online for free. some people prefer paper copies of books, but saving the money and the weight in my bag is good enough for me

8. find a study buddy. admittedly i did not do this, though it probably would have been helpful. find a friend or buddy in each class you take that can give you notes if you're sick or that you can study with/ask questions to. you will also be able to suffer together. there is strength in numbers.

9. join clubs/extracurriculars. you might become really good friend with your hallmates or you might not. sometimes it's easier to find friends in clubs because you have similar interests. they're also a great way to meet upperclassmen and make those connections. upperclassmen are always helpful.

10. reinvent yourself. not saying you have to give yourself a total makeover, but if there are things that defined you in hs that you don't identify with anymore, you can change that. it's hard to change yourself and other people's assumptions of you when you've known them since 1st grade. you have a clean slate now. if there's something you want to leave behind, go for it.

11. don't lose yourself. this may seem rather contradictory to the previous statement, but don't give up everything you are. college can sometimes be overwhelming and you'll find yourself letting go of things you love like certain hobbies or interests. if you still love it, dont let it go. make time for it. you might not be able to keep up with it to the same extent you did in hs (which makes me sad and is quite unfortunate), but don't let it die.

>>> same goes for personality/values. it's so tempting to change yourself to fit in. remember you don't have to

12. if you need to go to class, go. as i mentioned earlier, i'm not as much of a proponent you should never skip class mantra. if the lecturer is good and you get good information from lecture, then you should go. if the lecturer is terrible and you have other better resources to get your information from, you might be okay just not going.

13. try not to fall behind. it will take you forever to catch up. sometimes you have to sacrifice being prepared for one class to study for another, but try to avoid this as much as possible. once you do that, it takes forever to get back up to speed in that other class. chances are, once you hit your first midterm in your first class, they're never going to end. you might be used to having 3 weeks in between tests, but oftentimes in college they're spaced in such a way that you don't get much of a break. like i said, falling behind is a nightmare.

14. take care of your mental health. your health is still the most important. you won't perform well if your mental health has gone out the window, so do make time for that. more on that here and here.

best of luck as you enter college and (as i always say) i'm always here if you have more questions or need more advice :) xoxo, m

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fevers-and-flus-blog · 7 years

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Ayeee it’s my first time writing Voltron. (Also format might be wonky bc, yanno, writing on phones is hard).

The ending is suuuper abrupt I’m sorry, I hit that typical sick!fic wall.

📚: College au, sick!keith, klance

***

Keith wakes up in a panic. He bolts straight up in bed, hands immediately cupping his throat. It takes a few disoriented moments before Keith realizes where he is: his bedroom, stuffed into his twin sized excuse for a bed, and tucked tightly against Lance.

It was a dream, Keith tells himself, with a quick shake to the head. It was a dream, but he can barely remember what it was about, the narrative falling threadbare like a spider web that’s been hastily wiped away. What he can remember is choking and the guttural, almost feral noise he made trying to breathe.

Keith forces his hands away from his neck and takes a deep, even breath. A sharp sting scrapes down his throat and he realizes that the pain isn’t nightmare residue, it’s real. And it’s not just his throat. Keith aches - his head, his muscles, his chest.

Last night he’d gone to bed with a ghosting feeling that something was wrong. He assumed it was anxiety over his physics midterm, which Keith had handled like he handled most things: worked until he literally couldn’t keep his eyes open, and then promptly passed out.

“Fuck,” Keith says lowly. His voice isn’t rough, but speaking still shoots through his throat like a lightning strike.

“Mmmm” Lance stirs and rolls over, throwing a hand across Keith’s lap. “Lets skip today.”

“Funny,” Keith says absently, pressing his hands to his eyes. “I have my midterm.”

“Whatever,” Lance yawns and pushes himself up with one arm. “I guess you can do that instead.”

Keith takes a measured breath.

Any second now Lance is going to notice something’s wrong. Keith’s skin prickles with anxiety.

It’s not that he doesn’t want to deal with Lance in caretaker mode. Keith actually thinks it’s endearing – watching Lance fuss over people always fills his chest with a warm rush of pride. It’s only that Keith hates to be the one fussed over, as a general rule.

Of course, Keith’s self-reflective silence is a red flag in itself. Lance squints up at keith. “Whats wrong?”

“Nothing,” Keith says.

“Liar,” Lance sits up and stretches. “You’re stressed about the midterm, right? Babe, you’re gunna kill it, you’re like literally the smartest person I know.”

“I’m just tired.” Keith says, after a beat.

“Huh, really? You passed out pretty early last night. Well, early for you.”

Keith hums in acknowledgment and crosses his arms. All he wants to do is lay back down and burrow under the comforter. A chill runs through him, and his body shudders.

“Are you cold?” Lance asks, concerned.

“No,” Keith says.

Lance’s eyes narrow. He reaches over and strokes Keith’s cheek, then settles the back of his hand on Keith’s forehead.

“You’re really warm.”

“No, I’m okay.”

“Hold on, I’m getting the thermometer.” Lance crawls over keith and walks into the bathroom.

“Lance…”

“What?”

“Don’t make a big deal out of this.”

“I’m not!”

“You’re working up to it, I can tell.”

“Keith,” Lance says with a sigh, holding out the thermometer. “If you’re sick, you’re sick. It’s not going to help you take your midterm.”

Keith stares at the thermometer with derision. “I don’t care.”

Lance frowns and sticks the thermometer between Keith’s lips. “Well, I do. Keep your mouth shut.”

Keith scowls as aggressively as he can while they wait for it to beep. It doesn’t take very long.

“102.4. Aw shit, you really are sick.”

“It’s okay.” Keith says again, but the thermometer reading confirms the deep, pulsing ache in his muscles.

“No it’s not,” Lance says, his brows furrowed. “You have a fever.”

“It’s just a cold.”

“It’s definitely not a cold.”

“Please, stop.”

“I really think you should stay home.”

“I can’t.” Keith says. Lance starts to protest again, but Keith cuts him off. “I actually can’t. This test is 20% of my grade.”

“You can reschedule.”

“Don’t you trust me?” Keith asks, frustrated.

“Not really,” Lance says. “You never take care of yourself.”

Keith has a lot he wants to say, none of it kind. Instead he bites down on his tongue so hard it fills his mouth with a metallic tang. “I’ll come back right after.”

Lance just stares.

“I’ll come back after, and I’ll nap, okay?” Keith’s voice is coiled tight, but he’s trying to find a middle ground that won’t spiral into an argument.

Lance searches Keith’s face and sighs, brushing his hair away from his forehead. “Fine, but only because you basically admitted defeat. And only if you take medicine before you go!!”

“Yes, Shiro.” Keith clears his throat and tries not to wince.

“Don’t tease me, I might actually call him.”

“I hate you,” Keith says, but means thank you.

“Yeah, I hate you too jerk.” Lance says, and means I love you.

***

Later that morning, Lance’s phone rings. It startles him, and he elbows the back of the chair with a fair amount of force.

“Shit, shit” Lance grabs his phone still cursing, and answers. “Pidge, what’s up?”

“Your boyfriend is drooling on me, that’s what’s up.”

Lance looks to the ceiling and considers his options. There’s no audience, so he tempers the dramatics and settles for an eye roll.

“That was fast. You both finished?”

“Obviously, or I wouldn’t be calling.”

“Yeesh, alright!”

“Sorry,” Pidge says, “I’m exhausted and I kind of want to kill everyone. But Keith’s a wreck.”

“He’s sick.”

“Yeah I know dummy. I made him sit down, he could barely keep his eyes open.”

“Want me to come get him?”

“Yeah. I’d carry him, but -”

“Pidge, you’re like 2 ft. tall.”

“Um, fuck you, I’m incredibly strong. I just have weak arms.”

“Like a T-Rex.”

“Just like a T-Rex, I’ve never loved you more. Now come collect Keith before he infects me.”

“Okay okay on my way, bye!!”

Lance pulls on a sweater, slips on some sneakers, and heads over to Cochran Hall. Keith and Pidge are sitting on a bench outside. Keith’s awake now, but barely. He’s resting his forearms on his knees, hunched over and grimacing.

“Heeeey,” Lance says. “How’d it go?”

“Okay,” Keith coughs shallowly into his fist.

“This idiot couldn’t keep it together, Iverson almost kicked him out.”

“Shut up,” Keith says, shooting a dark look at Pidge. He wants to disappear, he hates this type of attention. More than that, he hates this type of weakness. He feels a little like a live wire - exposed and raw and dangerous.

Lance reaches out and puts a palm to Keith’s forehead. His humor evaporates, and he brings his hand down to the back of Keith’s neck. “You’re burning.”

“Yeah, he sounds terrible,” Pidge says to Lance. Keith coughs again, and this time it takes him a minute to find his breath. “You sound terrible.” Pidge repeats.

Keith flips her off with the last of his remaining stamina.

“I’ve got a comp sci midterm next, but I can help you guys get back to the apartment?”

“No, it’s okay,” Lance says, brushing his thumb across Keith’s heated skin a few times. “I’ve got him.”

“Okey dokey,” Pidge says, but she’s looking at Keith with concern. “Text me later asshole. So I know you’re okay?”

Keith nods. Everything around him feels once-removed, like he’s taking in information through a piece of dirty glass. He watches Pidge walk away and jolts when Lance grabs his arm.

“C’mon, let’s go home.”

Keith’s world sways.

“Woah, hey, Keith!” Lance grabs him tightly. “Do you need to sit?”

“No,” Keith says, out of habit. He’s starting to shiver, flashes of cold creeping through him. He’d been warm during the test earlier, so warm that he’d sweat through his shirt, which was thankfully hidden under his red, fraying hoodie.

“You sure?”

“Yes, sorry…” Keith trails off. His thoughts dart away from him like summer fireflies. He’s left with a pounding head and a loose tongue. “I don’t feel that good”

“Yeah,” Lance says, worry snaking through his voice. “I know. It’s okay. Let’s get you back home.”

The walk back is slow going. Keith notices the green of the grass and the way his sneakers scrape and scrape and scrape against the sidewalk.

Lance doesn’t notice anything but Keith.

When they get home, Lance sets Keith down on his bed.

“I’m gunna call Shiro”

“No,” Keith says.

“He can take us to the minute clinic.”

“I just wanna sleep, Lance.”

“Okay, okay.” He hesitates, “Let me just get your temperature, first.”

Lance waits for an argument. Keith knows he should protest, knows he’d normally want to protest, but instead he closes his eyes and puts his head back.

Lance sticks the thermometer under Keith’s tongue. It beeps shrilly, after only a moment.

Lance reads it and chews on his tongue. “103.9. Keith, babe. That’s - that’s really high.”

“I’m so tired,” Keith says.

“I know.” Lance says, with a hand pressed against Keith’s burning forehead. “Alright. Here, take some tylenol and lie down.”

Lance tries to help Keith out of his sweatshirt, but Keith swaps him away and tugs it off himself. He sloppily throws it to the corner of the room. His t-shirt is damp with sweat, and he tosses that too.

Keith loses time - it feels like each blink is a different dream.

Lance puts something cool on Keith’s forehead. Keith wants to say thank you but his mouth is heavy and his head is heavy and everything is better if he closes his eyes.

Lance grabs the soft knitted blanket at the foot of the bed and tucks it around Keith. He lets anxiety gnaw at his stomach while he watches Keith sleep. It’s a relief to worry openly, instead of pretending everything is fine.

It’s not that he’s never seen Keith sick, it’s just that he’s never seen Keith admit to being sick. And it happened so fast - Keith had been fine last night. It’s probably the flu but still, he wasn’t himself at all.

Lance watches Keith sleep some more. Eventually he crawls next to Keith in bed and tries to do some reading, but his hands keep finding their way back to Keith’s face, to test temperature and brush damp bangs back.

Lance doesn’t remember falling asleep, but he wakes up to whimpering. He’s up immediately, body thrumming with panic.

“Keith? Are you okay?”

Keith makes a small keening noise and curls deeper into himself. He’s shaking.

Lance can feel his own heartbeat in his ears.

“Babe, wake up,” he presses the back of his fingers against Keith’s cheek. Sharp, dry heat. He puts his palm on Keith’s forehead. “Jesus, you’re on fire.”

Lance blindly reaches out and feels around the bedside table for the thermometer. “C’mon I need you to wake up.”

Keith moans but blinks his eyes open slowly. “Lance? What’s - what’s…?” His breath hitches and he starts coughing. He coughs and coughs and coughs.

Lance rubs his back. “I’m here, I’m right here.”

For Keith, everything is topsy turvy.

Lance presses the thermometer against Keith’s teeth. “Put this under your tongue.”

Keith stares blankly.

“Open your mouth.”

Keith opens his mouth.

The thermometer beeps rapidly. 105.

Keith’s teeth are chattering together and Lance feels like he’s falling apart.

He calls Shiro with shaky hands.

“Hey buddy,” Shiro’s voice helps center Lance, “What’s up?”

“Keith’s really sick. I think we need to - can you drive us to the hospital?”

#sick keith #sickfic #voltron #cait writes #klance

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felinehypocritical · 7 years

Note

Maybe something about stoncy reuniting after being apart for their first semester of college?? that stuff is always so cute

here you go! I love these 2 so much and I’m gonna go ahead and dedicate this fic to @ghost-grantaire bc i know how much she loves those dorks

Nancy let out a sigh, dropping her bags at the stairs leading up to her old room.

She was /home/.

Well, not quite.

She still hadn’t seen Jon or Steve- so should she truly call this house a home? Could she say she was where she was supposed to be if she didn’t see two of the three boys who meant the most to her? Jonathan and Steve were everything to her. Well… almost everything.

And then the third everything came around the corner, bedraggled and sleepy-eyed, and Nancy forgot about her boyfriends for a while.

“MIKE!” She practically yelled it, grabbing her younger brother in a hug so tight he seriously gasped for breath. Spinning him around, she smiled so big she was just about sure her teeth were going to crack under the pressure, and he began his round of complaints.

“Oh, gross-OUT!” He yelled. “Put me down, you smell like cheap perfume! Let me go!” Smiling devilishly, and just to cause trouble with her favorite brother in the world, she pressed her poofy hair into his face and help his face there, both tenderly and with great force.

He pushed her off- when had her skinny kid brother gotten stronger, she thought- and glared lovingly at her. He finally hugged her tighter than she got possible, and very nearly lifted her up. She thought dimly of the myth- was it a myth?- that a woman whose baby was about to be killed could deadlift a car out of sheer adrenaline and energy. Was that what Mike was experiencing right now? She hoped to God. She didn’t know how she’d cope if her brother was stronger than she herself was. It was bad enough he was three inches taller.

“Good evening to you, too, my darling baby brother,” she cooed.

He made a face, before checking his calculator-watch and saying smugly, “it’s actually 1 in the morning, Nance. So.”

“Well, you’re a pretentious little bitchass nerd. So.” She felt her blood begin to boil amidst the fires of affection, and she looked at her brother defiantly. He always thought he was the smart one. Well, guess who’d finished her midterms with flying colors, in all advanced classes? Teach him to be all high and mighty. They were both smart. She began to feel genuinely annoyed, the old flames of rivalry igniting, until Mike let out a yawn that made his baby-face look still younger, and she felt her heart melt again.

“Well, anyway,” Mike said boredly. “Your boytoys are upstairs if you want. In my old room.” The way he said old told Nancy he desired questioning, but she refused to ask.

“They’re not my boytoys.”

Mike waved a hand flippantly. “Sex toys, boytoys, they’re all the same, aren’t they?” He stuck out his tongue, ducking her slapping hands, and giggled, hopping the steps down to the basement double-quick.

“Where’s Mom?” Nancy called down the stairs, only half expecting an answer.

Over the sounds of Bowie and The Smiths, she heard a faint, “out,” before it was lost amidst her brother’s friend’s giggles and chatter.

Nancy stood, in the foyer of a house she used to call her home, and felt more alone than she ever had. Mike had grown up so, so much since they’d last seen each other. He was fifteen now, and he was nearing six feet tall, and his lanky frame seemed to be filling out with newfound cords of muscle- not big enough to notice, certainly, unless you were Nancy, who noticed everything and had seen Mike last when he was still cracking his voice. He also, she noticed, had grown out of his voice cracking. All gone, and she’d missed the last of it. The last remnants of time to tease her baby brother were gone, because she’d chosen to go to college.

You see, college wasn’t a question of Where for the Wheelers- it was a question of If and When. Karen Wheeler had gone to college for child psychology, and dropped out when her now-divorced husband had come along. She never finished it, and had, in fact, started that education a year late. She took a year off from school between college and high school, giving up her many scholarships for a trip to Europe. That was her choice, and she chose it and stuck by it. They had the money, surely, and the smarts in abundance, but they also had years and years of history of formally uneducated women in a time where that was common. Karen’s mother, Pat Goldblum, had been the perfect model of a housewife. She’d never dreamed of education, but she’d done the best she could with what she had and given Karen a slightly better life. Nancy had made it clear she WOULD be going to college, on time, and seeing it through to the end- but now she was having doubts. She loved her family, her friends, her two loving partners. How could she give that up to go to a med school in the big city?

So there she stood, fighting back tears, the realization washing over her that she had missed so much in such a short amount of time. How much had happened in those five months? A LOT, apparently! She felt a hot tear run down her cheek, and she choked it back. No crying. Not now.

Just then, a tall, broader boy padded down the stairs quietly and came up behind Nancy. His rough hands went over her eyes with a gentleness she quickly recognized, and she whipped around with a smile on her face.

“Jon!” She wrapped him up in a bear-hug tight enough to trap Houdini, and began peppering his face with kisses, saying between that that “I- missed- you both- so- much, you- don’t- even know.” The last kiss landed on his lips, and was long and sweet and as good as can be. Jonathan smiled, putting his hands on her small waist and lifting her up so he was half-carrying, half dragging her up the stairs.

“Hey, Nancy,” he said shyly, rubbing her back and setting her on a futon she recognized as the one Barb used to use when she wasn’t sharing Nancy’s bed.

She glared lovingly at him. “Don’t be so formal, Byers! Be nice! Be relaxed! Be-”

“Be like me!”

Nancy recognized that voice, too, and turned to see Steve standing in the doorway, arms crossed much like they had been on the night they’d first kissed. She smiled like a kid in the biggest, best, cheapest candy store in the galaxy as she looked between them, drinking them all in.

Jonathan hadn’t gotten any taller, still scraping five eleven, but he certainly was broader. She heard he’s begun taking up football on the side, and the wiry frame of his teenage years was… basically gone. He had rounded, wide shoulders and a broad chest, and he looked solid enough to carry her across a bridge one-handed. She felt safe just looking at him in his pajama t-shirt and boxers. Steve, on the other hand, was as tall and lanky was ever. He’d hit his fourth growth spurt by a stroke of luck (or evil, depending on if you were Joyce, who needed help reaching jars, or Jonathan, who loved feeling stronger) that year, and he was two inches taller than his boyfriend by then. He was thin and lanky, unbelievably so, his figure filled out solely by the baggy shirt that HAD to be Jonathan’s that he was wearing and minimal muscles from the swim team he was on. All in all, Nancy was thoroughly pleased with how they were looking after almost half a year of fending for themselves.

“Hi,” she said breathlessly, holding Steve’s hand as if he would float away like a balloon, and pulling him onto the bed next to her. Her eyes never left his face.

“Hey, Nance. What’s cookin’, good lookin’?” He said it in faux flirtation, and she broke up laughing.

The other’s soon joined in, and they all began setting to work building a cuddling nest for three on the small mattress. They made quick work of it, and soon were laying together. Steve was in the middle, as usual, Nancy curled against his chest as Jonathan spooned them both from behind. Steve smiled into Nancy’s hair.

“You smell like a sorority, Nancy.”

She wrinkled her nose at her taller boyfriend. “I hate you, just so you know.”

Steve feigned surprise. “Why, of course! We all hate each other here! We all hate each other so much, we want to marry each other just to ruin each other’s lives!”

Jonathan shushed them both, and they lapsed back into comfortable silence, before Jonathan said: “Nancy, why were you crying downstairs?”

“Crying?” She said instantaneously, “I wasn’t crying!”

“Yes, you were.” Jonathan looked at her with the eyes of a man who planned on following someone to the ends of the universe. “Please tell us, Nance.”

Nancy sniffed, saying, “I… I dunno. I guess I just feel like… I’m missing so much, you know? I don’t feel like I know anything about you guys anymore. I hate it. I want to feel connected, and-” She was cut off by a small sob that she swallowed with great pain.

Jonathan was rubbing circles into the back of her hand, and said soothingly, “hey, hey, it’s okay. We’re all in college, remember? We don’t see each other at all, but you know what? I still love you guys more than anything I’ve ever loved before. We’re gonna be together as long as I can muster it, okay? So don’t worry, Nance. Don’t give up on your degree.” She shared a look with Steve, saying, “that’s the last thing we want.”

“But-”

“Nancy.” Jonathan’s eyes we grave. “Now is not the time.”

Steve nodded, kissing Nancy on the cheek. He sensed the tension, and broke it up the only way he knew how.

“Gee, Jonny, you love us more than ANYTHING? Maybe even, I dunno…” He pretended to look deep in thought. “The Clash?”

“No, I’m sorry,” Jonathan laughed, a deep rumble that made Steve’s back explode in the same magical sparks he got inside whenever Jonathan or Nancy touched him. “Joe Strummer is my first and only love.”

“Well, fine,” Steve said jovially, “but save a place for me to sit after Nancy and I crash the wedding.”

Jonathan grinned into Steve’s hair, pecking his crown thoughtfully. “Your face and my ass, Harrington.”

“Harrington-Byers-Wheeler,” Steve corrected, nuzzling into Jonathan’s touch.

Nancy looked on in bemusement, feeling a warmth grow in her chest as she watched her boyfriends bicker. She felt safe in the knowledge of their relationship, and in the fact that she knew they’d support her through anything.

And she’d do likewise for her boys, too.

#stranger things #jonathan byers #steve harrington #nancy wheeler #stoncy #stanny.txt

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ironinkpen · 8 years

Text

the bayard is the paladin is the lion: a season 3 prediction

Alternatively titled: Watch This Child Jeopardize Her GPA in Real Time As She Ignores Her Midterms to Write Yet Another Fucking Meta

The lovely @littleblackchats already wrote an awesome post about the symbolism of the bayards for each of the characters in Voltron. But I was wondering: could we take it a step further and use the weapons - and what they say symbolically about the paladins wielding them - to make an informed guess about who’s going to end up in what lion next season?

(even if the answer to that question is no, i’m already writing this so whatever)

Since Allura, Keith, and Lance are the most likely to be swapped into new lions (or, in Allura’s case, to be put into a lion for the first time), I thought it’d be cool to take a look at what the weapons each of them wields says about their personalities, and whether that can give us hints as to who’s gonna be the Black Paladin next season while Shiro’s gone.

Alright, so in episode 1, Allura tells us that a lion’s quintessence is mirrored in its paladin, and that the paladin shapes the bayard. So lion = paladin = bayard. The lion and paladin should be similar in personalty, and the bayard should be compatible to the paladin’s style of fighting and personality as well. This is shown really well in Hunk and Pidge: Pidge’s weapon is small (like her), electric (reflecting her interest in computers), and made for precision (Pidge is more interested in finding clever solutions than just brute-forcing problems), while Hunk’s is big (just like him), long-range (reflecting his wish to stay distanced from conflict), and packs a punch (Hunk is the strongest character on the team, after all).

So the weapons tell us something about the personalities of the ones using them. But what can their respective weapons tell us about Keith, Lance, and Allura?

Let’s start with Mr. “I want you to lead Voltron” himself:

Keith’s weapon is a sword, which is all sorts of metaphorical fun. Swords in literature (besides being like. hella phallic lmao) are usually associated with the archetype of the knight.

The knight character usually brings to mind two sets of traits: leadership, wisdom, chivalry, and arrogance (yay phallic symbolism) and on the flip side, hot bloodedness, passion, youth, romance, inexperience, and naiveté. Knighthood stories usually either follow an older, wiser knight as they go on a quest (usually to repay an old debt of some sort, a la Beowulf), or a younger, bright-eyed knight as they set out on an adventure of some sort (which typically involve a pretty girl in some way). Two very different possible characterizations! As you can see, sword imagery is a... double edged sword.

(I’ll show myself out)

Keith doesn’t have the naiveté or sense of romance that young knights often have, but the traits of hot bloodedness, passion, and youth fit him well. He’s definitely an impulsive character, prone to charging into battle without a plan:

(it was such a bad idea that Hunk thought it was a joke sldkjf)

The sword itself is a very impulsive, instinctive weapon. Sword fighting is about being faster than your opponent and values making the first strike. It’s also a reaction-based weapon that requires that you respond to your opponent’s attacks. Instinct is key in sword fighting– you have to be able to quickly respond when a blow is coming at you. This fits into the whole “relies on instinct more than skill alone” thing of the Red Lion.

The sword is also a weapon of violence. Knights were... usually not actually great, noble guys in practice. Keith subverts that whole mess by being a genuinely nice kid, but we see the bloodthirstiness typically associated with his weapon in scenes like at the end of season 1, where he charges in to attack Zarkon despite the fact that that’s. A really bad idea. Like I said, Keith’s a passionate character, and that can often translate into stabbiness with him.

As a close-range weapon, swords require that their users be brave enough to get close to their enemy. The user also has to be pretty confident that they’ll be able to handle themselves in a fight, because you gotta get like super close to someone that wants to kill you and be fairly certain that you’re the one who’s gonna make it out alive. Definitely Keith.

The sword is also tied with the traits of adventure, protection, and duty. Keith kicks off half of this whole Voltron adventure by going to get Shiro (Lance brings Pidge and Hunk along and finishes the party). His protective instinct is seen when he saves Shiro in season 2, covers Lance when they fight together, and tries to leave the team because he thinks they’re being tracked through them. His sense of duty is seen when he argues that Pidge can’t leave the team to go after her family bc they need her for Voltron (like... not ur call tho buddy) and when he turns away from his past in BoM to save people.

And it’s a rebel’s weapon! Which totally fits the whole “had a discipline issue and flunked out” thing at the Garrison. My boy doesn’t like authority at all lmao. When Coran tries to stop him from fighting Zarkon he just. Runs off and does it anyway. I love him.

Another motif often tied to swords is brotherhood. “Brothers in arms,” and all that. In that scene with the Blade Of Marmora, the armor Keith’s wearing is meant to show the wearer’s hopes and fears, and he sees Shiro, someone he considers a brother, walking away from him. The choice he is forced to make in this scene is between knowledge and companionship, and then between knowledge and heroism, which is telling of what Keith values as a person. He actually chooses knowledge over companionship during his conversation with Shiro, which... actually doesn’t really fit with the knight motif at all. But he then chooses heroism over knowledge, turning away from the answers to his past, which does. Either way, the decision to pick his past over his friends was clearly a difficult one to Keith, which makes sense, as knights are often more interested in interpersonal relationships and saving others than the pursuit of wisdom.

(Interestingly, though, Lance calls Keith a “samurai” in the comic, and the samurai archetype is often associated with traits like loneliness, wandering, and being lost. So while Keith clearly places value in bonds with others, like a knight, it seems that in practice he behaves more like the lonely samurai. Aw :( )

At his core, Keith is a very loyal character, both to the cause of saving the Universe and to his teammates. And this is consistent with his weapon. Knights are often sworn to a lord or lady or cause that they’ll fight for. With Keith, that cause and those people are Team Voltron.

Alright so that’s a lot on Keith. Now onto Lance:

His bayard’s a gun! Also super phallic lol. But ignoring that, let’s talk about what this says about Lance!

Alright, so for one thing, Lance’s weapon is built for medium to long range fighting. It’s a weapon that requires distance from the opponent. This shows a tendency to disengage when possible, which is absolutely consistent with Lance’s character. He prefers to think up a plan rather than charge right in.

Lance’s weapon also calls upon the archetype of the sniper. When you think of a sniper, the trait of patience probably comes to mind– the sniper of the group is usually the guy sitting up on a high place, observing the lay of the land and quietly waiting around to make their shot. While it may seem at first glance like Lance’s loud-mouthed, hyper personality doesn’t fit this archetype at all, it… actually does. Really, really well.

(God this shot (heh) always gives me shivers)

Take this scene for example. Lance, despite the closing doors, the fact that he’s just been shot out into space, and the stress on him (they need Slav for their whole plan to work), makes the shot and saves Slav. And he waits for the perfect moment before shooting. The cool-headedness he shows here is astounding.

Plus, think of his Garrison backstory. He was a cargo class pilot at the Garrison despite wanting to be fighter class. But did he give up? Not at all. He continued to work to be top of his class so that when a slot opened up, he was able to be moved up into fighter class. And he did this with no indication that a place would even open up in the first place. He was likely working for quite some time before Keith got kicked out. He’s actually a pretty patient character!!

On the flip side, though, there’s the idea of the “itchy trigger finger.” Lance doesn’t always think things through– he can also be pretty hotblooded and passionate and make snap (read: bad) decisions (like in the case of his thirst for Nyma, for one). That also says something interesting about his character: impulse = bad when it comes to Lance. An itchy trigger finger is a negative thing. While with the sword, passion and energy can be good, noble things, the gun is a weapon that almost exclusively causes harm when used impulsively. Keith’s impulses tend to be on the right path, while Lance’s are usually bad.

The gun ultimately requires focus. When a sniper’s eye strays from the scope, the shot’s lost. A lot of the times Lance messes up in when he’s looking at the people around him for approval / praise instead of focusing on the task. In episode 1 he crashes the simulator because he’s bragging, at one point in season 1 he crashes into something when boasting to Shiro about how he’s not an amateur, etc. etc. However, in situations like the above where Lance is focusing on a task and not on the opinions of others, he’s extremely effective.

This plays interestingly with another trait of the sniper archetype: observation. A sniper is often looking at things from a higher vantage point and watching others. While they have to be focused, they also have to be aware of the things around them. When he talks about his team during the episode with the prison break in season 2, Lance easily describes each of their strengths, and in season 1, he’s able to tell that the bomb isn’t Rover almost immediately, because Pidge isn’t with it. For someone that seems so self-absorbed at first glance, Lance is very in tune with the people in his environment and the environment itself.

On that note, the gun, like the sword, is a weapon of decisiveness. There’s really no taking back a shot bullet, just as it’s hard to stop a blade once it’s swung. The user of a gun must use it at the right moment, and with precise aim. In the scene above where he’s rescuing Slav, Lance only gets one shot (heh) to do what he can. And he follows through with one decisive flick of his finger.

But that edges into the dark side of the gun. While there’s definitely the trait of cool-headedness associated with gun users, this can also toe the line of cruelty. Characters with guns can be lone wolves and cold-blooded killers– the distance from their opponents makes them more able to detach from the act of killing. There’s also an aspect of cowardice to it, as the user often doesn’t face their opponents head to head.

I’d say that the narrative tosses that set of traits aside for Lance, though. When saving Slav, Lance goes for the warden’s arm, not a killing shot. Lance uses his gun to minimize damage, not cause it-- he often shows a preoccupation with the well-being of others (like when he reminds Keith to be careful with the Balmera because they’re alive). And Lance is definitely pretty brave (like when he pushes Coran out of the way of that bomb). His talkative personalty also subverts the lone wolf trope. However, the fact that his weapon requires distance can be a reflection of the loneliness he feels (he thinks he’s a seventh wheel :’( ).

Last, but definitely not least, we move onto Allura:

Alright, so the thing about Allura is that she doesn’t actually have a bayard. She does, however, have a weapon of choice, which is a staff.

(more… phallic imagery…….)

I’ll be honest, my knowledge of martial arts is limited and my English classes don’t typically cover staffs (heh), because none of the characters in the books I’ve read so far actually like… use staffs to fight. BUT I’ll try my best lmao

The staff has an interesting duality to it: on one hand, it’s a very firm weapon that requires strength and a good, firm stance to wield, while on the other, it’s a very flexible weapon that allows its user to change direction and move. This matches Allura’s character well. She can be really stern and really stubborn (when she insists on going into the ship in season 1, when she runs off with Keith, when she refuses to work with the BoM, etc.), but she’s also adaptable and flexible (when she wakes up and is like “yeah okay I guess I slept for 10000 years,” when she trains the paladins despite their being young and inexperienced because hey, they’re what we’ve got, when she works with the Blade of Marmora despite the fact that the Galra killed her entire people, etc.). Allura digs her heels in at times and lets herself go with the flow at others.

The staff is a weapon of strength and steadiness, one that has the ability to withstand blows. Allura goes through like. So much through the story, what with her losing her home, her people, and then her father’s AI. But despite that, she doesn’t crumble. Girl’s strong as hell.

But, on the flip side, it’s also a weapon of lightfootedness, a la Aang from Avatar the Last Airbender. I mentioned mobility and flexibility earlier, and that’s absolutely relevant to Allura. The staff allows its user to maneuver quickly. Similarly, Allura facilitates travel for the team: she provides wormholes so they can move around the universe to fight / ditch Zarkon. She’s a mobile, versatile fighter.

The staff is a weapon that’s close range. It has you get right up in your opponent’s face. So, like the sword, it requires that its user be confident and able to respond to attacks quickly. It’s a reaction-based weapon.

However, while it’s close range, the staff also allows the user to keep its opponent at a certain distance if they choose. This quality of the staff reflects Allura’s tendency to “strategize on the fly.” She’s close to her opponent like Keith, but can keep them at a farther distance than he can, like Lance. So she can, if she wants to, step back and get a broader look at the situation. As a result, Allura can rely on both instinct and observation.

It’s also an avoidant weapon, whose main strength lies in parrying the opponent-- it’s built for weathering blows and getting in strategic counterblows. As previously mentioned, this is the strategy of Team Voltron in the war: they attack Zarkon where they can, but otherwise avoid and regroup. It’s a strategy of wearing the opponent down.

The staff’s a difficult weapon to kill with. It doesn’t have a blade like the sword or bullet like the gun. It’s a weapon whose main purpose is to protect, not maim. This is reflected in Allura’s tendency to prefer diplomacy to violence.

Staffs also bring to mind balance. Allura is balancing a lot between helping train the new paladins, running the castleship, and organizing resistance against Zarkon. She’s a character that has to juggle several responsibilities, and she does so expertly.

Some more fun things about the staff (@quillowl thanks for the info!!) is that it can symbolize either a cane or a scepter. The scepter has close ties with responsibility and royalty. As the Commander of the Castle of Lions, Allura is charged with... basically running this whole Voltron show. And, she’s a princess, so, royalty.

As for the cane, it apparently has ties with the traits of wisdom and age. Allura is quite literally 10000 years old, so there’s the age part. And she’s a very wise leader (though she sometimes jumps the gun). The cane also denotes support.

Alright, this is already getting really long so we’re gonna jump to the good part. What does this have to do with the lions?

Allura states here that the quintessence of the lion matches that of their pilot. I’m basically 99% sure that there’s going to be a lion swap in season 3, what with Shiro out of the picture (for a while at least??), and the three lions that are most likely up for grabs are Black, Red, and Blue. The three people that will most likely fill one of those positions are Allura, Keith, and Lance (though for Allura to do so they’ll have to find a way for Coran to pilot the castle without her).

The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron, and requires a born leader who is in control at all times. Its related element is Air.

The Red Lion is the most temperamental of the lions and requires a pilot that relies more on instinct than skill alone. Its related element is Fire.

The Blue Lion’s traits are not stated outright on the show, but the Voltron website describes it as the friendliest of the lions, the most accepting of new pilots, and one of the most confident. Its related element is Water.

So who’s going where?

Well, each of these characters has the decisiveness required of the Black Lion, but personally, I think that Keith fits the Red Lion’s traits a bit too well to be moved from it. Keith fights with his instincts more than his head, which serves him well in battle. He’s agile, like his lion, and quick to charge into a fight (even when it might not be wise to do so). Plus, his relationship to the motif of brotherhood makes it hard for me to believe that he and Red will be easily separated. I think that Keith’s sense of duty to Shiro will make him try to pilot the Black Lion for at least a while, but his deep bond with Red will probably prevent him from keeping the role. However, he would be a good fit if the job if they did keep him in the Black Lion. The sword is a weapon of leadership-- Keith would just have to learn how to hone it.

As for Allura, if she is put in a lion, she has the friendliness of the Blue Lion, seen in her tendency to use diplomacy where she can. Her adaptability is consistent with that of the Blue Lion’s element of water– she “goes with the flow.” Plus, the staff is a weapon that is more difficult to hurt others with, and water is the element of healing. The Blue Lion is also a very well-balanced lion stat wise, reflecting Allura’s preference towards weapons that are balanced. And Allura has the steadiness and strength that a leg of Voltron would need to support the team, just as Hunk does.

On the flip side, that firmness and strength would also serve her as the Head of Voltron. Her adaptability makes her the flexible leader she already is, and the Black Lion is also a very well balanced weapon. Her ability to juggle so many things reflects a leader’s ability to balance and keep track of their team. Plus, the interpretation of the staff as a scepter calls to mind leadership, dignity, and responsibility-- all of which the head of Voltron should have. The staff is also, again, a weapon of lightfootedness, which is a definite argument that Allura’s native element could be Air, aka the Black Lion’s element.

As for putting Allura in the Red Lion, the agility and mobility her weapon provides would suit Red well. However, Red is a temperamental lion, and while Allura is passionate and fiery in personality, the staff errs more on the side of defense than on attack. Red would appreciate Allura’s willingness to step forward and attack, but might become frustrated with her tendency to keep distance from the opponent and strategize in the meantime.

And that leaves Lance, who’s a little weird. He’s been in the Blue Lion this whole time, but his weapon doesn’t really seem to match Blue’s flexibility as far as I can tell (the gun is too… constricted, you feel me??) or friendliness (guns require distance from others!!). It also doesn’t really match the impulsivity and instinct of the Red Lion, either. It’s very likely that Lance will, at first, be moved to the Red Lion, but I can’t see him fitting the role well. His weapon doesn’t have the agility and mobility of the Red Lion. And, as we’ve said, the gun isn’t a weapon that really works instinctively– when Lance takes that shot in season 2, there’s thought put into it. Impulse + guns (according to the above interpretation) = not great. His tendency to distance himself from problems and think things through even a little would probably piss Red tf off.

However, his decisiveness and patience could be a good fit for the Black Lion. Shiro has told Keith, “patience yields focus” and the weapon of the gun requires both patience to aim and focus to fire. Plus, Lance’s observational skills are befitting of a leader: he’s familiar with the strengths of the team and is quick to tell when something is wrong. The fact that his weapon requires distance shows a tendency like Allura’s to step back and look at a situation to diffuse it, also what a leader would do. He’d have to work on staying on task though lol.

Anyway yikes this got long but my point is that the weapons of the paladins might have been telling us more than we thought!! I’m not completely certain these three are gonna swap for sure or anything, or if Allura is going to get a lion in the first place given the fact that the castle needs her, but I think that if they were to do it, Black Paladin Lance, Red Paladin Keith, and Blue Paladin Allura would make the most sense based on this particular analysis (though keep in mind that I’m biased because I love Lance haha).

But hey the show writers could be interpreting their characters another way, in which case I just wasted like 2 hours I probably should have spent studying but oh well lmao

#voltron #voltron meta #keith #lance #allura #black paladin lance #blue paladin allura #why can i never write short metas #if you read this whole thing... i'm sorry........

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thoughtsicantshare · 7 years

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5/10/17

Although I just posted something, it was from a while ago. So, I have A TON, literally so much, to tell you.

Let’s start with the easiest: School. I still really love school. We ended May 3rd. History this semester kicked my ass big time, even though it was just a stupid gen. ed. But overall, I did really well. I got all As and my GPA is still a 3.98. Next semester I have some really interesting classes so I’m very excited for it. Still, I have no problem letting these next couple of summer months drag a bit. Work: I hate this place almost as much as I hate my high school-- and that is saying something big. We have next to know one bc everyone quit. We’re all doing WAY more than what our job titles entail and getting paid nothing. I’ve hit the point where idc anymore. I’m not going to continue scrambling and doing way more than my fair share bc no one cares, no one is even watching us, and I saw my pay check this week and it is nothing what is should be for how much work I’ve been doing.

I’m in the slow process of trying to find a new job, but it’s really hard. I love meeting people, and got really lucky with this job. The customer service is incredible at my store, and my customers as some of the sweetest people. However, retail just is not what I want to do now or ever. This is NOT my life and will never be my life.

Myself: In a recent post, I think I was really hard on myself and I think its was talking a lot about how I hated everything about me. I still am very unhappy with my weight. I let myself go really bad this time. I hate the way my clothes are fitting, I hate the way I look, and its all my fault. I have no self control- I eat what I want, when I want and don’t care. I finally started going to the gym again and it feels really good. I just need to keep a routine and actually start eating better. Boys: This is where shit hits the fan. I am more confused than ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don’t remember where I left off with the kid I like, but wow lots has happened.

I’ll start where shit hit the fan. So, for a little while I was thinking I still had a chance w him maybe. My two girl friends also did too, and I promise not in the annoying they’re supportive and positive only because they’re my friends way, but in the there were signs that he did like me way. On a tuesday night, the night before my major history midterm, me and my friend Tyiana stayed in the library to study (This exam was horrible!! I studied for days, made a like 20 page study guide and wanted to cry all the time. That night, we had studied for HOURS. Towards the end of the night, the guy I liked had come to the library to tutor some girl in his class. I obviously was jealous. When he was finished tutoring, he came and sat with me, Tyiana and her bf. He convinced me to finally stop studying around 10. I was just gunna go home, but when he was driving me to my car, I mentioned I really wanted McDonalds and he said ok let’s go. When we were driving, he told me he had a gf. My heart broke. I had NO IDEA he was even talking to someone. It took so much of me not to cry when he told me, but I played it as cool as I could. After I thought about it for a while, I tried to stay positive. I figured this would be good for him. If he’s happy, then I want him to be happy. If she makes him happy, then he should be with her. I also figured it this way- he can finally mature. Although I like him, he can be pretty selfish. Maybe this relationship could help him mature- he could finally lean to put someone before himself, to care for someone else’s feelings and needs before his own, to learn to really think about and care for others. And this way, if we ever go together, we could both be on the same page. It is important to note that on this car ride he specifically said, “I think I have a gf. Oh my god I think I have a gf now, idk I’ve never been in a real relationship before” Of course, this may be me just over analyzing it, but he wasn’t even sure if they were a couple, but he seemed set that the prospect was high. ALSO, he absolutely refused to answer the question “do you have feelings for her?” I asked him multiple times that night, but he either said “I don't want to talk about it” or “ stop asking me” This is weird right?!!?

After learning this info, I knew I had to move on. There was no point in continuing my crush bc he was with someone else, not me. There was no chance of him liking me now. I’d like to say that I was actually getting over him. It was extremely hard, but I was somehow managing it. I was thinking about him CONSTANTLY. I always wanted to be with him, talk to him, or whatever. He was just always on my mind. Then I eventually stopped thinking about him as much--I’d be lying if I said completely. But really, I wasn’t always wanting to talk to him, I didn’t care as much if took a longer to answer my text, I wasn’t always wondering where he was or what he was doing (please know that I mean that in the least creepy was possible).

And Now this is where things get really fucked up. and confusing. and frustrating. and down right annoying.

Not long after telling me he had a gf, he became extremely flirty with me. At first, it was just little things, but then it became very straight forward. He would literally straight up talk about how he wants to have sex with me. And every time, I bring up his gf. I’ll describe a few of the times that really stuck out:

1. One day, I was leaving school a little later than usually and we bumped into each other. We started talking, but he had somewhere he wanted to go so I didn’t think we’d talk long. We ended up hanging out for a couple of hours. Major event of this hangout:

Early that day, I saw him before class and he stressed that I looked really good in my dress.

This was the first and only other time (besides the car ride) I heard him call the girl his gf. Still to this day, weeks later, he won’t call her that.

He again refused to answer the question “do you have feelings for her?”

He showed me a gift she got him. He had it buried under a bunch of stuff in the hidden compartment of his trunk. He commented on how he hated it and thought it was stupid

Two people had called us bf/gf this day. and she I tried to deny it, he pretended we were dating

He CONSTANTLY talked about us dating. A few times I told him we could never be because we had suck different tastes in music, movies, and a bunch of other stuff and he got upset. Finally, when we both agreed on 1 movie we liked he goes “So can we date now? We both like that 1 movie. That’s something we have in common”

I told him that if any guy from campus asked if I was single, he should say yes and tell the kid to take me on a picnic bc thats my dream date. He told me that he would tell them I wasn’t single bc I was dating him. He later randomly was like “what are you doing saturday” and I was like “idk I think I’m working all day” and in a sad voice he was like “oh man are you really working all day?” and I said “yeah I go in at 2 and stay till 10, why?” and he was like “ Oh I was gunna take you out on that picnic date you want to go on”

But yeah, the ENTIRE time he just kept talking about how he wanted us to be together, and how we should and would date. He also mentioned that at some point me and him would have sex. To which I brought up, just about every time, that his gf wouldn’t really approve of that. **side note: us having ex has always been a joke bt us. We’ve both kinda always joked that we would at some point have sex**

2. This story is funny-- So one day I was walking to class and bumped into him. He asked where I was going, and I said I had class in 10 mins. So the conversation went:

Him: “perfect come with me”

Me: “ugh where are we going”

Him: “to my car”

Me, in an extremely flirty way: “Oh, your car? What are you going to do to me in your car”

(side note, one of the big jokes we have bt us is that we’re gunna have sex in either mine or his car. It started with my old car bc it was huge and had lots of space in the back, so he always said he wanted to fuck me in it.)

Him with a big smile and a wink: “Oh okay Alisa, I like the way you think”

So the convo continued on to just a little about what we did that day and then:

Him “you know one day it’ll happen”

Me: “what will happen?”

Him: “us. I can picture it- one day were gunna be hanging out really late at night and will be a little drunk and were just gunna do it”

Me, laughing but intrigued: “no. nothing is going to happen”

Him: “what why not? I can picture it”

Me: “well for one, I don’t drink so you won’t get me drunk. two, we never hang out late at night so that also poses a problem”

Him: “no i can picture it, it’ll happen”

He ended up walking me to class, on the opposite side of the building he needed to go to and more banter went on. I joked that I’d skip class to have sex w him if he wanted to and he just smiled so big.

3. The phone call. We usually call each other when we want to see what the other is doing to hang out. So, I was in the store one night and he called me to hang out. He had just gotten off of work and was going to stop by and visit me at my job. He didn’t know that I actually had off that night. This phone call was filled with nothing but him being extremely blunt that he wanted so badly to have sex w me. Highlights from the call:

It was his first day of work at this new job. He had just gotten off and wanted to come see me at my job. Mind you, his gf lives close to his job. His gf could have sex w him then and there, but I would’ve been at work. I also wouldn’t have had sex w him bc of the whole gf situation. BUT he still chose to see me

I mentioned all that to him and he just shrugged it off and said he wanted to hang out with me.

I asked him to go to my house and wait bc I’ll be home in 10 mins. He was like oh but if I go to your house I’ll have to meet your parents and what if they don’t like me? I can’t handle that. I told him that he wouldn’t have to go in and meet them, he just had to wait for me outside, and that who cares what they think he isn’t my bf so they don’t have to approve of him. He then responded but I am your bf, we’re together. They have to like me

He repeatedly told me he wanted to have sex

He again described that he has been thinking about the night we’re going to have sex. Again, he said we’d be hanging out really late at night and we’d be a little drunk and we were just going to do it. He said it would be great and he was excited for it to happen

I told him that I was very intrigued that he again had been picturing us having sex

On multiple occasions, he mentioned that we were dating and that I was his gf. I played along only one time and called him my bf, and he was happy when I did

I also brought up his gf a lot. I asked how she’d feel if she heard our conversations and all that stuff. He told me if she ever said anything to me, he would drop her in a heart beat

he got offended that he had told me multiple times that he wanted to have sex with me, but I never said it back to him

he said very boldly, bluntly, and seriously: “Alisa. I. want. to. fuck. you.”

when I told him that I would have sex with him, he was SO happy and was like “ok this is great. I’m hanging up now bc I want this to end on a great note”

4. Hanging out with Julia. One day he came and hung out with me and Julia for a little while. I had been having a really bad week and just wanted to hang out w him and laugh. But he was also in a weird mood so he was’t being fun.

The day before this, a kid had asked me for my number. I knew it didn’t mean anything, we had been friends for a little while bc we had a class together last semester, but I wanted to make is seem bigger in front of the kid I like

So I was like: “Oh Julia listen to this, a kid asked me for my number... I hope it goes somewhere because I have nothing else going on for me”

Him: “woah, what about me. you have me going on.”

Me: “Actually, you have a gf, until she is out of the picture, we are nothing”

I didn’t think he’d talk about us being together or having sex in front of Julia bc he does’t do it in front of our guy friends, but he did. Later, this happened:

Him: “but wouldn’t you want to be with me?”

Me: “yeah, but like I said, you have a gf. I’m not getting w you while she’s in the picture. that’s wrong. If you really want me, break up w her and we’ll talk”

Him: “are you for real? if i break up with her, we can get together?”

Me: “yeah dude, I’ve told you that before”

Him: “ok I’m calling her now.”

And he actually went to call her to break up with her, but I stopped him. I wasn’t going to let him break up w his gf bc I told him that I’d have sex with him. If we were going to get together or be together, then it would have to be because he actually wants to be with me, not because I would have sex with him.

There’s SOOOOO much more, but it’s 1 AM and I have so much to do tomorrow so I have to try to fall asleep. I’ll write more tomorrow, because there is more annoying shit to talk about. These were only a few of the juicy stories! Peace and blessings for tonight! (:

#journal

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