#best plance moment

[min3nc]

You like/liked voltron, right?

common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing and part of canon you think is overhyped for voltron. Or Carmen Sandiego.

[Ask Game]

I hated- Hated! That they said Allurance was rushed. It was, perhaps, badly executed, yes. They should have shown more clearly Allura's feelings for Lance.

But dude over there was crushing on her since the moment he laid her eyes on her! She was always his priority, romantic or not, he wanted what was best for her.

But to me, it will always be because of the insistence from the fandom that Klance should have been endgame. It obscured the fact that Lance was, and had always been shown in canon, in love with Allura.

To me, the scenes between Keith and Lance were reeeally overhyped... again, due to a fandom that insisted that every interaction between them was romantic, regardless of the context. And I couldn't enjoy them until I gave it a rewatch during the pandemic, having already grown out of the fandom.

And like. I was a Plance shipper. I say it from what I saw from the show.

And, oh, I don't know about Carmen Sandiego. It was such a fun show to watch, y'know? I loved it... I can't think about something that was overhyped about it. Lived up to its name, for me.

[crazy-fangirl1245]

My one-shot fanfic @plancesecretsanta for @numbah34!  They requested a “surprise me” fic, so I decided to do a scene rewrite of Season 7 Episode 3 “The Way Forward”.  You know...the one with our favorite Plance moment (”Don’t you touch her!”).  I did not realize Pidge and Lance were going to be so difficult to write, so here’s hoping that I kept them in-character well enough! <3

Well, this certainly hadn’t been part of the plan.

Why did it seem like every time something went right, five other things went horribly wrong?

The Voltron paladins, Allura, and Krolia had been captured and now sat trapped in a small and cramped cell on a Galra pirate ship. They were handcuffed, their lions were out of commission, and there was currently no way of getting out of the cell without someone manually opening it on the other side.

And their fate rested in Coran’s hands who had somehow managed to evade capture.

To put it plainly, they were quite screwed.

As they all sat around contemplating what was in store for them if they didn’t escape soon, the door opened and two Galran soldiers walked in followed by their old enemies, Ezor and Zethrid, who looked a little too happy for the prisoners’ comfort.

“Look who’s here,” Ezor smirked.  “It’s Voltron.”

Zethrid slammed her huge fist into her palm. “We’re going to have a little talk.”

“Hey, you’re the guys that Lotor shot into space,” Lance remarked.

“And the ones that were trying to kill us,” Pidge added.

Hunk smiled nervously.  “Yeah, sure, but we’re all friends now, right?  I, for one, am glad you survived.”

“I’m glad you survived, too,” Ezor smiled. “It’s not fun torturing a dead person.”

“Oh.  So maybe not?”

“Where have you been all this time?” Zethrid demanded. “And what happened to Lotor?”

“What are you talking about?” Shiro asked.

Ezor frowned.  “We’re talking about your little disappearing act.”

“Answer the question!” Zethrid said.  “How did you survive that explosion?

“Don’t you know?” Hunk asked.  “You were there.”

“I think there’s a little confusion about how the ‘we ask questions, you give us answers’ scenario works,” Ezor told him.

“Enough questions,” Zethrid growled.  “Where is Lotor?”

Keith glared at them.  “Lotor’s dead.  We left him in the Quintessence Field.”

Ezor rolled her eyes.  “Yeah, that doesn’t really add up.  Why aren’t you dead?”

“Because of…the power of teamwork?” Hunk offered.

“I’m going to ask you one more time,” Zethrid said, glaring at the Paladins.  “And then we’re going to have to take a more extreme approach.”

“The fun part,” Ezor smiled eerily.

“What happened to Lotor and where have you been all this time?”

None of the paladins could answer her.  They had told her the truth, and it wasn’t their fault that she didn’t believe them.

“If you insist on maintaining this charade of ignorance, you leave us no choice but to apply pressure.”

“Finally.  Who’s our first victim?”

Zethrid’s eyes scanned the paladins and she smiled as she landed on the green paladin.  “You. I’d bet half my fleet this group of heroes has a soft spot for the small one.”

Ezor started walking towards Pidge.

“Don’t you touch her!” Lance yelled.

He attempted to attack Ezor, but the red alien had much more fighting experience and it didn’t help that he was still handcuffed.  Ezor dodged his hit and then kicked him into the far wall.  He sat up and prepared to try again, but one of the Galra soldiers aimed his gun at him.

Zethrid smirked.  “Your defiance is adorable and so very misguided.”

“Leave us alone!” Pidge demanded.

Ezor used her ‘hair’ to grab Pidge and yank her forward into her arm.  She smirked as she hoisted her well above the ground.

“Pidge!” Hunk exclaimed.

“Let her go!” Keith ordered.

“No, please!” Lance begged.  “You take me instead, do you hear me?!  Give her back and take me instead!”

Pidge spared a glance in Lance’s direction full of fear and confusion.  She wasn’t sure she had ever been more scared than she was at that moment.  Not just for her, but for the rest of her team as well. For him.

Ezor grabbed Pidge by the neck and slammed her against the cell wall.  Lance took a step forward, but she held up a finger.  “Take one more step, and I snap her pretty little neck.”

“We told you everything you want to know! Hurting her won’t change the fact that Lotor is dead!  Please! Just let her go.  Do whatever you want to me, just please don’t touch her!”

Ezor and Zethrid exchanged knowing glances.

The red alien smirked again and held up the hand that wasn’t holding Pidge up against the cell wall.  Her fingers sharpened into talons, and Lance thought for sure that his heart stopped beating.  She slowly inched the claw closer to Pidge’s neck.

“Answers. Where is Lotor?”

“He’s…dead,” Pidge choked out, her oxygen supply cut off by Ezor’s hand.  “It’s…the truth.”

Ezor used one of her talons to slice Pidge’s cheek, leaving behind three deep cuts.

“No, stop it!” Lance cried.

Small lines of blood began to make their way down Pidge’s face, the dark liquid standing out against her pale skin that was beginning to turn blue.

Lance thought he might throw up.  He had never felt so powerless in his entire life.  He couldn’t do anything to stop this.  None of them could.  They just didn’t have enough strength.  Not like this.

“Pidge, I’m sorry,” he whispered as he collapsed to his knees.  He tried to fight the tears welling in his eyes, afraid that it would make him appear weak in front of both the enemy and his teammates, but it felt as if Ezor was strangling him too and he couldn’t breathe.

Pidge kicked against the steel behind her and clawed at Ezor’s hand, desperately trying to draw in a breath.

Her vision began to go dark from the lack of oxygen.

Ezor’s smirk widened at her pain as she tightened her grip.

Suddenly, red lights and alarms began flashing and blaring exclaiming that there was a hull breach.

Zethrid angrily left the cell to deal with the problem followed by the other Galran soldiers.  Ezor looked at Pidge with disappointment before dropping her onto the cell floor.

Pidge inhaled sharply and began coughing and taking deep gulps of air.

Lance was at her side in a second.  “Pidge! Come on, come on, breathe!”

He put his handcuffed hands to her back and shoulder to help her sit up while she focused on reclaiming all of her stolen oxygen.

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, but Lance couldn’t tell if it was from the pain or the fear.  It was most likely a combination of both.

He was furious that he hadn’t been able to prevent this.

If anything worse had happened, he never would’ve been able to forgive himself.

He already couldn’t forgive himself.

“Lance…” she wheezed.

“I’m right here,” he said quietly.  “I’m here. I’m so sorry, Pidge…”

The girl’s eyes closed and she slumped over into his arms.  When he saw the dark bruises on her neck and the blood running down her cheek, he wanted to pummel Ezor and Zethrid into the next deca-phoeb.

“Pidge? Pidge!”  He looked up at the others.  “We’ve gotta get out of here now.”

Krolia walked over to the door and peeked out of the small opening.  “This is it.  The next time that door opens, overwhelm the guard.”

However, before they could do anything, they heard the guard crying out in pain and a loud thump.

Then the door opened.  To their surprise, the space mice sat on the unconscious guard’s stomach smiling proudly.

“Hello, little friends!” Allura smiled as she knelt in front of them.  They squeaked at her.   “What?”  More squeaking.  “Where?”

“Where?” Hunk repeated.  “What are they saying?”

“Coran’s trying to rescue us.  And he’s got help.  Acxa.”

“What?” Keith said in surprise.

The space mice helped everyone undo their handcuffs.

“Pidge?” Lance said urgently, lightly shaking her.  “Pidge, come on, you gotta wake up!”

Nothing.

“She’s barely moving!”

“We gotta get out of here,” Keith said firmly.  “Can you carry her?”

Lance quickly scooped Pidge up into his arms, and they began making their way through the ship so they could find Coran, retrieve their bayards, and get to the lions.

Lance always knew that Pidge was the smallest one of their team, but holding her broken, damaged form in his arms made him realize just how small she really was. She didn’t get enough credit for being this small and still managing to be a defender of the universe.

He made a mental note to tell her that when she woke up.

If she woke up.

Lance shook his head.  No.  When she woke up.

Holding her close and feeling that she would be okay as long as he held her, Lance followed the others towards their lions.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

The Voltron team found solace on an abandoned planet and made camp inside a small cave.

Allura bandaged Pidge’s wounds on her cheek and neck while the others made a fire and tried to find something to eat.

Lance refused to leave Pidge’s side.  Even though Allura and Acxa insisted that she would be okay, he couldn’t believe it until he saw it himself.

He couldn’t stop blaming himself for her injuries and what might’ve happened if the alarms hadn’t gone off.

After what felt like hours, Pidge’s eyes slowly opened.

Lance was pretty sure he hadn’t ever seen Pidge without her glasses on, fake or not, but without them on, he realized just how pretty her eyes were.

“Lance?” she croaked out, her voice hoarse after the beating her windpipe had taken.

“Hey, don’t talk,” he said gently.  “We got you off the ship and we’re on another planet to get our bearings and figure out our next step.”

“My throat hurts.”

“Here, Acxa managed to make this.”  He handed her a glass of amber liquid.

“Acxa?”

“Yeah, turns out she’s on our side.  We wouldn’t have made it off that ship without her.”

Pidge sipped the liquid and made a face.

“Uh, yeah, she mentioned it wouldn’t taste good.  But it will help you get your voice back.”  Lance sighed heavily and put his hand on hers.  “I thought I had lost you, Pidge.”

“You…you tried to get them to take you instead.”

“Come on, any one of us would’ve done the same.”

“Maybe…but it was you.”

“I would die before I let anything happen to you.  I hope you know that.”

“I do now.”

“I’m so sorry.  For everything.  That should never have happened to you.  It should’ve been me.”

Pidge slowly put the back of her hand to his cheek.  “It’s okay.  Comes with being a Paladin, right?”

Lance put his hand against hers.  “Still…seeing you like that…it made me realize just how important you are to Voltron, to the universe…to me.”

Pidge smiled a little, feeling her heart throb.  She wasn’t sure she had ever truly seen Lance in a romantic light. Not consciously anyway.  But him looking at her like that made her realize that she wanted him to like her that way.

She fingered the bandage on her cheek.  “Think it’ll leave behind a scar?”

Lance knew Pidge wasn’t really a self-concious person (maybe with the exception of her height), but hearing her sound so scared about the possibility of three scars on her face made his heart ache.

He gave her a charming smile.  “Well, if it does, no one will ever think twice about crossing you again.”

Pidge couldn’t help but lightly smile.  She supposed she hadn’t thought of it like that.

“You amaze me, Pidge,” Lance continued.  “Even though your skills lay in your incredible tech abilities, you still fight with everything you’ve got.  You have more courage and bravery than anyone I’ve ever known.”

Pidge’s throat began to tighten, and not because of the injury she had sustained. “Lance, I…”

“Pidge…”

Lance stood up and leaned over her.

“What are you doing?”

“I really want to kiss you.  Is that okay?”

Pidge’s face turned several shades of scarlet.  Then she barely nodded.

The kiss could barely even be called a kiss.  It was more like a brush.  Lance didn’t want to hurt her even more, and Pidge wasn’t sure how much she could take.

But it had to have been the most beautiful thing either of them had ever experienced in their entire lives.

[princessallura052]

Voltron Season 1 Thoughts (Review)

Season 1 was a very good introduction to the series. We learned a bit of each character’s base personality and went into depth with some of them such as Pidge and Allura and even bits and pieces of Shiro’s past. We got to see Voltron’s power and the Galra’s cruelty and how seeing that cruelty changed Hunk.

Shay was being oppressed and when he realised he could do something about that, Hunk grew. He stopped being a coward and scared and changed. That was amazing character development on his part.

Pidge also had some good character development this season, going from pushing everyone away to find her family to coming to realise that the team was her family. Hunk and Pidge were probably the two characters who evolved the most in this season and I love that.

I don’t support the trans Pidge headcanon. I believe Pidge was happy to be a girl but made the same decision Mulan did where she chose to pose as a boy to help her family. But she seemed miserable cutting her hair and struggled to let the others in close until she told them she was a girl. I am not super pro- LGBTQ+ but I am okay with same sex couples as long as its not turned into a fetish. However, I am anti-transgenderism. I don’t like it. No hate for the people but it makes me uncomfortable.

Hunk/Shay is adorable though. I support it. I will read it. I write it too. Keith started off interesting and I love his bad boy traits, so sexy and it made him very cool but he also feels very one-note this season. Still sexy, but I don’t like his personality very much. Shiro and Allura do really shine for me this season too though. Shiro is very strong – struggling with PTSD, which was written awesome but still being there for everyone and trying his best as leader.

And Allura, omg girl, my heart. You lost your planet, your people, your family and you’re still fighting for the greater good. Like that is true kindness. The way she helped the Balmera omg and her speech brought tears to my eyes. She definitely is my favourite this season, followed by Shiro.

Lance annoyed me. Like he’s not bad, I know but this season wasn’t really good for him or for Keith, but he’s too shallow for me to like him just yet. The parade stuff and constant flirting annoyed me a lot. I think the only time I liked him was when he defended Pidge in the first episode, like covered her mouth and all to keep her from getting in trouble. Weirdly enough, the two moments I liked him were when he was defending Pidge, once from Iverson and once from Sendak. I think I’ve always been a Plance shipper lol but never admitted it because it felt like that one odd ship.

Overall, I feel this season was a good introduction to the series but it’s not one I rewatch constantly as a whole season. Oh forgot to mention, I also liked the little snippets we got of Shiro and Keith’s brotherly bond. Keith rescuing Shiro from quarantine was probably his best moment to me in this series as well as protecting him when he had a PTSD attack. So yeah, that was sweet!

[rueitae]

Rue's 2021 Writing Year in Review

I've done this in past years and I hated to not continue it. Below the cut are my stats and fics posted in the year 2021!

Fics posted: 22

Fics Updated: 1

Voltron: Legendary Defender: 7

Carmen Sandiego (2019): 16

Word Count: 124,777

Voltron: Legendary Defender Fics:

Not So New: (Plance) A post canon New Years Eve plance fic.

After Hours: (Plance) A married plance fluffy Christmas fic (with special appearance from their OC child)

A Bird in the Hand: (Gen) Written for the Pidge Angst Bang 2021! Pidge is captured by a space mob boss during the journey back to Earth in season seven. She needs to use her wits, Paladin training, and trust in her team to escape.

A Wolf in Thieves Clothing: (Plance) Continued fic for the Carrot and Stick Plance bang earlier this year! This is an AU based off of Lupin the Third, the Castle of Cagliostro.

Shootin' the Breeze (Just Say Yes): (Plance) Written for the Happily Ever After Plance Zine. This is a wild west AU that I was particularly pleased with! Ends in a proposal and has a healthy portion of danger!

Plan is a Four Letter Word: (Plance) Lance and Pidge have separate ideas on what their Valentine's Day plans are. Humorous miscommunication.

One for the Movies: (Plance) The plance baby wants in on date night.

Carmen Sandiego (2019) Fics Posted*:

Saved for Memories: VILE discovers Player's existence and brings him in as bait to lure Carmen back. Using the truth extractor, the Faculty get a front row view to Player's memories and how exactly he came to know Carmen.

The Kalosian Castle Caper: A retelling of the first CS episode as a Pokemon AU!

A Good Time: An epilogue gift for @constantconfusion14 and her 'Player tries field work for a caper' fic, Best Laid Plans.

Geography Teacher Player AU

A Teaching Moment: Player's first day of his first year of teaching. Carmen comes to visit to offer congratulations and assure him that he made the right career decision.

The Inspector and the Little Pirate: Devineaux and Julia are on ACME recruitment duty at a high school science fair. Carmen is there to support Player's project. VILE is also there to recruit after ACME decimated their numbers. Chase POV, he learns a little bit more about Carmen and does some bonding with Player.

Off the Hook: At the end of Player's first year of teaching. He helps ACME out on a stakeout gone horribly wrong.

Modern Fantasy Familiar AU

Strange and Familiar: Introduction to the world. Player comes from a magical family. He worries over why he hasn't heard from Black Sheep since he tracked her to Morocco.

Recovery: Directly picks off from Strange and Familiar. Carmen is injured and Player and his parents start her on the path to recovery. They grapple with their new shared magic and get excited over the idea of taking down VILE together.

Relax: Carmen is injured in a caper. Player and his mother make sure that Carmen heals and relaxes and that she is safe here. She's home.

Overload: Carmen, Zack, Ivy, and Player meet up pre-caper to discuss last second plans. Found family fluff.

A Losing Game: The dark Red arc.

Whumptober Collection:

You've Got A Friend: Player takes a gap year before university to travel the world with Carmen. When she gets sick, he finds some relief in being an in-person caretaker this time around.

Found: AU where Black Sheep is never able to escape VILE and get in touch with Player again. Ten years of searching, Player finally finds his best friend again.

All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go: VILE has both Carmen and Player captive on a cruise ship, traveling towards VILE island.

Paper Trail: Maelstrom POV. The Professor bullies a captive Player during the dark red arc.

I Know This Looks Bad...: After VILE discovers Player's existence in a canon divergence AU, Shadowsan is forced to act sooner than he'd like. Unfortunately he didn't tell Player what the plan was before he pulled a Carmen and kidnapped Player first. Prequel to @sakarrie-creates fic Blind Rage, where Carmen confronts Shadowsan on the issue, thinking Player is dead.

*Also written were 44 ficlets of varying lengths not posted.

Best title: Saved for Memories

I love the layers behind this. The crux of the fic is the villains forcing the protagonist to show them cherished memories that happen to be very useful to the bad guys, when those good times with his best friend deserved to be kept more sacred than that.

Worst title: I Know This Looks Bad…

I definitely was not thinking when I posted this fic.

Favorite Piece of Writing:

From The Inspector and the Little Pirate. I consulted by CS buddies and their unanimous decision was this:

Chase turns his head to indeed see that his car is being driven away. But it is not the fact that his car is being stolen that fills him with terror.

Player had been in that car. There hadn’t been four students to protect, there had been five .

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

I went into the year assuming I’d continue to write more plance fic. Then Carmen Sandiego (2019) had its finale in January and I’ve been solidly entrenched since. Churning out 16 fic of various lengths certainly proved that. I also got to do Whumptober again this year. I’d missed it.

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

Off the Hook. Post canon has a special place in my heart and it was my chance to touch on the main cast interacting with each other on friendly terms and living to their full potential.

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

Actually, A Teaching Moment and Saved for Memories both have 219 kudos as of today, which is WILD. Which makes sense, both of these I churned out closest to the end of the series, so there was more readership at the time.

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

Paper Trail. I like to think I’m super clever with the outline of the story and writing Maelstrom’s POV delighting in Player’s despair was SUPER fun. Also most fun to write and potentially saddest. It's a pretty dismal situation for the protagonists.

Fav dialogue from it: “Sometimes there is no reason for evil,” Maelstrom explains, one he’s given to students asking the same. “I just enjoy seeing others suffer. Other times, others are simply means to an end.”

Story with single sweetest moment?

Off the Hook, the scene at the end where Carmen and Player chat. The entire fic has been a high stress caper and Carmen calls simply to chat with her friend. She then tells him to go to bed lol.

Hardest story to write?

The Kalosian Castle caper was like pulling teeth at times, but A Wolf in Thieves Clothing was even moreso. I just haven’t been in a vld mood for most of the year.

Most overdue story?

A Bird in the Hand. Written for the Pidge Angst Bang this year, I’ve had the first portion written for nearly two years so I was super happy to see it to fruition.

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

I wrote for totally new fandom and characters. I’m branching out to a couple other fandoms too. It’s been relaxing. I'm currently writing a short Pokemon fic, and wrote three Miraculous Ladybug ficlets as a challenge to see how much I could get right about the series from just tumblr posts. Apparently I got pretty close lol.

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

My goals are to enjoy writing. Minimize commitments. Go with the muse.

[rosesnvines]

Hi @niazelki!! I’m your Secret Santa!! I did not do this lovely piece of art, I commissioned it from the ever so talented @Nyastyle from DeviantArt, and wrote this short story to go with it. I did post it on DeviantArt as well. Hope you enjoy!! @idyllchatter-plance-and-kallura

Pidge let out a sigh. Beezer came rushing to her and a worried expression appeared on his screen. The two were in Pidge’s room and Pidge was curled up on her bed. 

“Hey Beezer, I’m . . .” She paused. Should she say exactly what was going through her mind or lie? She sighed, Beezer was a robot, but it would be nice to talk to someone. “Beezer, are you recording?” 

Beezer shook his head. 

“Ok, do not record this, I just want to get it off my chest.” Beezer watched her as she took a moment to gather her thoughts. “Lance . . . I like Lance, a lot. I think, I think maybe even love him.” 

Beezer let out an understanding beep. 

“Wait, you knew?” 

Beezer nodded. 

“Really? I didn't think I ever showed an interest in Lance.” She smiled. “But you do know me pretty well. Then you'll understand that I, I wanted . . . I wanted to . . .”. Tears began filling in her eyes. “I wanted to be the girl Lance asked out, not Allura!” The tears fell. “I-I mean, Allura’s great, don't get me wrong, and, everyone should like her, but, but I wanted it to be me!” She placed her head in her lap and sobbed. “I wanted it to be me! But I should have known, I really should have, Lance only notices the pretty girls. I'm just not that pretty.” She chuckled as the tears continued to fall. “I mean, he didn't even know I was a girl until I told him! He can be so dense!” She paused as the tears slowed. She wiped her eyes, sniffled, and then wiped her nose. “Yeah, yeah, he can be really dense, and an idiot, and a show off, but, but he's fun to be around. He’s nice, and caring, a great listener. And he is cute.” She giggled as she blushed. “Those blue eyes of his . . . I always feel like I'm flying, or swimming. I just, I just feel so free when I look into them.” She picked up a mermaid plushie and fiddled with the arms. She looked up at a picture of a sunset. “I just wish he would look at me the way he looks at her.” 

Beezer let out a sad beep. 

Pidge patted his head. “It’s Ok, this is only a relationship. Hey, he could still look at me that way, I just . . . I just need to give him time.” She rubbed her chin. “Hey Beezer, could you go take a picture of them on their date? 

Beezer gave her a surprised beep. 

She chuckled. “I know, I know, I just poured out my whole heart to you, that I want to be the girl going with him to his special place, but, I also want him to be happy. I want them both to be happy. And, I want them to commemorate it. Will you do that for me, please?” 

Beezer gave an affirmative beep as he saluted her. 

“Thank you.” Pidge watched him go before turning back to the picture of the sunset. “Sure, technology’s no sunset, but it has its purpose. It can capture that sunset and give you something to remember it by.” 

...

It had been a few years since they had defeated Honerva, since Voltron was last needed to defeat a great evil, since Lance and Allura broke up. They had spent a good deal of that time trying to bring peace back to the galaxy and help rebuild what had been previously destroyed. Pidge was surprised to see more and more of Lance during that time, but didn’t think much about it outside of enjoying his company. She did note that Hunk and Shay went around doing stuff, so were Keith and Allura, and Shiro was going around with that guy whose name she couldn’t remember. Romelle was helping Coran with the Alteans, the three former generals of Lotor were working with the Galra, and her own brother Matt was off traveling with Rolo and Nyma. Pidge enjoyed every minute that they spent together, but didn’t want to push her luck. Besides, there were other things on her mind. So when Lance suggested a return to Earth for a quick vacation, she jumped at it. A vacation sounded like a good idea. 

After going through the usual check-ins, check-ups, and catch-ups, Lance pulled her to the side. 

“Hey, I, I was wondering if you could come with me somewhere?” 

“Uh, sure, I guess,” Pidge replied with a shrug. 

“Tonight, meet me at Red.” 

Pidge raised an eyebrow. “Uh, Ok . . .” 

“Great!! See you tonight!” He gave her a quick hug before dashing away. She watched him leave, blinking in confusion. Where exactly did he want to go? She shrugged and went about other things before getting ready to go. 

Later that night, Green landed near Red. Lance was lounging against his lion, watching the sun set. He was wearing his old blue and white t-shirt and a pair of jeans, but the way the lighting was, Pidge thought he was the most handsome she had ever seen him. She blushed as butterflies filled her stomach, but quickly got rid of the feeling by the time she exited her lion to meet up with him. 

He smiled at her, and the butterflies returned. “Great, you made it!” 

Pidge scoffed. “I told you I would come.” 

Lance ran his fingers through his hair as he chuckled. “Yeah, you did. Now, um, do you want to follow me, or just come with me in Red?” 

Pidge’s eyebrow went up as she blinked. “Uh, does it matter?” 

Lance shrugged. “No, not really, but, I would prefer it if we just took one Lion, doesn’t make sense to have both.” 

Pidge shrugged. “I mean, you have a point, if anything were to go wrong, we can get back here pretty quick, and I can call on Green.” 

It was Lance’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Is there really anything wrong going on at the moment?” 

Pidge chuckled. “True, but you never know.” 

He laughed. “Good point. So, what shall it be . . .” 

Pidge blinked at the cutting off mid sentence, but when he didn’t say anything else, she shrugged again. “I guess we can go in Red.” 

He grinned. “Great, come on!” He grabbed her hand and the two dashed into the Lion’s mouth. Lance sat down at the controls and they took off. Pidge let out a soft giggle. Sure, they had done things together while no one else was around before, but this felt different, and she was liking it. 

“So, where are we going?” she asked. 

He smirked. “You’ll see. Just wait.” 

“What? Why can’t you tell me now?” 

“Because it’s a surprise,” was his reply. She pestered him some more, but couldn’t get any more than that out of him. The more she got more grumpy, the more excited he seemed to get. 

Finally, they landed, though it had only been a couple of minutes away from the garrison. Lance grabbed Pidge’s hand and walked like he was on cloud nine. 

“Ok, seriously, where are we going?” asked Pidge with a laugh as she allowed herself to be led around a park. 

He glanced back long enough to shoot her a grin. “You’ll see, just wait!” They walked through a grove of trees before lance came to a stop at the base of the largest one. Pidge raised her eyebrow. This tree looked rather familiar. Where had she seen it before? Lance let out a sigh and pulled out a picture. Then it hit Pidge, this was the same place Lance took Allura out on their first date! The picture was of that moment, Lance and Allura standing in front of the tree. Pidge’s heart went into her throat. Lance sighed. “Yeah, I miss her, and I really wanted her to be the one, but . . . well, as you could tell it didn’t work out.” He looked at Pidge, a sad smile on his face. “I’m really happy for them.” 

Pidge chuckled nervously. “Right. Who knew a TV show caught on that they were best for each other?” 

Lance chuckled. “Yeah, I really should have paid more attention . . . to a lot of things.” His hand went through his hair. Pidge followed it with her eyes, wishing that could have been her hand. “And well, now I realize that she wasn’t the one for me, because there’s this girl who is.” 

Pidge’s heart just about stopped. Who was this girl? “Y-yeah? What’s she like?” 

Lance glanced up at the tree, a soft smile on his face. “She’s really smart, kind, and is very passionate about her work. She puts the needs of others first, and, well, she’s just awesome! And pretty too. I should have noticed before, but I think I let my starry eyed crush get the best of me instead of allowing myself to actually fall in love. Though, in a way, I did fall in love while I had that crush on the Princess, without knowing it.” 

Pidge turned her head to hide her tears. “Then why didn’t you invite her here?” 

“But I did.” Pidge’s head snapped back to Lance, eyes widening. She barely dared to hope, but he was looking at her earnestly. “That’s why I asked you here, Pidge, I, uh, I wanted to ask you out. I mean, sure, this isn’t the same way that I asked Allura out, but, this just felt right, because you’re the right one for me.” He looked back down at the picture. “And, well, to let you know that I have finally let go of Allura.” He stuffed the picture back in his pocket and scratched his head. “Ok, that didn’t quite come out the way I wanted it to, but it also wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.” He grinned sheepishly. “That must have sounded stupid.” 

Pidge laughed as the tears came down. “That’s because you are stupid.” 

“Hey!” 

Pidge ran into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. “But you’re my idiot, and I love you!” 

“I don't know if I should be happy or insulted,” said Lance. 

“Don't be insulted, you just try too hard. You're really not that stupid.” 

Lance scoffed. “Oh, good to know.” But then he chuckled and returned the hug. “But right now, I’m the happiest man alive!” He kissed her.

[fabulosicecreamwastaken]

Welcome to our blog!!! \\\

Nothing like winter magic with your lover.

Meet Katie and Lance, two young adults living their best lives in a little apartment in the Spice Market. What started as an heated rivalry because of a strange housing situation transformed into a blossoming love story between the two.

Katie is a genius trying to make a breakthrough in the IT scene. She is stubborn and ambitious and wouldn’t let anyone take the number 1 spot - it’s reserved for her!

Lance is a lovesick boy, dreaming of  becoming a entertainer and bringing happiness to the world. He meets Katie because of a misunderstanding at the real estate company and they start off on the wrong foot. 

Follow them in their new life together full of drama, spice and cute moments!

~~~Yes the two of them are based on Pidge and Lance from Voltron, no, I don’t care if you don’t like plance~~~

[chibi-pix]

Okay, y’all! It’s time for another night of Chibi watches with Voltron Force! Let’s do this! 

Episode 14 has me appreciating VF, much like VLD, with showing different aliens. And not just saying “yes, this is a different planet, but they all look like humans from Earth.” There are so many visuals! I mean, we see them in other episodes, but it just keep appreciating these details more and more.  Ah, Larmina. How do you get her attention? Music. Especially a music festival.  And then they mentioned Stereolactic. I recognized that name thanks to this art drawn by lion-time that I saw! And now I understand what Stereolactic is.  I adore the cadets geeking out over Pidge knowing Sterolactic. That’s just cute! And Pidge explaining that Stereolactic doesn’t exist, only a DJ, it made me think of this thing with Hatsune Miku. Who apparently was just a fictional character but had concerts or something? Yeah, that.  And seeing Stereolactic, something about the appearance made me think of Daft Punk. I dig it.  It’s also adorable that Pidge loves his work as Voltron over being the DJ. That’s sweet. He loves his work and team! When the robeast was up, I was thinking they either needed Vince to help neutralize the haggarium or Daniel and Larmina to take the robeast down from the inside. A bit of both, they needed all three. And Vince giving Voltron the green center. Perfection!

Okay, let’s move on to episode and 15 and see the return of the Hunkyard vehicles. All repaired, shiny, new and... making their own baby Voltron? Didn’t see that coming. But it worked well! Awesome! That Arusian anchovy is still alive I think. No thank you. It’s sweet that the cadets got to take a road trip to Earth and Larmina is getting to enjoy her time. Poor kid didn’t get a fun childhood of friends and goofing off. And that kid. Dudley? DID NOT TRUST HIM FROM THE GETGO! His determination to be Voltron’s biggest fan was kind of off putting. Though it was amusing to see his collection, the perfect visual of DotU. And him going after Vince and Daniel in his Voltron replica. At least Larmina returned. After having fun and social time with other kids.  Also, on Arus. Finding the black lion after he takes off. Lance: “I haven’t been this bored since Pidge’s last tutorial.”  Pidge: “Hey!” Oh my gods, guys. They feel like an old married couple! Their teasing, comments, and whatnots reminds me of my folks! You guys were right! VF Plance! Okay, I’ll go get my watering can. Gotta water the garden and these plance. Also, good on the kids for remembering to bring back pizza. Even better? For the whole team! Even Keith has a slice as he stand on Black’s head. 

I have been waiting for episode 16. Someone in a discord server mentioned it to me because of my love of Pidge and Chip being twins and working with such in VLD for AU purposes. I actually tried watching it before, probably last year, but didn’t get far for whatever reasons. But here I am, getting to enjoy this episode. I cry a bit, though, because the twineractions are minimal.  Pidge: “I think they’re trying to tell us something.” Baltons: “Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaainsssssssssss” Did no one make a quip about the zombies starving with part of the team? I don’t think I heard any remarks about that. It would have been hilarious if Pidge just looked to Lance and said “Looks like you’re safe.” That would have been the best! Poor Vince, listing movie tropes, fears, bad things. He’s having a crisis. Poor baby.  And Pidge’s voltcom with the smart stars is pretty damn cool. I like it! And the Balton pinned to the wall and asking “Brains?” I snorted so hard at that, it hurt. I was just grateful I wasn’t drinking anything at that moment.  I had hoped Chip would be okay and end up joining up with Vince and Pidge to help them out. That would have been so sweet and awesome. It would have been nice to see the twineraction and them being badass ninjas. But, alas.  It’s a good thing Voltron accepts pilots a bit more easily so Larmina can pilot Green. And her excitement and work with kung fu voltron to fight Lotor. Get wrecked, Lotor! Poor Chip is confused about what happened. Though his excitement in seeing Hunk was cute! Also, ancient Baltons having a hand in the original Voltron program? Intriguing! 

Ah! What a lovely night to watch Voltron! And I enjoyed it! Still put out on the lack of twineractions. It would have been so nice to see more. I want twin content.

Anyway! That bit it for the night!  Until next time!

[izlaria]

Someone you like (part 4)

This is the fourth chapter of my “Someone you like” inspired fic. It’s also available on AO3 in case you prefer that platform. Please hit me up to talk about Plance!

Summary: In the days following their arrival on Earth, Pidge finds that conflicting feelings don't just disappear because there are more people around. On the contrary, with the approach of the final battle, they seem to get worse.

FYI, we’re still on Pidge pining hour.

18 and 16 years old

Life was not easy when you were a soldier fighting against an evil, intergalactic empire, but Pidge had found a sort of balance to it all. Now that they were back on Earth and she knew her family was relatively safe, much of the sorrow she’d carried had dissolved into hopefulness.

Much, but not all.

Pidge leaned her head against the wall, hugging the papers to her chest. Being on the Garrison made it easier for her to ignore her erratic heartbeats, because she could just avoid Lance most of the time, but it also sent her into overdrive when she accidentally met him in the hallways. She could usually depend on her mother to be there – Pidge was grounded, after all –, but there were times when not even Colleen could protect her.

She wanted to talk to Lance, of course. He was one of her best friends and no crush could ever change that, but it took a lot out of Pidge to hear him drone on about Allura and all the places he wanted to show her on Earth.

Maybe her evasiveness wasn’t the most mature of Pidge’s choices, but she was tired and lovesick and feeling neglected. She would have to be excused a little pettiness.

“Do you want to tell me why I just saw you ignore Lance?” Matt raised his brows at her, an expression that Pidge herself often mimicked and that was especially irritating to be the target of. He was standing off to the side of her station, gloves still on.

Pidge pushed away from the wall, feeling flustered. She hadn’t realized her brother had witnessed the scene.

“Did I ignore Lance?” Pidge opted to feign innocence. “I was so lost in thought I didn’t really see him there. Or you.” This last bit she said with a touch of hostility.

Matt crossed his arms and hummed, sounding disbelieving. “You always were the worst liar out of the two of us, Pidge.”

She shouldered past Matt with a glare. There was a lot of work to do until the Atlas was completed and the last thing she needed were distractions like her feelings for Lance or a fight with her brother.

“When did you land on Earth, anyway?” Pidge put the papers down on her table and moved to one of the computer screens, where she’d left a new code running. It was an improved version of her and Matt’s previous software for predicting Galra presence. “I could use your eyes on this.”

Matt stood at her back, looking over her shoulder at the lines that lit up the computer.

“This is interesting…” He squinted down at Pidge. “Don’t think for a second that a new challenge will make me forget what I just saw.”

She took advantage of Matt’s positioning to elbow him in the gut.

Truthfully, Pidge knew her brother wouldn’t tease her too much about her circumstances. Matt was caring and even protective when it came to her well-being, so he would never rat her out to Lance or any of the others, even if he disagreed with her actions.

Despite that, she struggled with being vulnerable around him.

Pidge didn’t want to think about it, but the years they’d spent apart had certainly affected their relationship. Before going to space, Matt was more than her brother, he had been her closest friend. But now she had Hunk, Lance, and even Keith and Allura. If she needed guidance, Coran and Shiro were only a call away.

She would always be close to Matt, but he was no longer the only person whose company she valued.

“We should finish this up before mom comes around,” Pidge said, trying to refocus. “She comes to collect me at the end of the day.” She rolled her eyes.

“That still going on?” Matt chuckled as he pulled a chair over to her station. He scanned the reports she had just brought in.

“I can’t even go out to eat with the team. We’ve had to meet in the cafeteria, of all places.”

“I’m just glad the cooking staff changed since I was a student.” Matt wrinkled his nose. “That was just nasty.”

“Except for the burgers.” And here Pidge smiled, suddenly reminded of all the times Hunk and Lance had dragged her to lunch and how they always ended up making a mess of their table.

“On Mondays, that’s right!” Matt glanced at her and Pidge couldn’t quite read the look in his eyes. “Until when are you grounded, anyway?”

“Let’s see, I was fifteen when I was whisked into space, so…” She pretended to do the calculations. “Until my twenty-first birthday, unless dad intervenes.”

Matt snorted. “Good luck with that. He doesn’t really have any weight with mom right now. She’s still upset about the whole being-pronounced-dead thing.”

Pidge groaned, burying her face into her hands. “I’ll be going to war in a month, but I still have no freedom here.” She raised her eyes to look at him. “Can’t you talk to mom?”

“And risk my newfound position as the favorite? You’re on your own, kiddo.” He continued to stare down at the papers for a moment, before turning to face her properly. “You know why she’s doing this, right? You spent three years MIA. We thought you were dead.” He exhaled forcefully. “I thought you were dead.”

Pidge didn’t really know how to respond. Since her arrival on Earth, she’d had versions of this conversation with several people, but her brother had always stood back and given her a little space. He probably knew better than most how overwhelming such a welcome could be. “I am sorry, Matt.”

He gave her a tight-lipped smile. “Turnaround is fair play, I guess.”

“Stop.” Pidge put a hand on his arm. She worked her jaw, trying to figure out what to say. “I never wanted you to find out how that felt.”

Matt nodded once, swallowing hard. Pidge could tell that he was putting his emotions back in check.

“I’m proud of what you’ve done, Katie. Mom might act like you’re still a kid, but I was out there before you came along.” It reminded Pidge that, though he hadn’t been present for her battles, Matt had seen his own share of horrors. “Voltron turned the tide, in no small part because of you.”

“Thank you.” She tried to blink away the tears. Matt smiled and brought his hands up to cup her face.

“My little sister is a badass, so I don’t want to see you hiding behind corners because of some stupid boy.” When she tried to protest, he just squished her cheeks. “Who does not deserve you, by the way.”

Pidge couldn’t help but laugh. She could always count on Matt to make her smile through her tears.

“I thought you liked Lance,” she said once Matt had let go of her face. He grimaced.

“He’s eighteen and a flirt.” Her brother didn’t even try to go back to work, he merely kicked his legs up onto a workbench and crossed his arms. “I would feel better about Keith, even.”

“You say that because Shiro would be just as bad of a protective older brother as you.” She pushed at his chair, making Matt almost lose his balance.

“You would never be alone unchaperoned, it would be great,” he confirmed, still pulling himself back into position.

“You realize that I’m technically nineteen?” She aimed a sharp look at him.

“You realize you look twelve?” Matt shot back, looking unbearably satisfied with himself. This time Pidge had no mercy for him; she sent his chair rolling down the aisle and Matt with it.

“Honestly, you have nothing to worry about.” She wrapped an arm around her middle. “Lance is so enamored with Allura that I could yell in his ear that I like him and the goofball would think I meant it platonically.”

Matt wheeled himself back to her. “Then he’s a fool.”

“You’re just saying that,” Pidge scoffed. “You were just as bad as him when meeting Allura.”

“Look, Allura is beautiful, that’s true, but it doesn’t diminish your qualities.” He put a hand on her shoulder, leaning in close so that their voices didn’t echo in the empty laboratory. “You are funny and witty and smarter than anyone in this damn complex. Don’t you dare compare yourself to Allura.”

Pidge dragged her chair until she was resting against Matt’s shoulder.

“It’s sort of inevitable. She’s the one he likes and I have to accept it.” She looked at the computer, where lines of code kept appearing and disappearing. “It’s just hard to be near him. I feel like I’ll do something and everyone will… know.”

“You spent almost a year pretending to be someone else, I think your acting skills are a little better than that.”

“Didn’t you criticize my lying just a few minutes ago?” she deadpanned.

“Well…” Matt gave her a cheeky grin. “I’ve known you your entire life, so I’m a Katie Holt expert.”

“Of course,” she drawled out, rolling her eyes.

Pidge felt her brother put an arm over her shoulder, squeezing her to his side.

“You’re perfect, okay?” he murmured into her hair. “Don’t ever let anyone convince you otherwise.”

She closed her eyes and let herself fall into his embrace. It was something she had missed, even now that the team was back on Earth. Everything had changed since the Kerberos mission and, while a lot of it was good, Pidge couldn’t deny that she wished Matt would stay with them more often.

“Okay.” Her voice trembled, but Matt didn’t mention it, choosing to tighten his hold on her.

“Knock, knock! Anyone in here?” As soon as the voice sounded, Pidge scrambled to hide her face. She got up and pretended to check a different monitor, turning her back to the door. She heard Lance approach their station. “Oh, hey, guys!” Then, seeming to notice the mood of the room. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, man.” Matt was the first to recover. Pidge felt him move, probably trying to keep Lance from getting any closer. “We were just discussing some Holt secret coding.” She almost snickered at this, despite the heartbeat that still hammered in her ears. It was the sort of thing that only a non-techie would believe.

“And I thought us McClains were bad with our ropa vieja recipe.” She chanced a look over her shoulder to catch Lance’s smile. He was always at his brightest when talking about his family.

“You needed something, Lance?” Matt was being a bit more brusque than normal, but his expression was thankfully still amenable. Pidge would have hit him if he just started being a jerk to Lance.

“Not really,” the other boy responded. He looked around Matt to smile at Pidge. “I was just hoping to catch up with Pidge before your mother comes around.” He shuddered. “Let me tell you, that’s a scary lady. She could almost beat mami with that I’m-not-mad-just-disappointed face.”

“You tell me?” Matt sighed. “That’s one thing I don’t look forward to when touching down at the Garrison.”

“You wanted to talk to me?” Pidge interrupted before they could keep going. Putting two of the friendliest people she knew in the same room was only a good idea if she had the patience for a long conversation. Which she didn’t.

“Ah, are you done ignoring me, Pidgeon?” Lance cocked his hip to one side, looking too sure of himself for his own good.

“I’m working, Lance, something you should be doing as well.” She pretended to fix her glasses, if only to have something to do.

The boy waved a dismissive hand at her. “I’m done for the day and I know for a fact that you’re just working on pet projects until Colleen comes to get you.” When he tried to lean down towards her, Matt moved to stand between them. Lance hesitated, before letting the strange behavior go. “Matt can keep your mom busy if she shows up, right?”

It was difficult to say no to Lance. He was jovial and charming, in particular when he wasn’t actually trying to impress anyone.

“Can you, Matt?” Pidge found herself asking. Her brother frowned at her with uncertainty.

“If that’s what you want, Pidge,” he yielded, when she didn’t back down.

“Let’s go before you get me in trouble, McClain.” Pidge gave a long-suffering sigh and moved past the two boys, who were saying their goodbyes.

Lance caught up to her at the door, opening it with an exaggerated bow.

She walked briskly down the hallway, but Lance had the advantage of his height. For every two, quick steps Pidge took, he only had to take one long stride.

“In a rush to get away?” There was laughter in his voice.

“You’ve seen how mom gets,” she replied, peaking around corners as they moved. “If she doesn’t know where I am for more than five minutes, she seems to think I’ll jump into a ship and disappear for another four years.”

“As if I had it any better.” He gestured to a hallway Pidge knew led to the analytics department. “I’m just lucky Veronica is the only one in my family with clearance to come into the Garrison.”

Pidge snorted. “I should sic my mom on you and Hunk, to make things even.”

Though she’d spent so much of their time on Earth making up excuses not to see Lance, the conversation between them flowed naturally. He had an easy-going energy that calmed Pidge’s more tense nature. While they were in the castle-ship, he had been able to soothe the worst of her worries, until Pidge could actually have fun, despite the fears that troubled her mind.

She didn’t know what would have become of her in this war, if Lance hadn’t been there.

“On the subject of your family…” Lance sent her an anxious look. “Is everything really alright with your brother?”

Pidge could tell he was actually worried, which sent a wave of affection and pain through her chest. She struggled to keep her expression blank.

“We were just talking about the war.” She allowed apprehension to seep into her tone. “I know he has a role to perform out there, but I wish he could stay longer.”

Lance twisted his mouth to the side, an unhappy expression he often adopted when trying to look empathetic. “What has Matt said about it?”

“He misses home, but he can’t really ignore what’s going on with the rebel forces.” Pidge rubbed at her temple. “If we are actually able to end the war, then things might be different, but for now…” she trailed off.

Communications from all around the universe told them Voltron wasn’t the only force preparing for battle. There were a lot of moving parts to consider, especially with the still unknown variable of whose influence had been affecting the Altean colony.

“I know what you mean. After this is all over, I think I’ll take a long vacation to just enjoy good, old Earth.”

This surprised Pidge, startling her from her previous line of thought.

“What, is the Tailor going to retire?” She knocked Lance lightly on the arm, trying for a playful mood.

“No,” he objected. He bent at the waist to look her in the eye and winked. “You know I can’t deny the rest of the universe the beauty of my presence.”

Pidge pushed his face away. It was easy to pretend to be annoyed at Lance when he insisted on acting like this. He was most dangerous when he was genuine. “Be real, man.”

“I am!” He laughed as he stood upright. “It’s just… We’ve been off-planet for so long, I kinda want some time to spend with my family, maybe travel around. I’ve only ever been to Cuba and the US, can you believe it? I’ve seen more of space than of my own planet.”

“Yeah, me too.” Pidge frowned. She hadn’t thought about the situation in these terms before. “I’ve been to Italy and England, but that’s it.”

“We should come up with a plan, get the others in on it.” Lance shot her a smile.

They had walked all the way to the MFE taxiway and Pidge focused her attention on the aircraft that Ryan Kinkade maneuvered across from them. She didn’t want to think of Lance’s warmth so close to her, nor of the future he described.

It didn’t matter how long she avoided him, Lance always found a way back into her life and into her heart. This awareness was painful, when Pidge knew he would never look at her as more than a best friend or a younger sister.

She felt something hit her cheek and looked up at the sky. Dark clouds gathered over them and soon there was another drop.

“Oh, it’s raining,” Pidge commented offhandedly. By her side, Lance let out a laugh. He sounded so joyful that she couldn’t stop herself from staring.

Lance had opened his arms and raised his face to the rain. It reminded her of something he had said months ago, about the aspects of Earth he missed while in space. She was once again struck by how attracted she was to Lance: his cheerfulness, his stupid humor, the curve of his Adam’s apple and the way his uniform clung to him in the rain.

“I really missed this!” he exclaimed mid-laugh.

Pidge stood still, admiring his delight even as her hands closed to fists at her sides. “Yeah,” she breathed out, “me too.”

--

After they left the mall, there was still some time for Allura to kill before her date and it was decided that she, Romelle and Pidge would stop to grab something to eat. Rizavi and Ina had previous plans, but they encouraged the girls to have some fun together, leaving unsaid that it might be their last chance to do so.

“I cannot emphasize how thankful I am, Pidge.” Allura reached across the table to grab her hand. She and Romelle had insisted on going into a coffeeshop that had recently reopened; the design was minimalist but cozy, a step-up from anything else they’d seen outside downtown.

“And I’ve said it a hundred times already, princess, I don’t mind.” Pidge let her hand go slack in Allura’s, trying not to snap at her friend. While she appreciated the gratitude, the constant touching was starting to grate on her nerves.

“You do mind,” Allura contested, with the kind of serious but diplomatic tone she used when arguing with Garrison officers. “I could see your hesitance when the vendor first offered the trade. None would have denied your right to keep the item.”

Allura pulled back into herself as she spoke. It was strange to see her uncomfortable, since the princess usually kept either a tranquil or a powerful front in the face of adversity. Free from her touch, Pidge suddenly felt bad for not responding more fervently to Allura’s efforts towards a closer bond. In the castle-ship, she had pretended they were simply too different and, on Earth, too busy.

The truth was much less dignified: Allura had seemed like an unapproachable ideal, made solid only to remind Pidge of all that she could not be. She was prim and beautiful and feminine. Once upon a time, before the complexities of her multiple identities, Katie had aspired to this image, to some degree.

“You’re more important to me than a video game.” Pidge tried to be casual with the way she said this, but the knowing glint that shone in Allura’s eyes told her it was unsuccessful. “I’ll have plenty of time to find it again after the war is over.”

“Perhaps you could teach me these games once we are back.” Allura smiled at her, the picture of earnestness. “I was always curious about the time you and the other paladins dedicated to them.”

“It can be pretty frustrating,” Pidge warned, thinking of the hours she’d wasted with Hunk and Lance just to get past some particularly difficult levels.

“I have noticed that you scream a lot while playing,” the other commented thoughtfully, “but that appears to be part of the bonding experience.”

“You can say that again.” She scoffed.

“Why would I say it again?” Allura tilted her head to the side in confusion and Pidge had to disguise her laughter.

“I’m just agreeing with you.” She sometimes forgot that the Alteans weren’t completely used to Earth culture. In the Castle of Lions, the paladins were the ones to adhere to new patterns. Now, Allura and Coran had to slowly learn their customs, like with this date.

“I suppose we did have something similar in Altea,” Allura mused. “Activities like the maze we had in the Castle were quite popular among the youth.” She leaned over the table to speak in a lower voice. “The element of danger was a point of interest, though I couldn’t quite comprehend why.”

“That’s a lie and you know it!” Pidge pointed accusingly at Allura. “You’re almost as bad as Keith with throwing yourself into dangerous situations.”

“Am not!” It was always funny to rile her up like this. Allura was so calm and collected that getting her to sound immature was a reward in itself. The other shook her head and settled back into her seat, straightening her posture. “Oh, I know what you are doing.”

Pidge continued to grin at her. “What am I doing?”

The princess narrowed her eyes at Pidge, but her mouth struggled with a smile. “You and Lance have such a way of getting me to lose my cool.” She tapped a rhythm on the table. “I must admit it is endearing.”

There it was again, the shock of warmth and sadness that had troubled Pidge the entire day. She loved Allura and was even happy for her, but her heart was conflicted by the news of her new-found interest in Lance.

It just seemed so sudden, Pidge hadn’t had the opportunity to prepare herself. Or maybe those two had grown closer in the Garrison, while she tried her best not to see them, and this was simply the outcome of her bad choices.

Pidge was saved from responding by the arrival of Romelle, her arms full of napkins.

“What a bargain!” She proclaimed as the packages fell from her hands and bounced across the tabletop. “They have agreed to serve us their best delicacies in trade of Pidge’s autographs, a video of her endorsement and an appearance once every phoeb for the next five moons!” The blonde beamed down at them. “On that regard, what is an endorsement?”

Allura and Pidge shared a dismayed look over the piles of napkins.

“Surely they do not expect Pidge to autograph all of these.” Allura gave Romelle an hesitant smile, as if her politeness could change the answer they all knew was coming.

Romelle blinked at them. “The cook assured me it was an amazing deal.”

Pidge pinched the bridge of her nose, calling on any patience she could muster. She had nothing against Romelle and the Altean was nice and cheerful most of the time, but her naivete when dealing with human conventions never failed to amaze.

“Oh dear,” Allura fretted. “I should go deal with that.”

“Think you can convince them to give us food without getting me stuck here for the near future?” Pidge teased, to disguise her vexation.

Her friend slid off the booth. “I have reasoned with beings from several galaxies, I cannot fathom a Terran entrepreneur will be more stubborn than certain members of the coalition.” Allura straightened her spine and clasped her hands over her stomach, looking every bit the princess she was. The determination in her expression made Pidge smile.

“I can autograph one pile of napkins and I agree to do a video endorsement, but I’m not changing back into costume.” She turned to look at Romelle, who seemed to be accompanying the conversation with good-humored confusion. There was something almost sly about the look in her eyes. “I’m going into space tomorrow, how was I supposed to come back? Besides, I’m grounded. If mom found out we were finished shopping, she’d already be here to drag me home.”

“I might have been swayed by the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen,” the other admitted in a manner that could pass for sheepish. She eyed the napkins, before picking up a package. “I suppose these are a little excessive.”

Allura sighed. “I will be right back.”

They watched the princess move towards the front of the coffeeshop, where the human owner was talking to another set of customers. Romelle sat down where Allura had previously been.

“Alone at last.” She clapped her hands together and faced Pidge with a seriousness that contrasted with her usual vibrancy.

Pidge narrowed her eyes at Romelle. “I knew you were plotting something.”

The blonde shrugged. “I wanted to talk to you privately and I didn’t think we would get the chance in the Garrison.” She glanced back to where Allura stood waiting for the other customers to leave. “The owner was a darling, but he was a tremendous flirt, so Allura won’t be here any time soon.”

“Do I even have to sign anything?” Pidge rested her chin on her hand.

“He wants a picture with you and the princess and an autograph to hang on the wall, but that’s it.” Romelle winked at her.

“So what do you want?” Pidge tapped a finger against her cheek. She didn’t mean to sound so suspicious, but the girl’s orchestrations made the situation feel a little like a trap.

“To thank you.” The emotion in her voice sounded almost like pity. “For your sacrifice today.”

Pidge groaned. “I already told Allura that the video game wasn’t that much of a loss.”

“I am not talking about the game.” There was a moment of silence, during which Pidge kept very still. “I saw your reaction when we told you about the date. It was only then that I realized: you like pointy chin.”

“What makes you think that?” She raised a brow at Romelle, doing her best to appear natural.

“It makes sense.” Romelle looked up at the sparse decorations that adorned the coffeeshop, her expression pensive. “He’s the one you spend the most time with, after Hunk. I didn’t think you were interested in romance, given your almost complete lack of sentimentality,” and here she made a face at Pidge, “but I suppose we’re all dealing with high emotions right now.”

Pidge didn’t know how to reply. So far, Matt was the only one who had realized her crush on Lance and he’d been thankfully quiet since. The whole day left her feeling off-center, especially with what Romelle now wanted her to confess. Pidge didn’t want to talk about her feelings. She wanted to take her bayard and carve the jealousy and affection and misery right out of her chest.

Romelle took her silence as a sign to go on. “Look, I know we are not close, but you can talk to me.” The expression on her face was so eager that Pidge didn’t immediately protest. “You are… not kind. Not always, at least, but genuine.” Romelle hurried through her words. “Which is more than can be said about others I’ve met since arriving on Earth. And I can see how much you care for Allura, though you hide it beneath your sarcasm and reluctance.”

“Has anyone on Earth given you trouble?” Pidge chose to focus on the subject that was easier to approach. Romelle clearly knew what she was doing, because the blonde gave her a very annoyed look. “The team and I have tried to shield you from the politics of having non-humans around, but it’s not always possible.”

“I grew up worshipping a man who turned out to be harvesting quintessence from the bodies of my family and friends,” Romelle stated coolly. “I can handle the Terrans.”

“Well, this thing has to go both ways.” Pidge leaned back against the booth to gesture forcefully in the other’s direction. “If you want me to talk to you, then you need to talk to me.”

Romelle seemed to consider this, her eyes narrowed. “Fair enough.” She glanced quickly over her shoulder, then leaned forward. “I know we both want what’s best for Allura, but I hope you will be happy, too.”

Her eagerness brought a small smile to Pidge’s lips, even as her chest constricted with the acknowledgement of her feelings.

There were many things in the universe that she valued more than romance: her family, her intellect and ability to continue learning, and now her friends. Pidge would do anything to keep them safe and content, regardless of how she felt about Lance. She would eventually get over him, of this Pidge was sure.

She loved Lance, but she loved herself more.

“I don’t need a boy to be happy, Romelle. I just want this war to be over.”

The blonde nodded at her response. “You have already done so much for me by going against Lotor.” She sighed. “You will always have my loyalty for that.”

Pidge took a moment to study her. Romelle could be energetic and joyful, but she had also suffered more loss than Pidge could really comprehend. She had never believed Matt and her father were dead, even on the early days of the Garrison’s declaration. Hope had moved her forward, but Romelle hadn’t had that privilege.

“Have I ever told you how I became a paladin?” she asked, much to Romelle’s surprise.

“I don’t believe so, no.” The other furrowed her brows in puzzlement. “Are you changing the subject again?”

“I was just thinking that we have more in common than you know.” Pidge lowered her eyes to the tabletop, tracing a series of scratches with the tip of her fingers. “You have met my brother Matt, haven’t you?”

Allura approached as she said this, a tray of food balanced on her hand. “Oh, has Romelle heard of your search for Matt?”

Pidge stood up to help Allura place the coffee without spilling it and grinned at her friend’s enthusiasm. “I was just about to tell her.”

The princess sat down next to Romelle and put her hands to her chest in a show of sympathy. “It is a lovely story, please go on.”

With a laugh, she did.

[zuffer-weird-girl]

What if 8 or 9 month pregnant angel is to big to do basic things by herself like tying her shoes so Kai has to help her and pops watches Kai doing all those things for her and pops is like aw never thought I see the day 🥺

Hehehehhe >:3

You groaned and whined as you tried your best to reach the goddamn shoes you needed to put on to go out.

Yeah, your pregnant belly wouldn't let you though.

After almost half an hour of failed attempts you felt like just sitting on the floor, curl up on a ball and cry.

But if you did that, to get up it would be a sacrifice, so you decided to just bury your face in your hands to control your emotions and wish to just cry out.

"We're going to be late if you keep this up. You know how much the yakusas admire pontuality." A nonchantly voice spoke behind you as the person himself adjusted his scarf and mask.

Before you could even explode at him, your eyes widened when Kai got down to one knee and grabbed the cursed shoe and with his other hand he gently touched your calf, as a signal for you to lift your foot up.

His expression didn't changed a bit, boredoom on his eyes as he slipped the shoes on both of your feet like a prince charming to his princess, but what indicated his flustered state was a tad bit of pink that manifested on the point of his ears.

You smiled at the sweet gesture, even knwing already his pride would only let him say that it was only to get outside more faster or that it wasn't a big deal out of it.

"Thank you." You whispered before lowering his mask to peck his lips sweetly after he got up from the ground with a 'done'.

His eyes were closed when you parted and he rolled his eyes with a half smirk becore lifting his mask up again.

"Come. We won't have all day. Tell me if the brat cause you any troubles or nauseas though."

"You know, maybe is better if you stop calling your child brat ever since the womb." Yoi giggled as you followed him outside.

"Act like a brat, is called a brat."

"But us not wven born yet!"

"This rascal kicks evertime we kiss or get intimate, you really want to constate me on that?" He opened teh gate and you were left spechless. "Thought so. Now lets get going."

~

"Here you go brat." You made a confused noise before you saw a gloved hand offering you a a steaming mug.

"What's this? And why I am the brat now?" You asked with a smile but still grabbing the mug and smelling the aroma of chocolate.

"Cravings. Yoy spoke something about this earlier. And about you being called a brat is only the true."

"You're saying that you, Overhaul, leader of the Shie Hassaikai, married a brat then."

"Opposites atract I suppose." He spike nonchalantly as he took a seat next to you "Feeling any pain?"

"Just a bit on the stomach, but I guess is because of the kicks..."

He scoffed before slowly and almost hesitantly plancing a hand on where his kid was being formed and furrowing his eyebrows at it.

"How many times would I have to scold you? You're quite a troublesome one... and I had to deal with one once."

"Huh? Who?"

Shit, he nnever let it escape about... her.

".. you." You gasped in false offense and he mentally sighed in relief before wideing a bit hsi golden eyes when he felt the baby moving underneath his touch.

A small soft gaze grew on his eyes as a smile grew on his covered lips.

"Give a break to your mother. You can give trouble enough when you come to this world, I will deal with it. But I have to admit... I am quite exited." He spoke on a hushed tune as your eyes teared yp at how soft your Chisaki Kai had become.

Although the moment were broken when you two heard a fake sniff.

"My and here I thought I would never see the day this would happen-"

"Pops with all due respect. Get out." He growled and immeditaly retreated away, you already missing his touch and warm.

"No cant do my boy. If you can be this soft I can speak to my new soon grandchild. And I will make a note on how soft you can be when you want."

"For crying out loud..." he groaned and sighed with his gloved fingers pinching the espace between his eyebrows as you laughed.

He was becoming more of a softie!

[quintessenceofdust73]

Julance 2021 Prompt: Home/Family. Lance invites Pidge to spend time with him and his family in Cuba in this romantic Plance fic. 💚💙 In this excerpt, Pidge and Lance’s parents have a very important conversation which leads to a beautiful bonding moment between Pidge and Lance’s mother. Pidge realizes that Lance’s mother understands him better than anyone else, even Lance himself.

She heard Mr. and Mrs. McClain’s voices from the screened porch where Maria kept her pet birds.

“Katie? We are having our coffee out here. Why don’t you join us, dear?”

When Pidge stepped onto the porch with her pastry and mug, she was greeted by a chorus of chirps and whistles from the parakeets. The African Grey parrot greeted her with the cry of “Hey, pretty lady!”

“Did Lance teach him to say that?” Pidge asked with a giggle. Lance’s parents laughed.

“No, I did,” Lance’s father admitted. “I taught Wingman to talk when little Lancito was just learning to talk himself. I think he may have learned how to flirt from the bird, which may be why he is so bad at it.”

Maria and Pidge chuckled. “Now I know where Lance gets his sense of humor,” Pidge observed, and they laughed again.

“Well if my boy is a shameless ladies’ man, that is my fault. If he is a gentleman, that is all Maria’s doing.”

“He takes after both of you, then,” Pidge replied. Pop Pop thought this was very funny.

“More Maria than me,” he argued. “He is a good boy. We are glad he found a nice girl like you, Katie.”

“You are the answer to a mother’s prayer, my dear,” said Maria kindly.

Pidge blushed. “Thank you.” She smiled at both of Lance’s parents. “And thank you for welcoming me into your home. I have had the time of my life these last few days. It will be difficult to return to life at the Garrison after spending time in such a beautiful place.”

“We were so proud when our boy made it into your escuela de astronautas,” Pop Pop said. “When he went missing it was very difficult for us, especially Maria.” He squeezed his wife’s shoulders.

“I wept every day and prayed every night for his safe return. I prayed for his friend Hunk and you as well, though we did not know each other then. We knew that Hunk Garrett was his best friend since they started at the academia together. Lance wrote to us about what a bright and kind young man he is.”

Pidge nodded in agreement. “Hunk really is a terrific guy.”

“We learned about you from the television,” Pop Pop continued. “We knew of the disappearance of Shirogane, your father, and your brother from the news.”

“An investigation revealed that there was no such person as the boy Pidge Gunderson who disappeared along with our son and his friend,” Maria continued. “When we found out about the conspiracy theories—“

“They said Commander Holt had a little daughter as brilliant as he is. They said she hacked into the government’s computers to find out what happened to her missing father and brother,” her husband added. “They said she cut her hair and disguised herself as a boy and went to space to find them. At first I thought this little girl must be mad, or a genius, or she must love her father and brother so much that she would risk her life to attempt what is not possible. As it turned out, you are all three!”

Pidge laughed. “No argument there.”

“You gave us hope, Katie,” Maria said tearfully. “If your family was still alive, then maybe our son and his friend might be alive a well.”

“Veronica did some investigating of her own,” Mr. McClain continued. “She might have been facing a court martial if they ever found out how many of the rules she broke while trying to find out what happened to her baby brother. She told us what she could, and what she learned helped us to believe that our son might be coming home one day.”

“One of the happiest days of our lives is when the Paladins returned to Earth and we saw our son alive and well.” Maria was crying silently as she spoke. “And we saw for ourselves that the rumors were true about you and your wonderful family. We are honored to have you as a guest in our home.”

“It would be an even greater honor to have you as a member of our family,” said Pop Pop.

Crying happy tears, Pidge got up from her chair and hugged them both.

“Brave girl,” said Wingman. “Smart girl.”

The blue parakeet wolf whistled.

“Pretty lady,” Wingman agreed.

“I think I had best wake our heathen son,” said Pop Pop with a sniffle. “If Marco doesn’t want to go to church, then he can get up and make himself useful around here.”

Pidge knew that this was just an excuse for Lance’s father to leave. He was embarrassed to have cried in front of the women. Maria hugged Pidge again.

“I broke the code before the new year,” Pidge confessed.

Maria smiled, “I told everyone you would.”

“Clever girl,” agreed Wingman.

“It didn’t take long for Lance to figure out what I did. We aren’t very good at keeping secrets from each other.”

“But you are letting him have his fun for twelve days, aren’t you?”

The cockatiel heard “twelve days” and began to whistle the familiar Christmas carol.

“Of course. We agreed that even though I know what he plans to do, I don’t know how he plans to do it. The waiting...the anticipation makes it even more exciting, like when little children count down the days until they get to open their Christmas presents.”

“My Lance cannot keep secrets from his mother either,” Maria said with a gentle smile. “I know that you are the right girl for my son. I know because he has waited so long for you.”

“It’s been a year since we started dating—“ Pidge began.

“Far longer than a year, my dear. He has loved you for many years.”

“Oh, no, he loved Allura before—“

“A school boy’s crush. She is beautiful and brave and kind and as magical as any fairy tale princess. He was under her spell, but that was not love.”

Pidge shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“Did you know that they were practically forced to go on a date together by their friends? Lance later confessed to me that he didn’t even want to go out with her because he knew even then that he had developed feelings for you. He said it felt like betrayal. The guilt he felt afterwards drove him into a deep depression. He knew he had acted foolishly and almost lost you because of it.”

Pidge’s lips parted and her jaw fell open in surprise. She shook her head. No.

Maria continued, “He was attracted to Allura’s beauty but it was with the raging hormones of a teenage boy who has read too many fantasy stories. He always liked to imagine himself the honorable knight in shining armor who would slay the dragon and marry the princess. That is why he asked her to marry him on the first date. He is a good boy, my Lancito. He knows that sex is a sacred thing between husband and wife. He was trying to honor your princess while satisfying his lust for her.”

Pidge continued to listen in open-mouthed shock.

“I know your princess had her heart broken by that horrible man, Lotor. My son’s kindness to her was a great comfort to her, but she did not love him as more than a friend or as a brother. That is why she let him go, not to break his heart, but to set him free.”

Pidge’s cheeks were tear-streaked as she sat in stunned silence.

“From the moment he returned to us, my son told us of his adventures and of his friends. He admires Shirogane’s leadership and Coran’s kindness. He speaks highly of Keith’s skill as a warrior and as a pilot, and you already know that Hunk is as dear as a brother to him. “

Pidge nodded, still unable to speak, then pressed her lips together.

“He spoke more of you than any other Paladin. He told me of your great courage and determination. He told me of your love of your family and your loyalty to your friends. He told me of your sense of humor and your love of so many of the things that he also enjoys. Most of all he spoke of your intelligence, your sweetness, and your innocence. It took him years to work up the courage to ask you to go on a proper date, and when he finally made you his, he treated you respectfully, didn’t he?”

Read more here...

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28003866/chapters/68599143

[justmakoharu]

Hi, everyone!

Welcome to a new post of this lovely section that is called... (Actually it doesn't have a name but, I'm just being creative)

💙🍃 "I REALLY WANT THIS AU FEATURING PLANCE"🍃💚

Context

So, maybe some of you know that I really like "Betty, La Fea" (Ugly Betty but the original version) Since I watch the serie I decided to watch all the versions that this novel has.

So I started with Betty in NY (I haven't finished it!!) and then with "Yo soy Bea" (I'm Bea, the version from Spain, the same, not finished yet)

So here we have:

Some moments that I imagine Katie and Lance featuring them.

Lance would be Álvaro and Katie Would be Bea.

First we have the Christmas episode (#116)

Here, we have a story alike Cinderella's plot. Basically, Cayetana (Álvaro's ex girlfriend/ I don't know who could be Cayetana. I don't like the idea of Allura being Lance's ex, so maybe Romelle could be Cayetana) asked Bea to do some stuff. It was too much work that, Bea couldn't go to the Christmas party that ¡ the employees had thrown.

But then her co-workers helped her and she can go to celebrate with them but to thank their help she had to sing a song. (it supposed that it would be a Christmas carol specifically Silent night holly night) But Cayetana's Best friend (Barbara) pranked Bea, and she put a song that is called "Secretaria" (Secretary) also Barbara told Gonzalo (Álvaro's Best friend and maybe featuring by James in this AU) that Bea was going to sing a song for him, so it was better thag Gonzalo go for him to see Bea.

The lyrics are the following.

Here is Bea, so nervous because she was about to sing.

I signed you my twenty years. I helped you to climb steps and among drinks I became necessary. And because I refused to be kind you ignored me and I only was your secretary.

I was also the matchmaker of your secret dates and I learned to be well quiet then a malice wink a caress as a compliment and a gentle see you later.

In this part of the song, Gonzalo (James) said to Álvaro (Lance) something like "why it seems like she is talking about you and her?" And Álvaro replied to him "oh! Shut up!

It was me who picked the flowers that everyday you sent to your young lovers it was me who signed the cards even in that I was secretary.

So at this point, Bea (Katie) has seen that Álvaro is looking at her while she is singing. So she started to get nervous. (remember that Álvaro is there because Gonzalo told him that Bea was going to dedicate a song to him... But she didn't know anything... )

She continue with the song and...then... this part...

Secretary, secretary the one who listens, writes and silences, the one who made a dwelling of your office almost wife, good soldier, nurse and a little bit in love.

At this point of the soap opera, Bea is toooo in love with Álvaro, so it's like She confessed her love to him.

Bea (Katie) reacted that Álvaro now knows about her feeling, so in shocked she left the party. But Álvaro followed her to the elevator.

There, the two of them alone.

Álvaro: Bea?

Bea: Mr. Álvaro, it-it was a mistake. It supposed that I was going to sing "Silent night" but they got mistake...

Álvaro started to say that maybe the best thing that could happen was the song, because he realized that he had been selfish, and that Bea was always there with him.

Álvaro started to got closer but Bea sidestepped him. But Álvaro really wanted to kiss Bea, so he took gently her face and kissed her.

[planceeverafter]

Zine Contribution: Writer

Why do you love Plance? I love Plance because their interactions are so pure. I adore how they work so well together and all the possibilities their relationship holds. I feel that they can grow old together and be that cute old married couple that constantly banters with each other.

A sample of your work:

Sharp, blinding pain was the only thing his brain was focusing on. The pain encompassed every part of him. He felt as though the cells that made up his very being were bursting.

'Pidge'

Where was she? His brain screamed at him for focusing on more than one thing. He had to get up though, had to power through. Lance mustered all of his strength and slightly pushed himself up. Shaking arms barely held his weight and he collapsed back on the cold ground.

'How did this mission go so wrong?'

During the briefing only hours ago, Allura had informed them of a Galra base that may have some valuable information. Information about Matt. The base seemed to be abandoned and it should have been a relatively easy mission.

The base was indeed absent of Galra, but they left wonderful goodies behind. Bombs were littered all over the base and some were delightfully invisible.

'We must have set one of them off'

Green. His eyes focused on the pop of color that was halfway across the destroyed room.

'Pidge!'

Adrenaline pumped through his veins and he desperately pushed himself up again. Indescribable pain exploded in his body, but Pidge needed help. He somehow got on his feet and took shaking steps towards her. Lance almost fell down a multitude of times, but he finally got to her. He tried to gently drop on the ground, but his body betrayed him. Lance clunked heavily onto the ground and he was sure to see bruises cropping up in the next couple of days.

"Pidge" his throat detested the attempt at talking. Her slim body was crumpled on the ground, but it looked like nothing fell on her so that was a good sign. Lance gently felt for a pulse and his fingers felt the faint rhythm of life.

'She's alive!'

Relief flooded through his body, but he knew they weren't out of the woods yet. She was still unconscious, likely from hitting her head so hard on the ground when the bomb went off. Lance tried to contact the other paladins and the Castle through his helmet com, but alas it was busted.

"Alright Pidge, we are just going to try and get to Blue ourselves." He still felt the presence of Blue through their bond, so at least he had that. Lance delicately put his hands under Pidge and began to slowly pick her up. His pitiful muscles were in so much pain even though Pidge wasn't even that heavy. He finally had her in a stable position in his arms, when he noticed something.

"Dios mio." The words were barely more than a horrified whisper.

Blood. A huge pool of blood. The culprit was a sharp piece of metal debris. Her vunerable body fell on it during the explosion. Its lethal edges went right through her armor like it was butter.

Lance began to panic. Amber eyes began to flutter open.

"Lance..." A feeble cough from her lips.

"Oh Pidge! Stay with me here, we are going get back to the Castle. You are going to get in a pod and get all healed up and-"

"You're rambling like me now." A soft, dry laugh escaped from Pidge's chapped lips.

Lance could tell she was in a horrible amount of pain. Tears were flowing freely, her eyebrows were scrunched together, and she was taking short, labored breaths.

"I guess you're right." Lance tried to respond with some lightness in his voice. He wanted to make this situation as painless as possible. She didn't deserve any more pain.

"Here's the game plan Pidgeon, we are going to try and make our way out of this place and into Blue."

Pidge winced as he started moving. "That's a very simple plan."

"How do you still manage to be snarky when your body is in this condition?"

"Exsanguination."

Lance could feel Blue's presence grow stronger. "Excuse me?"

"Exsanguination. The process of a person's blood draining out of their body. My blood is draining out of my body at this present moment-"

"Yeah, yeah I got it!" Lance snapped, but with no heat in his voice. He knew he should have tried to do something to the wound to stop the bleeding from the beginning, but what would he put on it? He supposed his hand would do. He readjusted Pidge and put a good amount of pressure on the wound.

She whimpered at the pressure, but didn't protest. The whole rest of the trip she didn't say anything more. Lance guessed that her body couldn't handle the simple action of talking anymore.

When they finally reached Blue, Lance's worried heart began to beat faster. They were almost there, almost to the help Pidge desperately needed. Blue's forcefield came down and let the teens in.

The blue light washed over him with comforting familiarity. He tenderly put her down in his seat and went to get the first aid kit. When he got back Pidge was thankfully still awake. Lance did the best he could with what he had and set a auto-piloted course for the Castle. Using Blue's communication, he sent a message to the Castle about their situation and to get a healing pod ready.

"See, I told you we were going to be fine." Lance knelt down to Pidge and gave her forehead a soft kiss. Her ghastly pale face gained a light pink hue from the action. Pidge has had feelings for him since the Garrison.

Lance decided that right now wasn't the best time to confess his feelings for her. Even if he did, she might not even remember it from the state she was in. When she was all healed up he would tell her. When her amber eyes had that fiery spark to them again.

Lance placed his hand on her head and started to carefully rake his fingers through her knotted hair.

They were going to be okay.

Tumblr | AO3

[crimson-mage-02]

Looking Through Her Eyes

Summary: Two best friends, Prince Keith of Egypt and his most loyal friend Lance, both ran away from Egypt to escape the cruel world they had lived their entire lives. They both stumbled across the Midian people as they welcomed them with open arms for a new path. 

A/N: Hello everyone!! Merry Christmas!!This Kallura and Plance fic is based heavily on the movie The Prince of Egypt. This gift is for  @magiesheartlove​ I hope you like it!!! 

Enjoy reading, feel free to comment and give feedback! Just press keep reading to see the rest of it! Merry Christmas @magiesheartlove and everyone!! 

@idyllchatter-plance-and-kallura

Keith and Lance both walked into the hallway, sewing a little bag while whistling a tune and leaned on the railings of the balcony. “Well, that went well.” Keith commented, leaning on a statue.

“Just go away.” Lotor groaned in annoyance not wanting to deal with his brother and his best friend as well as joking around.

“Could have been worse.” Lance said, looking up at him with a grin.

“’The weak link in the chain.’ That’s what he called me.” Lotor said with distain in his voice as Keith and his servant friend Lance looked each other trying to find a better way to cheer him up.

Keith sighed and continued to sew. “Well, you are rather pathetic.”

“Irresponsible, ignorant of the traditions. He practically accused me of bringing down the dynasty!” Lotor exclaimed, looking down at Keith and Lance.

“Yeah, I can see it now. There goes the pyramids!” Keith chuckled, shaking his head while Lance snickered softly. 

“You two can laugh about it!” Lotor jumped down from the statue, walking towards his brother and friend.

“Statues, cracking and topping over. The Nile drying up. Single-handedly, you will manage to bring the greatest kingdom on Earth to ruin.” Lance smirked with Keith laughing with amusement while filling up the bag with some liquid from a bowl.

“Tell me this, Keith and Lance. Tell me this. Why is it that every time you start something, I’m the one who ends up in trouble?” Lotor asked, watching him smirked evilly as he dropped the bag down and hide away.

Lotor looked over down below seeing the bag had hit their parents advisors. They looked furious and he looked back to look for Keith and Lance. He turned to the other side, seeing Lance was holding a bowl. “You might as well.” Keith smirked.

Lotor smiled and dumped the wine on their parents advisors, hearing more angry exclaims. “Hey, I figured it out. You know what your problem is, Lotor?”

“What?” Lotor asked as they walked along happily with the two following him from behind.

“You care too much.” Lance pointed out with Keith nudging Lotor on the arm.

“And your problem is, you don’t care at all.” Lotor chuckled, spin his little brother’s wig, and walked along happily all cheered up.

“Oh, in that case…” Lance grinned and winked at Keith who nodded.

“I suppose you care a lot more than I do that we’re late for the banquet, for example.” Keith said as he adjusts his wig and smirked seeing his older brother froze in fear with Lance snickering quietly.

They all immediately got themselves in their formal garments with Lance running after them in such a big hurry. Fearing for their father’s wrath. With Lance fixing Keith’s wig, he made sure it is in a perfect form. He heard Lotor was breathing heavily with Keith pushing him towards the banquet.

“I’m done for! Father will kill me.” Lotor said as he was being pushed by his brother.

“Don’t worry. Nobody will even notice coming in.” Keith assured him as all three men entered into the banquet with the crowd cheering as well as their parents. Lance walked away presuming his duties.

Lotor glared at his younger brother. “’Nobody will even notice’” He stood taller with Keith chuckling nervously and rubbed his arm.

“Ah, the young princes!” Queen Honerva gleefully greeted her sons with a tight embrace. And then whispered to her eldest. “Lotor, you were just named Prince Regent. You are now responsible for overseeing all of the temples. I suggest you get over there and thank your father.”

She urged Lotor to thank his father, Zarkon and she turned to her youngest son while clapping for his new title along with Keith. “Apparently, Keith, someone thought he just needed the opportunity.”

Keith smiled brightly and ran up to his father and brother. “My Lord Pharaoh! I propose that the high priests off their tribute to their new regent.”

Pharaoh Zarkon beamed with a smile turning to his most trusted royal advisors. “An excellent idea! Zethrid, Ezor!”

Zethrid grumbled seeing her food was all over the table. “Zethrid.”

“Hmm?” She turned to Ezor, seeing her grinning from ear to ear.

“The Midian girls.” Ezor said with a smirk on her face.

Zethrid mirrored her smirk. “Go get them!” She walked to the centre with the spotlight on her. “By the power of Ra, we present for your delegation and delight, an exotic apparition stolen from a faraway land.” Spoke appeared around her as it exploded with covers appearing and revealed two Midian girls sitting on top of the camel. Keith gasped seeing such rarest hair colour and her eyes sparkled like a thousands of diamonds in his eyes. She had white and red clothing with her hair tied up braided past her waist. She had purple crystal earrings with a golden tiara with a blue gem.

Meanwhile Lance was starstruck by the younger girl dressed in green and blue clothing with purple accents. Her honey brown hair was pulled in a ponytail with green earrings. He stood there completely in utter shock to see her stunning beauty. Both girls were struggling in their restraints as the two Princes gasped in amazement.

“We offer you with these two desert flowers.” Zethrid pulled the rope that tied up one of the girls towards to the princes.

“Allura!” The second young girl cried out to her.

Allura stumbled and fell on the ground, but still had a scowl on her face. She growled softly, seeing the two princes were smiling at her. Lotor stood up with a smile, grabbing her face in his hand. “Let us inspect this delicate desert flower.”

She looked at his hand and attempted to bit him, scaring him away and scurried to Keith’s side. “More like a desert cobra.”

Keith chuckled and crossed his arms. “Not much of a snake charmer, are you?”

“That’s why I give her to you.” Lotor grinned, pushing Keith towards Allura.

Keith’s eyes widened as he was being pushed by his brother towards Allura who was glaring and growling at the two princes. “No, that’s generous but….”

“I won’t be given to anyone. Especially an arrogant, pampered palace brat!” Allura exclaimed angrily while trying to get out of the ropes. Then heard her friend was being pulled onto the floor with the crowd laughing. “Katherine!”

“Oh another desert flower.” Lotor smirked, lifting her chin up but she headbutted him and everyone exclaimed in shock. Lotor groaned holding his chin and tried to soothe the pain. “Another…. Desert snake.” In that moment, Lance cannot be any more in love with the younger woman. So fierce and beautiful.

“And are you going to let her talk to you like that, Keith?” Lotor asked his brother who turned to Allura.

“You two will show the proper respect for a Prince of Egypt.” Keith declared pointing his finger at Allura.

“But we are showing the respect you deserve. None!” Allura exclaimed while pulling the rope away and swung it around with Keith stopping the guards with her and grabbed the rope.

“Untie this rope! I demand to set us free!” Allura demanded angrily, pulled the rope.

“Be still!” Keith grunted, still holding onto the rope.

“Let go!” Allura growled with Katherine getting up and trying to help her friend but was pushed away by the guards and was in Lance’s arms, just in the nick of timing to save her from falling down on the floor.

Keith looked to the side, seeing there is a little pond and smiled. “As you wish.”

Allura yelped and fell down in the water with everyone in the banquet laughed. She tried to get up from the water but slipped. Keith stood up, laughing, and looked back at his mother who hung her head as she didn’t approve what he had done.

Keith immediately frowned seeing his faults with Lotor laughing in amusement whole holding onto his shoulder and glanced at Lance. “Lance my good friend! Have them dried off and sent to Prince Keith’s chambers. If it pleases you, Father, my first act as regent, to appoint Keith, as royal architect.” Lotor placed his purple ring into Keith’s finger. Everyone applauded and cheered for Prince Keith.

While they were celebrating, Keith admired his new ring then looked at Allura in the crowd, seeing her walking away from the crowd and all soaked. She was being aided by Lance and her friend towards the hall to get dried up. He winced seeing her glare and walked away with Lance to get dried up.

On the way to his room, Lance had a bowl of dried towels in his hands. “Well, that went well.” Keith groaned in annoyance and rubbed his face tiredly while hearing the guests were cheering loudly in the banquet.

“Tell me about it. How is she?” Keith asked his friend.

“Hmm, well the girls are all dried and are resting your quarters as we speak.” Lance replied. “Oh! And they are mad about what happened at the banquet.”

“No kidding.” Keith sighed bitterly as he walked towards his room until they heard muffled sounds from inside his room. Both men ran inside seeing a servant was tied up and gagged. Lance tapped him on the shoulder looking at the window where ripped curtain was being tied up on a pillar as a rope. They both went to the balcony seeing Allura and Kathrine both walking with their camel, trying to escape. Keith climbed down the rope and jumped on the ground with Lance falling down but quickly got up and got some dirt off of his robes.

Keith saw the guards was walking towards to the exist. They were going to get caught. “Guards.”

“Prince Keith.” Both of the guards stood up straight looking at him in the eye with Lance glancing at them and at the who froze, thinking they were going be captured again.

“Uh, there’s a…. a man tied up in my room. Well, look into it.” Keith ordered as the two guards complied and scurried away with Lance sighing in relief. They both turned to see the girls, but they ran off ahead with their camel.

Both men followed the girls into the slaves’ houses and found them getting water and begged for water from a young woman and young man. They were given water for their long journey to escape Egypt.

Then that night he didn’t know it would’ve changed his life as he had seemingly met his true family, his older sister and brother, named Acxa and Shiro. His older sister had claimed he is their younger brother. Keith did not understand and thought they were lying.

Acxa looked at him in disbelief. “They never told you?”

“Who never told me what?” Keith asked in confusion.

“But you’re here. You must know.” Acxa trying to reach out to him but he took a step back.

“Be careful, slave!” Keith exclaimed, taking his hand away from Acxa, somewhat confused about the situation with the sibling he and Lance had met.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Lance stepped in for his friend.

Shiro grabbed Acxa by the arms and looked at the two with an apologetic look. “Oh, my good prince. Um, she’s—she’s exhausted from the day’s work. Uh, not that it was too much. We…We quite enjoyed it. But-But she’s confused and knows not to whom she speaks.”

Acxa grew irritated and shoved his arm away. “I know whom I speak, Shiro. I know who you are. And you are not a prince of Egypt.”

“What did you say?” Keith asked with anger and felt offended.

“Your highness, pay her no heed. C-Come, Acxa. May I discuss something with you?” Shiro asked nervously seeing his sister won’t give up.

“No, Shiro. No!” Acxa exclaimed. “Please, Keith, you must believe!”

“That’s enough.” Shiro said softly, dragging her away from Keith and Lance.

Lance frowned seeing Keith was getting more angry by these slaves who claimed that they are siblings. “You were born of our mother, Krolia!” Acxa exclaimed trying to get out of her brother’s arms despite his protests. “You are our brother!”

“Now you go too far. You shall be punished!” Keith pointed his finger at her with Shiro kneeling down before him.

“No! Please, uh, Your highness. She’s ill. She’s very ill. We beg your forgiveness. Please, Miriam, let us go.” Shiro pleaded, dragging her away from him.

“No, Shiro. Our mother set you adrift in a basket to save your life!” Acxa exclaimed.

“Save my life? From who?” Keith asked with a frown.

“As the man that you call ‘Father’.” Acxa replied with Lance gasped softly and saw Keith had enough of this.

“How dare you?” Keith growled at her.

“God saved you to be our deliver. And you are, Keith. You are the deliver.” Acxa said, clenching her hands, pleading to her younger brother.

Keith grabbed her wrist tightly with Lance calling out to him. “I said, enough!” He threw her on the ground, and he glared at her one last time. “You will regret this night. Let’s go, Lance.”

He reluctantly followed Keith back to the palace until he saw him stopping hearing Acxa singing a lullaby that he had heard from before. He turned to see Acxa smiling with tears falling down. Lance saw how shock and confusion in his face.

Then he ran away from the two with Lance trying to catch up to him. Accidentally knocking a man down along the way. He got up quickly with lance helping him as they arrived at the palace with Lance panting heavily. “Let me catch my breath!”

Keith huffed and panted heavily. He looked up at the statue of his family in the temple. This is where he belongs, not as a slave. He found himself questioning his whole life, wondering, and thinking it was all a lie. He never thought himself as a slave and a Hebrew.

A few days after that encounter, he walked into a slavery work place, seeing his older brother Lotor had granted a vision from the Gods to rebuild the temple. He looked around at the tired looking slaves around him. All worn out, starved for food, and are parched. Pulling the ropes, carrying heavy loads, and had whip marks on their backs a sign of punishment.

Keith saw an elder man was being whipped as a punishment while hearing his sister’s pleas to attempt to stop the guard from torturing the man. He looked away for a moment while seeing Lance was looking at the slave nervously but still stayed by their side. Until he heard a loud cry, the poor older man was getting more hurt by the guard. He cannot believe what he had done. He… he needed to get away from here. He ran away from the crowd while Acxa had grabbed him, but he didn’t have enough courage to face her, Lance or Lotor.

He needed to get out of Egypt. He doesn’t belong there. He ran and ran away as he was almost to the gate way out of Egypt. He heard horses footsteps from behind him, hearing Lotor and Lance calling out to him on the chariot.

Lotor made a turn to stop him from running and try to talk to him. “Keith.”

“Keith… it wasn’t your fault.” Lance said to him, trying to comfort him while Lotor tried to convince him to stay back with him and all of his problems will be solved now that he is Pharaoh. Ruler of Egypt.

“Let me go!”

“No, wait.” Lotor cried out to his brother.

Keith gritted his teeth in anger and turned to them. “You saw what happened. I just killed a man.”

“We can take care of that. I will make it, so it never happened.” Lotor promised, holding his shoulder but he shrugged it off.

“Nothing you say can change what I’ve done.” Keith pointed as he continued on walking away from him.

“I am Egypt!” Lotor exclaimed and he went in front of him trying to convince him to stay and walked backwards while speaking to him. “The Morning and the Evening Star! If I say, ‘Day is Night’, it will be written, and you will be what I say you are! I say you are innocent.”

Keith swat his arms off his shoulders with Lance trying to calm him down. “Keith, your brother is right, he can help you. Just listen to him.”

“What you say does not matter. You don’t understand. I can’t stay here any longer.” Keith said softly as he was prepared to leave.

“Keith!”

“No! All I’ve ever known to be true is a lie. I’m not who you think I am.” Keith said, not looking at him in the eye.

“What are you talking about?” Lotor asked in confusion.

“Go ask the man I once called ‘Father’.” Keith replied as he walked away from his brother with Lance following him.

Lotor had called out to him once more and he turned to him seeing a sadden and broken expression, pleading him to stay. He had said his goodbyes to him and ran away from Egypt with Lance running behind him into the warm and hot desert, while hearing Prince Lotor’s cries.

Keith and Lance both ran into the hot desert with no plan or what direction they are going in whatsoever. They both went into the canyons, experienced extreme winds, and walked down field of rocks. Until Keith fell down with one of the rocks ripping the sandals, groaning in pain.

“Keith!”

“I’m fine.” Keith said softly in frustration seeing his sandal was ruined. He took off his necklace, his golden accessories and was about to toss the ring away. He looked at it as it was his last connection to Egypt. To his brother, Lotor. Lance took off his robes and ripped the bottom bit of the robe to have more room to walk in.

“Oh, that’s so much better.” Lance sighed contently.

“Why did you come along? You could’ve stayed by my brother’s side.” Keith said.

“Well, you and I have been friends for a very long time before I become friends with Lotor…. So I did promise I stay by your side. Even though we argue a lot.” Lance chuckled dryly with Keith joining in as he took off his wig. “Wow, when was the last time I saw you with your mullet?”

“Come on, what is with you and my hair?” Keith asked quietly with the wind coming by. They closed their eyes until they were buried underneath the sand. Then moments after Lance got out of the sand coughing, getting the sand out of his mouth and spit it out. Then a camel came by and tried to eat their hair.

“Ugh! Ow!” Lance exclaimed in pain as Keith grunted in annoyance until he saw water coming out from a bag that was on the camel. “Hey, wait. Please!”

“Water!” Lance exclaimed as the two went after the bag and was being dragged by the camel. Lance was holding on to the tail while Keith was holding onto the bag filled with water. Both were exhausted from walking in the hot scorching desert.

Continued to being dragged by the camel, Keith hit his head on a well with Lance falling down on top of him. “Lance!”

“Sorry.”

“No, look, water!” Keith exclaimed as he smacked his lips together before drinking the water. They both put their faces in the water. At long last, they drank the nice and cold water. Both sighed in relief and saw a sheep looking at them and dropped the water out of its mouth.

Lance shook Keith’s shoulder and pointed at some man fighting against three young girls. “What are you doing? Help! let our sheep drink! Leave us alone! Get away!”

“Stop it! My father’s the high priest of Midian. You’re going to be in big trouble.” Exclaimed the eldest sister.

Keith looked to the side and saw the men’s camel. He stood up and walked towards them. he held onto the railings with Lance standing by his side.

“Hey, you! Aren’t these your camels?” Keith called out to them.

The two men looked with shocked expressions as Lance beckoned them to run. “Hut-Hut!” They all watched the two men running off after their camels with the girls looking at Keith and Lance in shock.

Keith groaned and leaned down the well but fell down as the bricks broken down. “Keith!” Lance tried to grab his leg, but it was too late. The girls looked over the well and decided to help Lance get him out of the well. “Pull!”

“Merla, Romelle and Luka! What are you girls doing?” Allura asked with a smile. “And you!”

“Hahaha, hi! Please don’t hurt me!” Lance exclaimed in fear while hiding behind the well. Allura rolled her eyes and turned to her younger sisters.

“We’re helping this kind man to get his funny and weird friend out of the well.” Luka replied while pulling the rope.

Allura looked at the servant who smiled awkwardly and then turned to the girls with a grin. “Trying to get the funny man out of the well? Well, that’s one I’ve never heard before.” She looked down and gasped seeing there was really a man down there. “Oh, my. Oh, uh, don’t worry down there! Uh, we’ll get you out. Hold on!” Allura exclaimed as she helped her sisters to pull him out of the well. Until she recognized him as the Prince of Egypt. “You.”

“Huh?” Keith gasped seeing the Midian girl in front of him. She grinned and then let go of the rope with Keith falling down into the well again as a little revenge for what he had done to her. “Mm-hmm.”

She walked away with Lance and her sisters watching her leave. “And that’s why papa said she’ll never get married.” Merla said to her younger sisters.

“Hang on, buddy. I-we’ll-Ahh!” Lance cried out as he fell into the well and crashed onto Keith. Allura groaned in annoyance seeing the two morons had fallen in the well and saw her sisters were urging her to help the two men out.

“Please Allura, they must need assistance from us.” Romelle pleaded.

Allura huffed and went to get help and a new rope from their home. “Fine. But the elders will be cleaning them not us.”

After a few moments, they managed to get help to get Keith out of the well and was summoned to a tent to get cleaned by the elder women with Allura, Merla, Romelle and Luka watching in amusement. “Katherine. Come on, you better come and see this.” Allura chuckled while Lance perked up covering himself.

He saw Pidge in her green-blue dress, with her hair tied up in a ponytail. She saw him covering himself up while Keith was being cleaned by her mother. “You don’t have to do this.” Keith said so bashfully.

“Yes. Ladies, please, we’re really…. We’re really quite…” Lance chuckled nervously seeing Katie was washing him. He cleared his throat nervously while she blushed softly.

“No, not there, please.” Keith laughed softly. “That tickles. Ladies, you’ve cleaned every inch of us.” He yelped and then looked behind him. “Whoa, I… was wrong.”

The two young men heard Allura and her sisters were all laughing at him. She saw the shadow of their father coming towards the tent she gestured her sisters to move to let him through. “Let me through. Let me through. I want to see him.” Appeared Allura’s father, beaming with a bright smile, greeting Keith and Lance with a warm smile.

He hugged the two of them tightly. “AH! You are most welcome. You should not be a stranger in this land. You have been sent as a blessing. And, tonight, you two brave young men shall be my honoured guests.” He put his robe around Keith as Lance was already wearing his blue woven jacket.

Allura stood by Keith’s side with a smirk. “My father, Alfor, high priest of Midian.” Keith sighed covered himself from Allura and the other girls just walked of the tent. Lance had his eye on Katie who was holding a little bowl in her hands and walked out of the tent.

(~)

Keith walked out in a black shirt with shorts and a red jacket with gold accents while Lance came out with a blue-long sleeve shirt with cream pants. They both looked at the crowd, sitting in a circle in front of the fire.

They both looked over at Allura’s youngest sister, Luka beckoned them to sit. “Come on, sit with us.”

“Um, all right.” Keith smiled nervously with Lance following him looking around for Katherine in the crowd and then saw she was sitting next to Allura. He fidget nervously and bit his lip. He went over to sit next to her. She seemed to move to make room for him.

“Hi.” Lance shyly greeted her.

“Hello.” Katherine smiled back at him.

Keith sat next to Allura, she may not or have acknowledge him sitting next to her while he took an orange until Romelle stopped. “Psst. Not yet!”

“Oh, sorry.” Keith apologised putting back the orange back in the basket.

“My children, let us give thanks for this bountiful food.” Alfor announced patting a young boy’s head as he made his announcement. “And let us also give our thanks for the presence of these two brave young men who are here tonight.”

Everyone all clapped with Lance nodding his head bashfully with his friend seemed to be ashamed of himself for what he had done. “Please, sir. I wish you wouldn’t. I’ve done nothing in my life worth honouring.” Keith said looking up at Alfor while his daughter looked at him with sympathy.

“We were just trying to do the right thing, sir.” Lance spoke up with Katherine giving him a small smile.

Alfor smiled and then spoke in a soft and clear voice. “First you rescue Allura and her friend Katherine from Egypt, then you defend my daughters from brigands. You think that is nothing? It seems you do not know what is worthy of honour.”

Keith gave him a confused look and glanced at Allura who was grinning and heard the Priest was had started singing with the people around in the circle started to dance. Lance saw Katherine was trying to get him to join. “Oh, no, no. No, no, no! I do not dance!” Lance exclaimed shyly.

“Oh come on!” Katherine giggled, pulling him into the dancing circle with Keith laughing in amusement. He also saw Allura joining in with a tambourine with her sisters. He clapped along to the rhythm as he saw the people were filled with, love, joy and happiness. It was much better than his life in Egypt.

And so Keith and Lance stayed in Midian and helped them around their home. Keith helped putting up the tent with Merla giving him some water, Katherine gave Lance some water as well. Then he dumped all of the water over his head. They both laughed cheerfully, and Keith drank the whole vase of water and then looked where Allura was. Making some fabric in a tent with the other woman. He smiled watching her interacting with the other kids who were running around the field.

Allura smiled brightly as she put her hair back behind her ear and saw Keith was watching her with a smile. Once he noticed her, he tried to walk away but tripped over the rope with Lance and the girls laughing. She chuckled seeing his nervousness and awkwardness. “Oh, are you alright, Keith?” Lance laughed while wiping his tears.

“Yeah, peachy.” Keith chuckled and saw Allura was walking away with her friends. “She did see, right?”

“Yup. She did, my friend.” Lance nodded as they both moved on to get another tent up with Katherine following them. “So, uh, Katherine, right?”

“Call me Katie.” Katie smiled with her honey brown hair blew in the wind gently making Lance blush at her cute and bright smile while Keith nudge him on the arm, seeing him all flustered. He ruffled his hair playfully. Lance laughed and pushed him gently away from him.

Then Lance walked to a herd of sheep and pet one while Keith watched over them with a smile. Allura called out to them as she handed Keith a staff while Katie gave Lance a scarf. They had become shepherds as their job.

Keith was helping a female sheep giving birth with Allura watching closely with a smile. Once the baby sheep was born, he cradled it gently and with care. He watched Allura carrying the baby sheep in her arms, wiping it softly with a blue blanket and gave him a warm smile before shyly walking away.

Keith stood up on his feet and heard Lance was being chased by some sheep with Katie. “Lance, you are scaring them because of your screaming!”

“Is he always like this?” Allura asked, coming to his side, and put down the sheep to be with its mother.

“He is a good friend of mine and I have seen him being this overdramatic all the time.” Keith chuckled as the two sat on a big rock. They both sat and enjoyed the breeze while Lance and Katie were spending time with the sheep. He looked over at Allura and saw her white-silver hair blowing in the wind gently.

He cleared his throat and rubbed his neck nervously. “A-Allura?”

“Yes, your majesty?” Allura chuckled.

“Actually, I-it’s Keith. Just Keith.” He smiled nervously. “I-I want to apologise. F-For letting fall into the water back in Egypt.”

“Oh that, yeah, got what you deserved back there in the well.” Allura chuckled as Keith laughed softly. “But no hard feelings. We are even, your majesty. Now go out there and look after the sheep.” She nudged him and saw him having a grin on his face.

She reached down behind the boulder to grab his staff and saw bouquet of flowers attached to it. Allura smiled looking at Keith who was chatting happily with Lance and Katie. She cannot possibly be falling for the former Prince of Egypt, is she? She doesn’t know what to feel now as the young man continues to confuse her at times.

Keith looked back at her seeing her enjoying the flowers. He smiled seeing she had accepted. Once he turned around, he saw Lance was looking straight at him. “What is it Lance?” Keith asked irritated.

“You are falling in love with her, aren’t you? And hmm, that is a very smart and bold move there. I am trying to impress Katie. But nothing is working.” Lance said worriedly.

“Lance…just be yourself. She really does seem to like you too. I can see it.” Keith smiled at his best friend. “Also, Allura and I are j-just friends.”

“Hmm, denial!” Lance said in a singsong tone with Keith ruffling his hair playfully.

(~)

During their stay Keith and Lance both enjoyed their life with the Midian people especially with Allura and Katie. Lance was getting to know Katie every day in his new life and the rest of her family. He had started living with Katie in their own tent and eventually got married.

Keith also got along with Allura’s sisters, teaching them how to draw and telling them stories from the stars. Later that night, he clapped along with the music and saw Allura dancing with a red cloth in her hands. He smiled seeing Lance and Katie also dancing in the circle.

“Keith, dance with me!” Allura giggled, putting the cloth around his neck.

“No-No! I don’t dance!” Keith tried to get the cloth out of neck but was being pulled into the circle in between Alfor and Lance. He didn’t know the steps until he finally got the hang of it and smiled brightly. Then Keith and Allura danced in front of the fireplace as they held onto the cloth. Allura let her lower her guard to get closer to him as he moved the cloth towards him to get her twirling around.

Lance, Katie and Allura’s sisters all crowded behind a camel, whispering to each other, trying to figure out what Keith and Allura were talking about to Alfor. They saw Keith’s shadow of himself, explaining with gestures with Allura explaining the situation to her father.

“Hmm, must be very serious.” Lance hummed, stroking his chin.

“Oh, oh, Father looks so happy!” Merla exclaimed excitedly. They saw the shadow of Alfor hugging both Keith and Allura tightly as they were trying to escape from his embrace. The group stood in confusion and all shrugged to know what was the reason why Alfor was happy.

The white petals all fell down on a newly wedded couple that stood before Alfor, officiating their marriage. Keith and Allura both looking into each other’s eyes deeply with love. Lance was wiping a tear from his eye while Katie and the sister’s were all crying with tears of joy. Finally seeing their sister is now married.

Keith happily pulled Allura to dance in front of the fireplace with everyone watching them dancing, holding each other. He held her closely to him, had her secure in his arms with her soft touch calms him. He had lived the life he’d never thought he would have. He had looked at his life. He looked through her eyes and had begun a new chapter with her as he promised to love and cherish her with all of his heart.

[ashkazora]

2020 Fic Roundup

Stats:

Fics Posted (Total): 13

In chronological order: Cold Floors and Warm Hearts - a fluffy shance fic about the three times Shiro accidentally wakes up in Lance’s room. Exchange fic. 3,441 words.

These Boots Are Gonna Walk All Over You - a small klance fillet based on the US tv show, The Blacklist. 639 words.

the water was dark (and it went down forever) - a Lance-centric gen fic exploring his relationship with the Blue Lion, and her control over him. 15,618 words.

Coffee Grinds and Morse Code - a post-s8, Shance fic written for the valentines shance exchange! 3,593 words.

Nectar and Ambrosia - my first Bad Things Happen Bingo prompt fill for the square ‘denied food as punishment.’ Lance whump. 2,641 words.

there ain't no rest for the wicked - another Bad Things Happen Bingo prompt fill for ‘big brother instincts,’ but this time with Plance and Lance whump. 3,508 words. 

Of Claws and Steel - a science-fiction, super sentai cat armour AU entered around the Lions as futuristic mecha armour. Most underrated fic here. 14,344 words.

Hairline Fractures - another Bad Things Happen Bingo prompt fill, ‘bleeding through bandages.’ Lance whump (again). 5,059 words.

Leverage - last Bad Things Happen Bingo fill for the year, for the prompt ‘on a leash.’ Featuring Shance, and Lance and Shiro whump. 7,743 words.

Lay It Down To Save It - Leakira Klance AU written for Leakira week. Made in collaboration with @crapoftheworldblr​! 18,102 words.

to the stars and back - The Dragon Prince Plance AU with Prince!Lance and Elf!Pidge. In collaboration with @rosieclark​! 36,574 words.

Sweeter Than Honey - written for the Blue Moon Lance zine! Features BAMF!Lance as the honeypot on a mission. 4,098 words.

In The Closet - Klance fic for the winner of my fic giveaway. Fluffy, and definitely a bit saucy. 2,363 words.

Fics Posted (Gen): 5

the water was dark (and it went down forever) Nectar and Ambrosia Of Claws and Steel  Hairline Fractures  Sweeter Than Honey

Plance: 2

there ain't no rest for the wicked to the stars and back 

Shance: 3

Cold Floors and Warm Hearts Coffee Grinds and Morse Code  Leverage

Klance: 3

These Boots Are Gonna Walk All Over You Lay It Down To Save It  In The Closet

Collaborations: 2

Lay It Down To Save It to the stars and back

Ship/Character breakdown:

Ship breakdown:

This year, the biggest ship I wrote for was Shance (3 fics), with Plance (2) and Klance (2.5) coming in from behind. The k/l ficlet doesn’t count as a full fic.

Character breakdown:

Of the 13 fics, Lance is in the most with 13 (insert surprised pikachu face here), then it goes Shiro (12), Keith (10), Pidge (8), Hunk (7), Allura (6) and Matt Holt (2). Other characters appear only once, such as Coran, Haggar and Kolivan. Technically, the Blue Lion clocks in at 2 mentions. 

Characters that had the main focus:

Lance had the sole POV for 7 of those fics, and shared POVs (in a collaboration) iin 2 additional fics. Shiro had the second most POVs at a total of 3, while Keith had 1 sole POV and 1 shared POV, and Pidge with one shared POV.

Specifics:

Best/worst title?

Best title: the water was dark (and it went down forever), but honestly so many other fics has titles I liked. This title was based off of the Tim Winton short story by the name name, The Water Was Dark And It Went Down Forever, where the main character swims and debatably drowns. So it’s fairly fitting.

Runners up titles include Sweeter Than Honey, to the stars and back, and Lay It Down To Save It.

Worst title: Hairline Fractures. It’s dumb and it makes no sense. It was the first thing that came to mind.

An honourable mention includes Leverage, which would be first if not for the fact that the title inspired the ending, so it’s not too bad.

Best/worst last line?

Best: From the water was dark (and it went down forever):

Blue’s grasp on him was like an endless expanse; an opulent and brilliant ocean. Her waters were dark, and  it went  down forever.

This was definitely my favourite, even though it’s pretty cringe. The way it was formatted in ao3 and the way it related to the title plus the reoccurring symbolism of water made it pretty neat!

Worst: From there ain't no rest for the wicked:

Pidge laughed, and turned her back from the darkness.

I’m sorry. This ending was so cringey. I hate it. There’s nothing else to say except I have no idea how to fix it. Oof.

General questions:

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

tbh, I wrote a lot more, considering I had my final exams this year. Breaching 100k was crazy. 

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

Honestly? Klance. I’m not the biggest fan of the ship but writing it is very interesting, and I enjoyed it. 

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

Of Claws and Steel hands down! It’s the first fic idea I ever had for VLD,  and the one I really love the most. One day I’d love to write a continuation of it, but the reception of the fic wasn’t great so idk.

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

the water was dark (and it went down forever) even though it was started in 2019, was finished this year and is my most popular fic of all time! It’s got 4k+ hits and 450+ kudos. Crazy, since it was only supposed to be a dumb little warm up fic to get me back into writing in preparation for Of Claws and Steel. Alas, turns out people really liked it!

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

Of Claws and Steel. It was the fic I worked the hardest on this year but got the least amount of attention :)

Story that could have been better?

Easily there ain't no rest for the wicked. There was so much plot and so many things I wanted to include but didn't. There’s a lot of things missing and bad plot flow. One day if I got more time, I’d love to write more on it.

Sexiest story?

In The Closet, hands down. It gets a bit steamy with a k/l makeout session. Originally it was going to be a lot saucier but I wasn’t too comfortable in my ability to write it well ahaha. 

Saddest story?

None of my stories were sad, per se. Most of the sad ones were more scary/foreboding rather than actually being sad. I guess to the stars and back right now, because it’s dealing with Lance’s insecurities and Pidge’s desperation to find her brother (and a lot of other things, which will be revealed in the future!)

Most fun?

Sweeter Than Honey! It was fun to write and is my most fun fic. BAMF!Lance and his witty commentary is always a great laugh.

Story with single sweetest moment? 

I can’t choose :,). It’s a three-way tie between Cold Floors and Warm Hearts’s last scene where Shiro realises Lance bought him the necklace, Lay It Down To Save It’s scene that I can’t say because it’s technically unpublished ;), and to the stars and back’s scene where Lance and Pidge talk about what they would like to be in life (ch3).

Hardest story to write?

Probably Of Claws and Steel, as I completely stagnated on the story for a long time. It took me 8 months to write it. Without Rue’s help, I probably would have taken so much longer. Runners up is Leverage, as it took me like a solid week to write 90% of it, and 3 more months to write the remaining 10%. For some reason, parts of that fic were such a pain to write. 

Easiest/most fun story to write?

The easiest was definitely to the stars and back. I could relate to a lot of Lance’s actions and thoughts in the fic, so writing his POV was super easy and rather cathartic ngl. However the most fun was probably Sweeter Than Honey, as it was super self indulgent ahaha.

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

Lay It Down To Save It changed my perception of Keith. I don’t particularly like Keith in canon, but I’ve warmed up to his fanon self and general character after writing from his POV.

Most overdue story?

Of Claws and Steel easily! It was the first VLD fic idea I had but took 8 months to write. Oops? 

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

For the first time I incorporated HTML coding into my fics, which taught me a lot about coding and different ways to convey certain messages and detail things. These codings altered fonts and colours, which you can see in 

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

Write my tua/vld au fic, which will be my first solo multi chapter fic, and hopefully finish it by the end of next year. Also, sticking to a consistent writing schedule and try to write at least 100 words a day, plus finishing TSSAB. I’d also like to finish some more BTHB prompts!

That’s all, folks! Thank you all for sticking with my writing! Hopefully 2021 brings even more writing, fun times, and great fics. Happy New Years (in 24 hours), everyone!

[seeds-of-the-garden]

Plance in a stardew valley au (if anyone is familiar with the game) i can't get this idea out of my head

I had to look up what the game was about and I hope I did some this some justice for you! Have some fluff with a dash of humor!

~~~~~

This isn’t how Pidge exactly expected her life to go. Once, not too long ago, she’d planned on finishing her PhD in astrophysics - and she still has every intention of doing so!

A clump of dirt flies up at her face as she strikes the hoe down once again.

“Bleh,” she moans, wiping it off. That PhD is a little hard to imagine at the moment while she’s tilling soil.

One year, her grandfather’s Will stated, if she can farm this land for one year it is entirely hers to do whatever she wants with it.

And Pidge has her eyes on a state-of-the art telescope and research facility.

One year. That’s all.

Pidge is nothing if not stubborn, and she is going to get these crops planted.

Her hairs stand on end at the feeling she’s being watched. Uneven footsteps across the dirt tell of a visitor - it isn’t anyone from her family, none of them are much for surprises. So instead of hitting the dirt next, she swings the hoe around…

The man shrieks, barely bending to avoid getting hit and falls right into the nice, even row she’d just made.

“What the cheese?” he accuses with a squeak. “Are you in the habit of murder?”

“To people who sneak up behind me?” Pidge asks with a glare. “Yes. Who are you and what are you doing on my farm?”

The man’s jaw drops. “Your farm? You’re Old man Holt’s descendant?”

“And what of it?” she challenges.

“N-nothing!” the man says, clearing his throat. “Sorry, we got off on the wrong foot. I’m Lance,” he says, extending his arm in greeting, almost humorous as he still sits in the dirt. “I’m your next door neighbor. Well,” he chuckles dryly, “As much as a next door neighbor as you can get in the country.”

Curious and nosy, is all. Pidge sighs and sets down her tool and helps Lance to his feet. “Sorry for almost killing you. There are a lot of stalkers in the city.” “Much appreciated,” he quips. “Are you coming to the festival tonight?”

Pidge raises an eyebrow. Festival meant people and less time from both her studies and from her preferred entertainment of video games and stargazing.

“I’m not really into festivals,” she says boredly. Usually people picked up on the fact that she wasn’t interested in parties.

Not Lance, apparently.

“It’s the coolest thing!” he says animatedly. “The forecast is calling for clear skies, so everyone’s going out to the Hill to watch the stars. Legend says that a falling star will appear if there’s someone who really needs a wish.”

The wish Pidge is uninterested in but...if the locals know the best place to view the sky, then far be it from her to ignore that kind of information. “Okay, I’ll be there.”

“The oldest willow tree in the area is there and...wait did you say you’ll be there? Really?”

Pidge shrugs and offers a small smile. “Sure. I love stargazing. It’s what I’m going to school for.”

Lance’s face turns beet red. “M-me too! I mean not about the school part, but I love looking at the stars too!”

Pidge grins. It was pretty sweet of Lance to come and say hello, and to have someone appreciate the stars. Maybe this year won’t be as bad as she thinks.

[anchoredtether]

2020 Writing Roundup

Stolen from Rue! This was fun to reflect on!

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

~~~~~~~

S T A T S

Words written:

A whooping 232,867 - which is more than half of all the words I’ve written on Ao3 in the past seven years LOL. I guess I wrote to keep myself sane this crazy year.

O N G O I N G: S T A R T E D / U P D A T E D

AN UNORTHODOX APPROACH  (21,586 words)

First new fic of the year, this is my Shrek AU! I really adore this fantasy AU and it’s fun to explore such a crack concept and treat it seriously. It’s also a Pikelavar AU of sorts. 

DEFENDERS OF AURITA  (62,538 words)

Only updated my fantasy AU epic with one chapter this year, and I’m actually kind of sad I didn’t work on it more. It’s been hard to find muse for it when it hasn’t gotten nearly as much traction as other projects. 

PARADISE LOST  (13,013 words)

Another new fic started in June, this is a Zootopia AU! Heavily inspired from Zootopia, Beastars, and The Last of Us, it’s an apocalyptic future involving hybrids, people who have animal traits in order to combat a deadly strain of cancer. Plus I just love fox!Lance and rabbit!Pidge. 

SCALING BACK  (6,041 words)

New fic started in March, this is one I’ve had stewing on the backburner for quite awhile actually, and decided to start. It’s basically canon but Lance is actually a merman and hiding it from the team. It surprisingly fixes a ton of plot holes and fits with canon narrative. 

SHATTER AND TESSELLATE  (19,661 words)

This new project kind of took over my life if you couldn’t tell from all the art I’ve cranked out this past year for it. Oddly enough the idea just kind of hit me one day in March. I think Rue’s “worst timelines” got me thinking along those lines and I came up with the idea of Honerva seeing into the future and kidnapping the future paladins and turning them galra to prevent Voltron from defeating the Empire. So it’s a Galra AU but in the worst way possible. 

SIX IMPOSSIBLE THINGS (7,243 words)

Another new fic started in August, this Wonderland AU I’ve had notes and ideas for since 2018 or something. And it’s hilarious because I thought of Lance being the Cheshire cat long before Pike existed. Thanks to lots of brainstorming on Discord I’ve figured out a lot more worldbuilding for this AU and I can’t wait to expound on it. 

SLIDING LEFT MAKES MR. RIGHT (2,788 words)

Crack Tinder AU which says I posted in 2020 but I think I wrote it in November/December of 2019. This is a oneshot and it’s taking me forever to finish because it’s hard for me to write short things lol.

THE VACANT ETHER (31,121 words)

This is from the Stories in the Dark bang back in October 2019 and I’m still working to finish it. Post s8, horror, cosmic Reaper AU. This is a favorite AU of mine because of how nicely it fixes and explains all the plot holes of s8.

WHAT TIDES MAY BRING (20,704 words)

The Mer AU that Rue and I started writing last year! I really adore this AU and the Plance family feels it has, and sadly I’ve been slacking on my end with writing the next chapter but I hope to get more content in before MerMay this year. 

WHERE SAPPHIRE ROSES GROW (31,101 words)

I wrote a lot this year for my Beauty and the Beast AU. I’m quite pleased I finally got to the part where Lance learns Pidge is a girl because that’s when things start moving into motion (and obviously the romance starts developing, but still not for awhile yet because I’m a sucker for slow burns).

WHERE THE SUN MEETS THE OCEAN  (8,620 words)

I barely touched my Atlantis AU this year. This is another AU that doesn’t get as much love so it’s hard to find muse for it at times. 

R E F L E C T I O N S

Best title

I am really fond of Shatter and Tessellate. Not only does it sound pretty and gives great imagery but it’s symbolic of how the paladins are broken and put back together. 

Worst title

Probably Paradise Lost. It’s unoriginal (I stole it from the book by John Milton) though it fits the themes of the fic. But I also couldn’t think of anything better and I do find it funny that shortened it becomes PL which is like Pidge/Lance.

Best/worst last line

Best: from Where Sapphire Roses Grow: 

She opened her eyes to see Lance looking up at her with his captivating irises as brilliant a blue as the very sapphire rose that cursed him, eyes that were still human.

“I swear to you Lance… I will figure out a way to break your curse.” 

Worst: from Paradise Lost:

“Please…” she says in a muffled voice between sobs. “I can't - I can't do this alone."

“You won't have to,” he promises softly as he holds her close. “I'm here. I'm right here..."

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

I wrote uhhh.... way more. Than I thought possible considering all the stress that happened this year. I started six new fics and progressed a ton in others. 

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

This is a hard one to choose... but based on the content I covered this year for the fic as opposed to the fic itself, I’d have to say Where Sapphire Roses Grow. It’s so fun writing feral Lance and him protecting Pidge from the wolves was one of my favorite scenes to write this year. 

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

By a freaking landslide, Shatter and Tessellate. This really caught me off guard - I never thought this fic would be so popular, especially considering it starts out as a kid fic of sorts (paladins are all early teens at first) and most people don’t like kid fics. It’s also quite dark and highkey horror? So I’m shocked it’s so well loved.

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

By far The Vacant Ether. I thought it would gain a lot more traction considering everyone and their dog wants a s8 fix it fic, but then again TVE covers really dark topics and is technically a horror fic. So I shouldn’t be surprised it isn’t for everyone. But I am really happy with how it has turned out, even if less people read it. 

Story that could have been better?

All of them Hmm. I feel like Scaling Back could have been more imaginative, considering the second chapter mostly follows the events of a canon episode with little divergence. 

Sexiest story?

None of them have really gotten to that point yet... though I have been working on some future steamy scenes for some fics. If I had to pick one though probably Where the Sun Meets the Ocean because Pidge ogles Lance in that one. 

Saddest story?

Yikes this is a hard one. I think I have to say Shatter and Tessellate, because not only does that one cover death and kidnapping, but metamorphis and body horror. And it’s all the more sadder because they’re just kids. 

Most fun?

I think the one most fun to write is Where Sapphire Roses Grow. I love the time period, I love monster!Lance, I love Pidge and Lance bickering, there’s just so many good points to it. Plus BatB is a classic I loved and grew up with as a kid so it’s really fun to write out the themes I love. 

Story with single sweetest moment?

I think Lance comforting Katie in Shatter and Tessellate when she asks him to call her by Pidge from now on fits this one. Lance and Pidge have a lot of little moments like this in this fic but this one in particular is very tender. 

“Pidge is cute,” he finally says as he nervously rubs his wrist. “Reminds me of Pokemon.”

She makes a small sound which he thinks is an attempt at a laugh and turns her head to face him, tucking her hair behind her ear. “That’s where Matt got it from, actually.”

He smiles at her. “Is Matt your brother?”

She nods. “I’ve always loved owls, but I had a hard time saying it when I was learning how to talk. I watched Matt play enough video games that I could say ‘Pidgey’ though, and so I started calling any owl I saw as Pidgey. At some point the nickname Pidge stuck.”

Hardest story to write?

Easily The Vacant Ether. It covers a lot of heavy and dark topics and it’s hard to really nail the horror vibe sometimes. But also Sliding Left Makes Mr. Right solely because I can’t write short one-shots to save my life LOL.

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

Not really? Aside from just... cranking out a ton. I suppose starting 6 new fics can count as taking a risk. Keeping up with all my projects is also a project but I somehow manage to do it.

Proudest Achievement:

I think Shatter and Tessellate reaching so many kudos and hits. I seriously was not expecting that. 

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

Just keep writing I guess. I do have two ambitious plans, to finish Not All Pain Heals, my Teen Wolf fic that is long overdue to be finished, as well as The Vacant Ether which is the fic I have planned out the most and would be easiest to finish.