#but once shiro is born he immediately becomes Father of the Year

[supermarine-silvally]

Portada fam~

I have no idea where they got the Whitebeard Pirates onesie from lol

reference here

[itsuki-minamy]

PROFILE: HISUI NAGARE

Translation: Naru-kun Raws: Ridia

Real name: Hisui Nagare

Terms of address: Nagare, Nagare-chan, H.N. (Nickname in Jungle)

[PROFILE]

Birthday: November 11, Scorpio

Blood type: A

Age: 25 years. (At the beginning of the second season.)

[APPEARANCE]

Physique: 1.75 cm in height. Slightly thin guy.

Face, hair: Beautiful eyes. Pale skin.

Attire: Straitjacket.

Personal effects: Wheelchair.

[HABITS, SKILLS]

· He has a habit of saying "～Desu".

· Power of the information system through the network and strong capacity of the lightning system.

· It has the property of "modifying" and "rewriting" forcibly the functions and properties of various objects and spaces.

[IMPRESSION, OTHER NOTES]

· The image color is "green".

· A mysterious young man who has "restlessness" and "beauty".

· The "king of the networks" who controls the clan "Jungle", which is lost in the general public, from behind.

· A powerful and unknown "King" who challenges Munakata and Shiro.

[POSITION, OBJECTIVES]

The green King who leads the Green Clan, "Jungle".

He is the administrator of the SNS site “Jungle”, which is widespread in the general public, and has registered ordinary people as members of the clan. Those who have signed up for "Jungle" have been given temporary intellects via the PDA, and they are acting as game pieces throughout the mission.

He promotes the Dresden Slate liberation plan to "give strength and freedom to all mankind". The strongest "King" Kokujoji, the sword was released by Daikaku's death, and his activities became large-scale and swift.

[PERSONALITY, CONDUCT]

He believes that all humans must "buy their ambitions at their own risk".

He is good at manipulating people as he wishes, but is the result of observation and experimentation, and his understanding of feelings is poor. Also, there is no desire to rule, and every human who moves like a piece is also a player, and he believes that it is good for them to scratch or betray with their respective ambitions and beliefs.

When there are conflicting interests between individuals, he says, "You can make a decision in the game.". The game is sometimes murder without rules, but the damage associated with the weak does not come to mind. There is a mysterious view of weak meat and strong food as the "basic rule of the world".

An unbalanced spirit with a childish part and a part of a genius that instantly plans and executes a detailed plan.

At the age of ten, he was involved in the Kagutsu incident and his heart was pierced by debris and he died. Immediately after waking up as the "Green King", he changed his "death" to "live" with the power of the "King" and lived. Based on the experience of the Kagutsu incident, he has the doubt that in the world only the "King" has power, and he thinks that all human beings should have power to resist their destiny and open the future.

[FATE, ENDING]

K big boss. Assuming Shiro's (Adolf K. Weismann) "wrong dream", goes forward with the Slate's liberation plan in an attempt to realize "everyone's happiness" by "giving power and freedom to all".

Fighting against Shiro, Munakata, Anna, and others who oppose that idea, once the Slate was released and a world was created where all humans have power, he was defeated in the final battle and the Slate was destroyed, then "death" caught him. He lost the power to change to "live" and died.

[ABILITIES, TACTICS]

He can wield his own power anywhere through the network (it can be said that he has a sanctuary in the form of a tree or neural network).

Specifically, information acquisition, awakening / strengthening of clan member's ability, direct attack via internet equipment (lightning), etc.

Since the body with mortal wounds is maintained with a different ability, it is not possible to use 100% of the ability normally. Therefore, it is based on clandestine activities and does not reveal its whereabouts. However, when it comes to direct combat, he is extremely powerful, using his abilities with the momentum of abandonment.

[POWER]

A + (Major in the "King" class, but the battle time is limited.)

[LIKES]

Liberty. Human.

[DISLIKE]

Slavery.

[HOBBIES]

Human observation.

While he is incapacitated in captive clothing and in a wheelchair underground and cannot move freely, he recognizes that his only freedom is to "see" everything and people through the networks and Kotosaka.

[FASHION]

He basically wears straitjacket. The support garment has a special specification that suppresses powers. As a result, the ever-expanding sanctuary is limited to the body.

[BODY]

The left chest was pierced in the Kagutsu incident, and there was a hole where the heart should be. In the hole, the power of the "Green King" modification is contained, and the power is used to save the body.

The color of the blood is bad, probably because the lost organs are supplemented with a different capacity, but from the body of a 10-year-old boy who died once, it has become an adult male body.

[INTELLIGENCE]

It is very high, but it is also unbalanced due to some childish parts.

[BELIEFS]

An extreme liberal who pursues "freedom for all" to the fullest. Some kind of anarchist.

He believes that the situation in which some people control the power of the Slate is an unfair game. All human beings have power, and each dream is purely of the world in which they survive.

[RELATIONSHIPS]

[EARLY YEARS]

Born to strange robot-like parents, he grew up a strange child, but his parents loved him and he had some friends. All of them and his heart were lost due to the Kagutsu incident.

[TIMELINE]

· 1988, Hisui Nagare was born.

· 1999, July, the Kagutsu Incident, was mortally wounded and awakened as a "Green King".

· 2004, Nagare challenges Kokujoji and loses.

· 2012, he Interferes with the "Colorless King" and be part of the cause of the Gakuenjima incident.

· 2013, October, he plans the first attack on the Mihashira Tower. Withdrawing hands when Anna Kushina awakens, but after shedding information from Mihashira Tower, “Jungle” activities will expand.

· 2013, December, Second attack on the Mihashira Tower (decisive Christmas battle).

· 2014, January, Liberation of the Dresden Slate. After defeating the three Silver, Red, and Blue clans that have been attacked, the player is killed.

[ATTITUDE AND THOUGHTS TOWARDS OTHERS]

[TERMS OF THE ADDRESS FOR HIMSELF]

The first person is "Ore".

The second person is "Anata", "-kun".

Polite language as a habit. It is a habit to express yourself and express your feelings in the form of "word + desu", "Affirmative" or "Negative".

[TOWARDS IWAFUNE TENKEI]

He calls him "Iwa-san".

Since they have been together since he was 10 years old when he lost all power in the Kagutsu incident and gained the power of a "king", there was a relationship as father and son, where it was natural to be there.

He acknowledges that the underlying idea is different from his, but absolutely trusts as his ally. There is no consciousness of "being used" or "using".

[TOWARDS MISHAKUJI YUKARI]

He calls him "Yukari".

Count on him as a useful member of the clan.

During the mission, Yukari willingly accepts Nagare's "request".

While they are a "King" and "Follower", they are also equal alliances.

Yukaki, a powerful free man, does not fundamentally need Nagare's presence, but follows him with some kind of interest and selects a master-slave relationship.

[TOWARDS GOJOU SUKUNA]

He calls him "Sukuna".

The same relationship as the bad guys. A friend who really plays the same game and has the same dream.

He sympathized with Sukuna, who tried to escape from the parental-ruled environment and fought to live by his own power, and defied reckless battle.

Of course, there is a big difference in power and a difference in rank, but it doesn't matter much to both of them, and right now it's a relationship between “Rey” and “Otomi”, but when the Dresden Slate is released, will be a really equal friend.

[TOWARDS KOTOSAKA]

He calls him "Kotosaka".

The first member of the clan and his first friend after he became "King".

He is an "eye" that shows the world to the disabled.

[TOWARDS ISANA YASHIRO]

He calls him by his full name, or "Anata".

A pioneer in Slate research, he remembers respect for Adolf K. Weissmann, who once dreamed of the Slate, and is proud of himself as the successor to that dream.

He was frustrated that he abandoned his dream and became a hermit in heaven, but he was anxious for him, his eldest dream, to come down to the same horizon again.

He wanted to join Shiro and walk together, but when Shiro refuses, he doesn't care so much and he tries to enjoy the conflict with Shiro as a game.

[TOWARDS NEKO]

He calls her "Miyabi Ameno" and "Kimi".

She is a victim of the same Kagutsu incident, and believes that she is a "partner" who has survived after gaining powers.

He remembers the sympathy of living freely with his own power.

[TOWARDS REISI MUNAKATA]

He calls him "Munakata".

A person who has the opposite thought of him. They do not adjust to each other physiologically.

There is a section that treats Munakata, who was the new "King" at the time of the Gakuenjima incident, as a "novice" and is less respectful than other "Kings"

[shigarakis-fifth-hand]

Shigaraki x Todoroki!Reader; The Mask

Enjoy the series!<3 one two three four five six seven

Warnings: Extreme abuse, blood, murder, mental issues, cursing

You’ll never forget when your entire life changed for the better. The day you found your purpose, your meaning, your new family.

It all started Friday night, your least favorite night. Your father Endeavor came home early to rest every Friday to check up on your training. Over the week you were required to train 10 hours a day, eat exactly 1700 calories, and to have straight 100′s as grades. Of course, it was almost impossible to maintain such a lifestyle as a 17-year-old, but again, your father was not only the cruelest man alive, but also the 1# hero Endeavor. We’re you almost old enough to leave him? Yes, but at the same time, he would never let you do so. He owned you.

That’s when he first burned your hip.

Your siblings were Natsuo who was 25, Fuyumi who was 27, Shoto who was 20, and lastly your missing brother Touya. Sweet… sweet Touya. Over the years of having children, your father had tried to build the perfect child but had always failed. Fuyumi had been weak, Natsuo had been too kind to hurt a soul, and Shoto was too rebellious against your father. You would be too, but Endeavor had done everything to keep you “right”. 

You were allowed no socializing on the any day except Sunday, you were kept on a tight schedule of modeling, tutoring, interviews, studying, and training, and your father watched you like a hawk.

With you being the last child, he could not mess up with you. You would be the next All Might if it was the last thing he did. He hit you more than any of his children, tortured you more than the rest, and yelled at you more than any of them. And all of your siblings knew that, crying themselves to the sleep at the thought of your bruised and burnt up torso. 

Your father could never touch your face, you did modeling after all. Nobody could know the awful mental issues you had, or the trauma that had scarred you for life. To the public, he wanted you to be the perfect child. Beautiful… brilliant… and powerful. 

God were you ever so powerful.

You took after your brother Shoto, possessing the power to control fire and ice. You could catch things on fire or ice them when you touched things, and once you did, you could control it with your mind. If you tapped the floor with your bare feet, you could start a fire and decide where it went and what it did. You could make it chase someone, make it form a heart, and eventually… kill someone. 

With the power to control it’s movement, you could control the temperature of it as well. You could catch someone on fire and then make it reach over 500 degrees in an instant.

Endeavor loved it, seeing you impress even his fellow pro heroes. Your control over it was amazing, and you were beyond the best they had ever seen. You were a model too, and goodness were you pretty. You had short white hair that went to your shoulders, piercing blue eyes, and beautiful skin. You had been born with red streaks in your hair, but had bleached them out of anger when your father had hit you for not wanting to train. 

You only wanted to have the hair of your mother.

He had knocked the wind out of you with a hard punch to the gut and then burnt your side hip to a crisp when kicked you. “Stand up Shiro. Prove yourself.” He yelled as you used the staircase to pull yourself to your feet, almost falling over in pain. It hurt so much to stand. “Good, now feel the consequences.” As he said that, he pushed you down on your hip, watching as you screamed in pain.

That was the day you ran out of the house, and into the nearby alley, ducking behind a dumpster to breathe. Immediately, you began to switch to a different mindset. You didn’t have DID, but you weren’t normal. One moment, you were crying, and the next you were angry. The next moment, your thoughts would jumble together and you would crave revenge in the form of violence. You had terrible anger issues and a taste of violence, taking after your old man. 

Sure, you were the sweetest thing, but sometimes… you could be cruel, evil, and a demon to be around. But only when you were alone in your thoughts would you allow yourself such cravings as shooting a gun at a bulls-eye in self-defense training, or “accidentally” tripping one of your friends down the stairs.

At those moments, you felt no pity, no love, and definitely no shame in your actions. And outside of those episodes as you called it, you tried your best to ignore it. You weren’t going to stop yourself, because the more you held back, the more destruction you would cause. 

And you didn’t want that, because outside of those episodes, you were sweet, innocent, even fragile. You hated seeing wounded animals, hated seeing your friend get a paper cut, and you never understood your friend’s dirty jokes. You knew what sex was, but why would you want it? 

You had never even felt romantic feelings for someone.

So there you were… sitting behind a dumpster, crying. Pathetic. “Heyyy. Pretty lady. What are you doing out here? Need some help?” A college-aged man started walking towards you, two of his friends following behind. The smell of smoke and alcohol radiating off of them. 

“No, leave me alone.” You insisted, hugging your knees and barely even paying attention as you tried to contain your thoughts about your father, and the searing pain in your hip. It burned like crazy. “But why, you’re pretty and crying. We’re bored and here to help.” 

They kept walking as you looked up at them, shocked and a little scared as they were very close now. “Don’t come any closer! I’m warning you!” You stood up, even though they had you backed up against the dumpster and wall. “Aww, don’t be scared. Now let’s see what’s under that pretty dress of yo-”

In that moment, you sent a spear of ice through the man’s heart, blood splattering all over you in the moment. “W-what?! Hiromi?! Man, this bitch is bat-shit crazy!” As the guys were about to run, you did what your instincts told you. You sent ice spearing through their torsos too, sending them both to the ground. Slowly you walked over to them, rain starting to fall on your head. “I warned you, didn’t I?” You asked, stepping on one of them as they pleaded for you not to kill them. 

“I’m not killing you. I’m just… letting you out of your misery.” Before the rain could start, you set them all on fire. Hearing their blood-curdling screams, you smiled. How nice. They’d be dead before the rain could pick up. Walking down the alleyway, you listened to their screaming of pure music to your ears. You loved every bit of it.

In that moment, your entire life changed. You began your journey on your way to your true passion. You were able to get yourself a custom mask from a shady store in the down-country, and started your new life. Whenever you got bored or your father pissed you off, you would slip on the mask, pull up your hair into your hoodie, and kill. 

Your mask was amazing too. It was a bright red gas mask, which hid your entire face except for one of your blazing blue eyes. It was amazing, watching your victims stare at your one eye as you killed them. They were looking into the same eye as the pro hero Endeavor, your father, and that made you smile. The man who made your life hell had made the latest and greatest new villain in town.

“Again? God, when I get my hands on you I’m going to make you pay!” Endeavor yelled at the tv in his office, sitting at his desk with his feet held high. You were sitting in the chair against the wall near him, sketching in your book. Your father had brought you to work to meet your future teachers, since there was a villain on the loose and he didn’t want you at UA, one of the main targets. Little did he know she was right next to him. 

“What are you talking about Dad?” You asked, looking up from your book. Unlike your siblings, your father made you call him that, since none of his children had ever called him anything near it. He had said it showed that you saw him as a father figure, respected him, loved him, saw him as a caregiver, and gave you an innocent appeal that contradicted your powerful and aggressive quirk. The word had lost any meaning to it.

“Shiro, this villain will be your competitor when you become a pro hero. Look at them. Sources say they’re known for burning their victims bodies so we cannot find fingerprints, or anything. We don’t have a face to go with it, or even a picture of them in general. The only thing is that they believe it may be a female based on the laugh heard, and that they wear a bright red gas mask to hide their identity. It’s brilliant!”

“This bitch has killed over 75 people, and has burnt over 2 million in property damage. This is next level stuff for one person. If we can’t take them down, you will have to.” Endeavor sat back in his chair, returning to his computer. That was about the amount of conversation you would have with him on the weekly.

That was, until you heard an explosion outside, and yelling. Running to the window and standing on your tip toes, you looked out to see the League of Villains on the streets, all running around. Blue flames circled the streets, and you wanted to go join. You had your hoodie and mask in your back pack, and you wanted to get in on the fun, get some promo on the news. The very thought of people seeing your one blue eye was exciting, and sent shivers down your spine. 

“Dad, let’s go o-” You were dragged from the window and thrown to the ground. “Get under the desk Shiro! Don’t be an idiot!” He yelled, not caring that you had hurt your ankle in that moment. With hesitation, you walked behind the desk, bringing your bag with you. “Good, now don’t move. Remember, you don’t get to fight professional villains until you’re a pro yourself.” Endeavor explained, picking up a few things to bring with him downstairs. 

“I don’t want to be a hero.” You mumbled, rocking back and fourth as you held your legs. “What did you say to me?” He screamed angrily as you looked up, not knowing that he heard you. “N-no! Dad! I didn’t- I didn’t mean to say that. I just- eck!” You screamed as his hand came to hit your face, leaving a large bruise. 

“Don’t you dare bitch! You don’t get to say what you want and don’t want! I wanted a son, but look at what I got! Now you’re going to fucking listen!” His hand came to punch the other side of your face, knocking your head into the desk. 

“Fuck, if I had a belt I would whip you senseless.” He murmured as you started crying. “I-I’m sorry… just stop…” You cried, trying to hide your face between your knees. “Oh I’m not letting you get off this easy! Your brother said the same thing, and I’m not making the same mistake again!” 

As you tried to hide, he grabbed a box-cutter off his desk and sent it into your hip. “Now don’t you try to leave this room.” He mumbled, walking out without hesitation, leaving you to bleed on his floor. 

The cut was deep, and you were loosing blood fast.

Only being able to listen to the outside, you could hear the commotion calm down within minutes before your old man walked in. “Get up. Your future UA teachers will be here in five minutes. Put your jacket around your waist.” He threw it at you as you picked yourself up. “Don’t speak unless you’re told to. Got it?” He asked as you slowly nodded, trying to pull yourself together and wipe the tear marks away before two men stepped through the door. 

One had black hair and a man bun, and the other had long blonde hair that he kept down. You recognized them immediately. Radio sensation, UA teacher and pro hero Present Mic with his husband Eraserhead, who was a UA teacher and a low key pro hero as well. 

“Ahh, Shiro! We’ve heard so much about you! Hello!” Present Mic came to shake my head as you shook his, still shaking as Aizawa looked at my bruise. “Ahh, I… fell.” You hesitated, laughing as the two smiled nervously. These two worked with kids… so could they sense your fear. Could they help you?

“Um, let’s sit. Of course you were recommended, but I’d love to see your quirk in more action.” Aizawa motioned to your father’s couch as you all began to walk over there. But in the moment, your jacket fell off your waist, showing your crisped and bloody t-shirt from your father earlier. You could see the burn mark of a hand print even. “Oh my god! Shiro dear!” Present Mic got up to help you before you pushed him away gently. “I fell earlier! If you’ll excuse me I’ll just be a minute!” You rushed out of the room, leaving the jacket on the floor as you grabbed your backpack and sprinted out. You had to get out of the there, to take a break from your father. 

You didn’t care if it ruined your shots at UA or gave you a bad reputation with your teachers early on. You refused to sit there and bleed while they talked about your future. 

As you were waiting for the bathroom, you looked outside to see the League of Villains within the forest. Without thinking, you ran outside and into the forest after them. You didn’t know why, but it felt like destiny was calling you. That was, until you saw Best Jeanist sneaking up on one of the members. 

He had black pointy hair and wore a cloak-like jacket that was also black. Very emo. Slipping on your mask and hoodie before anyone could spot you, you snuck up behind him. Just as Best Jeanist was about to attack and spit cloth strings around Dabi, you tapped your foot, sending ice to Best Jeanist to freeze him like an ice cube. 

“Look out!” You screamed as he turned around to see the frozen pro. “Huh.” He whispered to himself, before turning to face you. With a clear view of you, he could see the red gas mask and knew that you were the one who the news networks had been talking about non-stop. The lonesome villain with a fantastic kill list. But… then he looked closer. He saw how on your hip was burnt to a crisp from someone’s hand, the bruise on your one eye, your bright white hair, and… the bright blue eye. After adding everything together, he realized something. 

“Shiro.” He whispered in shock, before you feel to your knees due to dizziness.

[talesofsonicasura]

Fallen Royalty

*warning: contains vivid curses and slight gore*

Trust is a very fragile thing. It can easily be shattered by misdirection, lies but the most devastating were secrets. And something very important is kept from someone by those they consider family, it can make a soul fall unto a very different path.

The Snatcher, a legendary and powerful spirit who ruled the Fallen Kingdom known as Subcon. He used to be a human prince married to a princess of a different kingdom named Vanessa. Before the prince and Vanessa lived happily ruling their kingdom but this wasn't a happy story. A misunderstanding had brought out a dark side within the princess. Her love unknown to the prince was actually toxic.

Anything that stood in her way of the prince had met brutal ends. Not even the young man himself wasn't safe. He purchased flowers for his sweetheart only to be accused of cheating by the insane princess now Queen. She locked the prince in the dungeon and unleashed dark magic all over Subcon freezing the land solid. The residents were cursed to live as spirits and the dark magic gave birth to the Snatcher from what was left of Subcon's prince.

Snatcher reigned over his fallen domain that became consumed by the forest around it. His magic kept Vanessa's frost contained in her castle and locked the witch away. Through his magic, the cursed citizens were given new bodies in the form of wooden puppets Snatcher crafted. Subcon Forest was created and its denizens lived in peaceful solitude. Then came the Demon King Satan.

Subcon brewed with so much magic that powerful demons sought it out. Demons dwelled in Gehenna and could only reach Assiah, the realm of man, through possessing an item there. However Subcon Forest's powerful magic could grant demons easy access to Assiah by harvesting its mystical energy. Something Satan wanted and wished to discuss with Snatcher himself. The discussion didn't turn out good for Satan.

The powerful specter had immediately been ready to refuse the Demon King access to Subcon's magic. Even though Snatcher hated outsiders, he understood the balance between their worlds and saw Satan as a threat! Being devious, Snatcher had the Demon King signed a contract. Before realizing what it read, Satan had already signed the paper. The demon began screaming in pain unaware of his own folly.

Snatcher could create powerful magical contracts that become true once signed. He had tricked Satan into hurting himself and his schemes greatly. The first was Satan could never possess any nonhuman for his power will burn it to ashes and humans will die from his possession. Second was the Demon Lord couldn't touch or set foot in Subcon for eternity and neither could his servants. And finally, a chunk of Satan's power became Snatcher's own along with a particular possession the Demon King would acquire in the future.

Satan cursed Snatcher before being banished back to Gehenna while the King of Subcon laughed. Though the spirit knew it wouldn't be the last time he'll see the demon or his schemes. The ghost didn't know what this key possession the Demon King would seek but he had enough time to prepare so he could eliminate it. However, he didn't suspect this.

A small boy ran through the busy crowd of Kyoto, Japan. He had dark blue hair and the brightest blue eyes leaking tears down his cheeks staining his white shirt and black shorts. His name was Rin Okumura and today wasn't a good day. The boy knew he was always different from everyone else. He was much stronger than what a 7 year old should be also he was more aggressive and easy to lash out at those who anger him.

People from kids to adults would look at him like a monster and call him a demon. He thought he could trust his foster father Shiro Fujimoto and his twin brother Yukio but clearly it was a lie. Rin had come back home a bit earlier than he usually did to see his Father and brother talking. What he heard broke his heart. Demons were real, Fujimoto and Yukio were exorcists that killed demons and Rin…was the bastard son of the Demon King Satan.

Rin had Satan's flames and they were sealed in a sword along with half of his soul, his demon half. Yukio being trained to kill demons by Shiro himself. His mother killed by exorcists the day they were born. A whole basket of lies and secrets hidden under his nose. It didn't take long for Rin to slip out of the monastery that served as home his whole life and run away. The boy didn't care where he was going but he had to get away.

Tears blinded his sight and sorrow messing with his rationality, Rin ran into the woods specifically a section banned from the public. A part of the forest where people disappeared and never came back, the Snatching Woods. After a few minutes of nonstop running, Rin sat on the ground and cried. He didn't notice how the forest around him had transformed into something otherworldly.

Glowing mushrooms of yellow, pink and red shining in a garden around him, a large picket fence with spikes lit in flame, a large marsh like pool surrounded by pumpkins, wisps of blue, green and orange floated about and finally the large tower shaped mushroom house that the boy currently sat on the front doorstep. Something large and dark purple began to slither through the home, no doubt searching for the crying source.

The dark purple thing was a large ghost. He had a noodle like body with thin arms each carrying two large claws, a mane of fluffy fur around his head, bright yellow childish looking eyes and a jack o' lantern smile with two small fangs. The towering ghost looked at the small crying child in utter confusion. "Hey kiddo? How the peck did you get all the way here?" The ghost questioned with his raspy and light static echoing voice.

Rin looked up from crying to see the ghost hovering above his head. "I don't know and I don't care! Rather die lost in a forest than live a lie." Rin cried. That clearly got the ghost's unwanted attention. "Why the peck do you want to die because of a lie? What kind of lie would get a kid this depressed?" The ghost asked as Rin looked back at the spirit. He definitely had to know the kid's story.

"I lived in a monastery with my twin brother since I could remember. I never knew that Father Fujimoto and my brother were keeping secrets from me. I walked in to hear their conversation about me. Demons are real and evil. Father Fujimoto teaching my brother to be an exorcist and...I'm the bastard son of Satan! My mother was killed because of it and I learned half of my soul was stripped out then sealed away." Silence carried through the woods once Rin spoke that last sentence.

The ghost figured Satan would find a new way into Assiah but...this was going too far even for him. And he was Snatcher, a spirit that ate unlucky souls and toss their husks away like a banana peel! However, he would never use his own child, even though he didn't have one, for a sick game like this. A particular girl and a purple hat flashed through his mind. He was going to regret this but he didn't care. No way in hell was this kid going to suffer from his bastard old man.

"Then to hell with them!" Snatcher exclaimed grabbing the boy's attention. "Kid, I ain't a good person but even I know common sense. Just because you are the son of an idiotic peckneck demon doesn't make you him! The fact that your own foster father not only kept important information like this from you but now your brother is wrapped around his finger. Not all demons are evil. Some of us are mischievous or just want to be left alone." The ghost began.

"You have the right to know your origin and your own mother. Plus, that peckneck doesn't know the damage he has done sealing half your soul away! Your power even though suppressed is unstable without your demon half. It messes with your mind making you aggressive as it fights to the surface. You are a walking infernal bomb capable of wiping out half the continent and yourself by reaching a major mental meltdown! You are a person, a child for pecking sake! YOU ARE NOT SATAN!!!" Snatcher exclaimed voice roaring with irritation at the cause of the boy's misery.

Rin stood shellshocked at what he witnessed. Other than Father Fujimoto and his brother, no one ever helped or cared about him. To see a ghost he just met get so angry at his mistreatment made the pain in his heart fade. "Thank you." Rin said as Snatcher looked at the boy. "Boy, what's your name?" Snatcher asked as Rin wiped his tears. "Rin Okumura." The boy replied. "Rin Okumura? You can call me Snatcher, boy. How would you like to stay with me in Subcon Forest?" Snatcher asked as Rin had a look of surprise.

"You aren't safe staying with an exorcist who sees you only as the Son of Satan and potential threat but also filling your brother's head with half baked truths. That kind of person can turn your own sibling into your potential murderer even as an unwanted consequence. I can teach you how to forge your own path and control the power within you. You see, I met your blood father and suckered him into giving up part of his power and any potential of escaping Gehenna." Snatcher explained conjuring a ball of blue flame in his hand.

"Pretty." Rin said looking at the glowing blue flame. "This pretty flame can also be used to craft some powerful spells as well. Along with fixing your unstable power, I'll be teaching you magic and the ways of Subcon. This place will be your safe haven and no secrets will be kept from you here. A clone crafted from my magic will take your place so no one will suspect a thing. What do you say kiddo? Want to live with me in Subcon Forest?" Snatcher asked offering the boy his hand.

Rin looked at the hand and remembered all the years living with Father Fujimoto and his twin brother. What glittered gold slowly rotted away to faded gold paint old wood. The boy reached his hand towards Snatcher's and took it. The deal was struck as blue light surged throughout Subcon forest. Many unaware of the single act that sent ripples throughout the world and it's future. 9 years later…

A 16 year old Rin Okumura was being attacked in the home of True Cross Monastery. A powerful demon hunting him had attacked the boy out in public forcing to realize he wasn't normal or human. Father Fujimoto had taken him back to the momastery fending off hordes of undead demons coming after them. However, one demon possessing a teenager had crashed a truck into the monastery giving it and other demons easy access to the sanctuary.

Rotten dogs, growing demonic fungi and any other unholy creature bridled with maggots, rot and decayed flesh were creeping towards the young man, head priest and his follow exorcists. Father Fujimoto faced Rin who wielded a blue scabbard sword in hand. Running a hand through his short gray hair and dark eyes was prepared to shove Rin into the hidden basement for safety only for the boy to push him down.

"Rin! What's the meaning of this?! You have to run!" The man shouted only to be confused when the boy began chuckling. "Why should I listen to the words of a liar? I'll handle these pecknecks myself." Rin spoke earning confusion from Fujimoto and the monastery men. "Pecknecks? What kind of insult is that?!" The possessed boy laughed only to jump back as a burst of blue flames erupted from under him.

"If I knew you guys were going to attack me earlier than I would have put on my best clothes already! Oh well! A quick costume change won't hurt. Ain Soph Aur!" Rin said before snapping his fingers. He ignited into blue flames to the group's horror and absolute confusion before it died down. The young man was completely changed from head to toe. His suit was replaced with a dark violet long coat with azure flame, a dark blue tunic bearing a peculiar symbol that looked like a spirit surrounding a burning tree, black tights often seem worn by royalty, fancy black Italian shoes, white gloves and a violet top hat with a yellow ribbon.

His ears were pointed as he had small vampirish like fangs and hints of yellow in his blue eyes. He was also much taller having 5 inches more than Fujimoto's 6'5 height. In his hand was a long dark blue umbrella with dark violet flame like flares on the fabric and a yellow handle. The air Rin now carried was of royal but very ominous and eerie compared to his cheerful street punk one. "Rin?" Fujimoto questioned.

He was caught off guard by Rin's sudden change but the boy merely ignored. "I'm giving you demons a chance to leave with your souls intact. I can't guarantee you'll even survive the trip to Gehenna if I slay you instead of the exorcists." Rin said with a wicked glint in his eyes despite his jovial smile. "You think we are afraid of your clothes change and a dumb umbrella? Sorry brat but you're going back to Gehenna to your father Satan!" The possessed boy laughed only to suddenly flinch.

The air was flooding with instant killing intent that leaked from Rin as he looked at the demons with a disturbing malice filled smile. "I gave you a chance but you spat on it. Prepare to die because your contract has just expired!" The young man laughed as his voice sounded distorted saying the last few words. Rin suddenly vanished from sight only for a group of demonic fungus to explode in blue flames!

Rin burst out from the burning blue mass almost as if he teleported from underneath them. He faced his umbrella at the demons he hovered above as blue flame spheres manifested at the tip before firing them like a gun. Multiple ghoulish corpses and vile living fungus ignited which crashing sphere burning in pure anguish. The horrifying part to the child possessing demon was the flames were actually destroying the demons instead of sending them back to Gehenna!

Demons possessing objects or people couldn't die in Assiah since their real bodies existed in Gehenna but Rin's fire was burning both through their souls! The chilling part was Rin was singing with the carnage. "Run along this forest trail. Now you'll find you'll failed. Never gonna reach that goal, now give me your soul! Some advice, don't think twice! Should have known I wasn't nice! Off with your head! Tata, your dead!" The boy sang as he continued his carnage. However the next few lines was when the demon truly realized that initiated a fight with someone that Satan himself couldn't win against.

"Got no more use for you! When you sign that dotted line you should've thought it through! Your subconscious holding on clinging to your fear. Every haunt just moved along but now the SNATCHER'S HERE!!!" The demon's face along with Fujimoto's grew dramatically pale. "You?!! You know the Snatcher?!" The demon questioned shivering in terror within his host's body. Rin merely laughed at the demon's frightened words.

"Know him? More than just that little peckneck! He's my true father! Not your dumbass king or this lying priest bastard that kept so many secrets from me! He treated me like his own son and taught me all I know. He was honest with me and actually gave a crap about me for being myself, Rin Okumura, not Satan's bastard son!" Rin roared as Fujimoto looked a bit hurt. "And don't think Satan will pop up here either. My father's magic will immediately expel him upon possession. It was listed in the contract the Demon King was tricked into signing." That had gotten the demon to literally piss itself in its host body.

"Enough talk! Time for the finish!" The young man shouted as he began waving his umbrella and danced as if he was on Broadway. "And the weird and the wild should have left you all beguiled. That is that, you little bastard child. Rid my jobs that took time and bask! Now it's time to take you to task!" A ring of blue flames surrounded the remaining demons preventing any chance of escape.

"As the ink is slowly drying, it's time you get dying! Your contract has expired, sleep now in the fire! You gonna meet your match! Your soul belongs to Snatcher! Now let's sing higher!" The flaming ring grew smaller as the flames burned brighter and more intense. It was so bright that Rin's face was shadowed revealing a terrifying jack o' lantern eyes and mouth smiling at the torture.

"AND THE WEIRD AND THE WILD SHOULD'VE LEFT YOU ALL BEGUILED. THAT IS THAT, YOU LITTLE BASTARD CHILD. RIP MY JOBS THAT TOOK TIME AND BASK! NOW IT'S TIME TO TAKE YOU TO TASK. THE INK IS SLOWLY DRYING AND IT'S TIME THAT YOU GET DYING! YOUR CONTRACT HAS EXPIRED! SLEEP NOW IN THE FIRE! YOU HAVE MET YOUR MATCH! FOR YOUR SOUL BELONGS TO SNATCHER! BURN TO ASH IN MY MELODIC BONFIRE!!" With those last lines, the ring of fire exploded into a large burning blaze.

Every demon and their host burned away until their screams became silent and bodies turn to ash. The young man snapped his fingers as the blazing blue flames extinguish themselves before Rin glared down at Father Fujimoto. "Rin…" Fujimoto spoke only for Rin to interrupt him. "Don't say a word. I learned about the truth coming home 9 years ago. I watched you through a clone crafted by my father's magic and gave you multiple chances to tell the truth." The boy started.

"Did you know that sealing my soul's demon half made my power so unstable that I was a walking timebomb? Not only did you kept secrets and lie to me but you put everyone in danger. You didn't see as a child or son but a potential threat because of my damned sperm donor. If you did, you would have told me and trained me to be an exorcist than just Yukio. I wanted to die that day but Snatcher saved me from potentially killing myself." Fujimoto flinched and looked truly hurt once realizing what he had done.

"I won't kill you or get revenge for keeping secrets because you spared my life instead of killing me or my brother on the spot when we were babies. However, you, Yukio and everyone in this room are no longer my family. A true family would see me for me, not some bastard son of Satan or a potential threat. And if you go after me, I won't protect you from the full might of the Subcon Kingdom! You have been warned." Rin explained as he took the sword that contained his power before stuffing it in his hat like a magician.

"Rin! Please don't go! I'm sorry! It was for your own good!" Fujimoto cried out but Rin merely ignored him. "Goodbye Shiro Fujimoto." And with those last words, Rin Okumura disappeared in a flash of blue fire. Shiro Fujimoto fell to the floor and weeped. Secrets were a dangerous thing and he didn't listen to his friend's warning. The price he paid was his own son's trust now in the hands of the infamous Snatcher. Yukio came home to his weeping father and the approaching pike of mistrust that crucified his father's heart. It wasn't anyone's day at the True Cross Monastery.

And that's it! This was written last year so if the writing style looks different then that's why. Blue Exorcist was one of the first Mature mangas I ever bought, I got Volumes One to Three.

And honestly, I feel really bad for Rin. His brother tried to kill him, his foster father kept TONS of secrets, his friends immediately turned on him for his heritage despite him saving their asses and trying to regain their trust, or just being marked as a target for existing. I mean WTF?!

Poor boy needs better friends and a hug because I don't think Kuro or Ukobach(from the anime) could help for so long. This was also one of my early attempts into writing Snatcher before I got the game myself.

I did watch someone play it quite a few times but limited my experiences to the first three end chapter bosses and Snatcher's area being Subcon Forest. This was something I usually do before deciding to buy a game.

Snatcher honestly felt perfect for this especially taking the dad role. When you take his experiences in the ghost's past life to now, betrayal and mistrust are two big factors.

Even if Snatcher is an antagonist character, he does have some morals and personality than just the common soul eating specter with a grudge. This also takes place after the events in a Hat In Time.

And yes. Rin was singing 'Your Contract Has Expired' cover by Man On The Internet although the last bit was abridged on purpose. If this Rin had a theme, it would be the Phase Two Version theme of Your Contract Has Expired.

Anyways, until next time folks! Smell ya later.

This is an Phase Two Version of Man on the Internet's Your Contract Has Expired, done by Ben Newsome. Please read the description because they cited this song belongs to their original owner and not stole it. Poor guy doesn't need anymore accusations involving copyright.

[loveafterthefact]

Love After the Fact Chapter 44: Lost and Found Part 2

Shiro enlists Keith's help finishing his mission.

First  Previous  Next

Shiro wakes still propped against his tree, staring up into a dawn sky and needle-leafed branches. Looking down, he realizes that the kit is curled up right next to him, almost but not quite touching. They hold their plumed tail in their hands. Their long, sand-fighting lashes flutter against the velvet beneath their lids, just before their fur begins in earnest.

“Seems you made a friend,” Drama observes, staring at the kit from her place by a crackling fire.

“Shut up and gimme some elk,” Shiro grumbles.

“Aw, cute. A little young for you though, don’t you think? Though it seems that some of us are into that.” Haxus smirks. Ulaz pauses, glaring at Haxus. The lieutenant has a significantly younger, very pregnant mate back at the compound with their first-born kit. Shiro swallows his irritation. He dislikes Haxus and Sendak, who’s still asleep a short ways away. They didn’t start out as bad people. He's trained with them, worked with them from the very beginning. But people deal with war in different ways. Some become kinder, others jaded and cold.

But they’ve both given up a lot, and Shiro trusts them to follow his orders whether they like those orders or not. They’ve all saved each others’ lives more than once.

At Shiro’s side, the kit stirs, blinking large eyes at him. “Good morning. Are you hungry?”

Drama creeps over, careful not to startle the kit. She passes over some of the elk meat. With a growl, the kit shrinks, huddling behind Shiro’s tree. A fearful chirp escapes their mouth, catching the attention of the adults.

“Easy now,” Shiro murmurs as his team instinctively leans toward the kit. “They’ve been alone for a long time. We don’t want to scare them.”

“Him.” It’s so quiet, Shiro’s only sure he heard it because Ulaz’ ear twitches. “Keith.”

It’s a small voice, hoarse with disuse.

“Keith,” Shiro murmurs. “Nice to meet you, Keith. I’m Captain Shirogane, but you can call me Shiro. Everyone does.”

“Shiro,” the kit -Keith- rasps out. He slips from behind Shiro, crouches a short distance away.

“Do you think you could help us with something?”

Keith shrinks back a bit, fingers sinking into the loose dirt. He’s clean, Shiro suddenly realizes. Disheveled, but not unkempt, hair tangled but not matted. There must be a place nearby where he bathes, because it hasn’t rained in movements. Another good sign. There’s hope for Keith yet.

“We came here to find a man called Akira. He lived in that den.” Shiro points. “Do you know him?”

A nod.

“Can you take us to him? His littermate misses him. He sent us to find him and bring him home.”

Ears wilting, the kit hesitates, tail curling tighter at his feet. Finally, after a long hesitation, he nods again. “Far.”

Shiro returns the nod, turns to his team. “Haxus, wake Sendak. We’ll be taking a hike shortly. Leave the elk here.”

As they’re leaving, the kit slips into the den, emerges with a green primate. He gestures to his pet. “BleepBloop.”

Shiro grins at the primate’s adorable name, likely one given during Keith's early kittenhood. “Nice to meet you, BleepBloop.”

Smiling at BleepBloop, Keith turns, slings the primate on his back, climbs a nearby tree, leaps to the next like he was born for it.

The first thing Shiro notices on their walk is that Keith is enjoying himself. The kit seems to like being outside, smiling as he leaps from branch to branch above them, BleepBloop either clinging to his back, or moving alongside. The second thing Shiro notices is the kit's persistent curiosity. Every now and then he stops to investigate some odd noise or seemingly random plant or bug.

He’s still wearing Shiro’s cloak, making him wonder if perhaps Keith has some concept of nudity or if he feels exposed compared to the others. Maybe he just likes the fabric. Maybe it’s because it was a gift.

Either way, he’s rather endearing, the entire squad seeming to grow fond. Even Sendak cracks a smile once or twice.

Any pleasantness vanishes when Keith stops, settling onto the ground once again, digging his bare toes into the dirt at the edge of a ravine. Shiro turns to the kit in question.

Keith’s ears droop, staring down into the canyon. He begins to slide down the side cliff face, and it’s immediately obvious that he knows the way down.

“Haxus, Entri, keep lookout up here.”

“Yes, sir.” Entri draws her bow, and Haxus loosens his sword, giving Shiro a nod. He'll look after his younger colleague.

The way down is narrow, but worn, as if Keith has been down this way many times. Shiro tries not to dwell on the idea of a little kit stumbling down the crumbling cliff face.

At the bottom, Keith crosses the creek, stops by an oblong mound of stones. Ulaz and Drama curse in unison. The others grimace or look away. Keith himself settles on the ground in an earthy depression, curls up against the stones, violet eyes large and sad. It's habitual. He must come here often.

Firn trips over something. “Fuck!”

Keith hisses; everyone turns to look. He’s tripped over a white cuirass. Shiro bares his teeth in a growl. Alteans killed Akira, left his kit to die, likely deliberately. A spiteful, unnecessarily cruel act. He doubts the well-known dissenter was the aggressor, that he instigated any confrontation. He doubts they even knew who they were killing. They probably just did it for fun.

It’s the first time Shiro’s ever really felt hatred for his neighbors, the ones who came bringing the promise of life beyond their own planet. But he pushes that aside, crouches down next to the kit. He wants to rub his ear, take him home, keep him safe. It has to be Keith's choice.

“Keith?” The only response Shiro gets is a twitch of the kit’s ear. “I want you to think about coming with us.”

Keith scrambles back, fur bristling. “No. Staying here. With Dad!”

“You don’t have to, but you wouldn’t have to be alone.” That sparks an interest, the kit’s ears twitching with curiosity. "You could stay with me, or- or your uncle-”

“Uncle?” Cocking his head, Keith’s posture relaxes, crouching in the sand.

“Emperor Zarkon, your sire’s littermate. He would give you a place to stay.”

Keith stares at BleepBloop in his lap, pets his fur. The primate snuggles against him, fingers exploring the fabric of his cloak. “Doesn’t want me,” he finally mutters. “Didn’t want Dad.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Shiro argues. “But if it is, you can stay with me, or with somebody else… There’s no reason to keep being alone, Keith. You can come with us, be with people, learn so many new things; you'd be safe-”

“Sleep.” It’s desperate, the way Keith says it. Shiro understands. The kit’s probably spent years in a state of exhaustion.

“Yes. Sleep. Feel safe. Eat every day-”

“I hunt!” Keith snaps. Shiro grins, his soldiers snickering at the kit’s indignation. “Better hunter than you!”

“I don’t doubt that. But you wouldn’t have to, or at least not all by yourself.”

The kit stares at BleepBloop, his only friend in the world. “BleepBloop. I need him.”

“You guys have been together a long time, huh?” Shiro smiles. The kit nods.

“He goes with you. You can keep him.” Shiro reaches a hand to the primate, offers it a piece of meat. BleepBloop accepts, and Shiro pats his green, furry head. "And one day, you can return here, if you want, and this can be your home."

“Promise?”

“Of course. I won’t let anyone take him from you.” At an expectant gaze, Shiro says, “I promise.”

“Okay.” Keith gets up, sets another stone on top of the others, on top of his father’s remains. His small fingers rest there. “I’ll come back.”

Shiro doesn’t say anything. The words weren’t meant for him.

…

Keith sits on top of Shiro’s den, waiting for him to come home. BleepBloop snuggles against his side. He watches the sun set over the compound, the village sprawling down the slope of the mountain. He likes this time of day. The people are quiet, and he can just watch. Just breathe.

He's not quite used to being around people. But he can talk to them now, so that's something, at least.

Loose clothes blowing in the evening breeze, Keith draws Shiro's old cloak around him, pulls out his tablet, struggling his way through the next chapter:

Heart hammering in her chest, Rheydon knelt before the towering sentry. Behind them was a sprawling series of floating islands connected by delicate bridges, and an expanse of pink and violet sky.

“Why are you here?” the sentry booms.

“I am here,” the Altean gasped, “to know what is not yet known.”

Keith rubs his head. This story is considerably harder than the children’s stories that he’s been reading since he was little. There are so many new words to struggle with. This one is Altean, translated into Galran, but he rather likes it. He relates to Rheydon’s need ‘to know what is not yet known.’

An odd creature, some kind of luminescing reptile lands beside him, and he snatches it up before BleepBloop can eat it. Keith stares at it, stroking his primate to settle his angry chittering at being denied a snack.

The creature glows a warm yellow along stripes criss-crossing all down it's back, leathery little wings tucked to its belly. Humming curiously, he dangles the reptile by the tail, only for-

The lizard drops, flying away and leaving Keith with only a wriggling bit of flesh. He drops it with a squeal, grimacing with disgust as the tail writhes its way over the curve of the den roof. What. The. Fuck? Another lizard bobs in front of him, and he lets BleepBloop snatch and eat it.

There is so much left to know.

[ashkazora]

How about... supernatural AU? (not the show, but the genre)

AYYYY I’ve had an idea for a supernatural AU for a long time so :eyes:. This accidentally turned out longer than I thought so here’s 6 points instead of five!

1. Shiro, Pidge, Keith, and Hunk are all supernatural hunters. Their team goes around hunting threats that the supernatural community face towards the humans. They started this after Shiro went missing years ago, and Keith, Pidge, and Hunk who all knew him through family or university decided to track him down. He was found in werewolf territory captured, and had been given a magically powered prosthetic arm. 

2. Keith is half human, half vampire. Luckily, his mother’s vampire genes never really manifested, but he has heightened senses and a grudge against the wolves that took away his adopted brother. Hunk is part of a family of witches, though he wasn’t born with any magic or abilities other than his affinity to sense magic. Pidge is also human, but her father and brother are both supernatural researches, and so she’s been introduced to the supernatural community. 

3. One day right after the full moon they’re all out trying to track down one of the wolves that was part of Shiro’s capture. When they get back to their home base, they find Lance collapsed outside of the base. Immediately they’re all suspicious but Hunk points out that he’s just a kid, so they take him inside to make sure he’s alright. 

4. Once Lance wakes up, he explains that he ran away from home a couple weeks prior. Keith especially empathises, and the gang sort of take him in, adopting him into their group. Lance is made aware that they’re all some kind of hunters, but that’s it. He stays with them, slowly becoming more and more integrated within the group, but the night of the full moon, out of nowhere Lance runs away.

5. Worried that he’s been captured like Shiro had been, they track him down and catch him right before he transforms into a wolf. Shiro and Keith manage to subdue him, but Hunk and Pidge convince them not to kill Lance. So they knock him out for the rest of the full moon, and take him back to the base. When he Wales up, Lance explains that he was bitten by a wolf only a couple months back and left his home to protect his family. Turns out, he was bitten by the same wolf that attacked Shiro. 

6. Even though Shiro and Keith are still wary of him, Lance joins their supernatural hunting group and they all band together to take down the werewolves that has turned Lance and kidnapped Shiro. Cue found family tropes and a whole lot of wolf puns. 

send me an au and i’ll give you 5+ headcanons about it

[echodrops]

Hshshsnansna seeing that ask got me in a HUGE HaaH mood. Like, I went through and read a bunch of asks, and I'd probably go reread the fic itself if I had time. So!! Is there anything about HaaH you've always wanted to share but never had the chance to? Headcanons, worldbuilding, backstory, hidden details- anything at all??

Oh friend… There is so much. I have a Word document that’s like 17k of JUST headcanons and world-building for this fic kghsdkjhdkfg I’m not crazy, I swear.

It took me a while to respond because I had to comb through and find stuff that wasn’t spoilery, but tada, have some Home and a Half Hunk and Shiro (and Matt) headcanons and backstory under the cut!

Also, as for hidden details… Same as the Garrison professors in the show were named for staff members, Neuhahn and Ania are named after IRL contributors to the Voltron animated series–Chris Neuhahn was a producer and Ania O’Hare was the casting director.

And here are some Hunk, Shiro, and sorta Matt headcanons/backstory that shapes their characters in HaaH. (Please note, these headcanons ignore absolutely everything from about season 6 of the actual show and on. I stopped watching Voltron after Season 6 because I just couldn’t handle the writing anymore. T_T)

Hunk:- He’s mixed ethnically, and although his parents are from Samoa, his family tree actually spans many different countries, mostly in Polynesia, including Tonga, but even places as far away as Malaysia.- His parents were converted to the LDS church by Mormon missionaries in Samoa. A few years before Hunk was born, his parents moved to Utah to be closer to the church, so Hunk has only ever been to Samoa once, on a vacation to visit family.- His first name is actually “Hyrum,” and until he met Lance at a Garrison-sponsored summer astro-camp when they were nine, everyone just called him by his real name.- Lance actually meant to call him “Incredible Hulk” at camp, butttt to nine-year-old Lance’s utter mortification, it came out “Incredible Hunk” instead. “Hunk” stuck.- He has a little sister who is even more sensitive than he is.

- Although Hunk’s parents originally agreed on the plan to move to America, after the family arrived, they experienced difficulty fitting in with the very selective Utah culture, and Hunk’s mother grew disenchanted with the church. Employment was difficult to find in their small, rural town, and Hunk’s parents both struggled with being isolated from their extended families. Tensions over whether or not to remain in America, as well as over money, led to some miserable fights that contributed to Hunk’s aversion to conflict when he was younger.

- Hunk sometimes had to play the role of family peacekeeper, working hard to make sure that his youngest sister wouldn’t notice the strain.

- Nevertheless, despite their share of troubles, the family is extremely close-knit. Hunk values his family and their opinions more than anything in any world.

- Which is how he ended up agreeing to go to Garrison, even when he really just wanted to help his parents kickstart the restaurant they were planning to open. His mother felt that working in a family restaurant, even if Hunk is a great cook, would squander his incredible academic and engineering talent (which Hunk thought of as just a hobby), so she begged him to go and continue his schooling instead. Hunk couldn’t say no to his mother, even if the thought of being shipped off into space terrified the living daylights out of him.

- Hunk doesn’t curse and is somewhat uncomfortable with people cursing, at least in front of him. Although Lance used to have a pretty colorful repertoire, when he learned that cursing made Hunk uncomfortable, he immediately adopted all of Hunk’s weird Utah replacements instead. “Holy crow” and “let’s kick some trash” are things they actually say seriously.

- Hunk is always down to cuddle and is never embarrassed by asking for or giving cuddles to anyone. He would 200% cuddle Shiro if he thought Shiro would let him. (Shiro would, in fact, let him.) Hunk’s favorite person on the team to cuddle is actually Keith, because Keith (who was taught to comply by Garrison scientists with all unexpected/unsolicited touch) will just sit obediently for hours letting Hunk hug out all his stress. Hunk knows that something is off about Keith’s behavior, but his leading theory—that Keith allows the hugs because he’s touch-starved—is unfortunately false.

- Hunk knows the lyrics to every Disney song EVER.

- And he’s like a dog with a bone when it comes to secrets. Once he discovers that someone’s keeping something under wraps, he goes a bit crazy with curiosity and cannot stop thinking about what they might be hiding. The rules of privacy go totally out the window when he gets like this, but time and again, Hunk’s adage that it’s always better to tell the truth bears itself out.

  Shiro (and Matt?):

- Shiro is the only member of his immediate family whose first language was not Japanese. His grandparents on both sides immigrated to the US from Japan due to work transfers relatively late in life, when their own children, Shiro’s parents, were already young adults. As the first family child to be born in America, Shiro’s parents strongly emphasized the need to learn English well, which unfortunately resulted in Shiro being pushed away from learning Japanese when he was young. Even though he’s a capable conversationalist now, he’s struggled his whole life with regret over not learning the language when he was young and could have picked it up easier.  

- There’s a running joke in his family that he’s actually an ogre in disguise, given that he is much taller than many of his other family members. Tradition demands that the first photo of every holiday gathering is a joke group shot in which Shiro’s posed so his entire head is outside the top frame of the picture.

- Shiro was mercilessly bullied as a child because of his height. The other children frequently suggested that he didn’t belong in their grade because he was too big and that the school must held him back multiple times for being dumb. (Shiro was never held back. In fact, he had excellent grades from kindergarten to the day he graduated from Garrison—and no, not because his parents forced him to study; in fact, throughout his schooling, they often ended up having to force Shiro to go to bed already instead.)

- On top of being teased for his looks, Shiro was naturally shy. He barely spoke, even to his teachers, and would stumble miserably if he was put on the spot in class, contributing further to the rumor that he was stupid.

- Shiro loved learning, but he hated everything that happened in school and didn’t have a single real friend outside of his cousins until he went off to middle school and met Matt Holt in sixth grade.

- Barely two weeks into their first middle school year, and it was already obvious that Matt was the school’s biggest nerd; he’d been bumped up two grades because of his obvious genius and was the textbook definition of an alien conspiracy theorist (It’s not a conspiracy if they’re REAL, guys!) But the strange thing was that no one bullied Matt—he was just so quick on the sarcastic (and biochemical) comebacks that teasing him wasn’t even worth it. Instead, the school’s resident assholes took it out on targets a little less likely to corrode their homework with miniature magnesium bombs—read as, they picked on polite, well-meaning Takashi Shirogane instead.

- Out of pity more than anything else, Matt finally stood up for Shiro one day and ran off the assholes. (It was not, as Mrs. Shirogane insists, with a home-made taser. It was not.) After something like that, well… You sort of feel obligated to befriend a guy, don’tcha?

- Becoming friends with Matt Holt transformed Shiro’s life. Even if Shiro wouldn’t originally speak up for himself, he was ferociously proud and supportive of his first real friend, and learning to be bold for Matt taught Shiro the value and meaning of standing up for not only others, but also himself. Being friends with someone as off-the-cuff and tricky as Matt helped Shiro grow more spontaneous, less self-conscious, and ultimately much more confident—even if, to this day, most of that confidence is still focused on helping others, rather than on being self-assured.

- It was Shiro admiration for Matt’s father, Sam Holt, that led Shiro to take his childhood obsession with military history a step further by actually joining the military. Shiro and Matt enrolled in Garrison together, although Matt was part of the research rather than the combat division.

- Matt was the one who convinced Shiro to get his hair styled in an undercut. It was originally just a dare, but Shiro ended up loving it afterward. The “Undercut Incident,” as it has come to be known in the Shirogane family, was the official straw that broke the camel’s back and resulted in Mrs. Shirogane declaring Matt Holt a “bad influence,” the only impact of which was that Matt had to sneak in through Shiro’s bedroom window instead of coming to the front door when he wanted to hang out.  

- Shiro has received two separate Medals of Honor for making dangerous supply deliveries to war-torn countries across the globe, delivering the vital food and medicine that helped save hundreds of lives. He has also been part of several missions to save stranded astronauts from failing international space stations.

- Shiro is actually a giant memelord, but his crushing sense of responsibility keeps him from indulging in quality shitposting in front of anyone he actually knows. He had a ridiculously active secret Vine account before leaving on the Kerberos mission. His snaps are legendary. Deep down, Shiro dreads the inevitable day someone connects him with his cringey social media accounts.

- Literally the worst at adulting. His mom still filled out his tax forms for him and booked his dentist appointments. He has no idea what the hell he’s doing leading Team Voltron when he can’t even remember which of his clothes are machine-washable and which aren’t.

- When they were in their third year at Garrison, Matt conned Shiro into volunteering as a camp counselor for Garrison’s summer astrocamp program, even though Shiro had minimal understanding of how to take care of children and mostly just BS’d his way through, hoping that none of his campers had anything close to a serious issue.

- He won “best camp counselor” the very first year he volunteered. Mostly because Lance cheated and voted for him 23 times, but still.

[kamiqueen]

Keith’s story

This is mostly based on my observations and the conclusions I take based on them. (Please forgive any grammar mistakes as english is not my fist language and i did not proof-read.)

The focus is on Keith and Shiro’s relationship and this meta is based on S6E02 and S6E05 so it will contain many many spoilers, if you still plan on reading the rest is under the cut.

It all began when Krolia and another galran soilder were scouting for the Lions, based on the energy of the Red Lion the empire built a machine that is capable of recognizing the energy of the Lions. They found Blue on Earth, the other soldier wanted to immediately report back, but Krolia as a BOM agent did not let him, she managed to stop him, but her ship was damaged and she crash landed on Earth where (since we don’t know his name let’s call him:) Mr. Kogane (or Mr. K for short) found her ship and rescued her.

After she was nursed back to health together they found the Blue Lion, since her ship was gone Krolia decided to stay, be with her newfound love and protect the Lion.

Unknown how much time later Keith was born, he was an adorable little baby.

Everything was peaceful until scouts from the empire picked up the signals of Blue, to protect the Lion Krolia and Mr. K teamed up. (Note: Keith has his dad’s hover-bike. And Mr. K’s clothes are the same Keith gave Shiro in S1E01.) 

They defeated the soldiers, but during the action Mr. K was hurt. Krolia decided, that the only way to protect her loved ones was to leave, report back that they found nothing on Earth and keep on destroying the empire from inside. She gave her blade to her lover, with the instructions that it be passed down to Keith. She said her goodbye to her son and love and left with one of the intact spaceships.

Years after she left, Mr. K died of unknown causes, and Keith, most likely around the ages 7-8 was sent to an orphanage (I will reflect to my source for this later on). Based on the Blade of Marmora episode where Keith fight to keep his blade, he talks with the hallucinated image of his dad who told him about his mom. Since all the hallucinations were the projections of Keith’s own subconscious it is safe to say that his dad told him about Krolia. He knew facts about her, but after losing his dad and being left alone he shoved those memories in the back of his mind. The next time he probably though of his mom was when Shiro first showed up in his life. I will explain why.

Based on the canon ages from the handbook, at the time of S1 Shiro is 25, Keith is 18 (nearing 19, I will explain why I think so), Lance and Hunk are 17 and Pidge is 15. That means the youngest first year cadets are around 14 when they first join, this puts the Galaxy Garrison into the category of a space high school. Which means that since most high schools are 4-5 year long, the graduating students ages range from 18-20.

Shiro and Keith at this moment have an around 6-7 year age gap. In these pictures it’s clear to say that Keith is very young, probably an 8th grader. Which puts him at 13-15 years old and makes  Shiro around 19-20, thus making him a fresh-out-of-school-newbie-pilot. Since Shiro is in Keith’s school it’s safe to assume that he was asked to go to schools and try to popularize the GG. This is when by Shiro talking about space Keith is reminded of his mother. How she came for space. He finds a new goal, become a pilot, because being in space would bring him closer to his mother’s image and honor his father’s memory.

He seeks Shiro out, maybe immediately, maybe later, but he does seek him out and finds someone who sees something in him, who looks at him and doesn’t just see an orphan, but someone worth putting Shiro’s trust in. From stranger they become mentor and student. So when the time comes Keith applies for GG and Shiro vouches for him. Getting in the GG meant no more orphanage, a safer place, and a mentor close by.

 In the early times at the GG Keith gets in a fight with a fellow cadet for a reason not clear to us, but it is the dialog in this short scene that makes some things I referred to from before a stone hard fact.

At first Shiro is talking to an officer lady, she tells him “The only reason this kid is here is because you vouched for him. You need to make sure that this doesn’t happen again”. This not only shows that Shiro’s word was a deciding matter in accepting Keith, but also hints at the fact that this might not have been Keith’s first fight, and that he also might have some kind of record about his violent behavior. Keith also tells Shiro that “Look I know I messed up, you should just send me back to the home already.”, the home referring o the orphanage he lived in until the GG. If we take all of these and the fact that Keith look too young to be 14-15 & is very small, into account, it becomes clear that the cause of his defensive and sometimes agressive behavior is the fact, that after his father’s death at a very young age Keith had a rough life, was probably picked up on, disciplined for having his blade and clearly malnourished for his age. Further proves this theory the fact, that (while living in the GG) in the next few years up until S1 Keith grew up to be of healthy weight and height.

But what is the most touching is Shiro telling Keith to believe in himself, I think this is the moment that reformed them into friends and then, the years molded them into a family of two. And Keith’s goal changed. Now his purpose was to be on the same stage as Shiro, become a pilot and travel space with the one person who became everything to him. 

After Shiro disappeared, Keith lost the one meaning he had, he acted violently, and went to the one place he felt safe. His old home, the shack in the desert. He found his dad’s old stuff and decided to try and find what his dad once found. He had to be at least almost 18, otherwise he couldn’t have lived on his own and would have been sent back to the orphanage. He also probably worked a part time job to keep himself feed.

A year later of Shiro’s disappearance Keith finds him, he is almost 19, they go into space and their friendship grows, he finds out about his heritage, then loses Shiro once more and becomes desperate, he finds him again just to feel like he’s losing the man he once looked up to again and again. He joins the BOM and finds his mother. It all takes place in about a year, he’s about 20, then he spends 2 year with his mom, he’s 22 and now he’s stronger then ever before, has a familiar bond that he missed all his life and is ready to introduce the two most important people of his life to each other.

But he loses him again, fights him, tells him “I love you.”, and even if only a clone, Shiro can feel the weight of his words. In the end Keith keeps his promise, “as many times as it takes” and brings the real Shiro back home.

I think meeting his mom, seeing his parents loving and trusting relationship, reliving these familiar feelings in a different context with and adult mind might make him realize his feeling for Shiro are more than just brotherly love, or it may make his feelings for the now white haired man evolve into something more than it is at the moment.

Going back to Earth will surely kick-start some things, especially if they go back to a certain shack.

What matters the most, platonic or romantic, no matter witch, Keith and Shiro have an unique bond that goes back years deep, and the strongest relationship the series have to offer at the moment and they will do all they can to protect each other.

[kcwcommentary]

VLD1x02 – “From Days of Long Ago”

1x02 – “From Days of Long Ago”

(Note: With the large amount of characterization/Lion-lore in this episode, the following is kind of long.)

With the second episode, we get the actual opening sequence. The sequence that never changes at all despite significant changes in the show that should have resulted in it being revised (the Lion pilot switch, Zarkon’s death, the destruction of the Castle of Lions). It’s good for now, but they really should have changed it, or at least the relevant shots within it as the show changed content.

The group bickers a bit during the descent to the planet’s surface, most notably Lance and Keith, until Shiro, again demonstrating his authority to be leader of the group, tells everyone to focus. Shiro uses appropriate team management skills by recognizing the division of labor and asks Lance, in his capacity as pilot, where they’re heading. Lance can’t help getting in another joke before turning back to being serious.

We arrive at the Castle of Lions. Shiro, ever the protector, advises caution. The Blue Lion roars open the Castle’s doors. The Castle eventually reacts, saying “Hold for identity scan.” This is very much a minor complaint but how does the Castle’s systems know English? Space shows with aliens all have this issue; sometimes shows handwave it with a quick line or moment about the use of technology or other methods allowing for instantaneous translation, but this show gives nothing. If this was my only complaint about this show, everything would be golden. But I still would have liked it addressed, or at least have something that indicated that the producers and writers of this show realized the challenge of language and communication that comes with the setting of a story in space with aliens.

Our team wanders through the Castle until they get to the stasis pods holding Allura and Coran. Allura emerges first, and the first word she speaks is: “Father!” The presence of patriarchy in this show begins early. Her focus on her father is literally the first word we ever hear Allura speak. Lance then can’t help himself but to try to flirt with her (learn some timing, man). She doesn’t return his interest. Allura does display some prejudice by being disgusted by human ears. She’s bound to have seen plenty of non-Alteans before, so why recoil so significantly over someone having slightly different ears than she has? She’s really not making the best introduction of herself.

Shiro, the one with any sense, tries to get Allura to recognize that they are as much in the dark about what all is going on as she is, and that they need her to provide answers but are also willing to work with her.

Out comes Coran, and immediately shows himself to be in charge of the department of comic relief on the show. “How could you do that when I’ve already come at you like this: Ha! Ha! Hai!” I laughed.

Allura introduces her and Coran’s 10,000-year time gap. Having reflected on this detail over the course of watching the show in the past, I think 10,000 years ended up being a ridiculous, overly large time frame. That our major antagonists now (Zarkon, Haggar) are the same as the antagonists from 10,000 years ago, it’s too much.

Flashback to King Alfor, who has a disagreement with Allura over whether they should fight Zarkon. Alfor uses the magic of patriarchy to touch his daughter on the cheek and render her unconscious. Nothing says that, as a father, you love and value your daughter like depriving her of agency and knocking her unconscious indefinitely.

The sides of this conflict are clearly established. Team Voltron, our heroes, and Altea versus Zarkon, Haggar, and the Galra. Haggar introduces herself with her cryptic behavior. Her being cryptic now is okay because this is the beginning of the story, but that behavior from her becomes more and more bothersome, distracting, and disruptive of the development of the narrative the more seasons of the show we get. We then get the introduction of Sendak.

We also have the introduction of the mice, who have more presence and significance in the show than Shiro’s “significant other” Adam or his last-minute husband ever got.

Lance and Keith continue to bicker, and Shiro again uses his authority to get them stop. I miss Shiro as a leader.

“Good, let them come!” Allura declares. At this early stage of the show, Allura’s prejudice depicted earlier and this angry, brashness now feel like the show is setting her up to be naïve now but to grow in wisdom as the show progresses. By the end of the show, she’s not naïve, but she’s not the beacon of wisdom that it feels like she was supposed to become.

Allura gives the team, and thereby the viewers, a major presentation of the show’s lore. She tells us, “The Lions choose their pilots. It is a mystical bond and cannot be forced. The quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his lion. Together they form something greater than science can explain.” This is the establishment of rules on the show’s system; this is a promise the show is making to the viewer that this is how things work. I’m not personally fond of the mysticism “greater than science” aspect though, especially since the Lions were built by Alfor and the Alteans of long ago. This lore from Allura, until revealed otherwise later, made me think that some other super ancient and very powerful aliens built the Lions and that the Alteans had only acquired them. How Alfor could build the Lions without understanding how they work defies the nature of the process of engineering and construction. Also, if Alfor created the Lions, then where did their consciousness and personalities come from?

That last line aside though, the premise that the pilot and the Lion mirror one another is intriguing. It creates a narrative framework that allows us to understand the characters through their bonding with their lions.

“The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron. It will take a pilot who is a born leader, and in control at all times. Someone whose men will follow without hesitation. That is why, Shiro, you will pilot the Black Lion.” I do object to the idea that anyone is a “born leader.” Leadership is a skillset; you learn and practice and grow as a leader. No one is born a leader. That aside, this proclamation cleanly assigns the position of the leader of the group to Shiro (until the show decides to unceremoniously take it from him in later seasons to shove him off to the side as no longer a member of the team). The qualities Allura ascribes here – decisiveness, leadership, self-control – those are all qualities we’ve already seen demonstrated by Shiro in the first two episodes of the show. Shiro’s discipline is what gives him the authority to tell Lance and Keith to stop fighting. His decisiveness is what prompts Lance to ask Shiro for orders at the end of the first episode, and it is what enables Shiro to diplomatically manage Allura’s initial freak-out when she comes out of stasis. Shiro is the leader of this team. The Black Lion says so. (The show never gives us a reason for Shiro to not be in the position of Black Paladin and leader of Voltron despite his removal in later episodes.)

“The Green Lion has an inquisitive personality and needs a pilot of intellect and daring. Pidge, you will pilot the Green Lion.” And we’ve totally seen this in Pidge. She’s clearly inquisitive as shown by her constructing her own equipment so that she can gain transmission and observational data from Kerberos toward her goal of busting the GG’s lie about the Kerberos mission. We saw it in this episode in a quick, subtle two-part moment where she first sees the computer interface in the stasis pod room, expresses a wonder how it works, and then, once Allura activates and uses the terminal, declares, “That’s how that works.” It’s a small moment, but it’s one of Pidge’s in the first three episodes that really gets to me. It’s not just about intelligence for her, but also curiosity. Also identified in this proclamation is the need for daring in the Green Paladin. That’s definitely a quality we see very prominently in later episodes, sometimes much to my annoyance (because in those moments it makes Pidge incredibly short-sighted).

“The Blue Lion…” Allura’s interrupted. Lance makes a declaration of his own. He’s cocky. Allura’s annoyed and moves on without providing a description for the Blue Lion’s preferred qualities. This gap in the lore is never actually filled in, so we, as viewers, can only ever make suppositions ourselves. I wonder if the Blue Lion might like what we got from Lance in this very moment. Rather than allow Allura to make a proclamation about his qualities, Lance engages in an act of self-definition. With Lance’s story arc (at least before this show ceased to understand its characters) set up as him struggling with his sense of self-worth in light of the skills and reputation of others, I could see the Blue Lion with a value of self-determination as setting Lance up to come to terms with his insecurities through the process of self-definition.

“The Yellow Lion is caring and kind. Its pilot is one who puts the needs of others above his own. His heart must be mighty. As the leg of Voltron, you will lift the team up and hold them together.” This makes it seem the show is setting Hunk up to function as best able to ensure the team remains unified or regains unity in stressful, fractious situations. It also suggests Hunk can be self-sacrificial, with placing others’ needs above his own. Unfortunately, I’m not sure any of this ever really manifests narratively for Hunk as the show goes on. Maybe in a few, smaller moments here and there, but never anything narratively significant. While the show does retain Hunk’s skill with engineering/technology, I mostly feel he’s reduced to an ongoing joke about food. There’s nothing wrong with loving food, of course, but that should be a comparatively minor detail in defining Hunk’s character. Most of the description associated with him proclaimed here feels forgotten/lost as the show goes on.

“The Red Lion is temperamental and the most difficult to master. It’s faster and more agile than the others, but also more unstable. Its pilot needs to be someone who relies more on instincts than skill alone.” Keith’s the hothead, the aggressive one. Yup, definitely have seen that in him so far. The declaration that Red is difficult to master implies that Keith has an aspect of himself that he isn’t in control of, part of himself that he hasn’t mastered yet. The problem with the show abandoning the lore that there are qualities each Lion expects of its pilot is that Keith no longer has to master himself as part of being the Red Paladin. Lance replacing Keith in Red does not connect Lance to the qualities ascribed here. It also invalidates the idea that Lance in Blue is about self-determination; rather than finding his own value, Lance always remains a substitute to Keith – he only got into the fighter pilot program because Keith was no longer in it, and he only got into the Red Lion because Keith was no longer in it. Keith in Red was about him learning to harness himself, to hone his instincts (aka his wildness) and find mastery over himself. Any of that kind of character growth happens for him offscreen and never as a result of his piloting the Red Lion.

The team splits up to track down and acquire the other Lions. The Green Lion is in some jungle environment. There is a really nice peacefulness to this location. “I’ve been locked up by aliens for a year. This is nothing,” Shiro says. I love this line. Shiro has been through some severely traumatic events in the past year, so his calmness here in the face of an expedition to another planet, it’s all good to him. Can someone let Shiro have two weeks of vacation on this planet please?

Lance and Hunk have less easy of a time getting Yellow. Lance literally throws Hunk out of Blue, further demonstrating Lance as being an instigating influence. We saw that in how he was responsible for the group coming together in the first place. I love Hunk’s little monologue while he’s trying to hotwire the platform: “Oh yeah sure, just drop me off on an alien planet. That’s cool. It’s only occupied by big, mean, purple aliens that want to kill me, but whatever. Just ignore them and go connect with a big, yellow, mechanical cat.” This is a moment of Hunk’s voice acting that I really love. The sarcasm, the quick-fire delivery. It’s fun.

Shiro’s retelling of Commander Holt’s comment, “If you get too worried about what can go wrong, you might miss a chance to do something great” is so nice. Shiro’s so supportive. Can I have one of him in my life please? The quiet calmness of Shiro’s voice in this part is so nice; I could listen to him talk like that all day long.

Lance ends up in a precarious situation and Hunk and the Yellow Lion come to the rescue, though apparently by accident. Conveniently, Allura’s ability to hold the wormholes open begins to fade just as the Lions are acquired. Also conveniently, they’ve located Red. Inconveniently, Sendak issues his threat. How does communication systems for the Castle Ship work? Sendak establishes communications and makes his demand without anyone in the ship having to activate the system; really?

Part two of what functions as a three-parter complete.

[palallura]

i was made for loving you

on ao3

The light flickers once and vanishes so delicately that he wonders for a second if he had not always been in the dark.

“I thought I saw his eyes opening for a second,” comes a familiar voice. He does not find his own to answer it.

Keith’s breathing is a ghost with no one to haunt. It oscillates, yes, but his heart’s pulse is firm. A victory, at least. A single one. Victory is a word that tastes heavy on his tongue – although he has not spoken it aloud. He cannot remember exactly where his mouth is or how it feels to use it. Victory, victory. Keith feels that he has actually lost something; he feels that it does not matter that his heart is beating steady if it is a lonely melody. Loneliness. Hadn’t he moved on from it? Where is his team – his friends?

Where is Shiro?

Not being able to understand your own reality is a curious thing. Shapes, feelings, perception. Awake, asleep, in-between. Dead. They are all possibilities. They are all realities, somewhere, sometime. Keith contemplates them. He forgets whatever conclusion he might have gotten to. Time passes. He remembers. He contemplates them again: he surely exists. He is real. His feelings are real, and he loves deeply.

Something crawls on the back of his mind and his entire body aches, aches, aches.

“He’ll awake soon enough.”

He does, a few hours later.

“Mom?” Is the first thing he asks, because Krolia is the first thing he sees. For a second, he feels as if he is being born a second time and his Mom is everything. She is all warm hands on his face and indistinct phrases. He has to focus twice to understand what she is saying. It turns out to be something simple, yet incredibly complex. Miraculous, even.

“You’re okay, Keith.”

“I guess I am,” he whispers. The reality of the hospital room unfolds in front of him. He looks at Kolivan and shakes his head with a small smile of recognition. The gesture hurts and Keith winces. Kolivan sighs.

“Rest for now,” it is not an order, but it is slightly more incisive than a simple request.

Keith takes a deep breath and enjoys the sensation of rubbing his hands together for a second; they are cold and pale. He stretches his arms and feels the body snapping at the right places. His throat feels like the very desert where he grew up. As if she can read his mind, Krolia passes a cup of water to him. He accepts it gladly.

“Are you warm enough?”

“I’m fine,” his voice manages not to crack, barely. “How long have I been….?” Asleep does not seem the right word, so he trails off.

“Almost a day.”

He shudders. So much could have happened. “Is everyone okay?”

“They’re okay. Safe.” Krolia promises.

He pushes a bit from the bed, daring his body to get up. “I want to see the others.”

“The others,” she echoes. “Shiro?”

“Well, yes,” Keith exhales, caught by surprise, “him, too.” Krolia keeps looking at him – a stare that is both kind and compelling. “Okay. Shiro first.”

“He came in here,” she takes his hand. Keith always feels somewhat like a child when she does that, so much smaller than her. He used not to like feeling small, but it is different with her, now, after the two years they spent with each other. “When you were asleep. He seemed sad for not being able to speak to you.”

“He made quite the speech earlier. “ Kolivan adds, and Keith is suddenly curious. “The man surely is good with his words.”

“And his actions,” Krolia smiles. Then, the smile wavers, as if Shiro reminds him of something or someone, and she shares a quick look with Kolivan. He nods.

"I must go. There is a lot to do."  He shakes Keith's hand, more gentle than the usual. "My best wishes, soldier."

Then, he is alone with Krolia, and she slowly moves her hand away from Keith's, putting it on her lap. When she speaks, the way she looks at him is almost defiant, as if she is fighting with herself not to back down.

"When you're free to go, I want to do something."

"Dad," it feels good to catch her by surprise this time. "You want to see Dad."

"His resting place, yes," she sighs. "I want... to say a few things to him." To the man I love goes unsaid, and Keith feels an odd sort of sadness by being reminded that his parents cared for each other so much; that he was born from love in its purest form, not loneliness or fear or regret, but that love could not breathe anymore. Part of it had not died with his father, not exactly, but still was lost forever. In a different reality, they would have been a happy little family. "After all this time, there's still so much I want to say to your father."

"I can only imagine."

Krolia locks her eyes on his again. "Son."

"Mom." He answers immediately. "What's on your mind?"

"I want to give you some advice. I know you just woke up, but, when I saw Shiro here earlier, I realized I should say it as soon as possible."

“What is it?”

“Don’t take the person you love the most for granted, Keith.”

“I don’t,” he says firmly. “I know I can lose him at any second. I have lost him, more than once.” He thinks of the many times Shiro has been away from him, in danger, alone, hurt, yet a light that refused to go out. He thinks about how he could have saved Shiro, how he failed to protect him.

And the times he did succeed to bring Shiro back to him, it was as if they were not close enough to each other.

Krolia hums, a bit thoughtful. “What’s stopping you, kid?”

Keith’s breath gets caught on his throat. “What do you mean? Stopping me from what?”

She parts her lips slightly and a sigh comes out. Shaking her head, Krolia says instead, “You want to know how I knew I loved him?” When Keith nods silently, she goes on. “When I realized that every distance with him felt too far.”

“Every time you speak about Dad – the way your voice sounds, it’s too much. I keep thinking of what we could have had together, the three of us.”

Something inside him wants to add one more. The four of us sounds just right.

Krolia takes his hand again. “I am sorry. I know that kind of wishful thinking very, very well. You must not get caught in it.”

“I know,” he whispers. “I’m also sorry.”

“What for?”

Keith forces down a sob, low and raw. “For not saving him when I had the chance.”

“Keith,” his mother gasps, eyes wide.

“If I had done something, he still would be here. For me. For you. When you came back, you two could have…”

Krolia interrupts him, not unkindly, “We’ve talked about this before. You were a child.”  She runs her fingers though his hear. “There’s nothing you could have done. But there are things you can do now. To save the people you love. To be with them and never part ways again.”

“That… sounds nice.”

“You’re used to think that you don’t deserve nice things.” She sighs. “And I know deep down you already have figured out who you want to be with.”

A noise from outside makes them both jump slightly. The door opens to reveal a very hopeful-looking Takashi Shirogane. When he sees that Keith is awake, his mouth and eyes smile in harmony. Keith forgets how to breathe for a moment, taking in how the light shines on Shiro; with the silver hair, he is almost angelical. 

“Hello, Captain.”

“Ma’am.” He says, polite as ever, but his eyes are not on Krolia. “Keith, is so good to see you.”

“I’ll let you two catch up.”  She pats Keith on the head and leaves, a peaceful smile gracing her features.

“Captain,” Keith repeats. “I like the sound of that.”

“It was kind of a sudden thing,” Shiro says a little bashfully. But there is pride shining on his eyes. He makes his ways to a chair near Keith’s bed, perhaps a little too slowly, and Keith takes the hint.

“Come here,” he pats the mattress and Shiro sits down. Now that he is not smiling anymore, Keith can see the lines of exhaustion on his features, how old he seems.

“Is… everything okay?”

Shiro chuckles. “Nothing gets past you.”

“Not from you,” Keith says and admires the way Shiro’s cheek tint with a lovely shade of pink.

“You’re becoming more and more observant.”

“Again, it’s easy when it’s you.” Keith smiles. “You make everything easier.”

The nice moment fades away quickly, though, and soon enough Shiro seems to be holding himself together just barely. His back is somewhat curved, there are bags under his eyes and his breath is uneven.

“Tell me what’s bothering you, please.”

“I don’t want to drop anything on your shoulders with now. You just woke up.”

“I know,” Keith says, “I just woke up and every second that goes by I can only think that you guys could have needed me when I was out.”

“Keith,” he chides gently.

“So, please, trust me. Need me. You can need me, Shiro, and I’ll be here whenever you do.”

Keith feels more than he sees the way Shiro looks at the scar on his cheek.

“I can only hope to be here for you just as much,” he sighs. Then, adds, almost inaudible: “It’s Adam.”

Keith’s stomach drops. “Oh. So you guys talked?”

Shiro shakes his head. “No, we didn’t. He… He didn’t make it through Sendak’s invasion. There was a battle before we got here and…” He trembles. “He was already gone when we arrived, Keith. I couldn’t to a single thing.”

He whispers Shiro’s name, once, twice, not knowing what to say other than that. Shiro is right there, at his side, and he cannot just watch him fall apart. He finally takes Shiro’s hand – the one just like his own, flesh and blood – and gives it a firm squeeze. The words I am sorry hang from his lips, almost falling. They don’t. Keith thinks they seem insufficient, hollow. Instead, he says a truth he knows too well,

“Losing people we love is never easy.”

The word love seems to catch Shiro’s attention.

“I…” He gulps. “I did love him. I guess a part of me always will.”

Keith’s heart aches more than the rest of his body now.

“We were going to get married,” at the last word, something that is not quite yet a sob escapes from Shiro’s mouth. He takes a deep breath. “But that’s a future that will never happen. I want to talk about the futures that still have a chance. The futures I want to live.”

“There are so many,” Keith wants to reassure him, despite himself. “Here on Earth and maybe even out there.”

“Space,” Shiro smiles somewhat sadly.

“Your heart belongs in the stars.”

Shiro squeezes his hand. “And maybe somewhere else too.”

“Somewhere else?”

“Keith,” he begins, and Keith sees a new kind of fear in his eyes. “I did love Adam. But that love is a love from somewhere long gone. And I am okay with it being just the past. When he died, I already didn’t have feelings for him anymore. I don’t.”  He coughs. “Romantic feelings, I mean. I will always treasure what we had together, but it has been a while that I don’t want anything with him.”

“How long?”

“Since I met you again.”  The pink tints Shiro’s cheeks one more time. It is barely noticeable, but Keith’s heart feels like combusting. “I want us to explore space together. Come with me, Keith. Then we can settle in a nice place here on Earth for a while, when this mess is over, and just be happy.”

Keith gives a shaky laugh, “You have no idea how afraid I am that I am reading things wrong.”

“Let me explain, then.”

Shiro’s lips are heaven on his, warm and soft. Keith yanks him even closer by his shirt, tasting everything Shiro has to offer, starting slowly; then, he loses whatever self-control that remained, almost too eager, almost too hungry. Shiro tries to slow him down for a moment, but gives up and lets himself be carried away, his tongue exploring Keith’s parted lips first, then his neck. Shiro’s breathless laugh on his skin is the best sound he has heard in years.

“Are we clear, cadet?”

Keith grins and does a tiny salute. “Cristal clear, sir.”

“You won’t be a cadet for long, though.” Shiro backs away slightly to look at him, in awe. “You have grown up so much. And I don’t say this as happy as I do only because I’m proud. I very much like what I see.”

This time, Keith is the one that goes pink. “Shut up.”

Shiro kisses him again. “Gladly.”

[guillotinedangel]

Can I request a LotorxReader, fluff scenario where the reader is betrothed to lotor and she genuinely loves him but he thinks she's just using him for his status until she fought beside him during a battle and he saw how beautiful and how he was actually denying himself of liking her, please ? I know this is very detailed but I'm bad at writing and I love reading your stories ❤️

Hi sweetie! So, it was really fun to write this one because I personally love a good demonstration of how badass a character is, especially if their s/o is right there to be amazed by their skills hahaha anyway, the only thing I am not entirely sure is if I got the fluffy part right, but you can leave me another anon message with your opinion of it. This said, enjoy!~Chimera.

Ship: Lotor x fem!reader.Scene: Lotor doubts his fiancée real interests until she fights alongside him.Warnings: Mature language, violent scenes.Edited and corrected by: @portrait-ninja

“You havegot to be kidding.” Pidge snapped, “There’s no way I am helpingLotor become Emperor!”

Lotorraised an eyebrow in disbelief; looking away he tried not to show howhurt he was by the human girl’s words. He had helped the paladins and killedhis own father, Zarkon, freeing the universe from his reign; accomplishinga goal that legend said could only be achieved by Voltron. But nothing hadseemed to change; everybody kept looking at him like if he was only aminiature version of his father. Speaking to him with no respect and openlymanifesting their hatred for him. And what was worse, now nobody wanted to payhim back.

Standing byhis side, you frowned and crossed your arms over your chest, pissedby your best friend’s words. Pidge couldn’t be serious, after everything thatLotor had done!

“ForGod’s sake, Pidge, your father is safe and sound thanks to him.”

“Youthink I care? I am not helping him get on the throne.”

Youlooked around for support from anybody else but no one seemed ready to offerit.

“You’re allbeing so quiznaking selfish! Lotor helped us defeat our biggest enemy! It’sthanks to him that the universe is safe, you can’t deny it!”

“Y/N”Allura said, placing her hand in your shoulder. “You are not being objectivehere. You love him, you -”

Butyou didn’t let her finish. You shook free from her grip and took afew steps back, getting closer to Lotor.

“He’semperor of the Galra Empire. At least he has a kingdom to rule,unlike you.” You said bitterly to the princess.

Everyone fellsilent and Lotor looked at you knowing you had stepped over the line.He loved you and appreciated the support but still there wassomething he didn’t quite understand. Since he had defeated his father andasked you to marry him –which had happened pretty much all at once-you had been insanely obsessed with him claiming his right over the galranthrone. Almost to the point where Lotor was starting todoubt if you really loved him for who he was rather thanwhat hehad been born into. He hated himself for even thinking that butyour actions where starting to speak for themselves.

“It’sokay, Y/N, you can’t change their minds…” he said reaching out foryou, but the look in your eyes made him stop.

“Theyare your people, Lotor. You are the only legitimate heir. The throne is yourbirthright. If you don’t claim it someone else will, and if they arehostile to Voltron,we will be right back where we started. Can’t any of you seethat?”

Everyoneexchanged a meaningful look.

“Well,”Shiro began, “She kinda has a point there, better the devil you know…”

“No!”Pidge’s cheeks turned red out of pure anger, “We are not helping him!”

“Finethen!” you shouted, “I hope you don’t treat all your allies like this becausesoon enough you won’t have any!”

Youstormed out of the room with your words hanging in the air.

//

“Y/N”

Thefamiliar voice of the prince called to you from across thehall, but you kept walking; ignoring him. You were pissed with your friends fornot seeing sense, pissed with Lotor for letting the throne slip from betweenhis fingers.

Abreeze fluttered your hair and the tall body of your half-galranhalf-altean fiancée made you stop short. You loved how he towered above you andhow strong he was. The purplish color of his skin, the yellow of hisferal eyes, the ivory of his hair… but when it came to times like this it allmade him look pretty terrifying.

“What?”you hissed.

“Youcan’t keep doing this. I appreciate the support you provide, but if that isgoing to make you lose your friends or the trust they have placed inyou... You are a bigger part of team Voltron than I am. Becoming Emperor wouldmean you becoming Empress. Would they be okay with that?”

“Youthink I care?” your eyes sparkled with anger. Just as Lotor feared, you werewilling to risk everything for the throne but was it for him or forpower? “They don’t get it, fear is clouding their judgment, but I cansee.”

“Noyou can’t!” Lotor snapped. You frowned and took a little step back, “If fear iswhat clouds their minds then the promise of power is clouding yours!”

“Excuseme?”

“Yes,I’m not stupid, Y/N, I’m 10,000 years old, do you think a youngling likeyou can fool me? You have been obsessed with me taking the throne ever since Ikilled my father, ever since I proposed you.”

“Lotorwhat the hell are you saying?”

Fearstarted crawling up your chest, replacing the anger until it vanished completelyand only sole anguish took control of your heart. Was Lotor saying that he hasdoubts about your feelings for him? Was he for quiznaking real?

“WellI’m saying that our engagement is over and that I’m leaving this place. I don’twant to be around you anymore.”

“What?”the word came out of your lips, barely a whisper. Did he just end things betweenthe two of you?

Youopened your mouth to say something else, but the words died in yourthroat as emotions whirled in your chest. Maybe Pidge was rightall this time. You shouldn’t have put your trust Lotor. Hewasn’t capable of love. Your whole relationship had been an excuse for himto accomplish what he wanted and now that he had it… he was getting rid of thedead weight. Of you.

“I’msorry,” the prince said, trying to hold back tears. He never feltmore heartbroken in his whole life, not even when his father treatedhim like trash… no. You had been his pillar, his reason to keep fighting andnow… well. Now he had seen why he had built up those huge walls around hisheart in the first place.

And so,he left.

//

Ithad been weeks since Lotor had left the castle and went only god-knows-where.Since your fight you had barely left your room. Shiro was the only one you allowedto come and go, because he had tried to stand up for Lotor during thediscussion you had on the bridge. Everybody else tried to talk to you when theyfound out, but you didn’t allow them to come in. They were just feelingguilty about your breakup, nothing more. They didn’t care and youknew that. At some point,everyone felt better with the situation theway it was now with Lotor gone. Plus, you didn’t need Pidge or Alluratelling you that they had warned you about him.

“Youfeeling any better?” Shiro asked, entering the room with a hot plate ofsomething that didn’t look like the goo you usually ate. You immediately knewthat was probably Hunk trying to make you feel better indirectly.

“No.”you mumbled, turning around in bed to face the paladin, “How could I?”

Shirofrowned and left the plate on the empty desk. He took a seat on theedge of your bed.

“Youstill love each other and I bet that’s the reason why he did it.”

“Istill love him I’m sure of that but… He seemed to mean it.”

“Y/N,please. A few weeks ago you were standing up for him on the bridgeand he was trying to calm you down. Look, I may be inexperienced inthis field, but I’m not blind.”

“Well…”you took a deep breath “Now he’s gone so… There’s nothing leftfor me to do.”

“Maybethere is.” Shiro started playing with his fingers, nervous.

“Whatis it, Shirogane? Spit it out.”

Shiro fell silentfor a moment.

“Um,maybe you and I can take the Black Lion and go help him.”

“Withwhat? We don’t even know where he is…”

Shiroscratched his nape and you stood up in bed.

“Shiro.” Yousaid warningly.

“Okay,okay. He’s gone to claim the throne. The Galra are holdinga celebration ceremony and…”

“Andwe are still here!?” you snapped, jumping out of bed and running to yourwardrobe to get your armor, “Move your ass, Shirogane! They’re gonna cut himto pieces if he shows up alone and with no backup!”

//

Asthe Black Lion appeared in the sky all the Galra reunited for theKral Zera ceremony taking place turned around surprised, Lotor included,who had just arrived. His first thought was that the paladins haddecided to break their word and not let him take the throne. What hedidn’t expect was seeing you climb out of the lion, walking like youowned the place, with the black paladin at your back and in your full royalGarla armor.

Hehad given it to you saying “His Empress should have an armor worthyof her” and, even though you didn’t tower over the glara, Lotor could feelhow everyone exchanged concerned glances, While you were askilled warrior and an ally of Voltron everyone knew that messingwith you did not only guarantee your wrath, but Lotor’s as well.

“Whatare you doing here?” he asked, approaching you with a smile on his face. He hadto admit he had been feeling lost and lonely all these weeks,without your touch and that look in your eyes. He had been feelingempty without your smile and the scent of your hair.

“I’mtrying to save your ass, my prince.” you said, raising an eyebrow lecturinghim, “You are really brave coming here alone, but I thought you could use somehelp. Prince Lotor has the protection of Voltron” you continued, raising yourvoice so everybody could hear you, “if any of you dares to challenge him, theywill have to fight me as well and, if you come up victorious, the paladins willtake revenge. So, that said, does anyone want to stepforward? Does anybody want to lose their life to sit on a throne thatdoesn’t belong to them?”

As yourgaze roamed over the crowd, you were able to see Lotor’s former generals. Theirmurderous gazes where settled on you, but they didn’t dare say a word and evenless, confront any of you.

“Youheard my beloved princess, does anyone wish to challenge us?”

“Your beloved princess,as you call her, is not even galran, and neither are you.” A voice spoke fromthe crowd. The voice was revealed to belong to CommanderSendak, speaking with a repulsed look on his face, “So, as you are notworthy, I challenge you, but only you. I am not fighting that human scum.”

“Youscared?” you asked defiant, taking a step forward, but Lotor grabbed your armbefore you could say something else.

“IfI win, she will be the Galra’s future Empress therefore, I demand you takeback what you just said about her.”

Sendaklaughed and the weapon that replaced his lost arm, shone in a bright purplelight.

“Well,as you desire, prince. Your little bitch will die with you today.”

Ashe said that, his cybernetic arm was shooting right towards you, butLotor stopped it with his sword before it could reach you. Jumping towardsSendak he started a very heated fight between the two of them.

“Y/N!”Shiro called out to you. As you turned around, he threw his bayard at you,which, for some reason immediately shaped into a sword, “Use it well, and bringit back to me!”

Younodded and turned your face back to the fight, just in time to see Sendak throw apunch at Lotor, grazing less than an inch away from his face. Clenchingyour teeth with rage and remembering Sendak breaking into the castle andalmost killing all of you, you ran directly to him, tackling theGalra commander. He was at least two feet taller than you and you hit haddestabilized him, before he could regain his footing you swung your sword athim.

Theattack caught him by surprise and he was not able to get away in time. The edgeof the bayard scratched his face and down his armor, leaving an open andbleeding wound on one of his cheeks.

Lotorlooked at you wide eyed and the Garla watching the scene held theirbreath at the sight.

Didyou, a weak and tiny earthling, just managed to hurt one oftheir best commanders?

“Whowere you calling human scum, kitten?” you mocked him.

Sendakwiped the blood off his face and let out a warning growl. He had beenhumiliated by that quiznaking human bitch.

“Iam going to make myself new armor from your bones!” he screamed,charging back at you but, being smaller and lighter than him, it was easy foryou to use his huge body to avoid his attack successfully.

“You’re reallygonna need more than my bones for that.” You said playfully, swinging your sword,“I’m tiny compared to you.”

Withrage pounding through his veins, Sendak threw his hand at you, but Lotor got inthe way as he did before and repelled the attack.

“IfI were you,” he said panting, “I’d keep my mouth shut.”

“Oh,baby” Sendak moved again and you rolled down to one side as Lotor jumped to theother, avoiding being caught in the hole your foe just created in the groundwere you had stood, “You’re taking all the fun away!”

Yousmiled at each other and started attacking Sendak from different sides, drivinghim mad. You two were playing with him, in front of the Galra Empire.Even if he did manage to kill you in the end, the stories of this fightwouldn’t go away any time soon, and he was already starting to feel tired.He needed to put an end to this, now.

Avoidinganother of Lotor’s attacks, Sendak turned around to face you, and a wide smileappeared in his face, allowing you to see his fangs. All he had to do was takea good shot at you. Kill the prince’s lover. It would drive him mad, he wouldcommit a mistake and the throne was his. It was so simple.

“Tolove is to die, prince!” He said before charging towards you.

Thiswasn’t like the other times. He was starting to get a grip on your moves.He managed to graze you a few times, even though Lotor was trying tokeep him away from you, failing amazingly, to be honest. Sendak seemed reallyfocused on you and, as his attacks grew stronger and faster yourbody started to feel theeffects of the battle.

Eachhit from his metal arm was like agony. He had been trained all his lifefor this, but you? Hell, you only had a few classes with the paladins and someintensetraining with Lotor that usually ended romantically. You werein a good shape of course, and you were and amazing warrior but that wasn’tenough to face an eight-foot tall built and crazy purple alien with adeadly mechanical arm. Not to mention he probably had hundredsof years of intense military and combat training.

Soeventually your tired muscles made you flinch, and Sendak gotyou, slashing his claws all across your face.

Youscreamed in pain and you started taking steps back, blinded by the blood thatwas bathing your face. Trying to get away from Sendak you reached the Kral Zerastairs and tripped, falling backwards and dropping the bayard from your hands.You were exposed, and experiencing terrible agony. You weren’t sureif your foe’s claws did get your eyes because the pain was so excruciatingthat it went all throughout your head and down your neck.The only thing that you could actually hear was Shiro shouting yourname across the square and then Lotor, screaming before hearing the clashing ofmetal against metal again.

Aftera while you were able to open your eyes. You seemed to see just fine, eventhough the blood kept getting in your eyes, tinting everything red.The painwouldn’t go away, but you had to help Lotor. You knew he wasusually calm while fighting and that was what made him win. With all that rageinside he would only get himself hurt.

“Fuckingrabid pussycat.”

Bathedin your own blood and feeling the dizziness that usually came with excessiveblood loss, you reached for the black bayard and, taking a deep breath chargedSendak.

Theblade pierced right through his lower back and exiting through his lowerabdomen, making the commander growl in pain. As he turned around hehit you hard enough to send you flying back to the stairs, losing yourbreath when your ribs made contact with the cold and hard ground.

Realizingwhat had just happened all of the Galra fell silent and Lotor took afew steps back, wanting to get to you but, at the same time, not being sure ofSendak’s defeat. Did you just kill the commander? By yourself?

Theanswer came as Sendak fell to his knees panting in pain and, immediatelyafter he fell on his face. Dead.

“He isdead.”

“Thehuman girl has killed Sendak.”

“She did it.”

Seeing that hisfoe was defeated, Lotor dropped his sword and ran to you.

You let outa moan of pain as he cradled you in his arms. Even through all the agony youmanaged to smile at him.

“We didit” you mumbled.

“You did it,which was just incredible.”

Youchuckled, but the pain tore through you again, making you close youreyes tightly.

“It’sokay,” Lotor said, “don’t talk now. I… want to apologize. I was feeling soinsecure; I should have never said those awful things, my love. Now Isee, you are willing to do anything for me as I would for you. Willyou be able to forgive me?”

“Ilove you, Lotor, that’s the only thing that matters.” You took a breath torecover your strength, “I have to apologize too. I was being so stupid aboutthe Emperor thing… acting like a brat with my friends.”

“Shh now,you were right about everything.” The prince stroked your hair,stained with blood. He wanted to cry, seeing you so hurt because ofhim, with Sendak’s claws marks across your face leaving you branded forever.

“Lightthat flame. Go claim your throne” you said under your breath, grabbing Lotor’snape to bring him down to you to kiss him.

“Ourthrone.” He corrected you, as you two broke apart.

“Vrepitsa, my Emperor.”

“Vrepitsa, my Empress.”

 -Chimera.

[some-cookie-crumbz]

Lead Them by the Nose

Lead Them by the Nose Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Pairing: Kidge Summary: AU where Pidge gets busted for being a sneaky little shit and has to do community service. Her assignment is to work at a local animal shelter and Keith is the regular volunteer assigned to determine her rehabilitation status. I started this in March of last year with the intention of making it a multi-chapter project (maybe a total of five or six chapters) and might explore it further if there’s interest. Standard Disclaimer: If you read and enjoy this, please give it a like/ reblog so I know if I should write more.

Getting slammed against the hood of a cop car wasn’t an experience she ever had any intention of gaining, but upon receiving it, she determined it was unpleasant. Especially when the officer slamming you down was about two times your size and clearly putting his all into it. She rolled her shoulders and glared out at the officer that had been shoving and jerking her around like a ragdoll as she paced the small holding cell they’d tossed her into. Luckily enough, she was alone; normal people didn’t go getting themselves arrested on a Wednesday night, after all. “You seriously gonna keep me locked up in here? I didn’t even do anything wrong!” She shouted.

Officer Haxus, the one that had brought her in, glared at her from his desk. “I wouldn’t consider trying to break in to a government building in the middle of the night right! If it were up to me, you’d be preparing yourself for a rude wake up call,” He snarled lowly, eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. She answered by flipping him the bird. He stood up and approached, grabbing the bars and leaning closer to her face. “Oh, you’re lucky that Sargent Sherlock was the one to determine what to do with you. I’d knock that snide attitude right out of you if I were in charge. Apparently someone is on the way to get you.”

“I’d like to see you try to knock anything out of me. You’re nothing but an overinflated balloon puffing hot air,” She seethed back quietly.

He opened his mouth to speak when they heard footsteps echoing down the hallway. “Katie!” The voice gasped, panting and frantic.

She felt a weight settle in her stomach like a stone at the voice. A sly smirk turned up on the officer’s face at how she seemed to wilt. “Oh, what’s this? Not so haughty once Mommy has to come to your rescue? How typical of your kind,” He mocked, pushing off the bars and walking away. Sargent Sherlock began approaching as well, an uneasy smile on her lips.

“Hello again, Colleen. It’s been a while,” She said gently as the other woman darted over, gasping at the sight of her youngest child in the cell.

“Katie, darling! What are you doing here? What happened?” She asked frantically, looking at her daughter and then looking back at Sargent Sherlock. “Olia, please, this must be a misunderstanding! My Katie is a very good girl and would never do something arrest-worthy!”

Katie, as she was known, winced and cast a guilty glance at the floor. The last few times she’d been caught, Matt or Shiro were either at the station already or answered the call instead. Between knowing two trainees and being the daughter of the cold case units Captain, she had enough clout to walk out free as a bird most of the time.

Sargent Sherlock released a small sigh, her brown eyes soft as she looked between the two other women. “Look, Colleen, I’m not gonna mince words with you here. Katie was caught trying to break into the Court House; presumably to hack into the database for some reason. We’re gonna try and be lenient on her, but charges have to be brought up,” She explained.

“Trying to…?” Colleen trailed, her gaze shifting from Olia, to the floor, then to her daughter. She swallowed hard when the young woman didn’t even dare to lift her head to meet her gaze. She looked back over at Olia, expression nothing short of pleading. “Can’t you just let me take her home? We can talk about this and I can guarantee she’ll never pull a stunt like this again.”

The Sargent’s shoulders sagged. “This is the fifth time she’d been caught trying to do this, Colleen. I can’t keep turning a blind eye and pretending this isn’t happening; my history working under Captain Holt has to be said aside at some point for my own professional integrity. She needs to be charged with what she’s done as she clearly isn’t learning,” She insisted gently. The look of betrayal on the woman’s face at the revelation of how many times this had occurred prior without her knowledge seemed to wound her deep. “We’ll do all we can to lessen the load. Since Katie is still seventeen, she still constitutes as being a minor. I’ll be running it past our ADA and see if we can’t get her charged as a juvenile; try and make any punishment a little bit lighter. We’ll be in touch and let you know as soon as a determination and court date have been set. That’s the most I can do for either of you at this point, though.”

Colleen took a deep breath and nodded. “Thank you, Olia,” She said quietly. Olia flashed a smile she hoped was reassuring or comforting in some way before unlocking the cell door and letting Katie walk out. The young girl moved slowly and uneasily out, trying to cautiously catch her mother’s eye but found. When she did, she saw nothing but a silent fury and heart-shattering disappointment that made her pin her gaze back on the tiled floor beneath her sneakers. Colleen said nothing as they left the building and headed to the car.

Once they settled in she took a deep breath. “Look, Mom-!”

“Don’t. I don’t want to hear anything right now, Katie,” She cut in, her tone even in a way that left her daughter’s stomach roiling. Colleen Holt was more times than not a warm and outgoing woman with a lot of patience, but those closest to her knew that she could be a force of pure terror when she was at the ends of her rope. Katie squirmed uneasily in her seat, looking out the window in hopes of keeping the heavy atmosphere from weighing her down too much on the whole ride home.

When they pulled up, Colleen opened her door to shout at the figure in the doorway, “Matthew Holt, go inside and sit down on the couch. Now.”

Matt jumped, his gaze shifting from their mother to Katie as she slipped out of the car herself. He himself had taken on the appearance of a deer in headlights as he, undoubtedly, realized what had happened. She flashed him a guilty, apologetic glance, before following Colleen into the house.

“How long has this been going on?” Colleen asked once they were both seated, standing in front of them with her hands on her hips.

“About two months,” Matt admitted, wincing at how mortified Colleen looked. He held his hands up defensively. “Look, Mom, I’m sorry I didn’t own up to this. This is my fault for not owning up to it sooner and-!”

“Nice try, Matt, but I wasn’t born yesterday. You certainly should have known better, and you’re going to receive a rude awakening for that, but this was more than just your mistake. Your sister is old enough to know that there are consequences to her actions and should be able to accept her own punishment,” She seethed before turning to stare at her daughter. Matt wilted a bit at his efforts being completely shut down so quickly. “You’ve got the floor if you want to try and defend yourself, young lady.”

Katie took a deep breath before meeting her eyes. “I’ve just been trying to get some information. Dad’s always away on that case they’ve got, and I figured that a set of new eyes might be able to catch something they’re all missing,”

“This is not something you need to concern yourself with, Katie. You should be leaving this to your father and his team,”

She scowled. “You’re always telling me that I should apply myself! This is a way to test my skills and show that the police force needs to focus! If a teenage girl can slink around and hack into their stuff than an actually criminal would have no problem!”

Colleen puffed up a bit, fury sparking her eyes to a full blaze. “You’ve been caught doing this five times now!”

“Yeah, but that’s just the times they’ve actually caught me. You’d be surprised how many more they haven’t,” She scoffed lightly.

“Do you understand the severity of what you’ve done, young lady? You are committing a serious crime! You could face serious jail time, have your entire live ruined! And for what? Because you want the thrill of doing something risky?” Colleen snapped, glaring her daughter down. Pidge’s façade of ambivalence wilted immediately. She’d never seen her mother look so furious. “Do you think because you’re smart that makes you untouchable? Your behavior is not becoming of the intelligent young woman you usually are, and more a bratty child getting too big for their britches! For your sake, I hope Olia’s able to get some mercy shown for you, but it’s about time you learned about consequences!”

Katie stood up, hands clenching at her side. “I’m doing this to prove myself and to help people!”

“You’re doing this because you think having ties in the police force makes you above reproach! If you had been treated like anyone else you’d have been locked up and treated like an adult the first time you got caught! And don’t try to bluff about how your Dad and Matt being cops isn’t a huge factor in this! You’ll be insulting all of ours intelligence if you did,” Colleen growled back angrily.

Again, she wilted under the weight of what her Mom said.  A part of her was keenly aware of just how true it was, but the rest of her didn’t want to accept that. She growled and turned, storming down the hall to her bedroom. She could hear her Mom tearing into her brother before she went into her room, threw herself on her bed, and hid her head under her pillow to try and block out everything else.

……………………………………………………………………………

Sargent Sherlock ended up coming through with getting Katie treated as a juvenile, but she was placed on the docket of Judge Trigel. Judge Trigel had taken one look at Katie and decided that she’d be a great fit for the experimental youth rehabilitation program that they were testing out. How it worked, as Katie learned through skimming the packet that Saturday morning on their way, was that the juvenile in question would be placed in one of four different programs where they’d be assisting with some kind of community project or program. They’d be assigned to one of the other volunteers in the program, who would give them a letter grade over the course of three months. So long as they received good marks and seemed to be adapting well, she’d be making it out well enough. “Couldn’t they have just stuck me in a community service program? Where I was cleaning trash off the highways or something?” She grumbled, glaring out the passenger side window.

It was a Saturday morning, it was just barely 7am, and she didn’t want to be alive right now.

Matt flashed her a hopeful smile. “Hey, at least it gives you something to do other than sulk around playing WoW with a bunch of strangers on the internet,” He said.

“I like playing WoW with a bunch of strangers. Plus I also work on coding and designing new programs, too, so I’m being productive,”

“Well, at least you get to do something to help your fellow man and help better their life,”

“I’m going to be helping out at an animal shelter,”

“Uh, at least you’ll get some real-world experience in working with others, whom you may not get along with, towards a common goal…?”

“You mean like I do every day at school?”

“…”

“…”

“Okay, you know what? I’m not even gonna try to find a silver-lining for you then. Go in with a bad attitude and see what happens with whoever they put in charge of you. I’m sure it’ll go splendidly,” He said sarcastically.

“Oh, please. All I have to do is fake it until I make it,” She scoffed.

“You know what else you could do? Actually try. It might not seem like it’ll be your cup of tea, but it might end up being a lot of fun and benefit you. Besides, you like animals,”

“Correction; I like Bae Bae. And I love Bae Bae because he is the best dog ever who puts all other dogs to shame. He isn’t excessively drooly or clingy and he doesn’t shed everywhere. He is not the rule, but rather, he is the exception,” She said bluntly.

Matt leaned forward and thunked his head against the steering wheel at the stop light, groaning loudly. “It’s too early for this,” He moaned, perking up and resuming driving once the light changed.

“I agree. We should ditch this and go get some donuts and coffee instead,” Katie suggested, making sure to use the tone that implied she was being helpful.

“No, Pidge, we’re not going to do that. You’ve got to do your rehab work and I have plans to go do a workout with Shiro,” He said as he shifted into the turn lane and slipped into the shelter plaza.

“Traitor,” She grumbled, crossing her arms and sinking further into her seat.

Matt flashed her an annoyed look. “Oh, yeah, I’m the traitor when I tried to take the fall for you on this. Look, I’ll be back around three to pick you up, okay?”

“Three?” She whined.

“Yes. You have to do a minimum of five hours a day twice a week in order to get what they consider an accurate amount for whoever is giving you your grades to determine your progress. Were you even, like, paying attention to Judge Trigel when she was explaining this to you?”

“Do you want the honest answer?”

“…”

“…”

“Get out of my car until I come back to pick you up,” He huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose and pointing after shifting his car into park.

Katie opened her mouth to say something, then seemed to think better of it and slipped out, shifting the strap of her messenger bag as she did. She stared at the large double-doors leading into the facility, took a steeling breath, and then made the trek across the dirt parking lot. Matt was nice enough to wait until she was opening the door, peering over her shoulder to offer him a small wave before he headed off back towards the road. She walked inside and was stunned by how cool the small lobby was. There didn’t seem to be anyone at the front counter as she approached, looking around curiously. There was a small bench built into the wall opposite the little counter, and a small corkboard covered in fliers for dog-walking groups, pet groomers and other such things. Just past the corkboard was another set of double-doors, and on the wall opposite the corkboard was a smaller wooden door. She rested her arms on the front counter. “Not much in the aesthetics department, huh?” She mumbled to herself.

“Well, when you rely on donations, you do what you can,” A voice chided lightly. She would later tell Matt that she had been unfazed and chill, since that was less demeaning than how she had screamed and jumped back about a full foot from the counter. The man behind the counter tilted his head a bit, raising one orange brow at her. “Not sure why someone looking for a shelter pet would be so judgey about the facilities, though. I mean, unless you’re trying to imply we don’t take care of the animals, which I can assure you is an abhorrent lie.”

“Someone looking…? No, I’m not here to adopt a pet! I already have a dog at home!” She huffed lightly.

“Uh huh,” He trailed, reaching up to twirl the end of one moustache in thought, “then, why are you here?”

She opened her bag and produced the folder of papers she’d been given at her court date. “I’m part of some new program so I have to work here for a while,” She said while offering them over.

His eyes brightened in acknowledgement. “Ah, that’s right. Alfor mentioned this to me the other day. So you’re the infamous Miss Katherine Holt,” He mused, taking the paperwork and starting to do a little skim through the documents.

“I prefer to be called Katie. Or, actually, Pidge would be better. Just call me Pidge,” She said, leaning on the counter again. Seeming satisfied, the man grabbed a small clipboard off to the side and headed to the other end of the small office-like area behind the counter. He opened the small door and motioned her in.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to have you on board, Pidge! We’ve been needing a few extra sets of hands around here; not as many people wanting to volunteer as you might expect,” He mused, shutting the door quietly behind her. He then led her out yet another door that seemed to be level with the double-doors that she was sure led to where the animals were being held. “My name is Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe, but just Coran will do. I’m in charge of overseeing volunteers and assisting with filing all the proper adoption forms.” The room they entered was a mostly silent, but she could see various dogs already laying in their cages and there were a few that were awake and starting to test out how well their howls echoed off the brick walls.

She turned her attention away from the animals back to the older man with her. “You mentioned someone named Alfor… I feel like I recognize that name from somewhere. Is he involved with the police force in some way?”

He perked up and smiled. “Keen memory you have their. He used to be a police officer, but he’s a judge now. Normally answers to Judge Altea,”

“Ah, that’s how I know him. Dad says he’s one of the better judges on the bench,” She mumbled more to herself. Coran was her overseer and had some kind of involvement with a judge on the bench. Maybe if she kissed up enough, he’d sing her praises to Judge Altea and get her off this bum-rap sooner. “This place is in really great shape, considering you said it’s only donation-run?”

“He’s a good man, to say the least. Oh, and yes! You see, it’s all about knowing how to budget properly! Charities should always be putting as much of that money into the actual cause as they can, you see, and I take that very seriously in helping these animals,” Coran mused with a smile, leading her through the rows of kennels and towards a back room. He didn’t open the door right away and smiled at her. “Well, Pidge, your fellow volunteers are just past this door. We’ll get introductions out of the way and then we’ll determine who we’ll assign you to.”

“Wait, aren’t you in charge of my progress?” She gawked.

He shrugged. “Well, I’m afraid that might be a bit difficult. As I said before, I handle most of the behind-the-scenes things, so having me follow you around would cause an awful lot of problems. The other volunteers are the ones taking care of the animals, helping potential adoptees determine what they would like, and so on and so forth. Having one of them help you and report your progress makes significantly more sense, don’t you think?”

“I suppose so,” She said, trying to keep the irritation from her tone.

Coran smiled and nodded. “Splendid! Now, let’s get in there!” He mused, throwing the door open and indicating she enter first.

“Hunk, dude, you gotta break the tie!”

“What? Lance, please, I don’t wanna! I hate when you drag me into your arguments with Keith!”

“Yeah, Lance. The poor guy is getting tired of pretending you have a single reasonable point,”

“Oh! Oh, is that what you think? You wanna fight me, Mullet Boy?”

“Wouldn’t be much a fight. You’re like one of those blow-up toys for kids that they punch and they just wobble back up,”

“Okay, that does it!”

“Lance, come on!”

“Oh, honestly. Why do I put up with such unbecoming behavior?”

Pidge blinked a bit, glancing from the young man leaning against the counter beside a fridge with his arms crossed over his chest, the other young man trying to throw himself across a round table in the center of the room, the third young man trying to hold him back, and a young woman standing off to the side, a thermos of what she assumed was coffee in one hand and a look of existential crisis etched across her pretty face. “So I take it these are the animals I’m supposed to be looking after?” Pidge deadpanned, all attention swiveling towards her.

“Coran! You didn’t mention that we would have a new volunteer!” The young woman gasped before heading over. She offered Pidge her free hand with a smile. “It’s pleasure to meet you! My name is Allura!”

“Uh, hi, I’m Pidge,” She said uneasily, offering her hand to the other. She expected the other girl’s hands to be extrememly soft and silky, given the rest of her polished and proper appearance, but there was a firmness to her grip and skin that spoke of someone who understood what it meant to get her hands a little dirty. Pidge could respect that.

“She’s one of the first from the new juvenile rehabilitation program,” Coran explained patiently.

Allura nodded her head, seeming pleased with that explanation. “Well, we’re lucky to have to you here. We are always in need of people to help with taking care of the animals and finding good forever-homes for them,” She mused. She then looked back at the other three. “Isn’t that right, boys?”

The one that had been trying to climb over the table had moved to simply sitting in one of the four chairs at the table instead, watching her with narrowed blue eyes warily. “So you’ve been arrested then? What’d you get hit for?”

“Sold a man’s kidney on the black market and left him for dead in a bathtub full of ice,” She said flatly.

“W-What?” Squawked the other male at the table, his hands flexing above the tabletop like he wasn’t sure what to do with them. His eyes were wide as saucers, starting to water with tears. The mopey one leaning against the counter muffled his quiet snorts behind one fist and the guise of coughing.

Coran looked at the other blandly, not falling for the cat at all, before holding the clipboard he’d grabbed out toward him. “If you find her so entertaining, Keith, I’ll place you in charge of her,” He mused.

Keith tensed at that and scowled, shifting to blow a few strands of his black bangs out of his eyes. “Uh, no. Lance or Allura would be better at that,” He huffed.

“Well too bad it isn’t your decision, huh?” Coran asked with a bright smile. He waggled the clipboard again, making a small humming noise of summon, and Keith’s shoulders slumped. He walked over and swiped the clipboard away from the older man. “All you need to do is list what activities you teach her, how quickly she picks up on them, and how her demeanor is throughout her shift working with you. Also, obviously, your own personal and private thoughts about her should be included, to some extent, regarding her work ethic and whether she seems to be growing as a person.”

Both Pidge and Keith flashed him skeptical looks but neither spoke. He huffed and nodded, looking over at her. “How do you feel about walking dogs?” He asked. She plastered on a small smile to try and pretend the idea didn’t make her cringe; Matt typically walked Bae Bae since she wasn’t any good at reining him in when he started dragging. By the amused smirk he rewarded her with, her distain of the idea must have still been evident. “Great. I’ll give you a quick tour of everything while we go get the leads and leashes.”

The dread that Pidge had been feeling all morning grew further. So much for getting through this painlessly.

[rona-1776]

Family Secrets

Summary: Keith knows who he is. He's a paladin of Voltron. But just because he knows who is doesn't mean he's not curious of his own past. There are still things he has no idea about. Especially about his mother. Who was she? Was she also Galra? Was the knife he now has belong to her? If she was an alien why was she on earth? Why was he abandoned by her? One day he finds a file at the Blade’s base. He realizes it has information about an important part of his past. He needs to know more but is being refused information. Now, Keith is determined to found out the truth with or without help.

Rating: T Trigger warnings: cursing, anxiety attacks, abandonment issues, light violence and blood mention Relationships: Platonic Keith and Pidge, platonic Keith and Lance Characters: Keith, Pidge, Lance, Kolivan, Galra OC - Keith’s mom

Hello! This is my fic for the @keithminibang! This was a lot of fun to work on and the longest piece I’ve ever written. Thanks to my great friend Abbey for betaing this for me! The art for this by burr-ell!

Link to this on Ao3!

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Chapter 1: Hidden

Keith had always been a person who wanted answers. He never liked things that couldn’t be solved and he hated when people deliberately hid things. It was why he was so furious at the Garrison. He knew that the Garrison was hiding something. There was no pilot error on the Kerberos mission, but they didn't want bad press. Ever since then, he'd been trying to find answers to any question he came across. That was why he wanted to find Shiro, find the Blue Lion, and learn where he truly came from. He told the Blade of Marmora during the trial that it didn't matter where he came from. That he was a Voltron paladin. But still the ache in his chest every time he looked at his knife is too much to bear. It held his past and he wanted to uncover it. He had no one to ask either. Shiro only knew he had it when they met, and that his dad might know, but he left when he was younger and has no idea where he is. He had no idea who is mother was either. Before he was able to form memories of her, she was out of his life.

He wished he knew more about his past. About his family. The only memories he had about his father were close to none. Some of them he remembered his dad preparing meals for him to eat before rushing out the door, and returning home almost a week later. He was always tired, bags under his eyes, never smiled, his clothes in a mess. It was like that for a while until one day he just didn’t come home. Keith was only 7 years old and was forced to grow up quickly to take care of himself. He didn’t have his mom around, though, that was when he needed her the most.

After that, Keith wanted to know why she was gone. Why did she leave? Was it because of him? Was he a bad kid? For a long time he had just settled on the fact that she took one look at him and decided she didn't want him and left. Now with his dad abandoning him as well he started to believe it was his fault. It hurt to think about. It hurt to think that his own mom wouldn't want him, but it was the only thing he could think of. Why else would she leave right after his birth? From what he gathered from his dad, she left a month after he was born and left nothing but the knife he had now. His dad had no idea where she was going and she never stated if she would return. She left no photo or any evidence that she even existed.

Without his mother or father around, it was only a matter of time before child services had come. He was immediately taken to a foster home, where he was only allowed to take his clothes with him. All his other belongings they forced him to leave behind. The one thing he smuggled in was his knife. Even as a kid he knew that in the home he was going to, the people in charge would take it from him. It was his only family connection and he needed it to know about his mother.

Every night while the other kids slept, he would duck under his covers and look at the blade. The glowing stone was what he always studied. He never knew what it was, but he knew it wasn't normal for a stone to glow on its own like that. The dark purple stone held a lighter purple symbol in the middle that emanated the light. Keith, every night, tried to research and find out what it was. Unfortunately, he always ended up stuck and wrapped up the blade and hid it under his pillow. His life was like that for 8 years. Constant moving around, family after family rejecting him, asking for the “cute kids”, and all in all having a shitty childhood.

Keith was 15 when he finally decided to run away from foster care. He knew that trying to make it on his own without the constant abuse from his foster parents would be more beneficial to him. He stopped trying to hide his knife, instead hooking it to his back in a sheath he made that connected to his belt. Every now and then he would take it out while hiding behind a dumpster or some other structure and just look at the blade. In some way when he was alone the blade seemed to bring a sort of comfort to him. When he was feeling lost, sometimes he found solace. He knew it was connected to his abandonment, which should have brought him loneliness or even hatred, but it brought the opposite when he needed it in those lonely times.

Keith wandered around from city to city, town to town. He still only had the clothes he kept from when he was taken from his home. It had been years, and eventually these clothes became too small for him. The shirts he had were stretched out and they no longer fit him well. The jeans he wore were tight and stopped above his ankles. His childhood clothes no longer fit him and he needed new ones. He resorted to stealing other people's clothes from clothing lines outside their homes. He made a quick run through a strangers yard and picked up a red jacket the he ended up cutting the bottom off of, simple black shirt and black jeans, and got rid of his old ratty sneakers in exchange for some boots that he, again, stole. It wasn't the best, but it was better than nothing, and when you have nothing you take what you can get.

It was only when he met Shiro that his life turned around. The first time they met, Shiro caught Keith stealing some food from a cart from an unsuspecting seller in an outside marketplace. He had run away to a secluded area and barely started to bite into his stolen meal when Shiro walked up to him. Keith had shied away shielding his food, afraid it would be taken away. Instead he offered to pay for a real meal and help Keith. He could tell that he looked worse for wear. His clothes were getting dirty, he barely could keep up proper hygiene, and Keith was so starved for food that it slipped his mind if he could trust this stranger.

After that encounter, Shiro had become a constant in his life. However, it took time for him to be let behind Keith's walls. After being left behind by his real parents, abused by his foster parents, and never knowing who he could trust, he was wary of new people. Once he had learned more about Shiro, though, Keith finally had someone to rely on. Shiro encouraged him, helped him out of the streets and into his home. He took care of him when no one else would. He still didn't know why Shiro bad taken a random dirty teenager off the street into his home, but he was happy to finally have a person to rely on.

Through Shiro's encouragement he entered the Garrison not much later. Shiro was a captain. He was in charge of most flight missions. It was here that Keith learned his love of flight. He was taken into the simulator and Shiro gave him a quick lesson on flight just to show him the basics, but Keith fell in love with the flight. Even through the simulator he could almost feel what real flying would be like. He enlisted and quickly became top of class surpassing everyone else. He wanted to fly, wanted to see what else was out there, and maybe find the answers he needed. Everything was perfect. Everything was happening in his favor for once in his life. Everything seemed like he would finally be able to find what he was looking for.

But not everything is what it seems. Before graduating to the next class, the constant in his life went missing. Shiro went missing. The one who kept him stable and the one who took him in and taught him flight was gone. Pilot error, he was told. Keith knew immediately it was bullshit. Shiro was an amazing pilot with two others who were equally as skilled. The Garrison was covering it up. Covering the truth and trying to blame it on the people instead of speaking the truth. He confronted Iverson with rage, yelling about how Shiro and the others couldn't have failed a mission like this. He was so angry at the lies and was blinded by his own rage that he ended up punching Iverson in the eye and blinding him. Unfortunately, he was kicked from the school and had no way of getting information. No way of finding of Shiro. No way of getting answers he desperately needed. The universe was back to make his life hell.

After being kicked out he was still determined to find answers. He wouldn't stop until he knew the truth. It was the night that he found a little run down shack near the Garrison and found it to be the perfect place to start his search. Holed up in a little shack he found in the desert, he spent a year following a strange signal that was calling to him. He took pictures and hung them up on the wall of the shack hoping to connect something. The signal came from a cave where the walls were covered in lion drawings. Nothing made sense or connected. For entire year he spent his time in the desert or infiltrating the Garrison for anything he could find. He even gave up looking for answers for his blade. In that one year finding the one family that actually cared about him meant more than the one that abandoned him.

After a year of searching and digging, he had finally found Shiro. When a large object had crash landed on Earth he hadn't expected to find Shiro. All he knew was that the Garrison had it and it was probably important if they were trying to keep it private from the rest of the school. He broke into the place and took care of the scientists and ran into three other students who helped him get Shiro out.

It had been Lance, one of the three students, who unlocked the way to way to get to the Blue Lion and activate it. It took them out into space where he continued to meet Allura and Coran. They assigned Lance, Pidge, Hunk, Shiro, and him to their own lions to fight the Galra. Keith, along with everyone else, agreed to the job. He knew this was it. This was how he was going to get the answers he deserved. The answers to his past, his blade, and why he was left behind.

XXXXXX

The hallways in the base of the Blade of Marmora were silent. They were normally in this state; none of the members ever made much noise other than when they were training. Keith didn’t mind the silence, he even enjoyed at times. It was very different from the almost constant noise from the Castle of Lions. There was always some kind of noise going on there. Coran going on about his days when he was younger back in bootcamp, the mice putting on a show for Allura during free time, Lance talking with Hunk while he baked, even Pidge would be making some noise as she built some new machine for Voltron to use.

It was very different at the Blade’s base. No one really interacted or spoke to each other unless it was for information exchange or training. For him he’s only ever spoken to Kolivan or Regis for missions, other than that his interactions with other members were none. Another thing was they all wore their masks even when inside the base. Kolivan explained that it was for if someone hurt or killed you wouldn’t be able to attach a face to them and be able to focus better on a mission. It was cold he had to admit, but he also couldn’t disagree with him. Even so, Keith knew that if it came down to it, it didn’t matter to him if he knew their face or not. If he could save a life and bring them back he would do it without hesitation.

As he walked down the long hallway he passed a room that was dimly lit. Curious, he walked back and saw what he suspected to be the information room. Walking in he noticed multiple holographic screens that could show various documents at once. There was a control panel that spread the width of the room and in the middle of the panel he saw a handprint for identification. He placed his hand on it and immediately the screens lit up letting him access the files in the computer. He knew that the files inside were most likely just mission logs that were completed and information gathered, but he was still curious to see what it had. The Blade was very secretive and he hardly knew anything about the place, so this might be a good way to finally get some insight.

He started scrolling trying to see if any files could provide any information that he could to help the Blade or Voltron on their joint missions. As he scrolled he wasn’t finding much. It was mostly things he has already read or things that weren’t relevant anymore. He was about to leave when suddenly he started to come across names and the one that caught his eye first was his own. More specifically his last name. It shouldn’t have intrigued him knowing that it was just his own file. He told the Blade everything about him when he joined, but he was still curious. He swiped his finger across the screen to open it and what surprised was that there were two names in the file. One was labeled with his name and the other was labeled “Raye.” Immediately he opened it and felt nervous. Why was this person's name in his file when he didn’t even know who they were?

The very first thing in their file was about them and Keith opened it. It told him everything from her name, age, status in the Blade, and if she was full galra or not. There was a picture of her on the file and when he looked at it, his chest tightened. She was wearing the full Blade of Marmora suit and her hair was a bright white that was braided behind her back. She had a thin scar running down her right cheek. Her eyes were fully yellow like many galra he had seen while in space, but she was different than the rest. Even though in the picture her face held no emotion, she looked as though she hadn’t experienced as many of the horrors of war yet. It must have been when she first joined. But what was most jarring to Keith is that she looked almost like him. They had the same face shape, eyes and mouth.

“What…?” He went to see the other files she had opened up “missions”. In this it had all the missions that she had completed or were progress. He opened up completed and he was met with a log that she had written. There were a few missions that were dated back many years ago that she had done that he held no interest in. What he was interested in was one that was titled with the year 1997, and it appeared to be her first solo mission on Earth.

‘Mission Log 1: I have landed on planet Earth in accordance with the instructions for my mission. I will start looking for the Blue Lion and try to learn its whereabouts before Zarkon’s army finds and gets ahold of it. Intel by allies says that the Blue Lion is somewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy. I need to find it, retrieve it, and bring it back to the base so that Zarkon cannot get a hold of it. Voltron cannot fall into the hands of the enemy.’

She had been on Earth. She had been looking for the Blue Lion. It still didn’t tell him what he hoped it was but all he needed was to read a few more files to find out. He had a feeling. A feeling that he hadn't had in a long time. If this was his mother, he was going to find out and go look for her. He wanted answers about so many things. Mainly why did she leave him. If this log belonged to her did she leave because the mission was over? Why didn’t she stay then or take him with her? Why would she abandon her child on Earth without even giving an explanation as to why? He’s been so hurt for so many years and now he finally had a chance to know.

“Keith.” Keith looked away from the computer and saw Kolivan standing in the doorway of the room. “You are not allowed in here.” He walked in straight towards him, most likely to shut down the computer and take Keith out of the room. Keith glared at Kolivan his anger building up.

“Why wasn’t I told about this person? She’s on my file so she’s obviously connected to me. I think I have a right to know who it is.” He stood straight up intent on getting answers. Kolivan didn’t answer him. Instead he pushed Keith aside and put his hand on the panel which shut down the computer. The screens went back down making Keith unable to read anything more on the file.

“You do not have clearance to look through any files in here. What do you think you were doing exactly?” He was much taller than Keith and was intimidating without even trying.

“I was able to access no problem. I think I’m allowed to learn more about the people I’m working with. Besides, why am I not able to read files especially when there’s one that obviously connected to me? I have a right to know about this woman and I don’t know why you’re trying to keep it a secret from me.”

“You only need to know what we tell you. You are not allowed to sneak into our databases like this. Now head back to your quarters. That’s an order.” Keith continued to glare but eventually left. He knew that he would get nowhere fighting Kolivan like this. Keith was going to back in that room. He had to know. There was still so much that he needed to see, and from Kolivan’s reaction he knew that the Blade wasn’t going to tell him anything.

When Keith got back to his room he sat down on his bed and started to think. He didn’t get to read much on what he saw so he couldn’t make much much sense of it. However, he wanted to believe that the women he read was his mother. He wanted to believe it so much. The thought of actually finding after so many years finally seemed plausible. He was so close and he wasn’t going to let any closed lipped Blades keep him from finding his family. His blade had gotten him closer to the truth on who he was, but actually finding his mother would give him the closure and the answers that he had been desperately searching for.

Keith reached behind him and took out his blade. Before, looking at it he was so confused, knowing it held something about him that he didn’t know. He found only half the answers when he went through the trials. Looking down at the blade that he knows is hers, he feels that just with a little more research, he could find the answers that he needs. Tomorrow he told himself, he was going to go back into that room. He doesn’t care if he gets caught again all he needs is to get enough information on what he needs and get out. With that in mind and being ordered to stay in here, he put his blade away under his pillow and laid back down on his bed to go to sleep. He was ready to get some answers.

Tomorrow had come quickly. Apparently Kolivan had figured that Keith would try and sneak away back to information room because he did everything he could to keep him occupied. He went through rigorous training that keep him busy for hours, that he barely got a break to catch his breath. Even when given a break, Kolivan was watching him like a hawk as if he moved his eyes away for a second Keith would be gone. In his defense he wasn’t totally wrong. Keith himself was trying to find an opening for him to leave. He had been up all day from the early morning to now nearing late afternoon. He hadn’t been able to eat or have a chance to slow down since he got up. All day was a rigorous training and with exhaustion and lack of food, Keith was starting to run on fumes. For him it felt almost like he was back in the trials and he had barley held up during those.

“Start again!” Kolivan voice boomed from the side of the training deck. Keith was surrounded by three other Balde members all wielding their own blades. Keith took his starting position, eyes moving around the three to see who would move first. He was tired but he was still going to move forward and fight. He wasn’t going to let his tiredness win out during this fight.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the small movement of one of their shoulders and immediately Keith brought his sword up to block the attack. The loud clang of metal on metal rang out in the training room. Keith pushed them back with the sword and gave himself just enough room to block a second attack from behind him before dodging out of the way from a third attack. In this training cycle he wasn’t given much time to think. Attack after attack was thrown at him trying to find a weak point in him and exploiting it. Unfortunately for Keith, his hunger and exhaustion was doubling up on him causing him to trip in his movements and he was kicked in the gut and sent flying a few feet back. He landed and the air was knocked out of his lungs. Training was halted as he tried to get up on his knees and get air back into his lungs. He clutched his stomach and saw Kolivan walk up to him. He gathered enough of the strength he had to stand up and face him.

“You do realize what I’m trying to do here, right?” He asked Keith. He had his arms folded behind his back in his usual stance as he looked down at him.

“I know exactly what it is. You’re trying to keep me from that room I was in. You wouldn’t have to if you just told me what was in there since it had information connected to me.” Keith was trying to keep his composure as he glares up at Kolivan. His anger from being outnumbered and constantly beat up all day was taking a toll on him. His head was dizzy from lack on food and water and all to keep him from reading a few files that he didn’t know why were kept so secret in the first place.

Kolivan sighed. “I told you yesterday. The only things you need to know is what we tell you. There is no reason for you to go digging in the files. And I hope you weren’t planning on sneaking in there again today. You have been blocked from any and all access to the computer databases unless you have been given direct access from me.”

“What?!” Keith’s anger flared. “You can’t do that!”

“Yes, I can. You went against the Blade by going into that computer. You will be prevented from having all access to that room or its information unless I am there with you and permit what you can and cannot access.” Keith kept his glare. He couldn’t believe he was put on a lock down like some sort of child. However, that only made him more curious as to what they were hiding from him. “In addition, you are relieved from training for today. I suggest you go and eat. Someone will escort you to kitchen. Dismissed.” He turned and walked away from Keith as another Blade member came up next to him, presumably to lead him to the kitchen.

“I don’t need to be led to kitchen. I’ll be fine on my own.” He started walking away ignoring when they said they were ordered to be near him. It was humiliating but he wasn’t going to be led around and watched like this. It seemed overboard for something so small that he did.

He was followed to entire way to the kitchen. Did they really think that he was going to try and sneak away in this condition? Kolivan made it pretty hard for him to do anything other than go get some food before he dragged himself back to his room. He wanted to go, but his limbs felt heavy from use and his stomach was hurting from more than just hunger now. He quickly grabbed something and sat down at one of the tables in the kitchen. There were multiple long ones to fit many of the Blade members in the base. When Keith first saw them he was reminded of the long tables that you would see in the lunch rooms back on Earth.

As he started eating he was trying to think of a way to get back in and get what he needed. He was blocked from all access so just putting his hand on the panel like before wasn’t going to work again. The only way he could think of was by hacking but he didn’t know how to do that. Wait. Keith stopped for a minute. Hacking. Maybe Pidge could help him. She could hack into the data bases and just get what he needed. It wouldn’t be hard considering how they’ve done it to multiple Galra ships before. The only thing he would need to do is persuade her. He wasn’t sure if she’d agree, considering she’d be hacking into an ally’s databases. However, maybe if he convinced her it was to find his family she might be inclined to do so. He needed her help, and he knew it. He knew the Blade wasn’t going to help him any so he would enlist the help of his friends. He knew that there was a chance that she would say no and he would be on his own again. But he didn’t care. If he had to do this on his own he would. He was done with the cover ups, done with lies, and done with the Blade. He deserved answers and was going to get them one way or another.

[leiyahime]

The Party

New fanfic. Again Voltron x’D Sry not sorry.

At a party on a small planet the local souvereign introduces the Voltron Paladins and the Atlas crew as if they had never met. Shiro and Keith decide to go with it.

The party

 God, this was going to be a boring evening. Keith hated diplomatic acts. He hated his duty to represent power and safety, but as the Black Paladin he didn’t always get around these things. The only! thing he was looking for tonight was that it wasn’t only Voltron present but also Atlas! And that meant he would finally see Shiro again! After eight too long phoebs of separate missions in different parts of the universe he would be reunited with his boyfriend of now… nearly ten years. And he still hated to be separated from this man especially when they weren’t able to keep any form of contact because of sheer distance. The universe was simply much too large and communication over light years was still hard to maintain even with Voltron and Atlas. Even the world’s mightiest robots had to obey the laws of nature after all.

But now they had contact for a few days again and tonight Atlas was supposed to arrive as well. Keith was a bit giddy when he dressed up in his formal attire, a suit which contained earth and Galra elements to represent his status as member of both ethnics and a peace keeping link.

There was a knock on his door and after a few seconds – he couldn’t even answer it – the other four Paladins entered his room in this planet’s castle.

 “And? Excited?” Lance asked with one of the broadest grins Keith had seen him make.

 “I’ll be bored to death”, Keith replied, already assuming that this wasn’t what Lance meant and he was proven right:

 “I don’t mean the party! That is my metier! I mean Shiro! You guys haven’t met in ages!”

“I don’t think Shiro and I are any of your business!” Keith replied. Really their relationship was theirs. They didn’t really hide it. Everyone of the paladins or the Atlas’ crew had seen them kissing at one point or the other. Nevertheless they still kept it down, barely called each other pet names in front of others and people who didn’t know them mostly thought they were close friends.

 “Oh Keithy I just want my leader to be happy, and so I also care about his relationship!” Lance grinned broadly.

“My relationship is just fine, thank you. Let’s go. We have some representation to do.” Keith sighed. One last look into the mirror and he decided he looked good enough. Then they left the room and went over to the ceremony hall where they were greeted by this planet’s leader. Keith couldn’t pronounce the title but assumed that it was similar to a king. His name was equally unpronounceable so Lance had decided to call him Ted instead because he was tall and hairy (like all of his people) and he didn’t mind that nickname.

 “I’m so happy you are here Paladins.” Ted said with a happy smile. “There are no burdens for tonight! I just want to celebrate peace with you!”

“So no need for cheesy speeches?” Keith asked full of hope.

 “Exactly. Just celebrating. I guess you will…” But Ted couldn’t finish his sentence because the doors of the hall swung open and the crew of the Atlas entered the room also dressed in their formal attire and the sovereign went to greet them as well.

Keith gulped. Even now after all this time as a couple and many years of close friendship before, Takashi Shirogane still stole his breath. He wanted nothing more than to run towards him and jump into his strong arms but he knew better. Patience yields focus he told himself. He would not blemish Voltron’s reputation by acting like a lovesick teenager.

 They went over as well and Ted beamed. Before anyone could greet their friends he said: “I don’t think you’ve met before, right? This is the crew of the Atlas under Captain Shirogane my close friend! Good to see you again!” he said and shook Shiro’s hand enthusiastically. “And these are the Paladins of Voltron. Keith Kogane, their leader.” Lance started to laugh but was harshly elbowed by Pidge who looked at the situation curiously.

 Keith looked at Shiro and some kind of mischief sparkled in both their eyes. Shiro stepped forward and gracefully took Keith’s hand. “I’m honoured to finally meeting the black Paladin”, he said with a slight bow, expression deeply serious.

 “The honour is on my side, Captain.” Keith also bowed his head.

 “Atlas’ crew is from a small planet called Earth on the far end of the universe. But I guess you know it, right? At least I’ve heard a few of your Paladins are also from that planet.” Ted said not noticing the quiet murmurs of the crews; or interpreting them as surprise because of the same home planet instead of their leaders’ antics.

Lance was about to say something when Pidge and Hunk went forth to greet the other earthlings in the group and Allura acted surprised to find another Altean in Atlas’ crew and went to greet Coran. Shiro’s crew got the hint and finally, after even Lance got it, he shrugged and acted along, greeting his own sister as if he had never met her before.

 Keith grinned. “I had feared tonight would be terribly boring. But I think, Captain, it developed for the better.”

 “I can only return that. Do you mind getting a drink? I’m curious about you.”

 “Not at all!” Keith laughed and accepted the offered arm. “Although I don’t think I’m a very interesting person.”

 Shiro led him to the bar and ordered their favourite drinks. “Well, the way you present yourself tells me otherwise. You proudly wear Earth and Galra elements. And your scar indicates a very intense battle. That clearly speaks of a remarkable life.”

 Keith couldn’t help but blush as he accepted his drink. He didn’t quite believe how this man could still make his heart flutter despite knowing each other inside out.

 He let the topic of the scar drop immediately. He still didn’t like talking about it too much, the other thing... “My father was a human. My mother is a member of the Blade of Marmora. I don’t know if you have heard of them.”

 “I totally have! And you say your life isn’t interesting!”

 “It sounds more interesting than it is...” Really. He didn’t want to brag about himself. He wasn’t proud of most of the things he’s done in his life.

 “Care to elaborate?” Shiro asked with some kind of... worry in his eyes.

 Keith hesitated. He could break this game off any time he knew that. He could say no but... He just took a sip from his drink.

 “It’s nothing... Just I... It was a very long way to become the person I am today... It was far from easy to suddenly be a team leader I never wanted to be.”

 “You didn’t?” Shiro also sipped on his glass. They had found a halfway quiet place near a wall where they could watch the party.

 “Nope. Not at all. My best friend assigned me to the post in case he couldn’t lead the team anymore. I really felt thrown back. You know, I never wanted to lead... But he thought I would fit into his footsteps...”

 “To be honest, I have to take his side. I’ve only heard good things about Voltron under your leadership. Your friend made a wise choice.” Shiro smiled and Keith wanted to hit him. But he didn’t perhaps this was a chance to talk about things, they never addressed...

 “I... As I said it took me years to grow into the position... He vanished and... seemed to return... And I ran... spent much time with the Blades because I didn’t want the responsibility. I felt so... lost...”

 “I... am sorry to hear that.” Shiro said. Keith had never before admitted these feelings. “But you said he... seemed to return?”

 “He died while fighting Zarkon. We got a clone back. Even I didn’t recognize it wasn’t him but perhaps it was because of my own fears... I wasn’t a good leader in the beginning unlike him... I wanted to reach our goal but I didn’t feel the individual strengths of my team... god, I so messed up...” Kith gulped down the rest of his drink.

 “You did what you considered right. No one is a born leader.”

 “He is!”

 Shiro laughed. “Are you sure? There are people out there with natural authority but that alone doesn’t make you a good leader. Don’t you think your friend gathered his experience otherwise?”

 Keith thought for a moment. “How did you learn to lead a team?” Perhaps the direct approach was better. They were playing a game right now after all. “If you want to answer that...”

 The tall man next to him shrugged. “Trial and error. Listening to my team and their wishes. Getting to know them.”

 “I am not the most social person or even very empathic. I guess that makes things even more difficult for me.” He thought back to the beginning of his leadership and all the mistakes he had made. “I... wanted everything at once, didn’t consider the fact that one of my team members had never piloted one of the lions before and one had to get used to another lion and didn’t have a knack with piloting as I have... I have failed them and it crashed my self-esteem... So when the clone appeared I gladly pushed him into my friend’s position by assisting the Blades...”

 “I see... I didn’t know... I’m sorry.” Shiro looked at him breaking character. Keith knew he had the clone’s memories. Keith smiled a bit.

 “It’s fine. Everything turned out well. I found my mother during that time and considered the team safe...”

 “But it wasn’t...”

 Keith nodded. “You know... my friend beat himself up because of what his clone did... But it wasn’t his fault no matter how much he feels like this. The clone was controlled by the witch Haggar...” Absentmindedly he touched the scar on his cheek.

 “It was him who gave you that scar?” Shiro asked slipping back into character. “It must have hurt him like hell to see what he had done...”

 “It did. It took him long enough until he lost the pained expression whenever he looked at me. And... I don’t even know if he still beats himself up for it...” They had never talked about that. At one point Shiro had accepted it but...

 “It’s a pity to do this to a pretty face like yours... Especially when you feel like it’s your fault.” Now it was Shiro who drowned a big gulp of his drink. “But perhaps he noted he couldn’t beat himself up for it forever, especially since you seem to have forgiven him so easily. And you really seem to be close.”

 “It wasn’t him! He would never endanger his friends! He loves them all too much! Especially me...” Keith noticed a small blush on Shiro’s cheeks and smiled. Then he emptied a drink. “Enough of these heavy topics. You wanna dance?” he asked and placed the empty glass on a butler’s tray.

 Shiro did the same and offered Keith his right arm who took it.

 “That’s a really... stylish prosthetic,” he noted.

 “Yeah. Altean technology and Alchemy.”

 “They are great, those Alteans, aren’t they?”

 “A bit crazy from time to time, but yeah.”

 They both laughed and Shiro swayed him into his arms to lead him around to the gentle sounds of music.

 “What kind of music do you like?” Shiro asked.

 “Rock music, and some kinds of metal!”

 Shiro nodded and smiled. They danced to not only this song but the next two as well and talked and laughed. The heavy mood slowly disappeared and both seemed to be happy they had talked about these topics again. Another step to get each other even better.

 “I... haven’t asked... Do you have a... special someone?” Keith asked slyly after they took a break from dancing and enjoyed another drink.

 “Err... well... to be honest... yes... There is someone in my life.”

 “So? Seems to be a boring person, when you spend your evening here flirting with me...” Keith tried to pout.

 “He’s far from boring! He’s amazing in every aspect! He has everything I have not! I can’t even find adequate words to describe him. And on top of that he’s the most beautiful person I’ve seen in the whole universe. He’s half Galra like you and... I still love him so much although we are together now for ten deca-phoebs. So... sorry if you had any hopes...” Shiro said apologetically.

 Keith couldn’t help but blush. He wanted to break it all off right now and kiss Shiro and drag him to their rooms in the Atlas but... not yet. Patience!

 “Then why are you flirting with me?” he asked.

 “You remind me of him. You have the same kind of fire in your eyes. The fire I had noticed the moment I first saw him. And which had fascinated me from the very beginning. As I said sorry if I got your hopes up.”

 Keith shook his head. “It’s fine. Besides... I have someone as well.”

 “You do?”

 “Yeah. So I guess, it’s fine.”

 “What’s your partner like?” Shiro asked now smirking. Keith would wipe that grin off his face! He had just received a confession that had made his legs go weak, he could do the same!

 “He... is the strongest person I’ve ever met! Handsome inside and out. He’s been through so much but still has a strong grip on his life. I don’t know if there’s anything that could make him fall. He once picked me up from the bottom and gave me something to strive for. He never stopped believing in me and... He made me the one I am today. I always wanted to be like him... with his gentle strength but... that’s his point. I can only adore him for who he is. Sometimes it’s still hard to believe he really wants a total mess like me.”

 “Why isn’t he at your side then?” Shiro asked. His cheeks also pink from the loving words. Mission accomplished.

 “He’s Captain of another ship and we had separate missions... We’re not very often lucky enough to work together all the times. And we haven’t seen each other in... Quite a while.”

 “Do you miss him?” Shiro asked.

 “All the time he’s not at my side. Even if he leaves just for five minutes” He looked up at Shiro and felt his heart race.

 Shiro bowed down and gently pecked his lips. “I’ve missed you, too. And I’m so glad to have you back. I... love you.”

 Keith smiled and leaned to Shiro’s side. “Want another dance? And then go back to our room?”

 “I’d love to. The bed has missed you dearly, as well.”

 “I’ve missed the bed, too. Especially with you inside. Without clothes.”

 Shiro laughed again and kissed him once more. This time a bit more demanding. “You know there is one thing that can make me break... And that’d be losing you!”

 Keith smiled gently. “I won’t leave your side. You’ll never lose me.”

 **

 “Is this alright?” Ted asked Veronica and pointed to Keith and Shiro who quietly left the room looking deeply into each other’s eyes and kissing and touching each other clearly having further plans. “I mean... Captain Shirogane had told me about his relationship... wouldn’t his partner be angry if I let this happen?”

 Veronica looked at him and then laughed. “Don’t worry, your Majesty. It’s all fine. No one will be mad and no one will be cheated on. And now excuse me, I guess my baby brother is about to do something stupid again!” She said and rushed to Lance’s side who was ripping his clothes off in an attempt to drunkenly flirt with his long time girlfriend Allura who was completely uninterested and scolded Coran for one of his antics.

Ted looked after her. “Baby brother?” Apparently he had been fooled the whole evening.

[mioreos]

Shidge or kidge gambling au?

I was watching kakegurui and was “coincidentally” thinking about shidge and kidge during the whole time, so I wanted to contribute a new au to the shidge and kidge community. Warning I never intended for this to get this long, so I apologize for all of you that don’t like reading long stuff. Anyway please enjoy! Got to add another disclaimer, I wrote most of this around the hours of 1 to 2 am, so your probably gonna see a bunch of errors, Sorry in advance! In this au, it’s set in a similar setting to Kakegurui (a school based society system based off gambling). Shiro in this au is 18 while Pidge is 15. The school they both attend has a “chain” of schools. They are both in highschool but what I mean “chain” is that there is elementary and junior high that have the exact same system as the highschool is operating. Only thing that is different, is that money is not betted at the elementary school or junior high but something that appeals to the maturity of the age range in the school. Anyway in this au Shiro’s family is quite wealthy at the very beginning,(were talking about when he was a child here) because they are able to send him to the same exact chain of schools mentioned above that have a good 50,000 per month tuition fee.(which doesn’t even include a uniform fee, which I’ll let you decide how much that is…) Anyway from that young age, Shiro is consider a prodigy gambler being able to find himself out of very sticky situations and being able to compete with people who have trained for years to get to the level Shiro plays at the age of 5. This then allows him to earn the title “champion” from a young age. Several years pass and many things happen to Shiro. One of those things is finding out about the birth of his little brother Keith (who was born 3 years ago, when he was 5 but shiro was not informed because Keith is shunned from the family for only being Shiro’s father’s child and not the result of Shiro’s Father and Mother.) The second thing that happens is that Shiro’s family start to slowly loose wealth, which by the time Shiro and Keith are both in highschool, they are both accepted as “special category” students. With the tuition I mentioned earlier for both Keith and shiro to go to the same school, their family has to pay a good 100,000 each month for them to keep attending. But since their family wealth is not as grand as it use to be, by the time Shiro starts highschool since their family has helped build the school to the foundation it is today, they both get accepted into the school for a lower tuition fee. Shiro and Keith are lucky as they get the lowest tuition fee in the entire’s school history, (excludes scholarship students) paying only 5,000 a month. Aside from all of that the last and final thing that happens is that Shiro’s mother becomes very very ill. Because of this it makes Shiro have to mature at a very early age, so he can prepare to become the next family head. During the time Shiro’s mother becomes ill, him and his father get into a car accident which leaves Shiro with a dead father and Shiro with only one real hand. Eventually, by the time Shiro enters his first year in highschool and Keith in his second year in junior high, his mother is on death’s clutches and is only surviving on life support. Which takes a heavy toll on him, which causes to cloud his judgement during sticky situations while gambling and let losing a common thing for him. For Keith even though Shiro’s mother isn’t his mom, Shiro’s mom cares for him like he is her own child and goes as far as arguing back at other family members for criticizing Keith for his entire being. So hearing that his mom is in death clutches make it harder for him to gamble correctly. Now going back to Shiro’s late elementary years, he meets his first real best friend; Matt Holt. He’s had friends in the past but they used shiro to carve fear or just plain out use him for the things he won from previous gambling matches. Matt and Shiro first meet during a private gambling match. But Matt manages to win against Shiro, who at the age was still reigning as “champion”. Matt reassures Shiro he won’t make the results public because Matt dosen’t want to draw in unwanted attention from people asking or bugging him about how he beat the “champion.” Their friendship goes on until 2nd year junior high, when Matt tells Shiro that he has to withdrawal from the school due to some “personal” and not money oreintated things that are going on in his family. Shiro wants to stay In touch with Matt, but after his last day he just disappears Now for Pidge! Pidge or Katie fully is aware of Shiro’s existence in some shape or form, but has already disguised herself to Pidge Gunderson, a student of the lowest middle class accepted as a scholarship student. Since the school operates with the gambling social system, scholarship students are loaned up to however money based off their monthly ranking in class. The lowest a scholarship student can receive is 2,00,000 for one month due to scholarship students required to rank in the 1-10 places out of the whole school in order to keep their spot. Not to mention, scholarship students can always keep whatever extra money they have from previous matches or whatever extra that was given to them by the school, but are required to play atleast one gambling match against another student once per month so one student dosen’t become powerful with money given to them by the school. In any gambling match on school grounds you are required to have a referee that is not biased between any of the students, 2,000,000 or enter with an "all in" and be able to pledge with the school’s gambling rules. The school’s gambling rules are very basic, as it includes no cheating (unless you are not caught), no biased dealers or referees, and everything you can think of that can prevent a unfair outcome. To continue, back to The holts. The holts in this au own a very rich company that do their sales in fields like medical all the way to tech or creating the latest software and hardware. The company the family owns have gotten several awards and nominations for awards which makes them a more trusted company to buy from. And can be considered one of the Big 7. The big 7, are companies that have large amounts of wealth and fortune that it’s not considered funny anymore. Some of the companies are able to even gain illegal monopolys in some of their fields they spealize in too. Of course all of these companies have heirs, which Coincidentally all attend this gambling school. As you can infer already, the school is basically money=power or class in this school is based off how much money or how good have a gambler you are. Back to the Big 7, the student council is composed of 5/7 heirs of the Big 7. The president Lotor, Vice President Axca, Tresurer Narti, Public relations Director Ezor, and Secretary Zethrid. The other two students part of the Big 7 currently do attend the school but under alias as they both see that joining the council is a sign up for a bunch of unwanted attention. Now back to the "personal" things I mentioned with Matt earlier. In this world, companies will try to attack others so victim companies can either lose consumers or get their companies reputation dirty. When Matt tells Shiro he has to withdrawal for personal reasons, he leaves due to the holt family general safety is in danger. As mentioned above they are part of the Big 7, and most companies that have to compete with them will do anything to eleminate the competition. That may be doing things that can put someone's life on the line. But anyway, for the next few years the Holts leave the country traveling to Europe to go into hiding while still continue operations on their company. Matt is the same age shiro is when the main events of au occur which leaves a 3 year difference between him and Katie. In Europe the Holts stay in a different country every year, until things calmed down and they would be able to go back home. During the 3-4 years they stay in Europe, they've stayed in the U.K., Italy, France, and Germany. Which has allowed the whole family to learn the perspective languages that is spoken over there. After the 3-4 years they return to their original homeland. The family is still worried though, so they continue to use the names and alias they used while abroad. While abroad the holt siblings did attend school. Which coincidentally had the same system as the school's back in their original home so they've become even better gamblers. Learning tricks and techniques and noticing the littlest things that can go and support an arguement that their opponent is cheating. Matt is able to skip a grade while he's abroad, so when the family returns he dosen't have to go back to school. However Katie has to start highschool as Pidge. During the years the holts are gone Shiro's family struggles even more. To where Both Keith and Shiro are reduced to the lowest possible thing. They're both in debt which In total both owe 8,000,000 not even including interest. Shiro is no longer considered a human at school but rather a house pet due to the amount of debt he owns. Keith is close to becoming one but whatever extra money Shiro has from after paying their mothers medical bills he tries to pay off Keith's debt. Even though it's not a lot it's able to save Keith from becoming one of the student councils house pet. When Matt and Shiro were bff's the holts would go on and even pay for the tuitions of Keith and Shiro. The holts pretty much have done so much for Shiro's family that their mother has gone and personally thanked them for doing a lot for them. The holts like to always treat keith and Shiro as if they are their own children while Keith and Shiro look up to them as a 2nd family. Either way when Pidge starts school she immediately recognizes Shiro and Keith when they both give her a tour of the school but they don't recognize her. On the first day she goes against One of the class reps in which ends with her winning a match and rep now oweing her. After she asks to speak to Keith and Shiro and gives them enough money to pay off all their debt. Shiro asks "Why are you doing this?" And she only replies with "don't I look like someone you've known before?" And then it just hit them in realization that this is Katie holt, sister of Matt holt. The person who rivaled the champion at the time. Once again shiro and Keith owe the holts once again and now both start crushing on the youngest holt for what she's done for them. And like just think about all the of the small tidbits and moments that could happen, ok now I'm done. Ok I'm done if any of you have really good writing skills and want to write a fanfic on this please go ahead. I'm a terrible person when it comes to writing dialogue so yeah. Just please credit me? Anyway have a nice day and thank you for reading all of this. @rebelgirlmatrix1213 Thoughts on this au I thought of?

[bladesmcna]

Time for me to meta about everything the Keith video touched on.  PSA it’s a long read. It’s just over 2k words. Also psa DO NOT REBLOG.

I’d like to start off this with a song lyric that I feel really resonates with keith. 

Have you ever felt like nobody was there? Have you ever felt forgotten in the middle of nowhere? Have you ever felt like you could disappear? Like you could fall, and no one would hear?

I’m going to start from the beginning of Keith’s life because frankly, that’s where all of his problems started. Keith has never canonically mentioned his father other than in the blade episode so there’s not much to go on there. BUT now that he’s mentioned his mother leaving him we can infer that Keith has abandonment issues. He blames the way he is now on the fact that his mother left him. His biggest question is WHY she left him. What did he do wrong? Why didn’t she love him? It’s all these questions that he’s asked himself for years now. 

The next point I’d like to move on to is the abandonment issues that came along as a result of his mother leaving him. Now while I hc that his father died ( the show could prove me wrong but whatever ) and then Keith was shipped off to the Garrison instead of going into foster care that’s another issue of Keith being alone. His father left him by himself, no other family to contact. Instead they shipped him off to the Garrison where he tried to bust his ass to make something out of himself. He needed to prove to himself that even with all the shit he’s gone through that he could be more than his parents deaths. 

I’d also like to point out how Keith is never taught any coping mechanisms on how to deal with loss or anger or anything that could make him uncomfortable. He’s literally been shown to lose his cool and get angry the second he feels uncomfortable. Why? Because he doesn’t have any other way of dealing with. It’s not like he wants to get angry all the time he just doesn’t know how to control it. He gets worked up and then can’t stop himself until it’s too late and then whenever someone such as Shiro or Lance call him out and ask him to calm down he’s calm almost immediately, why? Because he never intends to get that angry in the first place. After being called out about it it’s just another slap in the face that he can’t control himself or his emotions because he never had someone there to teach him. 

This is where I wanna bring Shiro into the picture. They obviously knew each other through the Garrison ( my ships aside here ) they were most likely friends before Shiro went off to Kerberos. So not only had Keith finally made a friend, but he then had to watch them go off into space and then be reported missing. There’s another instance of loss in his life and he doesn’t know how to cop so what happens? He drops out because of disciplinary issues. Aka he couldn’t keep his temper in check because again, he bottled his feelings until the point where he was a human catalyst and exploded. 

After dropping out Keith had basically no where to go so he found himself in an old shack. Where he got to stew on his feelings alone for a few months. This is when the realization that everything in his life as amounted to nothing hits him. His parents are both gone, his one and only friend is presumed dead in space and he dropped out of a top flight school where he was at the top of his class only to end up ALONE. Out of the 3 canonically relevant people he’d ever been close to in his life, all of three of them had left him. That’s when the depression hits him harder than before. He struggles waking up every day he struggles taking care of himself. His hair grows out he forgets how to interact with people. He doesn’t know how to function as a person anymore. 

After awhile it was too much for him. He feels like he never deserved a chance to be born with in the first place because whatever high being there is out there ( I personally don’t think Keith is religious ) gave him this sort of life even after he busted his ass to try and become someone. Yet there he was, thrown out in the dirt once again. 

Another thing I’d like to touch on is how Keith actually views himself because that’s super important to me and how I write him. 

Keith doesn’t view himself in a good light at all for all the reasons I’ve already listed. Keith doesn’t see himself as the ‘number one pilot’ the rest of the team might see him for. He’s flawed. He can’t deal with most social situations without getting aggressive or awkward because honestly he’s had more interaction with people in the first two episodes of voltron than nearly his entire life prior to him finding Shiro again. So of course he’s awkward and quiet unless provoked. ( which honestly isn’t a hard thing to do BUT i digress ) He also has a hard time grasping a lot of social concepts that many people think are second nature. ( insert the i say vol you say tron example here ) The reason why he’s so hung up on the whole i say voltron deal is because to him, it makes more logical sense to just say voltron than to say something that, while yes it’s supposed to be humorous, just doesn’t make any sense to him. Keith isn’t one for humor that isn’t direct/blunt because a lot of the time his brain can’t wrap itself around the concept. 

I also want to touch on his the relationships he holds with the paladins themselves and how he views their input. 

I’d like to start this off with the beginning of season three whenever they were all deciding who was going to pilot the black lion. Their aggression towards him confessing that Shiro kept being like ‘i want you to lead voltron’ but having never mentioned it to anyone else, not even to coran or allura is like a huge kick in the face to the little confidence he had in himself.  One because he hates being rejected because that’s all he’s ever been his entire life. Two, is because he thought the team thought more highly of him than just the loner and yet there they were calling him out and making him feel like he was at the bottom of the barrel. The only talent any of them ever acknowledge is his piloting skills. Nothing else about him shines, he’s just a good pilot to them. 

Moving on to whenever they all actually go in the black lion. Keith was the LAST to attempt and honestly he probably only attempted because everyone else was pressuring him to. He had to try right? Except he never wanted to lead voltron in the first place. He doesn’t have the skill set to lead he doesn’t have the qualities of a leader. Even after the black lion responds to him he wants to deny it, he wants to let someone else do it because he can’t have such a big responsibility placed on him whenever he knows he’s going to fail. 

That’s when everyone starts to congratulate him and he feels like he’s just been kicked in the teeth. He knows their true feelings, he knows that know of them really value his ability to pilot over him and yet there they were being like ‘oh you’re going to be a great leader.’ Yet he wasn’t. He almost got Allura killed. They wanted him to lead so he did, and he failed. 

Once again he’d failed. He failed his mother’s love, his fathers legacy, and how he’d failed Shiro. That only made the depression worse. 

Moving back all the way to season 1 I want to talk about the famous ‘bonding moment’ that was humorously touched in the show. 

The reason ( I feel at least ) Keith is so upset about Lance not remembering it is because for the first time since Shiro, Keith had found someone that had seen him in a good light. Someone that had complimented him. Even after all the headassery that Lance had started with Keith he thought they made a good team, and this good team work is shown time and time again throughout the show and yet the fact that Lance forgets it just solidifies to Keith that nothing he does is worth remembering. 

This is the time where I put my little blurb about Lance and Keith and their interactions

So Lance starts basically everything in the rivalry between the two of them. Literally within the first five minutes of meeting Keith, Lance is already shoving his superiority down his throat. At first Keith didn’t understand why Lance was like this and why Lance kept pushing it on him. ( he even finds it somewhat annoying and like Lance has a problem ) Yet as time goes on the rivalry turns into a more competitive nature that Keith starts to play back with. At first Keith really just wanted Lance to get off his case, and now it’s like their rivalry has brought them closer together by the time season 3 rolls around. 

My last few little blurbs before I close off this novel of a meta

Keith deals with anxiety and depression that’s almost without a doubt 100% canon in my eyes. The way he acts and the way he carries himself and how he speaks and the way he words things and all this stuff is clearly a sign that he’s struggling with it and he doesn’t know how to control it, yet he also doesn’t want to admit that he has a problem because he doesn’t want to fail everyone on the team yet again. 

Keith also values everyone on his team way more than what he lets on. He protects Allura from the arusian that comes to the castle asking why the lion goddess is mad. He catches Pidge from being thrown and all the times he’s thrown his sword to protect Lance and everything else he’s done. He wants to protect the team because they’ve become almost like his first real family. Yet he’s also terrified that this new family will drop him too, just like everyone else. 

Keith struggles with his galra side. He struggles taking in the fact that he’s not what he thought he was his entire life and that just makes him not know who he is even more. Sometimes whenever he looks in the mirror he doesn’t see himself, but instead Zarkon or Lotor because that’s where part of him is from. He hates the term ‘galra keith’ because it’s like the fact once everyone knows that he’s galra he’s instantly not himself anymore but instead this evil abomination that’s wiped out entire systems with his army.  Him being Galra is just the nail in the coffin that once again, he’s a huge disappointment to everyone.

He fears rejection big time. Because all anyone has ever done from the get go is reject him. His mother rejected him by leaving, he rejected himself from the garrison. Lance rejects him by throwing all of his flaws in his face. He can’t catch a break. He tries so hard to prove to everyone that he’s more than the broken parts of him that he hides away. He wants to try and prove to everyone ( including himself ) that he can be more than just some socially awkward teenager. 

In closing I’d like to bring up the song lyric I put at the top of this post 

Have you ever felt like nobody was there? Have you ever felt forgotten in the middle of nowhere? Have you ever felt like you could disappear? Like you could fall, and no one would hear?

This is basically how Keith views himself. He honestly thinks he’s replaceable. They could find someone else in the galaxy with his piloting skills. They could find a new red paladin that wasn’t the loner emo brooding hot head. He feels like everyone on the team has forgotten that hey, he’s a person with feelings too. Not just some teenage kid who gets angry all the time for the hell of it. He feels like if he died, he’d die alone. If he died no one would care because he never really amounted to anything in life. He never changed anyone’s life or impacted others the way some have done for him. If he died no one would miss him because he doesn’t even have a family on earth to go back to. He thinks that if he died, everyone would just keep on living and forget about him. 

And being forgotten is his biggest fear.