#coran = allura's royal advisor

[v-tired-queer]

A bit of a Barbie: Princess and the Pauper Sheith AU (and by that I mean loosely based on all because I was rocking out to Free from the soundtrack) where Shiro is a princess getting married to man who she doesn't even know all for the sake of her kingdom and Keith is an indentured servant to a high-end seamstress and the two fall in love when Keith is working on her wedding dress but oh no! Princess Shiro gets kidnapped! And now Keith has to team up with strangers who all are close to Shiro from working in the palace to find out where she is and rescue her all while the royal family is trying to save face with King Adam, Shiro's betrothed, but then Adam falls in love with Sir Curtis, Shiro's royal adviser, instead. Queen Allura and her own royal advisor, Lord Coran, are simply visiting to snack on popcorn and watch the drama

[bluemantics]

If Keith and Lance were going to fall together at any moment, it would’ve been when Keith was the black paladin.

Keith had successfully kept his walls up until then; battles left him mostly unfazed, team bonding barely nicked his armor, and even Hunk’s cooking wasn’t able to pry him open. 

Then, Shiro vanished, and everything changed. Keith suddenly was tasked with leading the team intended to save the universe. 

All his previous failings and outbursts piled up in his mind at once, nausea rolling through his body constantly. How was he supposed to do this? He was a dropout with anger and authority issues, a wild warrior without aim. Keith wasn’t meant to be anything more than a tamed beast. Even worse, if he wasgoing to step up eventually, to become something greater, he was supposed to do it with Shiro. Instead, a gaping hole had been left behind at the helm. Keith was too young. Too inexperienced. And worst of all, he was entirely alone. 

For the first time in a long time, he was vulnerable, and his aching edges were exposed to anyone brave enough to look. 

The team noticed when he started to crack, exposing his pain and his fear. 

Hunk tried to help, in his own unique way. He noticed the pale hue of the black paladin’s skin and resolved to feed him, maybe help him talk over food. However, that hardly worked, since Keith stopped eating regularly with the team. 

Even Pidge tried to relate through their unique bond. She teased him about the old stories they used to muse over together, but anecdotes about their brothers were still raw for Keith, and he lashed out. That caused Pidge to retreat quickly, her concealed hurt only worsening Keith’s guilt.  

Allura spoke to him in soothing tones that only riled him up more. It was the worst with her, even though she tried her best. Somehow, her gentle tone only reminded him of the wild thing he was. When he would respond in anger, she wasn’t afraid to rise to meet him, and instances where the whole team witnessed them clash only embarrassed him. 

But then there was Lance. That was always how it had gone since their journey started. Lance, appearing to help carry Keith’s brother. Lance, badgering him into a fight. Lance, constantly standing just to his right, prepared to offer unwanted commentary. And now he was the red paladin. 

For the first few days after the lion switch, Lance merely observed how Keith interacted with everyone silently. It made him uncomfortable. He was restless under Lance’s piercing gaze, his eyes that tracked his every choice, his normally discerning tongue that for once chose to still. 

The moment that caused Keith to snap occurred during training. He’d been staying up late every night, working extra with the bots to get better with the new black bayard. Logically, it was just as perfectly balanced as his old sword. Keith just wasn’t able to shake the feeling that the weight of it wasn’t suited to his hand.

So, he trained with it. Again and again. 

Which meant that team training during the daytime… well, it suffered. He was exhausted. Coran, watching over them, admonished Keith for it, but he could barely hear the royal advisor over the sound of his blood rushing past his ears and the clanging of his teammates moving their bayards and the bright lights shining into his pupils and the bruises settling painfully under his ribs and the pressure of his new black armor against his sternum and, worst of all, Lance’s unrelenting stare. 

He snapped back into himself, realizing the team was awaiting his reaction. Their eyes looked round and worried. Keith narrowed in on one person who was standing just at his elbow. 

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” he hissed.

There was a pause after his words. Lance’s expression remained careful, his hand coming up to rest on Keith’s shoulder, forcing a breath out of his lungs. The lights seemed to dim. 

“Let’s take a break,” Lance suggested to everyone. Marvelously, they nodded, Hunk exchanging murmurs with Allura as they both put down their weapons and began to walk toward the door. Pidge scampered up the stairs to Coran. Keith looked at Lance in bewilderment after noticing they were alone.

Lance just grinned, and it released something in Keith that had been knotted up.

“So, Samurai, I think we need to talk.” 

Lance quietly spoke to him about the team’s unease. That they all wanted to help him, but he’d regressed back to a place that was painful to see. Lance spoke of a small desert shack, a place that could be a shelter, but could also be confining in its limitations. A place to hide from the watchful stars. A place of anger, regret, and desperation.

Grief. 

Lance’s words carved out an image of a loner fulfilling his own self-destructive prophecy. It made Keith bristle. Then, however, he reminded him of other images, scenes from the recent past he’d rejected in his mourning. 

Helping Hunk perfect a recipe late at night, even if he didn’t know much about cooking besides canned beans and rice. 

Sorting Pidge’s small pieces of machinery as she ranted about a planet they’d visited. 

Allura laughing when he made a dry comment about a foreign diplomat, and then immediately failing to cover it up when said official turned around, making Keith smile as well. 

Lifting Lance off a bloody battlefield, the harsh sounds raging in the background as he carried him into Red and saved his life.

“You’re not alone.” Lance’s hands stretched out, beseeching. 

“Why did you wait so long to talk to me?” Keith breathed, as if he knew, deep down, that this talk was going to come the entire time. “Why were you so quiet?”

And Lance’s face fell. Keith regretted asking near instantly. 

“Well, you’re not the only one trying to fill in for a strong presence. I had to get used to some things, too, y’know? Convince myself that I can be right for this job.” He points between himself and the black paladin. 

It’s ridiculous. Keith wants to open his mouth, to assure Lance that he’s not just excelling, that he’s perf—

“You need to start showing up to team dinners. Stop working yourself to death at night— that was fine when you were number two, but now you gotta lead us in training,” Lance started to list off as he put a finger up for each point. “Talk to Pidge about Shiro, since she misses him too, not just you. Reassure Allura that you’re happy to lead alongside her. Just… chill the F out, dude.” Keith blinks, owlish in the face of a literal itemized list of things to fix. 

So, he tries to chill the F out. 

It isn’t easy. He still feels inadequate, out of place in every room he steps into, especially when his friends all look to him for answers. Keith often trembles with the weight of the universe. Thank god for Lance, always standing just to his right. Slowly, they open the door of that desert shack together, and he learns how to share his burden. He learns a lot of things. 

Like how Lance is deceptively smart when it comes to strategizing. Or that Lance’s empathy is a weapon, able to prevent a battle with a few well-placed words. He especially enjoys learning that Lance has curly hair, he thinks Keith is funny when no one else does, and he has a fondness for young kids due to his family. 

Lance is his right-hand man and co-leader in every sense of both terms. Their call-and-response has never been better. Oftentimes, before thinking about what Shiro might do, Keith begins to consider what Lance might do. 

And isn’t that frightening? 

They fell together after the lion switch in ways no one could have predicted. Keith feels a wild thing settle in his chest at the thought, his eyes turned toward the stars that watch him in return. 

He stays standing among the sand. He ignores the urge to retreat to shelter. Keith embraces the sky and its promise of warm, fresh rainfall. 

[klaissance]

nobody asked but here is my pitch for a princess and the pauper klance au

Princess Allura of Altea generally likes her life. She lives in a palace with her father, King Alfor, her quirky tutor and longtime friend Coran, and her lady-in-waiting Romelle who she definitely is not in love with. Don't worry about it.

Her being totally not in love with Romelle is something to not worry about at all because actually, as of fairly recently, Allura is engaged! To a man (ew) she's never met (double ew): Prince Keith of Marmora. Their matrimony is to solidify an alliance between Altea and Marmora which, if everyone's being honest, is mostly to haul Altea out of its recent troubles. The kingdom is floundering and its people have been suffering for too long; this alliance with Marmora offers a fresh start and a royal wedding promotes economic stimulation, etc etc politics politics

Allura loves her people and her father so she's gonna suck it up and do this. But she can't and won't be jazzed about it all the time. Sometimes she wishes she could be anyone but herself, with the freedom to make selfish choices.

Anyway down in the town there is this boy named Lance McClain and he just so happens to have a vaguely similar facial structure to Altea's princess (rip this has to be a blue-eyed Lance story to work, huh) and he works at the dress emporium under Monsieur Iverson who is, frankly, an abusive boss. But Iverson is funding Lance's sister's education. The McClains need this, and so Lance pricks his fingers and works every waking hour for pennies that he never even gets to see. Lance loves his family so he's gonna do it but he can't and won't be jazzed about it all the time. Sometimes he wishes he could be anyone but himself, with the freedom to make selfish choices.

do u feel me on this guys

also Allura has five cats named Onyx, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, and Topaz and she loves them very much. But Sapphire has been acting strange recently...

Lance has this cat that he calls Blue that he doesn't actually have but she shows up night after night at his window and he feeds her and she lays on his lap while he works and he loves her very much

......it's the same cat *hold for applause*

anyway Romelle takes Allura into town to "run errands" or something but really it's just a date and one of Allura's last tastes of freedom before she gets hitched to whoever this Keith dude is

and Sapphire slips away and dashes through the streets and Allura chases her down and finds her perched on a windowsill in an alley being fed by a stranger who looks a little familiar and oh--

Lance and Allura finally meet and look at each other and are like woah we could definitely be siblings genetics are so weird

Bonded by their shared cat they get along splendidly and have a nice and surprisingly deep talk about their respective plights, and Allura promises to call on Lance soon

The next morning Coran and Romelle go to the princess only to find her bed empty save for a note that says she's taken the cats and run away...

The note is sus and then Sapphire shows up (from spending the night at Lance's.) Coran and Romelle know Allura would never leave just Sapphire behind, so they're immediately Not Buying It but they don't know who they can trust, and also this is a disaster because Prince Keith and his entourage are literally coming to visit today so they need to fix this asap

Romelle remembers the boy from the village who looked weirdly like Allura and she has the best/worst idea of all time...

Cue "To Be A Princess" as performed by Coran and Romelle at Lance, who by the end of the song is unclockable he's so good at princess cosplay

When "Allura" appears at dinner as scheduled, Alfor's advisor Zarkon and his shitty son Lotor are shook but they stay quiet

you guys lotor as preminger is so funny pLEASE

AND THEN KEITH SHOWS UP

Keith and his diplomat friends, The Holts, and his captain of the guard Shiro, pull up to dinner to meet Keith's future wife

Keith's a gay man he's not thrilled about this. She's certainly a handsome woman, if her portraits are to be believed, but there's nothing to be done about it. Lifelong bummer for Keith. Such is princedom.

So Keith and co. show up in Altea and they meet the princess and Keith swears she's a little broader in the shoulders and sharper in the jaw than he'd expected but chalks it up to shitty portraiture. He'll hire the court painter from Marmora when they're married.

Lance in his princess costume is like "oh lord he's fine" but then they go on a bunch of weird dates and mostly bicker a bunch because Keith hates that he's forced to be here and Lance is just sort of like that

meanwhile Allura's like busting her own ass out of the mines and lotor sings how can i refuse *hold for standing ovation*

and since Sapphire didn't get kidnapped with the other cats she's still around and Lance talks to her in the bath and is generally just being silly goofy and Keith happens to walk by and hear Lance talking in his normal tone to somebody named "Blue" and the door happens to be a little open and Keith happens to peek--he doesn't even know why he literally doesn't even like women--and wait just a fucking second that is a boy and a wig on the floor and Keith to himself is like 'um should i complain about being lied to, something wack is going on here' and then he's like 'wait I'm gay and he's hot let's see how this plays out' and says nothing LMAO

but then their little dates get way more interesting because Keith is trying to tease out this secret and also is like,, actually interested

maybe they do a horseback riding date where Lance gets to wear pants and have the big platinum wig tied back and he feels a little more like himself and he and Keith hardly even bicker anymore they just sort of have a great time together and Lance feels a little insane for this whole thing but he really likes him but he has to tell him the truth and he's literally about to admit it

but then Lotor comes back from checking on Allura in the mines and knows the princess at the palace is a fake so he calls Lance out and rips the wig off, the whole thing, and Lance is thrown in the dungeon when moments ago he was literally a hair's breadth away from kissing Keith on the mouth UGH life is so cruel

Lotor and Zarkon convince Alfor that Allura is dead and they plot to strike and stage their coup during her funeral or something idk

But meanwhile Romelle and Allura and the cats are power-lesbianing their way out of the mines, and meanwhile meanwhile Keith busts Lance out of jail and they go also to the mines to try to save Allura

just four gays and their cats standing at the mines like ok what now

they bust into the funeral proceedings and wreck Lotor's shit, Allura definitely throws him over her shoulder and skips him like a rock and they explain everything to Alfor

Lotor and Zarkon go to jail and Altea is saved even without the marriage alliance because Allura and Romelle found extra stores of quintessence locked in the geodes in the mines or whatever

Lance is now so thoroughly sponsored by not one but two royal families that his family will want for nothing ever again--his siblings are put on royal scholarship to any school of their choosing in either Altea or Marmora. Lance himself has always wanted to travel, so he does, and he writes letters to Keith the whole time and when he returns Keith is waiting for him and they do a big gay double wedding with Allura and Romelle just like in the Barbie movie <3

the end

[xxmiracle]

Here's the preview of "Dragon Heart" that I said I would post. This is the only part of the Voltron crew I have written so far. I hope I have every one written correctly as how they are.

~~~

“How is a person the Heart of Voltron?!” Pidge, the shortest and youngest in the room, asked the Princess of Altea, Allura. 

Allura looked at them and she held a positive expression compared to earlier expressing her sorrow for the family and civilization she just found out is dead. But of course she couldn’t let herself mourn just yet, there are things in the way currently that won’t allow her to do that. Assigning everyone's roles in the team they must form to perform their duties to protect but she was missing one person. Voltron needs five paladins and a Dracaneon of a specific lineage, specifically born with the ability to fulfill the duty for Voltron. 

“Our last Dragon Heart is from Planet Dracaena a species that are known for their magic and dragons-” Before she could finish she was interrupted by the big one named Hunk choking on some food that her advisor just advised her to eat after their ten thousand deca- phoebe sleep. Allura looked at him worryingly as the same brunette that attempted to flirt with her patted his friend in the back. “Is he okay?” She asked worriedly to Shiro who only shared the same worried look. 

“Sorry! But Dragon?!” Hunk blurted out his coughing fit had passed. “Yeah, aren’t dragons a fake animal or something?” Lance’s question followed up. 

“Mythical creature.” Pidge corrected which earned a “Same Thing!” from Lance. Perhaps it was but to Pidge they had the better word for it. 

Allura understood the creature was foreign to humans but she didn’t know they would be known as fairy tales in their home planet. As far as she’s aware the only dragons in the universe are from Dracaena. “Dracaena is where Dragons are born and raised alongside their riders. It’s extremely common for most Dracaenas to be bonded with a dragon or dragon’s.” Coran her advisor decided to explain for her. 

“What about a dragon with no rider?” Keith suddenly asked silent and mostly away from everyone else since they’ve arrived here. Coran pointed his chin out, smoothing his mustache between his index finger and thumb. “Well, that would be considered a dragon free to bond or a wild. Does that answer your question?” Keith just nodded in understanding. 

Allura clapped her hands together activating her computer. “We now need to find the new Dragon Heart. Thanks to the help of the previous heart, we'll easily find her. The hard part is convincing her here.” She explained the show of the universe map right in front of them moving it till it stopped on Dracaena. “It’s obvious with Zarkon’s tyranny things have changed a lot, not for the better. Dracaena must be far from the old Dracaena we knew.” 

Then a beautiful woman popped up on the screen gaining everyone's attention to who the new Dragon Heart will be. And like Allura said it was easy. “This is the current Empress Khuzaimah of Dracaena '' The princess announced her name. 

Keith’s eyes widened at the picture that appeared before them. She looked recognizable to his older sister, the same pale complexion, the same white and shiny locks of hair that was held in a hairstyle that made her look elegant like a real royal that she was supposed to look like. But, it didn’t ‘look’ like his sister. Though everything else was different, what seemed to help him identify her was her expression. 

“She's pretty.” Lance whistled, Keith was quick to glare and give him a not-so-soft kick to the leg. “What, Dropout!” Lance glared back at him. They both stopped seeing the warning glare from Shiro. 

Keith only let out a scoff and looked back at the hologram picture of the woman. “Keith, you’ll go to Dracaena to bring the Empress here.” Allura said. Lance looked at him skeptical as if doubting he could convince one person, how would he convince an Empress of a nation of dragons. “You? Convince that hottie?” Keith looked at him annoyed. “I can convince her!” Allura had tasked Lance and Hunk to get the Yellow lion and for Shiro and Pidge to get the green lion. Since the red lion is nowhere to be found  he’s the only one free to do this. But as much as Lance annoyed him he had a right to be skeptical about him. He’s not good with people, always keeping his walls up to keep them out. 

“Uh, Princess, how do I get there? She’s an Empress, so it must be hard to get to her.” Keith asked the princess, he watched as her eyebrows furrowed a bit. “Unlike the two planets, the green and yellow lions residing in Dracaena were the most dangerous out of them. And the princess wasn’t sure how they would treat Keith once he arrived there and she wasn't sure after ten thousand years if they would treat him with aggression or turn him away. Allura was gambling one of her paladins-to-be for the Dragon Heart. 

Princess Allura nodded at Coran. “Please show them the Capital.” He nodded a hologram of the Giant palace. “It’s huge!” Hunk commented. Pidge glasses shined as she pushed it up the bridge of her nose. “It’s bigger than the one we are in now.” They commented in Amazement. Coran made a face at them, he looked proud earlier when they were amazed by the castle but perhaps they found something more amazing. He looked deflated now. “The Dracaena Empire is much older than Altea. This is the last dated picture of the capital where the Emperor and Empress reside, it is heavily guarded with guards for both combat and magic users including their Dragon Riders. I am unsure if it’s guarded with Galran too.” 

Shiro looked at Keith worryingly, if it is true then it would be unsafe for him to go. Especially if there’s Galra, if he is caught who knows what they’ll do. “Princess, if it is dangerous send me to go-” Shiro volunteered but Keith quickly declined. “You just got out of their hands, you can’t risk going back just for me!” He objected. Even for that reason Shiro wasn't stressed enough about letting his brother-figure out to face that. 

And Keith understood the fears his brother may be facing now, it’s been obvious their whole trip here. “I’ll be fine.” 

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

PROPAGANDA

ALLURA (VOLTRON: LEGENDARY DEFENDER)

1.) Okay so, they really wanted Allura to be a #girlpower icon, but the way that came about is that they basically stripped her from having emotions. She only cries once in the whole show, and it was in the first season (when the show was actually good.) After her one cry she basically becomes a leader figure who doesn’t get to bond much with the other characters. They then decided to pass her around as a romantic interest to three different men. The first one was only set up, but she ends up dating two of them within the show’s short run. The second character they set her up with turns out to have enslaved her people. The third character they set her up with has been shown to be interested in her through the shows run. Despite Allura’s consistent lack of interest, she ends up being pressured into going on a date with him. Despite it being a terrible date (in my opinion) they decide to peruse a relationship. The relationship is terrible and they really only spend time together to rant about their problems. At the end of the season, the very same one where this relationship started, Allura sacrifices herself to save the universe. This stupid fucking decision not only came out of nowhere in terms of in-universe logic, but also that her death is treated as sad because the guy lost his girlfriend. Most of the other characters don’t really morn her, and the guy she was dating just becomes sadly obsessed with the idea of her for the rest of his life. Not really the nice send-off for the #girlboss.

2.) She was given plenty character, but not a lot of things to do narratively speaking.

She wanted to free the Galaxy from tyranny. She's the leader even though she doesn't pilot the black lion. She's can talk to mice. She's kind, and she's among the the last of her kind. Her home planet was destroyed. She kept going even when things looked horrendous. She had to wait 10,000 in stasis sleep before she could fight to protect others. Because her father wanted to protect her and made the wrong decision in not fighting the Galra with Voltron. She had to destroy the AI of her father when he was corrupted in season 1. She had to deal with her Dad dying twice.

She had cool powers like shapeshifting but didn't get to use them often. She starts piloting the blue lion, at season 3. Her father worked with the big bad Zarkon and she is portrayed just to hate him. When it was more like she was completely betrayed by him.

She didn't get alot of interactions with the other cool female characters. Even Pidge who was on her team, which can only form Voltron through teamwork. 8 seasons and they never talk about how how much they miss their families. Pidge's main motivation is finding her father and brother. It would have been perfect. The only time they hangout is to get Allura ready for a date.

She was distrusting of all Galra since there empire wiped out her kingdom. But when she got an arc about learning to not distrust all Galra. It functionally ended with Prince Lotor of the Galra making people batteries out of the survivor's of her kingdom.

Then she was basically relegated to her relationship with Lance's interaction wise. She didn't get many interactions with anyone else she was close to in the season she died. Not even with Coran, the guy put in stasis with her.

For the finale she dies sacrificing herself to restore all realites. She had to give up her new family and her people. She would do that, I just don't think the writers had earned doing that. She deserved a happy ending. She never gets to see that her sacrifice even brought back her planet.

3.) season 8. Season 8. SEASON 8. Allura deserved so much better than an out of nowhere romance arc with Lance and then dying without being able to say goodbye to Coran (her royal advisor, closest friend, and last remaining member of her family and her planet). AND they had her give Altean marks to Lance right before dying, leaving him with a constant reminder of her for the rest of his life!! Why!!!!!!!!! AND THEN THE LIONS FLY BACK INTO SPACE TOWARDS A NEBULA SHAPED LIKE HER, LIKE THE WHOLE FINALE WAS SATISFYING AND NOT A MASTERCLASS IN UNSATISFYING CHARACTER ENDINGS!!!!!! Allura you will always be the confident princess and leader of the rebellion in my heart i am so so sorry season 8 happened to you

MIKAELA BANES (TRANSFORMERS)

1.) mikaela's case is so egregious that i struggle to really properly word any propaganda beyond 'just look at the movie. look at it.' but congrats to mikaela banes for getting in! was thinking of submitting her along with my arcee but couldn't even like. begin to describe it. agh.

best i can really say for her right now is 'open her tfwiki article, open sam's, look at the pictures, compare how they frame the two, you will see what i mean then and there.' but i might do a rewatch of the bayverse transformers movies just to be able to get all my more complex thoughts in order to actually submit a breakdown of her. which is not something i want to do, but if anyone deserves it it's mikaela. she deserved so much better.

2.) She was the female character played by Megan Fox, and Michael Bay wanted to make sure everyone watching knew this was a woman played by megan fox. She is the quintessential "not like other girls" (in fact, this is the second sentence of her wikipedia page - "She is differentiated from "typical" women in her age group, having inherited mechanical skills from her father") who has guy interests, but is still hot and wears crop tops and jean shorts. I remember two things from that movie, Bumblebee and the scene where she is working on the car ~sexily~, which today genuinely seems like a parody, but was included entirely earnestly (I wasn't going to add a picture from this scene, but it was literally the first and third pictures that showed up when i googled her)

3.) Mikaela is so sexualized it's unreal. Like, I feel I really just need to submit this screenshot:

Look at the way she's posed, the way she's dressed, the fact her head isn't in the shot. It's pure objectification, like the kind that should be in textbooks as easy examples. The way it emphasizes both her butt and her boobs but also shows her stomach is just astonishing. God it doesn't even show her FACE. This shot really amazes me, just good god.

And then there's also this famous shot:

It's so aggressively sexy, so much a pose and not at all a way a real human would position themselves. The way her ass is popped out, the way her hair is flipped, jesus christ. Someone needs to put Michael Bay in misogyny jail.

[numerous-bees-in-a-skin-suit]

okay so I know I said I’d have a post for Monday but stuff happened (nothing bad don’t worry) so this is late and also not what I had planned. but it’s something at least while I’m working on drawing and trying to actually finish a drawing for once in my life

anyways without further ado: more Voltron dragon prince AU shenanigans because that is still very much a thing that I want to do and am going to at least have some “official” art done for at some point in the year.

I only have an idea for Shiro’s design right now, but I have so much more to talk about in this post.

Shiro doesn’t really have a direct parallel to anyone in the dragon prince, but he’s still important (obviously) and he still goes missing. I can’t really say too much about him because of story and plot reasons but there is gonna be Cool Stuff happening. I decided to make him a moon shadow elf because it makes the most sense, and also I just thought he would look cool as one. He’s still engaged to Adam, and he still goes missing with Sam and Matt Holt.

That’s all I can say about Shiro for now, but I still have other characters to talk about.

Adam is going to be playing an active role in this because I want him to and also he won’t fucking die because I think he should live. As a treat.

In this AU, Adam is human. A huge part of his whole deal is that he will be looking for a Shiro and Keith alone because they’re the two most important people in his life and he wants to find them.

Also, Adam and Shiro’s relationship is secret, only Keith knows that they’re together and that’s a huge motivation as to why Adam goes searching for them alone since he’s kinda trapped since he can’t exactly go out and get help finding Shiro and Keith. Anyways, that’s enough about those two, let’s get on to everyone else I’m talking about today

I’m just going to make a quick bullet point list of characters I don’t have much to say on in this post but I still wanna say what their deal is in the AU:

Coran is going to be Opeli (the like, advisor in TDP). He’s the royal adviser, but he also helped raised Lance and Allura. I don’t really have much to say about him other than he will still very much be himself and I love him

Matt is a scholar or something of that type along with his father, and they meet Shiro while doing research and end up befriending him (thank you Aeon for this suggestion your brain is great)

Romelle is going to be the equivalent of Ellis (the kid with the wolf). Also trans Romelle because I am a trans Romelle truther

Veronica is going to be this AUs Amaya but not going to be exactly like her (also, please let me know if you guys think that I should make Veronica deaf like Amaya since I would like having a deaf character in this but idk if it should be her or another side character that would most likely be an OC)

Krolia is going to be missing/MIA

The BoM are going to be the moonshadow elf assassins, but without the whole knowledge or death deal since. I just don’t want them to have that and it’s my AU I get to do what I want

Honerva is dead lol

Zarkon will be Viren

Ezor, Zethrid, Narti and Axca are still Lotor’s Lesbians and I have Several Ideas for them

I still have a lot that I wanna do, like learn how to draw dragons because Whoops I made an AU that has dragons and a lot of them but I don’t know how to draw them, and I have a lot to talk about when it comes to certain decisions I made for this, like Zarkon and Honerva and some things I have in mind for them. This is probably going to be a project that will take a long time to even officially get started because I don’t know how to write but I so desperately want to tell the story I have in mind and have it be enjoyable.

I’ll make another post soon with more in-depth descriptions and ideas for Zarkon, along with something I like to call the “kill-die scale” and also some ideas I am still struggling with

Also as always, thank you to @deuxaeonn for the help, your brain is so good and ik this hasn’t been worked on for a while but still lmao

[ethereance]

Some allurance soulmate aus for all your (my) allurance needs:

-Soulmate au where you have a counter on your arm that counts down to the moment your soulmate dies. As soon as Allura’s hits 0 during omega shield, she knows.

-Au where you dream of your soulmate before you meet. Childhood friend-ify them. As kids, Allura keeps having dreams of this strange boy with round hideous ears, and Lance has dreams of an elf princess cosplayer. Who he eventually realises is an alien. From space. They form a fast friendship in this dreamscape, chatting out about anything and everything. In the waking world, Allura will look up this planet ‘Earth’ but no records of an ‘Earth’ exist. Strange. Was it just a normal dream after all? Except they meet again and again.

“Where is this ‘Earth’?”

“It’s in the Milky Way.”

“The Milky Way?” Allura’s never heard of such a place.

Lance starts explaining the plots of his favourite sci-fis to her, and asks if she knows any aliens like that. She tells him she doesn’t know what a Jedi is, has never heard of aliens who can travel through time, though this E.T he speaks of reminds her vaguely of a species she has met. Allura teaches Lance some Altean songs she knows that he’ll later try and recreate on his guitar. Allura talks often about her family, her father especially, and the royal advisor, Coran, who unintentionally taught her the word ‘quiznack’ after stubbing his toe (Lance will start using this word in the waking world and no one knows where it came from). And Lance follows up with stories about his family, his sister mainly, and how they’re not to be trusted if they’re being far too suspiciously nice. Allura laughs, and wonders what it would be like to have that many siblings.

Eventually, Allura’s stuffy events she has to attend involve suitors, and Lance is moving into the garrison, just like his hero Shiro. Allura likes the way his eyes light up as Lance talks about flying.

“Maybe one day I’ll be able to fly to space. And see you,” he says.

“Perhaps,” says Allura.

Maybe Earth is hidden from star maps, yet to be discovered by the Alteans, as wide spread as their data is. Allura has spent her free time searching these maps for so long, but maybe it’ll be easier for him to come to her.

Lance starts talking about his new friend Hunk, and how he wishes Hunk could meet her, and about this annoying guy with a mullet.

“Why don’t you like Keith?”

“Why would I like Keith?”

Allura’s there for him as Lance learns he’s been listed as a cargo pilot.

“I’m sorry, Lance. I know it wasn’t what you were hoping for.”

Lance’s disheartened face steels itself. “… It isn’t over yet. I won’t stop until I reach fighter pilot class. I’ll just have to do better. I’ll be the best cargo pilot they’ve ever seen! So good they’ll have no choice but to move me up!”

Allura starts expressing her unease over Zarkon.

“He’s… strange these days. Father and him have been arguing. I’m worried something terrible is coming.”

“Like what?”

“I’m not sure.”

Then Allura goes radio silent, and Lance is uneasy, and suddenly Pidge is talking about this being named Voltron. And.

“Voltron’s a robot,” Lance says.

Pidge gives him this strange look, trying to get a read on him. “How do you know?”

“My soulmate’s father built it.”

Hunk’s eyes widen. “Dream girl?”

Lance nods. “Dream girl.”

It continues mostly the same, but. But.

“It’s you,” they’ll say as they meet, Allura tumbling into his arms.

A long awaited meeting.

(Longer than they realised.)

“You’re Lance?” Coran says after initially trying to battle him. “I see Allura wasn’t exaggerating about the ears.”

“Can everyone just leave my poor ears alone?!”

-A vaguely Your Name inspired au where soulmates show themselves in a whole manner of ways. Some present themselves through soulmarks like counters, or glowing tattoos, some have visions of their soulmate, some get soulmate telepathy, some keep finding their soulmate’s lost things tucked under their pillow. It’s different from person to person.

For Lance and Allura? They’ve been bodyswapping for as long as they can remember.

It’s confusing, at first, waking up not just in a body that isn’t your own, but an entirely different world. Thankfully, because of the power of brain hijacking, they at least understand the language people around them are speaking or else this world be x10 more scary for a pair of lost kids.

Lance’s family are a little thrown by this posh speaking version of him, but once they realise this is his soulmate, they’re pretty accommodating. This is Lance’s soulmate, after all.

“Are you from England?” Luis asks her.

“No. I’m from Altea.”

Allura gets confused as to why they’re searching maps of their own planet for it.

“It’s up there,” she says, pointing skyward. Beyond the blues, where the stars twinkle and shine, her home resides out there. Somewhere.

They joke that she’s an alien. But oh. Hang on. She actually is.

“Aw, lucky! I wish mine was from space,” laments Rachel.

The siblings get incredibly excited and start showing off the ‘coolest’ parts of Earth (Allura is from an advanced civilisation. A mobile phone doesn’t fascinate her). But what interests Allura the most is the rain. It’s refreshing. Much calmer than the rocks that storm Altea’s skies. It doesn’t ‘rain’ often in Altea, luckily, and they had to develop force fields to accommodate for it.

When Lance returns to his body, he’s convinced it was all a dream for all of five minutes until he gets hounded by questions on what the alien planet was like.

Altea had been stunning. A place straight out of fantasy. They even had space elves, how cool was that? Also he was a princess who owned far more dresses than the ones his sister would play dress up with him in. The wardrobe was far bigger than even his parents’ room.

A man called Alfor visited him after he was late for etiquette class, wondering if his ‘daughter’ was okay.

“And then I got a tour of the planet!” Lance explains. His family hangs onto every word.

It’s just the first swap of many. They’re random. One day they could wake up as themselves, or the other.

Lance wishes he could meet this person his whole family have met except him.

They start writing notes for each other. Usually just so they can keep track of things that need to be done. But they’re also their only mode of communication to the other. It’s almost as if they’re pen pals.

Lance grows up knowing the paladins of old, knowing Coran (who takes an instant liking to him), and Allura’s family. Allura grows up knowing his. And his school friends (which quite a different environment compared to her homeschooling). The more she learns of Earth, the more bizarre she finds it. Do these people really believe themselves to be the only form of life within the universe?

Meanwhile, when in Altea, Lance still can never give an accurate location of Earth.

“I don’t recognise those stars,” he’ll say to Alfor.

Lance tries clambering into Blue one time. It’s how he meets Blaytz.

“Oh, who’s this sitting in my chair I wonder?” teases the man.

“I’m Lance!” he says, beaming as Allura.

“Um.”

It gets a little more difficult to manage the tag team bodyswapping as they grow up. Studying for a test could be rendered pointless if they swap on the day. Allura proposes they study for both their tests, and the other’s. Which sounds like a horrible idea to Lance. That’s double the studying. He’d rather she just call in sick. Also, Allura’s exams involve giant holograms that can beat her up (though. This body is super strong. And wait. What do you mean Alteans can camouflage?)

Allura finds it a little difficult to keep up appearances around lance’s friends (though it’s marginally easier now that she has managed to mimic his accent). This is different to polite idle chatter when they host visitors from other planets, and his naturally outgoing personality is a little difficult to match. When she returns home, she’ll find that she has new Altean friends there that she has yet to meet.

Being on Earth lets Allura unwind, she finds. She isn’t a princess here. And yet, being a princess is all she has known. It’s strange.

Lance is fun, she thinks. She wonders if she’ll ever meet him.

Lance loves meeting new people, and they’re aliens! Aliens! Though, having to involve himself in Altean diplomacy like this has him very much out of his element. They’re using forks that don’t even look like forks, and some that levitate food. (And then sporks are just this universal thing? What’s with that?)

Allura smiles fondly as she reads this note. She agrees that there are some very strange forks they have to use.

They’re still swapping when Lance is in the garrison. Allura likes being able to get pilot training out of this, though the technology is quite the back step compared to Altean tech, and she does feel like she’s overstepping on Lance’s dream.

Lance gets close enough to Hunk to explain this who swapping thing to him.

“You know, this does explain some things. Sometimes it’s like you’re…”

“A whole other person?”

“Yeah. And you forget things sometimes. And the other day, when you spoke to Jenny—”

“—Wait?!?! Jenny???? I spoke to Jenny?”

You know how the story goes. How Shiro falls to Earth, and everything falls in motion.

But this time Lance recognises the word ‘Voltron’ and so too does he recognise the Blue lion.

She roars upon recognition.

“You’ve been here before?” Keith asks.

“No. I last saw her on Altea. What is she doing here?”

“Same as she always has. Waiting. Are you sure you saw the same lion?”

“There’s only one Blue.”

Lance also recognises the castle of lions.

But this isn’t Altea. That he knows.

Why is it here?

Allura tumbles into his arms.

“Father?” she asks, then her eyes widen in recognition. “Lance?!”

It’s clear everything has changed since they last time they swapped.

It’s not until after Coran awakens (and Coran!!! This is the first time Lance meets him as himself) that they realise they’ve been travelling 10,000 years apart.

(“If I had known. Then maybe this war…” starts Allura.

“You couldn’t have known,” Lance assures, though guilt eats at him too. What was all of this for if not to save lives? “We… couldn’t have known.”)

Whilst they wish the circumstances of meeting each other could have been better, it’s nice to finally be able to talk face to face.

Knowing Allura before was like piecing together a puzzle, small snippets of a person. Now he has the whole picture.

Lance falls. Bad.

He hears her laugh, not his laugh as her, but her laugh as her. And it just hits him. That this is the person that’s been interwoven in his life since he was a kid. She’s incredible.

(What did he do to get her as a soulmate?)

This time Allura has a much better understanding of Earth, and has a closer connection with the paladins earlier on from having connected with them as Lance. She doesn’t feel quite as isolated.

And Lance basically grew up on Altea. It wasn’t his world, not at first. But grew into a second home. Maybe he wasn’t ‘himself’ but he has so many fond memories there, and all of the people. It’s hard to imagine that was 10,000 years ago. He wasn’t even born then.

Allura does get someone else to reminisce about Altea with.

The swaps don’t stop, however. Not even after they meet.

Which is a bit of a problem when they need ‘Allura’ to operate the castle’s teleduv whilst simultaneously having a blue paladin.

Allura first pilots the blue lion when stuck in Lance’s body.

“I know I’m not him. But. Please. We have no other option.”

Maybe the swaps stop eventually through some means. Maybe they don’t.

Just. Bodyswap shenanigans. These two meeting before they meet

-That one roleswap soulmate au I started working on years ago wherein they’re called ‘quintessence mates’ and everyone’s born with pretty pattens adorning their skin. One day. One day I shall return to you.

[the-kittens-of-vol-tron]

Enchanted

Chapter 1 

Posted on AO3 if you prefer! (Will also contain extra content in the future)

Background Lore:

- Post 500-year war, Zarkon was defeated and taken over by his son, Kolivan who ended the war

- Each planet has it's own language but everyone knows common as well

- There is some mistrust among some species and the Galrans (because of the war) but they are all working through it

- Earth did join the fight right around the time Kolivan took over

- Keith is high-key based off Noctis from FF15

Side Note: The ages are based off a human life span since I've never thought too much on what an average Galran / Altean life span was. Zarkon lived as long as he did (only passed 500 years in this case) because of quintessence. If you, the reader, have your own age head canon just substitute them as you read :)

Characters:

Galran's:

Kolivan and Krolia: Keith's parents

Kolivan is the son of the former empire Zarkon

Shiro: Keith's trainer and royal advisor

Altean's:

King Alfor and Alluras Mom: Rule Altea, parents to Allura

Romelle: Allura's knight (and future gf)

Adam: Altean knight, used to work with Lance

Coran: Sir (highest knight role) works alongside Alfor and trained/raised Lance

Hunk: Blacksmith, makes weapons exclusively for Altean Knights

Human's:

Pidge and Matt: Build's technology for the new universe

Word Count: 2701

-----

Keith’s POV 

“That’s all for this meeting, we will reconvene next week.” Empire Kolivan said, dismissing the group of generals, politicians, and his child. Keith moved to stand before his father spoke again, “Keith, stay a bit longer.”  

Keith nodded and sat back down. Remaining silently in his seat until the last person left the conference room. 

“We’re having another banquet tonight. I need you to be there, no sneaking off like the last couple of times.” His father kept his voice light, but stern. A tone that must come naturally to being a father. 

Keith fought back an eye roll, his parents knew how much he hated these parties. They knew how much he hated his responsibilities as the next in line to the throne. Despite his young age, he already had a reputation for disliking politics. He loathed coming up with contracts and budget spending, visiting places to “leave a good impression,” and attending all of these meetings. He despised almost everything that came with royalty. 

“I’ll be there.” 

His dad smiled at him, “thank you, son. I only request tonight since there is someone I want you to meet.” 

He wanted to smash his head into the table in front of him. Every week his parents had a new person “he just needed to meet.” They both were trying so hard for him to meet someone to settle down with. To someday rule the empire with. Just like his father did when he met his mother. 

“Son?” 

Keith pushed himself away from the table, “I’ll be there. But don’t get mad if I'm late.” He left the room before his father could say anything else. 

He made his way back to his room, taking the long way through the gardens. He liked the quiet, he liked the moments when he didn’t have to be the crown prince. He stopped, admiring the flowers that were finally in bloom. Some were dark purple, others a light blue but his favorite was a bright green. The color smelled fruity in a sense, maybe a bit sour. He wasn’t too sure, but he liked looking at it. 

He nodded his head at the gardeners, continuing his way to his room. His mind cycled around what his father said. 

Keith felt broken in a sense. He was almost twenty-one and he had never found someone he liked. Sure, he found people attractive and he had anyone he wanted at his feet but he never felt any connection to them. He hadn’t even kissed someone before. He knew deep down he was disappointing his parents. He knew he wasn't the son they needed. He wasn’t the son the empire needed. 

His life was easy, planned out. Meet a nice girl, get married, have a couple of kids, and take over the empire when his father deemed him ready. It was laid out in front of him, like clothes for a kid. But the idea of following that made his stomach turn and his skin itch. 

He hated himself for it. 

He entered the ballroom about half an hour after the party started; his parents sent him a wide smile when they saw him. He nodded back at them, immediately grabbing a drink from a passing waiter. 

He moved off to the side of the room, being stopped every couple of feet by someone else. Some politicians, some generals, but mostly girls trying to get his attention. He felt weird responding to compliments, but no one ever told him how to reply to a thousand “you look nice" comments. 

Keith hated small talk. He considered himself a boring person. He didn't have much interest outside of sword fighting with his trainer Shiro or reading old textbooks of the days before him or his father or his father. He wasn't what you would call social. He didn't want to talk about war or the military or alliances, he just wanted to read and wander around nature in silence. 

Keith stared down at his drink, circling it slightly to watch the dark liquid move. How long did he have to stay here? These parties always went late into the night, and usually towards the end were just filled with drunk people. 

“How are you doing?” His father stood by him, smiling a bit at the guest passing them. 

Keith shrugged, “fine. How much longer?” 

Kolivan chuckled slightly, “Only a bit. The guest hasn’t arrived yet.” 

Keith continued to stare at his drink, he almost forgot about this ‘special’ guest. “Well...where are they?” 

His dad placed his hand on his shoulder, “they’ll be here soon.” With a gentle squeeze, he walked away. 

Keith spent the next hour making small talk. Trying to match the blush from his guest when he kissed their hands or gave them the validation they wanted from a prince. He never could. 

"Oh my god, look at them," a hushed whisper floated by Keith. A couple more gasps filled the air, and Keith found himself looking at the entrance.

Two men had entered the ballroom, their silver armor glimmering under the lights. The metal was decked out with chains, some medals, and certain silvery colors. They stood side by side, their swords sheathed at their sides.

Keith watched them move through the room, heading straight toward his parents; only offering friendly nods at the people around them. Keith found it a bit odd, he had never seen them before but they walked so...confidently. He usually knew everyone that attended these parties, and the people he didn’t know never walked in like they owned the place. 

They both bowed at his parents, the man with orange hair, and a matching orange mustache saying something to them with a smile. The younger man with tanner skin didn’t open his mouth, but he looked happy to be there. They talked to his parents as if they already knew him. The man with orange hair laughed with him like he was an old friend. 

Keith couldn't tear his eyes away from them; specifically, the other man standing next to him. He had short brown hair, he seemed to be a bit taller than him, and a slender build. Even through his armor, he could see the strength he held in his body. How square his shoulders were and the perfect posture he had. 

Keith was staring, usually, he never stared at people but right now, he didn't want to stop. He wanted to memorize everything about that boy. Every inch of skin, which was only his head, how soft his expression looked even from this distance. What did his voice sound like? How did he laugh? Was he super serious? What was his name? 

Keith suddenly wanted to know everything about this new guest. He stared until the mysterious boy turned his head. He had never seen the ocean but if the waters he had heard about didn't resemble these eyes; he didn't want to see them.

The man gave him a soft smile, looking at Keith like he had met him before; like he already knew him. Which, he knew, was impossible since he would remember those eyes. 

He was pulled out of his mind as the man started making his way toward him, his father leading the way. "Son! This is the guest I wanted you to meet. Well, I suppose two guests."

His heart fluttered in his chest, which had never happened before. Was he dying? Having a heart attack? Should he call for a doctor? It would be his nightmare if he died at one of these parties. 

"Son, I want you to meet Sir. Smythe and his newest approved sworn knight, Knight McClain."

Now that they were standing right in front of him, he could really look at them. They both had marks under their eyes; both a soft blue. They were Altean.

The man with the orange mustache, Sir. Smythe looked a bit older; older than Keith's dad but not too much older. He also had an eyepatch covering his right eye. He had a scar extended past the eyepatch below and above it. The skin taut around the white mark. 

Knight McClain was younger, he couldn't be much older or younger than Keith. His skin looked soft and he looked at Keith with a sense of protection and comfort. 

The knight reached for Keith's hand, holding it gently in his before he leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to the back of his hand. "Pleasure to meet your highness."

Keith was speechless, his lungs burned from lack of oxygen and why did it feel like his hand was on fire? The knight dropped his hand, moving to straighten his back and stand, his shoulders squared.

"Son, Knight McClain was very recently sworn in under the Altean military. He quickly proved himself to be the top of the class and surpassed everyone with high marks. King Alfor has sent him over as an alliance present to be your new bodyguard.” His father spoke, proudness rolling off his voice. “That’s if you want him, of course.” 

Keith looked at his dad with wonder and curiosity. This was a huge step for the Alteans. They were the most affected by the Galran reign, nearly being completely wiped out. King Alfor gifting one of his best knights was a step in the right direction. But why did he choose Keith? He hardly knew the King. 

He looked back at the knight. Still trying to understand why his heart was beating so fast. Why he felt enchanted.

---

“Good morning prince,” one of the cooks smiled at him as they placed a plate of food in front of him. 

He grumbled out his own greeting, everyone knew he wasn’t a morning person. 

“Morning baby,” his mother pressed a quick kiss to his head before taking her own seat. “How did you sleep?” 

He shrugged, he tried to sleep; he really did. But every time he closed his eyes all he could think about were those blue eyes. No matter what he did, he couldn’t shake it. 

His mother frowned at him, “are you feeling okay?” 

“Yeah,” he twisted his fork around, moving the food around his plate lazily. “I’ve been thinking about what dad said. About the knight, King Alfor wants to give me.” 

His mother nodded, taking a drink from her cup. 

“Is he still here?” He never really gave an answer last night, he couldn't form any words. 

“Yes, he and Sir Smythe stayed the night.” 

Keith stared at his plate, his heart borderline pounding out of his chest. He didn’t know why so he did his best to ignore it. “I want to talk to him…before I accept him.” 

Krolia smiled, “of course.” 

---

“How old are you?” Keith leaned back in his chair, propping his head up in his hand as he leaned against the armrest. He was always scolded for how relaxed he sat but he couldn’t bring himself to sit seriously all the time. 

The knight sat in front of him, after a slight argument where he insisted he didn’t need to sit but Keith said it would be weird for only him to be sitting. The knight sat stiffly, his back straight and his hands on his lap, his sword still hanging on his hip. “Just turned twenty-one.” 

“What’s your first name?” 

“Lance.” 

“Lance McClain?” 

Lance nodded, “that is correct your majesty.” 

“Were you born on Altea?” 

“Yes, and raised there.” 

Keith took a couple of moments to look at Lance; he didn’t even wiggle under his gaze. Something most people did when alone with a Galran. Their scars on the universe ran deep; there wasn't a planet or species unaffected by the Galran former terror. But Lance seemed oddly comfortable in Keith’s presence. Maybe he didn't know anyone that was directly affected by his grandfather's horror. “How long have you been a knight?” 

“I was sworn in at age eighteen, but following Altea rules, I had to do grunt work for the first three years.” 

Keith gave a slow nod, “interesting…did you like it?” 

Lance gave a lopsided grin, “it was work. That’s all I can say.” 

“What did you do?” 

“Guarded an empty room most of the time, sat in meetings, and had a path to follow around the castle. Boring guard work. But I didn’t mind it.” 

“You’ve never guarded a person before?” Keith asked, a bit skeptical. 

“Solely? No, I haven’t. But I am confident that I can do the job better than anyone else.” 

“Uh huh,” Keith began to rub his fingers together, he hated sitting still for long amounts of time. He stared at the other boy, were all Altean knights this confident? Or just him? No, Sir Smythe was also confident. Keith sighed to himself, he wasn’t used to people not being a bit frazzled around him. 

Only his parents and Shiro could care less about his status. “What languages do you know?” 

“Common, Altean, Galran, and I can fumble my way through Balmeran.” 

Well rounded, what exactly was his training like? “So you can understand what I’m saying?” Keith spoke in his mother tongue, the rough words easily rolling out. Galran wasn't a difficult language to learn if you grew up with it, but others have said that it can be a challenge. 

Lance nodded, “yes your majesty.” He responded in fluent Galran. 

Keith felt a small smile form on his face. “Tell me about your training.” 

“What do you want to know?” 

“Anything. When did you start, how long did you train, your hardest mission, things like that.” 

Lance looked down at his hands, his fingers tapping against his upper thighs lightly. “Coran, Sir Smythe, took me in when I was around seven. I didn’t start training till age nine, four years before most children start. Coran was my main teacher, I also worked with others, but Coran showed me everything I know. I was sworn in at age eighteen as I already said. Usually, knight training starts at age thirteen and I couldn't enroll in the classes until I was older. So I have an additional couple years under my belt.” Lance paused, meeting Keith’s eyes. “My hardest training was being sent to an abandoned planet at age fifteen to find a holy relic.” 

“You did that without any help?” Keith raised his eyebrow at the question. 

“Yes. Altean knights have to attend a solo search and find missions as part of their training.” 

“I see…how long did it take?” 

“A month. But I still hold the quickest time.” 

Keith tried to push down the laugh that formed in his chest. “A month to find a relic?” 

Lance nodded, clearly holding no embarrassment over the statement. “You aren’t given any weapons or supplies. You’re given some sleep medicine and placed on the planet in your training clothes. No map, no food, nothing. You aren’t even told what you’re looking for until…well you find it.” 

“Oh.” Keith took a deep breath, “tell me about your family.” 

Lance froze at the statement, Keith could see the way his body became ridged up at the sentence. But he quickly relaxed his body, placing another smile on his face; a tense smile. “There’s nothing to say about them, prince. They’re not in the picture.” 

Keith looked at Lance a bit longer before he pushed himself up. Taking a couple of steps to stand in front of the knight. He stopped in front of him, leaving enough distance that Lance could stand up if he wanted. But he remained seated, his blue eyes meeting Keith’s purple ones. 

“Are you ready for the most important questions?” 

“Yes, prince.” 

“Are you loyal?” 

“Yes.” 

“Will you do as commanded?” 

“Anything you order, your majesty.” 

“Would you die for me?” 

“Without question.” 

“Stand.” 

Lance did so, they had a slight height difference, Lance being a couple of inches taller than him. 

“I look forward to having you work for me.” 

Lance grabbed his hand, the same hand from Lance night, and pressed another kiss to it. “I look forward to serving you,” he looked up, still staying bent at the waist. “Prince.” 

Keith felt his heart jump into his throat, why was he feeling like this?

-----

I hope you liked it, this fic won't be as long as my last multi fic (Roommates) but I'm estimating 5 - 8 chapters depending

I hope you liked it!!

Thank you for reading <33333

[toastess-with-the-mostess]

Panya History - The Present

This is the second part of a bigger post about Pidge and Anya's history together. The last post was about Pidge and Anya before the events of Voltron Force, this one will deal with them during it <3

The other parts: The Past, The Present (here), The Future

Anya's skills as Royal Advisor have grown now, she's still in training, but she's able to take on jobs by herself that normally Coran would take instead. While on a job, staying at a far town from the castle of lions, she watches the destruction of the city of Chozzerai, the closest city of the castle, as 9th kingdom soldiers attack her home on live news. The Galaxy Garrison arrives quickly, too quickly she notices, but don't seem to stand a chance against whatever upgrade the kingdom has now, and then saw the robeast, and soon after the lions. Her eyes landed on green, and she knew she had to go home asap. After the fight was said and done, Anya's only focus was work and getting the soonest flight possible.

When she landed she was nervous, she hadn't seen the boys in two years, only visiting them once during their five-year sentence. She knew it was them because Allura would refuse to let anyone else touch the lions, so she knew she was going to see him again. The fractal door lowered and Pidge was the first person she saw, and the first person she ran to after the ramp settled on the ground. Pidge had heard of her landing and ran out the door before she was even off the fractal, not wanting to waste any time he'd have with her.

And that was how it was for about a year, she got settled as the cadets' etiquette teacher, being diplomats isn't enough when you're in the presence of royalty, and checked in with Pidge every day since she got back. Pidge made sure to spend a break with her, most of the time it was lunch, they both had bad habits of not eating good meals and worked instead. Anya had never seen Pidge, or the team, go out on missions, so every time he went out was terrifying for her. She trusted all of them but seeing the people she cared about off in war isn't a nice thing. But they always came back, and they would take a break if they had the chance.

Then Allura, Larmina, and Coran got trapped, and the horror and anger on the boys faces as Anya saw their own trauma as gladiators being pushed onto them let her know she wasn't going to be calm any time soon. They had taken her with them this time, if anything happened to Allura and Coran then Larmina would need her help on the royal side. But they were ok, and even signed a treaty with the planet Ebb, Pidge kept teasing Anya for doing her first big royal advisor job with the team active.

A few weeks later, Anya kept her mouth shut, Keith and Lance were effectively on a rampage after what Wade had done to an innocent planet and streaming Allura's gladiator fight to the entire universe. He was done for, and she couldn't stop them from going. Pidge was mad too, sure, but he was madder at those two for fighting with the princess and making it look like taking down Wade was for a personal vendetta for Allura. She refused to leave, and they took off without her anyway, giving Anya a headache from the high blood pressure that came with worry.

They came home and Pidge was hurt, she knew it. He was hiding it until she poked his back and heard him hiss in pain. The second he looked at her all he saw was anger, frustration and glossy eyes. He didn't fight it when she dragged him to the medical wing of the castle, and effectively threatened when she mentioned pushing on his wound again if he didn't go. It was unfortunate that Baltons produced so much excess blood, the inside of his suit was covered, and it looked like it was only a miracle for Pidge to still be alive. Medbay patched him up, but before he was discharged, Anya ran. She hated crying and after staring at how hurt Pidge was for too long, she couldn't stop herself. She found an empty balcony and tried to calm down, only for Pidge to bust through the doors when she finally controlled herself. He didn't do a good job calming her down, instead making her angrier as she told him she loved him. That was one of the happiest moments of his life, after she calmed down again and agreed to start a relationship.

The missions would still freak Anya out, especially the one where they lost Vince and also lost power in Voltron. They were stuck on Poseidon for almost an entire day, and Anya was going through an anxiety attack by the time they got back. Pidge couldn't promise it wouldn't happen again, but he did promise to calm her down every time. Though sometimes he couldn't really do that if he was stuck in medbay, like after he returned from Ariel suffering from electric shock.

Eventually, Anya was sent off for extra schooling that Coran nor Arus could supply for Royal Advisors, and she was gone for a good bit. Neither of them liked the distance, but this was her last step to fully becoming an advisor, so it had to happen. She had heard from him that Allura had officially stepped down, choosing to take up her mantle as queen as she was born to do. Vince took over blue for her, which Anya agreed was a good choice because of his affinity for magic. On her coronation, Anya came home. She helped Coran set up the details, and she would help direct it once she landed. Pidge rushed to her side again, like when he first heard of her return to the castle that long time ago. She was home with him, and that was how he liked it.

[toasthoneyandstardust]

Did I let it slip my mind that I was supposed to upload today? Yup Here’s my first work for fluffsimptober! Day 1: Touch

[paladin-shenanigans]

oh, could I maybe get some headcanons of what the paladins would do together when they’re back on earth, and don’t have to fight anymore? 👀

YESSS OMG THIS IS SO PRECIOUS

shiro

☆ okay, i’m going to start this off the bat and say that S8 DIDN’T HAPPEN THE WAY IT DID FOR THIS MAN. adam is alive and well, the voltron team found him out in space after he got away from the galra and tried to attack them on his own but he was captured and eventually freed by the rebel fighters. that’s how i look at it

☆ so yes, basically you can see where i’m going with this: the two hang out together as happy boyfriends and get married and maybe adopt a couple kids along the way!! definitely!! oh, and let’s not forget the fact that they’d likely also have a dog and/or a cat as well!!

☆ okay, outside of his personal life, he probably did go back to teaching at the garrison. he decided he needed a break from flying and fighting and just went back to course instruction. he’s not necessarily retired because he’s only like...28?? i think??? but talking about astronomy and quantum physics are where he truly thrives.

☆ THIS 👏 MAN 👏 ALSO 👏 FINALLY 👏 GETS 👏 SOME 👏 GODDAMN 👏 THERAPY. i mean we’ve ALL seen how his PTSD has affected him all throughout the show, so now that the war’s over he finally has the time and energy to find a therapist and psychiatrist and get the help he definitely needs!!!

☆ he probably writes a series of blog posts or even a whole ass book about his experiences as a galra prisoner and about his adventures with voltron. honestly he kind of just wants to get his story out there for the world to see and enjoy.

lance

☆ again, i don’t really want to go with the canon ending regarding allura’s death, because in this universe she’s alive, HOWEVER. the two of them don’t actually end up getting together but staying very close friends. but in regards to the war, it becomes obvious more every day how his experiences have affected him. he still has a playful air about him, but his bouncy and troublemaking sides are effectively gone.

☆ i do like the idea of him becoming almost like an earth mentor on planet altea and kind of like another one of allura’s royal advisors with coran? i mean of course he still travels and farms a lot on earth with his family, but he does spend a majority of the time working with the youngsters on altea.

☆ for some reason he got bored one night and decided to start messaging keith? and he responded?? and something within him made his heart absolutely bounce up and down??

☆ he was probably all like “hey man i miss you” and keith was like “yeah i’ve been thinking a lot about you as well” and, of course, with lance being lance, had to say something like “what, you don’t miss me?” and keith, embarrassed, fessed up over text, but it made his heart melt.

☆ they definitely met up somewhere at some point after this texting event and just. reconciled about old times. but of course, like i said, with lance being lance, had to just jump right in and fess up and say “i’ve missed you a lot”. he probably let out an “i like you” involuntary and keith just stared at him for a good solid three minutes before bursting out into laughter.

keith

☆ like lance, he also finds it hard to stay on earth. his time as a voltron paladin really made him love the feeling of space travel, and his instincts keep him from sitting in one place for too long.

☆ i do like canon’s idea of having him work as a relief organizer, i think something like that is incredibly important. but i also kind of see him as like...also a traveler? someone who likes to explore on his own a lot? he’s definitely traveled farther than even planet altea, to places he’s never seen before, and even gave some new planets their own names.

☆ of course he likes to go and visit his mom and kolivan on daibazaal from time to time, but he keeps finding himself coming and going back to planet altea...and after that texting shenanigan he had with lance he just had to see him again.

☆ of course, like i said, their moment together on altea was somewhat like a first date, but shortly after keith left, he didn’t really want to stay away from lance for too long. after a few more relief missions he returned to altea and decided that he wanted to stay with lance, just for a little while.

☆ i do think that the two of them, joined by matt and pidge, did attempt to find the lions again and where they went, even attempting to enter oriande to see if they went there. their efforts however weren’t entirely successful, but keith figured that it was all right if he could stay with lance and try to move on from his memories of the black lion.

hunk

☆ this man would absolutely use this new opportunity to spread happiness through his cooking across the galactic coalition. not only would he introduce earth food to aliens who had never seen anything like it, he’d make meals that were cultural blends from different planets.

☆ he does enjoy visiting altea and daibazaal from time to time as well, not only because he has friends there but finds the food there exquisite and very fun to cook. he also offered to take his family, but they were afraid they’d slow him down since they’d had no training.

☆ he probably also teach a cooking class at the galaxy garrison and arrive as a guest speaker on specific days so he could entertain the students about his time as a student at the garrison as well as his time as a paladin of voltron. he probably also picked up a part time job, working with the holt family as a mechanic before he decided to take to the skies once again.

☆ he’s probably also joined lance during one of his guidance episodes or training on planet altea. he loves being there for the alien youth and telling his story, and he finds it especially fun if he has a friend to joke around and reminisce of old times with.

☆ he’s probably the most freeter-like of all of the paladins, besides keith. i can see him doing the most frequent space traveling of all of the paladins. he’s probably also started an intergalactic cooking show as well!

pidge

☆ she, matt, and the rest of her family continued to help the garrison advance their tech and introduced ways to infuse altean magic and earth technology together. they helped to advance the beginning of loads of new ships being built for the garrison and perhaps even for militaries worldwide.

☆ she probably sees shiro the most often out of all the paladins. she stays on earth along with him and often passes him in the hallway when they’re working at the garrison.

☆ she probably pranked her brother by building an entire miniature army of N-7′s just to see if he’d be able to pick out the original. however he got her back by hiding her laptop and moving her stuff behind her back when she was looking for it or needed it while she was building something.

☆ she probably ended up wanting to teach at the garrison, something to do with engineering or technology. she probably began as a teacher assistant to someone like shiro or adam before taking on the job herself.

☆ she and her family are usually the ones who put together the return parties and celebrations whenever her fellow paladins come back to earth. these parties usually happen once every few months, but she’s always happy to see that her friends are alive and well. they usually begin with reminiscing about their days as paladins and end with one or two (maybe three) of them drunk or high, whichever happens first.

[chaoticevilbean]

Voltron Humans are Weird 5/?

Allura was panicking. She had told the Paladins to behave themselves and to try to avoid scaring the natives while she was speaking with the delegation. But they just... didn't listen. Instead of staying in the social room where they had been led, where there were plenty of refreshments and seats, the five humans had disappeared. A few civilians saw the group heading towards the forest nearby, where there were many deadly creatures and poisonous flora. Even Shiro had gone along with them, despite the fact that they knew the forest was dangerous. And their tolerances couldn't possibly include such foreign substances.

So now, Allura was sitting with the delegates, having finished their discussion, simply waiting for the Paladins to return. It had been vargas since the message was delivered that they had disappeared, and the only reason there wasn't a panic was due to Allura assuring all present that Voltron was composed of clever warriors who could handle the forest. Hopefully.

"Princess, we need a little help," Shiro's voice crackled from the Altean's comm.

"What sort of help?" Please don't be medical.

"Some of the civilians are panicking and we have no clue why. We need someone who knows more about their culture."

"I'm on my way. I'll bring the delegation." Allura was quick to explain the situation to the diplomatic party, glad that this was likely just a simple misunderstanding. She prayed it was something as simple as smiling with teeth or a throwing something.

The Paladins were located near the outer edges of the city. They were easy to find as they were surrounded by a circle of hysterical Rynnians. Each of the humans had bags slung on their shoulders, the largest on Hunk and Shiro and the smallest on Pidge. Allura was relieved at the sight, given that the humans at least knew what was and wasn't toxic to themselves. If they had gathered something too dangerous, she could simply get them to put it away from the other beings. She and the delegates pushed past the edge of the crowd, almost to the Paladins.

Then the stench hit her. She stopped instantly, recoiling back in horror. They smelt of blood, reeked of death and must and something else foul. The Altean pulled back enough that she wasn't overwhelmed completely before addressing the Terrans.

"What in Altea is that? Is one of you injured?"

"I KNEW IT!" Lance shouted triumphantly, turning towards Keith. "I quiznaking told you! It's the smell!"

"Lance, are any of you injured?" Allura repeated, narrowing her eyes the best she could without squinting. The Blue Paladin turned giddily towards the royal, a bright grin on his face.

"No. The problem is that all of you are herbivores!"

"Of course we're herbivores! Most known sentient species are herbivores! Only a few are carnivorous!"

"No, princess. I mean, you're all herbivores. That means you don't handle the smell of blood well!"

"One of you is bleeding‽"

"No! We just went hunting!"

Silence. Dead silence. Allura was frozen, staring in utter terror at the human.

"Rynnian civilians, please vacate the area temporarily while the situation is handled." The crowd was fast to comply, the delegates backing up and several warriors lining the edges of the streets. Once the common folk were far enough away, Allura once again spoke to her team.

"Lance, please confirm that your species refers to the gathering of edible flora as hunting."

"Nope. We're omnivores!" The boy did a hip wiggle as he spoke, and Pidge facepalmed heavily at his antics. Hunk giggled and nudged Keith into smiling. Shiro was just tired, and decided it would be best to take over the conversation as soon as possible.

"Omnivores... How?"

"Princess," Shiro spoke up, drawing the alien's attention. "We're technically evolved from natural omnivores that mostly ate an herbivore diet. As we developed, our tool-making skills grew exponentially. As humans joined together in larger groups, gathering enough flora to sustain each member became a lot harder. With our better tools, we made better weapons and managed to develop better hunting skills. By now, our diet is still largely herbivorous, but with more meat than before. The Castle provides us with the necessary nutrients to keep us healthy, but nothing satisfies a human like a nice steak after going without for a long time."

"... what are in the bags?"

"I think you know."

"What are in the bags, Shiro?"

"Three of those large antlered creatures in what me and Hunk are holding, and the other bags have small game and lots of plants Pidge said were safe to eat."

"That is the smell?"

"If you smell blood, then yes."

"As much as I fear the answer, I must ask: what is a steak?"

"A slab of meat made tender and cooked with seasonings. Often served to a little undercooked so it isn't too chewy and satisfies our carnivorous nature. Now, if you'll excuse us, we know what's wrong and can probably get all this to the Castle with little problem."

"Yeah," Hunk agreed, shifting his bags a little. "We couldn't get past the Rynnians because they were panicking saying we were hurt or something and we just couldn't get through."

"If you must, get the... food," Allura shuddered at considering flesh and blood to be a meal, "back to the Castle as soon as possible. I'll tell Coran to not panic."

The Paladins nodded and swiftly rushed towards the large ship. Lance and Hunk could be heard discussing something called tacos, and Allura was loathe to find out what they were. With a deep breath, the princess turned to the delegates, face twisted in a grimace.

"I am very sorry about all this. If you would like, I can send you the guide my advisor and I are creating to document humans and their... strangeness. It is still in its preliminary stages, but it will likely help to avoid another incident."

"Are you sure we should be trusting beings that eat meat," the lead diplomat inquired. "Only three other species are carnivorous, and one is-"

"I do understand your concerns," Allura interrupted. "But I must tell you that it would be better to keep on the good side of Terra and its inhabitants. I know the only race outside their own solar system that is carnivorous is the Galra, but humans are nothing like those of the Empire. For one, they are not outside their solar system yet, though the Green Paladin informed me they soon will be. Secondly, humans seem to have strong senses of justice. They will not harm any sentient being, and many times will avoid harming non-sentient beings if they find the creatures to be appealing in some aspect."

The delegation discussed privately for a moment before facing the Altean once more.

"Please tell us all you know."

Humans are omnivores. They mostly eat flora and, so long as their nutritional needs are met, can eat only flora for the entirety of their diet. However, they prefer to include the occasional meat in their meals. They can hunt better than many natural predators due to their sentient nature. Terrans will not always attack fauna if they are hungry. They instead wait for habitats with a plentiful amount of animals and use weapons to hunt. They can and will hunt if in an environment where there isn't enough flora to sustain an herbivorous diet. They will do the same if in a large group, hunting and surviving together.

Humans can make their own tools. These tools include weapons. If stranded or surviving in uninhabited terrain, they will create tools to aid in their self-preservation. Do not assume a Terran is weaponless. They hunted before their advanced toolmaking skills and sentient nature. Avoid fighting a human that is trying to survive. If stranded with a human, reminding them of your likely herbivorous status will probably cause them to gather whatever food you need to survive and will sustain themselves on mostly meat.

If a human smells of blood, remain calm. Ask if they are injured. If they are not, ask if they have been hunting. If they have not been hunting, ask after the smell. Attempt to not panic if it is revealed they have killed a non-sentient creature for their carnivorous meals, which are listed below. The common examples are tacos and steaks. Tacos can be made for herbivores as well. Simply request 'vegetarian' and check for possible poisons disguised as 'seasonings'.

[the-lightning-strikes-again]

Lotor seems to have a lot in common with Chloe Bourgeois from Miraculous Ladybug since they both seem to have great potential of getting redeemed, but the writers decided to screw them over and make them all the sudden villan for no reason even though both shows main protagonists have done far more questionable things than them, heck both shows even romantasize the protagonists creepy stalking behavior

Hi, anon. Thanks for the note! I’ve never watched Miraculous Ladybug, so I’m afraid I don’t know too much about a Lotor vs. Chloe comparison? I’m sorry, though, if that show triggered some unhappy memories about VLD!

In terms of protagonists being worse than the villains, I personally struggle with that statement for Voltron? VLD is complicated because the show starts by treating war/battle as a fantasy violence video game. Like, the Galrans are mostly robots or one-dimensional soldiers who are torturing, killing and conquering. So our protagonists are already light-years ahead of that incredibly low baseline. And it’s easy to cheer Team Voltron on when you know they’re just blowing up robots or a pure-evil villain. It’s that whole fantasy violence thing without accountability. Then, the show gets increasingly more complex in terms of the politics, and the costs of war (with Ulaz’s death, for example), and the humanization of the enemy. But in this environment, our protagonists are still a bunch of ill-prepared teenagers running with scissors. Like, the original paladins of Voltron were leaders and rulers with a history of navigating wars and alliances. These paladins? They grew some over the show, yes, but they still had to go from playing a video game and screwing up flight simulators (or living a royal life in peace-time), to handling actual death and collateral damage in an active combat theater. I doubt Galaxy Garrison had training in their curriculum for how 17-year-olds should handle that. And all of the other older authority figures around Team Voltron and Lotor just totally and utterly failed them.

So I think my frustration with Team Voltron has cooled a lot over the years. From an in-show perspective, they were surrounded by supposedly competent advisors and intelligence officers who should have been able to at least question certain decisions or behaviors. But they did nothing constructive to prepare the paladins for war besides training them to kill.

And in the case of s5-s6, all of these experts and allied civilizations gave Team Voltron the green light on an official alliance with an empire they had seen brutally torture/experiment, enslave, and colonize. Actual weeks had passed between s5-s6. And yet, we never saw Kolivan warning the team that this was a really bad compromise for the Voltron Coalition to make; we never saw the paladins having to handle upset questions from their vast allies, who no doubt had recent memories of trauma at the hands of Galran military officers. But the instant Lotor is revealed to have also been a quintessence vampire in some way, like every other Galran officer with a body count they’d allied with, that’s the uncrossable line for Krolia, Coran, Kolivan watching this all go down—? Like?

When Shiro linked the Voltron Coalition to Galran military intelligence, what the heck did they think all of these soldier reports included? Military commanders happily sipping cocktails with locals on a beach? So I don’t think it quite hit the paladins yet that they weren’t working with uwu morally unproblematic people with easily forgivable pasts or a clear record of trying to make up for that past. And Team Voltron had zero guidance for how to navigate pursuing justice/reparations while also not leading to another war or worse outcome. Ultimately, even all of these concerned authority figures forgot about the show’s most plot-important victims that they were fine with dissolving the alliance over.

(RIP Patrulius in the harvesting pod, did you ever get out??).

The incompetency of elder authority figures also feeds into my frustration about Lance’s character, and how it was once again Coran in s8 who pushed him into this weird 1950s dating construct where Allura isn’t an agent over her own body. Like, Lance is still pretty young here, mimicking all the toxic masculinity he’s picked up on, and Coran’s behavior is supposed to be…better. Like, even Lance himself was uncomfortable in that scene, and that was wild to watch.)

And speaking of the ongoing failures of authority in the story, I still can’t believe that Coran didn’t cut in on Lotor in season 5, even, to warn him that exposure to the rift was known to make people lose control over their darkest thoughts. I could plausibly believe Allura didn’t think to question this because she was doe-eyed over Lotor and desperate for anything that could secure peace. But it’s not like Coran, who is supposed to be a king’s advisor, didn’t see this happen with Zarkon and Honerva. He could have questioned Lotor’s plans, and that actually would have been fascinating. Because if Coran, being a king’s advisor, had employed that kind of logical foresight, we might have seen something unsettling in Lotor that could more clearly foreshadow a fatal flaw he wasn’t working on (you know, like that classic Icarus Syndrome). But this show just didn’t question itself or self-reflect, lol.

So I don’t think anything Team Voltron did was them necessarily intending to be cruel where they wanted trillions to die in the name of justice, but their ignorance and the blatant inaction/silence or questionable guidance from anyone with higher credentials or experience resulted in some very uneasy outcomes.

But those outcomes were what this show wanted to keep the drama rolling.

I can’t speak for Chloe’s arc and the reason for why she misses the mark, but Lotor’s fall resulted in another several episodes of big robot battles and extended drama to meet a predetermined 78-episode directive. And given that the production team complained about having no breaks at all through the development of this show, I doubt they had time to weigh the cost of every decision they made to keep drama going. (I mean, we saw several other haphazard, concerning things happen since the beginning of the show; the colony twist wasn’t an isolated incident of plot over-complication and questionable handling of topics a;sdjfasf.)

I do think it’s easy to stay bitter about things and to let that poison everything, including even other shows. And I don’t think that’s a mentally healthy place for me to be—even though, clearly, I do still have frustrations with the art of story construction, lol. So I guess... canon is someone else’s story, but I do have control over how I respond and how I might try to tackle hard topics in my own works. And I’ve got to work with that.

I hope for what it’s worth that you can still find things worth enjoying in your other show, and that you can explore the characters and the stories in ways that are meaningful and feel right to you. It might help as well to look for shows and media that explicitly do have redemption arcs for a main antagonist or villain, or that handle traumatized or abused characters well.

[angst-in-space]

i know a place we can run || 77k || complete

Keith, a sheltered prince, runs away to Altea City to escape his overwhelming schedule and stifling lifestyle. There he meets Lance, a reporter who is secretly trying to gather information about Keith and write an article that could make or break his career. When Lance offers to show Keith around the city, Keith happily obliges. But as they spend more time together, it becomes increasingly difficult for both of them to hide their identities––or to deny that they are developing a special connection with each other.

(aka a Klance “Roman Holiday” AU)

If Keith had to shake hands with one more person, he was going to scream.

The reception started with all four present royals—himself, Shiro, Alfor, and Allura—standing in a row at the front of the room, while a long line of people walked up one by one to greet them. Alfor’s royal advisor—a man named Coran, who had the most impressive mustache Keith had ever seen—called out each attendee’s name and which country they hailed from as they stepped onto the platform.

It wasn’t long until the names and faces blurred together, and Keith started to feel a strong urge to bolt from the room. Instead he had no choice but to stand there for what felt like an eternity, shaking each offered hand and bowing his head in formal greeting.

He’d always found these types of events uncomfortable and humiliating. Nothing bothered him more than being the center of attention—and although he had become fairly good at avoiding the spotlight at all costs, it was difficult to avoid public scrutiny in his position.

At least right now, he was flanked by Shiro and Allura, who both had enough natural charm to mask his own awkwardness. If anyone noticed Keith’s pained expression, or the way he subtly tried to itch the back of his right ankle with his left foot and almost fell over in the process, no one remarked on it.

>> read the rest on ao3 <<

[teatimecrumpetsandsugar]

ethereal (part two)

So, it’s been a little bit since part one BUT, part three is currently in the works and, honestly, I’m really enjoying the ideas I have for this au! This part takes place two months after part one- but, folks, this one is a lot more angsty than the last, with an official introduction of where I’ve put Lotor...

/                                                                                                            \

“Citizens of Lux, Kingdom of Light; you would do well to hear me now, while you still have the chance.” A hush sweeps through the busy streets of the capital, everyone’s attention slowly turning to see a face being projected into the sky- one that isn’t of royal descent.

Soft murmurs of concern and fear make their way through the strangely still crowd of people idling in the roads to watch the announcement, taking in the pale violet complexion of the white-haired man on the screen.

For a moment, all is quiet- he just sits there, waiting until he has everyone’s attention to speak again, “This is a formal declaration of independence from the new Kingdom of Tenebris, issued by myself, the crown prince of the former kingdom.”

The chatter really begins at that, confusion abruptly setting in at his words, “My kingdom was driven to economic ruin by your former ruler, King Alfor. For years, my people suffered under the weight of impending poverty, just waiting for the other shoe to drop, and my parents lived in blissful ignorance of the kingdom’s plight. Every single time I spoke up, I was told that I had no voice, that the kingdom was not yet mine to inherit, so I waited.”

His eyes harden, formerly neutral expression twisted into something bitter and resentful, and the crowd looks around uneasily, “I waited. For years, I just sat and watched as my entire world came crashing down around me- and I waited until my parents were dead and my kingdom was gone.”

Something in his gaze turns wistful, sad, almost, before it’s gone and replaced by a burning rage, “My birthright. The only thing in this world that would ever make me worth anything, make my life mean anything. The only thing that ever would have truly been mine to protect. Everything I had was taken from me- I’m sure the majority of you have no idea who I am, even now. Even after all I’ve said, even after your kingdom destroyed mine- no, I’m sure none of you even know my name.”

He tilts his face upwards, shoulders squaring with pride and a need to prove himself, “I am Lotor, King of the New Kingdom of Darkness, Tenebris. This is your only warning that my kingdom will reign supreme and that I will take everything all of you hold dear- to show you what it’s like to lose everything in one fell swoop.”

/ /                                                                                                        \ \

Allura watches in horror as the broadcast grows more and more intense, blood running cold as she realizes what’s about to happen- what he’s building up to say.

Her best friend- her oldest friend, the man she trusted the most in this world. The man she had been sure she would marry someday, even if only out of convenience.

“I’m declaring war on the six kingdoms and re-establishing the seventh.”

She feels nauseous, stomach turning with dread and eyes stinging with betrayal; her heart pounds in time with her head, the whole room spinning around her- she vaguely hears Coran’s voice, but she can’t find the words to answer him.

Thinking back on it now, she should’ve known. This has been years in the making- every envious glance at her throne, every illustrated tale of the kingdom he used to love, every single time he’d mention his parents thinking he wasn’t good enough. Every time he said he’d give anything to have a kingdom again.

“And, dearest Queen Allura... my closest friend for the majority of my life,” Her stomach drops at the startling clarity with which his voice reaches her, gaze hesitantly turning back up to meet the monitor, “...I can only hope you never find yourself in my line of fire.”

She gasps shallowly for breath, reaching for her advisor frantically, “Call Pidge. Now.”

/ /                                                                                                        \ \

“I won’t hold back for anything. Not even love.”

[rubymoon-snape]

Disclaimer: I don't own Voltron Defender of the Universe.

Summary: Keith escapes from Lotor but not before he undergoes some unusual changes.

Author Note: This is team as family and definitely NOT Kallura.

"The Power of A Woman"

Keith sighed as he or rather she piloted Black Lion back to Arus. She had been captured by Lotor and, for reasons unknown to her, changed her gender. She was hoping to hide it from her team but doubted it was possible. She landed Black on his pedestal and went back through the portal.

Keith was uncomfortable in her regular jumpsuit. It was much too tight in the chest and thigh area and loose in the waist. Also, it was a little too long in the arms and legs. She wanted to leave the control area before anyone saw her, but she wasn't that lucky.

"Keith?"

Keith paused in her attempt in leaving the room. Of course, it was Allura who saw her.

"Keith? Where were you sneaking off to?"

Lance had joined in. Keith didn't want to turn around.

"What's wrong, Keith?"

Pidge would pick up on her lack of comment.

"Do we need to knock some heads?"

Keith had to smile at Hunk's comment. Her teammate would gladly fight anyone who hurt any of his teammates.

Allura reached Keith's side. "You escaped from Lotor's clutches and now you're trying to hide from us. Did he do something that you don't want us to see?"

Keith turned towards the princess, giving everyone a good look at what happened.

Lance, Hunk, and Pidge gawked at their leader before dissolving into fits of laughter. Allura looked bewildered, but Keith had had enough. "I'm leaving. I hope to make it to my room before Nanny sees me."

She stalked out of castle control, silently fuming at her teammates. She knew they would laugh at her. Her temper cooled the further she got from castle control.

"Keith! Wait!"

Keith stopped and turned to see Allura running up the hallway in her direction. "Yes?"

"Come with me." Allura grabbed the other girl's arm and led her to her room. Allura peeked in, looking to see if Nanny was in there. Fortunately, Allura's governess was nowhere to be seen. "The coast is clear. Nanny must be elsewhere." She led Keith into her room. "We need to get you something better fitting to wear."

"I'm not wearing a dress, Princess."

"I understand that, Keith, and your hair needs tied back as well. Now, what color, besides red, do you like?"

"Blue."

Allura smiled and pulled out a blue and white jumpsuit that looked exactly like hers (except for the color scheme). She handed it to her captain and let her change into it in her bathroom. When Keith came back wearing the new clothes, Allura forced her to sit at her vanity. She picked up a hairbrush, brushed Keith's thick hair, and managed to put it up in a ponytail. Her hair wasn't much longer than it normally was, but it was still just past her shoulders. Two locks of hair refused to be bound and framed Keith's face beautifully.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Nanny walked in. "Princess, I- who's this? A visiting royal?" She gave the raven-haired girl a glance up and down. "Really, Princess. You can loan the girl one of your gowns, so she doesn't have to wear pants."

"No. It's all right. I-" Keith tried to say something, but Nanny cut her off.

"So modest!" Nanny pulled a blue gown out of Allura's closet and with the help of a couple of maids forced Keith into the dress. Keith managed to flee before Nanny tried to put make-up on her. She didn't stop running until she was in her room. She collapsed on her bed and didn't move until she had her breathing under control. She carefully removed the dress and put the blue and white jumpsuit back on. She had managed to grab it before she was forced to flee the princess's room.

There was a knock on the door. Keith didn't respond until she heard from the other side, "I thought Keith was headed here."

It was Lance. Keith called out, "Who's out there?"

"It's just us, Keith. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge."

Keith opened the door and let in her team mates, closing the door behind them quickly. Lance saw the discarded blue dress on Keith's bed. Keith saw Lance's gaze on the dress. "Before you assume anything, Nanny caught me and forced me into the dress. Allura had let me borrow this."

The klaxons started blaring, and Coran's voice came over the intercom. "Voltron Force, report to Castle Control!"

Keith, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk all ran from Keith's room, meeting Allura on the way. When they got to Castle Control, Allura asked, "What's the problem, Coran?"

"We are being hailed." The advisor activated the view screen, and Lotor appeared on the screen.

Lotor looked at the assembled team, or, more specifically, at Keith. "I must say. You do make a pretty girl, Captain."

Keith bristled at the comment and growled. "Go to hell, Lotor."

"My, my. A pretty thing like you shouldn't have such a temper or use such language."

"Is this permanent or is there a way to reverse this?" Keith asked, trying to reel in her temper.

Lotor grinned evilly. "There is no reversal."

"Then, why are you here?!"

"To make sure the procedure was a success and to launch an attack on the planet."

The connection was terminated, and an explosion rocked the castle. "We need the lions!"

The five pilots stepped to the side, and Coran pressed the button to raise the platform.  All of a sudden, Nanny appeared. "Princesses, you are not going out in those lions!"

"Nanny, I am the only princess here," Allura corrected, "and Lotor is attacking the planet."

"Then, who is that if not a visiting royal?" Nanny asked, pointing at Keith.

"I am not a visiting royal. I may look like a girl, but that doesn't mean you can treat me like one."

"You-"

"No. I am still Captain Keith Kogane, and I will lead my team." With that said, Keith sprinted towards the first portal, jumped, and grabbed the t-bar. She rode it down to the speeder and put on her uniform, heading towards Black Lion. Black Lion roared, and Keith's voice was heard through the comms. "What are you guys waiting for? Launch your lions!"

"Let's go!" Lance exclaimed. The four other pilots dashed to their portals and ended up in their lions. They launched and joined Black Lion in combat.

"Let's form Voltron! Activate interlocks! Dynotherms connected! Infracells up! Megathrusters are go!"

"Let's go Voltron Force!"

They formed Voltron. "Form blazing sword!"

They took down the robeast that Lotor had brought with him.

"Ignite lion torch!" Red Lion fired a stream of fire at Lotor's personal cruiser, causing him to flee.

"All right. Disactivate interlocks and disengage!" Keith ordered. Voltron split back up into the individual lions, and the pilots flew their lions back to their individual dens. They headed back to the control room.

Keith was slightly nervous about being back in the control room as she was sure Nanny was going to still be there, and she was right. Judging by the redness of the governess's face, Keith was sure she was about to be on the end of one of the woman's famous lectures.

"How dare you speak to me that way! I don't-"

"That is enough!" All eyes turned to Allura, who had her hands on her hips. "I have had enough of you berating my team. Yes, they are my team until we are in battle. Then, Keith is our commander. You will show them the respect they have more than earned on multiple occasions including just now. If you do not, you will find yourself out of the castle faster than we can form Voltron!"

"Young lady, you need to be reminded to respect your elders!" Nanny went too try to put Allura over her knee, but Allura stood her ground and yanked her arm away from Nanny.

"You will not! I am the crown princess of Arus and you are my governess. However, I am not the little girl you seem to think I still am. Overstep your bounds again, and you will also find yourself out of the castle."

"Princess, please calm down." Coran placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, which was the wrong move.

"You will unhand me, or you will be fired as well!"

Coran removed his hand in surprise. Keith sighed inaudibly and took a few steps in Allura's direction. "Allura? Maybe we need to separate so we can cool off before we make decisions we may regret."

Allura smiled. No matter her gender, Keith was always looking out for everyone. "I appreciate your concern, but this was a long time coming. However, I agree about departing the control room. Do you four wish to join me in the lounge?"

"Of course, we would, Princess," Lance grinned, and the three men and one woman followed the Princess out of Castle Control in awe of the power she can truly wield. They couldn't wait to see what the future would hold for this tougher version of the princess.

Fin

Author Note 2: Allura had taken her cue on being tough from Keith. Even though Keith was a woman, she still had the power she held as the Voltron commander, inspiring the princess to step up and wield the power that comes with her station.

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