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loveafterthefact · 4 years

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Love After the Fact Chapter 51: Fuck You, but Welcome to Daibazaal I Guess

Do you ever hate somebody and then you meet them and they're actually not that bad so you have to hate them for not being that bad?

Also Krolia is a good mom.

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“Mom!”

Keith launches himself at his mother, who holds him protectively close, whispering reassurances in his ear even as she glares accusingly at the elegant Altean behind him. The Altean in question merely raises an eyebrow, drapes Keith’s cloak over his arm, along with his own. He doesn’t seem troubled at all by her expression.

He’ll learn. But for now, she has her baby back.

“I’ve missed you,” her kit whispers, burying his face in her neck. “I’ve missed you so much!”

“I missed you too, kitten. So much.” She has, desperately. Krolia is a soldier, and now Imperial Advisor, but she is also a mother, and that instinct runs hot.

Like now, when she’s inspecting her kit for any signs of damage. He seems mostly okay, aside from his rapid heartbeat, a sign of some internal distress. Well-fed, though she’d like to see a bit more extra weight on him for his growth spurt and season. He’s healthy, though. Fur and hair soft and silky, breathing clear, and he smells clean.

Untouched. At that revelation, Krolia releases something she’s held pent up inside since her son was wrested away from her. The little whore of a prince didn’t touch her baby. He didn’t hurt her kit like that. Thank the gods.

But why? What does a Galra kit matter to an Altean prince?

Speaking of which, the prince is dictating instructions to his companions, sending a small Olkari kit to the Blade of Marmora’s technological research lab and another Altean to greet the imperial family.

“Why am I doing this instead of you?” the green-scaled Altean bemoans.

“Because, Adam, I’m going with Keith to the medical center so I can get some actual, useful information from a medical professional instead of your long-distance boyfriend.”

“Takashi is a physik!” Adam hisses. Keith hums, eyeing Adam with a renewed interest. Krolia doesn't let him go for a second.

“I didn’t realize a glorified botanist had knowledge of growth disorders.” The Altean prince raises an eyebrow, folds his arms. His eyes, to the little creature’s credit, shine with good humor, more playful than anything else. The two must be friends.

“...Fair point. I will go and greet the imperial family. However, you will be going and greeting your sister.”

“Yes, right after this. We need to see her scans so we know how much cuter our kids will be.”

In Krolia’s arms, Keith laughs, quiet and soft. He’s watching the Alteans’ antics with something horribly akin to fondness. “Thank you, Adam.”

“It’s only my job, your Majesty.”

“But you always do it flawlessly.”

The green-scaled Altean blushes faintly, mumbles, “Whatever. Go… learn how to grow or something.”

Adam saunters off with a spring in their step while the crown prince waves teasingly. “What are we going to do with him, beloved?”

“Give him a raise?”

“Hm. He definitely deserves it. Now, Imperial Advisor Krolia, could you please escort us to the medical center?”

“Certainly.” She keeps her arm around her son, the Altean happy to follow alongside. Krolia finds herself struggling to rectify this charming, bubbly creature to the insidious one she imagined. Perpetually smiling, the young prince runs his hands along the wall, tracing the lines of carvings and rubbing his fingertips against ancient paint long since sunk into the stone.

“You know, my boyhood friend, Lanval, came here with my fathers once? He never mentioned this.”

“I doubt he nor your fathers cared about our traditions or our culture. Your friend in particular cared for little more than gossip.” Krolia purses her lips.

“Yes, he said you two met. Lanval is not half so foolish as he seems, though a bit pompous. My fathers… They are many things, but anthropologists are not among them. The same can be said of our soldiers.” The prince sighs. “I hope one day we can be more than enemies to one another, but I fear it is a child’s dream.”

Krolia says nothing, but Keith hums sympathetically.

When they reach the medical center, they’re met by the head medic, Thace, a relatively young Galra cradling a very new kit in his arms. “It’s my morning break, so unless you’re actively dying or in labor, I don’t care.”

“Hello, Thace. My kit is suffering from a growth disorder and is in the midst of his final growth spurt,” Krolia tells him.

Thace, a bright-faced, genial creature and one Krolia is particularly fond of, sighs, brushes a finger down his child’s cheek. “Fine, but only because he’s a prince. Here, can you hold Raj for me?”

Lance blinks rapidly, alarmed as the medic hands him his newborn kit. Keith only smiles. “Number five looks good, Thace. Hope they eat your fingers, Lance.”

Thace guides Keith over to a chair, where he sits in with a quiet ‘thank you’. Krolia registers a spasm traveling up his leg, presumably up his spine and then down his arm. The near-grown kit grits his teeth to stifle a whimper, but his heartbeats flutter and pound. A rotating arm spins around him, scanning him from all possible angles. Keith’s visibly untroubled. He’s done this before.

“Aw, do you have pointy toofers? You got some pointy teef- Ouch! Oh, you do! Look at those toofers! Oh my goodness, you got such nice toofers!” Lance beams down at the infant, every line of his face, his body soft as Raj chews on his finger, drawing tiny beads of blood. Even Krolia has to concede that it's adorable to watch.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I-”

Lance shakes his head, smiling at the suddenly anxious medic. “Don’t worry about it. Though perhaps you have something else they can chew on?”

Thace hands the Altean prince a toy as he extricates his finger, an angry screech penetrating their ears in the moment of the exchange. As the kit chews happily on the toy, Lance turns his attention back to Keith, who’s smiling at Lance and the bundle in his arms. Krolia definitely hates that.

“So what’s to be done for him? Our alchemy was only able to do so much and painkillers have proven largely ineffective.”

Krolia’s eyes narrow, watching the tender expression on the prince’s face morph into worry. He’s not at all what she expected him to be. He’s much warmer than his biological father, with far more social grace than his step-father. Charming. Friendly. Charismatic.

And he didn’t touch her son.

It’s hard to hate him. She’ll do her best.

“Well, there is a serum that’s proven beneficial to kits in their eleventh growth spurts.”

“But?” Keith prompts. “There’s always a ‘but’.”

“But it causes excruciating pain for about half a varga.”

Lance adjusts his arms, cradling the kit with one arm, setting his free hand on Keith’s shoulder. “How does it work?”

“Well, Prince Yorak’s growth disorder affects more than just his growth plates. Obviously, without functional growth plates, his bones cannot grow properly. Additionally, with every growth spurt, a Galra’s metabolism slows down, making us hardier and more capable of surviving in the generally harsh environment of our planet. Prince Yorak’s metabolism is much higher, as he has missed a few growth spurts all together.”

“So wait. You’re not supposed to eat three meals a day?” Lance leans around to look his spouse in the face. “Do you have any sense of self-preservation at all? Or am I supposed to just magically know all this sh- stuff. And now you've got me almost swearing in front of the baby!”

“It never came up.” Keith shrugs, annoyingly indifferent even in face of the Altean’s exasperated expression. At least Krolia and the prince can agree on something.

“I’m not going to care when he injects you with some horror goop.”

“Yes you will-”

“Your Majesties.” They fall silent, sheepish as they turn their attention back to the medic. “If I am to treat you, Prince Yorak, please understand that this is not a one-time thing. You will require an injection every time your pain returns. However, I should tell you. Whether you accept treatment or not, you may experience fertility issues including difficulty conceiving, high miscarriage rate, and higher likelihood of stillbirth.”

Keith's gaze slips back to Lance and the tiny kit in his arms. Krolia looks away, thinking of the kits she lost, Keith’s siblings who never saw the world, never took that first breath of air. Now her son is facing that same fate.

“Keith?” The boys turn to her. “You should do it.”

“Obviously I’m going to do it. I don’t care about pain. The pain is temporary.” Keith reaches out a hand, and after taking a moment to adjust Raj, Lance grips it tight.

The kit Lance is still cradling coos, yawning wide as they wrap their hand around one of his fingers, settling into sleep.

“Well, it looks like you’ve no choice, beloved. I can’t leave until they let go of me.”

Thace laughs, gripping his small friend's shoulder tight. “Prince Yorak, you’re going to end up being the disciplinarian parent. I hope you know that.”

“I can retrain him.” Keith uses Lance’s hand to help himself to his feet, staggering a bit as he works his way over to one of the gurneys. The prince hands Raj back to their bearer with a smile and a thank you.

Krolia sighs, surrendering to the tender expression on her son’s face as he settles his head in Lance's lap. The prince smiles down, worry lining his eyes. "I'll be right here, beloved."

"I know. Just don't tell anyone if I scream."

"Never. It'll be our secret." Lance's shoulders line themselves with tension as Thace cuts off one of Keith's sleeves, shaves away a patch of fur, inserts a temporary port.

"This port will last around three movements, but you shouldn't need it more than two. Just try to keep it dry. And, while you're paying attention to me, do not go to your idiot savant of a littermate for season advice. You come to me or your mother, understand? It a whole different thing when you have a mate."

"That's a good point, beloved. Shiro is woefully inept."

"He really is. But he's a good guy. Like you." Keith smiles, dark eyes sliding up to Lance's. Krolia sighs, defeated. Her kit wants the Altean, whether she likes it or not. She doesn’t need to be friendly, but for Keith's sake, she’ll tolerate him.

For now. Until he screws up. Then she'll beat his ass.

#LoveAftertheFact #LAtF #klance #galtean au #altean lance #galra keith #adashi #altean adam #galra shiro #voltron legendary defender #vld

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zwiezraczek · 5 years

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The Princess and the Pauper Voltron AU (Klance&Shallura)

I blame @genelpan for this AU because in her Insta story she reminded me that this movie exists. So making a shoutout to all my fellow Polish people who are still listening to the songs because “beeeedeee Twooooj gdy pooowiesz” you know what you know ;)

On the same day, in the same kingdom two little souls are born, both of them looking so alike they could be taken for twins. But each one of them is born in a different world...

Allura is the princess of Altean Kingdom, her father and her mother, Alfor and Eleanor are proud parents of a sublime little princess

Allura is given a cat when she becomes a teenager, a little puffy cat she named Elly after her mother's surname

At the same time, she is given a tutor Takashi Shirogane aka Shiro, a boy from the little town, who's five years older than she is

Both become friends pretty quickly thanks to their interest in science, they can spend whole days in the library reading about science.

Sometimes Shiro reads Allura some fairy tales, both of them are fond of these

They grow closer, and slowly, but surely, their feelings toward each other go from friendship to a soft love

But both of them know that they can't be together, so they repress their feelings

Allura because, when her mother passes away when she's thirteen, she has to marry a king/prince in order to guarantee a future to her kingdom and Shiro because he knows he has nothing to offer to Allura, who deserves the world and even more

Lance is born in the little town around their palace, in a poor family, but a loving one. He's an only child, his parents borrow money to raise him and to give him the best perspectives in life and Lance is genuinely interested in music and sewing so his mother teaches him songs and how to sew

His father is very proud of his son, he knows that the boy isn't a casual boy in town but he encourages him to be what he chooses to be

One day, Lance rescues a cat that he names Blue, and he loves Blue with all his heart

Lance's parents die because of a disease which causes a mortality rise in the little town, he is now an eleven years old boy who has debts to pay

Guess who takes advantage of this? Lotor's Dress Emporium from which Lance's parents borrowed money. He begins to work there, sewing dresses for the Court and the royal family, such as the Princess herself

When both turn eighteen...

The kingdom faces a crisis, and the only solution that King Alfro can come up with – because his advisor Honerva left on a trip – is to marry his daughter to the Blade's kingdom Prince

Allura isn't fond of this, at all, but she knows that she has to do it for her people so she accepts it, abandoning her love for Shiro thinking that her love isn't reciprocated

Shiro tries to cheer her up when he hears the news, telling that Prince Keith is a nice person who has a passion for art, music and knives

Which is kinda weird, Shiro said and made Allura laugh

But both regret that the will never be together...

“All my life I've always wanted to have one day just for me” - Allura breaking into a musical number while trying her dress on because she will marry Prince Keith in a few days

She just wishes for some time on her own, just a moment among her books with Shiro, reading books, listening to Shiro's voice when he reads for her while sitting in a chair and looking how his expression changes everytime he imitates another character

She wants to marry him so badly, but it's her duty to save the kingdom, and her father is sorry about it...

“All my life I've always wanted to have one day for myself” - Lance while taking one pile of fabric to another place in Lotor's Dress Emporium

Well, even if his friend, Romelle enjoys the show, Lotor seems not so fond of it

And Lance learns that he has to work there for another 37 years, because “interests” and Lance protests

“They did it to feed me!” “Their mistake”

And Lance just loses it all, and goes fuck it all I'm going to sing in the streets tomorrow early in the morning because I deserve it and because it's his only escape

Romelle doesn't encourage him, but she offers to cover him for sure and Lance thanks her with a kiss on her cheek

And both Lance and Allura swear to themselves that they will once be free to do whatever they want to

Guess who's missing in this beautiful picture? Honerva, Alfor's advisor. And well, even if she seems to be a good little lady she's the devil in disguise wanting to own the kingdom: she is behind the kingdom's crisis and she wants to become the Empress of the Kingdom, by marrying Alfor and then killing him. But to do so, she has to kidnap his daughter, Allura, so she won't be able to marry this king of the Blades and she'll be the only option for Alfor. Her plan was perfect

On the next day, Prince Keith in disguise – because he loves disguising himself okay, it's what's called FUN – with the Blade's kingdom Ambassador, Kolivan, arrive to the palace

And Kolivan isn't sure about Keith in disguise because it's absolutely ridiculous but Keith insists and Kolivan can only sigh

“What a stubborn child, just like his mother the Queen...” - Kolivan, dealing with royal shit since birth

When the ambassador arrives, Shiro comes into Allura's room and greets her with a “Her Majesty” and Allura is surprised because they are friends “Shiro... We are friends, I am Allura to you” “Her Majesty's father sends me to tell you that the ambassador from the Blade's kingdom just arrived” “Oh Shiro...” “Her Majesty can follow me?”

And it breaks Allura's heart because when Shiro's that formal, it means nothing good

The last time he used that voice was when her mother died

And Shiro knew that this voice never brought joy, but it always pained him to lie to Allura, to pain her with lies

“Shiro... Can we... Stay here? Tell my father that I am not feeling well, that I am terribly sorry to not be able to greet the ambassador but... I just can't Shiro, it pains so much...” “I will Allura, don't worry...”

And he resists the urge to hug her

Meanwhile, a clueless Keith hands his gift to King Alfor telling it's for his daughter from Pirnce Keith

Honerva is here, and already having a plan to kidnap the Princess...

Allura stays at the balcony, looking at the little girls playing in the royal garden, at least they are free...

Shiro has suddenly a marvellous idea: to take Allura in the little town around the city to entertain her for a moment, to entertain himself, to have one of his lasts moments with her

And once she wears a cape, nobody notices she's the princess anymore: she feels like a civilian

She also feels the pain of the crisis looking at the houses, as Shiro shows her his old little apartment when he used to study: she is now sure that she can't allow herself to have feelings for somebody because her people are suffering

Shiro offers her a juniper, her favourite flower ever and she smiles and Shiro can't forget that genuine smile

Then, she hears a clear and beautiful voice; Shiro is away seeking for something to eat so she approaches the singer

Lance is singing one of the songs his mother taught him, gathering some money for himself when Lotor bursts into the crowd, stops his performance and gather the coins before telling him to come back to work

Lance is dying inside, he is trapped in this reality that gives him a headache but when he is about to take the empty cup that Lotor left behind him, Allura's hand puts in a coin

“That was really beautiful” “Thanks, my mom used to sing me this so...”

And they both of them realise, they look absolutely alike, just like twins

“Oh my... What's your name?” “My name is Allura” “No jokes just like the Princess?!” “Yes, it is right...” “Oh! The name's Lance her royal Highness. What... What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to marry?” “I am taking my first and last breath of freedom before becoming a wife... A wife of an unknown man...” “Yeah, at least you're not an indentured servant” “A what?”

Lance breaks into a musical number explaining how he's living inside his dreams because well, it's way easier to live in his dreams than in this crappy reality

Allura assumes he's a singer – and she always wanted to meet one! – but it turns out that he's working at Lotor's Dress Emporium and that he made the dress she's wearing right now

He's absolutely proud about the fact that it's the Princess' favourite dress ever, he thanks his mom for that

Allura speaks about her marriage, and how she doesn't want to marry but she has to to save her people, people like Lance from the crisis

“I'm just like you! You're just like me! There's somewhere else we'd rather be!” Lance, jumping into the occasion to sing another time about what he feels

And both Allura and Lance come to the conclusion that they are a lot more alike than they thought in the first place

Then Shiro arrives, in shock, we must admit, because he drops the food he has in his hands – this boy is a disaster I swear – because okay, he knows Princess Allura but THIS GUY definitely looks like her!

Allura promises to Lance that she will send somebody to make him sing at her wedding, and Lance is over the moon when he hears that

Lance comes back and tells everything to Romelle, who is just smiling at Lance's imagination but still listening religiously

During the night, Honerva and her servants kidnap the Princess in order to cancel the wedding and they pretty much arrive to take the Princess into an isolated cabin in the woods

On the next day, Honverva announces to the King that Allura ran off, Kolivan is furious, Keith is somehow sad about it, and Kolivan tells that if the Princess isn't found until tonight the marriage proposal is over, finito

When Shiro hears the news he's sure about one thing: Allura couldn't do such a thing, she didn't ran off and the letter she left wasn't perfumed with junipers but some kind of roses and that wasn't Allura at all

He offered to help to find her, but Honerva laughed him off telling that he could hurt himself or catch a sun stroke while being outside

Shiro wasn't that stupid, and knew that something was going on with Honerva

So, he searches for Lance at Lotor's Dress Emporium

And Lance is just so excited about singing at the wedding, but when he learns the true reason behind Shiro's visit he decides to help Allura because they're alike

There is only one, tiny, little, problem: even with a wig, Lance can't act properly like a Princess and this is where tenor Shiro begins his own musical number

“To be a Princess is to know which spoon to use” - Shiro, while Lance is having a panic attack in front of the five spoons next to the plate

He finally wears one of Allura's dresses, the one Romelle made for her, the blue one, and he begins to feel it with the wig and all

And somehow, Shiro confesses through riddles that he's in love with Allura and Lance now knows that both of them are in love

When Honerva is almost touching her dream of becoming Empress, Shiro steps in the room introducing “Princess Allura”

Lance enters, trips, falls down in front of Keith in disguise and goes to see King Alfor who's absolutely happy to see his daughter safe and sound

Lance hugs the King, apologizing at telling that he, or rather she will never do this again

Kolivan is still pissed and tells that Prince Keith shouldn't marry the Princess and Keith is all “HUM HUM HUM!” “Finally, I think that the Prince will till be fine with marrying Princess Allura”

And Lance freaks out because he has to meet the Prince on the next day

Meanwhile, Elly finds Allura and the cat helps her to escape while she scares the guards with the cat using it as a distraction before kicking some asses before running off to the palace

Just after that, Shiro finds out that Honerva is talking about a cabin in the woods to one of the guards and he follows her

Honerva is FU-RI-OUS when she sees the guards that let the Princess escape, but more importantly she is asking herself why she never told nobody that she was kidnapped in the first place

She sees Shiro through a mirror, she knows that he heard her little speech

Oh boy, Shiro is losing his mind when he faces Honerva “You want to become an Empress?”

Boum, Shiro is hit by a guard with a stick and lays unconscious on the ground

Honerva has to hide him in the mines nearby

Allura however, with Elly, is going to the palace but nobody wants to let her in because “You're faking that you're the Princess girl! Listen, I don't know how you heard about the Princess disappearance but go away!”

So, the only place Allura knows is the Lotor's Dress Emporium and Lance, so there she heads

But Lotor catches her mid-way, laughing at her

“What do you find so funny Lotor?” “For you, it's Sir Lotor! Your parents never taught you manners? You'll follow me you ingrate!”

And he grabs Allura by her hand and she's shocked because wow, it's harsh coming from a boss

When inside the shop, she reveals that she's the Princess but Lotor laughs even loudly, and Romelle is curious about what is happening so she goes out

“You? Princess Allura? Don't try to fool me with your wig Lance!” “Lance...?” “You were gone for the whole day, you should be happy that Romelle managed to do some of your work! Now, go to work and don't sleep until you finish this!” “If you treat your employees like that all the Court's orders will be given to someone else!” “You are threatening me? You? Who do you think you are?!”

And he locks Allura and Romelle in

Allura is absolutely shocked, and Romelle curious about Lance wearing a wig...

“Lance, what are you doing with a wig...?” “I truly am Princess Allura, and what is your name my dear?” “You really are... This is the dress that Lance did for you oh my... My name is Romelle your Highness”

And Allura softly smiles at her, asking her how she can help her in the atelier because Romelle won't do all the job by herself

Elly watches both of them sewing, and then Romelle tells Allura that Elly could sneak out because Blue does it every time and she could deliver the message to her father about her being here

Allura puts a tag form Lotor's shop into her ring and puts it around Elly's neck

Elly is on a mission now, mission home

The next morning, when Lance wakes up he's struck by the fact that somebody brings him his breakfast to bed and A HUGE BREAKFAST OMG

He wants to share with the maid, because he will never eat all of that plus it could feed a huge amount of people

Beginning with Blue who catches some ham on the plate

And then, the servant prepares a bath for the Princess, aka Lance

When Lance sees all these bubbles he just wants to cry because holly shit it's so perfect and Blue is running all around the bathtub

Lance dives into it, having a foam of bubbles all over his head, he made himself a moustache and a beard

Blue began to act strangely, being all petty and strange and Lance noticed it: Blue wanted to seem royal and that made Lance softly laugh

“I can see it when you're feeling low you can't hide that from me” - Lance beginning to sing while Blue walks on the edge of the bathtub

Lance sings for Blue, because Blue is all family that is left to him and he loves this cat so much that he could die for his girl

He reassures her telling her that she's the best cat ever and that she shouldn't try to be someone else – unlike him – because Blue is the best cat

Let's expose Keith who is listening at the door because he's searching for the Princess and he hears Lance's sublime voice and he falls in love totally head over heels

Keith is explaining the whole situation in the throne room to king Alfor, he tells him that he used this particular method to get to know the Princess in a less official way

This is Honerva that brings Lance to the throne room, and Lance is panicked because Shiro disappeared last night and he was clueless about everything and anything

But he planned to do his best until the Princess came back

When Lance meets the Prince right after he recognizes the guy standing next to the ambassador and is absolutely flustering because HOLLY SHIT THE PRINCE IS HOT

“I feel honoured, Princess” “Uh... Euh... I am honoured to meet you, my Prince” says Lance while curtsying in front of the Prince “Please, call me Keith” “And call me La... Allura, Princess Allura, of course it's my name...”

“I am deeply sorry that I came to meet you in disguise Princess, I hope that I did not offend your feelings. I just wanted to meet the real you” - Keith, soft, bowing in front of the Princess again, with a soft look that makes Lance melt in an instant

Alfor just stops this awkward moment – and Lance thanks him so much – by asking if the Prince wants to play the piano, because yes the Prince is fond of every sort of arts

Lance is in awe, the guy is hot, seems funny – who in the world would disguise himself to see his future wife? Only him – and above all he plays an instrument: if he wasn't Allura he would absolutely be melting

Keith agrees only if Allura, aka Lance, sings with him

And this breaks into another musical number with Keith playing the piano and Lance singing

“You say your love is true and I hope that it will be” - Lance, secretly hoping that this cute Prince won't reject him if he learns that Lance is Lance, and not Allura

“I'd be sure, if I knew that you loved me for me” - Keith, playing softly on the piano while looking at Lance's beautiful blue eyes

The are walking into the gardens, Keith softly trying to catch Lance's hand while Lance is a whole blushing mess because the Prince is trying to hold his hand and his hand is so soft and Keith smells actually very good and his eyes are purple and beautiful and Lance can't handle all of this

While they're walking, Keith notices a bunch of forget-me-nots in the garden, and gives a bunch of them to Lance who scents them and softly blushes

“So, you like singing I guess” “ Yes, I always loved to sing, this is something that keeps me somehow alive in my cage in fact...” “You feel trapped?” “Yes I always did, this is so hard to be paying... To pay the price of being a Princess by being kept in a palace” “I absolutely understand you, I always wanted to see other countries but my Mother always forbid me to do so because she was afraid that I would get injured or even dead” “I can't believe that you would someone kill you Keith!” “I could only let you kill me with your beautiful eyes, Allura”

And Lance loses it all actually

When they part ways in the evening, Keith kisses Lance's hand telling him that they will see each other in the evening, just before their tomorrow's wedding

And Lance feels his heart beating faster and faster, but at the same time a pain catches him: he is lying to the Prince, and he's taking Allura's place but the problem is that he is slowly falling for this adorable Prince who has a passion for knives and makes the best compliments ever

Honerva isn't amused at all by all of this because she doesn't understand what happens at all in here

But she's absolutely thrilled when she finds Elly in the gardens at night, with Allura's ring around her neck and so she understands: the Allura in the palace isn't the real Allura

She goes to Lotor's Dress Emporium and finds the real Princess and kidnaps her again, leaving the poor Romelle searching for the Princess in the shop

Honerva takes Allura to the mines, and throws her into the same cell that Shiro is telling her how she will marry her father and become the Empress after killing him

Her guards close the mines, dynamiting the entrances, and leave Allura with Shiro

Shiro is tied up to a wooden stick in the cell and he hugs Allura when he sees her because she seems to be alright, even if they are in a delicate situation

He explains to her his whole plan, with Lance being the Princess right now

They both know that they can't find a way out, but Shiro tries to break the rocks with a pickaxe in order to get out

Allura finds a rare gem hidden inside a basic rock and calls Shiro to sit next to her

“I am unable to get us out of here, I am sorry Allura...” “Shiro, do you know why I wanted to refuse the marriage with Prince Keith?” “You do not feel ready to marry a man” No, not because of that. Because I am already in love with someone else, with my friend, with the one who was always by my side when I needed him, the one that I trust the most, the one that taught me everything” “But... Allura... I am nothing like a King, I can not offer you dresses, jewels and...” “To me, you are like this rock Shiro” “Ugly and basic?” “Shiro... On the outside, this rock looks like a basic rock, but in fact there is a treasure inside. By your rank, you are like this rock Shiro, and I will do anything to be by your side now” “But, the people...” “I know what to do Shiro, just trust me”

And he hugs her, because this was the purest act of love, the most beautiful confession in the world: even better than the ones that he planned for her, the ones that he read to her

Meanwhile, Keith is proposing to Lance in front of the King, and Lance can't really handle this because it's too pure for him, because he genuinely fell in love with Keith

Keith, on the other hand, is really fond of Lance's personality and his beautiful eyes

Honevra is back in the palace and uncovers Lance's disguise by taking off his wig in front of the King and Keith in the throne room

She explains that it was Shiro's plan, that he wanted to kill the Princess and gain power and that they made the mines nearby explode and they only could find Allura's ring

Lance is actually taken by her guards, yelling that he wanted to protect Allura from Honerva and that he did nothing, he yelled with his whole heart that what he told Keith was true and that he really loved him

Anyway, he was thrown into the palace's prison

Lance cries his eyes out during the night, trying to sing but failing miserably to

Kolivan wants to KILL EVERYBODY IN THIS KINGDOM because they wanted to marry the Prince with a poor guy, not even a real Princess and that is unacceptable!

Keith is however really intrigued by what just happened: the boy, Lance, didn't seem to be lying to him, he couldn't fake all these blushes and... This Honerva who was watching them during this walk...

He decided to stay in the kingdom, just for another night

King Alfor is dead inside, he is losing his kingdom and now he lost his daughter, as his wife, forever, he wanted to die but at the same time knew that the kingdom needed him

Honerva, on the other hand, proposes to king Alfor to marry her because thanks to her travel she learned that her activities were making a huge profit, a profit of a Prince Keith, and that she could solve the crisis by marrying him

Bonus, there is already a marriage planned so

Alfor is unable to refuse this offer, Eleanor would've wanted this for her people

On the next day, after a rough night, Allura and Shiro managed to find a way out: there is a huge hole in the ground above them and that there is some water flowing here and actually they could get out of here by entering one of these wooden boxes and go to stop Honerva from marrying Allura's father

Lance is determined to not die in this prison, absolutely not so he steals the keys from one of the sleeping guards and sneaks out, before being caught by another guard taking him out of the prison, King's orders

Lance is pissed, absolutely pissed, and wants to escape so he hits the guard in the balls and then, he hears a familiar voice

“I agree, I deserved this...” “... Keith?! I will explain you everything, I swear I am not...” “I do not believe this Honerva at all, I know that you could not lie to me, A... Lance” “Yes... You do like to be in disguise, do you Keith?” “That's not the real problem here, Lance. We have no time, follow me please”

The two couples are running to the wedding, while Alfor almost married Honerva

But Allura arrives in time, with Shiro, telling her father that Honerva tries to trick him

Honerva swears that it's the boy, but Elly appears next to Allura, Elly that wasn't seen around for a long time and Allura approaches her father telling him that her mother gave her once a ring, a pink worthless ring and that she wears it around her neck and showed it to him

And Alfor knew that it was Allura

Allura tells them that Honerva tried to kill her and Shiro in order to become the Empress of this kingdom

Honerva is RUNNING away, but Shiro and Keith catch her together before handing her to the guards

Lance is in the back, smiling because it's what that awful witch deserved

Once every guest came back home, Allura had a moment to talk with her father, Lance, Shiro and Keith were taken care of by some servants

“Father, nothing happened to me thanks to my friend Lance and to the one I love, Takashi” “I deeply want you to be happy, it is my dearest wish, but Allura, you know, for the kingdom...” “Do not worry Father, in the mines where I was, I made a discovery, a gem worth more than the gold we lack, our kingdom is not in crisis anymore”

And this solves somehow the crisis problem

On the next day, when Allura paid all of Lance's debts, Lance is ready to go and discover the world, to sing, to be himself and what he always wanted to be: free

Keith stands next to Lance's horse, with a small box in his hand

“Are you sure that you want to go, Lance?” Yes, I am. This is what I was talking about, to be free from my misery, to be able to go wherever I want to... To not be trapped anymore” “Will you come back?” “I can't promise Keith...” “So please, take this with you”

Keith hands Lance the little box with the engagement ring, telling him it was meant to be for him, because, whoever he is, he loves him and deeply wishes to marry him one day

Lance is touched, so touched and accepts the gift, telling him that he is happy to know that he has a place to come back to

Lotor's Dress Emporium is ruined, Allura makes everything to sink this sick man's business and allows Romelle to open her own little shop from where she will buy her dresses

A few years later, Lance comes back to Altea but before he goes to see Keith in the Blade's kingdom

Keith is absolutely astonished, seeing Lance coming back and when Lance notices him he runs towards him before hugging him

“I missed you so much Keith, the world is beautiful but nothing is as beautiful as you Keith!” “I love you too Lance”

And they kiss, Lance in Keith's arms deeply in love

Lance meets Keith's parents, the King and the Queen who find the boy lovely and, well, now they know that it's acceptable to let their son marry whoever he wants to because they spoke with Alfor for a long moment

Shiro and Allura, being the perfect royal couple offer to the two lovers to make a double marriage

Lance is thrilled because he is marrying with a Prince, during the same ceremony that Allura, the Princess of his kingdom and his friend now

Romelle gives everything she has in doing Lance's outfit, because her best friend will marry a Prince and if this isn't a fairy tale she doesn't know what it is

And this is the purest marriage that the two kingdoms have ever seen, Shiro and Allura are the cutest couple on Earth and Lance and Keith are the perfect lovebirds

They had a happy ever after after all...

Bonus:

Shiro and Allura had a daughter that they called Marina Eleanor, with white hair and beautiful cat shaped blue eyes: a pure candy, a girl with a beautiful smile and a great personality

She often could be found in the library, with books around her little dress while looking at the images as somebody was reading a story to her

Or hiding in the garden, between junipers and forget-me-nots

Lance and Keith adopted a boy named Julian, an orphan from the Blade's kingdom that Lance found once on one of his escapes from the palace and the little boy followed him during the whole day, and Lance having a big heart and being undercover bought him some food, took care of him and asked him where his parents were, and when he learnt that his parents were dead he adopted him, instantaneously: law

Keith loved the little boy so much, he was so lively and so funny and loved to play the violin so Lance made this tradition that every Friday the three of them were having a music session, with Keith playing the piano, Julian playing the violin and Lance singing

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stressedspidergirlsfandomblog · 5 years

Text

Fic update. Unedited. Dark themes. Citrus Themes. TW for a lot of stuff. Read at your own risk.

“We should talk before I lose my nerve,” Shiro mumbles after they’ve been sitting for a while.

“Is it really that bad?” Curtis asks, pulling back some to get a better look at Takashi’s face. “Between the two of us I think we’ve covered almost the entire gamut of human suffering.”

“I think it might be, I know someone always has it worse-”

“That’s irrelevant,” Curtis interrupts. “There is no ‘worse’ in trauma. That’s not how that works. Would you tell one of your paladins that they had it worse than each other? Or that one suffered more and deserves something special?”

“No, of course not, they need to support each other’s needs as is!” he says indignantly and then realizes what he’s walked into. “I just don’t think it’s fair to compare four teens and an idiot in space with people who’ve been through even more horrific stuff.”

“What idiot? Keith?” Curtis teases, kissing Takashi’s cheek. “You’re being extra stupid on purpose and I don’t love it,” he informs the other man. “If I say, you had it worse than me, does that feel true to you?”

“No, you saw people around you die, you lost….”

“But I had happy parents, a good childhood, I’ve been accepted and loved by my whole family my whole life. So how do I compare that with what you went through? Am I even allowed to talk about my ‘suffering’ with you? Since you’ve had it worse?” Curtis pushes. He’s going to make this point and win this argument once and for all.

“It’s not the same thing, you can’t compare my childhood to yours, or the Galra Invasion to being held captive, you can’t just compare our pain like that,” Takashi points out.

“So would you stop doing it then?” Curtis asks.

“I wasn’t-”

Curtis raises an eyebrow.

“I will do my best to stop and correct myself when I start to do it.”

“That’s all I can ask for,” Curtis smiles. “Our pain is so different, love, you can’t put price tags or weights on it. And we all show it so differently. No one handles things the same. No one feels the same way about something. Even if we both love something, we bring with us completely different ways of seeing it and reasons why we love it.”

“When did you turn into a great sage?” he wrinkles his nose at his boyfriend.

“I’ve always been smart like this. You were too busy busting flight records in the Academy to much care about intellectual pursuits.”

“Hey!”

Curtis laughs and kisses him. Takashi kisses back, stepping back in so their bodies are perfectly aligned. He almost doesn’t want to know what it is they have to talk about. It will not only ruin the moment, but clearly the other man isn’t sure how to begin, and doesn’t want to, either. But it’s not Curtis’ job to push. It’s his job to wait.

Reluctantly pulling back, Shiro looks around. “Can we get this over with?” he asks hesitantly.

“Yeah, of course,” Curtis says, face clouding. Clearly this is going to be awful for both of them. Reaching out to touch Takashi’s cheek, he lets his hand drop when Shiro pulls away a little.

“Sorry,” he says, when he sees the hurt in the other man’s eyes. “Sorry, I just. If you start being nice and touching me, I won’t be able to do this. And you’ve said you won’t fool around with me until we do this, and I really really want to fool around and have sex, and I’m going to lose my nerve if we don’t just get this over with.”

He takes a minute to meet Takashi’s eyes, before nodding a little. “Let’s sit on the couch?” he suggests. Then when it’s over they can cuddle up and comfort each other a lot easier.

“I can do that,” Takashi agrees, practically vibrating out of his skin with nerves. He’d known his day was leading up to this, but it doesn’t make it any easier. “I… don’t… No matter what I do, if you interrupt me, or, or talk, or do anything to help, I won’t be able to get through this. I’ll start crying and I will never be able to actually tell you any of this.” He meets Curtis’ eyes, his own already welling with tears that he blinks away irritably. He tugs at the collar of his shirt of a second or two, fidgeting as he tries to find a comfortable way to sit. Stands up twice, and settles back down, legs tightly crossed.

Curtis nods, and leans back, crossing his legs and then crossing his arms across his chest. “Okay. No interruptinh, and I’ll keep my hands to myself,” he says seriously. “But, if you can’t do it, just lean into me. And we’ll try again later. Okay? I won’t hold you until you ask.” Verbally or nonverbally.

Nodding, “I don’t know if I can make eye contact with you, while I do this,” Shiro whispers.

“That’s okay,” Curtis reassures him, letting him stall. Some part of him his morbidly curious, and he hates that. The rest of him doesn’t want to know anything about this, other than it could impact them both negatively in bed. And in their relationship in general. Half tempted to give the other man an out, he takes a slow even breath.

“Okay,” he looks up at Curtis briefly, seeking that love and reassurance he always sees when they make eye contact. “Don’t talk to me anymore,” he says with a shuddering breath. Grateful when Curtis just stays quiet. “I know…” he tries to start and has to take a few seconds. “I know you know the Galra ran experiments on me,” his voice shakes and he takes a few breaths to calm himself. “And sometimes I don’t think it was malicious, just, curious. It was still awful,” he whispers in a smaller voice. “Like when they would test the mobility in my joints, see how far they could bend before they broke. I think hurting me was just a bonus for them on their journey to scientific inquiry.” He clenches his fist, and then slides a hand into his pocket where he keeps Allura’s gem. She’d want him to talk about this. She’d be proud he was working past it. Thinking about their silent nights on the bridge of the Castle, just watching stars, unable to speak about their nightmares, he takes another breath.

He can’t look up at Curtis, or he’ll break and never be able to do this. See those blue eyes softened in compassion and worry. His breathing hitches just thinking about it. Focus. Squeezing the gem in his palm, he nods to himself a little. “Well, they were… curious, and they did all sorts of things,” his throat squeezes and he breathes through his nose. He can do this. “I know they stuck things up my nose, in my ears, I’m… I’m pretty sure they did things to my eyes that I can’t remember,” thank the gods. “They were interested in human reproduction…” his breathing is ragged and it takes several moments to compose himself.

Curtis is rigid in his seat, because he has to be or he’s going to pull Takashi into his arms and not let go of him for several hours. He is doing his best to keep his face neutral and calm, for all he can feel the rage making his heart pound. Biting his lip to stop himself from saying a word, he is starting to get where some of this is leading.

“They were interested in our anatomy in general… I guess since I was Champion they were especially curious as to what made me tick, vs another human. I don’t know if they experimented on Matt or Sam like they did me, but I doubt it. Since they were both removed from the arena to do scientific work.” His voice takes on a flat, almost bored quality. “One time, they chose to, I don’t know if they knew how humiliating it would be. I have no idea what culture or customs they had, or if they even saw me as anything other than a slave…” his voice trails off and he looks down at his pocket, rolling the gem over and over in his hand.

“I don’t know if it was intentional, I don’t know if they even wanted to hurt me. They did plenty of things that were painless.” And so many things that weren’t. “It could have just been a misjudgement on their part. I don’t really know. But they tore me open… ‘exploring.’ I suppose I’m lucky they didn’t rupture anything internal, but sometimes I wish they had.” He shrugs a little, more to himself than to Curtis. He’s almost forgotten the other man is in the room with him. “When they were done, they left me in my cell. And the bleeding just… didn’t stop. So I hid it. I wanted to die, and then one day I woke up and it was healing.” Tears spill over his cheeks without warning. “So I tore myself open, because it was the only way I could hurt myself in those cells.”

His throat squeezes and he struggles to breathe. Just admitting it. Admitting it out loud that he had wanted to die. Had tried to kill himself. It’s oddly freeing while absolutely terrifying. Because he’s admitting it to himself now, too, for the first time. “Eventually they figured out something was wrong. I… did some damage to myself,” he whispers. “I’d been refusing food, hiding it so they wouldn’t know. Trying to make sure I hid the blood, too… so they stapled me up, chained me spread eagle so I couldn’t move so much as an inch, and shoved a feeding tube down my throat…. And left me until I healed.” He chokes down a sob. “And the worst part is, I withstood everything they threw at me until then, and… something that might have just been an accident, something that might not have been even the slightest bit malicious is what broke me,” he whispers, starting to sob. “So many people survive intentional… attacks like that, and they survive and they go on and that’s what made me lose it…” he chokes out a bitter laugh. “Funny right? Kill people. Have your bones broken. Face torture. Sendak used to….” he looks up for a second, shaking his head with his lips pressed flat to his teeth so he won’t cry. “He loved that electric baton they had. And I handled that, too.”

Curtis forces himself to put his hands on his knees, so that when and if Takashi is ready for comfort, he won’t have to wait for Curtis to be able to peel his arms off his chest. He’s so rigid, and so angry, and so devastated for his partner. But he promised to stay quiet until it was over. He is dying to comfort Takashi, tell him everyone has a breaking point. Or just something that they can’t withstand. None of it makes him any less. He wants to also make sure that the other man isn’t considering what he had in that cell, not anymore. So he clenches his jaw and bites his tongue because this isn’t about him right now. For all he thinks he might be sick later. Repeatedly.

Starting to cry, he feels like he almost can’t stop the words now that he’s started. “They hurt me so much, and I’m so scared that if I try… if I try and do some of the things… that I would want, that you would want… Curtis I’m so scared if I try and…” he chokes, sobbing. “I don’t want to go down on you and freeze up,” he can’t force himself to explain why. Hopefully Curtis can infer why that might happen. “And I’m scared that if you… I’m scared if I let you, if I want you to, I’m scared the scars… I don’t want to tear open again, I don’t want to remember how that felt, I don’t want to feel any of that with you and I don’t want you to not sleep with me because I can’t give you what you can give me,” he forces out in a breath. “I’m so scared if we do the things I want to do, I’ll panic and hurt you, or… get hurt and I don’t want to hurt anymore,” he sobs miserably, shaking.

He hunches around himself, hand squeezing the gem in his pocket so tightly he’ll have the mark for hours. Curtis takes a few breaths to center himself, tears of his own running down his cheeks. Takashi has not told him he can respond now, yet, or do anything, and he hates to break that promise but he can’t take it anymore. He leans forward and gathers his partner into his arms. “I love you,” he says fiercely, “I love you and it doesn’t matter to me who puts what where, it never did and it never will.” Because that’s part of what this is about. Rubbing Takashi’s back, he slowly encourages the other man to curl into him. With gentle touches and soft reassurance, he eases Takashi into his lap so the other man can be as close to him as possible.

“I would never want to hurt you or scare you while we’re in bed together,” Curtis reassures him, blinking through tears of his own. For all he’s thankful Takashi doesn’t seem to think he could do that intentionally. Putting all the blame on himself, instead of the Galra. Kissing his temple, Curtis closes his eyes, feeling tears run over his own cheeks. Squeezing his partner tightly, he wishes he knew how to be more comforting.

Shiro wraps his legs around Curtis’ middle, too upset to be worried about if it’s comfortable for the other man or not. His hand is clutching the back of Curtis’ shirt, trying to press himself as close as possible to him. The need to feel safe, and loved is absolutely overwhelming. “I’m sorry,” he forces out between sobs. It’s a lot to dump on someone. Even if that someone said they wanted to know. “I’m sorry,” he says again, between sobs, over and over until he feels like he can’t stop.

“You don’t need to be sorry,” Curtis promises, forcing back sobs of his own. He has no idea what Takashi is apologizing for. Trying to find a way to hug him tighter, Curtis shifts his grip a little. Realizing at some point his partner is stuck repeating it, he pulls back a little to kiss him gently on the cheek, bridge of his nose, and corner of his mouth. Surprised when Takashi turns into the kiss, Curtis doesn’t stop him and kisses him back. When Shiro tries to pull back to apologize more, Curtis kisses him again to stop him. “I don’t know what you’re apologizing for, but you don’t have to, there’s nothing to be sorry for,” he promises. Pulling Takashi close again, he does his best to keep his breathing as even as he can. For all he’s starting to cry now, too.

He shifts a hand up to Takashi’s head, gently, but compulsively, smoothing the silvery white hair. Curtis isn’t sure if he’s trying to comfort himself, or his partner more, right now.

When he feels himself starting to wind down, Shiro pulls back, ashamed. He doesn’t need to make such a fuss. They stuck things in every hole in his body. What did it matter which one? They’d made holes and probed those, too. Cut him open. Cut his arm apart. Without anesthesia. They had tortured him so many times. Thrown him into that arena again and again and again. Body shuddering in exhaustion after the force of his outburst, he looks at Curtis wearily. Pulling his hand free from the back of Curtis’ shirt is no small feat, and it cramps as he tries to flex it. When his hand is finally under his control again, he reaches out to smooth away the tears on his partner’s cheeks. They look like diamonds against the dark skin, but Shiro still hates seeing them there.

Curtis allows Takashi to pull back, and get himself the rest of the way under control. “Let me go get some tissues,” he says softly, pressing a kiss to Takashi’s forehead.

“Okay,” he says hoarsely, half terrified Curtis won’t come back. Now that he knows just how damaged the goods are, he won’t want them anymore. Trying not to cry more, he can’t stop himself. Wrapping his arm around his middle he rocks a little, wishing he was stronger.

Shocked into stopping when something cold and wet touches the back of his neck, he freezes. Curtis is back, his face shiny with water and his hairline still damp. He holds still while Curtis gently runs the washcloth over his face and neck. It feels so good.

“Here, hold it up to your eyes for a minute or so while I make some tea,” Curt says gently, quickly folding it into a compress and holding it out to his partner. He also drops a box of tissues in Takashi’s lap. Leaving him to settle down some on his own, Curtis heads into the kitchen and starts making tea with shaking hands.

He glances at the tea bags and picks chamomile, setting up a pot. When the water from the kettle boils, he fills the pot and gets out two mugs. Adding a little honey to both, he has a feeling after all the crying they could use the sugar. Waiting a few minutes, he glances back at his partner, feeling devastated. Takashi’s shoulders still shake here and there, and from a room away Curtis can see the trembling in his hand as he holds the washcloth to his face.

Counting down the seconds until the tea bag has steeped enough to have some flavor, he glances at his comm. Should he call someone? Is there anyone Takashi would even take comfort in right now? Shaking his head a little, he pockets the device again and pours out two mugs of tea, stirs the honey into them, and heads back to the couch. Settling them on the cheap coffee table, he pulls Takashi back into his arms.

“You don’t have to stay,” he says dully, tears still running down his cheeks. He can’t seem to make them stop, but at least the sobbing has.

“What?” Curtis asks, too surprised to have any idea what the other man is talking about. “Where am I supposed to be going?” he glances at the clock.

“I just,” Shiro huffs. “I get it if you don’t want to be here right now.” He blinks hard, trying to stop more tears from squeezing out.

“Oh,” Curtis sighs heavily. “You can’t drive me off with this stuff.” Not that he’s trying to downplay how bad the ‘stuff’ in question really is. It’s just that he’s not afraid of it. Or Takashi’s pain. Sure, he’ll probably need an extra therapy appointment or two this month, instead of the one he’s gotten down to. But he’s not giving up on his partner now. They’ve come too far. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Shiro’s voice cracks. He lets Curtis settle him in closer, tucking his head under his chin. It feels so good. So safe. Nuzzling into the embrace, he works on evening out his breathing. He can calm down. Curtis won’t leave. At least not yet, so he can let himself feel safe enough to settle back down.

Rubbing Takashi’s back in slow circles, Curtis nuzzles him back as he tries to ignore the tortured flesh under his hand. Usually he just accepts it. Or ignores it. “I’m not leaving you, well, not until tomorrow when I have to go to work. But I really don’t want you to be alone all day tomorrow. Can I call someone for you?” he asks, worried. He doesn’t want this to spiral into Takashi hurting himself again. Or just being too depressed to do anything to take care of himself until Curtis gets home. Not that he’s really let himself get that bad. “Maybe you and Keith can convince Pidge you need to keep testing the speeders?”

“Maybe,” Shiro agrees wearily. “Just as long as I get to sleep in.”

“Deal,” Curtis agrees, a weight off his chest. “Come to my place tomorrow? Or just meet me at the Garrison and I’ll take you with me?” he offers. He has more teas, and a much nicer comfier place. For all Keith had helped Takashi make some improvements. The new sheets are a plus. The extra groceries are good, too. But Curtis still feels like he’s got more at his own apartment that will help them both feel comfortable. For one, he has pillows and a blanket on his couch. Two, he has a much bigger bathroom with a nicer shower.

“Are you sure you want me around?” he asks. He can almost feel the glare he gets and clears his throat. “Not like that, I just… you don’t need time to… process?”

Pulling back, he very deliberately catches Takashi’s face with both hands and presses his forehead against his own. “Look at me a minute?” he asks. Smiling a bit when red rimmed grey eyes meet his. “I have known since I met you that you had been through some bad stuff. I knew before I met you. This is awful stuff to have lived through. And I am sorry it happened. But I knew coming into this relationship you would have baggage. And I decided that if I wanted to be with you I would help you carry it. I can’t do it all the time, we both know that. And I have my own stuff, and you’ve been helpful and patient with it. So just… stop worrying that something the Galra did to you will make me stop loving you.” Not surprised when fresh tears roll over scarred cheeks, Curtis gently kisses him. “I have never been with you because I wanted to fuck you. So if you’re on top, it makes no difference to me.”

“Is that a polite way of saying you don’t want to fuck me?” Shiro tries to joke.

“I am saying I don’t care about that stuff. Being with you like this… is painful, I know, but it’s worth it. And just as worth my time as fooling around with you in the shower. It’s like yin and yang right? Good and bad? Can’t have the good without the bad.”

“Well hopefully we’ve both had enough bad times we don’t have to create new bad memories together,” Shiro mutters. Then wonders if what he just said made any sense at all. If anyone’s going to understand what he meant, it’s Curtis.

“We might make mistakes. Get frustrated with each other. It’ll be okay in the end. As long as we keep being honest with each other.” He pulls away and hands Takashi the mug. “How about we have the tea, get cleaned up, and go to bed?”

“And then you’ll tell me whatever you wanted me to know, too?”

“Are you sure you’re up for that? We might just need to sleep some…”

“Is it that bad? Or do you just think it’s not that important compared to…”

“It’s not that bad. It’s just there’s no rush…” he sips his own tea. “Mine is more about stuff I don’t like. Not much of it’s trauma. Just…things I’ve learned make me uncomfortable or turn me off.”

“Oh.” Shiro shifts a little, searching for a joke of some kind. “You mean I didn’t have to go through any of that, I could have just told you I’d rather top?” he forces an awkward chuckle.

“No, I don’t think that’s what I mean… some of it’s… not just preference.” Realizing Takashi is looking for something to ease some of the sting, he breathes out a sigh. “I … don’t love when people put my hands in their mouths because sometimes I panic and forget why they’re wet and that I’m feeling teeth and not rocks. It’s not often, but when it happens it’s hard to push through. Not to mention, I uh, with the grafts and all the broken bones, it just doesn’t feel right anymore.” He chuckles weakly. “I read somewhere that it takes the same amount of force to bite off a finger as it does to bite through a carrot. Every time some guy put my fingers in his mouth that’s all I could think of.” What if they bit down? “It just… with all of it… just lost it’s appeal entirely I guess. I used to like it. Maybe I will again, eventually.”

Shiro glances at Curtis, then his hands, wrapped around the mug. He nods a little. He doesn’t have any specific interest in those hands. Other than feeling them on his body. His face heats in response to the thoughts, and he feels guilty for having them.

“I can’t stand people touching my neck. A little kissing down the side is fine, but one guy I slept with just liked to rest his hand there. And it always made me feel like I was suffocating.” He glances away some. Any kind of pressure can trigger that terror in him now. But he hates when people do things like try and choke him in bed. Not that he really feels Takashi would be into that at all. “Then I guess there’s just kind of the normal stuff, but some of it won’t matter with you,” he shrugs.

“Why not?” Shiro asks, almost indignant. What wouldn’t matter with him?

Laughing a little, he can’t help it. “There’s some weird things guys do when they give blowjobs, and since you don’t feel comfortable doing that right now, or ever, it won’t be an issue for us, that’s all. And if I find out it’s something you like, then I’ll tell you what it is so you never try it on me if you feel up to trying.”

Cheeks red, Shiro nods a little. “Fair enough,” he admits, embarrassed. The idea of Curtis between his legs makes his face burn and he hates himself a little for being able to think like that after what they’d just talked about. But the whole point of this talk was to be comfortable doing things together.

“So, in the shower, you got really jumpy… and I get why, but is that an area you’d rather I didn’t touch?” Curtis pushes softly. “Usually I do a lot when I’m down there, but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable….” he trails off, finally noticing how red Takashi is. “We can put this conversation off for later, if you need to,” he says. For all he thinks the other man just wants to get it over with all at once. Not that he blames him. None of this has been fun.

“I’m. I’m scared I’ll tear open,” Shiro admits, looking down and away. It might not be rational. It’s just how he feels. “I used to switch with Adam,” he admits, knowing Curt won’t mind him bringing up his ex. “We didn’t take turns necessarily we just… it just worked out however it worked out, I guess. I don’t know if we put any thought into it,” his eyes well with tears. “But I’m so scared if you… even a finger… I’m scared I’ll go back to that place and I’ll relive it all over again. Or… or that the scar tissue won’t hold,” his throat squeezes and he takes a drink of tea to hide that he can’t talk anymore.

“Okay,” Curtis says calmly. “Okay. Nothing inside, I can do that.” He raises an eyebrow slightly, testing the waters. “Or not do that, actually. I can not do that,” he teases weakly.

“You won’t hate me? For not being able to… ‘give back’ or keep it even?”

“You really have only dated one other guy, huh?” Curtis cups his cheek and smooths away a tear with his thumb. “Some guys only top, or only bottom or have very strict rules and preferences. All you’re asking me to do is not do something that might hurt you. I think I can manage that. That doesn’t upset me at all.” He knows it’s not exactly like Takashi can be part of a community or learn much about some of the culture out by the Garrison when he’s spent most of his time in space away from humans. But sometimes he forgets that the other man grew up with a family who did not accept him as he was. Not that it had been fun for Curtis to get caught ‘learning’ about the gay community. Or as his mother would call it ‘watching porn.’ Thankfully his education also came from other sources.

“I won’t put a hand on your neck. Or mess with your hands,” Takashi says seriously. Finishing his tea, he sets the mug down on the table. Leaning into Curtis’ chest, he heaves an exhausted sigh. “I feel disgusting,” he complains.

“Mm?”

“Tears and snot… I feel like I need to shower again.”

“Well it has been since yesterday,” Curt drawls slowly. “I usually feel like I have to shower at work, and most of what I do involves sitting down and not working up a sweat.”

“We could save time….” he tests the waters. He’s not sure he wants to do anything, but he wants to feel close to the other man.

“You looking for an encore of yesterday’s performance?” Curtis teases gently.

“I don’t know yet,” he admits. “But uh, if I was… I don’t think I’d want to see the exact same show over again.” He blushes and looks at Curtis.

“Well, if you decide you’re interested, I suppose something could be arranged. I have an in with the guy from yesterday, so I can at least ask.” He smooths Takashi’s hair back from his forehead gently. Then kisses him. “You don’t have to prove anything to me, just so we’re clear.”

“I know.” He glances at Curtis oddly and realizes it’s true. He doesn’t feel like he has to prove anything to the other man. There’s no record to break, no point to be made, no fight to win. Overcome by the idea he just sits there for a few seconds, stunned.

“Earth to Shirogane,” Curtis says after a bit, not sure something hasn’t broken in the other man. Not sure what to expect, the glowing smile he receives wasn’t even on the list.

“I don’t have to prove anything to you,” Takashi says, almost sounding excited. He kisses Curtis soundly before pulling away, practically giddy.

“No,” Curtis agrees, a bit bewildered, for all Takashi’s laugh is infectious. “No, you don’t,” he grins, for all he’s not sure what’s going on. “You okay in there?”

“Yeah,” he sobers up a little. For Curtis’ sake. Then grins again because he can’t help it. He’s never felt like this. “I don’t have to prove anything to anyone, anymore,” he says carefully, almost like if it’s said out loud it won’t be true anymore. Or maybe if by saying it, it becomes true. Either way it’s freeing.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks, feeling like he’s gotten whiplash from the change in mood. Not that he’s really complaining. Grief can come in waves. But it seems like something’s happening here, something good, at least.

“I’m sure,” Shiro grins, leaning in to kiss Curtis. “Let’s go get cleaned up? And go to bed?” he suggests. Considering the other man has work in the morning and he doesn’t.

Shaking his head, he lets Takashi pull him up. He helps the other man undress in the bathroom, heart squeezing as he sees all the scars all over again. He wonders if it’ll ever stop hurting. Not that Takashi isn’t still beautiful, the scars don’t detract from that. They just give him a tragic edge. Tracing one that curls around from the back, across his ribcage to finish near his navel, Curtis bites his lip when Takashi shudders. “Should I not do that?” he asks, he hadn’t thought about it if he’s being honest. He’d just wished his touch could erase some of the damage.

“It’s fine,” Shiro says, brow furrowed slightly. “It just felt odd,” he admits. There’s another one that wraps from his shoulder blade across the top of his shoulder to end just below his collar bone. He takes Curtis’ hand gently and leads it to that scar, watching as dark fingers move across the white and pink flesh. “Can I kiss your palms?” he asks softly, unsure.

“That’s fine,” Curt smiles. Kissing Takashi gently on the cheek. Cupping that same cheek, he leans in to keep kissing for a little, not at all surprised to feel Takashi step in and push their bodies together seamlessly.

He turns his head to deepen the kiss, wrapping his arm around Curtis’ shoulders. Surprised at the need he feels there, Curtis kisses back. Now that he feels he has more of an idea of where not to touch, he lets his hands wander some, pleased by his partner’s reaction. Gasping in some surprise when Takashi’s hand does some wandering of its own, it feels good.

“Is this okay?” Shiro asks, slightly concerned, he doesn’t know all the sounds Curtis makes, so he isn’t sure what’s good yet. He’ll learn. He’s eager to learn.

“Yeah, very okay,” Curtis promises. “I’ll tell you if I want you to stop.”

“So keep going until then?” Takashi tries to clarify.

Lightly nipping at the shorter man’s earlobe, he grins at the little choked sound he earns for his trouble. “You might not hear a stop from me tonight. Are you okay with that?”

“Very okay,” he agrees, feeling oddly comfortable that it’s okay if he says stop. Curtis will stop if he wants him to. When he feels the pads of Curtis’ fingers drag up the inside of his thigh he half moans half whines and turns red. When those fingers pause, he makes a frustrated sound, before wondering if things are okay, and pulling back to see a slight smirk on the other man’s face. “You ass,” Takashi does his best to try and glare.

“It’s fun to tease you,” Curtis shrugs, letting his fingertips wander higher without ever getting to the desired spot. Turning his hand so his palm drags over the top of Takashi’s thigh to settle at his hip, gripping gently.

Breathing hitching, he decides it’s about time to start returning the favor. He’s almost forgotten how this works. It’s been so long, and he and Curtis haven’t really done much of this. Some part of him wants to panic, because he doesn’t want to do the same things for Curtis that he did with Adam. Pulling back to breathe when Curtis runs kisses from under his jaw down to his collarbone, he finds it didn’t help the breathing much. Mostly because everything Curtis is doing is making him forget to breathe entirely. And he doesn’t want it to stop.

Pulling back for a few seconds to check in, Curtis watches Takashi for a few seconds, eyes searching. Also he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying the view. Stepping back in close, he kisses his lover gently, trying to slow them both down a little. There’s no sense in rushing the experience. Regardless of what happens, it’s their first time together. Pausing to just nuzzle Takashi and let him recover a little, “Should we take this to bed?” he asks gently. It might be more comfortable. Especially since he can feel the little shakes and tremors going through Shiro.

“We’d just have to shower, and then change the sheets before we could sleep after,” he says after a few seconds of trying to put his thoughts in order. “Do you want to stop?” he asks, almost confused.

Carefully catching Shiro by the chin he tips his head down. “Does it look like I want to stop?”

“You and I both know that -”

“I know. I know. But no, I don’t want to stop. I just want to make sure you’re comfortable.”

“I feel better in here,” Takashi admits. Less pressure to have ‘real’ sex if he’s not in a bed. And while Curtis had said he was more than comfortable with whatever, Shiro just isn’t sure he wants to be in that position just yet. “Or on the couch?” he offers, trying to compromise.

“In here is good,” Curtis smiles, leaning back in to kiss Takashi lazily. He’ll let the other man set the pace from here, ease them both back into it. Not too surprised that the intensity doesn’t pick back up instantly, he’s happy just to be with the other man.

A little hesitant, but almost relieved that things had calmed down, he feels more in control of himself and the situation. He has no idea if Curtis had felt so spun out, too, or not, but he’s glad that things feel more … natural now. Less blinded by lust. As things build back up, it feels less rushed and he feels more confident in what he’s doing. If the noises Curtis occasionally makes are any indication, he’s definitely doing better this time around.

Not too sure what’s happening at first, when Curtis slips down to kiss lower, and lower, he almost chokes when he catches on. Dropping a hand to tangle his fingers into his partner’s hair, he doesn’t need to guide the other man, but he needs something to hold onto. Pressing himself into the wall so he doesn’t collapse, he can’t stop the soft noises he’s making. Not that he feels like he has to. Every time a thought runs through his head something Curtis does chases it away. He can’t think, he can’t move, it feels so good.

Somewhat amused by Takashi’s occasional moan or whimper, and the rare ‘yes’ he has to work to keep his focus on what he’s doing. Otherwise he’d end up stopping to smile and shake his head. He’s glad that the other man isn’t trying to pull his hair or force him out of his rhythm. He thinks he’s figured out something that’s working well for both of them, if the shuddering breaths above him are any indication.

“Kiss me,” Takashi begs suddenly, not sure why he needs it so badly right now, but he does. When Curtis slides up his body to kiss him on the mouth, his whole body jerks, electrified. Shifting his arm around Curtis’ shoulders, half to hold himself up and half to keep the other man close, he tries to press all of the love and affection he’s feeling into those kisses.

Not too surprised to feel Takashi finish against him, he smiles against his lips as they kiss. Half tempted to see him about the dream he’d had earlier about this, he doesn’t. But he hopes he was right and the real thing was much more satisfying than the dream version. “Anything like what you imagined?” he asks, deciding that’s safe.

“Better,” Shiro admits, slipping his hand between them, now that he can reach. He doesn’t let up with the kissing, and he half wishes he had his other arm still. It would probably be useful right about now. But Curtis doesn’t seem to mind.

“Do that again,” Curtis asks breathlessly.

“This?”

“Yeah, that,” he gasps.

“I can do that,” Takashi grins, kissing under Curtis’ jaw. Completely pleased when Curtis shudders against him, finding his own release, Takashi nuzzles him gently. “Better than when you do it yourself?” he asks, curious.

Gently poking Takashi in the ribs, he grins. “Fishing for compliments already?” he kisses one scarred cheek. “For your information, yes, actually. Where did you learn that little trick?”

“I dunno, I think that’s uniquely mine,” he admits.

“Hm,” Curtis shrugs. “When we pull apart it’s going to feel awful,” he points out.

“Then we just don’t pull apart?” Takashi suggests, kissing Curtis again. Curtis laughs but lets his lover pepper his face in kisses before cupping his cheek to force him to kiss him properly. On the lips, not all over the face.

“It’s late, love,” Curtis sighs. They should get cleaned up and go to bed. “I’m going to sleep like a rock,” he grins.

“Preferably like a sun-warmed one, not a cold one. I hate when you stick your icy feet on my leg,” Takashi complains jokingly.

“Y’know, you’re guilty of doing the same,” Curtis points out.

“Sticking my own icy feet on my own legs? Yeah when I huddle up to keep from freezing to death after you steal all my body heat. Like a leech.”

“A leech huh? That’s what you’re going with?” he asks, pulling away to turn on the water. Checking the temperature straight from the faucet so he has an excuse to flick water at Shiro.

“Oh, cold,” he flinches. “Not fair.”

“What’re you gonna do about it?”

“This,” he says, stepping in and pushing their bodies together again before kissing Curtis.

“Gross,” he laughs, mock pulling away. “That is so much worse room temperature!“

Takashi laughs, nuzzling Curtis before leaning to see if the water had finally heated. Glad it’s no longer cold he backs into the shower and pulls Curtis in with him.

They clean up easily enough before dressing and drying themselves off and dropping into bed.

Takashi sleeps dreamlessly, curled into his lover’s chest.

#curtashi #curo #shurtis #vld shiro #takashi shirogane #vld #vld curtis #i found a reason #my fic #citrus #assault #torture #body horror #tw: implied torture #ptsd #depression #shirotember

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zoedozy · 6 years

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alright i’m barely even coherent enough to type down my thoughts after 5 hours of sleep and an episode of hyperventilating and sobbing but let’s fucking do this

let’s start with this: this is the canon ending we have. you can choose to love it, hate it or be neutral. just respect other’s opinions on it and don’t harass anyone. and please know that the team behind voltron worked hours, weeks, months, to years on this show.

now let’s get down to business to defeat the huns

i’m sure lance, allura and allurance stans can agree they both deserved better. now allurance may not have been my ideal endgame (if you can call it that), but it was still cute. i saw it coming, we all kinda did. lance has grown and matured enough as a person, and allura saw that at least. so i am pleased with what we got with them. the date, the kiss, the cuddling and lance’s genuine care and worry for allura really made me like what they had while it lasted.

also rip to any other shippers out there, especially to the plance and sheith shippers out there, as a plance and sheith shipper myself i mourn with you. but remember, not everything has to be canon in order for you to love it.

now i think we should really get to business.

allura deserved so much better. she was someone who had thing taken from her: her family, her planet, her entire race, her crown and finally her own life. and she accepted that. which is unfair beyond belief, she deserves to be happy with the rest of the paladins. but after bingeing the past seasons, there were many times where allura would attempt to do things for the greater good, even if it cost her life. it felt obvious in the end. does that mean i agree with it? no. does that mean i didn’t bawl at 8am? absolutely not. i may be brain dead at the moment, but i can’t think of another way to restore every reality imaginable, to let other characters live. in the end she was able to bring life back to destroyed planets, at the cost of her own.

each goodbye she said to the paladins ripped my heart out, what hurts me most that she couldn’t say one to coran, her second father. the man who helped raised her didn’t even get to say goodbye.

now my theory about lance becoming altean(?) is that it was obviously a gift to him, to remember her bye. does that mean he has altean powers now? idk. we don’t get an explanation other than his marking glow when the voltron lions fly off. i’ve seen someone say it could be a soulmate mark and it glows when allura’s presence is near?? i like that idea

also what was with the lions?? why did they fly off? did they pick up some energy and that’s why they were flying towards the shape of allura in space? or were they flying away because they were no longer needed to protect the universe?? or it was used as a dramatic effect to send off the series. i really hope to get some answers

ok but it all honestly, for voltron to have a m/m kiss is pretty big. i’m happy shiro found true happiness, but i’m obviously disappointed it wasn’t keith, aka, his best friend, the man who was literally the closest person to him. i mean curtis is okay, he cute i guess. but he’s literally some random dude that shiro knew only for a year, and we didn’t see that development besides curtis cheering him on at the arm wrestling competition and then boom! wedding. keith knew him for years, and you can’t just forget about their relationship like that.

i’m pleased to know for sure lotor was severely misguided, and his true intention was to help people. but the years of abuse finally made him snap, and he suffered. he looked happy to see his mother, and his real father on the other side. also let’s mention that lotor’s corpse was still inside the sincline and it was decomposing YIKES. AND MY THEORY ABOUT THE CORRUPTED QUINTESSENCE IN HIS VEINS WAS RIGHT I CAN BE HAPPY ABOUT THAT AT LEAST!

alright now for some stuff that hasn’t really been talked about

let me gush about pidge and the holts in general because it’s mandatory. pidge was willing to give up a super rare video game to dress allura up, and to make lance happy. SHE WAS HEARTBROKEN BY THE DESTRUCTION OF OLKARION, SHE APPRECIATED WHAT RYNER TAUGHT HER SO MUCH!!! SHE COULD SE THROUGH TIME YO!! pidge moved on from her glasses.. giving them to her robot chip to show that her character arc is finally done, how much she’s grown. god THAT SHIT HURTED. colleen and pidge are literally me and my own mother and i love them. matt with a pony tail is amazing, and short hair matt ain’t half bad yo. sam holt still continues to be a legend

HUNK GOT THE BEST OF THIS SEASON LET’S BE REAL. HE WAS AN ICON THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE THING

og paladins?? zarkon realizing what he did?? holy shit

there was like... nothing of keith and shiro. so rip sheith again

kosmo got REALLY FUCKING BIG

and once again, allura deserved all the happiness in the world

(12/15) EDIT

i got some more stuff

again, allura deserved better and didn’t even need to die. yeah, with her gaining access to oriande and saying “i need to learn the secrets of life. i give my own.” was a hint to her death. even if we got the open ambiguous ending with shiro and keith, allura would’ve died anyway. i feel that was inevitable with all the build up with her attempted sacrifices before. but what doesn’t make sense about it and why it wasn’t needed, is that honerva also gained access to oriande, she would’ve learned just as much as allura. so allura dying with honerva is unnecessary. honerva could’ve just died alone to bring back every reality without allura. it could’ve been avoidable, so yeah it’s unfair.

also i fully believe lance ain’t altean, the marks are just a reminder of allura. it’s practically a scar for him to remember her, and they glow when her presence is around. i feel he won’t be able to fully move on from that, and it’s just cruel to have him emotionally suffer like that. tbh i also don’t think it’s wrong for lance to be a farmer, he already knew how to milk a cow so? i guess some of his family were involved with a farm in the first place idk.

the very final image with allura space i think is the reference to the cosmic dust, and how they are all connected in a way. still don’t know why the lions left their paladins on altea just to fly into space but go off i guess

pidge gave up her own happiness for allurance’s, pidge really out there supporting allurance. also i will always believe pidge had a crush on lance and swallowed it down in order to make someone else happy and that’s that. rip plance but it’s still in my heart

also bi veronica and lesbian acxa own my soul thanks

ryan kinkade?? a true director, everyone loves him.

i hope hunay may have gotten together post canon so i have that but rip team punk but i always saw them more as a brotp

like sheith was literally forgotten about... all of what they meant to each other just disappeared and it was bs. i could go on but i don’t wanna get more upset.

in conclusion: sheith and allurance deserved better, allura deserved better in general, so did lance, basically everyone deserved better in this season. many writers left after s6 because they didn’t agree with what dreamworks wanted to do with the show and that’s why it’s so messy. the staff had their hands tied. thanks for coming to my ted talk.

so. wow that’s it huh? that’s the last premiere of voltron i can rant about. well, it’s been one hell of a ride, folks.

#vld spoilers #voltron #vld #allurance #sheith #plance #voltron season 8 #vld season 8 #long post #my posts

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theevershipping · 6 years

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Most Sensible Voltron End Game Ships:

Note: this doesn't mean I don't LIKE other ships, but logically, given that Voltron is a CHILDREN'S CARTOON, these ones make the most sense story-telling wise. Here's why.

Hunk/Romelle:

I start here because I think this will likely be the least controversial. They set up in the first ep of S7 that Romelle and Hunk clearly think alike. They also set up that even though Lance is attracted to Romelle initially, she soon actually annoys him. On the other hand Hunk finds Romelle's thought processes to be so like his own that he acts she's like his own personal God-send ("It's like, I think it, you say it!") Likewise, Romelle seems to rather enjoy her interactions with Hunk, and the way he supports her curiousity. For once Hunk gets to be the one "in the know", and Romelle likes and appreciates the way that he interacts with her.

I know there's a lot of talk about doing right by an LGBTQ+ rep character, but I think the "Nice guy who's really smart and awesome but happens to not be conventionally attractive" rep deserves to get an attractive girl who he really does genuinely like and connect with and who genuinely likes, connects with, and respects him.

Lance/Pidge:

Although we are all understandably wary of trusting anything the writers say at this point, they have pretty much said that they do have an end game for Lance and it's not Allura. While I'd personally love to see a Klance ending, it seems pretty clear that Lance and Keith are both being set up to be straight--Lance shows attraction to basically every conventionally attractive female, and Keith/Acxa is a thing (and a reasonable thing, which I will get to next). So..

Lance and Pidge: first off, Pidge constantly points out and makes fun of Lance's crush on Allura, and at times even seems annoyed by it. She definitely doesn't show any sign of caring about the romantic interests of any of the other characters. Although it's been subtle, as Pidge's priorities have clearly, and rightly, been elsewhere, there's been some hints from the beginning that she's certainly paying attention to Lance's love interests, and is maybe jealous and just covering it up by making fun of him--which is pretty age appropriate, and typical of girls with older brothers: She's more comfortable approaching him on guy level and expressing her annoyances (unconscious jealously) through teasing him and, in the process, attempting to dissuade him from said romantic pursuits.

The writer's stated that Lance would get what he NEEDS in a relationship, not what he WANTS. Pidge is not girly/feminine in an aesthetic sense (what Lance thinks he WANTS), but she's perfectly pretty--it's not like Lance wouldn't be attracted to her once he gets passed his old-school markers of attraction based purely on conventional outer symbols of femininity (I.e. If he saw Pidge a few years older and in a dress, he'd almost certainly have a different reaction to her). Pidge does have an abundance of qualities that Lance NEEDS in a partner.

Pidge and Lance balance and trust each other. They have from the very first episode of Voltron. If you think of the first episode as establishing our main and most relatable characters, we really enter the story through the trio of Lance, Pidge and Hunk. Keith and Shiro--who they are and how they're involved in what's happening--are mostly mysteries to us in the first ep. In the typical trio story set up you have the main male character, who represents ego, in story structure, and you have his two best friends, who represent his ID and Super-ego. Often the Super-Ego character is female, and the ID male. The function of the super-ego is to check, regulate and correct the impulses of the ego, which the ID often supports/supplies. The super-ego, basically, is the one who thinks things through, when the ego doesn't want to, and the ID can't. Pidge is the super-ego.

What Lance NEEDS is someone who he both implicitly trusts and who can be the things he isn't in such a way that it helps him to grow, while still having his partner see him as an equal and having respect for the qualities and strengths he has as an individual and that he contributes to the balance of the relationship.

Allurance shippers will say "Allura can be those things too!" But she can't, because she is not and never will be his equal. She is a 10,000 year old Princess from a race of people that are vastly more evolved than humans. She was raised to rule a planet and take on the burden of the universe. No matter how much she might LIKE Lance and trusts him as an ally and a friend, that quality of equality and challenge that actually attracts confident and capable women to men does not exist between Allura and Lance--which is why she was attracted to Lotor.

The contrast between how Allura reacts to Lotor and how she reacts to Lance is a great representation of what creates actual romantic attraction vs. friendship compatibility: Lotor is her equal in his own right and can challenge her to see and grow beyond her pre-conceived notions, while having enough similarities that he understands and fits into the world she comes from and will return to (that of Galatic leadership and responsibility). Allura and Lance do not have that kind of shared reality and the ability to build together as equals that comes with it.

Pidge and Lance, on the other hand, start from the same place--they're kids who were smart and capable and followed a dream, and who have taken on the unanticipated responsibilities and adventures that came as a consequence of following that dream. They constantly demonstrate that their gut instincts are aligned. They do not have fundemental differences in terms of values and unconscious life expectations, and those things matter when you're talking endgame, because endgame means when two people are grown ups and they have kids and grow old together--that real life stuff.

Allura and Lance might have a minor romantic arch, in fact I suspect they will, because they will need to in order for all both Allura and Lance to fully realize they're not compatible. This will also force Pidge to become conscious of her feelings for Lance. From there we can from there spring board into Pidge/Lance and back into...

Lotor/Allura:

So, I'm not at all surprised we didn't see Lotor or Haggar in Season 7. It would have been too easy. We needed the stakes to be much higher, and the only way to do that was to bring the Galra threat to Earth, which couldn't have happened with Lotor as Emporer, or even with Haggar in charge--she's a much bigger schemer than just blindly chasing those lions across the galaxy like all those dumb male Galra meatheads want to do. Also, it gives her time to realisticly retrieve Lotor, fix him physically, and in the process develop some sort of relationship that would lead to them trusting each other enough to come back (allegedly) on the same side in S8.

I don't want to speculate on the plot of S8, and I won't. But I think that plot stuff aside, Lotor has to come back for the sake of Allura's character development.

ALLURA IS A RACIST. She is not malicious (just like most racists aren't malicious). But she seriously discriminates against the Galra just for them being Galra. She has a reason, no one can deny that--Just like someone who gets beat up by a gang of white guys has a reason to be wary of groups of white men, and they might take the trauma of the experience to the degree that they unconsciously start to demonize white men as a group... The trauma creates predudice because the brain is looking for a way to protect you from the trauma that just occurred. So it notes visual markers associated with the trauma, and when it later sees those markers it gets triggered into a state of flight/fight in order to (ideally) prevent you from reexperiencing the trauma associated with those physical markers. It's an evolutionary imperative--it's why we all jump across the room when we see a spider. But this primal imperative does lead to discrimination against groups of people. In my example, being fearful of groups of white men after being the victim of a gang beating is understandable, but is still a PREJUDICE based on their physical likeness to individuals who committed terrible acts, when in reality those physical traits have nothing to do with the terrible act.

It seemed like Allura was making progress with her predudices because of her relationship with Lotor, but Lotor is half Altean. He had to prove to her several times that he was "civilized" and even more knowledgeable about aspects of Altea than her. She fell in love with the Altean part of him. The literal second that she was given reason (by an ALTEAN stranger) to believe that he'd done something terrible and “GALRAN”, she instantly jumped to betraying him without even listening to his side of the story. This act proves that she didn't ever actually consciously see and acknowledge her predjudice and the irrational assumptions it causes her to make, she just was able to temporarily over look the Galran in Lotor for the Altean. So, Allura still has some major self realization to do in this department.

Next, the rash actions of the Paladins destroyed what could have been peace in the universe. Lotor gave them the option pretty much up until the end to stop and think things through even after they betrayed and attacked him. But at the end of S6 it's pretty clear it's Allura calling the shots on whether or not the team listens to Lotor or fights him. And we all know what happens:

She lets her emotions win. She prioritizes her anger--at herself for trusting a Galra--and she completely fails to care about (and likely think through) the bigger picture. Rather than realizing that the new emperor of a civilization that has been systematically enslaving the Galaxy for 10,000 years is trying to give agency back to planets, to create peace, harmony and a universe that works together to fulfill the needs of the whole, she doesn't even listen to him, she just attacks. With Lotor gone, of course the empire will fall and divide to the various generals of power. If Team Voltron had stopped and thought for 5 seconds about that they maybe would have realized that leaving Lotor in that rift was the most selfish and childish thing they ever could have done, humanitarian principles aside even. How many more worlds besides Earth suffered and will suffer for ALLURA'S emotional reactions that stem most deeply from PREJUDICE?

To be clear:

ALLURA believed the word of an ALTEAN she did not know, over the HALF-GALRAN she had fallen in love with, all because she FEARED she was wrong to trust someone with GALRAN blood: "You're more like Zarkon than I could ever have imagined," she tells Lotor. NOT "You're more like Honerva (AN ALTEAN) who began this whole mess by experimenting on quintessence and what happened when one combines it with their own life force and then became so addicted to it that she went crazy and enabled terrible things to happen to innocent peoples and planets." Nope. Even though in all honesty that comparison would have been more accurate, it didn't occur to Allura to accuse Lotor of being corrupt like his ALTEAN mother. What she says to him is essentially, "You're corrupt (and thus more) like your GALRAN father."

So, in order for Allura to grow into someone who is actually mature and responsible enough to lead the Voltron Colition and bring peace to the Galaxy, she's going to have to see the serious error in her actions, and the root prejudice that actually lead to them. And Lotor will be the one to make her see it.

From the moment the Paladins take Lotor prisoner he points out that Allura is discriminating against him based on species and parentage. It's pretty clear that this is set up to be their arch--Both of them are deeply flawed and magnificently gifted individuals who were born and raised to rule worlds, if not whole galaxies. They both have let their personal fears and flaws get in the way of what they could achieve together. In Allura's case the fatal flaw is predudice. In Lotor's it is lack of trust. He should have told her about the Altean colonies, but, rationally feared that he couldn't trust her to hear him out--irony being, if he'd brought it up privately and volunteered the info she probably would have reacted differently. However, Lotor has never had anyone he's trusted or who has trusted him, so he doesn't know that is how trust works. 😢

These two are designed to point out each other's flaws, and help them to correct them (not to make up for them, but to truly help each other change as people by, essentially, calling each other on their shit.) When they do that--Allura facing her racism; Lotor facing his lack of knowing how to actually trust someone fully--then the fatal flaws that lead to the ending of S6 (and the subsequent inter-galactic crisis that the simultaneous betrayal of these two baby-rulers, has caused) will be obliterated, the fatal flaws cured. Allura and Lotor will then be capable of resuming creating the new era of peace they were attempting before, but this time they will succeed because they will have learned to have real transparency/trust, rather than letting their unconscious fears be reasons to mistrust each other when they need to trust each other the most.

Lotura is a ship that is about real equality combined with real consciousness of self and other in relationships. Neither will be able to mature as characters until they see the flaws in Self that their initial (immature) love brought out in each other; the completion of the circle is then conscious change from seeing these flaws, and then forgiving themselves and each other for them. Only then can they can move into a mature love, which will allow them to bring out the best in each other without being blind to the flaws in each other and themselves.

Real love is seeing and dealing with both the good and bad, not ignoring one in favor of the other (this always backfires, as Lotura's first arch demonstrates). And that is a super valuable relationship lesson, that, in a show for kids, is profound and important. Love is seeing and accepting all of your partner and working together to change the things that need to be changed--not getting mad at each other, refusing to listen to what your partner has to say, deflecting with things like "your just like your dad," and subsequent retaliations that take the couple further away from the real issue, like Lotor does when Allura finally hits his weak spot and his basic response is "oh yeah, well your dad sucked too!" And from there it's all just them both being so hurt that reason is lost. That is the state of immature love.

Lotor and Allura are the only two characters who are each other's equals. They are the only two who can call each other on their shit effectively and who can help the other to change and grow. Their arch is about learning how to do that consciously and maturely. How to trust instead of doubt. How to see through the limitations of ego fears (Allura's prejudice, Lotor's not knowing how to trust) and to consciously choose loyalty to each other and to a fully shared vision. Without doing so, neither of these characters can transform from being in their immature Prince/Princess state to being ready for the mature King/Queen state.

Okay, Next...

Keith/Acxa:

I keep seeing posts where people are saying that this came out of nowhere... frankly, you all need to go back and rewatch the series. Keith and Acxa first meet in season 2 inside the guts of a Weblum. Even though it's clear to them from the start that they're on opposite sides of a war (thank you space suits) they still work together to survive and don't abandon each other even when it might benefit them to do so--they demonstrate immediately that they have a similar honor code/value system.

Every time these two encounter each other, despite remaining on opposite sides, they always help each other in this way that shows they both are in wonder about it--they don't know why, but something, some sort of "I owe you" that can't ever seem to be repaid no matter how often they help each other, is just in affect between them. Obviously, this continues to mount in S7.

So, why can't they just be friends? Well maybe they can, but I don't think that's where this is going...

For one thing, Keith is clearly drawn to his Galran side. He wants to be with the Blades of Mamora more than Team Voltron for a long stretch of time. Then he meets his Galran mom. Keith never got along well with other humans, as is established all over S7. He does get along with all these Galrans.

Those of you who know psychology know, we pretty much always marry some variation of our parents. Keith has a Galran mom who he likes and loves a lot. Acxa fits his mommy archetype. And, she's a half-breed like him--she knows what it's like to not fully belong to any one people.

Plus, as stated and well established in canon, these two just can't help but constantly save each other. I think more than ANY ship possibility, this one is obvious, and would totally make end-game sense.

So...

Shiro/???:

On the one hand, I'd love to see everyone all happy and paired up living happily ever after, but think it completely fits all of Shiro's character development to end up alone.

S7 firmly establishes that as a person, Shiro's ambitions/dreams matter more to him than the emotional needs of his partner, Adam. That's okay, there's nothing wrong with that, but, as a personality trait, it's not going to make for a happy long term relationship. In relationships you need to be willing to sacrifice things for your partner--not everything, not all the time--but you don't have the right to make serious decisions that affect you both without giving weight to the other person's needs. Shiro makes it clear that Adam's feelings don't matter to his decision to go on the Kerberos mission. That's not good partnering.

Adam, on the other hand, demonstrates a much more partner-oriented approach. He knows this is Shiro's dream, and because he loves him, he put his own wants/fears aside to support Shiro going on his first mission. He doesn't want to stop Shiro from being happy, but, when he tells Shiro that if Shiro goes AGAIN, Adam won't be here when he gets back, he's realizing that he's got to let Shiro understand that he can't be the only one in their relationship caring about the other's feelings. Adam needs a partner who will give the relationship serious weight in serious life decisions. Shiro demonstrates through his actions that he does not value the relationship more than his ambitions.

Shiro is a great team leader, but that doesn't necessarily make him a good life partner.

So, if Shiro ends up realizing this about himself and choosing to not have a romantic partnership, there is a really valuable lesson and story line there:

In American culture there is a lot of pressure to pair up. We are taught from childhood that real happiness hinges upon being partnered--at the end of every Disney movie the princess and prince finally get to be together forever and this is how we know they will "live happily every after". But not everyone is suited to relationships--and that has nothing to do with sexuality.

Shiro is gay, but that doesn't make him intrinsically more suited to long-term relationships than being straight makes anyone suited to long term relationships.

The LGBTQ+ community seems to be offended that Shiro isn't being represented in a relationship, but honestly I think they're being done a great service--Shiro is being understood as human rather than as his sexuality. His sexuality doesn't make him who he is. Being honest with himself about whether or not long-term relationships are actually something he is built for, is important for everyone to think about, and it's maybe especially important for LGBTQ+ kids to have a role model who does think about this.

One of the dangers of being LGBTQ+ is that people unconsciously reduce you to being a label--and you are so so much more than that label. Your sexuality is just one facet of Self, just like being straight is just one facet of Self for straight people. The pressure to be in a relationship as "proof" of your "identity" is very real for young LGBTQ+ kids, and the fear of leaving a relationship once you find one is far more intense because you fear your options are limited and you might not find someone else of your sexuality/who accepts your sexual-identity. So, LGBTQ+ kids are more vulnerable to staying in relationships that they've outgrown as a result of semi-conscious societal pressure to both pair up and to "prove" their "identity", and to fear that they might not ever find another relationship.

Shiro being the rep for the LBGTQ+ community teaches kids that you can be any sexuality/sexual-identity, and it doesn't change anything else about you--it doesn't change that you're smart and skilled and capable of being a space pilot, it doesn't change that it's perfectly possible and okay for a relationship (or even long term relationships in general) to not be right for you, it doesn't change your ability to be a good team leader... it doesn't change or mean anything else about you any more than a straight person being straight does. It's a facet of Self, to be weighed against many many other facets of Self.

...All that said, if they do somehow make it canon that Adam miraculously survived and he and Shiro are end game, that could be a great character development arch too, as long as it involves Shiro acknowledging that if he's going to resume being in a relationship with Adam he has to make decisions WITH Adam, and respect that Adam's emotions and needs matter equally to his own. If Shiro isn't willing to chose the truly rational emotional well-being of his partner (I mean Adam was reasonably scared that Shiro would die in space) over his own ambitions, he's not compatible with Adam. And that's okay too.

And, lastly:

Zethrid/Ezor:

Here's another rep for the LGBTQ+ community. In contrast to Shiro's story line, which may end up with him consciously deciding that committed relationships aren't as important to him as other parts of life and is happy being alone, we are now being introduced to a relationship in which two women who have worked together for a long time are discovering happiness through exploring their romantic connection. From what we've seen in S7, it looks like Zethrid and Ezor are experiencing a deeper trust and intimacy as a result of their new relationship.

I think it's great for two characters who are largely portrayed as villains/secondary shades-of-gray characters to demonstrate to people how relationships can change your priorities. Zethrid and Ezor seem to have made each other the first priority, rather than the ever-convoluted mission. They're still in the middle of this war, but now they care most about looking out for each other, rather than prioritizing the Galra Empire or Lotor. They are finding meaning in what they've fought for through their love for each other. I think they will be taken on an arch that is the opposite of Shiro's, in which they increasingly discover that their relationship and love for each other matters more to them than the military ambitions that may have once fueled them as individuals. ❤️

In conclusion:

While I think this is clear, in case it isn't, I am not bashing on ANY ship in this post, I'm just explaining why I think these ships are the logical end game ships for good story telling.

If you are so inclined, I'd love to hear your thoughts presented in a respectful and legible manner. ❤️

Thanks for reading, I know it's a long one. 😅

#voltron ships #voltron legendary defender #vld #lotura #plance #kexa #hunk/romelle #vld shiro #vld s7 #vld s6 #voltron #shiro #takashi shirogane #keith/acxa #pidgance

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shriting · 5 years

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Tomb For Butterflies

Twenty years ago, Galra "contracted” a group of humans and transported them to Naxzela to work in the mines. Soon people realized the so-called "job” was nothing but indentured servitude: only the Galra can sever a contract and set their human worker free.

Nowadays most humans on Naxzela work - and die - in the mines.

Takashi Shirogane managed to win the gladiator tornament two years ago; he was granted freedom and sent off planet. It was presumed he was gone for good, until one day Keith found him unconscious on his doorstep...

Shiro wasn’t supposed to be here. That was all Keith could think of when he found Shiro passed out in the slums. This was where people ended up if they failed in life. Keith belonged here, but Shiro didn’t.

(not) written for @sheith-prompt-bang; prompt D26 - Slums AU.

Shiro sighs. "We have to be patient."

"I'm tired of being patient!" Keith clenches his fists. "We have to do something."

"Kidnapping the Altean princess to ransom her for a spaceship is a bad idea, and you know it. Lotor would never let us leave the orbit alive."

"I know, but I can't just sit on my hands and wait for you to come up with a plan to save everyone! They don't even want to be saved, they're happy wasting their lives away as Galran slaves."

Shiro studies him for a moment.

"And you're okay with that?"

"No, but... I just...” Keith loses his fighting vigor quickly. Still, he’s stubborn. “I want us to leave this place. You have nothing to hold you here on Naxzela, and neither do I. We could run away and never come back."

"It's risky," Shiro shakes his head.

"It's better than running Galra errands and cleaning their filth for the rest of our lives!"

"Which is why we have to take everyone with us when we run."

"There are hundreds of people! There's not a single ship in the universe big enough to get everyone on board!"

"Then we need several ships, or we need to remove the Galra and take Naxzela for ourselves."

"How?” Keith demands an answer. For the moment, Shiro has none. Keith sighs. “Shiro, this is madness. What you want is impossible."

Shiro crosses his arms.

"Then we have to make it possible. I won't give up on you, and I won't give up on the rest of our people."

"They gave up on themselves!" Keith retorts hotly, his eyes glistening, angry, betrayed. Shiro remains calm. He can be stubborn, too.

"Which is why we have to keep trying to restore their faith. I have a plan, but I'll need your help, Keith, and I'll need you to get your job as a delivery driver back."

Keith pauses, and his eyes grow darker.

"This is because of Adam, isn't it?"

"In part, yes," Shiro admits easily. He has nothing to hide. “Because of everyone else, too.”

"So, what if Adam asked you to leave with him? Would you have done it?"

Shiro looks him in the eyes.

"Two years ago, I asked Adam the same thing you were asking me,” he said. Taken aback, Keith stares at him wide-eyed. “To run away together and be free. You know what he told me? No human can truly be free while their brothers and sisters are suffering in captivity. He'd sooner give up his life protecting his community - our community, our family - than abandon our people."

Keith frowns.

"But you left anyway. You were gone for over a year."

"Yes. And I returned with supplies and a plan to save everyone, because Adam is right. I can't abandon them, and I can't abandon him. He's the only family I have ever known."

"You're the only family I have left," Keith says quietly.

Shiro knows, and he nods.

"I know."

Keith bites his lip. "Do you still love him? Adam."

"I care about him.” Shiro shrugs. It’s not as difficult to admit as it has been before because now that’s all there is. A tender shadow of an old flame; it doesn’t hurt anymore. The door is closed, and Shiro is ready to move on. He simply wishes to give Adam a chance to find his own happiness too - as a free man, not as a Galra slave. “I care what happens to him. I don't want him to end up chewed up and spit out by the Galra. He deserves better."

"Better than you?"

Keith’s question hits him hard. Keith’s eyes are sharp, there’s something dangerous lurking behind his stern gaze, something that makes Shiro shiver.

He looks away.

"Maybe,” he says. His voice is a whisper. He forces himself to speak up. “Adam is braver than me, in a way. To lead the life he does, serving as a mediator between our people and the Galra - it takes courage. I'm too selfish for that: I want to be free. I can't be what our people need... what he needs."

Keith scoffs.

"I think you are exactly what our people need.” He catches Shiro’s glance and insists, “we won't win our freedom from the Galra by playing nice. We need to fight back. We need you."

Keith doesn't say 'I need you', but it lingers in the air nevertheless.

Shiro needs to change the topic quickly.

"Let’s discuss the plan of the attack."

The plan is simple. Lotor organizes a gladiator tournament this weekend; which means there will be weapons. Lotor should invite Shiro as an honorary guest to remind everyone it's possible to win one's freedom by fighting in the arena, so Shiro has enough leverage to be among the spectactors. He has recruited enough Galra supporters to stage a riot. As a delivery driver, Keith has to make a few trips to smuggle the weapons inside and stash them under the seats. When the time comes, the Blades of Marmora will create a distraction to allow Shiro to take Lotor hostage. From then on, Shiro negotiates the termination of all contracts.

Of course, Keith realizes what it all means.

"What happens after our people are safe?” he asks when Shiro is finished with the explanations. “What happens... to you?"

"That's not important."

"It is to me!” Keith leans in. “I won't let you sacrifice yourself."

Shiro smiles.

"You have just said it yourself. You need me to fight for you. That's all I'm good at, fighting. I can't be the wise leader Adam is, but if I can give you - all of you - a chance, I won't hesitate to do my part."

"You're ten times the leader Adam is! He can't see farther than his own nose!” Keith looks furious. Shiro wants to reach out and smooth his unruly hair and pet him like a kitten; he doesn’t. “Do you really think Prince Lotor will let us live peacefully after being held up for ransom?"

That question wipes every trace of a smile from Shiro’s face.

"No.” He can feel his stomach churning. “Prince Lotor won't let anyone do anything, because when the time comes, he won't be in the picture.”

"Wait...” Keith pales. “You mean, you're going to..."

"Kill him? As soon as I can." Shiro won’t lie to Keith, not even to spare him the gruesome details of the plan. If they are to succeed, they have to be ready for anything. “It's the only way to make sure he won't launch a pursuit after you. Cut off the snake's head."

Shocked, Keith stares at him with his mouth agape.

Shiro raises an eyebrow. "What, did you think I was going to let him go? After everything he's done?"

"No... but a cold-blooded murder..."

"This is not a game, Keith. What do you think happens in the arena? How do you think I won my freedom?” For a moment, Shiro has to squeeze his eyes shut to chase away the memories of dismembered bodies and raspy dying breaths. He shudders. Then he opens his eyes and looks at Keith. “Lotor makes people fight each other to the death, serving nothing but his own personal amusement. He makes us live in these shambling shacks, he makes us eat garbage and die from Green Lung - an easily treatable disease long since cured by Alteans. Do you really want to defend him after everything the Galra has done? I say Lotor deserves a taste of his own medicine."

Keith sighs.

"No, you're right. He deserves it. I just..." he looks up to meet Shiro’s eyes, and now he has a determined look on his face. “I can't let you do it alone, Shiro. I can't lose you too."

Overwhelmed with a bittersweet hope, Shiro smiles.

"You'll be alright. After all this is over, you'll move to a nice peaceful planet, Adam will find you a nice civilian job--"

"No! To hell with Adam!” Keith grabs him suddenly, his eyes full of fire. Shiro gasps as Keith’s hands squeeze his shoulders. “I'd rather live a thousand lives as a Galra slave than live one life without you. Shiro, I... you're my brother, and I love you. I... I love you. I can't let you do this."

Shiro blinks. "...what did you just say?"

Keith's face is bright red. He let something slip, something he didn't mean to say just yet, not like this. He looks away.

"I... can't let you sacrifice yourself," he repeats the wrong part in a whisper.

Shiro shakes his head.

"I’m sorry, but we might not have a choice. I've already spoken with the Blades, the plan is set in motion."

"Then I'm going with you." Keith faces him again. There is no way to change his mind now. “We'll capture Prince Lotor together, and whatever happens next - I'll be there for you."

"Keith..." Shiro sighs.

"It's non-negotiable. I won't let you march to your death all alone.” Suddenly, a cocky grin blooms on his face. “Besides, how do you plan on dealing with the Altean princess? You're going to need backup."

Shiro is grateful. He is so, so grateful - and frustrated beyond himself. That brave, stupid, beautiful boy, doesn’t he get it? Doesn’t he understand?

"Keith, my plan - I'm doing this for you! So you could have a normal life. Don’t you understand? I can't lead you on a suicide mission."

Keith is unfazed.

"So let's make sure we both come out of this alive, because I'm coming with you whether you like it or not.” He bites his lip. “Shiro... If something happens to you, if you... I will never be free with that weight on my conscience. I don't want to have 'a life' without you, understand? I want us to be free - together."

"Keith..." Shiro swallows. "I..."

Keith looks at him, eager. His lips are parted slightly, inviting. Shiro wonders what kissing him right now would lead to - would it really be that bad? Keith would kiss him back and stay the night, this night they could spend it together, and knowing the inevitable danger is closing in, knowing they might not get another chance, Shiro really really wants to--

"I think you should go home tonight. If the Galra notice your absence, they might refuse to give you the delivery duty back."

Keith blinks, nods almost absent-mindedly.

"Yes. You're right." He nods again, this time with more awareness. "Yes, I should go."

He turns to leave.

Despite all his rational reasoning, Shiro reaches after him before he can stop himself.

#sheith prompt bang 2018 #sheithpromptbang #sheith prompt bang #sheith #voltron legendary defender

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one-trigger-lullaby · 6 years

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Your Friend Will be Punished for Your Failure w/ Lance and Shiro

This...wasn’t requested for my @badthingshappenbingo it’s just for my personal pleasure but if you wanna request something, send me an ask/pm (As long as it isn’t Prisoner Exchange)

His skin is dry and cracked, peeling in some places. His skincare routine had been neglected for far too long, that much he knew. He didn't know quite how long, the questioning and suffering had gone on in such a pattern that Lance couldn't even begin to decipher which day was which as every day felt exactly the same.

Pain, words, blood, pain, words, blood, pain, pain, pain.

The warm body next to him shifted but Lance didn't have the energy to move and see what was happening. He mourned the loss of warmth the second it left his side and curled up in a weak, loose ball.

There was a cold hand on his shoulder then, gently shaking. This hand didn't scare him, no, this hand iced his bruises, it didn't aim to earn him more. "Lance."

He blinked his eyes open and then squinted. They stung. Not by the light, there was no light in this place save for the purple glow coming through the slats in the door. Shiro was leaned over him, tired and gaunt, but mostly concerned.

Shiro smiled softly and raised his hand to Lance's cheek, rubbing away some of the grime gently. "Are you okay?"

"Are either of us okay?" Lance croaked sarcastically, his throat torn to shreds from screaming.

"They'll come," Shiro promised quietly, "you just have to hold on until then."

"It's been-" Lance paused to clear his throat and winced as the taste of blood presented itself on his dry tongue. When was the last time he'd had water? "-too long. They...aren't coming, Shiro."

"They are," Shiro insisted. He put his flesh hand underneath Lance's neck and put his robotic arm at the small of his back, lifting him up into his lap and letting him lean against his chest. "But, for now, you need to eat."

There was a tray with a slop of gray gunk that Lance had taken to calling 'The Stuff' on the tray, oddly keeping its shape as Shiro spooned a bit out and pressed it to Lance's lips. Lance's stomach protests weakly and he turns his head t Shiro's neck.

Shiro brought his other hand on Lance's head, gently petting, "Please?"

Lance was boneless in Shiro's lap and he felt tears spring his eyes, he pressed his face harder against Shiro's wiry neck. He shook his head, "I can't," He said quietly, pained. "I'm sorry, I can't."

Shiro pulled him closer, "Just a bite, that's it."

"I'll puke it up later," Lance said, knowing that, soon, he'd be dragged out of this cell and away from Shiro. There was always pain when Shiro wasn't around and he never came back to Shiro with a full stomach.

Or a clear head.

"Let your body have what it can until then. Please, Lance?" Shiro said, pleading. Lance twisted his hand into the thin material of Shiro's tunic, Shiro sounded sad and Lance hated making Shiro sad.

Shiro didn't deserve this.

He finally gave in, opening his trembling jaw and letting Shiro spoon the gray muck into his mouth, trying not to gag. It didn't taste bad, it could've been much worse, but Lance knew what it tasted like when it came back up and it was far from pleasant.

He choked it down and rested his head against Shiro's collarbone once more, letting out a puff of air. They sit like this for a while, Shiro eating the rest of The Stuff while trying to get Lance to eat another spoonful every once in a while and Lance hiding his face, trying not to cry when Shiro sighed sadly at his every denial.

He was trying, just maybe not hard enough. If he had tried harder, maybe Shiro wouldn't be here, maybe Voltron wouldn't be ruined. He was the blue paladin, but he was nothing irreplaceable, not like Shiro.

And the universe would suffer for his mistakes.

All too soon, he could hear the door rattle and he could feel Shiro tighten his arms as if he was going to resist, but they'd tried that already and it had gone terribly. Shiro didn't try to hold onto him again, not even if he asked him to.

Shiro started to loosen his grip while Lance held on tighter but they both froze when the usually silent guard spoke, "Both of you are being asked for."

Lance could feel the caution in Shiro's movements as he tightened the arm wrapped around Lance's back and put the other one under his legs, lifting him up. Lance was grateful that he wouldn't have to walk to his doom today, but he was anxious as to why both of them were being brought in. He clutched Shiro more tightly.

Lance could feel every turn that they took, but he didn't lift his head, he'd given up on memorizing the tunnels a long time ago. He heard a door open and felt Shiro slow, felt Shiro try to press him closer to his chest, a comfort that Lance took in greedily.

"Oh, our guests of honor have arrived." Lance stiffened at the sound of Haggar's voice, a whimper building in his throat. He wished Shiro had enough arm span to cover him completely, to stop the druid from looking at him like he knew she was.

"What is the meaning of this, Haggar?" Shiro asked. Shiro hadn't lost any of the strength behind his words since their capture, and Lance admired him for it. Admired his unshakeable strength.

"Remove the blue one from the champion," Haggar said, completely ignoring Shiro's question.

Lance soothed a hand over Shiro's tensed jaw-It's okay- and Shiro loosened his arms. Not a second later, Lance was grabbed by the arm and thrown to the ground, away from Shiro. He didn't move from where he lied.

"Lance!" Shiro yelled. He heard a shuffle and a grumble from Shio, "Let go of me!"

Lance heard Haggar click her tongue, "Quiet him."

Lance lifted his head in worry, only able to hold it up long enough to meet Shiro's eyes as Shiro was muzzled. His head dropped back down, the muffled sounds of Shiro's protests the only noise he found himself able to focus on.

Lance was grabbed roughly by his arm and brought to his knees to face Haggar but his eyes stubbornly did not lift, not even as she grabbed his chin and jerked his head up. He received a harsh smack across the face for his troubles and he tried his best to ignore the pained sound Shiro made behind him. He lifted his eyes to meet Haggar's disgusting yellows ones and she smiled, pleased.

"That's it," She crooned, "I prefer people to be looking at me when I speak. Now, look over there," She jerked his chin to the side to look at the large pool sat in the middle of the room, gleaming blue. "doesn't that look refreshing?"

He didn't give a reply, but Haggar didn't seem to be waiting for one. "Sit them over there," she pointed to the wall closest to the pool's edge.

Once more, lance was grabbed and, due to his inability to stand, his knees were scraped against the concrete as he was dragged to the wall and thrown down. He only managed a weak groan as his head hit the ground, black dotting his vision. Shiro was plopped down right next to him and immediately Shiro moved to cover Lance as best he could.

"How sweet," Haggar said in a coo, "always eager to jump to the blue one's protection, aren't you? Well, maybe it's his turn to protect you, hm?"

Lance opened his eyes only to glare at her, suspicious of what she had planned. "I thought we could play a game, today," Haggar said. Lance's stomach dropped with dread.

Haggar walked over to one of the Galra who had dragged Lance over and promptly pulled his blaster out of its holster. Shiro stiffened and Lance heard him suck in a sharp breath.

Lance felt horror creeping up his throat, setting his nerves afire as she moved to stand where she was, blaster in hand. She waved it around as if it wasn't a dangerous weapon, as if it were a mere children's toy. "Oh, you both look so worried. No need, this game is quite simple, you see."

Her lips curled up into a cruel and crooked grin, "Neither of you look very excited, don't you want to know the rules?"

Neither of them spoke. Shiro for obvious reasons, but Lance's vocal cords had seized at the sight of the blaster, vicious thoughts running through his head as he pondered what it would be used for.

It wasn't that hard to guess, someone was going to get shot and Lance couldn't move so it was going to be Shiro--

Haggar waved her hand and Shiro was abruptly pulled away from Lance, his eyes locked onto the weapon and his jaw visibly tense. Lance felt horribly exposed, but at least this way he was sure Shiro wasn't going to get shot.

Hopefully.

"Now, blue paladin the rules are simple, are you listening?" She paused for a second and once his eyes had met hers, she continued. "Good. Now, I'll give you two choices. Either you take this gun and shoot yourself in the head, forcing your dear black paladin to witness the gruesomeness your merciful death, or..."

Shiro had started yelling angrily, but Lance couldn't make out any words through the blood rushing in his ears, the anxiety forming a well in his belly.

Haggar stepped aside, letting Lance see a clear view of the sparkling blue water behind her, "...you can jump into this pool willingly and meet a painful death by the element you were made to dominate. You could choose to do neither, of course, but," she pointed the blaster at Shiro and Lance swore his heart stopped, "your black paladin will meet an... unfortunate end in your stead."

Shiro started yelling in earnest and, instead of looking annoyed, she waved her hand at the Galra holding Shiro, "Take his muzzle off, allow them to decide together. It will be the last thing they ever do as a team, after all, let them enjoy it."

The muzzle is taken off and Shiro leaned forward as much as is captors would allow, tears brimming in his eyes as he said, "Please, lance, don't do this."

The threat of Shiro's life had given Lance some strength and he pushed himself upon weary arms, ignoring how they screamed. Tears were already spilling down his cheeks and he found himself unable to say more than, "I'm sorry, Shiro."

"No, Lance, please." Shiro's voice sounded congested. "I need you. The team needs you."

Lance shook his head, tears dripping down on the concrete while his face remained blank. "No, Allura can fly the blue lion, Shiro, you...you don't need me. I'm the least talented of all the paladins, you...you guys will be better off without me."

"No, that isn't true. Please, lance, think about what you're doing," Shiro pleaded. "The team will fall apart. Think about Hunk!"

Lance smiled bitterly and he finally made himself meet Shiro's eyes. He almost crumbled at the sight of the man's tears, but he held steady. "You'll be okay. You were okay before me, Hunk was okay before me, you'll be okay after me, I promise."

"No, Lance-!"

Lance ignored whatever he had to say and met Haggar's eyes evenly, "Promise...promise that you'll let him go back to Voltron if I do this."

Haggar's lips pulled up into a sharp, greasy grin, "Since this is a special occasion, I will accept your terms. The black paladin will be released the second my medic deems the deed done. You have the empire's word."

"She's lying-!"

Lance gave a single nod and stood on shaky legs. He took two short steps to Shiro and nobody stopped him- he probably wasn't enough of a threat, not with the way he shook- and he fell before Shiro who looked panicked and worried and scared.

Maybe Lance did deserve this, if only for putting that look on his face. He grasped Shiro in a brief hug, "I'm sorry. I love you. Tell the team I love them. Tell my parents."

"Lance you don't have to--" Shiro started to ramble, but Lance cut him off.

"Please," He said sharply. He softened his voice, "Please."

Shiro swallowed visibly, sweat beading on his temple and dripping down, intermingling with his tears. He shook his head, "No, Lance, you can't."

"I can," Lance said softly. "Let me protect you, just this once."

Lance stood and met Haggar's eyes, she offered up the gun but he shook his head, he couldn't make Shiro watch that, he had enough trauma and the last thing he needed to see was Lance's innards splattered across the walls etched into his memory forever.

Soon, he stood at the edge of the pool, looking into the clear blue water, and he couldn't help the rueful smile that pulled at his lips.

Home came to mind as he looked down into the water. The water had always been home--

(-The waves, the beach, the sun, his sisters, joy-)

--And Lance couldn't help but think that it was fitting for him to succumb to the element, if not ironic.

He turned on his heel and met Shiro's eyes, casting him one last smile before he took a deep breath and let himself fall. Shiro's cry was the last thing he heard before water plunged around him, filling his ears and deafening him.

He hadn't held his breath and the cool liquid flooded his lungs almost instantly. His eyes stung as he kept them open, and he wished he could see the sun instead of the synthetic lights overhead, but he could, at the very least, be glad that he died in the soothing embrace of what he loved rather than bleeding out on a cold, sterile table.

Will you hate me in your last moments? The waves ask.

No, Lance thought, I love you too much.

In the back of his mind, he felt Blue prodding frantically, and he smiled. Blue loved Allura, they would mesh better than she and Lance ever had, he was sure.

Fight or flight kicked in and as Lance started to struggle he could barely make out Haggar looking into the water above him as his vision started going dark, taking joy in watching him die.

It hurt, dying, but if it allowed Shiro to live, he would go through it for an eternity.

His head went numb without oxygen and soon he could see no longer, feel no longer.

He let himself succumb, let his soul guide itself home.

Atlantis.

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mermaider00 · 6 years

Note

!!! How about Lotura + 29 (as a promise)?

What was she going to do with a broken prince?

In the darkened doorway, Allura crossed her arms and watched him quietly as she mulled on the situation. With the castle now destroyed, they had to travel space by lion, everyone in their own, with an extra passenger or two. Lance was with the cow in Red, a resting Shiro hopefully sleeping soundly in Black with Krolia watching over him, Coran in the cockpit of Blue. Probably worrying for her when she’d announced she was going to check on the prince - or was he still an emperor? - after she programmed Blue to follow the others without her piloting.

They’d left his ship in the rift, but they couldn’t, as paladins of Voltron, leave Lotor to suffer in a quintessence pulsing rage that had ripped chunks from his mind. Chunks she’d flown in to retrieve and give back to him. She’d healed him as best she could, the ordeal leaving him unable to fight or even stand. Hunk and Keith had carried Lotor into a back room inside Blue that held a small cot where the prince was currently lying. It was questioned whether or not Lotor should be placed in Blue with her, but after one hot expression, the others knew not to question her. Even Coran.

Allura studied Lotor lying on the cot, one thin blanket resting over his hips. He looked drained of everything that made him who he was, or maybe who he was once. They couldn’t know the effects yet, and what toll it would take on him. At some point he’d removed his armor, uncaring now of the danger he might be in, and the naked lavender skin of his upper body was now pallor. He’d tied his long hair back too, away from his face as he slept facing away from her gaze.

What did it mean for an exiled prince constantly ready for battle to remove his armor and simply lie there in the company of those he considered his enemies? It must mean he’d given up, Allura decided with a frown.

And it made her heart ache once more.

He was supposed to be different, she thought again for the millionth time, and it made her chin tremble ever so slightly. He was supposed to be… something impossible. Something she’d thought couldn’t exist when it came to the galra.

And she’d wanted him so badly.

“Must you stare?” a weak voice called from the cot.

Allura flinched at the sound of Lotor’s voice, slight heat coming to her cheeks. Quickly she regained strength, and the anger came flooding back. Anger was better than regret, and great heartache. “I came to check if you were still alive in here, or if overexposure killed you.”

She didn’t know for sure if he sighed, or breathed a laugh. “Sorry to disappoint you, Princess.” With a soft grunt she knew he was trying to hide, Lotor sat up on the cot, turned to glance at her in the darkness. The light from behind her seemed too bright for his exhausted eyes. “But I seem to be doing that a lot nowadays. Now that I’m an enemy of Voltron.”

The fury rose up into her throat, and almost choked her. “You did this,” she whispered. “You lied to me.”

“I did no such thing.”

“Omission is lying,” she argued, then stopped and took a breath. She shouldn’t lash out at such a weak man. He’d already lost. “It doesn’t matter.”

He watched her carefully, and she couldn’t know what he was thinking. She never could, now that she knew the truth. “I can say anything to you,” he began, his voice quiet, his eyes searching. His heart broken, like hers. “I can tell you I had good intensions. I can tell you that I truly care for the Alteans, like the young girl who would come to ruin me. I can tell you I love you…” If he had anything else to add, he couldn’t seem to get it out. His eyes didn’t shine, his mouth didn’t grin, and the control he always carried wasn’t there. It took him a tick or two to continue. “But this discovery of the colony is the only thing you will hear. Some stranger gives you a few words, and you toss me out like garbage.”

It broke her. Allura’s eyes widened a bit as she ran it through her mind, and it cracked her heart even more. She’d been raised to be compassionate, to lead and to care, to love and to protect her people. All people. She replayed the events in her mind that led them all here, and she didn’t like what she saw. Some actions were justified and some…

So much betrayal. She didn’t want it for any Altean.

It must be why she was standing here now.

“Lotor,” she said, walking further into the room. She thought maybe he wouldn’t want her to come near him, but he didn’t even flinch. She didn’t think he would even if she’d come to execute him. “I can’t know where we go from here. I’m not only a princess now, but a paladin, and not only are the others my team, they are my family. We have to have a discussion together. But right here, right now…”

Slowly, as if moving through water, she lowered herself onto the edge of the cot with him. It would look so bad, she thought, if Coran walked in and saw her like this, sitting with Lotor, shirtless disheveled Lotor. But she had to. She could feel the need building in her broken heart.

“I see something better for you,” she told him, staring up into his tired yellow blue eyes. “I’m not sure I want to see it right now, but I do. For a moment, you took that vision away from me, but I can’t look away, because now you’re here. Because I’ve saved you, and healed you. You can be better.”

He only watched her with no quick response. His hands were rested in his lap over the blanket and his shoulders were slumped in defeat. There were no more healing pods to rejuvenate him, and if he was suffering, he wasn’t telling her. Just looking at her, looking into her eyes, that one thin lock of white hair not confined in a band behind him hanging in front of his face.

I can tell you I love you, he’d said, something he assumed she couldn’t hear. But she did hear it. She felt it too.

“I don’t know what will ultimately be decided when it comes to you, but I do know that I want you to be better. Even if you’re not with us. Even if you’re galaxies away. Even if I never see you again.” Allura didn’t realize the impact of those words until she spoke them. How could a woman survive with all these feelings beating her to the ground? “You can be better,” she told him again, and she resisted the urge to touch her fingertips to his hand. “I want you to promise me that you will try.”

Lotor was quiet and he was still. The only movement was a very slight tilt of his head. She didn’t feel any traces of quintessence radiating off of him, but she couldn’t feel much of anything at all. No anxiety, no fear, no rage. He wasn’t desperate to prove himself to her and he wasn’t lashing out for revenge either. Perhaps, she thought solemnly, she didn’t deserve either from him.

Finally, after what felt like forever, he spoke.

“If I never see you again.” he repeated in a murmur, then seemed to contemplate those words.

Allura didn’t see him move, she’d been too lost in the moment, and maybe that was a dangerous thing. One moment he was simply sitting there, quiet and still and tired and used up. And the next…

Lotor leaned down, and very gently kissed her lips.

For such a quick touch, it made her erupt like a star and feel a thousand feelings at once. She was startled that he would dare to kiss her now, devastated that he still wanted to, and - the most confusing of all - Allura felt that same escape from the world when he’d first set his mouth on hers before everything had fallen apart. Her eyes widened on first contact, then lowered as she sunk into that escape.

But as quickly as he kissed her, he was now pulling away. Her lips were still puckered as he settled back into the cot, his back once again facing her as his hand pulled the blanket up over his shoulder. A barrier between them once again.

Allura didn’t know what they would do with him after they regrouped. She didn’t know if that delicate touch of lips would be the last contact between them, and his words the last thing she would hear him say. But she did take that kiss as the answer he couldn’t speak.

I promise, Princess.

#Lotura #allura #prince lotor #voltron legendary defender #vld

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zimuse · 6 years

Text

All of my issues with S8 of Voltron

So. Firstly, the show is always brilliantly animated and I deeply appreciate their attention to detail. But I have WAY MORE issues than anything else, and I’m not at all happy or content with how it ended. So let me go ahead and list my gripes with the eighth season, in no particular order: 1) That whole thing with Allura violently forcing her memories on Zarkon. What the actual fuck, dude? I don’t care what Zarkon has done; this was clearly, visibly, not the same Zarkon they have been dealing with – a Zarkon who is not corrupted by quintessence, who is bewildered by what’s going on, has no clue what the hell anyone is talking about, no recollection, knowledge or memory. And she just fucking assaulted him? Moral issues aside, how do you know that that’s not going to break him and turn him into the Zarkon you do know? Oh, right, consequences; I forgot, we never think about those. And I know she’s got a lot of anger, but literally no one in the group reacted?! Not even his fellow paladins that have been trapped in this same state with him? Real heroes, guys. Bravo! 2) Zarkon calling his wife a “psychopath”. Excuse the fuck out of you, sir. She’s not a psychopath - she is doing what she believes needs to be done to get her family back. And after everything she’s been through, do I blame her? Hell no. Her driving force, her only motivation, is her family. With Zarkon dead, her focus went to her son, and she quite literally ripped through time and space to bring him back. No, I really don’t think that qualifies as a psychopath. Using what’s basically portrayed as his corpse to control the Sincline though, that’s another story but I’ll get to that later. Anyway. Check your privilege, sir. 3) Allura “seeing the good in Honerva” like she saw “the good in everyone”. Where the hell was this in the confrontation with Lotor, who she supposedly loved? Because apparently this doesn’t at all extend to him. Honerva, as much as I adore her, did so much worse than Lotor ever could be accused of. Yes, Allura did admit in the end that Lotor sought peace but, well, it was well past the point where it mattered. Seriously. He supposedly died screaming, alone, and ended up a fused quintessence robot... Zombie thing. But Honerva? She’s Altean. So she gets off easy during the actual confrontation and on screen. 4) I HAVE SO MANY ISSUES WITH THE LIMITED AMOUNT OF LOTOR IN THIS SEASON. Yes, that deserved to be in all caps. Okay, we saw a glimpse of his body, and I get that in the narrative we're supposed to believe that he's dead. Well, as the weirdly fused robot zombie. Does anyone else have a problem with this shit? BECAUSE I FUCKING DO. The quintessence field was literally described as life itself - how in the actual fuck are you going to tell me he died, surrounded by the essence of life itself? And also, yes, we saw a glimpse of his "corpse". There's no proof that it was actually a corpse. We saw the back side of him. Until I see a FULL BODY FRONT VIEW of it, I do not believe he's dead. Whoever made this be a thing... -flips off- 5) BUT if we are to accept that he's dead... The paladins literally murdered Lotor and no one, save Honerva, even stopped to acknowledge it. And honestly? This tears at my heart. 6) Was there a reason they used the name Merla for that one Altean at the end? I didn’t see any similarities between these two characters other than betrayal. Why even include it? 7) Speaking of betrayal, is this an affliction most Alteans suffer from? Because Coran is literally the only exception to this that we’ve seen. And supposedly Romelle, but I still don’t trust her, so I don’t include her. Fuck Romelle. 8) Keith as spokesperson for the Galra and Galra rep? Why would the remaining Galra with any authority listen to someone who doesn’t even look Galra? Randomly cheering at his speech? What is this. I can see his Krolia and Kolivan being the representatives and all, but why weren’t THEY the ones giving the speech? Oh yeah, I know why. The next point. 9) Oh, and about that speech, it was word for word literally what Lotor said to the Galra once up on a time (in s5, I believe?). Add insult to injury, why don’t you. 10) The Altean marks on Lance at the end, how does this even work? I thought it was genetic, purely Altean thing. Is it not? Can anyone acquire them? Does this mean you’re considered Altean now, Lance? WHY on earth is this a thing and why isn’t it explained? - EDIT: After thinking about this more and referring back to the series itself... I can conclude that the Altean marks are as magical as the race that is born with them. Think about it, these marks fundamentally tell you something about that character. Allura’s and Coran’s are small, just on their cheeks, and are smooth. They don’t have edges. Honerva, who has been corrupted, had elongated, jagged marks. But when she was “redeemed”, the long jagged marks we’ve seen throughout all eight seasons (after being corrupted), her marks shrink, becoming her old smooth marks post-corruption. And Lotor? His marks aren’t as long as his mothers’, but they were a tad jagged - signifying that at his core, he was a good person, yet he’d been touched by darkness and that darkness was a part of him. The Prince was born with the same unique energy signature that his parents were corrupted/killed/reanimated with. I do think that the marks take on the personality, for lack of better word, to match the individual. It’s visibly obvious that these things are magical in some way, but does that justify the “ability” to mark someone else with them? This could be up to interpretation. I don’t think so, though. It seemed like a random thing to toss in. So kind of like the Balmara (which I’ll get into in another point), if it had been seen previously in another portion of the series, I’d have accepted it as something that Alteans could do. As it stands in the current narrative, I don’t think it should be a thing, nor was it meant to be a thing in the original draft. It was supposed to be Lotor in Lance’s position, not actually Lance. Thus, I feel that scene was supposed to be the reappearance of Lotor’s own Altean marks. Not the gift of Lance’s. 11) Altea and Daibazaal came back... Why? That tells me it’s not actually their reality that they returned to. But then that raises several questions, so what do? If it’s because eliminating the rift undid everything associated with it, then that should have restored Alfor, Zarkon, Lotor, Honerva and literally everyone else involved with that too. Which I would have totally accepted. 12) Sooooo killing Lotor essentially not only led to the loss of millions of lives throughout the universe, but ultimately led to the erasing of all but one reality. And no one addressed the Voltron team’s hand in this? Seriously? 13) “Join the Coalition.” “What’s the alternative.” “There is no alternative.” That... That sounds like conquest to me. Thanks for the options, broski. 14) The whole way they dealt with Lahn. He brought up some excellent points, about Voltron/Allura having everything handed to them, but I guess the power of teamwork and friendship managed to give him a sudden bout of amnesia and sign up for the Coalition. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Way to slap a bandaid on that, guys. I hate it when writers do this. And if I ever do this? Slap me and tell me to fix it. 15) The paladins literally leaving everyone they help undefended, and then being shocked that those places have fallen to whatever villain is the focus at that time. Like, Olkarion? What were they thinking? As what was arguably the central nexus of their forces, possessing the most advanced technology they have access to, it should have been the number one priority to make sure it didn’t fall to enemy hands. But that makes way too much sense too, doesn't it? I want Shiro back as the Black Lion. Or Lotor to have returned to be the Black Lion. He did use the Black Bayard to kill Zarkon after all, and that was never revisited for... Reasons. That could have been a fantastic plot point to show that Lotor was the next Black Paladin. He’d certainly make a better one than Keith. 16) Speaking of - they never even checked up on the Olkari citizens that evacuated. Why? Was this done off-camera and just never mentioned? Because that seems really important to know WHERE your highly advanced tech/weapon makers are. Are they okay? Did they find another planet before their provisions ran out? Why are all casualties and losses either not mentioned at all or are/were glossed over? 17) Everyone treating Lotor like an immoral murderer when he was anything but. I swear. The writers present him as sympathetic and provide ample reasonable arguments on his behalf, both in show and in interviews, etc., but then proceed to have every other character treat him as though he’s a monster. Why tf are you having everyone demonize him, when you show us that it’s not true and you’re not going to bring him back for the redemption arc he deserved, and gave him the chance to explain himself? All that’s doing is affecting my opinion of the other characters lmao. 18) The paladins seriously took 5 episodes to come to the conclusion that, yes, it is Honerva that’s responsible for all of this new shenanigans. I’m honestly not sure why they’re surprised. We all knew that she went SOMEWHERE. She was the wife of Zarkon, and Lotor’s mother. She made several adversaries that Voltron struggled to face. She was the alchemic force driving the Galra Empire, and no one thought, “Hmm, we should probably keep tabs on that, she’s dangerous”? And then took another 6 episodes to figure out her motivations? There’s only one conclusion to draw from this: They’re dumb. 19) There are several opportunities taken to go to great lengths about how it’s not what you are but who you are that counts, that it doesn’t matter what you have done in the past and you can always grow from it and deserve a chance. I’m thinking specifically of the Acxa/Veronica scene, but there were a couple of other instances. I guess that we just don’t extend that courtesy to Lotor. He literally got the shit end of the stick from all directions and all of the characters are just pouring salt in the wound. -rubs temples and fumes- 20) Acxa, what the actual fuck? Lotor using their rage as half breeds? What. He never, ever let them go on a rampage, and always emphasized no killing. Zethrid and Ezor were the ones always portrayed as really bloodthirsty, but all of a sudden Ezor is the one who can’t take the anger anymore and wants out, and wants Zethrid to let go of her rage? Ezor, who was so eager to bleed and torture? Lolwat.

21) Why were there two episodes dedicated to trans-versing Honerva's mind? They were completely and utterly useless. The plot did not move forward with it, Voltron and the Paladins didn't bond stronger or learn new moves/techniques that could have helped them in their final battle with Honerva - nothing. The only thing I got from it was how much more badass Honerva actually is. She trapped SOULS in her mind and kept them prisoner. That’s terrifying and cool, but did we really need to know that? Not really. What happened to the original Paladins could have been covered in a single episode, in a different fashion. So the "dark entity" and the connection to Honerva? That didn't need to be in the narrative at all. You could argue that without it, they couldn't have saved the souls of the original paladins, but they would have been saved at the end any fucking way when Honerva and Allura sacrificed themselves to fix all the shit. Sooo. Thanks for wasting 40 minutes of our time. 22) So in episode 13, when they're chasing Honerva through the holes in dimensions... And she drains Voltron (and the paladins by extension) of energy, we see the hole CLOSE. Okay? We saw it close. That means they're stuck there forever. Done. Finito, they no longer exist - none of them, not from that dimension. Then we went to Honerva getting what she wanted at last - except she didn't. Lotor outright rejects her. I do not blame him at all for being angry if that dimension's version of his mom was dead and he's still grieving, but it was alluded to that it's been a couple years since she died. We see Zarkon protect his son in this dimension, and that he’s uncorrupted. Thus, we can assume that Honerva wasn’t corrupted either, and was never abusive towards Lotor. And he just... Didn't accept her? I know that Lotor is extremely perceptive, even as a kid, but why? If she wasn’t abusive towards him in that dimension, why does he immediately reject her? More over, his rejection seems to be the last straw - which feels... Odd, because it feels as if she’s heard it prior and that was the nail in the coffin that said “fuck it, destroy everything”. It would have made more narrative sense if Lotor had been alive, and in his own redemption arc, to tell “the witch” that his mother was dead - and that is why this dimension’s version of him saying the same thing struck such a nerve. But what bugs me the most is that Voltron came out of nowhere and continued the battle. The gateway into that dimension closed. We all saw it close. The dimension they were IN dissolved completely, so HOW did they get there?! How are they not dead at that point? This should NOT have been a thing. I’d have accepted it if they had just barely made it through the hole, but no. This is just another Dues Ex Machina, and I’m not having it. I'd have been absolutely fine with the series ending with Honerva in the alternate universe with her family, having to work to earn kid!Lotor's affection and recognition that she's his mother. That could have easily been worked on. A kid is a kid, no matter what. He'd have warmed up to her eventually. I think. And in that alternate universe, Lotor and Allura would have grown up (sort-of, she appears much older - at least a teenager at that point?) together, and more than likely still would have fallen in-love. With his father and mother there. Honerva would have had everything. 23) Did we actually need to go as big as the multi-verses being threatened? Nah. As cool as as they were, time travel would have been much easier for Honerva. And would have made a lot more sense, all things considered. If she went back to before she and her hubby were corrupted, she could have stopped ALL OF THIS SHIT from happening to begin with. THAT would have been a better ending, to have done time-travel and to fast-forward a couple years to seeing how everyone ended up. Allura and Lotor, married. ANd the rest of the cast? With the same ending as they had in the narrative, given that the original paladins either stepped down as Paladins of Voltron and let new people succeed them, or having never been involved with the plot as a whole BECAUSE the original paladins never died. I can understand that this would feel like a huge cop out, and that not everyone fancies time travel stories these days. There have been quite a number of them throughout the years. It would’ve worked here though, but I don’t think that was the point. I think the point of going to another dimension is that Honerva didn’t want to change the past - she wanted to start over, and leave the reality that she helped to fuck over.

24) What was with all of the Dues ex Machinas!? There were at least 3 or 4. That’s too many across a single episode, or even two. Like ZOOM, suddenly the Balmera were there. When did that become a thing? If it had been shown earlier in the series that they could do that, I’d have accepted it. But to bring that in so suddenly? No, the writers pulled that outta their asses. 25) And let’s not forget that Honerva used that one giant Balmera as a battery when Merla knocked out one of the towers. That mighta been a lotta crystals, but the power difference between several of those crystals and the energy of entire planets that had who even knows how much life on them, astounds and bothers me. Yeah, the crystals are used to power ships and all, but really? Those things have more energy than six planets? I need this in waaaay more detail somewhere, because until it is, this was also a Dues Ex Machina.

26) One of the two biggest issues I have with season 8 is Allurance - not because I’m against the ship nor because I dislike Lance’s character. My issue is with how it was portrayed. If you compare season 8′s Allurance with season 5 and early season 6′s Lotura, you’ll seen just how drastically different they are. We see Allura at her happiest with Lotor than we do in any other season. With Lance? She doesn’t look happy. That same spark just isn’t there. Its like she’s forcing herself to move on, and it just doesn’t work. I mean, consider the episode with the Dark Entity and how it primarily assumed Lotor’s form. She misses and longs for him, and the vision of her in the Altean robeast draining her beloved planet of quint to save it was - and I full heartedly believe this because otherwise it’s randomly there in the narrative - for Allura to feel and understand what it was like to be in Lotor’s shoes. And Lance? Lance doesn’t particularly look really happy either, honestly. Frankly, the boy looks miserable. More over, the fact that Allura has rejected him for six seasons only to sorta flirt with him in s7 and then date him in s8... Really bugs me. That’s akin to sending a message that if you persue a woman long enough, she’ll eventually cave and accept a man’s romantic feelings. No. That is not a message to send to kids ages 7 and up. Add to the fact that Lance has had thoughts of Allura clinging to his leg while he’s proclaimed as the winner and everyone is looking up to him, and that he tells Allura that he’s “great at winning prizes” which essentially hints that he thinks of her as a prize that he’s won - and this isn’t only disturbing, it’s outright revolting and sexist. If I were a parent, this is not the kind of message I’d want my child to have. Period. 27) But the most disturbing thing about season 8, and the reason it was essentially ruined, was the fate of Lotor. There were several moments throughout s8 where he could have been there. And we can clearly see in the closing scene where the lions are flying out into the cosmos that it’s not just Allura’s outline in the stars. She’s clearly with Lotor, as if he was supposed to have been there the whole time and was supposed to share her choice. Season 8 had the potential of being the most beautiful redemption story tied into a Heroine’s journey that I’ve ever seen. But instead, we see an abuse survivor that only wanted to do good, a victim of neglect that longed to be loved... Get the most graphic death in the series with absolutely no chance to redeem himself. All of his plot points are left forgotten and untouched. We’re only given more of his abusive backstory to make him a more sympathetic character. He was never given a real chance to explain his half of the story concerning the Colony; we never see the point that he killed Narti come back up between him and his generals at all, almost as though it never happened to begin with; his potential as the Black Paladin, shown when he used the Black Bayard to kill his father, is left completely unexplored; and being as he wasn’t given a redemption arc, we don’t see him get to have another chance at the White Lion trial and succeed. What we are given is the desecration of the animus, the death of a dark youth character, and the light youth Allura thus being unable to complete her heroine’s journey. The disturbing message that this sends to children, particularly to children that are/were victims of abuse themselves, is completely unacceptable. I stand with @leakinghate and @felixazrael and the others on this point. This is not the story that was written originally, and we see that in the choppiness of certain episodes, as well as the conclusion with both Allura and Lotor in the stars. Legendary Defender was always meant to be their story. I don’t personally believe that the writers who put so much thought, so much care, so much love into these characters would write them to end up as we see them in the season 8 we were given. If you haven’t already, please sign the petition to release/explain the original season eight.

#vld #vld s8 #vld s8 spoilers #spoilers ahoy #All of my issues with this season #But I will probably find more #all of the dues ex machinas #Originally I only had like #20 points but they just kept coming #oops?#Lotor deserved better #allura deserved better #Lotura forever

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devilsofficialfanfic · 6 years

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The Eternal Hourglass

Chapter 5: Be The Person You Needed When You Were Younger

A week passed, and Shiro showed no sign of waking up from his coma.

Lotor stood in the doorway of the private room Shiro was in, making no move to announce his presence.

Keith was with Shiro. He spent a lot of time here, sitting in a chair pulled up to the bedside, holding Shiro’s flesh hand in both of his, talking quietly, as if Shiro would hear him and wake.

He wouldn’t; the scans showed no brain activity above the brainstem. The body was alive, but it was an empty shell.

Lotor was too weak to tell Keith that.

It was clear that Keith was close to Shiro, and as long as Shiro -his body, anyway -was here, he’d stay. He’d spent two years looking for Shiro, after all; he wouldn’t give up so easily.

And maybe… Keith loved Shiro. Lotor wasn’t quite sure he believed in love anymore, but he almost could, just watching Keith look at Shiro.

no one will ever look at you like that you can never have this you will live alone and die alone and be forgotten and no one will mourn for you hate him because he has this and you never will

Lotor turned at the sound of approaching footsteps. “Dr. Arnok. I hope you have good news,” he said quietly, so as not to disturb Keith’s vigil.

“About Shiro? No, I’m afraid not. No, actually, Sire,” he said, with an apologetic cough, “I had hoped I might have a moment of your time?”

Lotor’s fingers tingled relentlessly. “Of course.” He pulled the doctor aside.

“The, uh, child,” Dr. Arnok began. “His health is declining.”

“Declining?” Lotor asked. “Is he ill?”

“No, Sire. At least, not in the conventional sense. But he’s… He’s not eating. He won’t eat. We may have to tube feed him if it-“

“No!” Lotor said sharply, then flushed. “No. Find another way.”

“That’s why I’m here, Sire. Young children are very sensitive to those around them, and they… They know their parents. He needs you, Sire, and I know that the circumstances are not ideal, but-“

“‘Not ideal’?” Lotor hissed. “May I remind you that his father was the man who-“

“He is your son, too,” Arnok replied quietly. “You are his father, too.”

Lotor flexed his hands a few times, before finally saying, “I will consider it.”

“I’m afraid,” Lotor said quietly. “So...terrified. I don’t- I’ve never been around children. I don’t- I can’t- and I’ll just… He needs someone better, someone who knows what to do-“

“Take a deep breath,” Ramil said. “Everyone is afraid of parenthood, and you certainly have more reason than most, but you don’t have to let that stop you.”

“I- Everytime I think about him… I can only see Sendak, and it’s not fair to him. It’s not his fault. He didn’t ask to be made. He deserves someone who can love him.”

“You could,” Ramil insisted gently. “You should see him and get to know him as his own person. You only saw him the once, right?”

Lotor nodded. “It made me ill. I vomited after. How damaged is he going to be?”

“Many of my clients have children that are product of rape. With the right parental support, those children grow up just fine. He just needs love.”

“I don’t know why we’re having this conversation in the first place,” Lotor said abruptly. “It’s not as if I need to raise him myself. I could give him up for adoption, and even if I didn’t, most royal children are raised by a nanny until they’re old enough for a governess. It’s not as if I have time to raise a child. The universe is in shambles. I’m trying to negotiate my way out of a war on infinite fronts because Sendak’s aggression was only outmatched by my father’s. The Coalition consists of three planets, one Balmera, and four-fifths of Voltron. I have no idea where the Black Lion is, but I suspect the witch has it. Olkarion is gone. I have far too much to do, without adding a child into the mix.”

“And yet you brought it up.”

He had.

“Do you want to know what I think?” Ramil continued. “I think you are afraid of becoming your father.”

Of course he was. “Please tell me something I don’t know.”

“There’s a difference between becoming a father and becoming your father. You've spent how long trying to be better than he was?”

“Centuries,” Lotor said quietly.

“This is just one more opportunity you have to prove that you aren't him. You can do better. You can let the cycle end with you.”

It sounded so nice. “I’m...frightened,” Lotor whispered.

“You don’t want someone to depend on you, because you’re not even sure if you can depend on yourself.”

Lotor nodded.

“You don’t have to do it alone,” Ramil said. “If you need help, you just have to ask for it. You already have. That’s why I’m here. The first time is always the hardest, and I promise you that it will get easier.”

“I- I will try to remember that. Thank you, Doctor.”

It was incredibly late, but Lotor couldn’t sleep. That wasn’t unusual, these days; his sleeping medication made him too drowsy in the morning for it to be worth taking, so Dr. Arnok was looking into finding a different, more effective one.

In the meantime… He spent a lot of time on the training deck. He was slowly regaining muscle mass. It would take time to get back to his previous shape, but he could see the progress he was making already, and that was something.

Tonight, though… He’d overdone it. Every muscle and joint ached. Errant spasms in his arms and hands had caused him to drop his sword twice before he finally called it a night.

His body was exhausted, but his mind wouldn’t settle. That wasn’t new, either; even during the happier times in his life, he often had sleep problems because he got too involved in a project to sleep until it was finished.

It was different, now. He had trouble sleeping because he needed someone next to him, and there was no one he trusted enough to share his bed. He needed -craved -personal contact, but he couldn’t ask for it.

Keith… Keith was busy, and anyway…

why would he ever want you he has enough problems he doesn’t need yours

He found himself outside the makeshift nursery.

The child didn’t have a name, just a subject number, because no one had given him one.

There was still the possibility that Lotor might send him off to be adopted someplace far, far away, as another unknown child victim of the war. Maybe that would be the kindest course of action, and if so, it was kindest to himself to remain unattached.

He wailed, though, and it grated on Lotor’s ears, but also…

He couldn’t take it anymore. He entered the nursery.

“What is going on here?” He demanded. He was aware that babies cried, sometimes for unknowable and arcane reasons, but really. These were supposed to be professionals.

He ignored them, drawn to the cradle, afraid and reluctant and unable to stop himself.

It was strange.

Like… maybe, somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered...this.

Not this, exactly, of course. But

Lying in a cradle, crying for someone to care for him, small and helpless and utterly alone, surrounded by people who didn’t care and never would…

He reached out tentatively and stroked one finger across the downy fur on the side of the baby’s face.

He was so...small.

He stopped screaming, as if startled by the touch, and turned his huge, golden eyes up at Lotor, reaching out in return.

Lotor flinched back, and the baby’s face crumpled, and he started to bawl again.

Without thinking, Lotor picked him up, setting him against his shoulder, both hands supporting him. He wasn’t heavy -in fact, some instinct told Lotor that he wasn’t heavy enough -but it felt necessary, to have as much contact with him as possible.

“Hush, Little One, you’re alright,” Lotor murmured, stroking the soft white crest of fur that extended from the top of his head to halfway down his back. “I know, I know… Life is terribly unfair, but hush now, it’s late…”

“Sire? He’s, uh, probably hungry,” one of the attendants said.

“I know,” Lotor murmured. He hadn’t forgotten about Dr. Arnok’s report from a few days ago. “I’ll feed him.”

A bottle was pressed into the hand he held out, and he sank into a chair in one corner, completely unable to take his eyes off this...creature.

Not so different than him, really. Children no one wanted, but had to suffer through life anyway. Children to be used and discarded as it suited those around them. Unnatural children -one of the Rift, one of the lab -who shouldn’t have existed in the first place.

“It will be different,” Lotor said quietly, adjusting his hold on the child so he could feed him. “I am not the man I wish to be. Not yet. But I will try. I will give you a better life than anyone gave me. I swear it.”

Of course the baby had no idea what he was saying; he just nursed from the bottle, so quickly that Lotor had to pull it away several times.

“You’ll make yourself sick,” Lotor told him. “Slow down, Little One. I’m not going anywhere.”

He wasn’t, he realized. There was no way he could give this child up now, no way he could hand him off to a nanny, no way he could send him away to be raised by strangers, ignorant of who he was…

When the bottle was empty, Lotor placed it on the floor by his feet. The attendants had left at some point, and now he was alone with this child.

His son.

His son, with whom he was immediately and devastatingly enamored. He understood the witch’s plan better than he had before.

He would not let her turn this precious, innocent thing into a weapon, and that was all there was to it.

The baby turned his golden eyes back up to Lotor, blinking a few times, and yawned. He didn’t have any teeth yet, and Lotor didn’t know much about babies, but he thought he was still pretty young. Less than a year old, certainly.

Lotor was still not completely certain on the timeline of Events during his...captivity, but…

No, he didn’t want to think of that. Not while holding his son. His son, who, now that he’d been fed and was being held, started purring, startlingly loud for such a small thing.

Holding him was… such a natural thing, an easy thing.

The baby fell asleep, still purring, and suddenly...the universe was quiet, Lotor’s mind was quiet, and he slept.

#vld lotor #teh #the eternal hourglass #a baby!#real talk: im crying rn this was too cute

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maychorian · 7 years

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Weekly Voltron Fic Recs #62

A bit of life news: I am moving to a new position at my workplace working for a team that is currently very backed up, so my free time at work that I usually use to read fanfiction is about to disappear for the foreseeable future. It’s a good career move for me, and once things calm down I might have even more time and even be able to work from home. But in the meantime, yeah, I dunno how much fanfiction I’ll be reading. Whatever I do read will definitely get put in a list, though, haha.

Rules: You can find past weekly rec lists here, and non-list recs in my general fic rec tag. Also follow @maychorianrecs for individually tagged posts, the easier to search and reblog. This is stuff I like, and I have a huge bias toward Lance, hurt/comfort, and general fluff, in that order. Gen unless otherwise noted. Please comment on the fics if you read and enjoy them!

Passing Grade by IcyPanther Words: 6,998 Author’s Summary: If Lance stayed in the shower long enough maybe the water would wash everything away. Maybe it would make him forget unwanted hands and the scratchy couch. Maybe… A sob tore through his throat. No. There was no forgetting. But he did have to paste on a smile and try to because no one could find out. Otherwise it was all over. AU - College My Comments: Mind the tags. There was a time when I sought out fics with this exact scenario because it fed something very needy inside me. It still hits all of those buttons super hard, and I really enjoyed reading this sort of story again, featuring my favorite character, written by an author I trust. I’ve already re-read it a couple of times, and I’ll be returning to it again, I’m sure.

The Cost of Winning by IcyPanther Words: 9,598 Author’s Summary: “The Blue and Green Paladins serve no purpose to the Empire,” the Galran commander smirked at his bound captives. “And as such you have no use except as arena fodder.” He chuckled. “Give us a good show before you die.” / Lance is determined to protect Pidge and save her from the arena. She will not die here. Over his dead body. Hopefully it’s not quite that literal of a promise. My Comments: Superb fic, possibly the best I’ve read from this author yet. The action is great and the plot is tight and suspenseful. Wonderful platonic Pidge and Lance, both getting beat up, both badass and protective of each other. This kept me at the edge of my seat.

All That Glitters Isn’t Gold by IcyPanther for wingedflower Words: 9,998 Author’s Summary: It started with Allura wanting something shiny for an upcoming gala. She, Pidge and Lance venture to a marketplace to find just the thing in a billed afternoon of relaxation and fun. But what they ended up finding was not jewelry at all. / “Welcome to Tyrol’s slave trade, Tyrol at your service. Or, well,” a dark grin lit the trader’s face. “I suppose you are at mine.” My Comments: Mind the tags. I really enjoyed this fic, though it went to some dark places for a little bit. Always fun to see Lance bonding with his teammates. And also getting hurt and then comforted.

And Molasses by Lemon_Lemmings Words: 4,008 Author’s Summary: “That’s not enough.” Hunk motions to the cookie mountains. “I need to make more.” “How many more? I can bake.” Hunk gives her a skeptical look.Pidge crosses her arms. “My cookies might not turn out as perfect as yours, boo hoo. At least they won’t be contaminated with the plague.” My Comments: Excellent sickfic with wonderful characterization for Hunk, right on the money. Pidge stepped up to the plate and took it like a pro. I could definitely see this happening, no question.

Atlas Cannot Stand by AnaliseGrey Words: 3,609 Author’s Summary: He and Lance had taken Red in to infiltrate a low-traffic Galra base- or at least, it was supposed to be low-traffic; it was just their luck they’d try to hit it when some dignitary was visiting. They’d made a good show of it all things considered, but in the end they were outnumbered and overrun. Lance had been up high, covering him from a catwalk, but was surprised by sentries coming at him from both sides of the walkway; there hadn’t been anywhere for him to go, and they were on him too fast to use his jetpack. Once they had Lance, Keith had surrendered quickly, not wanting to get Lance hurt. He could still feel Red growling quietly in the back of his mind, trapped in the hangar he’d left her in when they arrived. So far, her particle barrier was holding, but she wasn’t leaving until he was, and he wasn’t leaving without Lance. My Comments: The torture is pretty brutal in this one, but I loved the bond between Keith and Lance and how desperately they wanted to help each other.

May They Rest at Ease by ambivalentlangst Words: 2,539 Author’s Summary: Soldiers are created to say “vrepit sa” and die in a blaze of glory for their empire. They are not created to babysit kids, but some don’t mind, because someone has to keep the cubs safe. The universe they defend certainly doesn’t. My Comments: Season 5 spoilers. I adore this. So much. The two soldiers who palled around with Pidge, Hunk, and Lance essentially adopt them as their cubs, because those are three are far too young and don’t deserve to suffer. This fic makes my heart sing. It’s so sweet and lovely, despite the savagery of war.

Everywhere Cats by Engineer104 Words: 7,363 Author’s Summary: A mysterious mishap transforms the Lions of Voltron into…cats, who are more troublesome for their Paladins than for Zarkon’s Empire My Comments: Super fun and cute! I will continue to mourn the relative dearth of animal transformation crack in this fandom until I am satisfied, but this was a good fix, though nowhere near enough. So cute, sooooo fluffy.

I Once Loved the Stars so Truly, but I Have Learned to Fear the Night by Spazzcat Words: 5,638 Author’s Summary: Samuel Holt has loved the stars his entire life, despite where he ended up because of it. Ironically it’s not until after his rescue that he starts to hate their gentle gleam in the darkness, a cruel reminder of everything he’s lost. My Comments: Lovely alternate version of Sam finding his family. It hurt, but the ending made up for it, and the language along the way was gorgeous and vivid. Great OCs, too.

In the Dust under the Stars by cleanlittlesecret Words: 5,521 Author’s Summary: The woman entering his office must be close to seven feet tall if not taller, has long and pointed ears, and is entirely purple. She has to duck to avoid hitting her face on the doorframe, and Iverson is so busy staring at her with his mouth open that he barely hears Mick say something before shutting the door behind her. What in the Sam Hill is this? (Or, AU where Krolia stayed on Earth to raise Keith, and most people are not as bothered by her as they probably should be. Plus some other changes.) My Comments: Season 5 spoilers. Lovely canon divergence AU with a great Krolia and a cute though impulsive Keith. The details really made this story come alive; it’s very well-written and enjoyable to read.

Poison by IcyPanther Words: 2,876 Author’s Summary: Lance is fine. Or, at least he keeps telling himself that. He’s most definitely not a victim of the unknown disease with no cure sweeping through the city. Nope. But now he’s coughing up blood? Maybe… maybe he isn’t so fine after all. / “H-Hunk,” he whispered. “I… I think I’m s-sick.” Hunk let out a sound somewhere between a sob and a laugh. “Yeah, Lance. You are.“ My Comments: What a great Lance-centric sickfic with super good comfort and a tense plot. I’ll never tire of these kinds of fics.

The Grim Particulars by yet_intrepid Words: 5,575 Author’s Summary: “Can’t believe Kolivan trusted these guys,” Keith mutters. He shifts awkwardly in the tight space, trying to alleviate some of the pressure on his arms, which are cuffed behind his back. “I always knew they were sketchy.” “They’re illegal weapons dealers,” Shiro replies. “Of course they’re sketchy.” Keith grunts, half-angry and half-amused, and gives up readjusting his position. It’s just as well, really, Shiro thinks. They’re in a tiny closet on a tiny ship, and there’s barely room for them to sit shoulder-to-shoulder, knee-to-knee. My Comments: Beware the tags. This is a grim story, as the title implies, not for the faint of heart. But good, as everything from this author. It catches you in the gut. Gave me some deep thoughts, too.

Thicker than Water by Fernandidilly_yo Words: 4,574 Author’s Summary: (Set right after season 5 episode 5)“How long?” Keith asks, taking another step into Kolivan’s office, his legs feel unstable underneath him, his body disconnected and flimsy. “How long have you known Krolia is my mother?” My Comments: Season 5 spoilers. I really like nuances of this story. Keith’s reactions and emotions all feel very realistic and true to his character, and I liked Kolivan in this too. Great stuff.

Bits by Lemon_Lemmings Words: 3,107 Author’s Summary: Violence is an acquired taste that Hunk inevitably accommodates. My Comments: Angsty and harsh and a little grim, but I absolutely believe that Hunk is like this. War is hard, and it’s not fair.

dear child of mine by glitteringconstellations Words: 2,365 Author’s Summary: Krolia went to Earth in search of a Lion, and found a family, instead. She learned what it meant to love and be loved, and she learned that sometimes, loving someone means letting them go.Or,Krolia cradles Keith in her arms for the last time. My Comments: Season 5 spoilers. Sweet and sad and lovely. I love this vision of Keith’s mother and father before the war. Or during the war, but in a peaceful interlude.

Mama is… by nigiyakapepper Words: 4,134 Author’s Summary: “A spy!” “Spy!” “Up in space!” “ ’pin space!” Keith is two. It’s one of his good days, judging by the boy shrieking with joy for no other reason than the enjoyment of the act. K - - - - -, his dad, moves as if to chase him around the sofa in their living room. Little Keith moves in turn, a ‘patta patta’ of tiny feet stomping on linoleum. He giggles while clutching his shirt—then full on screams and toddles away when his dad lunges after him. - - Who Keith’s mom is as Keith grows up. My Comments: Season 5 spoilers. Lovely snapshots of Keith throughout the years, missing his mother. I’m so glad he had such a good father, but then it hurt to lose him, too.

In Darkness We Shall Fight by Haleykim84 (tristen84) for BlackFriar Words: 6,795 Author’s Summary: Shiro and Keith are on a stealth mission that goes wrong. With no back-up and Keith injured, they struggle to get out alive. My Comments: A rollercoaster of a fic, fantastic action and wonderful teamwork and protectiveness between Keith and Shiro. It felt sort of classic, in a way, the OG duo back at it again. Fun and exciting read.

Of Crossing Swords and Crossing Lines by wingedflower for IcyPanther Words: 8,144 Author’s Summary: Written as part of a fic exchange with IcyPanther, following the prompt “shopping trip went wrong”. For the first time in his life, Keith sees something at the space mall that he actually wants. He’s willing to do everything to get it - especially if it involves ignoring Lance, who tries to talk him out of it. Things end up as well as expected. My Comments: A great, fun read with some interpersonal conflict and Lance getting hurt. Always a great combination for fic.

Previously Recced Fics That Updated:

Beacon (43262 words) Shadows of Stars (182291 words) A Dragon in Thy Pocket (10018 words) As Color Fades Away (293755 words) Weekend Guests (16351 words) I'm not the Lance You think I am (79775 words) Back from the Edge (10869 words)

#voltron legendary defender #fic rec #weekly voltron fic recs #vldgen

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charred-ground · 6 years

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Season 6 and what it changed for me (spoiler: Not a whole lot)

I want to point out that this is not a judgement ships. This is purely me and I will never ever attack another ship. Ship what you want. This is personal opinion and something I noticed in myself since Season 6.

Sheith (the biggest change): I won’t say Sheith is dead as a whole, but for me it is. The ship never bothered me, and I could totally see where it is coming from. My problem comes because I can place myself in Keith’s head. Without going into too many details, I have family, step brothers who I would die for. I would go to the ends of the earth for them. They raised me when my parents were off working. I love them. I love them dearly. When it was revealed that Shiro took Keith out of a ‘home’ and when Keith and Shiro had their duel a cord snapped in me and I knew the Sheith inside of me died.

“You’re my brother. I love you.” The love he expressed hit very close to home. I cannot see them in a romantic light any more. I can’t sully that moment by making it sexual or romantic. It just feels wrong to me. Their relationship is beautiful as it is. (Ship what you wish! This is still a ship friendly blog. These are only my opinions)

Klance: Well, it is what it is. I did find episode two interesting. There was a directional take I wouldn’t expect. They cut between Keith and Lance at very strange moments. The parallels were strange and appeared very intentional. I won’t reach and say “OMG CANNON KING” but I didn’t give up on this ship this season. Some parts were difficult but I know there’s more left and I’m thinking about words the producers have said (I’m paraphrasing, you all know the quotes) “Lance will end up some place different then where he started. Lance’s wants and Lance’s needs. Who ever ends up with has to be self confident and know who they are.” Well... I’m sorry that sounds like an aged up Keith to me. And maybe I am reaching but the series isn’t over yet.

And holy crap is Keith pretty and Lance is adorable... my god they did a great job animating them...

Aged Up Keith: My god the boy is beautiful. Strong. Confident. Leadership material all the way. Age brings beauty, wisdom, and strength. I understand why they had to do it (And if he IS taller than Lance? He’s not that much taller) While it did feel a little cheap *shrug* There would be no way for Keith, as he was, to face down Shiro and survive it mentally or physically if they didn’t do it. Because of the unexpected inclusion of Shiro past the original story line, the writers and producers were in a jam. They had to make it work and they made due with what they had. So now it feels like we are exactly where we should have been at the end of Season 3 and seasons 4 and 5 were just to get Keith to this point rather than have 2 seasons represent 2 years of growth for the whole team as one unit. Dreamworks demand for MORE SHIRO created this situation and the writers had to adjust.

A judgement Part: And for the LOVE OF GOD people who don’t know the ramifications of what they say should NOT throw around words like pedophilia. Christ almighty people. It was wrong when people were doing it to Sheith stans. Its wrong for people to do it to Klance stans. I mean wow. How callous and ignorant do you have to be to just throw something like that around? (I WILL get pissed about this). It’s as if you have no idea what that word really means and you use it so flippantly to hurt an animated ship. Honestly... all that happens to this poor boy and THATS what you focus on? 2 damn years? (this gripe goes both ways, you are not innocent Klancers not by a long shot. You started this...)

Allurance: I honestly don’t know how I feel about it. I want them both to be happy. I love them both and they are adorable, but something doesn’t feel right about the set up for it. Perhaps if Allura chose Lance first I’d feel differently. I’m sure as the seasons go on more will show about her thought process and her expression when the mice told her about Lance’s feelings. I refuse to think ill of Allura. She’s hurt, confused, and angry. Lance is warm, supportive, and right there. I don’t blame her for leaning on him. Who else did she have to lean on? Lance just tried to be for her what no one has been for him. To be there.

Lance: Which brings me to this boy. The boy deserved a little better. I’m not even a Lance Stan but I did feel that he could have been used a little better than a plot device in a love triangle. We were witnessed to his silent suffering this season. He holds the team up but no one is there to hold him up. Which might be why I’m finding the Allurance thing a bit difficult (right now). He took on Allura’s suffering along with his own heart ache. He has moments where he could have thrown it back in her face, but he didn’t. Lance is a good guy. Always has been. He swallowed his pain while easing Allura’s. And everyone just seems to take from him and he never asks to get anything back. This co-dependent way of living is not healthy, but I’m admittedly curious to see where this will take him and how he figures out his wants vs his needs.

Lotor: Um.. well... saw that coming a mile a way... but kinda wished they prolonged it more. I’m running on the fact that the quintessence made him snap. And do not believe for a second the boy is dead. He probably got sucked up into a different universe and is building an army of Altean soldiers who share is ideals (I wonder..where... he could find that...) and will come back with a ship filled with mind control devices...(shudder)

Fandom (the judgement part): Needs to chill out. The series isn’t over yet. There’s a lot that can happen. Stop being so knee jerky and attacking other fans. That gets us no where and gets you no where. It might feel good to express yourself by lashing out at others, but it doesn’t prove anything other than an inability to see the world beyond yourself and your own opinions. Yes it hurts. Yes it sucks. But that’s life. We don’t always get what we want. The world is not a ‘safe space’. You don’t have control over other people and their emotions or their creativity. Live and let live. Voltron will not be around forever. It will end. It will have a series finale. Be thankful you ever had a fandom to be a part of for the brief blip of time this actually is in your life. Don’t waste it by being toxic. It will get you no where.

There you have it... forgive type-os... I’m tired...

#Voltron #VLD S6 #vld season 6 #vld spoilers #fandom #sorta rant? But not really?#I might lose followers

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dent-de-leon · 7 years

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do you know why lance seems to be the fandom sweetheart for like a majority of people watching voltron? don't get me wrong, he has his great moments, but half of the time he's just plain annoying (so fucking annoying). maybe i'm just too old to like the kind of character lance is.

I’ve thought about this myself, and here’s what I found–relatability. Lance has, by all means, the most “normal” background. He’s intended to be the “everyman,” a character that’s typically easygoing and very much what you’d expect from an ordinary teen. For the pilot episode, our intro, he also feels like the main focus out of the ensemble cast. As such, he ends up being this slate that a lot of fans, teens especially, can project onto. They see themselves in his place. He has typical problems like homesickness, competitiveness, jealousy, inferiority.

This is also why a lot of fans extrapolate those issues, I think. Particularly that last one. He’s no longer just someone who’s afraid of feeling left out or second-rate, suddenly he has depression or PTSD. Again, I think this is a result of fans seeing a bit of themselves in Lance and so projecting. It’s natural, and oftentimes people can find it sort of therapeutic. But still, there is something that’s always bothered me about fans insisting Lance in particular suffers from mental illness when we have a character in canon who does–and oftentimes, that part of Shiro’s life is pushed to the wayside in favor of adding those traits to Lance.

Or, even worse, as I’ve said before, I’ve seen Lance focused k/l that covered Keith’s galra reveal. And Shiro was often shown as the most aggressively against Keith, either outright rejecting or even lashing out at him. A character who suddenly turns monstrous from his canon trauma, all so Lance could look better in comparison, and it’s…very upsetting to see. Anyway, I’m glad Shiro was the one in canon who showed Keith that unconditional love and support through his galra reveal, because so many fanworks believed the contrary. And therein lies something to consider–I’ve seen lots of fans either dismiss or demonize Shiro’s very real symptoms of mental illness, while simultaneously claiming Lance was good representation for it, and it was just…strange.

But again, I assume that’s because people are drawn to different characters. And for whatever reason, those few fans who erase Shiro’s mental illness and pass it off to Lance for the sake of “lang/st” find that “representation” from Lance to be more palatable. That is to say, someone without the very real symptoms Shiro shows. Which, you know, upsets me as someone with clinical depression and other mental health issues, but I digress. If that kind of projection helps other fans, then I guess I kind of understand.

But I just raised a whole other topic there, so let’s talk about that–“lang/st.” Yeah. Putting Lance through lots of pain and suffering is so common, fandom coined a name. See also, the usually accompanying “klang/st.” So, yeah. If fans love Lance so much, why put their golden boy through so much suffering in a whole genre of fics? I think it’s because fans simultaneously love and hate the actual “everyman” aspect. Yes, Lance is like them. But they want him to be so much more!! They want him to have those deep, angsty backstories and heartbreaking character arcs like Shiro and Keith.

And yet, suffering from trauma or having a bad childhood does not make a character inherently more intriguing or dimensional. It just doesn’t. People heard “he has a big family” and immediately went to middle child, he’s always left out, his family never loved him enough!! And then in canon the show runners told us he was the youngest of his family and spoiled, and fans were surprised. Personally, I think that’s very fitting for someone who behaves like him, but I digress. My point is, lots of fans wanted him to suffer because they either like angst or they assume it somehow builds development of character.

But of course, the latter isn’t always true. And honestly? I think there are enough tragic origin stories in Voltron already. Like, at least we have this one guy who seems like he came from a loving family and had a relatively good life. Good for him!! I’m happy for him. And there’s nothing wrong with that, you know? Branching off that, I feel like a lot of klang/st is also to make k/l feel like it has more “substance.” Fans gave k/l the self-discovery arc of Keith’s galra reveal, even though sheith had that. They made Lance the loving and supportive one in the face of Keith’s galra blood, but in canon that’s Shiro.

Similarly, I see prekerberos things where Keith and Lance were always together or pining. You know who were always side by side in prekerberos canon? Who had that kind of dynamic? Sheith. You know who Keith agonized over being separated from for that long year? Shiro, not Lance. He didn’t even remember Lance’s name. Of course, there are the edits where Lance is in Keith’s BOM trial, though those same fans will swear there was nothing romantic about those sheith scenes.

Voltron’s twitter posts a video of the sheith hug followed by the group one, and fans just complain about the lack of a k/l hug. Altean Lance aus where Lance and Keith have a k/a dynamic is also common. Lance gushes about his love for Allura in his vlog? “Bad character developement”–should have made him talk about Keith instead. It’s like, fans expected certain things from k/l in canon. And when they didn’t get that, they borrowed the dynamic from other ships, while simultaneously hating those same ships. It’s very strange to me.

I think part of what broke my heart the most though, was fans rejoicing about Shiro going missing because in their minds it meant Lance would “step up” and be that source of love and comfort in Keith’s life. And that just…I felt sick reading things like that. So yeah, Lance is the “everyman,” but a lot of fans want him to be so much more. There’s this oc quality of–give him everything he wants!! Make him an Altean prince! The Black Paladin! Bring in someone who’s going to be the love of his life!! People want Lance to “prove Keith wrong” and “be the best,” even though Black Paladin Lance significantly detracts from his canon character development.

They pass onto him qualities of other characters because they think he “deserves” it. So, I’m going to say this–it’s probably because I can’t relate to Lance at all. I relate to Keith, with all his canon fear of feelings and abandonment, his deeply rooted attachment to those he loves, his introspective nature and inclination to act on instinct, his volatile intensity of emotion, his unbridled anger at injustice, his difficulty with letting go, his upsetting childhood, his fierce loyalty, his love of quiet but oppressive fear of isolation, his desire for found family, the way he values his beliefs over his life. So yeah, I really identify with Keith. Some of my meta? Probably projecting a little. It happens. So I understand why people do the same with Lance.

But just like Keith, Lance is still ultimately his own person. And the way he is in canon? He’s a good character all on his own. He’s not Keith or Shiro or Allura, but he’s himself. He’s someone who has a way of instigating important events–bringing all the paladins together for when they find the Blue Lion, following that mermaid and uncovering a whole nefarious plot, helping Allura realize her hidden potential and the very depth of her magic. He goes from a flighty playboy to someone actually shy and sincere, who develops very real feelings for Allura. He realizes being Black Paladin doesn’t make you suddenly better, understands the importance of working as a team and really grows into his role as a Red Paladin. Someone worthy of carrying on Alfor’s legacy, someone Allura can really be proud of.

So yes, Lance has gotten lots of character development, and I think he’s a really intriguing person all on his own. No other character traits required.

#voltron #lance #sheith #shiro #allurance

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