#i really don't know how many more alberta summers i have in me

[laurelwinchester]

sorry i've been mia over the past few days. my entire province is on fire and i'm pretty sure the unhinged and disgusting premier tried to kill us all yesterday by refusing to do anything to help until after her fucking campaign party was over.

[tomwambsmilk]

k so my work put on a conference last week and I only went to the saturday morning sessions but I ended up in a seminar discussion about climate activism. not really my wheelhouse so I just listened for the most part but - I was sitting next to this university prof who was an ex-politician and at one point he was talking about how if pro-environment policies are going to be a priority people need to push their political representatives. and at first I was like yeah totally!! I am big on contacting my political representatives about the things that matter To Me. but then he kind of dismissively said 'recent polling has shown that most canadians care far more about cost-of-living than the environment. and they don't want environmental progress if it'll cost them anything' and everyone sort of ruefully shook there heads and I was just sitting there like.... I think that's extremely valid actually. cost of living has SKYROCKETED and many people are really, really struggling to put food on the table and pay rent. and yeah climate change is terrible and will have potentially catastrophic impacts tomorrow if not stopped but. those impacts are coming tomorrow and people need to eat today. and its all well and good for a bunch of uni profs on tenured salaries to shake their heads because for them 'increased cost of living' means their summer vacation is in canada instead of europe, whereas for a lot of people I know its the difference between living in an apartment and a car. and if you're in that boat, and an environmental policy is being proposed which will negatively impact you financially (either directly or indirectly) I think its actually pretty understandable to be opposed to it

speaking of cars - a really excellent example is the carbon tax on gasoline in canada. the carbon tax is one thing for people who live in toronto, which has moderately effective and affordable public transit. if you live in toronto the choice to drive is, in fact, a choice - so a program which attempts to discourage driving makes sense. but geographically speaking, most of the country is pretty rural. I grew up in a pretty rural area. In those parts of the country, driving is not optional. There's no public transit and odds are most people have a 30-minute drive to work or school or the grocery store. In these areas, being too poor for a car is like being too poor to buy groceries or pay rent - its going to seriously hamper your ability to continue living. So for these people, the carbon tax is a penalty for something which simply cannot be helped, and there's 0 effort on the government's part to provide them with the resources which would give them other options, like affordable public transit. It's just fuck you - your gas bill is going up. And when people are struggling to pay bills, that's no small thing; but politicians consistently paint people opposed to the carbon tax as anti-environment greedy conservatives. And I look at that whole situation and go, honestly? Some of the people complaining do in fact have a point

There are broader examples too.... Canada's national economy is inextricably linked with Alberta's oil industry. If we all stopped using oil tomorrow, not only would hundreds of thousands of people be without work, but there would be millions of dollars in lost tax revenue, plus the shuttering of businesses in alberta due to lost revenue and the ripple effect this would have on jobs and income. That doesn't mean we just keep using oil forever, but it means that any sustainable plan for Canada to move away from oil NEEDS to have a significant economic component which addresses all of those lost jobs and revenue so we don't impoverish an entire province in the process. And yet for whatever reasons government policy always seems to be one or the other, and so of course nobody in alberta is going to support it because you haven't explained what they're supposed to do for work once the oil jobs disappear.

I'm sort of just rambling I guess - I'm just a little frustrated with watching all of this discourse from comfortably middle-class politicians and academics who think that anyone who raises an economic concern is a money grubbing conservative. A lot of them are in fact working-class people who are fearful of the financial implications of these policies and I do in fact think we owe it to them to make sure the poor are not disproportionately shouldering the burden of environmental progress

this is just me thinking out loud but. I do think perhaps maybe there is a problem with politically-focussed environmental activism that doesn't address the economic impact of pro-environment policies. if that makes sense

[pidgelings]

AAAAA.Hello,I am that shy anon. And before I make a mess of your askbox and ramble about AUs,I want to talk about the long distance AU(your AUs are so good they give me life tbh like I would want a detailed expansion for every one but I don't want to bother you), so I imagine everyone lives in different parts of the world. I imagine Lance living in Miami, you know, and Pidge in Italy (I hc that Sam's parents are german that's why the Holt surname), Keith is korean (I really want Korean!Keith)1/?

Honestly, it’s a blast to get people asking about my AUs so you could ask to hear every single AU and I’d eventually get to them all and THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DROPPING THIS IN BECAUSE I LOVE HEARING OTHER PEOPLE’S TAKES ON AUs !!

ALSO, SORRY THIS IS SO LATE! TURNS OUT I HAD A LOT MORE TO SAY ABOUT THIS AU THAN I THOUGHT AND I GOT BUSY!

Honestly, our takes on this AU are pretty similar but I have some of the Paladins in different locations and slightly different inside jokes and meetings so here’s how those go:

Long Distance AU

Locations

Shrio - Fukuoka, Japan - UTC+09:00Boy has been born and raised in Japan and lives in an apartment here

Keith - Calgary, Alberta (Canada) - UTC-07:00You can blame r-i-v-e-r for my love of Canadian! Keith (and my desire to reference my family’s inside jokes (I live with a bunch of Canadians)(he’s pretty much going to be a mix of Canon! Keith and my family))

Pidge + Matt - Charlottesville, Virginia (USA) - UTC−05:00 and Bari, Italy - UTC+02:00Every summer the two have a mandatory trip to Italy to visit family and don’t come back until Winter

Lance - San Diego, California (USA) - UTC-08:00Family is from Cuba (took a long ass time to get into America and even longer to become Americans) but he was born a Cali Boy (that comes into play a bit later)

Hunk - Apia, Samoa - UTC+13:00Most of his family lives in a village outside the capital but he and his parents live in the capital

Allura + Coran - Dunedin, Otago (New Zealand) - UTC+13:00Allura is currently being taken care of by Coran

[More Under the Cut]

How They Met

Keith and Shiro were the first to meet when Keith’s family took a trip to Japan

Keith got lost and Shiro helped guide him back to his hotel

Shiro was surprisingly good at English despite having spent his whole life in Japan (his accent was heavy though)

When Keith went back to Canada, he stayed in contact with Shiro via Skype

The two bonded by playing free Steam games and making fun of them and also watching Youtube videos with each other

Keith met Pidge and Matt next

He was playing Overwatch and ended up in a party with her and her brother and they all ended up in voice chat

They all got along so well they ended up exchanging Skypes

Keith ended up introducing them to Shiro and everything hit off well

Pidge met Hunk through Minecraft

She was on a particularly cringy server (so many kids desperate to date someone) when she and Hunk started talking through the game’s chat

They started to build on the same plot and they soon exchanged Skypes to keep in touch

Matt met Lance on Instagram

Neither of them recalls who said hi to who first but they quickly became friends because of their similar interests

Eventually, they exchanged Discords and Matt invited Lance to play some Overwatch with him, his sister, and Keith

Lance accepted and he started a rivalry with Keith when he first met him and hit it off with Pidge really well (despite being annoyed by her constantly getting PoTG)

Lance made the jump to Skype to meet Shiro and that’s when Pidge also introduced Hunk to the group

Lance was the one who brought Allura into the group because she was one of his first friends from Instagram

Despite not being into too many video games, she got along well with everyone else

Coran would sometimes appear in the background of video chats with Allura and swing by to say hi to everyone

That’s how this mess of people met

Timezone Fuckery

Fortunately, their timezones aren’t too wonky that they can’t all be in a call at once (unless Matt and Pidge are in Italy)

When it’s noon where Lance is:Shiro - 5:00 AMKeith - 1:00 PMPidge + Matt - 3:00 PM (USA) and 9:00 PM (Italy)Hunk - 10:00 AMAllura + Coran - 9:00 AM

They still don’t regularly do group calls

Most of the time it’s small groups or just a duo that talk to each other because their schedules are the wonky things

Shiro, Allura, and Hunk are the busiest of the group

Pidge, Keith, and Lance are the least busy

Matt can either be very busy or very free

There is no between

Shiro

Dude is an introvert that knows how to people quite well

You’d seriously think he’s an extrovert but he isn’t

Give him that quiet alone time and he’s a happy camper

Probably the busiest member of the group because he’s trying to get into JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)

He has a love for Space and Science and is kinda a secret dork about it all (the Holts know it though)

He does enjoy video games but only in moderation

Keith has convinced him to play them a bit more than usual

Shiro does play Overwatch but he stays on the Asia servers (he has jumped onto the American servers once or twice to play a few games with Keith (it wasn’t easy))

Soldier: 76 Main (Team Dad)

Speaking of “Team Dad,” he’s the guy who makes sure everyone goes to bed at a decent time (especially the Holts when they’re in Italy)

He doesn’t really follow his own rule though because he has insomnia

He was in a car crash when he was a teen which is how he got the scar across his nose (he still has black hair and both of his arms though)

The car crash really screwed him up for a good few years as he became terrified of cars (one comes at him on his side and he’s freezing up and panicking)

He was late to start driving a car because of that

He’s much better about the whole thing now

He now just has the occasional nightmare about the event and he’s a rather cautious driver

He’s started to talk in English so often thanks to the calls with the others that he now sometimes forgets how to say the Japanese word of something he says in English a lot

He curses the group for this but everyone laughs it off

He was the one who started the trend of teaching everyone statements in your native language that doesn’t mean the thing the person teaching says it means

He’s actually a secret jokester and is not afraid to mess around with his friends

Gallows humor for days, m’dude

Probably works at a retail store while he finishes up his studies before trying to get into the space program

He’s dead inside, please help him

Keith

A strange mix of social and antisocial

He goes quiet in large group calls but will talk up a storm in small calls

Tends to call the most because he heads out a lot and he doesn’t want to have to deal with talking with a lot of people

Using a Skype call is a great excuse for that

The lone Canadian of the group and the most adamant that Canadians and Americans are nothing alike

Doesn’t seem to sleep ?? Like at all ??

You can message him at any time and he’ll probably respond within a few minutes

Very blunt way of messaging, using just a few words per text

Very much a user of video when he’s out of his house but not so much when he’s in it

He’ll show his surroundings while walking around and make comments about it

He was once in a call with Lance and Pidge while he was at Tim Hortons and when Lance tried to argue that Dunkin’ Donuts was better, Keith ended the call and called Pidge individually

He also complains about the weather a lot ??

“IT’S REALLY FUCKING COLD!”

He also hates when it’s June and the sun doesn’t set until nearly 10 at night

*turns on camera* “You see this shit?! It’s 8 PM and there’s still sun!”

Also gets oddly excited during the Calgary Stampede

Like, you don’t like crowds so why are you so excited ??

Turns out he likes watching Rodeos

Also, he wears a cowboy hat every stampede and Lance makes fun of him every time

Also, he says “Eh” without meaning to (it’s basically his way of saying “Right?”)

Lance calls him out every time he does so, causing him to be self-conscious every time he does it(My parents do that a lot and I call them out every time)

“IT’S ‘ZED’ NOT ‘ZEE’ !!”“WE DON’T CALL IT A ‘ZED-BRA,’ KEITH !!”

Also, he totally has a Kinder Surprise almost every call and whenever someone (Lance) asks him what it is he’ll just respond: “Something you can’t have.”(Kinder Eggs are illegal in the USA)

Korean but has never lived in Korea

Knows a few Korean words but not enough to hold a conversation

Genji Main in Overwatch

He’s an enigma of a boy --

Pidge

Doesn’t talk much unless either:A ) She cares about the person talking to herB ) It’s something she’s interested in

Tends to eat during calls so she’s either really quiet or talking with her mouth full

Worst potty mouth out of everyone

Tries to hide it from her parents but her parents know

They know all too well

Loves video games with a passion 

Plays Overwatch a lot and mains Symmetra

She knows all the best spots for turrets and steals PoTG a lot

A true night owl and is not a morning person at all

Fortunately, due to timezones, no one really gets to see the gremlin she is in the morning

Can be very blunt on accident

Doesn’t really know how to people ??

She and Keith are good friend because of this

Likes spooky paranormal shit but doesn’t really believe in any of it

Acts like she does to screw with people though (Keith joins in on this)

Game Theorist before Game Theory was even a thing

Girl has a lot of crazy ideas

Also, she’s a hand talker through and through (it’s an Italian thing)

Uses every rude Italian gesture known to man

Keith and Matt are the only ones who know what the gestures mean

She and Matt prank each other a lot

If the camera is on while she talks, you’ll see a lot of robot and building projects behind her that are unfinished

Is totally the type of person who gets a bunch of projects started and jumps between them as she gets bored with one

Loves movies but loves making fun of them more

She’s a horrible person to watch movies with

She’ll spoil shit she’s already seen and comment on every cliche she sees (even if she likes those cliches)

If she’s driving, she’s very aggressive --

She’d give Shiro a heart attack if she drove him anywhere because he driving would seriously bring back flashbacks to his car crash

Fortunately, she can’t drive him anywhere so he’s safe

Matt isn’t though. Rip

Speaks in fluent memery

Likes Minecraft unironically for the cringe and the ability to build anything

Very snarky but also very sweet

She’s a literal Sour Patch Kid

Matt

An extroverted dork

He and Lance are the masters of keeping conversations going

Also, a total otaku ??

He loves his anime --

Tries to get Pidge to watch a few things but she’s only really found herself liking a lot more of the “edgy” anime (AoT, Parasyte (personal fave), Tokyo Ghoul, Another, etc)

He’s more into the upbeat and popular stuff (Fairy Tail, Lucky Star, SAO, Hetalia, OHSHC, etc) (not a true anime fan) (also, he watched and liked Free! (he doesn’t tell anyone though))

Shiro has had to deal with mildly racist (but not intentionally) questions about anime from Matt (not all Japanese people know/like anime, Matt)

That was towards the beginning of their relationship though so it doesn’t happen anymore

Now he mostly talk dorky space stuff with Shiro

Matt wants to get into NASA like his dad (Pidge wants to too, but is also focusing on other things)

He’s a D.Va Main. Fight me

Also a hand talker like Pidge --

He really likes strategy games too ??

But he also likes dumb games and rage games --

Hates horror games though (Pidge loves them)

He almost died when Pidge made him play a VR horror game --

She recorded his reaction and sent it to everyone in the group

No one lets him live down his girly scream

Pidge fucks with him by playing scary music outside his door or in his room when he isn’t expecting it

Anything mildly eerie can get him to scream within a few seconds

He does oddly well in scary mazes though ?? Like, the ones where people jump out at you ??

Like, he sometimes screams but otherwise, he’s really calm ??

Sends memes to everyone at ungodly hours

Actual sweetheart who’ll listen to your problems and try to help you

Also, he’s every one of his friends’ #1 fan ??

He’s a great friend tbh --

Lance

EXTROVERT

TALKS ABOUT ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING

Loves romcoms of all kinds (especially a really bad one called The Pirate Movie)

Pretty much an Instagram model with the help of his siblings

A morning person and almost everyone wonders how he does it

LOVES VIDEO GAMES

He’ll play anything tbh --

Dating Sims, Shooters, Bullet Hells, RPGS, Horror Games, name one genre and he’s got at least one fave from it

Really scared of horror games though but subjects himself to them anyways

Actually has a Youtube channel that gets kinda popular without him realizing it

He’s a Let’s Player and Streamer --

Everyone in the group knows about his channel and are subscribed

Pidge, Matt, and Keith show up in almost all of his Overwatch videos --

He’s a Widowmaker Main (her gun is a lot like his bayard (either a normal blaster or a sniper rifle))

Pidge made him react to the Bongcheon-Dong Ghost Comic once on a stream and he’s never been the same since then

He really likes heading out to the beaches of California --

He’s a surfer wannabe because he surfs a lot but he’s not that good at it

A fish flopped onto his board once and he freaked before wiping out from losing his footing

He doesn’t like talking about it but his siblings bring it up any time they can. They all saw it

Despite his tan skin he has very visible freckles during the summer (not during the winter though)

Does not handle the cold well --

Like, not at all --

Drops to 70 and he’s in sweatpants, a knit sweater, slippers, a scarf, and you question how he even lives --

Loves the idea of love and is a hopeless romantic --

Wants a fairytale romance but after he and Pidge end up together (yes, that happens in this AU (I’m so predictable)) he knows he’s not going to get one but couldn’t be happier

Really competitive and fights with Keith a lot still

Also a glory hog --

Bilingual with English and Spanish and tends to forget words in both languages

Also the type of person who walks through the process of figuring out the forgotten word vocally

The words he forgets vary from really simple to really difficult

No one else in the group speaks Spanish so they can’t help him

Nicknamed “Starboy” from his Youtube Channel

Really good boi --

Hunk

Soft and friendly introvert --

Like, he’s everyone's friend but also everyone’s biggest critic

He CAN and WILL CALL YOU THE FUCK OUT ON YOUR BS --

Mostly plays Minecraft but does play Overwatch from time to time

Like Minecraft for the building freedom

It allows him to brainstorm

Orisa Main in Overwatch and loves to kill people in embarrassing ways

Hello mini graviton surge~

Best cook of the friends

If anyone needs cooking help they’ll call him and have him guide them through the art of cooking

He has saved lives this way

Does not touch spooky shit at all --

He’s not a screamer like you think he would be but he tenses up and dies a little every time he is spooked before he glares and ignores whoever scared him by giving them the cold shoulder

Cold-Shoulder Hunk is the worst Hunk to be met with because it just hurts your soul when he does this

He and Pidge are the tech dorks of the group and have similar projects they both work on at the same time so they can help each other

Doesn’t do calls too often because his family isn’t rich enough for him to be doing international calls all the times

He also heads out to the village where the rest of his family lives often so he isn’t around his computer much

Has never left Samoa until he met the others

Traveling scares him but also gets him really excited because he’s going to be so far away from home but he’s gonna see a bunch of new stuff but he’s going to be so far from home ??

Gives the best hugs, no argument

Meet him in person and you’ve gotta hug him

He loves giving hugs too --

Tends to mutter a lot under his breath --

Don’t fuck with him unless you’re asking for this guy to put you on his bad side --

He’s not afraid to protect anyone

That’s how he met Shay

Best boy in the end !! Everyone loves him !!

Allura

Extrovert that sucks at reading social situations

Her new friends help her with that

Instagram model like Lance but does it all on her own (with Coran only helping with picture taking)

Natural white hair and gorgeous brown skin ??

Lance is always jealous of how beautiful she looks with little effort --

Girl is also hella smart too ??

She’s a fan of literature and can read books in just a day or two --

She’s also got amazing memory and is able to recall a lot of things

Not a big gamer like most of the group but she does have a handful of video games she likes

A Nintendo Girl tbh

Battle Mercy Main on Overwatch (she rarely plays though)

Likes watching shows like Game of Thrones and Once Upon a Time 

Can get grumpy pretty easily but also jump back quickly

Her dad and mother’s deaths are a very sensitive topic and she doesn’t like talking about it

Likes making fun of the others by mimicking actions they do (Keith crossing his arms, Pidge and Matt’s hand talking, Lance running his fingers through his hair, etc)

Most of them catch on to what she’s doing and complain while she just laughs every time

Likes vlogging a lot

Constantly switches between being very confident in herself and being very self-conscious

She hates that fact about her --

Like, brain, please just let her be confident all the time ??

Likes shopping but only when there aren’t big crowds (she hates bumping into a lot of people)

Pretty much the master of learning everyone’s secrets and no one is quite sure how she does it

Milkshakes are the bomb and she has one also every call (kinda like Keith and his Kinders)

FABULOUS !!

Coran

Doesn’t show up very often but is pretty much everyone’s uncle at this point

He’s crazy but everyone loves him

He’s a swell guy who’ll tell really random stories from his past if Allura lets him

She doesn’t often because he talks a lot omg

Once everyone knows where each other lives he sends them all gifts if he can ??

Small trinkets, food, ect.

He’s a dork

Inside Jokes

*Keith blasting California Gurls whenever Lance is in a call*

“Oh geez, who got Play of the Game ?? Pidge ?? No way !!” *pure sarcasm*

Lance and Keith’s constant fight to either get the most damage or PoTG

The Donut Discourse™

Teaching each other incorrect statements in their native tongues (if they have one)

All of the Vine References. ALL OF THEM

Someone playing “Kiss The Girl” from The Little Mermaid the second someone says something that can be interpreted as even slightly romantic

The 80′s Voltron References

Everyone tries to scare Matt

“What the fuck is everyone eating today?!” - Always a topic in calls

*water is even remotely cold* “Is that the Polar Bear Plunge?” (Always directed at Keith and it pisses him off)

Calling Pidge by every possible variation of her nickname

Shiro uses all the outdated memes

Pidge is the meme master

“I didn’t mean to send that!” (Totally meant to send that)

References to 11 Drunk Guys ??

The Star Wars/Star Trek War™

“What the fuck even is English?”

“UN-CLE! UN-CLE! UN-CLE!” *every time they see Coran in Allura’s screen*

Random inspirational movie quotes

“My theme song is...”

McPixel references and jokes (they’ve all played it)

There’s definitely more but I can’t think of them right now. XD

Relationships Form

Pretty much Plance, Sheith, and Mallura happens in my take of this AU

Lance and Pidge start playing video games together on their own

Keith goes into a lot of solo calls with Shiro

Matt and Allura talk a lot more

Basically shit happens

Lance and Pidge’s relationship actually starts out rather plainly

They were talking one game and they got on the topic of relationships and Pidge was like: “You wanna try it?”Lance: “What?”Pidge: “Wanna try being in a long distance relationship?”Lance: “Ummm.... Sure....?”Pidge: “Cool.”

Things got much more romantic after that

Lance is a romantic boy and even if their relationship didn’t start conventionally, he’s going to turn it into a sappy romcom --

Pidge isn’t complaining. She did ask him if he wanted to be in a relationship with her for a reason

Shiro and Keith had a bit more romantic of a relationship starter

Shiro flew over to Canada to visit Keith for a week or two (during the Stampede because Keith insisted that Shiro should come and see it)

Shiro made his move, not at the stampede (there’s no way he'd be able to grab Keith’s attention) but rather at the Calgary Tower

They were standing on the glass that sticks out over the street and Shiro was lowkey freaking out because he didn’t like looking down and seeing how far he could fall directly under his feet (Keith was fine because he loves to sit and chill on the glass regularly)

In his panic, he kinda went: “Keith, if I don’t get off this thing, I want you to know that I love you...!”

Keith knows that Shiro wouldn’t toss that around normally, so he pulls him off the glass and to a less crowded part of the tower so they can talk and it turns out, yeah, Shiro just confessed to Keith

Good thing the feelings mutual!

They almost get kicked off the tower for making out --

Matt and Allura was rather subtle as well

They started talking more and Matt pretty much complimented her daily and eventually she was pretty much like: “If you like it then you should put a ring on it!” (Not her actual words)

Matt shut down for a solid 5 mins before he was like: “uHH?? SURE??”

It’s fine though because they’re a happy, long-distance couple (but they hope the close that distance soon) and Matt treats Allura like the Queen she is --

Lance and Allura totally argue over who has the better Holt, much to the Holts’ embarrassment

Shiro is just like: “Holts are good and all but ‘Koganes’ are where it’s at!”

Cue the three arguing over who has the best s/o while those s/o’s die in a corner --

Also, Hunk ends up with this really cute but tall and strong woman (Shay) who lives in the same area as him

He brings her into the calls sometimes

Meeting In Real Life

The first ones to meet in real life (besides how Keith met Shiro) were actually Keith and Lance

The second Lance landed in Canada he Snapchatted and Instagrammed the whole thing

Poor Cali Boi was suffering because he came up just as fall was starting

Keith played California Gurls the second Lance got into the car

He also teased Lance for not being able to handle the cold

Lance got to try Tim Hortons and it officially ended The Donut Discourse™

Lance asked if they could try the Polar Bear Plunge and Keith was just like: “That’s a New Year’s thing, so no.”

The two messed with each other a lot during the trip but left with a better relationship

They’re like brothers now

Pidge and Matt met Allura and Coran next

It was really fun and Matt got to see his wonderful girlfriend in person and it made the whole trip even more amazing

While Matt and Allura did couple things, Pidge and Coran hung out

Pidge now brags about the fact she knows more of Coran’s crazy stories than everyone else besides Allura

Hunk and Lance met after when Hunk flew over to California for a week

Lance dragged the poor boy anywhere he could

Totally brought him to Disneyland and learned the hard way that some rides are not good for Hunk’s body

Hunk still had fun though

The Shiro and Keith confession trip followed that

Shiro didn’t really understand the Stampede even after Keith explained it but he still thought it was pretty cool

He much preferred going on the fair rides than going to the rodeo though

Also, there was one day it got really cold and the new couple got to cuddle by the fire ??

It was soft as hell ??

Lance flew over Virginia to see his girlfriend and her brother not long after Keith and Shiro’s trip because there was no way he was going to let Keith one up him

Pidge gave him the tour of American History while he was over there because he had never been to the East Coast before

Lance didn’t pay attention too much and just enjoyed the fact that he was actually with his girlfriend in person

There was a lot of hugs and stolen kisses that trip

The big trip where everyone gathered in one spot soon followed that trip

Pidge and Matt’s home in Italy was chosen for the destination because it was during the summer and who doesn’t want to visit Italy ??

Since the Italian side is Colleen’s side, the family’s last name on that side is Marino

The Marinos pitched in to help get Hunk, Keith, Shiro, Allura, and Coran over because they knew that the trip was expensive

Lance’s family was able to support the trip on their own

They all were together for about a week then Shiro and Keith headed off to Rome for a week to have some couple time before heading home

Hunk flew back home after the week was up (he couldn’t stay long)

Coran flew back home as well but Allura stayed with Matt for another week because he ended up surprising her with a trip to Venice

Lance ended up staying the longest because he wanted to get to know Pidge’s family and life quite well

He stayed 3 weeks with them and unlike the other couples who went to different locations, he and Pidge stayed local

Pidge and Matt’s family really like Lance and Allura

Questions about when the wedding would be were tosses around a lot

Those are pretty much all the trips up to this point as there still friends who need to see each other individually

Still, they’re excited about these trips whenever they do happen

So, yeah, that’s my take on the Long Distance AU --

[photowizard17]

I like when someone wants someone else to ask him/her so, would you like to answer these questions? I don't like the 'short answers' so you can say anything you want, the questions are: 2/4/9/13/16/21/22/24 especially( 27). :-)

HI! Ok so I knowthese asks were sent like a week ago and I apologies for the late response, butI wanted the answers to be accurate and in depth because you guys took the timeto ask! All of them are in the same post because a lot were duplicates.

So, thanks for asking... here we go!

Thank you again @lightning1999, @argentis and @glowing-coils-of-the-universe

1.    if someone wanted to reallyunderstand you, what would they read, watch, and listen to? So if someone really wanted to understandme and my strange little brain they should probably read my fanfiction. Myfanfics show them my writing style, parts of my personality and my interests.They would of course have to watch the Thunderbirds because I swear it is all Italk about, well that and funny animal videos! I got my dad watching them lol.As to that they would have to listen to… probably everything. Like peopletalking around them, the sounds of birds, cars, electronics. I am a veryobservant person so when I am out in public I pay attention to everything. Itend to notice things others don’t.

2.    have you ever found a writer whothinks just like you? if so, who? I did a while back, sadly I don’t remember theirhandle, the plot was well thought out and detailed, which I enjoy. And I havemet people who think like I do. They see things differently. It is veryinteresting.

3.     list your fandoms and one character from each that you identify with. Well fandoms, guess what’s first!Thunderbirds: Virgil. I feel like I identify with Virgil because he is verycaring and artistic. Which I would like to think I am. He would give anythingfor anyone, he is also very detailed oriented which I am as well. And I love him.

Anotherfandom would be The Flash, and I probably identify with Caitlyn most. She hastwo sides of herself, one side no one really knows, and the other dominant sidewhich everyone is familiar with.

A third fandom is Pacific Rim and I think Iidentify with Mako the most because she is underestimated and sets up tochallenges presented to her. She is very loyal and very a very independent thinker.

My fourth fandom would be MARVEL and I mean thereare so many characters how do I chose? Well if I had to I would choose either CaptainAmerica or Lady Sif. Both underestimated and want to do the right thing. Evenif they are not sure what the right thing is anymore.

4.    do you like your name?  isthere another name you think would fit you better? I do like my name. I find it veryfitting. Although I have always liked the name Mel, not Melody or Melony, justMel. She was a character in Digata Defenders and I loved her when I wasyounger.

5.    do you think of yourself as ahuman being or a human doing? do you identify yourself by the things you do? Kind of confusing but I will tryto answer… I believe for now I am a human being, just because I am young I havenot come to realize how I change and become a doer. I do stand by the things I do,if someone is being rude, I fight back, someone needs help, I help. I don’tbelieve in hiding who you are because you won’t have the full life experience youwant if you always have to hide a part of yourself.

7.    do you care about your ethnicity?I don’treally care, but I do care. I know what background I am, but I don’t know muchabout the history of my people (French and Scottish). I know more about my Scottishside because I Highland Dance, and I know a bit about my French side because I usedto live in Ontario, but to me it is not the ethnicity that makes my familyimportant, it is the people in the family. I actually rarely think about myhistorical background, and I only mention it when it is privy to aconversation.

9.    are you an artist? I would like to think so… Idabble in computer generated art and I try to draw, but mostly I do little claysculpture and tiny meticulous things like robotics. And if writing counts as anart than I am an avid writer and take great pride in my work!

11.  describe your ideal day. An ideal day to the lazy teenager inside me would beto get up and do nothing… but I guess I would wake up late morning, have a hotchocolate, scroll through my feed, email, messages, etc, then I would probably havesome lunch and spend the afternoon doing something with my family. In the eveningI would then do Sculpey (clay) or write or attempt to draw.

13.  inside or outdoors? I do enjoy both. I grew up where in the summer you would go swimming andhiking and in the winter you would ski and snowmobile and go snowshoeing. So Ido enjoy being outside doing things, doesn’t matter what. Although I do likethe idea of sitting inside wrapped in a blanket with a hot drink and a show orfanfic.

15.  five most influential books over your lifetime. Sadly I don’t read that much…but I would have to say Meg Cabot’s School for Teenage Spies series was veryinfluential. It taught me how a young woman could accomplish great things withthe proper training.

Other than that Goodnight Moon, the kids book,still influences me today. When I lived in Ontario my grandmother lived inAlberta, and every night she would phone me and read me this book. Then whenshe was in hospital I read it to her, and she read it to me when I was in thehospital. Even today, because my grandma grew up in a household that didn’treally say ‘I love you’, we say Goodnight Moon whenever we hang up or I leaveher place.

16.  if you’d grown up in a different environment, do you think you’d haveturned out the same? If thisquestion means like nature environment, I think personality wise I would be thesame, but I don’t know if I would enjoy the same things. Like the freshlyfallen snow in the morning or those cold frosted trees, or the heavy rain thatmade you realize how weird and wonderful the world is.

17.  would you say your tumblr is a fair representation of the “real you”? Yes, I can honestly say it doesbecause everyone knows that on Tumblr there are no boundaries. You get toexpress who you are with no shame. Although to be fair I don’t hide who I am onany of my social media sites. You can see by these answers :P

19.  which Harry Potter house would you be in? or are you a muggle? I don’t know Harry Potter but Ihave been called a Hufflepuff? And I just like that name.

21.  do you love easily? I do… I am a very naive person and I am very caring so I tend to investeverything I have into relationships, hoping to keep them alive, only to find outmost of the time the other person doesn’t feel the same way. Relationshipsbeing friend or potential love interest seeing as I have never had a bf. But there are those few who care just as much as I do

22.  list the top five things you spend the most time doing, in order.

1.Daydreaming, by far the thing I spend the most time on.

2. Probablythinking about or doing something pertaining to the Thunderbirds, kind of fitsin with the daydreaming thing.

3. Creating, either writing or sculpting ordrawing.

4. Watchingvideos… I have a lot of spare time on my hands

5. Mostlikely doing something else on my phone.

23.  how often would you want to see your family every year? With my immediate family (mom,dad, grandma) I am very close, so I would want to see them as often aspossible. I see my grandma about once ever week or so but I talk to her a lotmore than that and I would like that to continue if  I ever decide to moveout. :P

25.  could you live as a hermit? If that means alone… probably not for long. I enjoycertain human interaction, so as long as I am with the right people. Other peopleannoy me, most people annoy me… anyway...

27.  do you feel like your outside appearance is a fair representation of the“real you”? Yesbecause I don’t wear certain cloths to fit in, I don’t wear makeup to look overlyattractive and I don’t pretend around people. I dress for practicality and eventsand I don’t change who I am to feed the needs of the people around me. To quotePeggy Carter from Agent Carter, “I know my worth, anyone else’s  opinion doesn’t really matter.”

28.  three songs that you connect with right now. I don’t really feel like Iconnect to music, I just like music. If that makes sense. I don’t feel and emotionalattachment with music other than the odd motivational songs or just reallyupbeat songs. So I guess those songs would be Warriors by Imagine Dragons, WhoDo You Love by Marianas Trench and Waka Waka by Shakira.