#if keith is born when his dad is around thirty

[oliveden]

angst potential of keith maturing at galra levels, which are way longer than human lifespans

keith, pre-adolescence, realizing his dad isn't going to live long enough to see him as an adult, that he's going to be left alone at the galran equivalent of a teenager

[jburrgf]

DAYTONA

“When the smoke in the air rolls like a wave it reminds me of that ocean view, and I swear that I won’t, but when it gets cold I think of Daytona and I think about you.”

pairing: hs reader/fan reader! x ahs joe!/bengals joe!

summary: summer love, high school love, one night stand, reuning after a long time, fan x famous player.

description: you went to bengals game at miami with your father, and find out on the same night that you’re staying at the same hotel as joe burrow: your one night stand crush from when you were 17.

The day of the game was something out of a dream for my dad. It wasn’t just any game—it was the Bengals against the Dolphins, and Joe Burrow was leading Cincinnati’s offense.

 My dad had been a die-hard Bengals fan for as long as I could remember. We’d spent countless Sundays in front of the TV, analyzing every play, cheering, and sometimes throwing pillows at the screen when the game didn’t go our way.

Today, though, the energy was different. The Hard Rock Stadium buzzed with excitement as the teams took the field. We’d arrived early, walking into the stadium with our jerseys on, my dad proudly wearing his Burrow jersey. I’d gone for something a little more neutral—after all, I didn’t have the same emotional investment in the Bengals, but I loved being here with him.

The first quarter passed in a blur. My dad was on the edge of his seat, muttering under his breath every time the Dolphins defense pressed Joe. "Come on, Joe, you’ve got this," he grumbled, his eyes glued to the field. I always thought that was funny. My dad is a born and raised 70’s type of guy from Miami, and still, he always cheered for the Bengals. My mom, born and raised in Tennessee, got the same taste as my father when they married almost thirty years ago. 

Joe looked calm, focused, his movements deliberate as he assessed the defense before the snap.

I chalked it up to the overwhelming atmosphere of the stadium—the lights, the noise, the fans. Still, I found myself watching Joe closely, like there was something more to it.

When the Bengals scored their first touchdown, the crowd erupted, and my dad leaped to his feet, cheering at the top of his lungs. "That’s my guy!" he shouted, clapping and throwing his arm around me. I laughed, more at his enthusiasm than anything, and joined in the celebration.

By the time the game ended, the Bengals had secured a hard-fought victory, and my dad was beaming. As we made our way out of the stadium, he was already talking about the next game he wanted to attend, but all I could think about was the odd sense of déjà vu that had been nagging at me.

Back at the hotel, my dad was ready to crash for the night, the excitement of the game having worn him out. "You’re not tired?" he asked as I lingered in the doorway.

"Not really. I might head down to the cafeteria, see if I can grab something to eat," I said, my stomach growling at the thought of a late-night snack.

He nodded, already halfway to sleep. "Alright, don’t stay up too late.” I laughed, as I’m still 10 years old.

I slipped out of the room and made my way down the quiet hallway, the cool, sterile air of the hotel soothing after the heat and noise of the stadium. The lobby was nearly empty, the faint hum of the late hour settling over the place. I made my way to the small cafeteria, hoping it was still open this late.

To my relief, the lights were on, and I stepped inside, scanning the shelves for something to eat. I grabbed a sandwich and a bottle of water, goind to check out and pay right after, and I turned around to find a place to sit.

And that’s when I saw him.

At first, I didn’t recognize him. He was sitting alone in the corner, his head bent over a cup of coffee. But then, as if sensing my gaze, he looked up. His eyes met mine, and suddenly, it hit me like a wave crashing on the shore.

Joe Burrow.

The realization came slowly, like a puzzle falling into place. I blinked, my mind racing to catch up. Could it really be him? The same guy I’d watched out on the field today? The same guy that my dad loves like his own son?

He stood up, and the casual way he moved, the familiar way he looked at me, made my heart skip a beat. There was no mistaking it now.

"You Still wear that, Y/N?" His voice was soft, as if he wasn’t entirely sure it was me. Why is he calling my name?

I stared at him, stunned. "Joe?" My voice came out in a whisper, like I was afraid saying his name out loud might break the spell. “Wear what?” I shook my head, still trying to make sense of it all. Why is he talking to me like that? He knows me from where? My words felt clumsy, my thoughts still spinning. I hadn’t even realized he’d know who I was. I mean, why would he?

I hesitated for a moment, looking at my clothes. It was the Athens High School sweatshirt that a guy that I met in Daytona gave me once. And then, realization hitted me. Ohio Joe, the shy handsome man that I had the most perfect night ever when I was seventeen years. Joe, Joey, blond hair, blue eyes, shy smile. The same Joe. I crossed the small space between us, still reeling from the shock of seeing him here, of all places, after all these years.

Joe gestured to the seat across from him. "Do you want to sit?"

As we sat there, I couldn’t help but stare at him. He was the same, but different. Older, obviously. More confident. There was something about him now that I hadn’t noticed back then—a calmness, a self-assurance that came with time and experience. But he still had that same smile, the one that made you feel like you were the only person in the room. I just couldn't believe it. Was Ohio Joe an American football player? I watched his game tonight!

I wasn’t sure where to begin, so I settled on the most obvious question. "What are you doing here?"

He chuckled softly, glancing around the empty cafeteria. "Team’s staying at the hotel. You?"

"My dad and I came down for the game. He’s a big Bengals fan."

Joe’s eyes lit up with recognition, and he nodded. "That’s awesome. Did he enjoy the game?"

I smiled. "He loved it. He’s probably already planning the next one."

We fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, the air between us thick with unspoken memories. I wasn’t sure if he was thinking about it too—Daytona Beach, the night we met—but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was.

And then, as if reading my mind, Joe leaned back in his chair, his eyes searching mine. "Do you remember that night? Daytona Beach?"

My breath caught in my throat. Of course, I remembered. How could I forget? But hearing him say it out loud, acknowledging that night all these years later, felt surreal.

"I do," I said softly, my heart pounding in my chest. "It feels like forever ago."

Daytona Beach, Florida, 10th of May 2014.

It was our high school graduation trip. Daytona was only a couple hours away from where I lived, but it felt like a different world. We had spent all year planning it, dreaming about it—one last hurrah before we all went off in different directions, scattered to the wind. College, jobs, wherever life would take us. 

The first few days had been a blur of beaches, sunburns, and bad decisions, but on the last night, something changed. 

We found ourselves at a crowded beachside bar (that happened to be an alcohol free bar), packed with people our age—locals, tourists, whoever happened to be passing through. That’s where I first saw him. Joe was leaning against the bar, his hair tousled from the salty air, a drink in his hand, looking out over the crowd like he didn’t quite belong there. He was quiet, observant, the kind of guy who didn’t need to be in the center of attention to command it.

He was just another face in a sea of unfamiliar ones. But there was something about him that drew me in, something I couldn’t explain. Before I knew it, I was walking over to him.

"You look like you’re not from around here," I said, my voice raised over the thumping music.

He turned, a slow smile spreading across his face. "I’m not."

"Where’re you from?" I asked, leaning against the bar next to him.

"Ohio. Here for a football convention with my team," he replied, his eyes flicking back to the crowd for a moment before settling on me again. "You?"

"Daytona. I’m local. Well, sort of. Here for graduation week."

He nodded, like he understood what that meant, even though we were from completely different worlds. We talked for a while—about the convention, the beaches, what came next for both of us. Joe told me he was headed to college in a few months to play football. I told him I wasn’t sure what I was going to do yet, but I had a few options. 

There was something easy about talking to him. It wasn’t forced or awkward, like it sometimes was with guys I didn’t know well. Joe had this quiet confidence, like he didn’t need to impress anyone. He was just… himself.

As the night went on, we wandered away from the bar, down toward the beach. The sand was still warm from the day’s heat, and the moonlight glittered off the water as we walked, the waves crashing softly in the distance. 

I don’t know how long we walked before we stopped, standing at the edge of the water, our feet sinking into the wet sand. 

"You ever feel like you’re at the edge of something, but you’re not sure what it is?" I asked, staring out at the horizon.

Joe glanced at me, his eyes thoughtful. "Yeah. All the time."

We were both about to start new chapters of our lives, and the uncertainty of it all hung between us like a cloud. It felt like everything was about to change, and we didn’t know what that would look like.

"Do you ever get scared of what comes next?" I asked, my voice softer now.

Joe shrugged, but there was a hint of vulnerability in his expression. "Sometimes. But I figure you just take it as it comes, you know?"

I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure I knew. I was scared—of college, of leaving home, of everything that came with growing up. But standing there with Joe, it didn’t seem so terrifying. 

“I can’t see my life away from here” I said again, nervously. “I feel like my anchor is here, and that my boat will never sail.”

“Honestly, if I lived in a place like that, I wouldn’t want to leave either.” He responded with a smile. “I mean, I understand you. It's different when you feel lost.”

I looked at the boy, still not understanding. What did he knew about being lost?

“I hear from everyone that I’m not good enough. From everyone you can imagine.” He completes his own thought. “If you’re not your number one follower, no one else will be.”

I nodded, moving closer to Joe, sitting on the sand. The ocean waves were breaking in front of me, the sea was rough in Daytona today. The magnificent sunset was setting right in front of us.

I got up and took a photo of the sun with my cell phone. I let out a smile, and felt the warmth of Joey's body behind me. “Now let me take your pic.”

Before I could even challenge him, the blonde already had his cell phone in his face. I smiled at the small rear camera, adjusting myself for a pose.

“you looked beautiful” He commented, with a shy smile

“My turn to take your picture.”

I practically pushed Joey into the sea, positioning him. Joe was the most handsome guy I've ever seen in my entire life. And when he laughed at the camera, I was more sure that yes, he was beautiful. Lostly beautiful, intellectually beautiful, my kind of beautiful.

"Don't forget to remind me to give you my number." He began to say, putting his cell phone in his pocket. "I wanna all these photos."

I nodded, starting to walk along the beach sand. We were silent for countless minutes, but this wasn't a nightmare. Joe and I were quiet, but our words didn't need to be spoken out loud.

We walked together down the beach, our footsteps quiet in the soft sand. The night was peaceful, the sound of the waves filling the space between us, but I could tell Joe was nervous. Every now and then, he glanced over at me, like he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how.

"So, Ohio, huh?" I broke the silence, nudging him playfully with my shoulder. "What’s it like up there?"

He smiled, looking down at his feet as he walked. "Cold, mostly. It’s not like this."

I laughed softly. "I bet. Daytona’s kind of… the opposite."

Joe chuckled too, but it was quiet, like he was still getting used to talking to me. "Yeah. I guess you’re used to this, though. The beach and all."

"Pretty much," I said, my eyes drifting out toward the water. "But I don’t know… it’s different tonight. Doesn’t feel like home. It feels like something else."

Joe didn’t say anything for a moment, and I thought maybe I’d said something weird. But then he spoke, his voice soft, almost hesitant. "I get that. It’s kinda like… like we’re in a bubble, you know? Like this is a different world for just one night."

I nodded, surprised by how perfectly he’d put it. "Exactly."

He glanced over at me again, his eyes flicking down to the sand before meeting mine. "So, uh… what comes next for you? After this?"

I shrugged. "College, I guess. I’m still figuring it out."

"You nervous about it?" he asked, his tone gentle, like he genuinely wanted to know.

"A little," I admitted. "I mean, it’s a big change, you know? Everything’s about to be different."

Joe nodded, looking thoughtful. "Yeah. It’s scary."

I glanced at him, surprised by his honesty. Most guys would’ve tried to brush it off, act like they had it all together. But not Joe. He was quiet, but he wasn’t afraid to admit when something scared him. I liked that about him.

"You’re going to college to play football, right?" I asked, remembering what he’d told me earlier.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, clearly a little shy about it. "I mean, I hope so. I’ve got a spot, but, you know… you never really know until you’re there."

"You’re gonna be great," I said without even thinking. "I can tell."

He glanced at me, surprised. "You think so?"

"Definitely," I said, smiling at him. "You’ve got that look about you. Like you’re going to do big things."

Joe blushed, looking down at the sand again. "Thanks. That means a lot."

We walked in silence for a little while after that, the weight of the conversation hanging between us. There was something about Joe that made me feel like I could say anything, like he wouldn’t judge me for it. He was quiet, sure, but he was listening. Really listening.

Somehow, we ended up sitting in the sand, the conversation flowing as easily as the waves. We talked about everything and nothing, the kind of deep, late-night conversation that only happens when you know you’ll never see the other person again. There was something liberating about that—knowing that whatever we said, whatever happened, wouldn’t follow us past this night.

It was almost seven when we returned to the bar. Now completely quiet, Joe used all his awkward teenage charm to sneak into the bar’s kitchen. Taking advantage of the moment, I followed him inside.

"I’ve been sneaking into the bar’s kitchen for about three nights now," he explained to me, opening one of the freezers and grabbing a huge tub of ice cream. Joe handed me one of the clean spoons sitting on the counter.

We sat down next to each other on the floor, in front of the freezer.

“Tell me getting to know Daytona has been worth it, please,” I asked, taking a spoon full of ice cream.

“I haven’t seen the whole city yet. But you’re definitely the best tourist spot,” he said with a shy smile, hoping his line had the effect he wanted. “I’m glad I met you,” Joe said sincerely. “I usually get really nervous around beautiful girls.”

“Looking this handsome? Impossible!” I replied.

“Hey, I’m serious. I hardly ever feel comfortable around people my age.”

His hand found mine at that moment. I smiled, looking into his eyes. Joe leaned in close and kissed me. The kiss happened so naturally, I barely realized it was happening until it was too late. One moment, we were sitting side by side, our shoulders brushing against each other. The next, Joe was leaning in, his lips soft against mine, tasting faintly of salt, chocolate ice cream, and whatever drink he’d been sipping on earlier.

For a moment, the world seemed to stop. The sounds of the waves, the distant music from the bar, everything faded away until it was just the two of us, lost in each other.

Joe's hand found my neck, pulling me closer. One of my hands rested on his leg for support, while our tongues were intertwined—in my mouth, in his, everywhere.

We pulled back when I ran out of breath. Red-faced, hair messy, and completely dazed by what had just happened, I broke away from the kiss with the biggest smile on my face. Joe wasn’t much different from me. Sweaty, his short hair tousled, and grinning widely.

“You taste like tutti-frutti candy,” he remarked. I laughed, giving him a playful slap. “It’s true! I swear!”

Silence settled over us after that. Joe and I sat holding hands, savoring the last bites of ice cream that rested on the bowl on my lap.

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” he told me, the smile fading from his face. “I think I’ll miss you.”

“You barely know me, Joe,” I said, with a slight pause between his words and mine. Joe pressed his lips together and shrugged.

“I don’t care. I’ll miss you anyway.”

The lights in the bar began to turn off, and that’s when we realized we probably had to head back to the hotel now. We got up from the floor, put away what we’d used, and washed our hands. We left together through the back door of the bar.

“One more thing, before I forget…”

I couldn’t respond, because before I knew it, I was pressed against the back wall of the bar. The alley was dark, damp, and smelled of the sea. But none of that mattered anymore, because I felt Joe’s hands on my waist, pinning me against the wall, all six-foot-three and almost 200 pounds of him right against me, and I had never been so happy.

My fingers threaded through his hair, feeling it prickle my skin in a good way. I smiled, feeling breathless again, but unlike last time, when I pulled away, I leaned back in a few moments later.

I don’t exactly remember when we started walking again, but I know Joe’s hand was in the back pocket of my shorts. I was wearing his gray sweatshirt with “Athens High School” written in dark green.

The walk to my hotel, a cluster of stilted beach houses, wasn’t long. It was a bit farther down the same street. When I reached the little staircase leading to my place, my friends were all sitting on the porch, drinking and chatting.

“Look who’s coming back!” Tracey said.

I flipped her off, then turned to Joey. He was smiling, watching me, and when I looked at him, I blushed completely. How could I like someone this much in such a short time?

“This is for you,” he said, handing me a piece of paper. I looked down, and “Joey B” was written in big letters. It was his phone number.

“Where’s your pen?” I asked, and he pulled out the pen he’d taken from the bar, from his pocket. “Sign my jacket.”

I said, turning my back to him. I felt Joe hesitate a bit before actually doing what I’d asked. His signature was now at my waist level. “It’s because I know you’re going to be famous someday. Then I can say I was your first fan who got an autograph.”

He let out a silly smile, rolling his eyes. “I’m going to miss you.”

“I will too,” I replied.

The blond leaned closer, left a kiss on my lips along with a smile. He smelled incredible, and my whole body felt numb, and I’d only known this boy for a few hours. How could this be happening?

“See you soon, Ohio Boy.”

“See you in my dreams, Daytona Girl.”

I went up the stairs after saying goodbye to Joe, without looking back. When I got to my friends, he was already gone. I sighed, feeling like a part of me had just walked away too.

Flashback Off.

Back in the present, I sat across from Joe in the quiet hotel cafeteria, the memory of that night hanging between us. He was watching me closely, waiting for me to say something, to acknowledge what we both knew.

"I remember," I said finally, my voice barely more than a whisper. "That night… Daytona Beach. I didn’t recognize you at first."

Joe smiled, but it was softer this time, almost wistful. "I figured you didn’t. It’s been a while."

I nodded, my heart pounding. "Yeah. It has."

We sat in silence for a moment, both of us lost in the memory of that night. It had been just one night—one perfect, fleeting moment in time. But somehow, it felt like more than that. Like it had always been more, even if we hadn’t realized it at the time.

"Why didn’t we keep in touch?" He asked, the question slipping out before I could stop it.

I looked down to my hands, a shadow passing over my face. "I don’t know. Maybe we thought it was easier that way. One night, no expectations, no strings. I lost your number some weeks after, too. Always scared of finding you again."

He looked down at his hands, his jaw tightening slightly. "I thought about it. A lot, actually. But I didn’t know if… I didn’t want to complicate things."

"Complicate things?" I echoed, frowning.

Joe’s eyes met mine, and I could see the vulnerability in them—the same vulnerability I’d seen that night on the beach. "You were starting a whole new life. I was starting mine. It felt like… maybe it was better to leave it as just that one night. Something simple. Something good."

His words made sense in a way, but they also left me feeling hollow. "Yeah," I said, though my voice was quieter now. "Maybe."

We sat there for a moment, the memory of that night hanging between us. There was no denying the connection we’d had back then, and now, sitting across from him, I felt it again. Stronger, more complicated, but still there.

"Let me give you my number this time." Joe says, and I let it go a smile on my face. Ït is true"

"Do you trust me with your number?" I asked him.

"If you didn't sell my autograph until today, yes, I trust you with my number." He said, alittle smile coming from his mouth.

I smiled at him and handed my phone to him. Joe got his phone number over there, and when he was ready again, I got my phone back. 

“I think it’s better If I get going.” I was the first one to get up from the table. Joe followed me. “I will text you when I wake up tomorrow.”

“Or you can do it today.” He said, simple.

“I'm gonna text you when I wake up tomorrow promise you.” I said. “Hope to see you somewhere else, Joey.”

I hadn’t expected to see him again. After all, it was just one night. He was from Ohio, I was from Daytona, and our lives were about to go in completely different directions, again. I walked down to my room, thinking about what just happened. It's true when people say that you know when you meet the love of your life, cause I felt that way.

I gave a look down to my sweatshirt, seeing the autograph that Joe gave to me years before today. I couldn't believe it. How could I never find that out? His name was literally there, right under my own nose.

i got into my room, and my dad was already sleeping on his twin bed. I left a smile, and went to do my skin care at the bathroom. I couldn't even finish washing my face, because somebody knocked on my door.

A  soft knock on the door.

My heart skipped as I turned, my hand hovering over the handle, not quite daring to believe it. My hand started to spin, and I felt out of breath. I know it as him — I could feel through the doors.

But as I opened the hotel door dragging my whole life on the edges of my hads, I saw him there, again, like a deja-vu.was—standing by the elevators, hands in his pockets again, that same shy look on his face. It was Joey.

"Hey," he said, his voice quiet but steady.

I stopped in my tracks, surprised. "Hey. I didn’t think I’d see you again."

He didn’t say anything at first; he just stepped forward, his presence filling the doorway, his eyes never leaving mine. He looked as if he’d been wrestling with his thoughts, with everything left unsaid between us. And then, without another word, he reached up, gently brushing his hand along my jaw, his touch warm and grounding.

“I couldn’t just let it go again,” he said softly, his voice barely more than a whisper. “Not this time.”

I felt my heart pounding in my chest, and I could see the vulnerability in his eyes, the quiet determination that had brought him here. “Joe…” I began, but he didn’t give me a chance to finish.

In a single, careful movement, he leaned in, his lips brushing against mine, soft and tentative at first. But as I melted into the kiss, he pulled me closer, his hands settling on my waist as if he couldn’t bear to let me go. I could feel the years between us dissolving, the unspoken words, the moments we’d lost, all coming together in that one kiss.

When he finally pulled back, he rested his forehead against mine, his breaths shallow, his gaze intense.

“I’m not going to let you go again,” he murmured, his voice raw, like a promise he’d been holding onto for years. “Not this time.”

I felt a shiver run through me at his words, the weight of them settling over us like a vow. All the years, the distance, the almost—they didn’t matter anymore. Right here, right now, it was just us.

I looked at him, feeling a mix of disbelief and relief. It was like all the years of wondering, all the what-ifs, had finally led us to this moment. I didn’t know what would come next, but for the first time, I felt like I didn’t have to have all the answers. All that mattered was that we were here, together.

"Then don’t," I whispered, leaning into him again. "Don’t let me go."

He smiled, his hand cupping my face as he pulled me in for another kiss. And in that moment, I knew that whatever happened, we were finally where we were meant to be.

[joyland2022]

keith mcnally, the owner of NY restaurant balthazaar, is a spiky and controversial figure: on one hand, he was the one that banned james cordon from his restaurant, and on the other, he defended ghislane maxwell... still, he's an interesting person to follow on IG. i thought i'd just drop one of mcnally's posts here:

PICASSO'S FORMER GIRLFRIEND, FRANCOISE GILOT, DIED YESTERDAY. SHE WAS 101. THIS A TRUE STORY THAT I WROTE TO MY YOUNGER CHILDREN 10 YEARS AGO.

Dear George and Alice,

A few years ago when we were on holiday in Guadeloupe, I was looking around for a book to read. Lying on a chair was something called Life With Picasso, a book about Picasso, written by his former girlfriend, Francoise Gilot. I began reading the book and after 10 minutes couldn't put it down. Mostly because I didn't pay for it. Gilot met Picasso in Paris in 1943. She was 21 and Picasso 61. Though they were in love and had two children together, they never married. Picasso was a genius, but a monster to live with. Gilot was the only woman strong enough to leave him. The book was less about Picasso and more about Gilot's gradual liberation. I was so captivated by the book that on returning to New York I had an urge to write to its author. I dialed 411. Unbelievably, there was an F. Gilot living on West 67th St. I called the number and Gilot herself answered. I apologized for calling out of the blue, and explained I was so taken with her book - written 43 years ago - that I felt compelled to call her. She didn't like talking on the telephone and asked me to write her a letter instead. The next day I wrote her a long account of why I'd enjoyed her book. She replied to my letter, and this led to a serious correspondence between us. At one point Gilot invited me to dinner at her apartment on 67th St. It was above a restaurant appropriately called Cafe des Artists. The apartment was large and elegant, and hanging on its walls were a few paintings by Picasso, but mostly by Gilot herself. It was just me, Gilot, and a friend of hers, for dinner. I couldn't believe I was sitting next to Picasso's old girlfriend. Gilot became quite animated over dinner, and told me such interesting stories about Matisse, Braque and Picasso himself. Picasso was born all the way back in 1881 - over a hundred and thirty years earlier. It was strange to think I was within touching distance of the 19th century. I wished you both could have been there.

Much love, Dad xxxx

here:

[frazzledsoul]

I am now up to Episode 13 of the first season of One Tree Hill and I have some thoughts

I know Dan is evil and everything, but it seems to me he does the majority of the actual parenting despite Deb being all "I am the only parent that matters! Shut up Dan! Who cares if I barely speak to my son? I AM THE REAL AUTHORITY!" I'm not saying his approach is the best but Deb really seems to not do shit whatsoever except complain.

Nathan and Haley are cute but where the fuck are her parents, ever?

Peyton is such a weird character to me. Haley describes her as a "queen bee" but where are the rest of her friends except Brooke? Her dad is a fisherman and leaves her alone for weeks or months at a time....who pays the bills? Who feeds her? I am concerned....none of this makes any sense.

So they pretty much just had Brooke be "the horny one" for the longest time and then they decide to develop her mostly through a) Peyton being roofied b) Peyton and Lucas sneaking behind her back and being dirty filthy cheaters. Oddly enough, I think she's my favorite right now. Definitely more fun to watch than most of the others. Of course, her parents are nowhere around, either.

Keith is obviously an alcoholic, yet people keep enabling him and not saying anything.

So I'm a little sketchy on the backstory here. Lucas was born in the spring and Nathan in the fall: Dan abandoned one baby mama for the other, yet everyone is mad at him for...quitting basketball to get married at 19 and raise a child? I mean, that sounds kind of... responsible, actually? Like, you totally failed one kid, at least try with the other one. There seems to be an undercurrent of argument here that if Dan hadn't done that, Deb would have not had the baby and I guess he wouldn't....have a completely respectable job as a car salesman in his mid thirties?! Yet we've already been told that Dan said he would marry his other baby mama but backed out before the birth....when Deb would have been six months pregnant? It's all very confusing. Point being, these adults don't seem like a bunch of former teen parents who are 35 at most. You aren't a failure if you run a cafe or a car lot or a body shop at that age while spending the last two decades raising a child, that's actually an accomplishment! Lower your expectations, everyone.

[mydogisveryadorbs]

blue ain't your color | jj maybank

masterlist

summary: song fic based on blue ain’t your color by keith urban.

warnings: mentions of mentally and physically abusive relationships, underage drinking, mentions of drugs, angst, fluff, v soft jj

PSA: this is not in any way meant to idealize or romanticize abusive relationships. if you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship please get help. below are some resources and learning tools. 

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1 (800) 799 – 7233

Love is Respect – National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline: 1 (866) 331 – 9474

more hot lines and info: https://victimconnect.org/resources/national-hotlines/

learn more: https://www.thehotline.org/psa/

lyrics in bold

3.8k+ words

✰⋆✰⋆✰⋆✰

I can see you over there

Starring at your drink

Watchin' that ice sink

All alone tonight

You look down at your drink, moving the straw in a circular motion causing the ice to swirl around creating a small tornado.

Glancing at the time on your phone, you realize you've been waiting here for almost two hours. 

Your boyfriend was supposed to meet you at Topper’s party at 9. In the first thirty minutes, you weren't surprised. Liam, your kook boyfriend of 10 months, was late for almost everything, so this didn't come as a shock to you. 

When the one hour mark hit you were honestly quite worried. What if he was in an accident? What if he got jumped? Maybe your thoughts were most likely irrational, but you couldn't help but worry about your boyfriend.

One hour later, you had gotten past the worrying stage. Now you were simply angry, no, furious at him. Had he stood you up? Did he forget about you? These thoughts were definitely more rational. It wouldn't be the first time Liam stood you up, but you would make sure it was the last. 

At the beginning of your relationship, everything had been sunshine and butterflies. About two months in, however, he asked you to stop seeing your friends.

You see you were a born and raised pogue. Your dad was a close friend of Big John so you had practically grown up with John B, JJ, and Pope, in more recent years becoming close friends with Kiara.

At first, it was little things. Liam would get upset if you left to hang out with the pogues instead of him. Then one day, he asked you to stop seeing them all together. You, of course, retaliated, telling him that you would never leave your friends. But Liam had a way with words, and not a good way. He told you for months that your friends would never love you and that you were lucky that he had even taken pity on you. Slowly, you started to believe him. You stopped seeing the pogues, pushing everyone who truly loved you out of your life.

Liam became more and more distant as the months went on. He would leave you almost every night to drink and party, not even bothering to let you know where he was headed. The two of you had been fighting nonstop for several weeks. It had gotten physical only a few times and the next morning he would apologize profusely, so you stayed.

Seeing him walk in with two girls wrapped around his waist, nearly two and a half hours late, was the last straw for you.

Grabbing your purse, you walked up to Liam, who's eyes widened with the realization the moment he saw you.

“Fuck, (Y/N),” he says, slightly slurring his words as his arms still holding the two skinny blondes at his sides, “It's not what it looks like.” You can see his red-rimmed eyes and dilated pupils, telling you that he was coked out. 

You roll your eyes, knowing that this was it for you. “Really, Liam,” you snap back, “‘Cause it looks like we are done here.”

Liam’s eyes widen in shock, never having seen you lash out like this before. He shakes it off and his expression quickly contorts into one of disgust. “Okay,” he says with a shrug, “Good luck finding someone else to take pity on a whore like you, dirty pogue.” He walks away with the two girls, leaving you in shock.

It takes a moment for you to realize that you had just ended this almost one-year relationship. 

The first emotion you feel is one of freedom and relief. No more would you have to be held down by this weight of not being able to do and say what you want.

That feeling slowly dissipates as the feeling of dread starts to overcome it. You had pushed away all of your friends for this boy who had let you go like you were nothing to him. Maybe you were nothing.

You walk back to the bar area, grabbing another drink, feeling the need to drown away your sorrows.

And chances are

You're sittin' here in this bar

'Cause he ain't gonna treat you right

JJ Maybank hated kook parties with a passion.

Thankfully he hadn't had the opportunity to attend too many of them in his lifetime. But now that John B was macking on Sarah Cameron, it wasn't uncommon for the blonde boy to get dragged along to one of these events.

John B had left JJ to fend for himself as soon as they had arrived at the party, slipping off somewhere to find Sarah. JJ looked around the extravagant home that belonged to one of his enemies, Topper Thornton. His ring clad fingers fiddled with an expensive-looking vase, trying to find the perfect moment to snag it and slip away.

JJ’s eyes filtered through the crowd when they landed on something, or rather someone, that he had least expected to see.

His hand slipped from the vase, letting his gaze drink you in. You definitely looked different. Your once long hair was now cut just below your shoulders and your typical style of denim shorts and a cropped shirt was exchanged for a lavish-looking dress and sparkly stilettos.

JJ admits that he probably wouldn't have recognized you if he hadn't spent so many years unable to take his eyes off of you whenever the pogues were together.

The boy had loved his life long best friend since the day she clocked a boy in the face for making fun of JJ’s worn-out clothes. They were seven. In addition to being the day JJ had met (Y/N) and John B, it was also the day he fell in love with the (Y/E/C) eyed girl.

When you started dating your kook boyfriend at the beginning of your junior year, JJ was initially devastated. He soon brought himself to realize, however, that a lowlife like him would never be able to deserve someone as beautiful and kind-hearted as you. His thoughts were confirmed when you abruptly stopped hanging around the pogues and him. You were too good for him. The blonde boy had no idea of the pain that Liam had caused you in the past ten months.

Now looking at you, JJ could see that you were upset. He had gotten really good at analyzing your body language over the many years of being your best friend.

All thoughts of stealing the vase flew out of his mind as his feet started in your direction.

Well, it's probably not my place

But I'm gonna say it anyway

'Cause you look like

You haven't felt the fire

Had a little fun

Hadn't had a smile in a little while

You felt a figure move to sit in the bar stool chair next to you, but you choose to ignore whoever it is, not particularly feeling up to socializing with a contemptuous kook after what you just went through.

The figure didn't move after a few minutes so you turn to look at them with a glare in your eyes, ready to snap at them and ask them to leave you alone. Your gaze immediately softens as you realize the person next to you is in fact the last person you would ever expect to see at a party like this, JJ Maybank.

Tears begin to prick at your eyes as you continue to stare at the side profile of the blonde boy who hasn't yet turned to face you. 

Everything you had done so well to hide over the last ten years of knowing and loving him comes rushing back. Your love for the boy next to you consumes every fiber of your being. 

A lone tear falls down your cheek as you begin to curse yourself and Liam. How did I let him control me into giving this up? This feeling?

Blue looks good on the sky

Looks good on that neon buzzin' on the wall

But darling, it don't match your eyes

JJ finally turns his head to look at you and feels his entire resolve crumble. You were crying. The sight nearly breaks his heart in two.

His eyes lock with yours and he can see the pain and heartache swirling within them.

“What did he do to you,” JJ mutters, letting his eyes roam the crowd for the boy he despises most in the world. Almost a year of suppressed anger starts to bubble up to the surface.

“JJ,” you whimper.

The sadness and hopelessness in your voice makes every ounce of anger in him evaporate as he turns his head to look at you again. The look in your eyes tells him that the kook boy had hurt you worse than he ever knew.

JJ wants nothing more than to pull you into his arms and never let anything else in the world harm you. His hands itch to wipe the tears off your face and pull your head to his chest.

However, JJ also wants you to be as comfortable as possible and he's not sure if you're ready for the amount of love he has to give you just yet.

You surprise the blonde boy by reaching out to your arms out to him. The blonde wastes no time in standing up and pulling your body flush to his chest.

Everyone else in the world disappears as the two of you clutch each other with all you have. Both of you realize how much you had missed the comfort of each other's embrace. 

You're not sure how long you stand there like that, face nuzzled into JJ’s shoulder as the boy strokes your hair comfortingly.

“I'm sorry,” you mumble into his shirt, not willing to pull away from the warmth he radiates.

JJ’s eyebrows draw together in confusion as he pulls away enough to look down at you. “What do you mean,” he asks with a softness in his voice that is reserved for you only, gently lifting your chin so that you are looking into his beautiful cerulean eyes.

You sniffle. “I'm sorry for leaving you. I'm sorry for breaking down in front of you. I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess. But most of all, I'm sorry for ever believing that I could live without you. I-I mean if it weren't for you I don't know what I would do. I understand if you don't want to talk to-” your ramble is suddenly cut off by JJ pressing his lips to yours.

The boy knows that this is probably not the best time to confess his feelings towards you, but he can't watch you talk down about yourself like that anymore. Do you not know how much he adores you? 

The kiss is soft and passionate. JJ can taste your salty tears on his slightly chapped lips as they work against yours. Both of you poor every ounce of emotion you have into the kiss. 

JJ reluctantly pulls away when the two of you run out of air, placing his forehead delicately on yours as your arms wrap around his neck.

I'm tellin' you

You don't need that guy

It's so black and white

He's stealin' your thunder

Baby, blue ain't your color

Both of you pant as you look into each other's eyes. “I've wanted to do that for so long,” JJ says, as the smile you cherish so much graces his features.

“Really?” you ask and JJ can hear the vulnerability in your voice. What did that shithead do to you to make you so insecure?

“You have no idea, baby,” he says, tenderly kissing away the tear that has slipped out of your eye and onto your cheek.

Not having the words to express how you feel about the boy in front of you, you pull his head back down, kissing him so sweetly that it makes his knees buckle.

“JJ,” you whisper as you pull away, but you never get to finish your statement because you are suddenly ripped out of his embrace.

“You fucking whore,” Liam seethes at you taking a stride towards you and you instinctively take a step back. “You break up with me and two minutes later you've moved onto another guy. Slut.” His words cut you deep and you know by the tone of his voice that a punch to the gut or a slap to the face is coming. Liam raises his hand and you brace yourself for impact, but it never comes.

The sound of yelling fills your senses and you open your eyes to see JJ punching Liam in the face repeatedly. You are frozen as you watch the scene in front of you.

“JJ,” you hear John B yell, turning to look at him, “You're gonna kill him.”

Your eyes widen in realization at his words and you take a step forward.

“JJ,” you call, but your voice is drowned out by the sound of everyone yelling around you. You clear your throat and try again, louder. “JJ.”

This time JJ stops mid punch, turning to look at you. Fear fills your body when you see that his wide, normally baby blue eyes are nearly black.

His gaze softens as he takes in your anxious look.

JJ steps away from the beat-up boy and you see a few of his friends pull Liam’s limp body away. You lock your eyes back to JJ’s and he takes a careful step towards you causing you to involuntarily flinch back slightly.

I'm not tryna

Be another just

Pick you up

Kinda guy

Tryna drink you up

Tryna take you home

He wants to cry out at the sight. Don't you know that he would rather die than ever hurt you? 

You do know this, and you're not afraid of the boy in the slightest, but the last five minutes have put you on edge.

Seeing the broken look in the blonde’s eyes, you take quick steps toward his body, wrapping him in your embrace. He melts into your arms, allowing his face to nuzzle into the crook of your neck.

The crowd that had formed around the fight disperses, realizing the show is over.

“(Y/N).” The sound of your name being called pulls your attention away from the sweet boy in your arms.

You pull away from JJ slightly, still keeping an arm around his bicep.

Looking over, you see John B standing to the side with Sarah Cameron. You had heard about the two of them getting together and you suddenly realize why JJ happened to be at this party.

The sadness in John B’s eyes as he looks at you breaks your heart. The two of you have been like sister and brother your whole lives and, besides JJ, he was the hardest for you to stop talking to.

You feel JJ’s grip on you loosen, urging you to go to John. The two of you walk towards each other and John B pulls you into his arms. 

“I missed you, (Y/N/N),” he says unto your hair, “So much.”

You smile, tears softly rolling down your cheeks. “I missed you too, JB,” you say, pulling away to look at JJ who looks back with a sad smile on his face.

But I just don't understand

How another man

Can take your sun

And turn it ice cold

The four of you decided it was best to leave. John B dropped Sarah off at her house and drove the three of you back to the Chateau. Your stomach drops at the sight of the small shack.

JJ notices your facial expression, placing his hand softly on top of yours. “You okay?” he asks gently as John B parks the van.

You nod with a small smile and JJ helps you out of the van, holding your hand as he leads you to the porch. You stop walking, causing the two boys to turn around and look at you.

“I'm sorry,” you say, tears pooling in your eyes again. JJ gives you a knowing look. “(Y/N),” he says, almost sternly.

“No,” you say, wiping your eyes, “Let me talk.” JJ nods and John B looks at you expectantly. “I left you. Both of you. I- Liam, he just made me feel so useless and I didn't want to be a bother to you guys anymore.”

JJ lets out a sound, almost like a growl, and pulls you into a hug. “You are not useless, (Y/N),” he says seriously, “You are so important, to both of us, and we missed you so much.”

You nod into his chest as John B comes to wrap his arms around both of you.

The three of you group hug and you sigh contently, happy to be back with your boys.

Well, I've had enough to drink

And it's makin'

Me think that I just might

Tell you if I were a painter I wouldn't change ya

I'd just paint you bright

John B helps JJ set up the pull out while you change into a pair of John B’s sweats and JJ’s t-shirt. John B says goodnight and goes to “hit the hay” as he puts it, leaving you and JJ alone again.

“I'll sleep on the other couch and you can take the bed,” he says sweetly, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of your head.

The two of you settle into your “beds”, but you can't seem to fall asleep with so many thoughts running through your mind.

Everything that has happened since you left the pogues seems like one big sad blur. Your mind wanders to JJ. What does this mean for you two? 

“(Y/N),” the voice you love so much calls. You hum in response. “You ‘wake?” he asks. You sit up in the pullout shaking your head.

“Can't sleep,” you say, rubbing your eyes. 

JJ sits up as well. “M’sorry, baby,” the nickname makes your heart flutter.

You open your arms for the boy who looks at you warily. “Are you sure, (Y/N),” he asks. You nod quickly and he stands up, falling into the pullout and wrapping you into his arms. He tucks your head under his chin, pulling you closer.

“JJ,” you ask.

It's his turn to hum in response. “This may be weird for you, but I feel like I just have to say it,” you tell him. JJ pulls back just enough to look into your eyes. He's worried about what you are going to say but tries to hide it for your sake. “I love you, J.”

JJ smiles, leaning down to nuzzle his nose with yours in an Eskimo kiss. “I love you too,” he says sincerely, but you're afraid he doesn't understand what you mean.

“No, J,” you say, looking away from his eyes, “I love you. Like, I'm in love with you.”

The blonde boy only smiles bigger. He leans down pressing a passionate kiss to your lips, pulling away when you run out of air. JJ trails sweet kisses down your jaw and neck before placing one last kiss on your lips.

“I'm in love with you too (Y/N),” he says kissing your forehead. JJ wonders how he went so long without being able to kiss you and hold you. Even after only confessing a few hours ago, it feels so natural to have you in his arms. The thought of not having you makes his heart ache. 

“I have to ask you something, but you can say no and it won't change anything and I understand that this is hard because of everything that just happened,” JJ rambles. You kiss his jaw softly, urging him to continue. “Will you be mine. Ya know. Like my girlfriend, or whatever.”

You smile wide. “Of course I'll be yours, J.”

JJ copies your smile leaning down to press another kiss to your lips.

He pulls away, snuggling into you, and the both of you bask in the feeling of being in each other's arms. Your hand reaches up to play with JJ’s hair as your eyes start to droop.

“Love ya, pretty girl.”

“Love you too, J.”

'Cause blue looks good on the sky

Looks good on that neon buzzin' on the wall

But darling, it don't match your eyes

You are sitting down on a beach towel, watching the sun slowly fall into the ocean, lighting the sky with a beautiful rainbow of colors. Your feet are outstretched in front of you and your hands prop you up behind your back. The Outer Banks heat is making your skin warm, but you don't mind, letting the steadily depleting sun hit your skin.

You watch as JJ catches another wave, surfing it perfectly. You giggle as he raises his hand in a fist, clapping for him. 

It's been two weeks since you finally ended things with Liam. You were able to mend things with the rest of the pogues and Kiara and Pope welcomed you back with open arms. Things with JJ have been going amazing. The two of you agreed to take things slowly seeing as you were just getting out of a toxic relationship. It was different to finally be in a place with JJ where you weren't afraid to show him and tell him how you feel, but you loved it.

JJ runs towards you, gripping his board in one hand as the other pushes back his blonde locks.

When he gets to your towel, JJ throws down his board and plops down next to you, pulling you into a sweet hug.

You giggle. “You're all wet, J,” you say, not making any move to get out of his warm embrace. The boy peppers your face with soft kisses causing you to giggle even more.

A few minutes later you are seated in between JJ’s legs and he has his strong arms wrapped around your waist, his head nuzzled in the crook of your neck.

“I love you, J,” you say, still watching the sunset.

“I love you too, pretty girl,” JJ says kissing your neck. He begins humming the tune to a song you recognize. 

“Blue ain't your color, umm mm,” he sings, “No, no baby, come here baby, let me light up your world.”

✰⋆✰⋆✰⋆✰

[hallowghoul]

⌠ zoe kravitz, thirty, gay, non-binary, they/them. ⌡ wait a minute, is sage kahn still in town? i thought i saw a flash of (the subtle smell of cinnamon, leather jackets and old rock band t-shirts, delicate fingertips tracing outlines on your skin)! last i heard they were working as a tattoo artist at TBD. when it’s the (scorpio)’s birthday on 10/18 i forget that they’re reserved and celebrate that they’re charming. i hear pour some sugar on me by def leppard every time i think of them. 

@liminalintro

sage uses both she/her & they/them pronouns!

muse board

Age: twenty eight Birthday: october 18th Zodiac sign: scorpio Sexual Orientation: homosexual Relationship Status: single Occupation: tattoo artist @ tbd Positive Traits: charming, easy going, detail oriented, persistent Negative Traits: arrogant, closed off, egotistical, shallow Aesthetics: the sound of tattoo guns buzzing, the subtle smell of cinnamon, leather jackets and old rock band t-shirts, delicate fingertips tracing outlines on your skin

born in the bronx of new york city to a single mother sage hadn’t known who their father was for most of her life. she’d been sheltered to the fact and when their moms job moved out west she seemed to lose all hope in finding him

growing up into their teenage years however a man reached out to them and not just any man..

she was 15 when infamous keith downing, lead singer of the rock group pleasure in pain, told them that he was their father

the band was at its peak and against their mother’s best wishes she traveled the country with him during the summer up until their 18th birthday. during her time there she honed in on her arts and was sent to school on his dime

came out a professional tattoo artist after landing an apprenticeship in new york

she obtained a nasty cocaine addiction after her freshman year of college, between the atmosphere of school and the summers spent touring with their father she was doomed to fall into the same fate keith had

sage had created some distance between them due to this, even if she truly just wanted his love and affirmation

his presence loomed close however and he roped her in for one last hoorah before he was to set off for a european tour

sage found him the next morning after a house party dead on the floor of his bathroom after he’d ingested a cocktail of pills and alcohol the night before

a few years have passed but she still hasn’t shaken off the effects of finding their father and has a sort of dark shadow following them around

sage hasn’t spoken much to their mother, for them everything all became too much and she has shut a lot of people out

still has a charismatic and affectionate way about her and can be quite alluring to anyone they’re interested in though she has severe issues with attachment

has probably broken up with most of their partners out of sheer fear of being hurt again

has lingered in town for most of their life besides a few summers away with her dad/college

sage is a free spirit, she doesn’t really tie herself down to anything or anyone.

fun facts:

has an impressive array of vinyls that make up a majority of their living room and is in steep competition of their collection of plants.

sage has a green thumb and loves her greenery, their little green cactus is their favorite and even has a tattoo commemorating him

tattooing is her favorite thing to do, she spends most of her day at skin deep

will probably one day be the matriarch of a cult in the middle of the desert, or live the rest of her days in a small apartment in paris.. there’s no in between

owns far too many candles for their own good, favorite scent being pumpkin spice

her favorite tattoo was one they had given to themselves, a rose just above her knee

[annoyinglyjovialbird]

Voltron: Next Generation

First Encounter: I

Word Count: 2800

“Out of all the stupid, idiotic things you could’ve done, launching us into space and light years away from the Milky Way takes the cake, Kenneth!” 

Kova had directed most of her anger and annoyance into Kenneth, who had been placed into zip-tie handcuffs and sat into a chair in front of the windows. 

“I mean, your grandfather, uncle, and mother were all brilliant and accomplished engineers by the time they were your age. Your mother was flipping fifteen-years-old when she piloted a giant lion-shaped war machine!” Caleb scoffed in the background. Kova turned around to glare at him. “You’re next.” She pointed at him. Caleb’s scoff turned to visible discomfort. 

"The basement was only accessible to higher-ups. What'd you do? Steal your granddad's access key, snuck onto the Coeus on the off-chance there was something still functioning so you could go back to the Holts and say you repaired a forgotten battleship?" Kova was taking deep breaths again, her face losing the red tint of anger, although her light brown eyes were still as fierce. 

"Yeah." Kenny winced, already cringing from Kova's reaction. "All of that, in order." Kova had never been so livid. 

"Kovalia, attack without being provoked and expect your benefits to disappear." Shiro had never sounded so stern. Kova took a breath, stepping back to merge beside the other teens, who were lined up behind her. Allie and Cake were to Kova's left, while Liz and Caleb stood on her right. With a sigh, Shiro stood from his chair, striding over to Kenny. 

"Kenny, you're twenty-six. You make do with what you have. Did you have to steal Commander Holt's key?" 

"Who is he, exactly?" Allie whispered in Kova's ear. Kova had crossed her hands behind her back, a soldier ready for orders when Allie asked her question. 

The teens had taken off their helmets, wearing only their suits. They weren't able to finish their exploration of the ship, only being able to turn on lights, keep a steady oxygen supply, and meet up in the bridge for Kenny's scolding. No one had explained Kenny's existence to Allie, and Kova shouldn't have been as shocked as she was. 

Stepping out of line, Kova walked towards a screen and loaded info onto it. A larger screen appeared behind Kenny, showing the information Kova was loading onto her small screen. 

"Kovalia." Shiro was serious, and Kova winced at his reaction. 

"I have a feeling Allie isn't the only one who doesn't know who Kenny is." Kova tried to explain, holding her hands up in defeat. 

With a sigh, Shiro let Kova take the floor. 

"Kenneth Samuel Kogane is the second-born son of Keith Kogane and Katie Holt." The images on the screen changed as Kova began to speak. With Kenny sitting in front of the screen, two lines split from Kenny and moved up into two separate images. To the left, a man with pale skin, long black hair, and Kenny's blue eyes stared at the camera with a frown. To the right, a woman with shoulder-length brown hair, round brown eyes covered by glasses, and a smile. 

From the woman, another line connected her to an older man. "Samuel Holt, Katie's father, was the engineer assigned to the Kerberos mission about thirty years ago, along with Commander Holt's son, Matthew Holt, and Garrison pilot Takashi Shirogane." The pictures on the screen were from the killed in action reports from the same time. All the teens except for Caleb and Kova were shocked at Shiro's picture. In the picture, Shiro had black hair, and the scar on his nose was gone. Caleb thought his dad looked like a teenager, but that was a talk for another day. Kova was still talking. "After the disbanding and disappearance of Voltron and its lions, the former pilots began to lead a life with a higher ranking. Keith Kogane was the former pilot of the Red Lion and later the pilot of the Black Lion, while Katie, often referred to by 'Pidge', piloted the Green Lion." 

"Uh, question." Liz had her hand up, like a kid in a classroom hoping to get called by the teacher. Kova's nod was cue enough for Liz to continue. "Your parents are former members of Voltron?" 

"My dad is a former member, too." Cake pointed out. 

"Our dad used to pilot the Black Lion before Keith." Caleb pointed out, too. Coincidence? Liz thought not. 

"Kenny's brilliant, but even I can admit a ship is too big of a task." Kova was bent over the chair, staring right at Kenny. "Even I wouldn't be able to fix it alone." Kenny rolled his eyes around the bridge, fully operational. "Hey, don't pin the ship working just on me. Liz and Allie helped while Cake chased you around and Caleb was ready to catch you." Kenny's slumped into his chair, hoping the floor would swallow him whole.

"I didn't think you'd come down here," Kenny muttered. "Go down there, you know what I mean!" 

"Kenneth, that isn't an excuse for stealing Commander Holt's access key." Shiro was staring out the glass. He hadn't seen the stars and darkness surrounding them in years. Behind him, Kova slinked back to her spot between Allie and Caleb. With two stomps to the floor, four of the five teens stood at attention. Allie tried to copy as best as she could but flinched at Shiro's gaze. Kova and Shiro's eyes met. Kova was the first to lower her head, awaiting orders. 

"Can someone uncuff me now?" Kenny whined. Shiro sighed, stepping towards Kenny and his chair. The screen behind him turned off, allowing for more of the galaxy to be visible. 

"Caleb, uncuff Kenny." Shiro began his onslaught of commands. "Liz, keep exploring. Let's get a more accurate floor plan. Cake, get started in the engine room. Take Kenny." Caleb, Allie, and Kova stood on the deck; none of them knew what Shiro had planned. With Liz and Cake gone, Shiro faced the three teens. Well, two teens and a kid. "Allie, you can unpack now. Kova and Caleb will help." Their eyes wandered to the giant backpack, sitting in the chair of the nearest screen. 

Unpacking the bag took longer than expected. 

Okay, that's a lie. It took just as long as expected. 

They had it sorted into four piles: Clothes, first aid, spare parts, and snacks. Each kid had three full changes of clothes and underwear, vacuum-packed at the bottom of the bag. The first aid pile varied between the pocket-sized kits to a larger red duffel bag full of bandages and gauze. The spare parts pile had a screwdriver set with interchangeable heads, the zip ties, the hammer, the pliers, and spools of different kinds of wires. Let's not mention the screws and tape. The snacks were packed by Cake with input from Liz. Ranging from bags of pretzels to packets of fizzy pop rocks candy, there was more than enough for everyone. Shiro was the only one who didn't have an extra change of clothes, but as he shrugged off his gray coat, revealing a black tank top showing off his huge biceps. Shrugging his shoulders, he said he had done it before. The teens stared at him like he had grown another head. 

"What if I build a satellite?" Kova asked, staring at Caleb. 

"Again?" Kova nodded her head, making Caleb roll his eyes. "You could, I don't know, find another way of intergalactic communication, like a phone on board." Kova sat on her haunches, crossing her arms over her chest with lips pouted. 

"You're no fun." Dropping her arms, Kova stood on her feet. "And anyway, this ship wasn't built for intergalactic communication. Way before its time." 

"You're just making excuses so you could make a satellite." Caleb followed Kova, standing up. Extending a hand to Allie, the teens continued to their conversation. Lifting Allie to her feet, they almost threw the young girl to the other side of the deck, who had managed to stay on her feet. 

"Hey, I figured out color coordination!" Griffin's voice came on over the intercoms, the orange screens coming to life. 

All the screens changed, one by one, to a specific color. The two on the bottom changed from orange to blue and yellow; the screens above them turned to red and green; the one at the helm turned white. An orange screen appeared on the window behind the teens, this one not changing color. Instead, an excited Liz was bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Y'know, cause we're wearing the Voltron suits?" Kova nodded, showing her understanding. 

“Very cool, very cool," Kova said, hoping Liz could hear the 'but' in her voice. Liz was crestfallen. 

"But?"

"But if you wanna be true to Voltron, let's start with Altean blue for all screens." Kova smiled as Liz's smile returned to her face.  

"I can do that." Liz signed off the screen, the screens reverting to their original orange color. 

"Quit telling my team what to do." Caleb was glaring at the side of Kova's head. She stared forward. Whether she wanted to face Caleb or not, it was up to her, but Caleb continued his silent glare. 

"I'm just as good as you. Don't think you're so high and mighty because you're a top student. I am too. What are you staring at?" Caleb turned his head to stare out the window like Kova was doing. 

"I wonder how they felt coming back," Kova said in the quietest voice. At last, the screens turned bright blue and the lights were brightened. "They were up here for so long. Do you think it felt like coming back home?" 

"Stop talking." Caleb turned around to stare at Allie, who was sorting through the piles one more time. With Liz's map, Allie was packing her backpack again, this time with only the first aid and snack piles. Liz would help her out if she became too confused about anything, while Cake was too busy checking and rechecking the systems diagnostics with Kenny. "You can build your satellite if you stop talking about them." With a nod, Kova walked over to the staircase. 

She stood at the helm and ready, looking over the deck and other screens below her. It felt almost wrong to her. She had been taught for years that a leader was someone who had equal footing with everyone on her team, not someone who stood above them all.

"We found the rooms, and guess what?" Cake's head appeared on the camera footage, eyeing the camera. The bright blue screen did not do Cake's sclera any justice, but no one was gonna tell him that. "We don't have to share with anyone!" In a sprint, every teen on board raced towards the rooms, hoping to get the best room. Shiro, on the other hand, stayed in the bridge, watching the teens choose their rooms from the cameras. 

The rooms were split into halves of a hallway between the med bay and the cafeteria/kitchen. The hallway was open-ended, likely for a quick escape should anything happen. Three doors were to the right, and three on the left. The excited shouts of the teens overlapped each other, while Kenny's yelps floated above them. 

In the end, it was settled who got which rooms. The girls would take the side of the hall closest to the med bay, while the boys took the side closest to the kitchen. Kova and Caleb were roomed the closest to the emergency exit, while Cake and Liz were roomed closest to the entrances of the cafeteria and main hall to the bridge and engine room. Kenny and Allie would be roomed in between to prevent any accidents since they were the least trained.  

At least, that's what they were told. 

Shiro would be sleeping in the captain's quarters since the first floor rooms were taken. The ship, as they would discover, had more sleeping quarters and floors, but they were too far from the bridge and transport bay. 

"Wait, did anyone check the bay?" Liz asked out loud, her voice silencing everyone else. Kova and Caleb immediately looked at each other and agreed. They were well-trained and wanted everyone else to settle down. 

"Dad, you watching?" Kova asked the camera nearest to the entrance of the bay. "I hope you are 'cause I don't wanna die today." Caleb stared at her, opening the bay. "Remind me to reconfigure those." The hatch door opened, revealing a barely lit warehouse of a room. 

"Turn on your floodlight," Caleb said, staring at the metal beams fifty feet above his head. They put on their helmets, turned on the lights on their suits, and walked inside. "I thought you said the Coeus was changed to an infirmary."

"It was supposed to. They probably couldn't repair it and moved on to the Atlas." The floor was covered by small piles of random nuts, wires, and bolts. Towards the end of the bay, two fighter jets sat in complete abandon. 

"No way." The fighter jets, decorated in white, orange, and black, were earlier models of the MFE fighter jets. "These are, like, priceless." 

"One of them is worthless." Kova was staring at one of them. It looked sad compared to the one beside it. "They must've tried taking everything out. I wonder why these two got left behind." 

"Failed inspection," Shiro said over the teens' earpieces. "The one Kova's at had a broken thruster and collapsed wing. It was useless before it even took flight." Indeed, Shiro was right. The right-wing of the jet was lying on the ground. "The other was having power connectivity issues. It was a war. They had no choice but to abandon them." 

"You don't need to explain, Dad. I got it." Kova's voice was tight, but her brain was moving fast. "Ask Cake to take us to his home planet. Then we'll know where we are." 

"How do you know?" Caleb asked. Kova tore her eyes away from the fighter jets and followed Caleb out the door. 

"I can use a Balmeran crystal to power the satellite, and another one to power the ship." 

"Didn't answer my question." 

"Cake's mom is a Balmeran who worked with his dad to make their culinary empire. She'd be able to help us get home." Kova was finally getting fed up with Caleb's attitude. 

First Kova has to train a new cadet on her team. Her boyfriend got sick and couldn't go on this mission. Her brother is being annoying and getting on her last nerve. Kenny is on board the stupid ship. At least she's trying to keep her wits about her. 

"No need to get so mad, Kova." Oh, it was on. 

"Fight and you're both grounded." Shiro's attempt at a threat didn't work.

"There's no ground for light years, Dad." Kova pointed out, and Shiro was frozen in place. The teens never fought each other unless they needed to let off steam. 

Oh, they were gonna hurt each other badly. 

Switching off the cameras to the bay, Shiro watched Cake familiarize himself with the kitchen, while Liz and Allie were on Kenny-sitting duty. They had changed out of their suits, opting for something more breathable. Cake wore a familiar orange headband and green vest he hadn't noticed before. He wore a long-sleeved yellow shirt underneath the vest with matching green pants. Allie wore a blue billowy blouse with white pants. Her strawberry blonde hair was being braided by Liz, who had changed into a black shirt and pants with a green overcoat. Kenny still wore his clothes from earlier, a long-sleeved orange shirt with his uniform slacks. 

A screen on the bridge appeared, showing coordinates to Cake's home planet. It would take a few days, considering the outdated equipment on board. Maybe Kova, Kenny, and Liz could put their heads together to figure something out. 

It had been a few hours since they were accidentally launched into space. Kova and Caleb weren't to leave their rooms, which was fine with them. Cake had managed to make something somewhat edible for lunch, which was easier than thought to be. Allie now had twin ponytails down her scalp, ending about halfway down her back, and Kenny was still muttering about being on a ship with teenagers. Liz was trying not to slap him. 

"Does anyone else hear that?" Allie asked, taking a second bite of who knows what. 

"Hear what?" Cake asked, wishing they had more than the snacks they had. 

"It sounds like," Allie was trying to figure out the word when Shiro walked in. "Like a lion's roar."

[rockandrollstorytime]

Rock and Roll Storytime #5: Brian Jones and His Five(?) Children

While I will absolutely admit to being infatuated with dead rock stars, that doesn’t mean I’m going to give them a pass for everything they’ve ever done. Take for example, Brian Jones. While I think he is quite cute and an extraordinarily talented musician, there’s the fact that he was also abusive towards women, and he was never really involved in the lives of any of the multiple children he sired.

Hell, he was so bad in regards to having responsible sex, we don’t even know how many children he had for sure.

What I’m going to do with this is tell you how his five confirmed children came into the world and maybe even talk about some of the speculated ones this time. 

Confirmed:

1. Barry David Corbett (aka Simon): So, let’s face it, Brian started out young, being just seventeen when he got his then girlfriend, Valerie Corbett pregnant (sources vary as to whether she was fourteen or seventeen when this happened). What’s important to remember is that the adults of Brian’s generation heavily disapproved of teenage pregnancy (some of it owing to how we used to be a lot more religious), and if Call the Midwife is anything to go by (great show by the way), it was usually the parents who would determine whether a teenage mother was able to keep her unborn child. Most often, it seems, the child would be given up for adoption, though it seems that sometimes, a shotgun wedding would be initiated, and in rarer cases, the grandparents would bring the child up under the impression that the mother was actually an older sister, whilst they posed as the biological parents (think Jack Nicholson). Reportedly, Brian encouraged Valerie to get an abortion, which, mind you was illegal at the time, but she refused. She gave birth to little Barry on May 29, 1960, and he was subsequently adopted out and renamed Simon. Reportedly, he eventually found out that Brian was his father in 2004, and by then, he was married with two kids of his own.

2. Unknown (Known as Belinda or Carol depending on the source): within months of getting Valerie pregnant, Brian was at it again. In this instance, he met a woman only known as Angelique at a dance and the two had a one-night-stand. As it turns out, the 23-year-old was married and had been going through a rough patch with her husband. When she turned up pregnant, she and her husband ultimately decided to keep the baby, and on August 4, 1960, Brian’s only known daughter was born. According to Bill Wyman, Brian never knew about his eldest daughter’s birth, and in a similar vein, the subject of Brian Jones was taboo in Belinda’s household, given the pain it caused both her parents (which is also the reason we don’t know her real name). Bill’s book Stone Alone, states that she realized that her father wasn’t her biological father when she was six, and that she realized Brian was her father when she was fifteen after her brother brought home a Rolling Stones record (Through the Past Darkly, Big Hits Vol. 2). In talking to Belinda, Bill also discovered that she had temporal lobe epilepsy, which to the pair of them, explained Brian’s hypochondriac tendencies, as well as some of his behaviors (for instance, Bill said that in about a minute, Brian would go from being fully engaged in a conversation to being completely disengaged). While the truth of the matter is, we’ll never know for sure whether or not Brian had epilepsy (because we knew jackshit about mental health back in the day), I personally think it’s an interesting explanation for Brian’s health problems, and that theory might even shine a light on what might have happened the night he drowned.

3. Julian Mark Andrews: Surely, Brian was living the “Sex, drugs, and rock and roll” lifestyle well before he became a rock star. After returning to Cheltenham after the scandal that was him getting Valerie pregnant, Brian began dating 15-year-old Pat Andrews. When she was sixteen, she fell pregnant with his child, and by her own admission, she was so naive about childbirth that she didn’t even realize she was pregnant until her sister marched her into the doctor’s office. On October 22, 1961, she gave birth to Julian Mark, named after Julian “Cannonball” Adderley. By all accounts, on the day Mark was born, Brian sold four of his records (his most prized possessions) in order to buy flowers for Pat and clothes for his newborn son. He was even involved in their lives for a while, but sadly, this arrangement wouldn’t last. For one thing, Brian was very promiscuous, and he was never good at the whole “fidelity” thing. Another possible explanation is that one time, when Pat and Mark came to spend a day with Brian after he became famous, his manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, started bitching about how Brian shouldn’t be seen as a “family man” (even though Bill Wyman was married and had a young son). Apparently, Andrew wanted to market Brian as a hot young bachelor that the fangirls would have no qualms squeeing over. In either case, Brian soon cut all ties with Pat. In addition, according to Paul Trynka, Mick Jagger once made a drunken pass at Pat (she rejected his advances), and Mick apparently bragged to Brian that they’d had a drunken fling. According to Pat, Brian never gave her a chance to explain her side of the story, and that was around the time Brian cut all ties. In 1966, she sued Brian for child support, and when Brian failed to show up to court, the very pissed-off judge awarded Pat the maximum sum allowed at the time: £2.50 a week for Mark as well as another  £78 to cover Pat’s court costs and confinement expenses. After Brian’s death though, the payments stopped coming in. On a side-note: Laura Jackson’s book states that Mark has no memories of his father.

4. Julian Brian Lawrence Leitch: Before anyone says anything, yes Brian has two sons named Julian, and allegedly, he wanted all of his sons to be named after Cannonball Adderley. In 1964, Brian had been dating a 17-year-old Linda Lawrence for two years. She subsequently gave birth to his third son on July 23, 1964. Reportedly, he was involved for a brief while whilst he lived with Linda and her parents, but then he was kicked out after it became clear that he had no intentions of marrying Linda. She came forward against Brian with a paternity suit in 1965, and ultimately, she received a £1,000 settlement. In October 1970, she married Brian’s friend and fellow musician Donovan Leitch (simply known as Donovan in most parts) who later taught Julian to play guitar. For the curious, there are clips of him online singing “Sympathy for the Devil,” and he later became the father of Joolz Leitch Jones, who like his father, grandfather, and step-grandfather, is a musician.

5. Paul Molloy (John Maynard): This one is an utter doozy even when you take into account the usual low standards surrounding any given rock star and his/her children. This story starts with Brian dating 19-year-old Dawn Molloy on and off again throughout 1964 (while he was still seeing Linda, mind you), and her eventually becoming pregnant. At around this time, Brian was ordered by Andrew to never contact her again. Subsequently, Andrew, in a case of severely misguided damage control, essentially coerced Dawn into signing a non-disclosure agreement, which stated that the matter was now closed and she would never go to the public or press about the child being Brian’s (the whole thing was witnessed by Mick Jagger). In exchange for her silence, she would be awarded £700. Her parents were not supportive of her during her pregnancy, and she was sent to a home for unmarried, expectant mothers, where, on March 24, 1965, she gave birth to Paul. Soon after, she was forced to give up her son for adoption, and told that she would never be able to see him again (those of you who’ve seen the film Philomena or Call the Midwife will probably get an idea of what I’ve been describing). Paul was renamed John, and while he did know that he was adopted, he did, at least, know he was loved. Some thirty years later, John, having married and had three kids of his own, went looking for his birth family, and was eventually able to find his birth mother and information about his late birth father. Mother and son have both spoken about their experiences since; Dawn wrote a book entitled Not Fade Away, and John spoke to the Daily Mail, where he said of Brian, “First, I'd probably hit him for what he did to Dawn. Then I'd brush him down and ask him if he wanted a coffee. I'd like to chat with him. To get to know him and for him to get to know me. He'd like me, I know he would. I'd want him to be proud of me. To be honest, I'd just want him to be my dad.”

Unconfirmed/Rumored:

-Marlon Richards: For a while, people suspected that Marlon was actually Brian’s son for a while because when he was little, he was blond and had a cherubic face, though I could argue that this came more from his mother, Anita Pallenberg. Even if I could already dispute the idea that Marlon is Brian’s son, given how Brian and Anita’s relationship came to a legendarily messy finish in 1967, there’s also the fact that Marlon grew up to look exactly like Keith. Still, figured I might as well debunk this old rumor.

-Timmy Faithless: This one comes straight from Australian tabloids in which it is claimed his mother, Loriann (the article will make sure you remember she was a Satanist, which doesn’t matter to me, but whatever), conceived after a Melbourne concert. As with anything in the tabloids though, I tend to doubt the veracity of such claims (it might help if we had Brian’s DNA on file, but last I checked, police don’t really have a good reason to dig up Brian’s skeleton).

-Anna Wohlin claimed to have been carrying Brian’s child, but miscarried shortly after his death, likely due to the high stress and duress caused by the situation. However, I personally think she’s a bit of an unreliable witness, so I’ll just leave that to conjecture.

-Barbara Wolf: In 2019, she came out of the woodworks to allege that Brian was her father and that he was murdered by Frank Thorogood (she is not the only one of Brian’s children to believe he was murdered). Once again though, considering this story seems to have originated in a tabloid, I’ll just sit over here being my highly skeptical self.

-David Lars “Cannonball” Brandstone: Claimed to be writing a book about his dad set for release in 2008. Once again though, I find myself sorely doubting his claims about Brian (some of the details he gives in his interview are a bit... suspect to say the least).

If there’s anything to be taken away from what you just read, it’s that sometimes, people are going to be irresponsible as hell when it comes to... relations. As someone who has experienced something similar to what Brian’s children went through (teenage mother, absent father), I can certainly say that, while I respect Brian’s musical ability, I simply cannot condone his behavior in any of these cases. I know that it was a different time, but still, the fact that he got so many women pregnant and subsequently abandoned them is simply inexcusable.

Thank god for contraception and better sex ed. 

Sources: Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones by Paul Trynka Brian Jones: The Untold Life and Mysterious Death of a Legend by Laura Jackson 27: A History of the 27 Club through the Lives of Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse by Howard Sounes Stone Alone by Bill Wyman https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1353783/Being-Brian-Joness-son-greatest-thing-happened-me.html http://www.angelfire.com/rock3/sixtiesfish/kidsweb/kids.html https://iorr.org/talk/read.php?1,2325726,2325735 http://www.angelfire.com/rock3/sixtiesfish/brianjones_son.html https://ultimateclassicrock.com/the-rolling-stones-children/ https://www.earcandymag.com/foundationstonebook-2.htm https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/daughter-rolling-stones-wild-child-17479033 https://born-late.blogspot.com/2011/09/legend-of-girl-child-linda.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Jones#Early_life_and_children https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8OANZg8_iE

[midnightswithdearkatytspb]

Captain Steven ”Steve” Grant Rogers

Steve Rogers born in Brooklyn, New York, to Sarah Rogers an immigrant from Ireland who fell in love with a soldier by the name of Liam Grant Rogers, while he was on leave. His parents married shortly after meeting and his dad went back to fight on the war, while his mother went to nursing school where she met her best friend, Winifred. On July 4, 1985, he was born and his mother always loved to tell him about how his father only ever cried twice that she could remember, the day they married and when he was born. Sadly his father a Ranger for the United States Army, would not make it home from Somalia, as his helicopter would get shot down, leaving his mother a widow in 1993.

Steve grew up with his best friend Bucky Barnes, his mothers best friend Winifred’s son. They got into trouble together as well as did everything together. They would go on double dates together till Steve feel in love with Y/N O’Conner, who shot the football team's yearbook photo. Y/N was in the same year as him and Bucky, they’d walk to school with her and to her dance classes after school. Steve thought for sure they would marry one day, that was til Bucky told him he was joining the Air Force. Steve knew in his heart he was going to follow Bucky, just like, Bucky had done for him for years. Steve couldn't hold Y/N back so he ended it on the night of their graduation, walking away before she could even say anything to him.

Steve rose ranks fast before his eyes and found himself a Captain of his own ground troop at the age of 32. Steve became fast friends with Sam Wilson and Riley Beckett when he and Bucky were stationed at the same place as them. When bad entail leads to an ambush on them, Bucky jumps on Steve trying to save his life, that results in the loss of his right leg, Bucky’s left arm. Now back stateside with an honorable discharge, his service dogs Titus, Oakley, also living on a futon with Bucky in Sam and Riley’s apartment. Steve isn't sure who he is anymore.

Playlist:

1. Run | Josh Groban & Sarah McLaughlin

2. Hello | Adele

3. Sad Eyes | Bruce Springsteen

4. Blind | Hurts

5. Angela | The Lumineers

6. The Partisan | Henry Jamison

7. Geronimo | Sheppard

8. Remembering Sunday | All Time Low

9. Elastic Heart | Sia

10. The Very Thought Of You | Nat King Cole

11. When We Were Young | Adele

12. When You Were Young | The Killers

13. Forever Young | Alphaville

14. My Hometown | Bruce Springsteen

15. House of Gold | Twenty One Pilots

16. From Yesterday | Thirty Seconds To Mars

17. American Pie | Don McLean

18. How to Dance in Time | Blue October

19. The Last Time | Taylor Swift & Gary Lightbody

20. Therapy | All Time Low

21. Misery | The Maine

22. Nature Boy | Nat King Cole

23. Need You Now | Lady Antebellum

24. ’Til Summer Comes Around | Keith Urban

25. Letting Go | Mayday Parade

[calligraphist-artemisia]

Across Time and Space (Chapter 12)

Summary: Sequel to I’ll Take Her Place.  Slav is showing off a piece of experimental equipment, when it malfunctions and blasts Katie and Keithir to another universe. At the same time, it drags Pidge and Keith over into theirs, effectively swapping places. With their fate resting in the hands of Slav, will they be able to get back home? Or are they stuck to live the rest of their lives in the wrong universe?

Also posted on AO3 and fanfiction.net under the username “kishirokitsune”.

Only two (or three) more chapters left! Remember that I still have the poll up to decide what I’ll work on next and that will be closing the day after I post the final chapter of this fic! ( https://forms.gle/izPGqWsHD56RxgHg6 )

Chapter 12

“You were so young,” Travis murmured, staring at his son with a stricken expression. “You didn't have anyone? Not Kolivan or Thace or anyone else?”

Keith avoided looking at him as he shrugged. “I had Shiro.”

It was only the partial truth.  He didn't meet Shiro for another two years after his father died, and it had been a long road to learning to trust the man.

Shiro had saved him. Given him hope when he had none. Inspired him to do better when everyone else was set against him. And somewhere along the way, Shiro became his family. He never needed anyone else, so long as he kept believing in him.

“What about your mother?”

“I've never known her. I didn't even know I was part Galra until recently, when Kolivan told me after I passed the trials. And ever since then, I haven't...” Keith paused to shake his head. “There are more important things to focus on.”

“I don't think Kolivan would turn you away if you asked about her. Family is just as important as your work with the Blade,” Travis said.

“Maybe that's the way it is here, but things are different back home. There's nothing more important than ending the war. Not to the Blade.”

Travis was silent for a moment. “I know it's not the same, but I have a few pictures of her, mostly from after Keithir was born. Part of me always knew they wouldn't be able to stay on Earth and I wasn't sure that it was possible for me to go with them, so I took pictures, just in case.”

Keith eyed the small binder his dad brought with him. He'd been curious about it from the start, but knowing that it contained pictures of the mother he'd never seen or known filled him with a sense of anxiety.

Was he ready to see her?

“Tell me more about her?” Keith requested instead.

Travis smiled, happy to do so.

OLKARION – CASTLE OF LIONS

“I'm just saying, it's a bad idea,” Katie said, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared down Allura, Shiro, and Kolivan. Behind her, Keithir was muttering angrily as he processed exactly where they had recently been getting their intelligence on Galra installations.

“So far, everything he has told us has been truthful. We have no reason to dismiss his knowledge of the inner workings of Galra command,” Kolivan pointed out.

Had she known she would spend a good chunk of her morning arguing with them, Katie would have let Keithir convince her to stay in bed.

“I thought you were just holding him prisoner,” Keithir said, reigning in his temper. There was an edge of steel to his voice that Katie rarely heard.

Allura mirrored Katie's stance. “He turned himself in and offered to help of his own free will. As Kolivan said, everything he has told us has only helped us free planets and make progress in the war. He truly wants to help.”

Keithir's ears pinned back in clear agitation, but he kept his voice controlled when he spoke again. “When I first started to hear rumors of Lotor's activities from the Blade of Marmora, I didn't believe them. I told Kolivan it wasn't possible, that they'd gotten it wrong. Lotor wasn't capable of the things they were saying, after all of the good I'd witnessed him doing. To prove that, I started to watch him more carefully, to find anything to clear his name. And through watching him, I found the truth.”

“Lotor lies to and manipulates those around him by offering partial truths. He'll give you exactly what you want or say what you want him to say, but I can guarantee that it benefits him more than it does you. If he's given information on Galra commanders and how to take down outposts, it's because they stand in the way of his own plans or because he sees them as expendable.

“Once he has your truth, he starts to ask for things. He'll start small and work his way up, until you're too deep in to see the truth. And when you're no longer useful to him, he'll betray you and you'll want to blame yourself for not seeing it sooner.”

“Think about before he turned himself in,” Katie suggested once Keithir was done. “Would you have trusted him then? Did he do anything to suggest you were on the same side?”

“No, he tried to kill us,” Lance spoke up before anyone else could.

“More than once,” Hunk added, a little less aggressive and more uncertain.

Allura made a soft sound of disagreement. “We were hardly friendly toward him. What was he supposed to do?”

“He attacked first!” Lance responded. “He set up that trap for us on Puig, remember? If he really wants peace like we do, why would he do that? Why not contact us and offer to form some sort of alliance? I'm with Katie and Keithir on this, we can't trust him!”

“Lance, that's enough,” Shiro commanded.

Lance backed down, clenching his jaw and looking away.

Shiro stepped forward to address the room. “It doesn't matter what he's done in the past, he's here to help now. Without this intel, we never could have progressed as quickly as we have and we would have lost many more lives. We're not discussing this any more.”

Katie heard Keithir growl in frustration and glanced back to watch him pivot on his heel and leave the room. “You know, for all that our realities are very different, there's so much more we have in common, especially when it comes to the people in them. I hope we're wrong. I hope Lotor is genuinely here to help. But I also hope you keep what we've said in mind.”

She stayed for a tick longer and then followed her husband out of the room. She picked up her pace as the door shut behind her, easily reaching his side.

“They need the real Shiro back.”

“Agreed,” Katie replied. “Whatever idea our Allura has, I hope she figures it out soon. Maybe that's part of the news we were promised tonight.”

“Maybe,” Keithir said doubtfully.

“We'll find out soon. We just need to be patient until then.” Katie took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “Would it help if you got to see where they're holding Lotor? There's a room next to his cell with a viewing glass. He won't even know we're there.”

Keithir considered it for a few ticks and then shook his head. “It's better if I don't. I think I'll go up to the training deck instead. Would you help me set up?”

“Of course,” Katie said.

The next time they saw any of the others was long after Keithir was finished beating up robots and running the invisible maze. He and Katie grabbed a late lunch after that, spent a few more vargas relaxing in their room, and then headed down to the Black Lion, where Keithir slipped back into the Astral Plane.

When he returned from talking to Shiro, Coran was waiting there with Katie, speaking in quiet voices. They both turned to look at Keithir as he approached.

“Allura and Kolivan have put a hold on more missions until they re-evaluate the situation,” Katie told him, though there was something off about her tone, like there was something about it that bothered her. “Shiro and Matt went down to talk to Lotor.”

“Is that a good idea?” Keithir asked, directing his attention to Coran.

Coran's mustache twitched with disapproval. “It does seem risky, but we'll just have to trust Shiro's judgement, as we always do. And Matt seems like a level-headed fellow! I'm sure he can keep things under control.”

“He does give that impression, doesn't he?” Katie said wryly.

Truly, Matt was a blessing to have around in stressful – or any other – situations. He had a way of knowing just what to do or say, except when it came to Shiro. Katie joked that it was a mild hero-worship at play, born from the days or their dad telling stories about the rising star of the Galaxy Garrison. Thanks to Shiro, Matt had found himself in trouble more than once since his rescue, and while they were all amusing stories, nothing was funnier to Katie than watching Matt get flustered because Shiro threw him for a loop.

Keithir suspected Shiro did it on purpose; a harmless, long-running set of pranks to play on his friend, not unlike the way Regris continued to treat him.

But that was their reality.

Maybe Matt could handle it and they didn't need to worry.

“We'll have to call them up if they aren't back,” Keithir said, turning to more important matters – at least for the moment. “Shiro says they have a lock on this reality and want to try sending us something. Whoever wants to be around for that should go to the workshop.”

Katie tilted her head in curiosity. “I wonder what they're sending through. I mean, it's likely something inorganic to test to odds of reaching us without trouble, but what? Something electronic? Or maybe they'll go more simple than that.”

“Only one way to find out. If we're right about the flow of time being the same in both realities, we should see something in thirty doboshes,” Keithir said.

Thirty.

Twenty-nine.

Twenty-eight.

Keithir counted down the ticks and tried to ignore how adorable Katie was when she was practically squirming with anticipation. The urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her was so strong.

He breathed in deeply and looked away.

Everyone was on high alert, waiting for something to happen. For something to appear. Slav stared hard at his incomplete version of the trans-reality extrapolator, as though expecting it to suddenly work.

A buzz filled the air, crackling so strongly with energy that Keithir's fur stood on end. He slowly backed away from the center of the room, pulling Katie with him, unsure of how the energy would react. He could almost see it, sparking and splitting the air, creating a rip that was visible for less than a tick. He blinked and it was gone and there in its place was a tall man with dark hair, cradling a familiar-looking machine in his arms.

Keithir's brow furrowed in confusion and a low whine built in the back of his throat. “Dad?”

ALTEA – CASTLE OF LIONS

Shiro knew before he stepped into the room that the air was rife with tension. He could feel it pulling tight across his connection to Allura and he wondered what the source of it was. Had something happened to the trans-reality extrapolator? Was it not ready after all? They'd been so sure just a few hours before!

He braced himself as the door slid open, but instead of walking into a loud argument like he expected, he was greeted by uncomfortable silence.

“What's going on?” Shiro asked, looking around in the hope that he could learn something.

Anyone who was in on the accidental swap was in the room, with the exception of Yorak, who was being looked after by his Uncle Sendak for the afternoon. (Shiro hoped they weren't getting into too much trouble, or that at the very least Sendak wouldn't try and give Yorak a sword again.)

“It would seem that we have a volunteer to transport the blueprints and materials to the other reality,” Alfor said.

“A volunteer?” Shiro repeated slowly, not sure he understood. Hadn't they decided there was too much risk in sending someone over? Did they find a way around that while he was away telling Keithir about their plans?

That couldn't be right. He wasn't gone for that long.

“I know the risks,” Travis spoke up. “I've heard y'all talk about this for days now. I know it's not likely I'll get back, but it seems to me that this'll be the best way to make sure the odds are the best they can be.”

“What about Keithir?” Keith asked, his worry leaking into his voice. “What about Yorak? Your life? You'd be leaving all of that behind!”

Travis's expression softened as he walked over and pulled him aside to speak quietly – too quiet for Shiro to hear on the other side of the room. Whatever he was saying made Keith more agitated at first, but he slowly began to look more at ease, or at least less like he was willing to argue, the longer Travis talked to him.

While that was happening, Alfor and Honerva struck up a hushed conversation with Slav and Allura slipped over to stand by Shiro's side.

“I've already briefed him on what he needs to do,” she said.

Shiro looked over at her, startled. “Allura, this isn't-! We can't ask him to do this! I thought there were more tests to run. What if something goes wrong?”

“We did not ask him to do this, he volunteered, and despite a great deal of protest from the rest of us, he seems pretty set on doing this. Shiro, he has been to all of our discussions about this and is well aware of everything that could go wrong. He is right when he says that this could be our best chance. We can get all of the pieces over, along with the blueprints, without worrying about them ending up in the wrong hands. And if we act quickly enough, we may be able to bring Travis home along with Katie and Keithir.”

Allura sounded so sure of what she was saying, that Shiro almost believed her. He wanted to believe her, but it couldn't be that easy. Not after all of the calculations and Slav's ever-expanding list of possible complications.

But at the same time, Travis had made up his mind, and in the end, it was his choice. They could only do what they could to support him.

Shiro took a deep breath. “Okay. What do we need to do first?”

[ucflibrary]

The summer semester is ending and the prep for fall has started. It’s only a few short weeks until the 2019-2020 academic year begins. We’ll have a full cohort of students back on campus. The lines for coffee will be never ending and a free parking space will be nowhere to be found. Life will definitely get more exciting.

 Libraries staff has pulled together a full list of books that cover a whole range of areas. Some books are for our graduating students wondering what comes next. Some books are to help new incoming students start the year successfully. We even have books that staff read when they were your age (yep, books existed that long ago) that changed how they thought about the world.

 Welcome to the 2019-20 academic year!

 Click on the link below to see the full list, descriptions, and catalog links for the featured Back-so-School titles suggested by UCF Library employees. These 24 books plus many more are also on display on the 2nd (main) floor of the John C. Hitt Library next to the bank of two elevators.

 Bei qi baba shang xue: Going to school with dad on my back directed by Zhou Youchao Shiwa, the son of a poor Chinese farmer, is doing well at school. But when his mother dies and his sister leaves the house, he's the only one left to take care of his disabled father. Suggested by Tim Walker, Information Technology & Digital Initiatives

 Braving the Wilderness: The quest for true belonging and the courage to stand alone by Brené Brown Social scientist Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW, has sparked a global conversation about the experiences that bring meaning to our lives—experiences of courage, vulnerability, love, belonging, shame, and empathy. In Braving the Wilderness, Brown redefines what it means to truly belong in an age of increased polarization. Suggested by Kryslynn Collazo, Scholarly Communication

 Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind: thoughts on teacherhood by Phillip Done A twenty-year veteran of the classroom, elementary school teacher Phillip Done takes readers through a lively and hilarious year in the classroom. Starting with the relative calm before the storm of buying school supplies and posting class lists, he shares the distinct personalities of grades K-4, what he learned from two professional trick or treating 8-year-old boys, the art of learning cursive and letter-writing, how kindergartners try to trap leprechauns, and what every child should experience before he or she grows up. Suggested by Richard Harrison, Research & Information Services

 Educated: a memoir by Tara Westover Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home. Suggested by Cindy Dancel, Research & Information Services

 Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger The short story, Franny, takes place in an unnamed college town and tells the tale of an undergraduate who is becoming disenchanted with the selfishness and inauthenticity she perceives all around her. The novella, Zooey, is named for Zooey Glass, the second-youngest member of the Glass family. As his younger sister, Franny, suffers a spiritual and existential breakdown in her parents' Manhattan living room -- leaving Bessie, her mother, deeply concerned -- Zooey comes to her aid, offering what he thinks is brotherly love, understanding, and words of sage advice. Suggested by Christina Wray, Teaching & Engagement

 Girl, Stop Apologizing: A shame-free plan for embracing and achieving your goals by Rachel Hollis In Girl, Stop Apologizing, Rachel Hollis sounds a wake-up call. She knows that many women have been taught to define themselves in light of other people—whether as wife, mother, daughter, or employee—instead of learning how to own who they are and what they want. With a challenge to women everywhere to stop talking themselves out of their dreams, Hollis identifies the excuses to let go of, the behaviors to adopt, and the skills to acquire on the path to growth, confidence, and believing in yourself. Suggested by Kryslynn Collazo, Scholarly Communication

 Glimmer of Hope: how tragedy sparked a movement by March for Our Lives (Organization) Glimmer of Hope tells the story of how a group of teenagers raced to channel their rage and sorrow into action, and went on to create one of the largest youth-led movements in global history. Suggested by Richard Harrison, Research & Information Services

 Hillbilly Elegy: A memoir of a family in culture in crisis by J. D. Vance Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegrating over forty years, has been reported on with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J. D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck. Suggested by Katy Miller, Research, Education & Engagement

 How to Become a Straight-A Student: the unconventional strategies real college students use to score high while studying less by Cal Newport Most college students believe that straight A’s can be achieved only through cramming and painful all-nighters at the library. But Cal Newport knows that real straight-A students don’t study harder—they study smarter. A breakthrough approach to acing academic assignments, from quizzes and exams to essays and papers, How to Become a Straight-A Student reveals for the first time the proven study secrets of real straight-A students across the country and weaves them into a simple, practical system that anyone can master. Suggested by Joanie Reynolds, Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery Services

 How to Win at College: simple rules for success from star students by Cal Newport What does it take to be a standout student? How can you make the most of your college years—graduate with honors, choose exciting activities, build a head-turning resume, and gain access to the best post-college opportunities? Based on interviews with star students at universities nationwide, from Harvard to the University of Arizona, How to Win at College presents seventy-five simple rules that will rocket you to the top of the class. Suggested by Joanie Reynolds, Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery Services

 I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe  As Charlotte encounters the paragons of Dupont's privileged elite, she is seduced by the heady glamour of acceptance, betraying her values and upbringing before she grasps the power of being different and the exotic allure of her innocence. Suggested by Jada Reyes, UCF Libraries Student Ambassador

 I Just Graduated... Now What?: honest answers from those who have been there by Katherine Schwarzenegger Graduation is a time of tough questions whose answers we don’t—and sometimes can’t—know the day we receive our diploma. Determined to power through the uncertainty of post-gradua­tion, bestselling author Katherine Schwarzenegger embarked on a yearlong quest to gather the best guidance possible from more than thirty highly success­ful people working in fields like business, media, fashion, technology, sports, and philanthropy. Suggested by Megan Haught, Teaching & Engagement/Research & Information Services

 In Defense of Food: an eater's manifesto by Michael Pollan Because in the so-called Western diet, food has been replaced by nutrients, and common sense by confusion--most of what we’re consuming today is longer the product of nature but of food science. The result is what Michael Pollan calls the American Paradox: The more we worry about nutrition, the less healthy we see to become. Pollan’s bracing and eloquent manifesto shows us how we can start making thoughtful food choices that will enrich our lives, enlarge our sense of what it means to be healthy, and bring pleasure back to eating. Suggested by Megan Haught, Teaching & Engagement/Research & Information Services

 Mis(h)adra by Iasmin Omar Ata An Arab-American college student struggles to live with epilepsy in this starkly colored and deeply-cutting graphic novel. Isaac wants nothing more than to be a functional college student—but managing his epilepsy is an exhausting battle to survive. He attempts to maintain a balancing act between his seizure triggers and his day-to-day schedule, but he finds that nothing—not even his medication—seems to work. The doctors won’t listen, the schoolwork keeps piling up, his family is in denial about his condition, and his social life falls apart as he feels more and more isolated by his illness. Even with an unexpected new friend by his side, so much is up against him that Isaac is starting to think his epilepsy might be unbeatable. Suggested by Emma Gisclair, Curriculum Materials Center

 Never Eat Alone and Other Secrets to Success by Keith Ferrazzi with Tahl Raz In Never Eat Alone, Ferrazzi lays out the specific steps—and inner mindset—he uses to reach out to connect with the thousands of colleagues, friends, and associates on his contacts list, people he has helped and who have helped him. And in the time since Never Eat Alone was published in 2005, the rise of social media and new, collaborative management styles have only made Ferrazzi’s advice more essential for anyone hoping to get ahead in business. Suggested by Sandy Avila, Research & Information Services

 On Beauty by Zadie Smith Howard Belsey is an Englishman abroad, an academic teaching in Wellington, a college town in New England. Married young, thirty years later he is struggling to revive his love for his African American wife Kiki. Meanwhile, his three teenage children - Jerome, Zora and Levi - are each seeking the passions, ideals and commitments that will guide them through their own lives. After Howard has a disastrous affair with a colleague, his sensitive older son, Jerome, escapes to England for the holidays. In London he defies everything the Belseys represent when he goes to work for Trinidadian right-wing academic and pundit, Monty Kipps. Taken in by the Kipps family for the summer, Jerome falls for Monty's beautiful, capricious daughter, Victoria. But this short-lived romance has long-lasting consequences, drawing these very different families into each other's lives. Suggested by Jada Reyes, UCF Libraries Student Ambassador

 Parkland: inside building 12 produced and directed by Charlie Minn Acclaimed director Charlie Minn brings attention to the victims of the infamous massacre that occurred on February 14th, 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. A normal day at school became a true nightmare for Parkland, Florida citizens as they experienced something they had never thought would happen in their small suburb. In just six minutes, seventeen students and staff were fatally shot and seventeen more were wounded, while innumerable lives were changed forever. The true heroes of that day have come together to tell their stories and to bring words to those who are no longer here to offer them. This documentary reveals testimony and the raw emotions of those involved, highlighting the actions taken by individuals to save the lives of others through selfless and brave acts. Suggested by Megan Haught, Teaching & Engagement/Research & Information Services

 So What Are You Going to Do With That?: a guide to career-changing by Susan Basalla and Maggie Debelius A witty, accessible guide full of concrete advice for anyone contemplating the jump from scholarship to the outside world, So What Are You Going to Do with That? covers topics ranging from career counseling to interview etiquette to translating skills learned in the academy into terms an employer can understand and appreciate. Packed with examples and stories from real people who have successfully made this daunting—but potentially rewarding— transition, and written with a deep understanding of both the joys and difficulties of the academic life, this fully revised and up-to-date edition will be indispensable for any graduate student or professor who has ever glanced at her CV, flipped through the want ads, and wondered, “What if?”

Suggested by Rachel Edford, Teaching & Engagement

Sourdough: or, Lois and her adventures in the underground market by Robin Sloan Lois Clary is a software engineer at General Dexterity, a San Francisco robotics company with world-changing ambitions. She codes all day and collapses at night, her human contact limited to the two brothers who run the neighborhood hole-in-the-wall from which she orders dinner every evening. Then, disaster! Visa issues. The brothers quickly close up shop. But they have one last delivery for Lois: their culture, the sourdough starter used to bake their bread. She must keep it alive, they tell her―feed it daily, play it music, and learn to bake with it. Lois is no baker, but she could use a roommate, even if it is a needy colony of microorganisms. Soon, not only is she eating her own homemade bread, she’s providing loaves to the General Dexterity cafeteria every day. Then the company chef urges her to take her product to the farmer’s market―and a whole new world opens up.. Suggested by Katy Miller, Research, Education & Engagement

 Teacher Man: A memoir by Frank McCourt In bold and spirited prose featuring his irreverent wit and compelling honesty, McCourt records the trials, triumphs and surprises he faced in the classroom. Teacher Man shows McCourt developing his unparalleled ability to tell a great story as, five days a week, five periods per day, he worked to gain the attention and respect of unruly, hormonally charged or indifferent adolescents. Suggested by Rachel Edford, Teaching & Engagement

 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories can, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams. Suggested by Christina Wray, Teaching & Engagement

 The Secret Lives of Teachers by Anonymous Welcome to “East Hudson,” an elite private school in New York where the students are attentive, the colleagues are supportive, and the tuition would make the average person choke on its string of zeroes. You might think a teacher here would have little in common with most other teachers in America, but as this veteran educator—writing anonymously—shows in this refreshingly honest account, all teachers are bound by a common thread. Stripped of most economic obstacles and freed up by anonymity, he is able to tell a deeper story about the universal conditions, anxieties, foibles, generosities, hopes, and complaints that comprise every teacher’s life. Suggested by Richard Harrison, Research & Information Services

 We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins It's the first day of school for Penelope Rex, and she can't wait to meet her classmates. But it's hard to make human friends when they're so darn delicious! That is, until Penelope gets a taste of her own medicine and finds she may not be at the top of the food chain after all. . . . Suggested by Emma Gisclair, Curriculum Materials Center

 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: an inquiry into values by Robert M. Pirsig Acclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters, this modern epic became an instant bestseller upon publication in 1974, transforming a generation and continuing to inspire millions. A narration of a summer motorcycle trip undertaken by a father and his son, the book becomes a personal and philosophical odyssey into fundamental questions of how to live. The narrator's relationship with his son leads to a powerful self-reckoning; the craft of motorcycle maintenance leads to an austerely beautiful process for reconciling science, religion, and humanism. Suggested by Sandy Avila, Research & Information Services

[welcometoyournewhell]

Paladin (and Garrison) Future Ideas of Mine

It’s complicated but

1.) Technically Adam and Shiro were the first of the bunch to “have a kid” as they raised Keith. Shiro is a brother like figure to the other due to how he treats Keith. Adam is pretty much the Colleen Holt of the family. He is papa bear to no end. They start to date again and kind of.... let Curtis in? 

Like they both start to crush on Curtis who has been obviously gushing over Shiro so like... Adam’s like... maybe we should go on separate dates with him? And they do, kind of? 

Like Shiro and Curtis kiss on the first date and Adam is a bit jealous for both reasons. But like it’s his night with Curtis and the guy’s a little scared of the professor. But in the end they all are getting closer to thirty and want to just settle for an easier life style. 

Six months of dating later there’s bells and rings. Not wanting actual kids (thank you @kwaiipootato for helping me out with this), Shiro adopts a cat and dog form the shelter the Christmas after they marry. The cat’s name is coffee (as she’s black (mostly), like how Adam takes his coffee), and the dog’s name is spice... because it matches... just like their fur coats. 

Bonus: Come Halloween everyone calls Spice, Pumpkin or Pumpkin Spice to made Curtis mad. 

2.) Matt is the second to create life as he and his lovely girlfriend wife “settle” after years of helping in the war. They have a little girl which is what sparks Matt to propose. He’s in it for the long run baby. That and.. Colleen made is clear she wanted this girl in her family. Both of them. 

A temporary name, unless I just decide on it, could be Gidgit... because it’s cute. Where as unamed mommy (does she have a name?) and like everyone else are calm about how she’s handled and what she’s given, etc., Matt goes batshit. 

He’s super protective to the point he makes like a bubble dome around her crib, play pen, everything. It’s voice activated and his love hates it. “What if it glitches and we can’t get her out?” Insert Holt panic.

Bonus: She’s like a mini Pidge, and she loves to wear overalls!

3.) After Allura’s passing, Lance feels that to spread the word of peace he must venture into the galaxy. Joining up with Keith once more they set off to help the universe. The next time they stop home... everyone’s a little shocked at the news. They’d been sating a year and wanted to get hitched.  

After a brief verbal smack down from both Lance’s mom and Adam, the two went on with their plans. As Keith stated: “You literally were off and on with Shiro for what a year, two years? Or at least didn’t say you were dating again until after Curtis joined. Then you married six months in! At least we waited a year!” 

Need less to say he was in big trouble but Lance was given their blessing. (Curtis and Kolivan were touched that they were included in this too). Lance said no more space, were not doing that. Let’s have kids. Six months later Veronica and Axcia were like... “Well... we don’t want kids but... here/” 

Veronica donated her egg because she wanted to help her brother. Finding a surrogate they flopped about and mixed in Keith’s stuff and boom, Kassandra Jerome. Dying at birth made Keith a paranoid dad, like worse than Matt or the Lysol commercials for new moms. 

Bonus: Kosmo is number one babysitter and thinks of him as his pup. Shiro also has a voice of a god that can calm the crying demon down or gain his attention. 

Baby number two is adopted when she’s three after the new Galra empire invades the Utopia of a planet. All Galran heritage that resided there was to be killed on the spot for treason. 

After looking for Veripian’s Olivia’s mom, Lance came to the horrifying discovery of what the tiddler meant by “mommy’s gone.” She became his and Keith’s baby, and helped distract them during their son’s absence. 

They are much more leaniant with her then they were Jerome. Bed time at seven becomes bed time when your done playing (which she’s pretty good about), punishments are just tickle fights rather than time out or grounded, it’s not too different but still is. 

Bonus: Literally is glued to her brother more than her dads. An absolute sweet heart who tries to join everyone together for cuddles.

4.) Allura and Romelle had become close to each other in no time before the war ended. When Allura came back from the after life, she was hurt that Lance had found love in another. But it had been three years since she’d died and she could tell he still loved her. 

But he was happy, and had a little family. She herself decided to move on. Romelle actually came up to her with the idea of a date. Never thinking about women that way, the princess was taken back.. but agreed. She’d had such bad luck with Lotor.. and Lance was a sweetie but Allura wasn’t ready for a relationship at the time. 

She felt as if she hurt him. But Romelle was actually... a lot of fun! Their dinner date was amazing, they talked and joked about things the princess had missed. They went for a walk, danced in the street with strangers as a talented band played from the sidewalk. 

They watched as other’s rode in Horse and Buggies nervously as they discussed how odd it was. They just kept at it for a few years until Coran had finished the new castle ship. At that point... he was more than happy to give his daughter away to someone who truly made her smile again. 

Using Altean magic they were able to splice their DNA and create life. Romelle panics most of the time as she doesn’t know what to do, frustrating Allura who tries to fix whatever is wrong. In the end Coran ends up taking the baby, or Adam and easily fixes it. (Allura: But how? Coran: Well I helped raise you didn’t I? - or- Allura: But how? Adam: Keith visits too often with the family.)

But they’re very loving mothers! Allura has their daughter train in order to protect herself f anything were to happen. Romelle on the other hand is all about the hugs and kisses! Cuddle time is the best time! Mommy and mama are snuggled up in bed with a small blob demon sleeping between them. 

Her name is Amerette as Allura’s father gave her the name in a dream. Coran and Romelle respond rather happily to it. 

Bonus: Mama’s girl, thoroughly. Like will cling to Romelle, even at infancy, to escape doing things she doesn’t want to with mommy. Also when Allura was pregnant with Amerette, Romelle would press her hear to her tummy constantly to listen for noises. Each noise, kick, or anything would excite her. It brought Allura such joy to see her reaction, especially when her father figure would join in. 

5.) After pursuing his culinary empire sudden dreams(?), Hunk finally worked up the courage to ask Shay out. She was so happy that she actually cried while hugging him. She’d liked him for a while but had been too shy to say anything. Her brother, being her brother, was against it.

He got to the point where Shay lost her temper with him and went to live with Hunk. They had a lot of fun making new plates together, even using her grandmother’s soup recipe. 

They took things a lot slower than the rest, almost a normal pace. In fact it was a normal pace. They dated for a few years before deciding on marriage, then a few more years before choosing to have a family. 

They had to pay the least out of everyone (minus Shiro and Adam) for their kids as Lance and Keith decided they were content with one for the moment. The supplies were in good shape (minus the (third) stroller that Kieth had to dump, he wasn’t patient enough with them). 

Their first child was a little girl that Shay’s grandmother wanted to name Amerix. When she opened her yellow eyes for the first time Hunk could hear the name screaming in his ears, so that’s what they decided on. She became mommy’s little angel and daddy’s little girl. 

The second child was born five years after Amerix, and was named Benjamin as Shay had fallen in love with the earth name. He hardly left mommy’s arms as she loved to snuggle him! He was like a mini, Balmerian Hunk!That and he cried whenever someone else held him. Daddy was... sometimes an acception. 

Their final and third child was born around three years later. They weren’t sure at first what to name him, Aleki wound up being chosen after some conversations with Hunk’s parents. Despite having three children, each are given the same amount of love and attention. Their the “perfect” nuclear family, in their standards. 

Both Hunk and Shay pull equal weights when it comes to their family, cooking, cleaning, bathing, bed time, diaper changing, etc. They’re like something out of a fairy tale! When they fought Hunk would raise his voice a bit and Shay tended to have something in her hands, but they were never intimidating or toxic. 

In fact they’d hardly stress with the kids, it was all a big adventure for them to have together. 

Bonus: Hunk nearly fainted at his wedding because he was so nervous and Shay looked so beautiful in her dress. He felt he wasn’t good enough or her. But three kids later, snuggle time and tickle fights over powered the fear. 

6.) Like... I don’t look too much into these two (because I don’t like James), but I see James and Kinkade having like a little boy and girl. I’m not going to go into too much detail but I feel like it was Ryan who asked James out. The other was like “wait... what? Your joking right?” 

One date lead to another and Kinkade got down in front of the time square tree and slipped a ring on James’s finger. The other sputtered in shock as Ryan didn’t ask him or anything, hell he even put the glove back on his hand after! So after a long conversation Kinkade finally did it “properly” and was given a yes. 

They’d been dating for around two years when this happened and had been living together for about a year. Where as not much pashed or cause Ryan to question things, his partner was quick to judge and stare in judgement at most things. 

Which made having kids even more fun as the more quiet pilot would purposely have his daughter repeat stories in front of James for a reaction. Or would take pictures of both kids’ concoctions and send them to him. 

So I feel like James is a basic bitch, like simple American names. Ryan said yeah no, you get to name one, I get to name the other if they don’t have any. They both did have names (adoption) but the light browned hair brunette claimed he could pronounce the girl’s. 

To which the small curly haired baby’s name became Emma Lionette-Rose Kinkade, rather than Lionette Rose Kinkade. The boy’s name remained the same as he was named after a fictional story character. 

Seeing as Ryan enjoyed the series, Nevil Charles Kinkade was written on the papers. Honestly becoming a father kind of made James less... jerk like? (Sorry if he’s one of your favorites. I want to smack him for how he used to talk to Keith and talked to Hunk.)

Bonus: Both parents love playing with their baby girl’s curly hair,  and both enjoyed playing dolls with their son. They’d let both children explore likes and dislikes as they grew up with out intervention. James actually knocked his brother out for trying to take Nevil’s Barbie and Bratz dolls. He was protective of his little munchkins and would have killed his brother if he kept talking down to the boy. 

7.) I see Pidge as being asexual and aromantic, a romantic(?). I see her being a kick as aunt who spoils the shit out of Gidgit. She may be a mommy of Rover 2.0 or Bebe the second (whether it be a  real dog or one programmed with Bebe’s memories). But that’s as much of a little family as I see her having. 

8.) As stated I don’t see Axca and Veronica having kids. Best aunts ever, yes. Having cats and naming them munchkin and fluffy, of course. But human kids? Not really. 

[octaviainthewasteland]

Haribo Hearts

AO3

Summary: "Once we are born, we begin to forget The very reason we came But you I’m sure I’ve met Long before the night the stars went out We’re meeting up again"

Rating: Teen and Up

Artist’s work: by amazing @zoemaru boop

Beta: BIG THANKS TO @sondeneige for being patient with my sorry ass and making this work much easier to read.

Thanks to @pidgebigbang for organizing the event!!!

I.

“But you can love other people, right?”

Mum falters, and together over her and the dough, which she has stopped kneading, settles an odd silence. Like when someone asks for a question to be repeated, as if they have not heard it, but they definitely have, they are just trying to buy time to put the social puzzle together, to understand if it is a trick or a genuine question, because, really, who asks that kind of question anyway?

“Of course,” she says eventually, pinching Katie’s cheek and leaving sticky fingerprints, “I love you, for one. And Matt.”

Katie frowns and wipes her cheek with sudden ferocity.

“You know what I mean. Of course…”

Of course you love us. We are your children.

Of course you love dad. He is your soulmate.

The pie ends up mediocre, but after all, mum has never claimed to be a perfect housewife. Katie’s parents met in the office. Two kids, a dog, guests sometimes on Fridays and a few journalists here and there. They are a normal middle-class family, a specimen of the intellectual elite. They have never been stopped in the middle of a street for an autograph, but the wall of the staircase is covered in photos from school science fairs. In these photos, Sam Holt is always surrounded by excited kids with their volcanoes and planes and other projects.

Katie glares at these photos, munching on a piece of the pie, which has been highly praised by dad and has always been completely tasteless. There is no point in lowering her eyes to her shoulder, the lines are not visible. Not yet, only under the bright light and only if she squints, she can make out some general figures – but she can feel a little swelling under the tips of her fingers. First there was just an itchy patch of skin, and now this. Her mark is beginning to appear, right when dad and Matt have begun to get ready for their Kerberos expedition, and they are going without her, and it means that she would have to apply to the Garrison in their absence. Her application is going to be successful, no doubt, how can they reject one of the Holts?

Before, she used to love the idea of being accepted to the Garrison, but when all the action happens somewhere else, and she will be stuck in the dusty classrooms, behind a tiny desk.While dad and Matt will be exploring the universe and will be the first people to go so deep in space?

And now, of all times, she is reminded about all that soulmate crap. Someone’s writing, someone’s name on her, like a stamp, an official sign that now she belongs to someone else. No funny story at the table in fifty years: “Oh, I met your grandpa by accident…” Because everything is set. She knows. They know. Everybody knows.

To be fair, it is not like she has her doubts about her parents loving each other. Nonetheless, isn’t it so cruelly ironic? So many movies and books, plots and stories about a person, who is about to get married but meets their soulmate and it changes their whole life? They’re unable to resist, and is it realistically possible to resist, and if it is, why doesn’t anybody resist?

It may be another way for Mother Nature to ensure the procreation of humanity. But what about people who cannot biologically or psychologically or plainly do not wish to procreate? To begin with, there would not be any same-sex soulmates, then. They have been taught in history about the LGBT movement, and one of their mottos has been: “The Universe is never wrong”.

The Universe is never wrong.

Katie shakes off the crumbs and leans on the banister, listening to soft voices of her parents in the living room. So what would Descartes think about all this? Did he have a soulmate?

Cogito ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. Without doubting there is no existing. Then how can they study the theory of knowledge and that blind faith in the authority is dangerous, and then just accept something so unexplainable? Some time ago people believed the Earth was flat, and they imprisoned Galileo because he doubted that. If now they know that they can be wrong about something as big as the Earth, how can they not doubt ‘the universe’s choice’?

Katie does not believe in God, and refuses to abide by a random choice.

The invisible mark on her skin is itching.

*

“We’re so sorry.”

“My condolences.”

“Katie, tears are normal. It’s okay to be sad.”

But the thing is, she is not sad. She is angry. She swallows hot tears, peeved by her own powerlessness, with mum’s apathy, with Iverson’s annoyed expression that morphs into pity, with the guard’s indifference, when they drag her out. Let them not even hope she would comply. That she would surrender, she twists and turns like a crazy cat. She scratches and bites them, tries to kick or head butt anyone at arm’s length, and she screams, screams, screams – cadets, who pass by, look at her, immediately recognizing the Holts’ girl.

“Poor thing.”

“What a nightmare.”

Sympathetic faces are fusing into a whirlpool, and it makes her sick, and she throws up in the ‘ladies room’, her whole body shuddering. Sobs become coughs, then slowly turn into frantic hiccups, and it is all lies that it gets better. It doesn’t. Not a bit. Just worse. Because the Kerberos accident has already become yesterday’s news, and they “have to move forward”. Because they never told them the truth, thinking that some quick excuses would ever be enough to bury two empty coffins, so they would stop asking and simply give up. The flowers at the little memorial have not withered yet, and already everyone seems to have forgotten about Sam and Matt Holt. And Shiro. He hasn’t even got a coffin, as he had wanted to be cremated, for his ashes to be scattered from as high as a bird flies. He has even chosen a pilot to perform that. Yet there is nothing to scatter.

She grits her teeth. Not yet. No coffins and no ashes yet. Even if everyone gives up, even if nobody else in the whole world gives a shit about them – she will not forget, she will find them and bring them back. Everyone knows the Holts’ girl, but no one knows a Gunderson’s boy.

It gives her its own twisted glee. She has never been considered pretty, not that it ever bothered her. Her palms are too big, her knees knobby, frog-like eyes and of course her bushy eyebrows, wide and expressive. Everyone has agreed, though, that her hair was nice. Long and wavy, only if difficult to tame into a plait. Gnawing her lip, she butchers her long hair, she relished the thought that this ‘Lance’ would never meet Katie Holt, and Pidge Gunderson is nobody’s soulmate.

She should have known better.

The boy is all legs and arms, all jumpy and jerky, like a grasshopper. His friend lifts his arms helplessly, mouthing a silent sorry. Pidge is still shaken by the fact that Iverson let her be – or not her, but a ‘distant cousin’ of Matt’s, a live copy of a diseased boy, so Iverson doesn’t look too closely, averts his eye to avoid the eye contact for longer than two seconds, he’s “yes yes, cadet, try your best” and Pidge would never give him a reason to look at ‘him’ more closely. So she misses the moment, when the boy’s arms snakes around her shoulder, and she is struck by an electric bolt, she is suffocating and feverish, and before the boy opens his mouth to introduce himself, Pidge already knows his name.

Lance.

*

She never says it out loud, but she kind of envies the rest of the team.

Pidge realizes that while scrubbing the sink in the kitchen. Thanks to her allergy, she is relieved of the dusting duty, because instead of cleaning the table in the common room. Lance started doodling on it, and when she pointed out that he has the worst case of the chicken scratch, he kept poking her nose, which ended up in an endless series of deafening sneezes.

It has been hardly a doodle, to be honest, more like a wiggly writing, a name, repeated all over.

Katie Holt, Katie Holt, Katie Holt, Katie Holt, Katie Holt – Keith destroys that obsessive scribbling with one wipe, and Lance attacks him of course, because apparently, his mark isn’t quite normal, just a single letter ‘S’, and obviously, he must be super mega jealous of Lance’s amazing soul mate. Hunk grunts disapprovingly, because he has nothing at all, and Lance is quick to apologize for his inattentive words, but still reaches out to smack Keith. Hunk doesn’t hold it against him, because Lance shoots words like he shoots a rifle – carelessly but dead on target – but Hunk is used to it. He is a little bit concerned about not having a mark, but if you have priorities and if you’re not Lance, you realize there’s not much time for romance and soulmates with all the training and the whole universe under oppression from an advanced alien race of violet lizard cats.

So, Keith has a wriggle of a letter for a soulmark, Hunk has none at all and Shiro has lost his mark with his right arm. Not forgetting to mention that soulmates as a concept is unknown to Alteans in general.

When asked, Pidge lies and says that she does not have one either.

“Maybe your soulmate isn’t born or hasn’t hit puberty yet,” Shiro tries to console her. “Mine appeared quite late. I was already thinking I got none at all.”

“Meet me and my sugar baby in thirty years,” Pidge mumbles in reply.

Not that they talk about it often or something – unless you’re Lance, of course – it just pops up now and then, especially when Allura and Coran notice the marks on the actors during the movie night. Coran thinks it’s wonderfully romantic.

More like a premise for groundbreaking disappointment, if you ask Pidge, as she moves on to polish the tap. Lance seems enamored with this imaginary ‘Katie Holt’, he flirts and falls in love with every skirt, because she’s a reflection of his little dream. Because he’s so full of love for the One and Only that he just can’t hold it anymore and the love spills over the edges and covers everyone around. It’s a little bit disturbing. It’s a little bit scary.

Because sooner or later Lance will find out that his sweetheart ‘Katie Holt’ is just scrawny Pidge, who is always sweaty and has moons of dirt under her nails.

Which yet again proves that this whole soulmate thing is crap, because they haven’t suddenly fallen madly in love at first sight. Maybe it has some activation code? Like your soulmate has to address you by the name that is on their soulmark or touch it or something? Does that mean that soulmarks mean nothing for mute people or someone in a situation like Shiro? Figures why he’s so unbothered by the whole ‘lost my soulmark in space’ issue.

After ten thousands years of slumber, the castle has stood up quite well, and yet it still resembles most of all a haunted house. Dust and alien spider webs everywhere, the windows have grown turbid. The exterior of the castle is covered by plates that resemble their solar panels, so there has been enough energy to preserve Allura and Coran’s bodies and coordinate cleaning bots, but many of them got broken or lost throughout the time. The energy also supplied the defense system, so nobody could break in, but at the same time nobody has aired the place for ten thousand years, and the air conditioning system has been defeated by time and lack of sentient presence.

There seemed to always be a distinct odor in corridors and they even spotted some mold. Usually (always) it’s the cleaning bots’ job, but blabbing something about discipline and necessity of chores for self-organization, Shiro has coerced them into helping out. More likely he couldn’t sleep at night so he busied himself with something while they stayed on Arus. It would be foolish to jump right into the action, while nobody had any idea what has been going on in the Universe for the past thousand years and paladins still didn’t have any sort of training with the Lions. Thus, they have stayed for a while to prepare and catch up.

Pidge wonders who used to sleep in her room and she is grateful that the cleaning bots have removed previous owner’s belongings before she moved in. The paladin uniform has no size, but she had to adjust the seat in the Green Lion. She can’t help but wonder what life had been like then. Allura and Coran do not let too much out, and all the documents are in Altean – they understand each other because of the universal translators, but in order to read stuff, she has to be better than the intermediate level she can read at now.

They have watched a couple of classic Altean movies, too, during the movie nights. Pidge tries to watch them in the evenings, with subtitles rather than translation. Altean language is unlike any language on Earth (not that she personally speaks many, but she’s not a brat who resorts to generalizing, she checked it against any known languages in the system.) It’s difficult to distinguish separate words, as their speech is melodious and mostly consists of vowels. Although Lance’s vocabulary is built on the derivatives of ‘quiznak’, he often joins her. Hunk is busy learning how to pilot with Shiro and after a unanimous vote, he is not allowed to culturally exchange with Coran. However, it has been too little, too late, the damage has already been done. Now they are running laps and exercising to BTS and Girls’ Generation, transmitted throughout the whole castle

*

There are certain things that will most surely turn you listless, that will rob you of any energy and make something as essential and undemanding as a trip to the restroom into a challenge. One of those things is Coran’s enthusiastic account of the adventures of his youth. While the components of these anecdotes individually are unbelievable and would suffice for a next generation of Hollywood movies, and Coran’s manner of speaking is quite engaging, he has a habit of focusing on wrong details, the aspects of these stories that are the complete opposite of cool.

Another one will be writing reports. No explanation necessary. Everyone hates writing reports.

For Pidge, the third one is summer. There was no school in summer and yes, she didn’t like school that much, but sometimes it was nice. Summer was never nice. She knew that her classmates went someplace together or at least keeping contact, FaceTiming, Snapchatting, WhatsApping or otherwise osculating each other through social media. No one has ever sent her a message to ask how her summer was going. She didn’t bother, because she had Matt. He’s never been really popular either.

But then he left for Garrison, where population of nerds is three to one. “Don’t call them nerds,” – often said Dad, - “call them people of extreme passions”. Yeah, for example, he and Matt, who seemed to have an extreme passion for this Shiro guy. Shiro was a special kind of nerd, like the mastermind of espionage who managed to blend into the crowd of jocks, but a nerd nonetheless. He could not tell Nitrogen from Sodium (he still tried to drop cringy jokes: are you made of Copper and Tellurium?) but he could draw the star map with his eyes closed and all while piloting a can without an engine through a meteor shower.

Shiro would sometimes come around, but more often than not he would snatch Matt away somewhere, because apparently there was a Buttercup to their Bubbles and Blossom, who resided closer to the Garrison than here. They invited her along, but she didn’t want to be a deadweight, so she refused, reduced to a sulking amoeba at her desk, melting under the July sun, too lazy to open a book or even lift her eyelids, but too hot to have anything more substantial than constant drowsiness.

So one cannot overstate the extent of willpower it requires keeping concentration, while being stuck writing a report under Coran’s guidance, while being horribly sunburnt. Pidge peels off a little piece of dead skin from her nose and sighs. Thanks to conditioning systems, it was nicely cool inside the castle, but she can’t appreciate it, because she’s already a boiled crab and she’s not in the castle, she is in a tent with almost transparent walls. Objectively guys have it worse, because they’re currently digging wells for a nation of desert dwellers, but Pidge is not a very sympathetic person, especially while impersonating Freddie Krueger. Coran remains to look fresh and chirpy, which is beyond annoying.

The planet of eternal July, wonderful. Pidge can’t wait to return to the cold abyss of outer space.

Had they been more careful, the robeast wouldn’t have destroyed the reservoir, the only reservoir for miles and miles of dust and soil so dry it cracks. It is their responsibility (plus there’s a high probability they’re the only ones capable) to build a new system of water supply.

And so they have stayed for a little longer. First day they have worked with Lions, but it proved that the soil was too crumbly and needed a careful approach. They resolved to good old digging and sometimes applying bayards, namely Hunk’s cannon or Lance’s blaster. It was time-consuming, tiring and seemingly unsuccessful – although Allura assured them that they would soon reach underground waters. Pidge got her free pass, when she got sunburned even through damp clothes. Others had to continue.

That’s the kind of work they do everywhere. In Allura’s words: not only fighting, but also rebuilding. Pidge hates all this physical work, but she can’t deny it has its own merits, when they make living a little bit easier for someone. She tries to keep a journal of all the different races and cultures they come across, but there’re so many. Could she have imagined that back in her room, paralyzed with boredom? She has always had a vivid imagination, but she couldn’t process that Earth, a whole separate world, a multitude of languages, practices and traditions, different people and countries – always has been a speck of the cosmos, with histories much bigger and older than her.

So far none of the alien had an idea even remotely similar to soulmates. It puts a whole discourse of soulmates into a new perspective. It puts a whole discourse on the existence of God into a new perspective. They have seen aliens larger than life: ancient, powerful, terrifying – totally godlike. Woods of Olkarion, Balmera, Ziggurat and many more. Meeting such entities is a lot like having a religious experience.

The further from Earth, the more Pidge rethinks her own views and in fact she finds herself leaning towards agnosticism rather than atheism.

Coran stops short of the climax of a recount of his days with fashion pirates (for the seventh time), when the drapes are drawn for a mere moment, and they are hit with a strong wave of dry air, devoid of anything but sand. Guys crawl inside and drop dead on thin cushions. Coran goes around, literally nursing them from a little clayey cup. After a while, one of them jiggles like a worm, refusing to get up and walk like a human being, and gets closer to Pidge.

It’s Lance, obviously. He uncovers his face, blinding her with a grin.

She should comment on him reeking of sweat and how funny he looks in a turban made of wet cloths. The truth is, she must look as ridiculous as he. More ridiculous, because despite turban and Halloween mummy inspired costume, he still manages to look… nice.

Lance reaches out to flick her nose, but stops at the last second and chucked with affinity.

“Wanna check something out? We’ll need to take the Lions, though.” “What? Now?” she tries to say that without moving any muscles. “Yep.”

She means to say no, but shrugs and nods instead. With a sudden burst of renewed power, Lance jumps up and drinks some more water, eager to take off right away.

“What about others?” she finally croaks. “Hunk?” Lance pokes him. “No, thanks,” mumbles back the pile of clothes. “Shiro?” “No.” “Coran?” “Thank you, but I must decline.” “See? They’re quitters. Sad and bitter.”

With a raised eyebrow, Pidge turns to Keith, but before even asking she realizes he’s definitely not interested.

Maybe it’s a smart move, she considers, while entering the world of heat and sand again. They take Blue, because Green channels Pidge’s mood about moving in such weather, and Blue carries them towards the horizon, rigged with steep mountain peaks.

This planet has its own sun, larger than the Earth’s one, like a ball of blazing whiteness. She doesn’t rotate, which means there’s no night and day, and the other side of the planet is nothing more than frozen wastelands. Tribes’ greatest punishment is being stranded on the borders of the eternal night. Throughout the whole known history of several millenniums, there are only six known cases of such sentences. There is also a myth of a lost tribe, though. At the beginning of civilization, there had been Thirteen Tribes, but after the Great War, one of them had been banished forever. However, the Thirteenth Tribe survived, tamed the night and prepared to return one day and get their revenge. Voltron has scanned the surface of the planet while passing and they haven’t noticed any life forms on the icy half, but who knows? Maybe they’re good at hiding. Maybe they’ve gone underground. Maybe they’re ice zombies. Game of Thrones might be onto something.

There is some irony in the fact that one part of the planet suffers from water shortage, while the other is basically covered with water. In times of the greatest needs, there were many expeditions to bring the ice, but only few returned. Not only there is a drastic gap in the temperatures, the only way is through a mountain chain. Being better equipped, Voltron has brought large chunks of ice, but people really need those wells.

Blue gracefully lands on a secret plateau, and Lance commands Pidge to put on the paladin suit. They leave the armor, content with the layered black jumpsuit.

When they exit Blue, Pidge is about to ask what’s it all about, but swallows the question.

The high sky is heavy with reds and orange and smudges of yellow, blues and purples – it looks like a mindless watercolor practice, it looks like nothing she has seen before. They have passed it on their way and she hasn’t even paid attention. It’s not visible from far above.

“One side is eternal day, another is eternal night, and in the middle…”

In the middle is the eternal sunset. Sunrise. Neither and both.

Lance looks smug and rests his elbow on her shoulder. The soulmark pulsates, and she’s afraid for a moment, that he will feel it even through the clothes, but Lance remains oblivious. The cool air gently touches her hurt face and eases the pain.

For once in a while, Pidge doesn’t think anything. She just stands on the edge of a plateau and enjoys the sunset. Or sunrise.

Neither.

Both.

[some-cookie-crumbz]

Stocking Around with You

Stocking Around with You - Kidge Fest Prompt 1 Fill Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Pairing: Kidge Summary: For Keith, it’s still a little strange but also extremely satisfying to have a place to go during the holidays. Little does he know, his girlfriend has been planning something just for his return. Standard Disclaimer: If you read and enjoy this, please give it a like/ reblog so I know if I should write more. AN: Don’t let the summary fool you; this is completely G-Rated. First day prompt is also the start of a small three part series written just for Kidge Fest! Enjoy!

He was still adjusting to having some place to be during the holiday season.

The Holts had taken a shine to Keith the moment Pidge introduced them, even before she made it clear that he was her boyfriend. He had already had a handful of run-ins with Matt from both his time in the Garrison and his time working actively with the Rebels to defeat Zarkon. Samuel Holt he recognized as a living legend amongst anyone who ever hoped to travel the stars; a man whom had been on more space missions and had a hand in almost every revolutionary development in space travel in the over thirty years he’d been involved with the Garrison. He idolized the man as someone whom had always aspired to be just as prolific in the field. He was intimidated by him as the punk boyfriend of the man’s only daughter. And while he knew Colleen Holt to be a sweet and devoted soul from Pidge’s reminiscence of her life before Kerberos, he wasn’t sure how far that kindness would extend to him.

He was an outsider being brought in. An outsider that had been in an intimate relationship with their daughter for well over a year before formally meeting the family. An outsider with a reputation for being volatile and impulsive and being the direct cause for several instances of heartbreak for his girlfriend. He had been uncomfortable with the idea of having his character and motivations and intentions picked apart by people he didn’t know and who didn’t know about him. He wouldn’t make excuses for his behavior or past mistakes – especially the decisions that had hurt Pidge – but the idea of having other voices berate him for those flaws made him uneasy.

He’d been hearing those things for years from both himself and the many foster families he’d been swapped around to. He didn’t want to keep hearing it.

Instead, however, the Holts had been warm and inviting and eager to give him a chance to impress or disappoint. Despite being a high ranking official with a laundry list of accomplishments to flaunt, Samuel Holt was a humble and affable man. He had shaken Keith’s hand and praised him for his accomplishments with both Voltron and the Blade, saying that he’d heard so many good things from both of his children. There had been no call-out of his mistakes or declarations of his unworthiness of Pidge or shot-gun chats; instead, he’d ended up having a rather enthralling conversation about the differences between piloting a Lion and piloting a fighter-class Garrison ship.

And Colleen Holt had been just as jovial and benevolent as her husband, with just as many accomplishments of her own to speak of. While she wasn’t a scientist like her husband or children, she was fluent in Italian, French, Spanish, Japanese and German. Before they had Matt, she had worked for a huge corporation – she explained that she was bound to secrecy since she’d left – and been the head of international relations. After Matt was born, she’d stepped down from the job to find something that would be more flexible with her schedule as a new mother. The university downtown had been eager to offer her a position as a professor and she’d been there ever since.

After that initial dinner, Keith felt like he belonged with them.

It was why he didn’t worry about knocking as he opened the front door, stomping the last bits of snow on his boots to the doormat outside. Bae Bae darted over, tail wagging so frantically that his whole rear end shook, tongue lolling out from his parted mouth as he released an excited whine. “Hey, bud,” He mused as he shuffled on to the tile and shut the front door, reaching out to lightly rub behind one perked ear.

“Keith!” Pidge called as she rounded the corner to join him in the entryway. She leaned up to kiss him as he tugged one of his gloves off, moving that hand to gently cup the side of her face. She hummed and pressed into his touch lightly. “How was the mission?” She mumbled against his lips, her hands coming up to start working at the zipper of his winter coat.

While Zarkon had been bested and peace seemed to come to the universe, there were rumblings in the underground of worlds that had willingly allied with the Galran ruler planning a rebellion in retaliation to Voltron’s victory. The Blade were following leads to get more concrete intel, but as of yet it was more like chasing shadows. “Hmm. Same old song and dance,” He said lightly, carefully shrugging out of his coat with Pidge’s help. She held it up so he could stuff the gloves into the large pockets before turning to head toward the coat closet. He watched her then chuckled slightly. “Wow. You weren’t kidding about being really in to the Christmas spirit, huh?” He laughed lightly.

She smirked at him over her shoulder as she opened the closet door. “I’ve never lied before, have I?” She mused. In honor of the oncoming festivities, Pidge was wearing a red skirt that had candy canes pressed to make heart shapes all over and seemed to be made wool to offer more warmth. She’d paired it with a pair of leggings that were covered in little gingerbread people decorated to look like Santa and Mrs. Claus. She had completed the outfit with a long sleeved shirt that had Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, in all his traditional Christmas glory, wearing shutter shades and the text “You bad, bro?” at the bottom.

“I’m afraid I’m gonna have to plead the fifth on that one,” He chuckled lightly as she returned to him, shutting the door with one sock clad foot.

She hummed in amusement, weaving her arms back around his neck and hanging off him like a sloth. “Oh? And why is that?” She laughed.

“Don’t play coy, Miss Holt. We both know why,” He teased back, rewarding her with another quick peck before she stood upright and led him to the living room.

The whole house was already decked out for the festivities – tinsel and lights twisted around every support beam and strings of popcorn hanging over the entryways - and they had just started trimming the tree. Matt and Sam were quick to greet Keith and ask him about his mission as they got to work. Pidge helped explain to Keith how they typically decorated – plastic ornaments going on the bottom, due to Bae Bae’s powerful Tail Whip, while glass ones went up higher – as Matt and Samuel put more lights and tinsel on the tree. They had just finished decorating the tree when Colleen came bustling out of the kitchen, a notepad in her hand and her purse slung over her shoulder.

“Hello, Keith! So glad you could make it!” She beamed, the two sharing a brief hug and Keith getting a small peck on the cheek from her.

“Glad to be here, Colleen,” He said, his voice warm and soft with sincerity. He then tilted his head a bit at the notepad in her hand. “Compiling a Honey-Do list for Sam?”

Colleen giggled and waved her hand lightly. “Oh, heavens, no! Matthew helps with most of the particularly tasking chores around here, anyway. No, I was getting together a grocery list. We’re teetering on the edge of being Mother Hubbard in those cupboards,” She mused lightly.

“Ah, finished taking inventory of what little we already have?” Samuel laughed, briefly exchanging a look with his daughter.

“Indeed I did. I hope you don’t mind having pizza for dinner, but there really wasn’t much left in the house for me to make. Matt, call it in for us in about fifteen minutes or so, okay? Dad or I will let you know when we’re on our way home so you can all help bring everything inside,” Colleen delegated evenly while Samuel headed back toward the entryway to get their coats.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Matt said, bowing at Colleen with a dramatic twirl of one arm before dipping at his waist. Pidge rolled her eyes while Keith snickered at both siblings’ actions.

Colleen giggled a bit and hummed, glancing over at Keith and Pidge. “For now, though, why don’t you settle in and relax, Keith? I’m sure you’ve got a bit of jet-lag from all that space travel,” She suggested before heading along after Samuel.

Pidge smiled and nodded, taking Keith’s arm and tugging him towards the mantel. “Come on, we can start a fire and you can tell me what exactly happened on your mission,” She said, nudging him over toward the couch settled behind the tree. Keith watched over his shoulder as she and Matt exchanged thumbs up behind his back, causing him to let out an intrigued hum. “What?” She asked, turning her full attention back to him.

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re all conspiring to pull a fast one on me?” He asked with a small chuckle.

She hummed and tapped at her chin in playful thought. “Well, you always have been a bit on the paranoid side,” She mused, slipping past him and heading toward the fireplace. He noticed that there were already a couple of logs settled inside. She grabbed a small book of matches from the top of the mantel, struck t, and then tossed it inside. It took her a bit of coaxing and puffing to get the logs smoldering proper, but in the end she succeeded.

Keith settled back on the couch and sighed as he watched her, letting himself be sucked in to the soft, plush surface beneath him. It had been a while since he’d been able to lean against something this comfortable. The bunk in his cruiser wasn’t the most uncomfortable surface he’d ever laid upon, but it was certain pretty high up there. Pidge beamed, hands on her hips, before turning and trotting over to cuddle up into his side. He lifted one arm to help her hunker down more comfortably against him and then draped the arm along her back, the two sighing contentedly in unison.

Or, he realized, maybe it was more that he had simply gotten used to having the Green Paladin sharing his space with him.

“So your mission went well?” She asked softly, glancing up at him through her bangs.

He leaned down to press a soft kiss to her forehead. “Mm. Don’t really wanna get in to that, though,” He mumbled.

She laughed slightly. “Oh? Not in the mood to brag about your accomplishments to make your lady friend swoon?” She waggled her eyebrows at him in a gesture painfully reminiscent to a certain loud personality they knew.

A bark of laughter clipped out of him. “Not much to tell, really; we didn’t really gain any new information or lose any ground so it was ultimately very meh,”

“Wow, it really must have been a boring mission if you don’t even have any interesting Blade shenanigans to share from the whole thing. I mean, you’ve always come back with hilarious stories about the Blade rookies getting overzealous and messing up the most basic of tasks,” She tsked lightly.

“Promise not to tell Kollivan since I’d never hear the end of it but… It almost felt like a waste of my time, honestly; would have rather been here than out there for the last five weeks,” He said, gently twisting a long honey colored lock around his index finger. Pidge had been growing her hair out for years and he had to admit he was a fan. Any hair style looked good on her, but he liked getting to play with the longer tresses.

“Because you missed all of this?” She asked, her tone a bit softer and sincere now. He appreciated that she knew exactly what that meant and nodded.

“When I was a kid, all I ever wanted was a family and a home to belong to. I would dream about it and wish for it all the time. Hell, there were even nights where I would pretend I saw a shooting star in hopes that my wish would come true,” He said gently. Her grip on him tightened a bit, both in reassurance and a bit of sympathy. Even before the two of them became romantically involved, he and Pidge had gravitated towards one another; an invisible pull between two people made from almost all the same stuff. Like they were cut from clothes so similar they were almost the same, to phrase it a different way. They had been able to strip away their bravados and bare their most naked, tender, and guarded secrets and feelings and heartbreaks to one another, unabashed and unapologetic and unashamed of them. They never judged one another or made a competition out of it; simply listened and offered the safe place to unleash all the darkness inside. She knew all his sad songs of loneliness and isolation just as he knew hers. “And I found that with Team Voltron, in a weird traveling-space-and-fighting-alien-Hitler sort of way. But… The simple and domestic of it all… I have that here. With you and your family. They’ve been so accepting of me and I just… I can’t express how much I appreciate it and love them all for it. And love you for taking a chance on me.”

He could feel his eyes getting a bit misty and swallowed thickly to try and regain some sense of composure.

“You’re so ingrained in the family that we got you your own stocking,” Pidge said while scooting up a bit to press a quick peck to his chin.

“Oh yeah?” He asked, coming out in a soft puff as he regained control. He didn’t want to get all mushy when he hadn’t even been back on Earth for a full hour.

She hummed in assertion before shifting to gently pull away, indicating the mantel above the fireplace. “Go check it out for yourself,” She beamed, giving one of his hands a brief squeeze.

He quirked an eyebrow at her before standing up and heading over to do as she suggested. The stockings were all simply but there was a comfort in the plainness of them. They were all one solid color with the first letter of their owner’s first name embroidered on the front; well, excluding Bae Bae, whose stocking was about half the size and had bones printed on the fabric it was composed of. Colleen’s was white with a red “C”; Samuel’s red with a white “S”; Matt’s was also white but the “M” was green. He wondered briefly is Pidge’s own stocking had been replaced to better match with her role as Paladin, given the stocking was green with a white “K”. And hanging right next to hers was a red stocking with a white “K” on it, a stocking meant to represent him. He reached out and lightly stroked the wool along the hem, the couch creaking softly as Pidge got up and began to join him.

He couldn’t help the smile that lit up on his face then perked up when he noticed something. He tugged a bit to lift the stocking in the air and realized that it felt oddly weighted down for something that wasn’t supposed to be filled for another twenty days or so. He looked over at Pidge to find her grinning at him like the cat that swallowed the canary; a look he’d often seen but never had directed at him. “There’s like, some kind of prank tool in there, isn’t there?” He asked, his smile becoming a bit cheekier.

She responded but rocking back and forth on the heels and toes of her shoes, looking about innocently and making a small “Maybe” noise. She leaned a little bit closer and nudged his shoulder with hers. “I guess your only option is to look inside, huh?”

He rolled his eyes a little bit and plucked the stocking up, shoving one hand in to rummage out whatever she’d hidden inside. Most like a fake piece of dog poo or one of those terrifyingly realistic looking moth things she’d made. He had learned after the incident involving that abomination of an “invention” of hers to, 1) Never trust her with mundane personal fears, and, 2) Never try to play a prank on Pidge Gunderson on April Fool’s without expecting some kind of retaliation. His fingers barely brushed the item as he reached farther in to get a better grip and his brow knit a bit. The item was lined with some kind of velvety substance but it was square shaped as opposed to the oval of the faux moth. It also didn’t seem to have any wings, which ruled out that option.

He pulled it out and tilted his head at the little black box settled between his fingers.

“Thank you,” Pidge sang as she plucked it from his grasp. She cleared her throat before she dipped down, setting one knee on the ground and keeping the other bent to keep her upright. When she glanced back up at him, she was still grinning, but there was a spark of nervousness in her bright gaze. Keith’s stomach flipped and his eyes widened as the pieces began to connect. “Keith, we’ve been together for basically forever at this point…”

“We’ve been dating for two years, five months, two weeks, four days, and thirteen hours. If you meant how long we’ve known each other, though, then the time equates to-!”

She snapped her fingers at him and put on a feigned pout. “You are not allowed to pull a me right now, you ass. Now shush your stupid pretty face and let me do this thing right,” She said evenly.

He made a show of pretending to zip his lips and flick away the key before letting her continue.

She nodded her approval before taking a small breath to regather her thoughts. “So, Keith, we’ve been together for a very long time at this point. You’re my biggest supporter and the first person to call me out when I’m wrong and you’ve never judged me for how I look or how I act or tried to insist that I be someone I wasn’t… You’ve always pushed me to be true to myself and you’ve helped to teach me to see so many things in different and new ways… You’ve been a great ally and a great friend and the greatest lover I could have ever hoped to have and you’ve inspired me to want to be a better version of myself… I love you more than anyone else in this universe and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So… You in?” Her voice never warbled as much as it did as she spoke and, while her hands did shake a bit as she lifted the top of the ring box, it didn’t take away from the moment. She had to blink a lot to keep from getting overwhelmed by her feelings and crying but her gaze never strayed from his.

For as nervous as she was at being that vulnerable in front of him, she wasn’t going to back down from it, regardless of the outcome. He couldn’t help but smile at her transparency and sincerity, his own affection filling his chest with a warmth he’d never really known before. “Sign me up, Katie,” He breathed out, holding his hand out to her.

She gasped quietly before smiling from ear to ear, a few tears spilling over in her joy. The ring was a simple golden band, but he noticed a small engraving along the interior. He made a note to ask her about it later. The minute the ring was settled on his finger, he scooped her up and into his arms, leaning down to kiss her eager and giddy. She squealed softly in delight, arms looping around his neck, and melted against him eagerly. “I was planning to propose to you on Valentine’s Day, just so you know,” He mumbled against her lips when they pulled back. There was no malice in his words, though, and the grin of pure adoration on his lips only solidified that he wasn’t particularly perturbed.

“You snooze, you lose, beautiful,” She purred back, slinging her favorite pet name at him, before pulling him in for another kiss. This one was a bit slower, more composed, but still had all the same enthusiasm at the previous one.

When they pulled away, he leaned his forehead against hers, a grin turning up his lips as a thought occurred to him. “So is this why your parents decided to make a grocery run at eight o’clock at night?” He asked teasingly.

Pidge flashed him a half-hearted glare. “I’d just like to mention that you were supposed to be here six hours ago,”

[breezy-cheezy]

Alright, HERE we go! Awhile ago I had an idea for a MP100/Voltron crossover, and after mentioning it to @x-i-l-verify​ and loooots of brainstorming later, we have...*gestures vaguely* this. These are more or less screenshot redraws just to kind of get across who is who. :) More info, reasonings and musings under the cut, because well...it got long...

Teru’s Role: Shiro (Black Paladin)

A year ago, Teruki Hanazawa (around his early twenties in this universe) was chosen for an exploration mission to Kerberos. 

Teru was always at the top of his class at the Galaxy Garrison and took the job proudly. He believed he was something special, and it was only right he would be selected for such a prestigious mission. 

Then he and his small team got kidnapped by an alien race: an empire called Claw. 

He was forced into slavery, forced to fight, to kill, just to survive. 

Somewhere along the way, Teru lost his arm. Some time and excruciating experiments later, he had a new one. It made killing easier. 

He hates it.

After being forced to endure and commit horrors unimaginable for so long, Teruki Hanazawa realized (you’re horrible, no one is coming to save you, no one cares about you) that he was rather insignificant in the grand scheme of the universe. Being treated like dirt for a year would do that to a guy.

By the time he managed to escape and make it back to Earth, Teru saw himself as nothing more than a commoner. 

When the time came for him to lead Voltron, Teru could think of no one less qualified or deserving to pilot the Black Lion than himself. But someone had to do it...

Tome’s Role: Pidge (Green Paladin)

Tome always believed there was something more out there in the stars. She knew there were aliens out there, and she wanted to find them for herself. 

Tome believed joining the Galaxy Garrison would be just the way to do it. 

There she could train to reach for the stars, not to mention she was able to find suspicious extraterrestrial hints along the way. 

She’s pretty tech savvy in this AU because she had the proper drive, resources and training (not as good as Pidge, but still pretty much the group techie).

Further out in the desert, there’s a particular cave covered in strange lion markings that she took interest in...luckily there was a shack nearby where she could frequently visit and organize her findings. 

Through a bizarre series of events, Tome finally made it to space.

By the time Tome finally discovered real aliens, she couldn’t be happier.

 She just never would have expected how big a role she would have in a massive intergalactic alien war, fighting as the Green Paladin of Voltron.

Shou’s Role: Keith (Red Paladin)

This one’s the most iffy but here we go

Shou is the son of the big boss of Claw in canon, ergo he’s the Emperor's son in this AU. He has no idea about it though.

Shou’s mother, one of Emporor Touicirou’s consorts, began to fear for her unborn son’s life and fled the Claw empire (with the help of this AU’s equivalent of the Blade of Mamora, probably the 7th division crew?? They did defect in canon so...). Shou was born on a far away planet called Earth, and his mother used alien technology to safely disguise them both.

His mother passed away when he was very young. Shou can’t remember what she looks like. All he has left of her is a little knife with a strange symbol on it (subject to change).

Years later, Shou’s adoptive parents enroll him in the Galaxy Garrison, hoping the strict schooling will discipline their mischievous, troublesome child.  

Shou is absolutely bored at the Garrison. He is an extremely gifted pilot though.

He sees Tome sneaking around the school sometimes and figures she’s up to no good. He wants in.

Shou and Tome end up searching for aliens together; Shou more because it’s fun and not really having any particular interest in aliens, Tome not knowing that an alien already befriended her (it’s not like he knows either).

Serizawa’s Role: Hunk (Yellow Paladin)

Seri’s still plagued with severe social anxiety, but there are no psychic powers in this AU so he never felt the need to isolate himself to protect others.

Serizawa is a chef in the Garrison cafeteria. This way he has minimal social interaction while still being a positive contributor to society.

This doesn’t stop Reigen from singling him out. 

Reigen believes Serizawa makes the best takoyaki around, and kinda takes the guy under his wing after that.

Serizawa suddenly finds himself with a friend to eat lunch with. He’s kind of freaked out by this and thinks it’s a one time fluke, but Reigen keeps coming back and keeps talking to him. Seri quickly warms up to this strange but friendly man.

In order to help Serizawa more with his social anxiety, Reigen has him come sit in on some of his classes once in awhile. Seri ends up as a sort of unofficial Teacher’s Assistant.

Seri’s always terrified the students will hate him and he always brings snacks for the class.

He really has nothing to worry about though. The kids love Serizawa.

Reigen’s Role: Lance (Blue Paladin)

Reigen is a teacher at the Galaxy Garrison, so I guess he’s actually “Shishou” this time around lol.

He teaches history or English or something, since I do see the Garrison as more of a university/school of sorts (Hunk did mention a “principal” in the show), and Reigen wouldn’t be able to handle being a drill sergeant (the guy wouldn’t have the heart to yell at kids all day).

As mentioned before, Reigen noticed Serizawa struggling with anxiety, and one day took it upon himself to kinda help and mentor him.

One day on the way out from working, Reigen and Serizawa catch two students sneaking out of the building past curfew. 

They follow Tome and Shou out to their little alien research base, and Reigen confronts them.

Right as Reigen is about to reprimand the kids, a meteor crashes to Earth. Shou and Tome run off to investigate, stealing a hoverbike in the process. As the closest authority figures, Reigen and Serizawa follow and end up as chaperones of sorts for these reckless kids.

Reigen is the true Space Dad in this AU (sorry Teru :P).

Things proceed pretty much as canon Voltron episode 1 from there: they find Teru in the landing site (Tome: “An alien?!” Shou: “Nah, isn’t he that jerk that was always at the top of our class...?” Reigen: “He’s still a kid, and we’re getting him out of here, let’s GO.”), rescue him and regroup back at Tome’s conspiracy shack, the accidental discovery of Blue Lion, Reigen waltzing in and accidentally ending up as her paladin, the crazy flight and wormhole to the castleship (*points to my first picture at the top lol*), the discovery of the “last Alteans in the universe” in cryopods...which leads to...

Mob’s Role: Allura (can pilot all lions, Yellow is his favorite)

Mob is a Prince and was next in line for the throne. Now that he and Ritsu are apparently the last Alteans alive, he’s not sure what to make of it.

He was always insecure and even scared of his impending kingship, or leading in general. He has been trained thoroughly for the role as he grew up, so he’s a more capable and levelheaded guide than canon Mob would be.

He still speaks quite softly, but there is always an earnest strength in his tone that makes others stop and listen instead of talking over him.

Mob is weaker than most Alteans (due to some chronic illness like his anemia from canon) but that doesn’t mean he still can’t fight or throw a person across the room. He’s still very strong by human standards.

He still would prefer to use words instead of physically fighting in any conflict.

Mob is in his early twenties in Earth years, about Teru’s age of mental maturity (sorry he still looks so young in the picture...). They end up bonding over their insecurities in leadership.

Mob also bonds with Serizawa in having natural affinities for Yellow Lion.

The space mice may or may not be small alien cats instead in this AU, not sure.

Mob stumbles out of the Cryopod, dazed and confused. He quickly takes on his role as a guide for the Paladins, and does his absolute best to help them learn to pilot their lions and form Voltron.

Ristu’s Role: Coran (can pilot all lions, doesn’t really have a preference)

Ritsu is Mob’s half brother in this AU. We took some artistic liberties in this, having this make Ritsu as more of a servant/bodyguard to the royal family than as an actual heir (hello, inferiority complex from canon...).

Mob always treated Ritsu like family nonetheless. Ritsu does care about Mob a great deal and guards him with his life.

He’s more around Shou’s and Tome’s age in mental maturity.

Ritsu is...intense for an Altean. He kinda scares everyone a little bit (except for Mob, who’s lived with him as long as he can remember, and Teru, who’s already Seen It All and can’t really be phased by much anymore;;;;; )

Very jumpy. Even more than canon since I imagine being a bodyguard leaves you more on edge than not.

Came out of the Pod fighting like Coran did, and probably took longer to calm down. 

He is also the “drill sergeant” in their Voltron training exercises (wiping the floor with everyone and being Mr. Drill Sargent Nasty: "No, Brother, I'm not going too hard on them! Claw isn't going to defeat itself! SHOU GET YOUR ASS BACK IN HERE I SEE YOU TRYING TO SNEAK OUT, DROP AND GIVE ME THIRTY." -thank you for that Xi <3)

Mob brings the juice pouches and guides the quieter, trust building exercises like the maze and mental lions. He is also there to make sure Ritsu doesn’t run the Paladins and himself into the ground.

Mob and Ritsu balance each other rather well in guiding the paladins, actually.

Shou at some point gets it in his head that Ritsu is just a stick in the mud and needs to be befriended. Ritsu’s not too pleased by this, but then eventually does mellow out by some miracle.

In fact, he does grow rather fond of this odd band of humans, and starts thinking that maybe, maybe, his brother really is right in thinking they might be capable of saving the universe...

....well that’s super long for a set-up post, but hey, might as well put the ideas down where I can :’) More to come...probably....

[69annebowlin69]

5-6/8/19 Watching True Detective Episode Eight Finale

5/8/19

16.53

I can’t work on anything else so i’m writing this up now to salvage this afternoon. Not up for cops and pseudo-philosophy.

One night the summer we all started taking pills, we were at my dad’s house after a party, i can’t remember where my dad was, but Adam said something about how with the Picasso and Kandinsky prints on the wall, it was like a pseudo-intellectual’s house, and because i didn’t know properly what pseudo meant or had such low opinion of my family and i, i took it as a compliment, that at least we were grasping to look like something more than we were. I hate this memory. Why couldn’t i defend myself. I would defend it now. Adam’s family had a fucking New Yorker cover print framed on their wall.

16.58

Hays’ jeans are too tight; his dialogue with Hoyt is a Previously On with the eery music. It hasn’t started raining outside yet.

16.59

This mf Hoyt literally dragged Hays from his house to walk through the Ozarks swigging bourbon and sobbing about the myth of the ideal family. I hate this show. Masculine posturing bullshit, but like a parody of the machismo that people mock online. As previously mentioned, i’m not one to shy away from the Big Opinion. This season more trash than season 2.

17.07

Damn dude sometimes you gotta burn your suit at 3 in the morning, give him a break.

17.18

I had to get the torch out myself the other night. One of the giant snails disappeared. Best friend and i looked high and

17.36

Sorry, the last entry wasn’t even worth finishing, and i had to go to the toilet to scroll the 40 pictures i took of passages from books over the past year. Some of them i couldn't even remember what they were, too much Tao Lin from before i read Richard Yates and saw how problematic he was; a lot of Liveblog, maybe my fav book ever.

17.38

What i look like, a snapshot:

the cheap sports direct adidas striped sliders with nike tube socks (white)

Black chino shorts (dirty, the only proper pair of shorts i own)

T-shirt of the keith haring statue of liberty print (too hack to wear in NYC; Eve’s mum got me it)

Hair “half-up” like Eve’s

Monobrow stubble at the top of my nose that i haven’t excised in a couple of days

Beard just about too long

jaw clenched

stomach gross

My legs are so bulbous, like why was i born with such ridiculous protruding legs. Not muscly, hefty. Very gross. Gross.

17.43

All i’ll eat tonight is a peanut butter and banana sandwich and an apple. Sorry, i have to try again with other Personal Projects. I don’t want to watch this show. i can’t watch this show right now. I’m no insider but there is maybe six per cent of a chance that HBO run it back for a fourth.

***

6/8/19

20.25

Emmy said she wouldn’t be impressed if i were to get in to a fight. I laid out a whole hypothetical where someone gets thrown out the bar where we work and is needling me the whole time. I take off outside after him and we get in to it, but it’s outside work premises. Asked her A) if she thought i was meek, B) would she understand if i threw fists in that instance and C) would i get fired. She wouldn’t be impressed and thought it was the bigger thing to do to let it slide. Also the police would get involved which would effect the work thing.

Pete’s been in fights. People are always getting in fights in the past. I’ve never seen anyone i know who’s been in a fight when they were actually fighting. The fights in True Detective are all in the past. Emmy said she doesn’t think i’m meek.

20.28

Mr Scotland (Peter Mullan) also does a show set in the Ozarks and what i think is that his southern accent was so bad that it had to be edited in post production. During his dialogue, the camera cuts to a reaction shot from his equally sociopathic wife or the Arrested Development guy, which is wildly disrespectful to a man who was trying to play an abusive maniacal southern drug kingpin instead of the usual abusive maniacal alcoholic Scottish criminal. This is what happens when someone tries to branch out and why so many people are scared of failure. Anyway, we’re not here to talk about rival crime shows set in the Ozarks. We’ve got a child sex ring to uncover and Dorff heat to savour.

20.30

Would be nice to have the honesty in a relationship where you can tell one another you should probably give up on a central arterial line of your life and move elsewhere. Emmy and i tell one another something like ‘you should quit’ all the time but neither of us really believe the other when they say they will. I don’t believe her when she says I love you during sex. It feels like a placeholder for real-life emotions or intensity that she’s still waiting to feel.

20.32

Quality of office lighting: strip lights, squares placed amongst the cardboard tiles, headache grain, staticky, unnervingly silent, revealing, bags under eyes, shadowy somehow, depersonalising, unaltering.

Quality of school lights from Euphoria: suplhate glare, neon, alienating and spooky but in a fun way?, fireworks! makes you say ‘it’s like a club in here,’ glitchy, Fireworks!, transformative.

20.36

Roland in the afterglow of starting a mass bar brawl then getting emotional over a mongrel, sipping straight Jack. Damn, to have memories like that. Roland didn’t have a gf telling him it wouldn’t be impressive or cool getting into brawls.

20.38

Like how they announce Man of the Match before the Match is even over (seems presumptive), i’ll be announcing my top crushes from this season VERY shortly.

20.39

Yup, not long to go until my number one crush from this True Detective Season is announced, as well as numbers two, three and probably four and five. It’s been markedly less horny than previous seasons, so we’re including different iterations of the same characters. It’s dry out here in the 80s.

22.02

There are noises in our living room, not like threatening banging or whatever, but people. There are friends in our living room. Not that we’re here to talk about popular 90s NBC sitcoms.

23.35

Everyone is here in our flat again tonight these snails have made us so popular.

Lucy put Mr Rightside on her arm.

Mil cast Bad Medicine to the TV and Jane suggested Van Halen.

Damon put on Carlyle Williams and Mil decided he couldn't apply for a Montreal visa until he found out what Sarah wanted.

Best friend and Jane cast Cold in my Veins. Mil got sad and started rallying for the TV to be turned off.

Best friend and Jane cast a Big Train sketch where Chairman Mao is dying and then the flatlining heart monitor turns into the opening riff of Virginia Plain and Chairman Mao recovers to sing.

Best friend cast the shooting stars where Vic and Bob do Virginia Plain and we listed the most recent instances we could remember of celebrity blackface.

I text Emmy if she wanted to work together tomorrow instead of taking the mushroom pills.

I feigned interest in a story about a kayak Jane told because i think she’s cool and want her to like me.

Lucy and Damon were lame when they left. Lameon lol.

Best friend turned off the tv and he and Jane went for a tab. Mil talked about Sarah.

Jane said she could get acid for Lucy but not this weekend and left.

Steve came in to ask if he could shut the door and I left to watch this episode.

00.07

This one-eyed mf talking like it’s Wuthering Heights and he’s [whoever the Irish housekeeper is who does most of the first half’s narration]. Recalling some vague terrible accident that blighted a rich-ass family, that should have zero impact on his one-eyed ass.

00.10

His story is very Woman in Black. Would love a Pizzolato reading list from this season. Friend of the blog Nick Pizzolato, please send me your reading list and influences.

00.12

It’s always too late. No matter what we do. Damn. That’s some extremely defeatist shit. Old people, you think they all feel this way. A cop out. These detective shows, i want meaning from them. Structure. Some kind of organisation that i can understand and trace, not this.

00.21

Roland and Hays hanging out, staying over at one another’s house. Can’t wait to be old, hanging out just me and the boys. Like how homes have a similar vibe to halls, just at the point on the back end of your life, symmetrical to the front. Just playing old Final Fantasies, absolutely on pills. Distracted during family visits because i have more gaming to do and a year left at most. Sounds reassuring. The long term doesn’t matter, so you do only the things that produce instant gratification.

00.32

Googled “what’s the word for when one thing is the same on one side as it is on the other’ lol then i cried at this stupid show. Mahershala Ali transcends this dumbass show and it’s writing and is  doing something complex and satisfying and sad. Pulling together what he can of this jumble that sometimes makes sense and most of the time is not worthy of us trying to make sense of it.

00.42

Ok, here it is. True Detective season three Crush List:

5. Me all the days i wrote this and didn’t throw up whatever i’d just eaten. Very proud and horny for u, my boy

4. 1990 Roland with the rockabilly blazer

3. Hays in the tight acid wash jeans

2. Amelia’s dulcet monotone transcends being annoying around the middle of the season and turns alluring, like i need to hear it for thirty per cent each episode. It’s pretentious but in a way that makes you wish you were pretentious

1a. Hays burning his clothes in the dead of night. Mysterious. Jacked. Sweating as hell. Haunted.

1b. Everyone who checked out during the front end of this season - intelligence is a quality that personally makes me very horny and they displayed plenty of it by forseeing that this season would be a less exciting mess than last. Would love for them to contact me to just like hang out and watch a different show, if they want.