#its just infuriating to see so much of the fandom accept certain details that were revealed in a certain way but then argue that this-

[radio-and-the-dirt]

dude i don't really care if people ship aroace characters just please acknowledge that they're aro and/or ace. like,, aro and ace people still can and do enter into relationships of various types at times and not every aro or ace person completely lacks attraction anyway and some date even if they do, so like, ship them if thats what you want but please just be respectful.

just acknowledge that the character is aro and/or ace. do some research about what that might mean for them if you need to. treat those characters in a way that respects their identities and doesn't completely brush them aside.

im just tired. we can be in relationships. we can not be in relationships. we are still aros and aces. dont try and erase what little representation we get.

i would like to note that i see things in this way because i have never seen a 'professional' writer (like non-fanfic or not a small online creator) specify where an aro/ace character sits on those spectrums or how they actually view relationships of any type. i've also never seen any 'professional' writer's characters get to explore or express that part of themselves enough in their stories to give much better an understanding than just "not really interested in sex or romance".

if a more specific understanding of a character was provided and it meant that that character wouldn't be involved in romantic and/or sexual relationships or was repulsed by them than yeah, I wouldn't want people shipping them at all but i dont think i've ever seen that so thats not what this is about.

[braincoins]

Title: Androcles Fandom: “Voltron: Legendary Defender” Summary: If Shiro’s not going to confess his feelings to Allura, then Black will take matters into her own paws. Ships: Shallura Warnings: Annoyed giant alien robot cat Author’s Notes: HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY TO @breezycheezyart !! I hope that your birthday is everything you want and more. Thank you for all the wonderful art, for all the care and effort and time you put into it, and for sharing it all with us! Thank you for the hilarious tags and captions! Thank you for being such a cool and fun person! NOW DRAW SHALLURA SMOOCHES ALREADY!

(also love & thanks to @materassassino for the title... and passing the prompt onto me >:3) (3,334 words - also on AO3)

           To bond with a Paladin was a sacred trust. It wasn’t something Black took lightly. It wasn’t something any of them took lightly, no matter what Red tended to think of Blue’s more gregarious personality. Bonding required a certain commonality of spirit, but it also required a lot from the Lion who undertook a Paladin. It meant taking care of them, looking after them. It was like lock and key: each was useless on their own, and they only had purpose and function by working together.

           It was something Black understood better than most of the other Lions. Black knew that her previous Paladin was Important in the grand scheme of things. He had the requirements to bond, but it was only after bonding to him that Black had found the darkness within him as well. But she understood that there was a part here to be played, even if she didn’t know what it was at the time.

           Watching that part unfold was horrifying. Sleeping for ten thousand years, apart from the other Lions – who blamed her for Zarkon’s part in their Paladins’ deaths – was a blessing.

           But her new Paladin… She was anxious at first. She could feel him moving about the Castle. She could feel him drawing near to her, and she could feel that same sense of Importance wrapped around him like a second skin. But until the other four Lions agreed to release her, she couldn’t get much of a direct sense of him.

           And then they were there, and they had forgiven her. She viewed the new Paladin offered to her. Would she really make the same mistake twice? But there was no one else. The other Lions had chosen Paladins. They needed her. She accepted the offering, and had never regretted it since.

           There was a darkness in her new Paladin, but it was different. It was night as opposed to oblivion. It was pain and injury instead of unchecked ambition. He wanted peace, he craved the light. It was her duty and obligation to protect and care for him, but it was easier to do that when he alternated between feeling like a wounded cub and a stalwart warrior. She wanted to look after this one.

           He didn’t make it easy.

           He was the leader, naturally. He guided the team, and his bond with her was strong. Over time, his bond with his fellow Paladins grew as well. But his feelings for one person strengthened beyond the others, and it wasn’t a teammate: it was the Princess of Altea.

           Black’s connection to the Princess was strange. She was not a Paladin. She was something like a pridemate, a lioness in her own right, but there was a pull to her that Black could not quite understand. Black would choose to protect her Paladin over the Princess, but there was no denying the link to the Altean female. She couldn’t quite ignore her.

           And, it seemed, neither could her Paladin. His heart began to reach for her, searching for that same sort of union that Black and the Lions had when forming Voltron. At least, that’s how it felt to Black. The phrases in his mind and heart sometimes – “be with her,” and “together” – spoke to that. She knew it wasn’t exactly the same, but he wanted a deeper connection to the Princess.

           At first, Black kept out of it, trusting her Paladin to do what he needed to do to take care of himself. This wasn’t a battle. It wasn’t her place to interfere, and even if it were, what could she do? But as time went on, it became bothersome. His pulse would jump when the Princess was around, when she spoke, when he so much as looked at her. Every time his motor raced, Black would check on him to see if he was injured, and find him rapt upon some insignificant detail of the female: her eyes, her lips, her hands, the way she walked or smiled or laughed. Black didn’t understand this nonsense, but she urged him towards the Princess regardless. He resisted.

           He resisted her.

           This was not something a Paladin did. This was not something Black’s Paladin would do. She would not allow it! Did he not understand that they worked together, as one? Did he not realize that he would not fulfill his destiny nor live up to his Importance without her? One did NOT resist one’s Lion, dammit!

          Fortunately, this was the only area where he acted like this. Her Paladin was a man tattered by his pain, still pulling the seams of himself back together. Some nights she checked on him often. She wished he slept closer; their connection was not as strong as she would’ve liked, and distance weakened it. She wanted to soothe him, but all she could do was reassure him that she was there. That was usually enough to help steady him. He relied on her for that almost as much as he relied on her in flight and in battle.

           But this business with the Princess was made all the more infuriating because of it. Had she not shown how good she was at helping? Had she not protected his body and mind time and again? Why would he resist her when she sought to help him with his heart? And if he was going to reject her help, why did he not help himself then? He was good at seeing what was needed, at solving problems; why would he not solve his own?

          The other Lions found this comical. Black was less than amused, and wasted precious energy in her hangar twitching her tail in frustration over the situation as her Paladin slept (as best he could). Her Paladin wanted to be with the Princess, but he was not acting towards union. This was the problem. If he wouldn’t solve it, then Black would take matters into her own paws.

           First, she just watched. She watched through his eyes as much as through her own; their connection was strong enough for that. She watched him follow Allura’s movements, felt his motor start to pick up when she smiled at him, listened to him laugh more when he was with her. She watched the Princess’s reactions to Shiro’s words. She didn’t understand exactly what he was saying – his language was as foreign to Black as Altean was to him – but she could feel what he meant. And the Princess would laugh at his jokes, smile at his pleasantries, and console him through his worries. Black watched the subject of her Paladin’s desires touch him unnecessarily. She saw Allura choose to be near him when she didn’t have to be. This boded well.

           The link to the Altean Princess was different than her bond with her Paladin, but it was still a tool that could be useful to her. Black resolved to use it to its fullest.

           She waited until her Paladin was doing maintenance on her. She mentally noted when he removed his top layers, kept track of his hydraulics straining and his body generating coolant (in its inefficient way). He was working hard, getting dirty and sweaty, and she hoped he would give the appearance of needing maintenance. While Coran was the best mechanic for the Lions, Allura would probably be the best mechanic for him. Black banked on this and …tugged on the link to the Princess.

           It wasn’t easy to do. It was meant to be a one-way channel from Allura to the Lions. But Black was determined. She made it work. And the unusual sensation was, as hoped, enough to bring the Princess to her hangar.

           “Shiro?”

           “Yes, Princess?”

            Black watched carefully. Allura’s eyes dipped over Shiro’s frame. This was promising.

           “Is… is everything alright?” Yes, she is concerned for his well-being. He is dirty and in need of cleaning. He needs looking after. You must do this for him.

           “Yeah, fine. Just routine maintenance.” He sounded confused by the Princess’s question, and Black restrained herself from chortling.

           “It’s just… I felt… a disturbance of some sort.”

           “A disturbance?” Her Paladin approached the Princess, and Black felt his motor race faster even as he began to worry over her now. They will take care of each other at this rate. This is excellent. He put a hand on her shoulder. “Are you feeling alright? Maybe you’re working too hard.”

           “No, I… I don’t think that’s… It wasn’t that sort of disturbance. I’m not sure how to describe it.” She looked up at Black quizzically, and Black did her best to radiate innocent apathy for the affairs of the tiny fleshlings.

           “You are working too hard. Is there anything I can help you with?” Black watched through her Paladin’s eyes. The Princess went from confusion back to looking over her clearly-distressed Paladin appraisingly.

           “N-no, thank you. But perhaps I will rest a bit.”

           “Good. The universe needs you at your best, Princess.”

           She smiled up at him. “As it does you. Don’t work too hard yourself. From the look of things, you’ve been at it a while.”

           “Oh, well, I don’t have the natural mechanical aptitude Pidge and Hunk seem to possess. And I’m being thorough, so it takes me longer to get through it all. But I do stop to take breaks, I promise.”

           “Well, alright. So long as you’re looking after yourself.”

           He’s not! Black insisted to herself. It was all she could do not to twitch her tail. He requires your assistance. How do you not understand this? But Allura just turned and walked away and Black wanted to roar in annoyance. She kept it in. She was the picture of control, after all.

           She could feel the other Lions’ amusement. Yellow and Green felt she should leave it alone. Red and Blue were just entertained by the whole ordeal. She shot annoyance along the bond to them, snapping at them so they’d back off. She would figure this out yet. Meantime, her Paladin went back to cleaning the auxiliary quantum reserve. She dimmed her consciousness away from his and focused on thinking up a new plan.

           It was, strangely, the other Lions who gave Black her next idea, or rather, her reaction to their poking at her about it. Yellow and Green, at least, had reacted out of concern, she had pushed them away, and they had left her alone. The Princess had reacted out of concern – and confusion – and believed her Paladin when he had pushed her away as well (albeit more gently than Black had done).

           Black had to demonstrate his distress better. She had summoned Allura when there was only the appearance of a problem. There had to legitimately be one, something obvious that no amount of well-intentioned lies could disguise.

           It took a little while. Black waited for one of the bad nights and then tugged hard on her link to the Princess. It took more than one tugging to rouse her from her sleep. Once her consciousness rose to a sufficient level, Black retreated to look in on her Paladin’s mind. His pulse was stirring, his mind starting to fragment and trying to claw its way out of REM sleep. She gave one more good yank on the link to the Princess and hoped.

           Fortunately, Princess Allura of Altea was not foolish enough to go all the way to the hangar right away. She headed to Shiro’s room first. Black praised herself on her timing as he bolted upright in bed screaming just as the Princess came within Altean earshot of him. Now she settled in to watch through her Paladin’s eyes again.

           “Shiro! Shiro, it’s Allura. You’re safe.”

           He clutched at her arm, motor whirring and carbon dioxide dispersing violently through his vents. He was disoriented, in psychic pain. Black settled him in her usual way, and he began to ease out of it. “Allura…” He looked over at her face. She was worried. Good. THIS time it will work.

           “Shiro,” she said with a smile. “I’m right here. You’re in the Castle of Lions. You’re safe.”

           He looked around a little more, then back to her. “I’m… I’m sorry, I didn’t… I must’ve been screaming again.”

           “Shh.” She came in for a hug. “You don’t have to apologize.”

           “SHIRO, ARE YOU OKAY?!”

           RED, YOUR PALADIN HAS THE WORST TIMING IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE.

           Because there was the Red Paladin, and his abrupt entrance into the room had driven the Princess and Black Paladin apart. Normally, she was glad of Keith’s intrusions because it spoke well of the bond between the Paladins and because, privately, Black thought that everyone should care for her Paladin at least half as much as she did. But tonight he was an annoyance, and her tail thrashed in smothered rage.

           The Princess explained her presence and she and Keith worked to calm Shiro, and then all went back to their separate rooms to resume sleeping. Black seethed in her hangar. Things were not going according to plan.

           Worse still, the constant exposure to the one his heart longed for was causing more emotional ache for her poor Paladin. He was a good man, far better than her last Paladin who had betrayed them all so deeply. She wanted this Paladin to be happy. For that matter, she needed him to stop lying to himself about his desired union with the Princess. It wasn’t just bothersome; it was starting to interfere. His longing was becoming a distraction, acting like white noise in the bond she shared with him. Soon, it would become more irritating, cause more disruption. Steps had to be taken. He had to succeed or admit defeat.

           Black refused to let her Paladin be defeated.

           But she was also out of ideas. She was quieter than normal as she considered her options. Sleep cycles came and went with no change. Black continued to watch every interaction between Shiro and Allura. Still the same reactions from them both. Sometimes Black found herself thinking that fleshlings were more trouble than they were worth.

           But even if that were true: lock and key. She needed Shiro. He was her key. He could unlock her true purpose and potential, if he could just stop being so distracted by this thwarted bond.

           Then one day, her Paladin walked into her hangar with the Princess at his side. Black perked up and focused on them, but they were just talking. The pace of Shiro’s pulse said nothing had changed in the slightest. Black wanted to roar to vent her frustration, but she kept silent, watching the two of them.

           He was in his uniform, carrying his helmet under his arm. “…I think it’ll be a good training exercise.”

           Black checked with the other Lions; the other Paladins were entering their respective hangars as well. Practice flights of some description, probably to help with bonding amongst the team. You would do better to speak your feelings to your desired mate. Because, after all this time, she had finally figured out what was going on with him. It was hard to be both lion and machine sometimes. Machines had no need of offspring, but the part of her that had been imbued with a lion’s strength, speed, and sense of pride (in every meaning of the phrase) had stirred in her distress and reminded her. Training with the other Paladins is not your problem. Your bond to them is strong and grows stronger with each battle. You need to deal with her, not them.

           But that was more than she could easily convey to him, and he would likely just ignore her insistence, as usual. INFURIATING FLESHLING!

           He glanced up at her, but then returned his attention to the Princess, who was discussing the exercise as they approached. “I hope so. We can’t have you all getting complacent.”

           “We’re not getting complacent.”

           “Then this shouldn’t be a difficult exercise for you.”

           “Well, I hope it’s at least a little difficult, or what’s the point?” He stopped walking and grinned at Allura. “If it’s too easy, it’s not worth it.”

           I swear by my delta rotors if you have been deliberately making things difficult this whole time…

           She smiled up at him. “Always need a challenge, do you? I swear, sometimes you’re worse than Keith.”

           “You take that back!” he declared in mock outrage. She laughed, and his motor raced faster.

           “I will not rescind the truth,” she informed him archly.

           He shrugged, uninterested in an actual battle with her. “The best accomplishments are the ones most hard won.”

           “It is quite satisfying when you achieve a goal after a long struggle,” she observed.

           That’s it. I. Have. HAD IT. Black finally gave vent to her frustration, twitching her tail towards her Paladin. He was standing with his back to her, grinning at the Princess, and her tail knocked him forwards. He dropped his helmet and stumbled towards Allura, who had no choice but to catch and steady him.

           “Shiro! Are you alright?”

           He was breathing hard from the shock as he straightened up in her arms. “Yeah, I…”

           Black insisted in his mind, loudly, This is your chance. She’s not letting go of you. She doesn’t want to. She was done with keeping things to herself. It wouldn’t translate exactly, because he wasn’t a sentient machine, because he didn’t think in the same language she did or in the same way (or they wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place!). But she hoped she’d made herself clear regardless.

           He was lost in Allura’s eyes, and she was neither letting go nor looking away. “…I’m fine,” he finished belatedly, and the Princess’s cheeks darkened. He licked his lips.

           “I’m glad,” and her voice was soft and quiet.

           “Me too.” Well, this conversation wouldn’t win any prizes for scintillation, but there was a crackling tension in the air, stretched near to breaking. Black had to resist twitching again for fear of shattering the moment.

           But this time it was the Princess who resisted; she started to slide her hands away, but the hesitation was clear. “We… I should…”

           But he didn’t let go. He slid his hands away from her arms – which he’d grabbed for support in his flailing – and around her. “Don’t go. Please.” Black sent approval and encouragement through their bond.

           “You want me to stay?” she asked breathlessly.

           “I’m tired of running away.” FINALLY. “Allura, I…”

           “Shiro,” and she pressed her mouth against his so fiercely Black had a sudden fear that her Paladin might be devoured. But joy and relief flooded his connection with her. She watched them hold each other tightly and his happiness was almost tangible through the bond.

           “Shiro?” It was one of the other Paladins – Blue, she thought – over the Princess’s comm links. “You okay in there?”

           He broke away and rested his forehead against his mate’s. “Just fine,” he said smiling, voice warm with contentment. “I’ll be right there.” When the light in her comm links faded, he whispered softly, “Duty calls. We’ll pick this up again later though, right?”

           “We’d better,” she warned him, practically growling.

           “We will,” he promised. He pressed his lips to hers again quickly, bent to pick up his helmet, and jogged away from her, to his Lion. Allura watched him and then left with a smile on her face.

           Black waited until Shiro was inside, in his seat at her controls. There was nothing interfering with their bond now, and she roared her satisfaction before they took off to join the others. She purred smugly at the rest of her pride as they began the training exercise.

           Things had gone badly with her last Paladin. She would never make that mistake again. This was a Paladin who would never betray them, who would hold fast and stand true, and he would survive anything that might stand between him and destiny. She would make sure of that.