#left and right arm of voltron

[amiharana]

totk should have been about reviving the champions and then finding the secret fifth divine beast that link & zelda pilot together in order to create an overpowered sheikah voltron and then they battle against ganondorf's demise voltron to save hyrule

[foolinafable]

man i love ur fics smsm keith kogane 🔛 🔝

Thanks, here's a gift to show my appreciation!

Home is where you are

SYNOPSIS: You have finally returned to earth, but is it still home? PAIRING: Keith x reader

–

You thought you would feel more. This was the place you dreamt of every night while in space, the thought of one day coming back being what motivated you to keep going. But now that you're actually home, you feel nothing. A void replaced what relief, joy and tears you’d expected when your feet hit the tarmac of the garrison. You thought that after saving them from Sendek, it would change, that you were simply too worried to be happy, but now that Earth was safe from him and the prospect of leaving again to finish the job off appeared, you still felt nothing. Your bleeding heart seems to have clotted over.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Keith slowly made his way towards you, words quiet as if to not startle

“Don’t think that's the currency anymore” Shrugging your shoulders, unsure, he smiled in reply, something he had been doing more recently, as he manoeuvred into the space next to you, eyes daring for a comment when he shuffled close enough for your arms and thighs to touch 

“Don’t be coy”, he nudged your shoulder when it became clear you weren't going to look back at him “You understood the sentiment” 

You nodded “I did” it almost wasn't fair how mature he had become, being a leader does that to people

“So tell me what’s wrong and don’t say nothing because we both know that's a lie” You bit your lip in contemplation, leg furthest away from Keith shaking slightly, still trying not to meet his eyes, knowing that you’d lose any resolve left if you did

“I thought..” you finally met his gaze, eyebrows furrowed “I don’t know what I thought”, words barely above a whisper 

“I know it’s different from what we believed it would be, coming home. I don’t think anyone could have imagined coming back to a war and having to leave again so soon after, it’s not fair” his hand reached out to your shaking limb, stroking despite the awkward angle

“That’s not it” you admitted voice barely above a mumble

“It’s not?” he asked, shuffling around to try and find a more comfortable position, not once removing his hand from your shaking thigh

“No…” you trailed off, trying to gain some semblance of courage “If anything, I can’t wait to go, maybe distance will make the heart go fonder or, in this case, grow some fondness within me for this place”, you gestured to the space “Because this, our home, it just doesn't feel that way anymore”

“Feel like what?” Keith pressed his lips together in thought, clearly not following 

“Home” you admitted teeth pulling at bruised lips, pulling his hand away from your now steady legs so he could once again sit normally instead letting him continue his ministrations on your hand. 

“I get it” he admitted and you smiled, happy to not be alone in this feeling “I’ve not got much to miss when away from Earth. Everyone I care about is coming with me” You looked at him then, meeting his soft stare “I mean that’s what a home really is, the people”

You squeezed his hand “You're right”, scoffing at the look on his face “What?” 

“Never thought I'd see the day” he smiled, cheeky 

“Oh shush”, you laughed, missing the way his entire demeanour brightened at the sound “Maybe it wasn't really earth that I was missing”, you admitted, a new hypothesis coming to light in your mind “I mean, the homesickness only really started around the time of the Voltron shows, I just thought I was missing earth because lance said he felt the same, missing the oceans and the sky but maybe I was just missing you” 

“You think” he teases

“I mean, it makes sense, I felt a lot better on the journey back to earth and my lack of care for leaving and even being here. I guess Earth is not really my home, you are” You try to look away, somewhat embarrassed, but Keith doesn't let you, hand quickly grabbing at your jaw and pulling your face close to his, he kisses you softly, only for a moment before moving away a mischievous look in his eyes

“Well then technically you were homesick” he confirms

“I guess I was”, you admit, letting him win.

[felassan]

"also, on the broadest line around the edge, you can see those symbols again. I’m thinking now that these 6 symbols represent the 6 factions we can choose from for Rook to belong to."

not only that, but the factions of 6 out of our 7 companions, Harding/the Inquisition aside. from some of the things they've said lately (tho at the moment I can't remember specifically where), it sounds like we will encounter each faction in the game too and that they each play a role in the story. in the center is the Veilguard logo itself; it's like representatives from these 6 factions came together to form Voltron The Veilguard. :> about the symbols btw:

The Warden symbol is closer style-wise to this new seemingly updated or northern Warden[?] symbol than it is to previous game/southern Warden[?] symbology (two). shape of the wing, stylization etc. it being 'half' like that gives it the impression of a shield/heraldic beasts.

The Veil Jumper symbol looks to be a halla. it makes me nostalgic for Clan Sabrae heraldry :') makes sense for a faction based in Arlathan and interested in ancient elvhen ruins.

The Shadow Dragons (Tevene faction) have a snake. dragons are all around in Tevinter imagery, a country where they are a symbol of divine power. Another kind of 'worm'/wyrm also kicks around in Tevinter iconography; snakes. in the Imperium heraldry, a serpentine dragon faces off against a snake (opposition..). (side ramble - As a group the Shadow Dragons are a resistance group, they oppose slavery, corrupt rulers and the worst aspects of Tevinter society. Their name makes them seem like 'a different kind of dragon' - an alternative way for the 'dragon' Tevinter is to be, a different future it could have. a different kind of dragon than the dominant ruling one, but one that is currently still overshadowed. it also carries the implication of them working in the shadows and carrying out operations under the radar - this is contrast to the Lucerni, a faction in the Magisterium whose goal is to redeem and restore Tevinter. They're more like a political party, they operate more in public. "lucerna" is Latin for lantern. light, and shadow. Maybe the Shadow Dragons are basically the stealthy/secret operational arm of the Lucerni? like a left and right hand. end side ramble) Snakes crop up in Neve's design (her leg, her hat). I keep thinking about the snake in the Imperium heraldry. with their symbol, it's like the Shadow Dragons are saying they're fighting for a Tevinter.. without the 'dragon' part. in which.. the dragon is a metaphor for the bad stuff? corruption etc? Snakes also carry the symbolism of stealth and slyness, which again fits with the 'shadow' stuff. Would a dragon be able to see a lowly snake coming...? probably not :> I also can't help but think of the imagery of snakes that's to do with healing and medicine. like they wanna de-corrupt Tevinter, heal it of its rot. ALSO. the other thing thing is The Viper from Minrathous Shadows. well, look at that. The Shadow Dragons' symbol is a snake. "We are the Tevinter you forgot". And what do they want? "Everything". maybe The Viper is the founder of the Shadow Dragons? the story mentions they have a contact, a lady who is lightning-smart (Neve?). in the accompanying art-piece, the dealer's silhouette and other aspects of their design are snake-like, recalling Neve and what seems to be 'Shadow Dragon Rook's clothes.

The Lords of Fortune have a cephalopod. (it reminds me of House Greyjoy). makes sense for a faction with ships, dominion over the coasts of Rivain, a pirate-y aesthetic and originating from a nation almost entirely surrounded by sea. maybe this explains the cephalopod that was portrayed 'on' Rivain in the trailer from a few months ago? like maybe it was supposed to represent the Lords of Fortune, their presence in Rivain, and their storyline.

The Mourn Watcher one is just so cool. it's at once both a humanoid skull (you can see the two eyes and the teeth), recalling the symbol for the broader Mortalitasi itself, and a beetle. it makes me think of stuff like scarab beetles and deathwatch beetles, both of which have lots of cool symbolism/lore and cultural meanings irl on stuff like life and death, the cycle, decomposition etc. beetles are also culturally important in Nevarra, where they are prized. lots of households keep them in cages for good luck, and encrusted beetle wings are part of Nevarran decor.

The Crow one is obviously like looking down at a corvid in flight. its head is the top triangular part, but this shape is also known to be worn by Crows as a mask/disguise, and from that perspective the pointy part at the bottom gives the wearer a beaked appearance, masquerade-ball style. the Crows are always watching :>

[kismetconstellations]

There are so many ways that Voltron: Legendary Defender failed its characters. From the unfathomably idiotic decision to kill Allura off in the finale, to putting Coran through the pain of losing his family twice over, to all of the "jokes" at the expense of Hunk's anxiety, weight, and stomach problems.

But, to me, the most egregious example of this will forever be the numerous ways that Shiro was mistreated, even though I fully believe that most of them were unintentional and the fault of incompetence, rather than maliciousness.

I never expected a show with a TV-Y7 rating that was made to sell toys to children to address this character's extensive trauma in any meaningful way. And, perhaps there was a push behind the scenes to sideline him in order to bring Keith to the forefront, due to Keith being the head of Voltron in previous incarnations, and Shiro essentially being a Canon Foreigner created exclusively for this series.

But, when you have: - A poorly executed attempt to recreate Shiro's fight with Zarkon in the Astral Plane, void of the stunning visuals, impressively fluid fight choreography, and emotional and narrative stakes.

(Shiro fighting the show's main villain and his predecessor hand-to-hand for control of one of the most powerful weapons in the universe, vs the Paladins fighting shadowy, faceless foes that none of them- aside from Allura- have any personal connections to or conflict with, even once their identities are revealed, with long-range weapons, inside of Honerva's head.)

- Shiro, the previously "undefeated" Champion of Zarkon's gladiatorial arena and a highly trained and skilled martial artist, being slapped across the bridge of his own ship.

-Shiro's personal abuser telling him that the arm that was forcibly grafted onto his body in an attempt to turn him into a weapon for the Galra Empire is "the strongest part" of him,

Slav, an ally, echoing the sentiment and arguing that Shiro would be "even stronger with two robotic arms", and the first half of Season Seven confirming as much by depicting Shiro standing, often completely mute, on the sidelines

until he's outfitted with a new prosthetic arm. Only then is he actively allowed to participate in combat, again, and promoted to Captain of the Atlas.

-Shiro winning an intergalactic arm wrestling tournament to prove that he isn't a washed-up retiree (at the ripe old age of twenty-six), with that prosthetic.

-Said prosthetic being a mirror of his abuser's.

-No acknowledgement of Shiro's essence being transferred into the body of his clone that is down an arm. Or, how he's coping with not only not having a right arm at all, but also having been dead for a huge chunk of time, trapped inside the consciousness of the Black Lion and watching on helplessly as someone wearing his face tried to kill everyone he loves, and then resurrected to be suddenly "retired" through no choice of his own.

-Aside, of course, from an all-too lighthearted and chipper comment on routine helping him get through "being in the infinite void of the Black Lion", and a throwaway quip about how "having my consciousness transplanted from the infinity of Voltron's inner quintessence into the dead body of an evil clone of myself" has left him "a little out of sorts".

-And, Shiro not getting to kill his abuser, or even best him in combat.

Instead, he lies beaten and helpless, once again, as Keith, his replacement, takes Sendak out.

It crosses the line from clumsy writing to infuriating negligence and ineptitude.

The repeated violations of Shiro's autonomy, and what seems by all rights to be unintended ableism, even though it borders on outright disrespectful, went above and beyond any terrible writing and direction that I anticipated gritting my teeth and slogging through when I decided to finally bite the bullet and watch this show. It's utterly baffling to me that no one seemed to stop and realize that, "Hey, maybe introducing and then reinforcing the sentiment that a disabled man's prosthetic is the 'strongest part' of him, and he's effectively weak and useless without it, is a bad idea", at any point in the creative process before these episodes made it to air.

I wholeheartedly believe that as much as other characters were wronged, Voltron: Legendary Defender and its notoriously hellish fanbase that was more concerned with who these characters were having sex with than the actual plot, did not deserve Takashi Shirogane.

Shiro; a gay man, ace pilot, ambitious space explorer, and scarred trauma survivor who was abducted and forced to kill for the entertainment of his captors, subjected to unimaginable torture, and had his body modified without his knowledge or consent twice, yet never let any of his experiences, no matter how grueling or dehumanizing, stop him from being gentle, compassionate, noble, brave, self-sacrificing, and everything that epitomizes a True Hero, right to the bitter end.

[callmelyc]

Part 2 of this the Lance loosing a leg Langst

Less angst in this one bc I'm a sucker for a happy ending. Again copy and pasted from Twitter ignore typos and grammar 🥰

Keith can still hear it, the moment the coms clicked back to life ringing static in his ears where there was once only silence.

From shiro demanding checks ins all the way to Lance's line remaining silent.

Everything from that mission was a blur, a nightmare.

Keith's throat burns from the way he'd yelled through the coms for lance. His eyes ache from the tears he'd finally allowed to fall once they'd learned why he'd been so quiet.

Keith can still feel Lances dead weight collapse into his arms, can still feel the blood drenching him as he rushed lance to Coran hoping and praying to whatever God exists to please

Please don't let lance die

let him be fast enough

And he was, if ever so slightly

Lance had lost too much blood, Coran had said. Had Keith been any slower....had lance not managed to- God Keith can't even allow himself to finish the thought

It makes him feel sick to his stomach to know lance had been corned alone..

And now Keith stands outside of his pod next to the entire team looking at a battered lance that isnt nearly as whole as the one they'd last seen. They’d cut off his leg, it wasn’t clean nor did Coran have to tell them it was quick. They all knew it wasn’t. Couldn’t have been with how jagged and rough the slices appear to have been if the marking left on lances thigh were anything to go by. They’d butchered him alive making sure with every slice he’d suffered.

What their enemies failed to account for was that lance was a paladin of voltron, a master sniper and a damn good soldier good at getting himself out of just about any scenario and all the tight spots.

From the footage Pidge was able to scrape from that cursed vessel he’d done just that while laying in a pool of his own blood thanks to pure will power alone. He’d survived where they - the enemy- hadn’t. In doing so Lance discovered something none of them knew possible, not even Allura and Coran thought it a possibility. He’d turned his bayard into a temporary prosthetic.

Lance was the first paladin to ever manage turning his bayard into anything other than a weapon. The first to ever turn his bayard into something the likes of what hed managed.

“It’s unheard of” Allura murmured “for the bayard to become something as such- I cannot fathom how he managed such a feat.”

“Didn’t you once say the bayards would take the form of what the paladin needed?”

“I-“

“Wouldn’t that, in theory, mean we could make them anything we needed? Tools, equipment, or like Lance did- a new limb.” Pidge continues.

“I suppose so…” Allura says, pensive with her glance towards lances pod “we will have to revisit this one he can tell us how he did so.”

Keith looks away from the two, staring at the pod, at how unmoving lance is and thinks: It doesn’t matter how he did it, only that he’s ok after the fact.

~*~

Lance woke two weeks after the mission that plagued Kieth with nightmares.

In his sleep hed see lance bleeding out alone, hed see lance draggging himself desperately across the floor calling out his name….so now, now Keith waits outside of lances pod day and night. He sleeps curled up next to the pod that way when he wakes from these nightmares Keith can glance up and see lances moving chest. He can see the healing pods progress on lances damaged flesh with his own two eyes and calm every bit of turmoil resting in his veins.

Lance wakes to Keith once again holding out his arms, and once he falls, holding him in them.

Keith had waited to catch lance, had refused to let anyone else stand where he was so hed be able to do so. And he’s glad he had, Lance didn’t joke. Didn’t smile or make any random comments or say any questions. He was so unlike himself in that moment that right then and there they all realized just how hard this journey would be for not only lance but the rest of them.

Lance buried his face into Keith’s shoulder with a shaken exhale. Keith only pulls him in closer, more secure, because he knows that sound, Lance is holding back tears.

“It’s ok, I’ve got you.” Keith whispers softly, sliding up a hand to pet lances hair comfortingly “we’ve all got you.”

The team joins their embrace as lance finally allows himself to sob, the pain wrenching through his throat, the tears soaking through Keith’s shirt. But finally, finally lance allows himself to feel it all. To feel the fear, the relief he never lets himself have during that mission and they’d all be there as he worked thorough it.

Keith places a soft kiss to lances nape “I’ve got you sweetheart, I’ve got you.”

It’s Keith that holds lance through the night after that with the entirety of the team sleeping nearby to remind him that when he wakes from those nightmares he isn’t alone.

It’s Keith that lance responds the most too first.

Lance tells him everything he can remember, how the ground felt so cold, how everything was spinning so fast. The silence being loud and deafening and the burn of his leg being cut off being unlike anything hed ever felt before.

“I can still feel it.” Lance says one night as they look out at the stars “the ache from the first slice, the nerves being cut…”

Keith chances a glance at the blue paladin, he takes in his hallowed eyes, the way he looks so far away.

“Coran said it was normal, the phantom pains. I just want it to stop…” lance turns to look Keith in the eye, the emotions he feels finally showing in them “will it ever stop Keith?”

“I don’t know.” Keith replies, knowing Lance doesn’t need white lies. He squeezes lances hand in comfort “but, regardless, we’re all here for you lance. You don’t have to do any of this alone, no matter how long it takes.”

After that night they were inseparable.

Anytime anyone looked for lance all they had to do was look for Keith.

They did lances physical therapy together, they did his checkups together, training, meals, sleeping….you name it.

Shiro even talked Lance through the emotions and traumas that deal with looking such a permanent part of yourself and Keith stayed near the entire time.

It wasn’t that he was trying to be overwhelming or suffocating, Keith swears he isn’t trying to be too much. Every-time he even thinks about letting lance out of his sight he remembers that look in his eye, the one on his face filled with pain and fear and- Keith just can’t do it. He can’t leave lance alone. Not until he’s better.

Lance should be happy! Should have light in his eyes that make them brighter than the sun, should have a laugh that reverberates through the room like a song. He should be picking fights with Keith, arguing with Pidge, starting challenges that get them all to take care of themselves indirectly so he doesn’t ruin his cool guy image.

And Keith will be dammed if he doesn’t make sure lance get to that point again.

~*~

It’s Pidge that make the new prosthetic with the help of hunk and the olkari. Lances new leg is made to be lightweight, agile, waterproof, similar in feeling to his human leg for balance with the flexibility to match so that he can still swim and bend to his hearts content. They make sure it could disguise itself with “flesh’ that matches his skin so that is he wished to conceal his loss more privately or for certain occasions he could do so through his healing process and beyond.

“And anything you want added we’ll do it.” Pidge adds as she goes through the list of all the things his prosthetic can do once attached “any enchantment at all. You can even ask for us to make it glow in the dark or play pit bulls Mr worldwide every time you touch down on a new planet. We’d never say no to you.”

That gets a small smile from lance as he runs his fingers ever so lightly across the alien metal surfaces. Keith watches him do so, watches him be so gentle and lost in his touch. It’s nice to see him trying even if they all know this is difficult for him still.

“What if I want it to kick Keith’s ass?” Lance jokes lightly trying to keep the mood from going too south.

For the first time in weeks they see lance laugh, they see him crack jokes and send jabs at comments Pidge gives in reply. The entire conversation with the two mad scientist of the team is full of wisecracks and laughter about all the crazy enhancements they could possibly add to the leg.

“What if you make multiple and one is a cannon—“

“Why a cannon?”

“So I can bust a kneecap and still blow everyone away with my presence!”

Keith will find shiro later and thank him for talking lance through what its like to loose a limb, how to handle it, how the prosthetic healing process will feel once attached. And all shiro will do is clap Keith on the shoulder and say “you aren’t giving yourself enough credit there kiddo. If anyone is pulling weight here its you, you’re keeping him grounded and I can tell it means the world to him.”

That sentiment sits with Keith as he goes through the day, as he gets lance and himself ready for bed, as he lays down next to lance, sharing their covers, and whisper goodnights. It sits with him as he holds lances hand through the attachment surgery that he’d insisted he stay for. They’d tried everything to get Keith to leave but lance looked so woefully upset at the thought that they allowed Keith to stay so long as he was thoroughly and properly sanitized.

He ran a thumb across lances hand from his bedside until he woke up after the fact and kissed his hand with a gentle “good morning” when those blue eyes met his own.

Lances weak smile in response was still a smile that Keith would hold like a trophy.

The healing journey that followed was rough as expected, with many ups and down as no healing is linear.

Lance would get frustrated at his balance, at the leg, at the loss. He’d be angry he couldn’t feel things like he used to, couldn’t feel the ground, couldn’t run like he could before.

Shiro built his training regimen to mirror what hed wished he had when hed gotten his arm and it helped but not nearly as much as the pep talks and brutal honesty Keith would provide during his spirals.

At a certain point Keith even resulted to doing what lance used to do to him, taunt and utilize the rivalry card.

“Giving up already?” He’d say and lance would snarl in response and rise to the challenge if not to win out of sheer petiteness. “That all you got?” “This is the paladin that unlocked more about the bayards?”

Lance would come at Keith like a lion, one out for blood and fierce in his movements. He went from sloppy to more graceful, from a tilt-a-whirl to a proper fighter. Lance was able to swim again, not as strong as before but hed get there and all of them noticed the progress flourish around Keith.

Keith and the rivalry, the challenger, the one that figured out he could use lances own tactics against him. It all worked like a charm.

Through it all lances bayard never once veered from a weapon. Allura had watched closely hoping and praying that he could do it again that he could turn the bayard in to anything else so that they could all learn how to do so too. But no matter the efforts they all fell flat.

Lance couldn’t remember how hed done it, much too delirious from the blood loss, pain and hallucinations. And all through the weeks hed lacked a prosthetic at all hed still never managed to do the transformation a second time.

Keith blocks a sharp kick form lances new leg and rolls away before a second lands “a kick like that wont get you anywhere McClain!”

Lance pushes on attempting to knock Keith off balance with his leg “if you think I’m done you’ve got a big storm coming kogane!”

The spar goes like a dance, twirling and yielding, dodging and gliding. Two halves of a whole, red and blue.

Lance spins around to dodge Keith and just as Keith goes to follow Lance knocks him off his feet. Keith doesn’t care one bit but for lances triumphantly whoop, that’s the best prize in the world.

~*~

It’s not until the next major mission they go on, the first since lances injury, that everything is brought back full circle.

They get cornered by space pirates and they take their bayards away. Lance and Pidge both mouth off at the crew who bite back with pride that they’ll get quite the bounty for them all.

Thrown into prison cells beneath the deck they sit and wait attempting to come up with a plan to unlock the cell doors.

During the midst of the arguments, the back and forths, Pidge challenges lances ideas. Everyone was frustrated, tired, all in disagreement. It was bound for insults to arise that were not truly meant.

“Why don’t you just unlock the door then Einstein!”

Lance gasps in offense “FINE! I WILL!”

“Fine!”

And before their very eyes lances hand summons forth his bayard “you just can’t handle that I might have some good ideas sometimes can you?!”

“Lance—“

“I can think too ya know! I went to the garrison too!” Lance shouts, flailing his arm around and the bayard transforms into a key.

“Lance!” Pidge laughs in awe but he continues on as if they aren’t all starting at him in their amazement.

He turns sharply to unlock the door, throws it open with a huff, and turns to put his hands on his hips. “SEE! My plans aren’t so bad—“

“LANCE!” They all yell, but not in anger, no…they yell in joy. He’d finally figured it out, Lance did it again and this time they’d seen it with their own eyes.

Keith just smiles on, taking lances hand to run “we can talk about this later, we need to get off this ship.”

“Talk about what?!” Lance asks, breaking into a run right alongside Keith, his hand lacing together with Keith’s.

It’s not until they jump ship (literally) and run to their lions that Keith finally gives Lance a response “ how amazing you are.”

If the two stand hand in hand during the debriefing, well, no one bats n eye nor speaks a word of it.

~*~

Turns out it was due to high emotions, Lance being able to use his Bayard as a true tool rather than a weapon. Lance feels so much naturally, so freely, that when his emotions went beyond anything he’d felt before, his bayard heard him through the paladin bond and that formed an entirely new connection. After that relating the use was easier.

Now Lance needed any emotion to turn his bayard into a tool so much as he willed it to be. The downside being that the transformation was much more draining than the usual weapon call would be. Never the less it remained a usual advantage for a variety of possible scenarios and situations that allowed it.

Training for how the others could do so, however, was deemed much too risky due to the circumstances behind the discovery. Allura and Shiro both agreed the risk far too high.

“It’s best to allow it to happen naturally…we’d not want to damage you to make it possible. You all go through so much already.” Allura tells them with a small smile “but—“ she glanced over to Lance, beaming with pride “I know that all of you are strong, and thanks to Lance we now know it to even be a Possibility. We can be prepared for anything.”

Keith slides a hand around lances waist, resting his head on his shoulder “ told you so.” He says softly so that only Lance may hear it.

Lance glances down at him “told me—?”

“You were amazing, are amazing”

Lance just sniffles, trying his best to hold back the tears “ only as amazing as you make me.”

Keith hugs him, pushing all his love into it. When Lance returns the embrace he knows his message was heard loud and clear. This is how voltrons sniper learns he is so much more. More than a weapon, more than a soldier. A tool perhaps, but also an inspiration to his peers, a part of a family, and most of all: someone to love.

[girlboypersonthingy]

First Meetings~

Voltron x reader drabble about the first time they met each other 💖💖💖 Gender neutral reader ALWAYS !

LANCE 💙

This cheeky boi. He first laid eyes on you back at the Garrison when he saw you and Pidge talking one day at lunch in the cafeteria. Hunk and Lance came strolling in to find Pidge, presumably to bug them and mess with their current technology fixation. Before the two boys have even sat at the table, Lance has his eyebrow cocked, a smirk on his lips and a hand slowly running through his hair.

"Hey...name's Lance." He looks down at you, leaning on the table to get closer to you. You smile at him politely, unsure of his motive with such a flirty tone.

"Hi. I'm (Y/N). Nice to meet you." You offer him your hand to shake and your smile widens. Right then, as his hand fell into yours and you were being so nice to him (and he was lowkey admiring your smiling lips), he felt it. It was kind of like he had to throw up, but also like he wanted to run a marathon. You'd think he'd go for the ol' kiss on the back of the hand cliche, but not with you. He just stares, in awe of how cute you look. You were different...he didn't know why, but he just couldn't keep his cool around you.

"I-I like your name. Heh...uh yeah. Nice to meet you, too." He mumbles, now a shy blushing mess. Your hands parted, but he kept staring at you. You couldn't help the blush that crept up on your face as you quickly looked away from him. "Oh brother..." Pidge mumbles as they roll their eyes, still tinkering with their device. "Dude, you good?" Hunk whispers to him as he watches the awkward staring contest happening between you two.

"Uh I should...get going actually." You stand slowly, smiling at the two boys again before gently nudging Pidge's shoulder. "See ya later, Pidge." Pidge simply nods, not looking up from their current project. And with that, you quickly run off to your room to scream into a pillow because OH MY GOD WHO WAS THAT CUTIE AND WHERE HAS HE BEEN ALL YOUR LIFE??? And Lance...yeah, he just starts screaming right there in the cafeteria...in front of everyone because the boy is S T A R S T R U C K.

SHIRO 🖤

Aww space dad is so sweet and polite. You and Shiro met when you helped Keith rescue him when he landed back on Earth after the failed Kerberos mission. You had befriended Keith just after Shiro had disappeared and while you knew who Shiro was, you had never actually gotten the chance to meet or interact with him before you were dragging his limp body off of that medical table.

As soon as he woke up, Keith was by his side. "Shiro? Hey...how are you feeling?" Keith stood from his seat and quickly approached the bed Shiro was laying on. He sat up slowly with a groggy groan. "I'm alright." He replies softly before rubbing his eyes.

"Hey, Keith. You haven't eaten all day. Come on, why don't we-" You stop in your tracks upon seeing Shiro awake and standing slowly. You had been concerned that Keith was just rotting away in his seat waiting for Shiro to wake up, but all thoughts left your mind when you saw him. He reaches his long, strong arms above his head to stretch and you just watch, taking note of how much taller than you he is. Seeing him up close like this had your heart doing back flips. His eyes look so soft and his hair is a bit disheveled and he's smiling at you. Oh god, he's smiling at you...

"Oh, uhm. Hi. I'm (Y/N), Keith's friend." You blurt out nervously, fidgeting with your fingers. Shiro nods and holds out his hand to you. "(Y/N). Nice to know Keith is making friends. I'm-" You cut him off as you slap your hand into his, shaking it excitedly. "Shiro! Yeah, I know who you are. Everyone does." His smile becomes bashful as your eyes meet, giving you a firm hand shake. He can't find the strength to let go of you, not when you were looking at him like that, his smile growing by the millisecond. The way he repeated your name made you forget how to breathe for a second. It was like in the movies, a slow motion love-at-first-sight scene.

Keith simply raises a brow and crosses his arms as he watches you guys get lost in each other's eyes for a moment. "Uhm..." Keith's voice brings Shiro back to reality. He quickly pulls his hand away, averts his gaze and clears his throat. His once soft and lovely expression has turned more serious. "I have so much to tell you, Keith."

PIDGE 💚

Let's be real...Matt TOTALLY hooked ya'll up. You were Matt's friend before you met Pidge. He was nice and funny and hella nerdy just like you. You guys just got each other. One day, he invites you over to help you with some very challenging homework because he's obviously way smarter than you and he could tell you were struggling.

You sat across from him at his family's kitchen table, your head in your hands as you sighed. "I'm gonna fail." You groan, causing Matt to chuckle. "No you won't, (Y/N). Come on, let's go over it again." You sigh and try to follow along in your textbook as he reads to you. A small figure sneaking to the cupboard catches your eye. You glance up to see who it was looking for a midnight snack. Matt stopped reading and smirked a bit. "Pidge, you better brush your teeth after you eat all that sugar." You watch the younger of the siblings turn towards you, their arms full of different candies and chocolates. "You're not the boss of me." They reply in a snarky tone, making Matt whip his head around to look at them. "I'm the oldest person in this room, that makes me the boss of both of you." Pidge simply rolls their eyes as you struggle to look away from them.

Pidge approaches you guys, slowly sliding a mars bar across the table to Matt. "Don't tell mom I'm eating sugar this late, please?" They mumble shyly as they attempt to bribe their sibling. You can't help but stare. This adorably small person with long, messy hair and tired eyes was the most gorgeous person you'd ever seen. Matt snatches the candy bar with a cheeky grin. "Only if you share with (Y/N), too."

Pidge glances over at you and sighs. "Fine. What kind do you want?" You panic, barely able to function with them standing so close. "Uh...you uh...got any Reese's?" They go to slide the candy over to you and as you reach out for it, your fingertips touch just for a second. That's all it takes for you two to make eye contact and you both become blushing messes as you both yank your hands back. The eye contact doesn't last long because Pidge is just a shy little bean, but Pidge definitely keeps glancing over at you as you reach out and pull the candy closer. You open it and take a bite, smiling a bit. "Mmm, I love peanut butter." And Pidge just can't look away now. You like peanut butter, they like peanut butter and the way your face looks as you chew. Wow, they think you're too cute.

Pidge just stares as you take another bite. The silence, at this point, is too much to bear. Finally, Matt chimes in, "Geez, Pidge, stare much?" You blush as you look up and meet their gaze. You flash them a small smile, watching them get flustered. They quickly look away and angrily snatch the candy bar from their brother's hand. "I hate you." They grumble before walking off back to their room.

"They totally like you. Oh ho ho! I'm never letting this go." Matt snickers as your face grows more red.

KEITH ❤️

Baby boy met you after you were rescued from a galra prison. Pidge, of course, needed to search every cell for her father and brother and they stubbled upon you, dirty, weak and starving. You looked exhausted but hopeful. Pidge calls for some help in getting you and the others in your cell back to the castle. At this time, Keith was much too busy being the protector to really help you all escape.

Once back at the castle, all the others who were held captive with you were doing fine, but you were in much worse shape. The galra seemed to really despise humans so you were thrown in the ring to fight and man handled the most. Bruises littered your body, scrapes and dry blood painted your face. You had a hard time even making it off the galra ship and to the castle, so Shiro and Allura thought it would be best to put you in a healing pod.

It wasn't long before all the paladins were surrounding your pod, wondering how another human ended up all the way out here in the hands of the galra. Finally, as the pod begins to opens, the group goes silent as they watch you. "Someone better grab them. Last time I did, Allura nearly ripped my poor ear off." Lance shoves his hands in his pockets. "Don't look at me! They're like twice my size!" Pidge protests, their arms crossed now. "Guys-" Keith tries to intervene. "Just do it, Lance." Pidge argues and suddenly, the blue and green paladins are full blown shouting at one another. As Shiro tries to deescalate their fight, Keith notices that your eyes are still closed, but you're slowly leaning forward. He jumps forward to catch your weak body before you nearly face plant. You fall into his arms with a grunt, slowly opening your eyes.

"Hmm? Where...where am I?" You ask the boy holding you, his eyes looking deep into yours. "You're uh...We're uh..." Keith just couldn't come up with any words as his pretty purple eyes bore into yours and your hands clutched the sleeves of his jacket. Your lips began to stretch into a shy smile as he slowly came down to his knees, still cradling you in his arms (lmao bonding moment <3). He gently rests you on the ground, nearly scrambling to get away from you and back to his feet. You look around at the others, a confused look on your face. As Allura begins to explain where you are and who they all are, Keith is just staring at you down on the ground. He rubs his arms where your hands were just resting, a blush quickly tinting his entire face and neck. If God is real, Keith is pretty sure he just met them.

You stand slowly, feeling tired but better than before. "Wow, no way I was saved by the paladins of Voltron. Cool!" You smiled brightly as you clasped your hands together behind your back. "Uh, sorry. I'm (Y/N)." You look around the group as they all begin telling you their names. When your eyes landed on Keith, his eyes went wide with embarrassment. "Keith..." He mumbles shyly, making your stomach drop. "Thanks for catching me, Keith." You watch as he looks down at his shoes, his long dark hair covering his beet red face. You are so damn cute, what the hell? He's never felt this way before and neither have you. The way his name rolled off your tongue made him want to punch something, but also made him want to cry? He is such a dense guy, but something about you softened him just a bit that day.

HUNK 💛

You and Hunk met back at the Garrison. Lance was no doubt out trying to impress some cute pilot while Pidge sat up on the roof, looking for signs of their brother and father. So, that left Hunk to go on a mission of his own. It was late, far past curfew, but when your stomach is grumbling you decide to sneak into the cafeteria in hopes of finding a late night snack. It was dark and quiet as you tip toe through the halls, constantly looking over your shoulder for anyone who might catch you. As you scurry into the kitchen, you slowly open the large industrial sized fridge. The light from the fridge illuminates the room around you and as you look back once again to check for anyone who might catch you, you nearly yelp as your eyes meet Hunk's. He's sitting up on the counter with a jar of peanut butter and a spoon, his eyes wide when he sees you.

"Geez, you scared me" You both whisper in unison. The way the dim light lit up his cute chubby face had you seeing stars. There was a bit of peanut butter on the corner of this mouth and his cheeks were turning red as he stared at you. He couldn't see much detail with the way the light was shining behind you, but just the way you were standing with your hands behind your back and the way your voice sounded tired and the way you wouldn't tear your eyes off of him. Boy was whipped. "I-if you tell anyone about this-" You whispered before he jumped down from the counter to get a closer look at you. "No, its okay. I come in here all the time after curfew. It'll be our little secret."

Now that he's this close, he can see the color of your hair and the shape of your jaw and the curve of your smiling lips. You looked back and forth between his kind eyes and the jar of peanut butter in his hand, your heart racing. "You...want some?" He holds the jar out to you and you shake your head. "Uh no thanks. I was looking for something salty like chips or something." And before you can finish your sentence, he's opening cupboards to help you find a good salty snack. You watch him for a moment before you realize your heart is POUNDING in your chest. He was so...big. Not that you mind that, you just couldn't help but wonder how warm and comforting his hugs must be.

"Ah ha! Hope you like salt and vinegar chips." He turns to hand you the bag, a bright smile plastered across his tan face. You took the bag from his hand and nodded. "You really know your way around the kitchen, huh?" Your voice is still soft, just above a whisper. He lets out a soft laugh as he nods his head. "I mean...I'm not trying to brag, but I do whip up a mean apple pie. Do you...like pie?" He watches as you stare up at him. He wanted to look away because we all know Hunk is a shy babe, but he really loved the way your hair was messy right now and the way you looked at him made his knees feel weak. "Apple is my favorite pie." And at that, you're both full blown smiling at each other.

"I'm (Y/N)." You offer him your hand and he's quick to grab it, shaking it gently. "Hunk." He lets your hand go, but he wishes the contact would never end. Your hand was so cold in his and now he was picturing you two cuddled up in bed, his warm body bringing you comfort. You both stood in a comfortable silence for just a moment before you both hear talking and footsteps coming from the hallway.

"Goodnight, Hunk!" You whisper shout before taking off back towards your room. He watched you scurry off, not even worried about getting caught right now. He couldn't look away, not when you had just said his name so soft and panicked.

"Goodnight, (Y/N)." He sighs dreamily.

ALLURA 💖

You met the princess during a mission in which team Voltron had to sneakily board a galra ship in order to deactivate a weapon that would soon be used to try and capture their precious lions. The galra were using you to their advantage- you were a weak human but you were feisty and a decent fighter so they forced you to protect and serve them and, in return, you were treated a bit better than the other prisoners.

As sirens blare in the ship, you run to where you were told to go. You were simply following orders. As you quickly round the corner, your body SLAMS into another, sending you both falling back on your butts. You quickly regain your footing and reach for your dagger before realizing the hard collision of your bodies sent it flying off in another direction. As the other figure stands, you lift your hands and take a wide-legged stance, ready to fight with your bare hands. Before the fighting began, the tall woman in front of you takes off her helmet, making you nearly gasp. "A human?' She asks, her eyes wide. Your hands fell back to your sides as you watched her. She was so tall and pretty. Did you just die and go to heaven because you are so sure she's an angel.

You shake your head to regain clarity and raise your fists again. "Yeah, and who the hell are you?" She steps closer to you, her hands up in a nonthreatening way. "I'm Princess Allura, I am with Voltron. How did you end up here? Why are you working for the galra?" You blink in shock, your hands once again falling to your sides. "Voltron?" You repeat, realizing this could be your savior. "The galra are keeping me here, forcing me to work for them. I-" She cuts you off by grabbing your hand and leading the way. As you run along behind her, you're quick to grab your dragger off the floor and return it to it's sheath on your hip.

You couldn't help but let your eyes wonder the back of her figure, admiring her long legs and slender fingers wrapped around yours. Your hand was sweating but not as much as your face was. This beautiful lady was rescuing you after you nearly punched her just seconds ago. You simply followed along as the rest of the team took out the weapon and soon returned back to the castle.

Once back at the castle, you introduce yourself, explain your situation and sheepishly apologize for making their mission harder. "Well, I'm glad you're here, (Y/N). If the galra were utilizing your talents then I'm sure we can make good use of you, too." The way your name sounded on her voice made your mouth dry. You gulp nervously, staring up at her bright blue eyes. "Y-yeah. I'm glad I'm here too, Princess." She smiles sweetly at you, causing both of you to blush slightly. For just a moment, everything else disappears and it's just you and her, eyes locked, lips slowly turning up into a smile, cheeks growing more and more red. She realizes that the moment is becoming awkward and tense so she looks over to the others, noticing their smirks. They all knew you two were falling for each other. "Well then...are you hungry?" She asks you before glancing at you once more. "Starving." You reply softly before following the team to the dinning room.

[alphaofdarkness]

I FINALLY DID A SONG MEME! 👏🏼🤍 With Kidge as my main inspiration after listening to the song and parts of the lyrics through animation memes✨

I am still forever screaming of the what could have been—should have been with Keith and Pidge meeting before the Kerberos mission launch like! I feel like it would have benefited their friendship and relationship more as the series went on.

Especially considering their partnership as the right and left arm of Voltron, the sword and shield and later with Keith being the leader and Pidge his go to for the analytics much like she was for Shiro early on.

The potential 😭 im forever crying— anyways I’m so happy and proud of this ✨ I hope y’all enjoy 🌿🔥

This maybe the last kidge post for a while, I want to get back into drawing mi tigre and more of my selfships ;;w;; I still have ideas for these two, especially things and fic based draws!

Some of my favorite frames! Also check it out on youtube!

[sh00tingstarzzz]

day 1 without voltron... i'm beginning to lose vision in my left eye and feeling in my right arm

[confusedblakex]

A burning quiet (Pt2)

Pairing: Takashi 'Shiro' Shirogane X (Male) Reader

Summary: This 'human'... a being so soft, so delicate, and yet his power was not drawn from hate. He is like you.

Wordcount: 1848

Warnings: Imprisonment, Mentions of war

Requested by: Me

Notes: Galra commander reader; My final goodbye to Voltron as it leaves Netflix

Last edited: 25th November 2024

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

Shiro awoke with a start.

“Matt! Sam?” he called out, eyes darting across the room… no, cell. Where was he?

The room was bathed in a soft purple glow, a smooth marble floor and cold metal walls. A rectangle of thin fabric lay over him and he shook it off onto the floor.

One of the walls was an energy shield, the reason for the purple glow. Without a thought, Shiro jumped up to his feet and pounded at the shield, his hand stinging at the contact. It felt like thick glass.

It only took a moment before he gave up, opting instead to see what he could find outside his cell.

The room outside his was a bedroom. Stuffed animal heads decorated the wall, and a large bed  in the centre of the room - directly opposite his cell. Between him and the bed was a two-person table with two chairs on a small rug, and little else in the room. The door on the right side wall was shut.

Shiro was alone. Alone in a cell in a bedroom on a ship in space.

He vaguely remembered the recent events. His capture, Sam being sent off to the labour colony, the area. He remembered attacking Matt to take his place in the queue. He remembered managing to kill the gladiator that he had been sent to fight, and he remembered two Galra commanders fighting for him like property.

That’s right, the purple man with the axe won.

Shiro’s thoughts cut short when the room lit up in a yellow light. The door to the bedroom slid open and heavy footsteps sounded on the stone floor.

---

You walked into your room, a bowl carried carefully under your left arm. With a wave of your hand, the lights in the room turned on and the door locked behind you. The Earthling you had caged was standing by the energy shield, glaring at you.

“Where am I?” he demanded, “Let me go!”

You languidly made your way over to your bed, opening a hidden drawer under the mattress and throwing - what Shiro made out to be - a knife into it. You looked up to see the man’s glare and rolled your eyes.

“Well I would if you’d let me get to the door,” you said, as you walked over to the cell and pressed your hand to the control panel. The purple energy shield phased away quickly, and the Earthling stayed standing still. Uncomfortably lingering in his open cell - you were standing too close. He didn’t trust you.

You backed away from the cell, moving towards the table and pulling out a chair.

“Sit.” you commanded. You pulled out your own chair, and sat down, trying your best to look polite and relaxed. The Earthling warily sat down across from you, physically on edge and prepared to run at any moment.

You gently placed the bowl you had been carrying onto the table, carefully pushing it towards him. The Earthling looked down at the bowl, small magenta grape-like things filling it to its brim.

“Oxoco berries,” you clarified calmly, “they will help you regain your strength after your fight, help your body heal. They’re sweet and a little tart.”

The Earthling looked down at the berries again, picking one out of the bowl and rolling it between his fingers, seemingly evaluating it.

“Do you remember how you got here?” you asked to break the odd quiet that had overtaken the room.

“Not fully,” the Earthling admitted after a moment’s hesitation. You huffed air through your nose quietly, realising you weren’t going to get any more out of his as he sniffed the berry in his hand.

“You are on one of the Galra Empire’s flagships. You were found by one of the Empire’s commanders on one of the outer planets of your solar system and bought here, where you were deemed fit enough to fight and fought in a gladiator arena for Galra entertainment,” you told him, trying to keep it concise but accurate, “after you somehow defeated Myzax, I fought for ownership of you.”

“You cut off his arm,” the Earthling said, staring at you. He popped the oxoco berry between his fingers, the deep red juice splattering down his hand. He was odd, almost like he was constantly judging your every move, so on edge.

“Eat,” you reminded him, “if I was going to poison you I wouldn’t have fought for you,”

Your rationalisation seemed to work, as the Earthling looked at you a moment longer, then back to the berry juice on his hand. He tentatively licked at it, smudging a little on his lips.

“They taste like cranberries, a berry back on Earth,” he said quietly, picking another from the bowl.

“Oxoco berries were once grown on the planet Noxxal, they are now only grown on dedicated agriculture planets.” you shared, not quite letting your facade drop.

“Noxxal…” Shiro remembered that name being mentioned before, he remembered it from your fight with that other Galra commander.

“It is the planet I am from.” you explained carefully, “It was once very similar to other green planets such as your Earth, but after the Empire took over, all the natural resources were harvested and the planet became a toxic wasteland,”

Perhaps this Earthling was like you. Your tactics of nicety and caring were seen as deception and a threat. Letting one’s guard down was something so rare on this ship, and if this Earthling was like you in any sense, he would only give his trust to someone who equally trusted him. Perhaps that is why you were drawn to him.

“I am Noxxian and Galran, though that is not public knowledge,” you shared, momentarily being entirely transparent, “you are not to speak of my impure heritage to anyone else, understood?”

You were ashamed, deep down. And that truth was not one told lightly. His attitude seemed to shift a little as he nodded, he relaxed slightly.

“What is your name, Earthling?” you asked, wanting to refer to this man by his name than his species.

“...Shiro,” he said slowly, “-And we call ourselves ‘human’, not Earthling.”

Though you kept it well hidden, you were happy. He spoke a little more this time.

“Thank you, Shiro,” you said, a small smile playing at the corners of your lips, “I am Commander (y/n) (l/n), but when we’re alone you may call me (y/n).”

The human - Shiro - nodded again, taking another berry from the bowl. His eye contect still remained fierce, but it was no longer malicious.

“I’m sure you have questions?” you asked with a sigh, relaxing into your chair, fully prepared for anything he had to ask.

“Where’s Matt? The other human I was with?” he asked instantly.

“After you injured him, he was deemed unfit to fight and sent off to one of the labour colonies,” you explained, “very smart of you to do that,”

He paused at your compliment, processing the information.

“Why are you helping me?”

“Why does anyone do anything?” you asked. It wasn’t a simple question to answer.

“I may be a commander of this empire, but that does not mean I agree with what it is or what it does,” you began slowly. Shiro looked as though he was about to talk, but you stopped him.

“You’ll ask ‘Why are you here then if you don’t agree with it?’ but it really isn’t that simple,” you explained, “on your Earth you know very little outside of your own solar system, but out here, the Galra Empire has taken over a third of known space and is constantly expanding,”

“Your Earth is just beyond the edge of the empire in its current state, but that won’t last forever,” Shiro looked to you, concerned, but you continued, “it has taken my ancestors generations to get to this respectable of a position in the empire, but from within I see all of its flaws. When a ruler is so incredibly ruthless and a society from inception has been built on war and ego, normal good people become warped and support the wrongdoings of the powerful because they have never known any other life.”

“And I need you,” you confessed.

“There is a weapon - Voltron - it is the only thing powerful enough to even threaten Zarcon’s position on the throne and, by extension, the empire as a whole,” you made sure the human was keeping up with you as you spoke, “to stop Zarkon from ever getting his hands on it, it was split up and hidden. One of its pieces is hidden on your planet.” His brows furrowed. 

“When the time is right, we will send you back to Earth. I don’t know when and I don’t know how. All I need, is your trust.”

“Why me?” Shiro asked, not yet grasping his position in all of this.

“You’re strong, you can fight, but you’re kind,” you said softly, “this ship will wear you down, and you’ll still have to fight in the arena, but I believe that if you escape, you could save the universe.”

You felt deeply sorry for the man, to be pulled out of a human life and dragged into intergalactic warfare, to have no choice but to fight endlessly for cheap entertainment or to fight for the freedom of his home planet. 

You sighed and reached for an oxoco berry just as Shiro did, causing you to draw your hand back at the physical contact. He looked confused for a moment, before taking two berries from the bowl and holding one out towards you. You unfurled your fingers and he pressed the berry into your palm.

His skin was… warm and squishy, it felt so fragile. How did this man kill a Galra with nothing but a blade? With your cold, hard skin, tough and smooth, yet this odd fleshy creature had the strength to kill, but a warm and gentle touch.

You shook yourself from that headspace. You took the berry and bit into it, savouring the tart flavour before standing up frm your seat.

“When we are alone, you will be free to roam my room, you may speak to me however you wish, and I will do my best to make you comfortable. But you must stay here.” you instructed Shiro, “If other Galra find out that I am treating you well and that you are not just my ‘pet’ the consequences would be dire for the both of us.”

You garnered no verbal response, but a curt nod was all you needed.

“As I’m sure you realise, none of this is to be spoken of outside of this room,”

“I understand,” he said, eyes never leaving you. He was trying to figure you out, the weird purple alien man who was kind in comparison to his warmongering species.

“I will do my best to keep you safe… though I fear my best may not be good enough.” you spoke quietly, half hoping the Earthling couldn’t hear you.

[foxgloveciara]

thinking about voltron but like. how messed up is it that by the end of the series shiro was a clone.

like I'm going off this by memories but from what I remember shiro died. replaced by his clone (or kuron as we ogs called him) kuron activates. dies. but then not clone shiros soul goes into kurons body.

and like. that being said. shiros new body 100% has different scars as original did.

like maybe he had a scar on his leg from an incident with a stick as a kid, or a thin mark across his finger from cutting some food, yknow simple scars from memories of your childhood playing, then also sadder ones too, but he doesn't have them.

not to mention this new body has scars he doesn't know the origin from. the scar across his nose for example. we know how he originally got it. but how did this body get it? if we're going of this is an entirely new body he shouldn't have scars like this. there's marks all along his body surely from any experimentation the galra did to his body. we assume as viewers the glara removed kurons arm for the mechanised prosthetic (so does that mean og shiro had the same arm? that was the thing that activated kuron with the magic right? if shiro survived would he have become like kuron?)

then there's also a fear. was there more clones made. are they alive. what kind of people are they. do they think their team left them? we assume the clones must have some sort of need to go back to their teammates, kuron wouldn't have gotten to them if not.

also if we're assuming the amount of experimentation it too for the glara to remove the bodies original illness that would've killed him. how many died. what experiments did they go through before getting to kuron. did they try different human ages? is there a baby clone of shiro around?

just long sigh. I've not seen anyone question these things so I wonder.

[roththeprimordial]

Danny: Alright, it looks like this big monster won’t go down without a fight! Heads up guys! It’s time for Tactic 15!

Zim: What?!

Jimmy: Oh, geez… Not that stupid tactic..

SpongeBob: But that tactic is still untested!

Timmy: We have no choice, guys! Let’s do it!

(Jimmy, Timmy, Danny, SpongeBob, and Zim all run towards each other and combine in a Voltron-like fashion. Danny acts as the main body as Jimmy and Timmy hold up Danny by his feet and act as the legs. Zim wraps his legs around Danny’s right arm and acts as his hand. And SpongeBob jumped on Danny’s shoulders and acts as the head)

Danny: BIG EMPEROR!

Jimmy:

Timmy:

Zim:

SpongeBob:

Jimmy: This is by far the dumbest thing I’ve ever been apart of in my life.

SpongeBob: Wait, guys! We aren’t ready yet!

Danny: What do you mean, Buddy?

SpongeBob: It’s Jenny! She haven’t docked on your left arm yet!

Danny: What?! Oh man!

Zim: Machine that resembles an Earth female, what are you doing?!

SpongeBob: Jenny! We need you!

Danny: There’s no time for this! Just dock onto my left arm quickly! You’re already a robot! You were made for this!

Jenny: … No.

Danny, SpongeBob, Zim, and Timmy:

Jenny: I’m NOT embarrassing myself like that.

Danny, SpongeBob, Zim, and Timmy:

Jenny: As human beings, you should be ashamed.

Danny, SpongeBob, Zim, and Timmy: SHE REJECTED US!!!

[tendebill]

drew the ow strike team as paladins of voltron, because i am normal about them :]

(2 other versions and a fucking essay below the cut!)

ok so im gonna give my reasoning for each of them

Reinhardt - the easierst to pick, the Yellow Lion is the most tank-like (besides the Black Lion, but thats cuz Black is the head + torso), also i think the legs of voltron are supposed to be the "pillars" that allow the team to work well, without them the whole thing crumbles (literally). from what i recall from the actual show, the Yellow Paladin is protective and loyal. Rein was the easiest to match up tbh (plus even the color fits lol)

Torbjörn - not my favourite choice, but tbh i dont think any other lion fits him? besides maybe Yellow, but Rein was too perfect so i couldnt give Torb that one. anyway, the Green Lion is the left hand. i consider the legs to be the "pillars" holding up the team, whereas the arms are the actual damage-dealers/the ones that act on what the leader commands. and as Torb is a dps, that fits just fine. hes not quite a leader, so being the left hand instead of the right is good. plus the Green Lion is inquisitive and curious, and since Torb is a genius, that fits just fine too. i thought he would look weird with green, since i associate him with red-orange-yellow the most, but he looks kinda nice

Ana - i was originally gonna make her blue from the get-go, but i thought it'd be silly to make the remaining three switch lions a bunch, so i can get an excuse to draw Gabe and Jack in multiple suits lmao. but Ana starts out as red, the right hand of Voltron, described as the most temperamental and aggressive. it requires a paladin that can keep up with it and works on instinct most of the time. i feel like Ana would have to BECOME the motherly figure for her team, instead of being one from the start. with that i think she would have been a more "lone wolf" type at first, only later on becoming more mindful of her teammates and how much they need her, which would lead to her becoming the paladin of the Blue Lion - a pillar that keeps the team going along with Rein, a vital part, but no longer in a leadership position. i've seen the Blue Lion described as a "free spirit" too, which i think is also perfect for her :3

Jack - for him i had three options, all of which fit him well: blue, red and black. and instead of picking one, i decided he was going to have three different lions :))) for shits and giggles. so he starts out as blue, a free spirit, very versitile (from what i gathered, the Blue Lion doesn't have a specific "thing" it specilizes in, but instead does a little bit of everything, kinda like Jack). i imagine Jack was the middle-man, an integral part of team-building. he would have been the one to push everyone to work together and follow Gabe's lead, but he was content being on the sidelines most of the time. eventually he takes up more responsibility, sees that he's vital for the team and that he can do more working side by side with Gabe, and so he becomes the paladin of the Red Lion, Gabe's right hand man. then he of course slowly grows to be the actual leader, as Gabe's approach changes and he slowly abandons his original role, passing the command over to Jack. and so Jack's last lion is the Black Lion. also i feel like all three lions fit Jack's color scheme pretty well, so that's another win for me hah

Gabe - since he was the original Strike Commander, i thought it only natural that he would be the first to pilot the Black Lion. the pilot needs to be decisive, stay cool in the face of danger and be someone whose men will follow him into battle with no hesitation - all traits that i see Gabriel would have had to have during the first Omnic Crisis. like i mentioned before, Jack eventually becomes his second in command, and then slowly their roles start to shift. Gabe is no longer content in making decisions for the whole team, he probably also becomes more violent and reckless, relying on Jack to keep him in check. he loses his connection with the Black Lion and becomes the paladin of the Red Lion, Jack's right hand man. the traits of Red fit him well too - aggressive, relies on instinct, temperamental, plus i imagine Gabe is the type to want to get things done as quickly as possible, no matter the risk, to save more people faster. plus, again, the colors match up yaaaay!

fun fact: i never finished watching voltron ^^

also i am truthing anahardt and reaper76 as we speak

[autisticlancemcclain]

“That was bad,” Lance murmurs.

The last team member has just left the room, footsteps slowly fading down the hallway. Left is only the red and black paladins, sat at the head of the table, one with his elbows resting on the table, head in his hands, and the other tipped back in the chair, looking blankly up at the ceiling.

“Yeah,” Keith agrees, eyes crossed and unfocused. He sighs, tipping forward and straightening his neck. “It was.”

It’s not unusual for Voltron to fail. They’re fighting a force so huge and ancient and convoluted that they can’t possibly be truly, entirely victorious; the lions are powerful, and Voltron moreso, but they can only be in so many places at once. There is only so much information they can have. And they are all so young, besides, inexperienced and fumbling in their own confusion.

The fail frequently.

But rarely so ardently, and so congruently.

“I didn’t get all the details,” Lance says softly. He picks his head up; brown eyes still tired and downcast but pen prepped for notes. “The rest of them…this briefing didn’t get anywhere. I need the story from you.”

It’s true. The last half hour was almost completely silent. No one had looked up from their laps, faces streaked with tears or carefully neutral, defeat lining postures and pulling down frowns. Any questions Keith or Lance had asked to try and spark discussion, get notes for later improvements, went nowhere. No one could summon their voices to speak, to vocalize their disappointment and pain.

“Let’s not,” Keith begs. At Lance’s hesitant face, he bulldozes forward, pleading hand on Lance’s arm. “I can’t now, Lance. I honestly don’t think I could make myself go through it, not yet. I just want to — ignore it. Just for tonight.”

Lance scrutinizes him carefully, holding his gaze, trying to read right through him. It’s not like Keith to beg for a break, to insist on taking a breather. He’s usually the one to convince them to get up again and keep going.

But they’ve all been going for so long. They’re tired. The team’s tired. Keith’s tired. Lance is tired.

They can’t keep running on empty.

“Alright,” Lance whispers. He slides his arm back a tad, flipping his hand to grab Keith’s and squeeze. “Let’s take a breather.”

He pushes his chair back and stands, pulling Keith up with him. Keith doesn’t fight it, simply follows behind him. Lance leads him out of the briefing room and down the hall, ducking into the kitchen and flipping on the lights.

“Hang on,” he says. He squeezes Keith’s hand once, shooting him a small grin, and then makes his way to a largely unused set of shelves and cabinets on the back. He climbs up onto the counter, then opens the cabinets by his feet, using the doors as footholds.

Keith snorts to himself. Spider boy.

He finally manages to find what he’s looking for and scrambles back down to the floor, holding out a bottle of something.

“Shiro’s stash?” he asks, eyebrows raised.

“Coran’s,” Lance says with a grin. “The nastiest nunvil in the galaxy.”

Keith makes to grab a couple glasses, but then stills, getting an idea.

“Keith?”

“Come with me.”

Keith dashes out the hallway, not waiting for Lance — he’s got long legs, he’ll follow.

He speeds past their rooms, past the royal wing where Allura sleeps, past the rest of the paladin rooms. He slides his boots past the training room, Lance’s whooping laughter behind him. He dashes all the way to the very edge of the castle, the forgotten corner, with the giant windows showcasing beautiful and dark empty space — and the pool.

Lance grins at him. Some of the tiredness faces from his dark eyes, replaced with something alive, excited. “You know, sometimes your brain actually pumps out a decent thought or two, Kogane.”

“Oh, piss off.”

They duck into the room, walking up the side walls like Coran showed them all those years ago, feeling the swoop in their bellies as the gravity changes. Keith barely even pauses to strip down to his boxers before diving into the pool. The cool water is like a balm to his heated, sweaty skin and tired brain. He inhales deeply when he finally comes up for air, and the relief settles like heavy snow in his bones.

“God, that feels good.”

He keeps his eyes closed for a moment, waiting for the telltale signs of Lance cannonballing in, but all he hears is the sound of rustling fabric, then a soft grunt and gentle waves. He turns around to see Lance, down to his boxers like Keith, but sat in the edge of the pool, legs swishing in the water. He still holds the bottle of nunvil in one well-manicured hand.

“You’re not coming in?” Keith questions, swimming over to the side of the pool and hooking his arms over the ledge. Lance scoots back slightly, lifting one leg out from the pool and tucking it under the other so he can face Keith better. He pops the cork — narrowly missing Keith’s eye, which makes him laugh and Keith curse at him — and takes a deep swig, hacking up a lung when he comes up for air. He passes the bottle off the Keith as he wipes his mouth.

“God, that shit is disgusting.”

Keith coughs as the bitter taste coats his mouth. “Yep.”

He hands the bottle back to Lance, who takes only a sip before setting it resolutely down behind him. “Nasty.”

Keith hums. He pushes back slightly from the ledge, tipping his head back as he treads water. He says nothing for a while, sensing that Lance is sitting on something, turning it over in his mind.

“Was it really a total ambush?” Lance asks eventually. His voice is quiet; small almost.

Keith sighs, heavy and pained. “Yeah. Just —” he sighs again, tilting his head back in the water until it covers his ears and mutes all the ambient sound, softens the sound of Lance’s feet kicking slowly through the water. “Just a total ambush. No chance of our victory. Me and Hunk and Pidge, watching everything go to shit.”

He imagines he can hear Lance’s heartbeat, his even breaths. He matches them to the swish of the water, to his own steady heart pounding.

“I’m sorry,” Lance offers. Keith lifts his head so his voice doesn’t sound so far away, meets his soft brown eyes head-on.

“It happens,” Keith dismisses. They’ll have to talk about it later, the entire team, but the slight buzz of the nunvil makes everything soft and fuzzy and easier to handle, so for now he doesn’t worry about it. “How’d it fail with the diplomatic mission, though? You and Allura are usually do good at those.”

To his surprise, a light flush dusts Lance’s cheeks. Keith places his feet in the floor, leaning forward in intrigue.

“No particular reason,” Lance says, obviously lying. “Just a rough one. Happens.”

“Try again,” Keith says, smiling teasingly. “I know that look. Something embarrassing happened to you.”

Keith isn’t honestly expecting him to fess up. Keith probably wouldn’t, in his shoes. But for whatever reason, despite his obvious embarrassment, Lance averts his eyes slightly and mutters something.

“Huh?”

“She wanted to kiss me,” he repeats, way too loud. He clears his throat, flush deepening on his cheekbones. “The, uh, the president’s daughter? Said it was some sort of custom, and that I needed to kiss her to seal the contract. I wouldn’t do it and Allura wouldn’t let them force me, so they walked away.”

Keith frowns slightly at the tinge of self-doubt clouding the Cuban’s voice.

“Good for Allura,” he says emphatically. He holds Lance’s gaze until he’s sure his right hand understands, until he knows that he knows that they made the right choice, even if it was a hard one. “I’m a little surprised, though, Loverboy. Gone are the days where you would have jumped for a chance of that, huh?”

He’s only joking, playing at the way Lance used to brag about all the princes and princesses he’d score with his paladin status, but to his surprise Lance looks slightly uncomfortable, like he’s caught in a lie. Keith narrows his eyes.

“I’ve never actually kissed anyone,” Lance admits, so quietly Keith has to strain to hear, and it takes him a second to process. His eyes widen comically when he does, jaw dropping in shock. “No way. You? Loverboy Lance? You’ve never been kissed.”

Face flaming, Lance ignores him, reaching back for the bottle of nunvil and chugging until he literally can’t stand the taste anymore and gags.

“Hey, hey, slow down! Pass that over.”

Dutifully Lance does, still averting his gaze. Keith takes a quick swig — blegh — before swimming over to place the bottle on the other end of the pool, out of Lance’s reach.

“Cant believe you’ve never been kissed,” Keith mutters, half to himself. It really is a shock. He’s always known that Lance plays up his playboy status, that he plays a bit of a part, but he’s assumed that Lance had no shortage of suitors to sort through. There’s no way a boy walks around with legs that long and a face that pretty and isn’t at least a little aware that he’s gorgeous.

Lance shrugs slightly, eyes trained on a very specific area of the pool, pointedly away from Keith. “Just want it to be special, is all.”

For the briefest, barest second, Lance glances at Keith, before hastily looking back away. His fingers start tapping rapidly on his knee.

Something clicks in Keith’s head.

Oh.

He smirks, widely, tilting his head back and looking at his right hand with cocky, half-lidded eyes.

“Aw, you’ve never been kissed,” he teases, voice a touch condescending, making it clear that Keith had definitely been kissed, and it’s cute that Lance hasn’t.

Lance scowls, refusing to rise to the bait. Keith smiles wider, letting some of his blatant fondness bleed through the playfully. He lifts his arm from the water, splashing getting Lance attention, and crooks his finger, beckoning. His heart pounds, but he refuses to bow to any nerves.

“C’mere.”

His voice is so quiet that he’s almost convinced that Lance can’t hear him, but slowly he pushes off the ledge, sliding into the water and making his way to where Keith stands, water up to his chest. He comes all the way close, stopping only inches away. Keith reaches over, water dripping rapidly from his arm, and cups his hand around Lance’s cheek. It burns, but Lance doesn’t move, rigid in Keith’s hold, breaths stuttered and short.

Slowly, giving Lance time to move if he likes, he leans in. He keeps his eyes open as long as he can, so he can watch Lance’s flutter closed, watch him sigh, watch him lean close, watch his fingers curl around Keith’s arm, watch the freckles over his nose and the water droplets of the pool dotting his brown skin. He keeps his eyes open until his lips finally touch Lance’s, gently, softly, reverently.

This kiss is not long. Barely lasts two seconds. But Keith’s belly is flip flopping, and his heart is pounding, and when he pulls away he stays, for a moment, an inch from Lance’s face, just to watch his eyes flutter back open, hazy, dark.

“Hope that was special enough,” he murmurs, trailing his hand down Lance’s bare ribs, down his waist, resting on his hip for just a moment. Lance shudders.

“Yeah,” he whispers, glancing at Keith’s lips like he’s longing to press them to his again. “Yeah, it was.”

———

based on this post

[galraluver]

Royal Greetings my love,

Your fics are a work of art, love it!! May I request something for Kolivan?

I think most galrans believe in love at first sight (like Zarkons brain was drowned in pink glitter when he saw Honerva for the first time) and what if Kolivan had this moment as well with (Female) Blade!Reader when he saw her the fist time without her mask on a mission (aka. the best time to fall in love with someone)?

If you're finding some time to write that scenario/headcanon: Take all the time you need honey, i know it's tough writing requests for others (and yours are so good and nice to read on top of that!)

You're doing great, thank you for everything!

- Fürstin Lya

I'm glad that you like my fics so much 🥰 I only wish that I had more time to write. Of course I can; this is a super cute idea 💖

I appreciate you being so patient with me. Without further ado, here it is 💕

_________________________________________

(Y/n) was just the average Marmoran operative; she was trained by Krolia and Antok made her an official member after her trials because Kolivan had been away at the time, so Kolivan had never seen her face before. She'd been out on missions with Kolivan many times and over time she developed a little crush on her leader, unfortunately as far as she was aware he wasn't interested in a romantic relationship with anyone. The only people who knew about her crush on Kolivan were her close friends and Ulaz; Ulaz had a knack for knowing when someone was in love with someone else, even when they never actually told him. (Y/n) did her best to prove herself to Kolivan by taking only the most dangerous missions when they came up and she was successful with all of them, luckily the worst that happened to her during one mission in particular was that she almost lost her left arm.

Kolivan was aware of who (Y/n) was despite having never seen her face and he was very impressed by her success rate; he would eventually like to personally meet her on a more casual level. When he, Antok and (Y/n) went with Allura to galra central command it was (Y/n) who saved Antok’s life, putting herself in danger so that he wouldn't be killed. It was then that Kolivan made up his mind that he wanted to meet (Y/n) face to face as soon as they had time. After the battle at central command, Antok, (Y/n) and Thace had to stay in three of the castle's healing pods, although since (Y/n) wasn't too badly injured she was only asleep for about a day. Kolivan and Ulaz remained at the castle, waiting for their comrades to finish healing; right before (Y/n) was deemed healed Kolivan was in the lounge with the paladins.

“Wait, so you've never even seen (Y/n's) face? And you like her?” Lance asked Kolivan after he explained how he knew the young galran woman, dumbfounded that the Marmoran leader liked someone despite never actually seeing her face before.

“I never said that I held affection for her.” Kolivan corrected the blue paladin, feeling a little flustered.

“You didn't have to, I can tell when someone really likes someone else. That's why they call me the doctor of love.” Lance responded, bragging about his special gift.

“Lance, no one calls you that.” Keith responded flatly, hoping that Kolivan wouldn't take Lance seriously.

Lance gawked at Keith, immediately getting into an argument with the slightly older boy who always had to ruin his fun. Keith didn't see it as ruining Lance's fun, he just preferred to be realistic. Kolivan couldn't believe that mere children were able to fight in a ten-thousand year war and have some degree of success; Shiro had originally whipped them into shape, but without him around then Kolivan feared that team Voltron would fall apart. In the meantime, (Y/n) had come out of the healing pod she'd been staying in and Ulaz decided to go get Kolivan after he gave her a check-up just to make sure she was alright. Keith and Lance stopped arguing when Ulaz entered the lounge, listening as he told Kolivan that (Y/n) was ready.

“Go get her!” Lance said as he cheered Kolivan on, hoping that the older man would finally meet the woman of his dreams.

“Lance!” The other three paladins chided their friend in sync, each of them feeling a little embarrassed from the way he acted around Kolivan.

Kolivan wasn't expecting Lance to cheer him on when he didn't even have romantic tendencies towards (Y/n), he viewed her as his subordinate and nothing more because they were at war and there was no time for romance. Subconsciously he'd taken a slight interest in her, but consciously he'd convinced himself that he didn't see (Y/n) as a potential romantic partner. On the way to the infirmary Ulaz could tell that his leader was anxious and a little excited, and after talking to (Y/n) he knew she was really excited to finally have a little one-on-one time with Kolivan. When they arrived at their destination Ulaz left so he could give them some privacy, knowing that everything would go well between his friend and his leader. As soon as the door slid open and Kolivan saw (Y/n's) face he was awestruck; he just stood there for a moment, taking in her beauty while she looked at him with confusion, he wasn't expecting one of his most talented operatives to look so beautiful.

“You must be (Y/n).” Kolivan managed to choke out, feeling dizzy and lightheaded as he walked over to her; he felt embarrassed for not being able to speak clearly, it was the first time it happened and he wasn't sure how to handle being in the presence of such a fine young woman.

“That's me. Leader, are you feeling alright?” (Y/n) answered professionally prior to voicing her concern for him; she never thought that she would see the day when Kolivan got flustered, she thought it was really cute.

Before he saw (Y/n) without her mask Kolivan convinced himself that he could never fall in love with her, that changed as soon as he saw her without the hood and the mask of her uniform in the way. All he could do was stand there with his mouth slightly agape, staring at her face; if he was in one of those memes Regris had shown him, then he was sure that there would have been tiny beating hearts all around him. (Y/n) was a patient woman and she knew that Kolivan needed a moment to regain his composure; she didn't necessarily believe she was beautiful, but after breathing in his pheromones she could easily tell that he really liked what he saw.

“I just wanted to tell you that you did well yesterday, not everyone would save their superior in such a dangerous situation.” Kolivan said once his brain started working again, feeling the need to say something.

“I had to, he's one of us. Now that we have some time to recover from the mission, I would like to sit next to you during dinner this evening, if that's alright with you.” (Y/n) responded shyly, hoping to finally get to know her leader better, perhaps on a more personal level if he were to allow it.

“I would like that very much. But if you'll temporarily pardon me, I have something important to go discuss with Ulaz. I look forward to seeing you later.” Kolivan said before he excused himself, briefly smiling at (Y/n) on his way out of the infirmary.

(Y/n) reciprocated the smile and felt giddy; she assumed that he wanted to discuss Antok and Thace's health with Ulaz, although she felt giddy about sitting next to him at dinner. Since she felt better she decided to go to her temporary bedroom so that she could rest and get herself ready; there were a few hours left before dinner, and the young woman decided to wash up before dinnertime. While (Y/n) got herself ready for dinner, Kolivan went to go talk to Ulaz who was a known hopeless romantic, if anyone could give him love advice then it would be Ulaz. Just thinking about (Y/n) made him feel nervous because he'd never truly been in love before, but he wanted to get to know her better and with the possibility of a safer universe he was ready to open himself up to her and give love a chance. Until dinnertime, he and (Y/n) would get themselves ready for what would be the start to the rest of their lives together.

[sonekwi]

☆ ⸻ the white paladin, keith x reader

chapter five: training

characters/parings: keith, female reader

genre: fanfiction

summary: the team spends the day training, but barely any progress is made.

word count: 2,977

links: previous, next, wattpad, masterlist

     After getting the Black Lion, the team had to act fast. Sendak was entering the Arusian atmosphere.

     At first, you guys weren't entirely sure what to do. You had only fought aliens once before, and even then you didn't defeat them. You just managed to get away.

     Unfortunately, that uncertainty almost caused you all to get captured. But the others had managed to form Voltron by some miracle, quickly saving you from the hands of Sendak at the last second.

     After that, you and the White Lion helped Voltron take down Sendak's ship. And it felt nice fighting alongside the others. It felt nice knowing you had an important role, and not one where you were sitting on the sidelines.

     Now, you lay in your bed staring at the ceiling. You're bored out of your mind and replaying the battle in your head can only entertain you so much. You wish you could access the internet, watch some Netflix, or listen to Spotify. But out in the middle of the universe, cellular service isn't a thing.

     You sit up, deciding you might as well wander around and get familiar with the layout of the castle. You toss on your hoodie, forever grateful that you brought it with you the night you left Earth, and leave your room.

     The empty, quiet halls of the castle feel weird to you. You're so used to the crowdedness of the Garrison, the constant noise of chatter. You begin to imagine what the halls would have been like ten thousand years ago. Probably filled with royal servants waiting to answer anyone's beck and call.

     You don't get far from your room when you pass by another. You stop, hearing the scraping of metal on the inside. You backtrack a bit and peek through the open doorway. Keith sits on his bed, sharpening a knife.

     "Hey," you say, knocking against the door frame.

     "Oh, hey," Keith says and quickly sets the knife down. "What's up?"

     "Nothing. Just bored," you shrug and enter his room. You plop down next to him.

     Keith smiles softly, "And you want me to make you not bored," he says.

     "Obviously," you smile and roll your eyes. "I do have a question though."

     "Ask away," Keith says.

     "What does your bond with the Red Lion feel like?" you ask, bringing your leg up to your chest. You hug your arms around it and rest your chin on your knee. If you can gain some insight on this Paladin-Lion bond, maybe you can figure out if that's what you feel with the White Lion.

     You never did get the official declaration like the others did. You don't know what the White Lion's personality is like, or what its Paladin should be like. You don't even know if you are its Paladin, or if you even should be.

     Coran said it was unfit for battle... yet it seemed to do just fine fighting Sendak.

     "I... don't know," Keith says softly. "I'm not sure how to describe it."

     "Okay, I just– I feel something strange with the White Lion. Almost as if it's... tied to me, tied to my energy," you say.

     "That seems about right," Keith says with a shrug. "I mean, I felt something pretty similar when we found the Red Lion. That was the moment that I knew I was its Paladin."

     You nod, "Okay, so I'm not crazy, the White Lion chose me."

     "Why would you think you're crazy?" Keith asks, giving you a confused look.

     "The last two days don't feel real," you say and stare at the floor. "One moment I'm in my dorm room, the next I'm in a completely different galaxy fighting aliens. This all feels like some weird fever dream."

     "Well, I'm pretty sure this isn't a dream," Keith says, "Because it'd be really weird that we're having the exact same dream."

     "Yeah," you sigh.

     "Hey," Keith nudges you. "I'll be here to keep you grounded. I'll tell you as many times as I have to that this is all real."

     You smile, feeling a warmth spread within your chest. Back at the Garrison, Keith was always holding you steady. Whenever you were feeling homesick or the self-doubt was creeping in, he was there for you. You're glad that didn't change.

     "Promise?" you ask, looking up at him.

     "Promise," he says.

The castle alarms go off and Allura's voice shouts throughout the halls. Your heart begins to pound wildly as she alerts everyone to a Galra attack, and both you and Keith jump from the bed and run out of the room.

You burst into the bridge room, where Allura stands with her arms crossed and a frustrated look on her face. Shiro is already there, and Pidge and Hunk run in shortly after you. Lance, however, is nowhere to be found.

The alarms stop and Allura sighs.

"I guess this isn't an actual attack," Shiro says.

"And it's a good thing it wasn't because it took you too long to respond. You must always be ready to battle with Zarkon," Allura scolds, pacing in front of the group. She then gestures her hand at you all, "I mean, look at you! Shiro is the only one in uniform! Where are you guys' bayards? And where is Lance?"

Just as your brother's name leaves her mouth, he enters the room. You slap a hand over your mouth to suppress your laugh. The sight of your brother dressed in a matching set of pajamas, a bathrobe, and slippers fashioned after the Blue Lion is almost too much to bear.

"Good morning everyone," Lance says, "What's going on?"

Allura shakes her head. "Coran and I have been up for hours getting the castle back in order. We had to run a rest on the alarms, so we decided to test you as well. Guess which one failed?" she growls, staring all of you down.

Hunk yawns, "Hey, you guys got to sleep for ten thousand years. Monday night, I was on Earth, and so far I've flown through space, fought some evil aliens, and eaten weird goo in a castle. It's... a lot to process."

You purse your lips, No kidding.

"You must understand the stakes of our mission," Allura says, pulling up a screen. She presses a few buttons and the map of the universe fills the room again. "Over the last ten thousand years, the castle picked up distress beacons from the following locations, so we have to assume that Zarkon has conquered almost the entire known universe."

The majority of the blue stars, galaxies, and coordinates turn red. Only a small chunk of the map remains the same. Allura spins it so that the chunk is in the center of our focus.

"Earth is over here, so an attack on your planet is inevitable," she says. "And our mission is to free all planets. Coran and I are getting the castle ready to leave Arus. In the meantime, you need to learn how to form Voltron again."

Shiro nods, "The princess is right. Let's get to our Lions and start training."

⁀➷

You sit in the White Lion, watching the others try to figure out how to form Voltron. You wish you had a bowl of popcorn because some of their ideas are absolutely ridiculous. If they knew what they did to form Voltron when fighting Sendak, maybe it would be easier for them.

But, you're not entirely sure what they did either. It just kind of... happened.

At least you can spend the time theorizing about the White Lion's flaws. So far nothing feels broken or useless about it. It flies just fine.

You wish it would talk to you like the Blue Lion talked to Lance.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I may be able to help," Allura says over the intercom. "Yesterday, you didn't form Voltron until you were in the heat of battle. I need to run a diagnostics test on all of the castle's defenses, so this should help!"

"Oh, crap!" you jump out of the way of a laser blast. The particle barrier rises around the castle, the turrets ruthlessly engaging.

"Allura! What are you doing?" Keith shouts.

"Like I said, running a diagnostic test and inspiring you!" she repeats, her voice too cheerful for the situation. "I believe in you, Paladins. Let fear be your guide! Form Voltron!"

She's freaking crazy! you dodge another blast, adrenaline pumping through your veins. The White Lion growls and you can feel its annoyance.

"Please, stop, have mercy on us!" Hunk begs as he narrowly escapes the blasts.

"You think Zarkon is going to have mercy on you?" Allura asks, "He's probably on his way right now to destroy us all!"

Lance turns the Blue Lion around and heads towards the castle. "Screw this! I'm getting out of here!" he shouts, but the castle's barrier repels him, knocking the Blue Lion to the ground.

��    Your dashboard flashes red, warning you that the turrets have locked onto the White Lion. But, just as soon as it happens, the shooting stops and the castle's barrier drops. You pause, wondering what the heck is going on.

     "Uh... so much for that," Pidge comments.

     "I don't know about you guys, but I'm heading back inside," Hunk says and the Yellow Lion flies towards the castle.

You shrug and do the same. As you bring the White Lion to its hangar, the large doors open upon sensing its presence and allow it inside. And when its large claws touch the ground, it lowers its head to let you out.

You sigh as you exit the Lion, and just as you are about the leave, you feel something pull on your energy. You stop in the entryway and glance back at the Lion. A wave of loneliness washes over you.

You look around the hangar, now realizing it's where King Alfor had stashed the White Lion. You can only imagine how long it stayed in there before being sent away to an unknown place, only to be alone again.

You're also now realizing that the Voltron Lions are much more sentient and emotional than you originally thought. 

"Hey, (y/n)–"

You scream and jump out of your skin at Lance's sudden appearance. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" you glare at him.

     "Whatever," Lance rolls his eyes. "Everyone's going to chill in the lounge if you want to join."

     You glance back at the White Lion with an apologetic face. You feel bad, but you should be bonding with your team when you can. There will be plenty of time to bond with the White Lion later.

     Lance leads you through the castle and into a room. A conversation pit sits in the center, and the others (except Shiro, Allura, and Coran) are already relaxing on the couches. You step into the pit and plop down next to Keith.

     Hunk tosses you a water pouch. You take the plastic straw glued to its side and poke it through. It reminds you of a Capri Sun.

     "I can't imagine how mentally drained you guys are," you say, recalling all the different things they tried to form Voltron.

     "No kidding," Pidge grumbles.

     "I don't understand how forming Voltron can be so hard," Hunk says with a sigh. "Why can't there be a button for it?"

     Lance lays down on the couch and rests a leg on the back of it. "Who knows? I just want this day to be over with."

     The doors to the room slide open and Allura and Coran walk in, the two of them talking about the castle's mechanics. But Allura stops upon seeing you all in the lounge.

     She smiles brightly, "You guys did it! You formed Voltron!"

     "No," Keith says, "The shooting stopped and the particle barrier shut down, so we just flew in."

     Allura's face falls. "What?"

     "Oh, sorry!" Coran says, "I had to turn off the castle's defenses to test the fire suppressors."

     You shrug. Either way, you're not complaining. With everyone being all over the place and still trying to adjust to this new life, adding more chaos isn't going to help.

     Shiro enters the room, "What are you guys doing in here? We're not taking a break."

     "He's right," Allura nods, "You should be training."

     Hunk groans. "We've been training. When are we going back to Earth?"

     "Well, I'm not going back until I find my family anyway," Pidge says.

     "Guys," Shiro says and rests his hands on his hips. "There won't be an Earth unless we figure out how to fight Zarkon."

     "How though? You guys haven't been able to form Voltron again," you say and take a sip of your water.

     Coran joins the conversation, "Well, I'm not surprised. The original Paladins fought hundreds of battles together side-by-side. They were like a pack of yalmors linked at the ears!"

     You raise a brow, what the heck is a yalmor?

     Lance sighs, "Yeah, that's definitely not us."

     "During the last attack, you're survival instincts forced you to work as a team," Coran explains, "But that will only get you so far. You'll have to become a real team if you want to form Voltron."

     "You should try working out on the training deck!" Allura suggests.

     "There's a training deck?" you ask.

⁀➷

     The next few hours are spent listening to Coran ramble on about being a team and doing various trust-building exercises. At the start, you're all for it, but as time drags on you get less and less enthusiastic about it.

The group is getting nowhere. Lance and Keith can't stop bickering, Hunk and Pidge would rather be doing other things, and Shiro is getting more and more agitated. You're honestly surprised he hasn't lost his cool yet.

     You sit on the floor of the training room with your back leaning against Lance's. Coran hands out refreshments while the group takes a much-needed mental break again.

"You have been working hard," Coran praises. "You guys should relax a little–"

"What are you doing?"

You groan and roll your eyes. Anytime the group tries to sit down and chill for a bit, it gets interrupted.

Allura stands before all of you, her hands on her hips. There's a disapproving glare on her face.

"You're supposed to be training!" she scolds.

Coran defends everyone, "Just resting a bit. You know, you can't push too hard.

"What do you mean?" Allura growls, "Get up, you lazy lumps. It's time you faced the Gladiator!"

"The what now?" you ask.

But your question is soon answered when the princess has the six of you positioned in a defensive ring, an Altean android standing before you. It bears a lengthy spear, the ceiling lights gleaming off of the blade.

You activate your bayard and shield, watching the Gladiator like a hawk. Beside you, Keith holds his sword close. You share a glance and smile at each other. If this is anything like the Galra soldiers you fought, this should be easy!

     "To defeat the Gladiator, six Paladins must fight as one," Coran explains.

     At his words, the Gladiator lunges towards you. Panicking at its immense speed, you stumble out of its way. But its reflexes are even faster. You aren't even given a chance to fight back as it knocks you off your feet and hits the butt of its spear against your stomach.

     You slowly pick yourself up, watching as the Gladiator turns to your teammates. It effortlessly takes out Hunk and Pidge, the two now lying in a pile on the floor.

     You feel like this is way too difficult for people who have little to no combat experience.

     Lance tries to shoot the Gladiator down but misses most of his shots. The ones that do make contact are deflected off of the Gladiator's spear.

     "Oh no!" Lance cries out. The Gladiator disarms him in a flash and throws him across the room into Keith. The two fall to the ground.

     Shiro stands before the Gladiator, probably the only one who truly stands a chance. Your eyes widen as his robotic arm glows a purplish-white, the scalding heat distorting the air around it. When was this a thing?

     The Gladiator attacks, but Shiro doesn't move. You recognize what's happening and quickly rush over to him. He froze like this on the Galra ship.

     Metal clashes on metal, and the Gladiator's spear pushes against your scythe. You groan, struggling to counter its strength. You have to think quickly.

     You swing your scythe to the side, hooking the Gladiator's spear in the crook of the curved blade. With the small opening you created, you swing the other end and pierce through gaps in the Gladiator’s armor. Sparks pop and sizzle, but the fight isn't over.

     The Gladiator aims its attack at your head and you barely dodge. It seems completely unfazed by the damage you caused. And in an instant, your butt hits the ground.

     Allura walks over and stands scowling. She powers down the Gladiator with a simple touch before beginning her lecturing and scolding. "That combat simulator was set at a level fit for an Altean child! You're not even close to working as a team, let alone ready to face Zarkon!"

     "You know what?" you growl as you stand up. Your eyes lock with hers and you step closer. "I'm sick and tired of you acting like you're better than us. Unless you put yourself through the same crap as us, you can just shut your mouth."

     "(y/n)," Shiro says, his voice low with warning.

     You clench your jaw and leave the training deck before you do or say anything you'll regret. But you're right. If Allura showed just a morsel of empathy and understanding, maybe she would see some progress

[corvus--rex]

This got a pretty "meh" response on the bird app. Let's see how it does here. This is parts 1 & 2 as of right now

~~~

pt 1

Ever think that the tight clothes, gloves, tiny jacket that does absolutely nothing are because Keith believes he doesn't deserve care, comfort, softness? Lance hadn't, until he really noticed Keith's body language for the first time after the Blade trials. The tightly crossed arms, how he kept himself separated from everyone else even when in the same room, how he always looked ready to bolt at the slightest whisper. He kept everyone at arm's length, reinforcing that distance with sharp-tongued jabs and insults.

It got so much worse after Shiro disappeared. Keith's normally prickly at best exterior had been dipped in venom and no one could stop him from disappearing for hours in Red, scouring space for any sign of his missing brother. Lance couldn't even begin to articulate the relief he felt when it came time to have Black pick a new paladin. He didn't want Keith to be forced into a role he was in no fit state to be in and had already decided that he wanted it to be himself instead. Keith may be an asshole, but Lance cared about that asshole.

Lance reluctantly sat in the pilot's seat, running reverent fingertips over the controls. He wasn't sure how long he sat there, the silence of the cockpit holding the weight of a tomb until he finally let out a shaky breath.

"Hey, Black. I-I know you probably don't want me, but it's only me and Keith left, and I know what Shiro said about him leading the team if anything happened, but…I don't think he can do it, and I know I'm not the best option, but I'd rather it be me than him. He needs time to come back from this. He needs to be taken care of for once, and if this is only way I can do that, if it means I have to lead the team, I'll do it. I know I'm not as smart as Pidge or Hunk, but I'm stubborn as fuck and I'll get there. Just, please, let me take this on so he doesn't have to."

If the silence had been heavy before, now it was oppressive. Slowly, the weight became pressure, a focused pressure in the back of his mind, silence growing into a whisper. A soft purr rolled through the cockpit as the controls flared to life, filling the space with an ultraviolet glow.

Lance released the breath he'd been holding all at once. "Thanks. I'll give it my best."

He tried to get up, but Black's mental presence pushed him back down, the projected image feeling more real than illusory. He recognized the mechanical angelic wings from when Shiro had last flown the lion, but then the image shifted, a fully formed Voltron taking up his field of vision with similar but much larger wings. The feeling he got from Black was one of reassurance and a hint of things to come. With another soft rumble, the mental pressure dissipated, and Lance stood, Blacks head lowering as he walked down the ramp to the collective shouts and cheers from the team.

Lance couldn't help but notice one voice missing. Keith stood leaning against the wall but instead of the closed-off posture he almost always adopted, his arms hung limply at his sides, the shock on his face overshadowed by the tears of pure relief threatening to spill over. Lance shot him a small smile, one that said 'it's ok, I got you'. Keith understood, shooting one back in thanks as he wiped the tears away and slipped out without anyone else noticing. Lance watched him go, a realization just as startling as Black accepting him as his paladin hitting with the force of that very lion.

'Oh,'

Lance thought,

'Oh shit.'

He could barely hear the rest of the team over his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.

'I think I'm falling in love with him.'

-~-

pt 2

Lance tried to make the adjustment period as smooth as possible, but they were all dealing with Shiro's loss, all grieving in their own way, although none quite like Keith. He tried to accommodate him as much as possible - Lance knew too well the pain of losing family - but he still needed to run the team through drills, both on the training deck and in space, forming Voltron again and again until he was confident they could do it in the heat of battle, especially with Allura flying Blue.

Outside of training, Lance was having a harder time keeping his newly realized feelings in check. Keith was more closed off than he'd been in a while, so Lance kept an eye on him as best he could, inviting Keith to game and movie nights in the lounge, including him in more conversations during mealtimes, but never pushing, and always respecting the answers he got.

Keith had actually started to relax a bit, accepting invitations when he was up to it sitting alongside the team but not always participating in whatever they were doing that night, letting himself get drawn into conversations even if he wasn't actively adding anything, just listening. Lance was starting to think they were making progress, both as a team and with their healing process, until Thayserix.

They'd lost Lotor in the gas giant, and Lance had to watch as Red took off beyond the shortened range of Black's sensors. He knew Keith couldn't possibly hope to track Lotor through the gas, and landed on a nearby mineral structure to wait.

He couldn't contact the team, and there was nothing to see within visual range, so he was left with only his own thoughts. Lance thought about how he was handling leading the team - he was honestly a little surprised they'd accepted him as Black Paladin, but when Lance brought it up just after training one day Allura had said that Black chose him for a reason, just as all the lions had chosen their Paladins. Both Hunk and Pidge told him that they had been friends for a while, far longer than they'd been in space, he'd been their pilot back when they were a flight crew at the Garrison, and while he may have been a little unhinged, they trusted him then and they still did. Coran echoed all of their sentiments, adding that he understood how hard it was to push forward while so far from home and that he was genuinely proud of Lance for continuing on in spite of everything. Lance nearly broke down in front of the whole team, instead accepting one of Coran's patented Dad Hugs™.

What Keith had said surprised him. He'd gotten pulled into what became the group hug with Coran on Lance's other side, and when they broke apart, he'd said quietly, for Lance only, "Shiro trusted you. He'd be happy it was you to fly Black. I trust you too. Black picked you and I'm happy he did. You're a better leader than I could be."

The soft, /shy/ look on Keith's face made Lance's brain short-circuit. He scrambled to come up with something, anything, even remotely coherent as he watched Keith walk out with the rest of the team.

The only thought that came to mind was 'How dare he be that cute?' Lance froze. 'Oh I am so fucked.'